Even (for now)

"Brother, what are you staring at? Come on, let's go!"

Black Mountain pointed a bear paw at the cave entrance. Some people had already gone inside.

Red Wind flicked his tail too. "Yeah! Don't let those bastards snatch all the good stuff!"

Si Chen offered no explanation. He was wondering why that old bastard Lü Ci still hadn't come down. What was he dawdling around outside for?

Just then, a distinct ripple passed through the space above the lake.

Here he comes!

Light flashed, and several figures appeared in midair.

Lü Ci stood at their head. Besides the two Core Formation elders from before, an old man and a young man had joined him.

The young man wore a lavish brocade robe and looked about seventeen or eighteen, with arrogance written across his features. The black-robed elder beside him had a deep, steady aura that actually rivaled Lü Ci's!

"What... Such an oppressive Flight-Restricting Seal exists here?!" The richly dressed youth lost his balance, his expression changing.

Those in the air had clearly been startled by both the bizarre Flight-Restricting Seal and the stark white bones floating in the lake below.

Lü Ci and the gray-robed elder, in particular, both showed a flicker of disbelief.

They were Nascent Soul experts, yet even they had been stripped of their ability to fly. Just what cultivation level had that flood dragon reached?!

Still, who could reach the Nascent Soul Realm without weathering centuries of storms? Lü Ci and the elder suppressed their shock almost instantly and steadied their minds.

"Careful, young master!"

The black-robed elder reacted swiftly. With a low shout, he sent a small, ancient-looking bell flying from his sleeve.

The bell spun, casting a curtain of golden light that formed a phantom bell around him and the youth.

Lü Ci hurriedly circulated his spiritual power to protect himself as well, while politely reassuring the youth. "Do not panic, Young Master Fang. Strange though this place is, landing safely will be no trouble with our cultivation."

Judging by this, Lü Ci had probably lingered outside to wait for these two figures, whose status was clearly far from ordinary.

But why would Si Chen, standing on the shore, care about any of that?

His gaze had already locked onto Lü Ci. The Thunderbolt Spear he had prepared in his hand let out an ear-splitting crack and shot through the air like lightning breaking free of its shackles!

Almost the instant the first lightning spear left his hand, a second condensed in his grasp, and he hurled it too!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

One, two, three...

Thunderbolt Spears flew from his hands in an unbroken stream, turning into deadly streaks of lightning that raced straight toward Lü Ci!

Only then did Lü Ci abruptly notice the blue-robed youth standing quietly at the lake's edge, lightning in his hand!

"You little bastard! How dare you!"

Shock and fury seized him. He hadn't expected Si Chen to remain here, much less dare to ambush him!

He struck out with his palm, unleashing the vast, surging spiritual power of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Boom-!

Boom-!

Boom-!

Lightning exploded and scattered in every direction.

Although Lü Ci easily shattered the lightning spears, he was suspended in midair with nothing to brace against. The recoil from their explosions still made him sway, throwing him slightly off balance.

"Hmm?"

Inside the golden phantom bell, the young cultivator addressed as Young Master Fang and the gray-robed elder instantly turned their eyes toward Si Chen on the shore, unmistakable surprise flashing in their gazes.

A mere Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator actually dared to attack a Nascent Soul expert?

And the timing and ruthlessness of those attacks...

Si Chen never even glanced at the old man and the youth.

From beginning to end, his gaze remained fixed on Lü Ci alone.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Without giving Lü Ci a moment to breathe, Si Chen hurled Thunderbolt Spear after Thunderbolt Spear in a furious, rapid-fire barrage!

At that moment, Lü Ci hung in midair like a living target, forced to keep unleashing Sword Qi to block and shatter them.

The impact and waves of spiritual power from every collision checked his movement slightly, leaving him looking decidedly bedraggled.

Worse still, the dark green lake below, exuding the aura of death, set alarm bells ringing in his heart.

This brat is trying to force me into the lake!

"You pestilent ant!"

Lü Ci was both shocked and furious, but for the moment, he could not escape the relentless barrage.

Seeing how little his ordinary lightning spears accomplished, Si Chen frowned slightly.

He raised both hands at once. Dazzling lightning surged again as a Thunderbolt Spear rapidly condensed in each hand.

Then he slammed his hands together!

Crackle-!

A gigantic Thunderbolt Spear, several times thicker than before and wreathed in wildly leaping lightning, took shape in his hands!

The destructive energy within it made the cultivators on the shore who had yet to enter the cave, as well as the distant onlookers from the Demon Race, feel their hearts tremble!

Was this really a fucking move a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could use?!

His gaze icy, Si Chen looked up at Lü Ci, who was barely keeping himself steady in the air.

"Here's your hospitality from earlier, returned."

Before his words had faded, Si Chen drew his arm back like a fully drawn bow, then hurled the gigantic lightning spear at Lü Ci overhead!

Lightning scattered along its path, its momentum terrifying!

Lü Ci's face turned livid. Faced with this clearly different attack, he no longer relied on his fists and palms alone.

He snorted coldly. The spirit sword on his back finally left its sheath, sending an immense, supremely condensed arc of Sword Qi slashing toward the gigantic lightning spear!

BOOM-!!!!!

An unprecedented, deafening explosion erupted!

Lightning and Sword Qi ravaged the air before finally canceling each other out.

But they also produced a terrifying shock wave that burst outward in every direction!

Protected by the golden phantom bell, the youth and the elder merely swayed slightly.

The Flowing Cloud Sword Sect's two Golden Core elders were not so fortunate.

The sudden shock wave sent them tumbling out of control, crying out as they fell toward the lake of death below!

"Aah!!-"

Still, they were both Golden Core cultivators and reacted swiftly, instantly bringing out their respective Magic Treasures to protect themselves. The lake water did not immediately corrode them, but they struggled in its viscous depths, their situation dire.

Lü Ci himself was driven back by the explosion, but his abundant combat experience served him well. Using that momentum, he drove his spirit sword into the rock wall beside him and forcibly steadied himself.

Yet a Nascent Soul cultivator like him, together with two Golden Core elders, had actually suffered such humiliation at the hands of a single Foundation Establishment cultivator!

He looked at the two elders in the water, veins throbbing on his forehead with rage.

Si Chen looked at Lü Ci hanging from the rock wall, his face livid and his eyes nearly splitting with fury, then at the two Golden Core elders desperately holding on in the lake, liable to dissolve at any moment.

He said nothing, merely raising a hand and giving a little wave in Lü Ci's direction.

The meaning was obvious: courtesy demanded a return gift. They were even now-for the moment.

Then he swung himself onto the magnificent Red Bean, who had already been waiting beside him.

"Let's go."

Red Bean gave a clear, ringing cry and beat his wings, turning into a crimson streak as he sped into the depths of the cave.

"Hahaha! Nicely done, brother!" At the sight, Black Mountain rose onto his hind legs and clapped his bear paws excitedly.

"Old bastard! Enjoy your swim! We're heading on ahead!"

Red Wind let out a long howl too, adding with a look of contempt, "Little old man, enjoy a nice, thorough bath!"

Then he flicked his tail and charged into the passage alongside Black Mountain, following close behind Si Chen.

Lü Ci could only watch as Si Chen and the two demons disappeared into the cave's depths. Forced to rescue his men first, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"SI CHEN!! I WILL KILL YOU!!!"

Behind them, Lü Ci's roar of utter fury echoed through the vast underground chamber for a long time.

He watched helplessly as Si Chen left, yet had no choice but to save his men first.

If those two Golden Core elders also perished here, the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect would truly suffer a wound deep into its bones!

A short while later, the gray-robed elder and Young Master Fang also landed safely on the shore with the aid of their Magic Treasure.

The elder retrieved the Bronze Bell and looked in the direction Si Chen had gone, a trace of wonder appearing on his face. "To think someone like that could emerge in such a remote place."

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator striking back against a Nascent Soul... Simply unheard of. And that strange method of condensing lightning into spears..."

Young Master Fang straightened his slightly rumpled finery. Rather than looking annoyed, he wore an intrigued smile as he murmured to himself:

"Heh. That is rather interesting."