As he spoke, he carried several squeaking Bamboo Spirit Mice in his hand, his figure turning into a gale as he flew toward the Pine and Bamboo Residence.
Xu Taiping, however, continued staring unblinkingly at the sea below.
He had not deliberately ignored Zhu Ping just now; a piece of driftwood on the sea had caught his attention.
Rumble...
As the thunder overhead grew louder and louder, waves gradually began rising on the once-calm sea.
And so that piece of driftwood began bobbing with the waves.
For some reason, this utterly ordinary sight held Xu Taiping's rapt attention.
Even Xu Taiping himself did not understand why.
Boom...!
Just then, a bolt of lightning cleaved down through the sky like a sharp sword from the black clouds that had long covered it.
It struck straight down upon the sea.
That peal seemed like a general's command on the battlefield, and rain suddenly poured over the still relatively tranquil sea.
Boom! Boom, boom, boom...!
For a time, sudden rain cascaded like a waterfall over the boundless sea, and bolts of lightning struck its surface like silver snakes dancing wildly.
The same was true of the Sea-Viewing Cliff where Xu Taiping stood.
Some lightning even struck Xu Taiping directly.
Yet Xu Taiping still stared fixedly at that piece of driftwood on the sea without blinking.
He merely took out his Dragon-Blood Bamboo Hat and straw rain cape.
Then, no matter how the rain poured or the lightning flashed and thunder roared around him, he remained unshakable.
"Rumble..."
Just then, after another fierce burst of thunder and rain, the surging waves on the sea suddenly rose to over a hundred zhang.
In an instant, the once-gentle sea abruptly became an enraged behemoth, as though it would swallow everything on its surface.
That tiny piece