Five Thunders Strike, Arriving on Thunder

"Miss Shen, I have urgent matters to attend to, so I'm returning to the human world first."

"Please take care on your way back."

Shen Qiushui stared at the message on the communication talisman, and was stunned for a moment.

Then her red lips pressed together tightly, and her autumn-water eyes filled with deep resentment and disappointment.

He didn't say anything, just left without a word.

I… I… I, Shen Qiushui, am not throwing myself at him.

Shen Qiushui muttered resentfully to herself.

She took long strides with her slender, beautiful legs and walked directly out of the city gate.

In the distance, a thin man wearing a Horse-Face mask had a flickering, eerie glow in his eyes.

"She left alone?"

"Didn't see the Black Impermanence from before!"

"Looks like he's already gone."

"Heh heh, truly heaven helps me."

"White Impermanence, I originally didn't want to lay hands on you."

"But alas, you are actually the legendary Nine Yin Absolute Meridian; you are destined to be my Cultivation Cauldron."

A strong hint of greed laced the Horse-Face man's tone.

After Shen Qiushui left, he immediately followed her without delay.

It was him!

Fang Heng saw the Horse-Face man follow closely after Shen Qiushui left.

He then knew that the one who cast the Dark God's Incense was the "friend" Shen Qiushui had mentioned, whom he had seen outside the money house earlier.

After a moment of contemplation, Fang Heng made up his mind.

He slapped his Ghost Control Bag, and Fire Barbarian emerged from it.

"Set up these five Lightning-Attracting Banners; don't let anyone discover them."

"Master, don't worry. I've lived on Evil Dog Ridge for over a hundred years. This small task, I guarantee, will be handled perfectly."

Fire Barbarian said with confidence, taking the five Lightning-Attracting Banners, and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing among the ghosts on the Yellow Springs Road.

Fire Barbarian was originally a ghost, and it suppressed its flames.

Mixed among the yin souls and ghosts, ordinary people couldn't distinguish it at all.

This was also why Fang Heng chose to have Fire Barbarian set up the Lightning-Attracting Banners.

The main point was "concealment."

Since he decided to act, Fang Heng naturally didn't want Horse-Face, his prey, to escape.

On the other side.

Shen Qiushui traveled alone. After walking for a while, she vaguely sensed something was off.

"Who's there?"

"Come out!"

Shen Qiushui suddenly turned around, her gentle gaze becoming sharp and wary.

Looking around, there was only the desolate Yellow Springs Road and ghosts with empty eyes.

However, this perfectly ordinary scene made Shen Qiushui feel a prickling sensation on her back.

"Heh heh heh!"

"White Impermanence, is this how you welcome a friend?"

The Horse-Face man appeared from among a group of yin souls and ghosts.

"Horse-Face?"

"You were following me!"

Shen Qiushui let out a soft cry, her pretty face beneath the White Impermanence mask showing a solemn expression.

"Following?"

"I don't like those words."

"White Impermanence, I merely wish to invite you to my cave dwelling, for a visit."

A visit?

Bah!

Who invites someone like that?

Shen Qiushui took out a storybook and circulated the spiritual energy within her body.

A white spiritual light emanated from The Legend of Heroine Shen storybook.

This white spiritual light shot into the sky, transforming into a valiant and graceful figure.

"Hmph—"

"You refuse a toast, so you'll drink a forfeit!"

"Do you think you can resist me with just a Book Spirit?"

" obediently come back with me and be my Cultivation Cauldron!"

Horse-Face's low voice was sinister and terrifying, as if it came from a demon of the Nine Netherworld.

Immediately after, he slapped the Ghost Control Bag at his waist.

Five streaks of black energy shot into the sky.

Wails of ghosts echoed continuously.

When the black energy dispersed, five sinister ghosts were revealed.

For a moment, a chilling wind blew, accompanied by the howls of wolves and screeches of ghosts.

The lingering spirits and ghostly beings on the Yellow Springs Road seemed to sense the power of these five evil spirits.

They surprisingly showed expressions of fear, scattering away from Shen Qiushui and Horse-Face.

Horse-Face bit his fingertip, drawing out a drop of essence blood, which he used to feed the five evil spirits.

After feeding the five evil spirits their fill with his essence blood, Horse-Face finally gave his command.

"Capture her alive for me."

"I want her alive!"

Woo—

Woo—

Woo—

A chilling wind whistled.

The evil spirits attacked.

Shen Qiushui took a deep breath, her eyes grave.

The heroine Book Spirit behind her, under her command, proactively charged forward to face the five ghosts.

In just one exchange, the heroine Book Spirit was already at a disadvantage.

It looked precarious.

In the distance, Fang Heng watched the battle between Shen Qiushui and Horse-Face, a dark glint in his eyes.

"A Book Spirit?"

"Is Shen Qiushui cultivating the inheritance of the Fiction School?"

Fang Heng was momentarily stunned, then quickly reacted, a look of sudden realization on his face.

No wonder!

Shen Qiushui wrote The Legend of Heroine Shen.

It turned out she was cultivating the inheritance of the Fiction School.

The Fiction School's inheritance allows one to summon a Book Spirit from a novel to fight for them.

It's somewhat similar to a summoner in a game.

Book Spirits and lingering spirits are somewhat alike; both are ethereal beings.

However, compared to a Ghost Controller, the Fiction School's inheritance is much safer; one doesn't have to worry about backlash.

Moreover, the Book Spirits summoned by the Fiction School can exceed the cultivator's own realm.

Shen Qiushui's aura was undeniably at the third realm.

But the Heroine Shen Book Spirit she summoned was at the fourth realm.

Only…

Facing five opponents alone, it was ultimately at a disadvantage.

The five evil spirits that Horse-Face fed were all fourth-realm ghosts.

The five ghosts, working together, pushed the Heroine Shen Book Spirit into a steady retreat.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Shen Qiushui was in grave danger.

Fang Heng felt a pang of worry for Shen Qiushui.

He wasn't acting now, not because he didn't want to, but because the timing wasn't right.

He was waiting for Fire Barbarian to finish his preparations.

It wouldn't be easy to capture Horse-Face and five fourth-tier evil spirits in one swoop.

Even though he was skilled in Thunder Arts and could suppress yin spirits and ghosts, it wouldn't be easy to defeat opponents two tiers higher than him.

The Heavenly Thunder Token was already clutched in his right hand.

He could faintly hear thunder rumbling.

If Fire Barbarian couldn't complete the preparations in time, he would have no choice but to act himself.

Even if Horse-Face escaped, he couldn't let anything happen to Shen Qiushui.

Just then, Fire Barbarian's voice echoed in his mind.

"Master, the Lightning-Attracting Banners are set."

Hearing this, Fang Heng finally relaxed. He raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Now, it's my turn."

On Yellow Springs Road, a loud BOOM echoed!

The Book Spirit of The Legend of Heroine Shen had its chest pierced by a ghostly hand, transforming into specks of spiritual light that vanished into thin air.

With the Book Spirit destroyed, Shen Qiushui suffered a backlash.

Her beautiful face turned pale, and crimson blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Her legs felt weak, and she was barely holding on through sheer willpower.

Watching the five ghosts approach, stirring up gusts of foul wind, Shen Qiushui's clear eyes filled with an overwhelming sense of despair, like a steadily flowing stream.

"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Brother..."

"And... Your Highness..."

Facing death, Shen Qiushui gave a bitter laugh as figures flashed through her mind.

Just as she was consumed by despair, RUMBLE! Thunder roared, deafening.

It was as if mountains were collapsing and the earth was splitting apart, or as if heaven and earth were overturning.

The moment the terrifying lightning appeared, the yin spirits and ghosts on Yellow Springs Road seemed to witness the most horrifying sight in the world.

They scattered, fleeing as if they wished they had wings.

Five thunder dragons revealed their true forms in the sky.

They looked capable of destroying everything.

It seemed as if the Thunder Arts would descend at any moment.

Shen Qiushui looked up, gazing into the distance.

She saw a figure standing atop the five thunder dragons—a person she knew all too well.

Her great hero had arrived, riding on thunder.

Her clear eyes welled up with thick mist, blurring her vision.