Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow
In the image, a towering mountain was surrounded by boundless lightning. Bolt after bolt hung down from the sky like chains.
The whole image was eerie. The lightning, in particular, seemed frozen in place, without making a sound.
Lei Chong was deeply puzzled. How could lightning stand still?
Unless some forbidden power was controlling it.
Lei Chong could think of only one person connected to him who could also control lightning: the father he had gained, the Thunder Emperor.
In other words, the image he had just seen might have been left for him by the Thunder Emperor.
Once the thought occurred to him, a guess quietly surfaced as well.
Lei Chong committed the image to memory, intending to investigate it thoroughly someday.
Setting those thoughts aside, Lei Chong returned his attention to his cultivation.
After cultivating diligently for half a day, Lei Chong continued on his journey.
Yet shortly after he took flight, he sensed movement beneath the sea. Flashes of silver appeared and vanished, seemingly watching him from hiding.
Lei Chong looked through his Heavenly Eye and discovered a group of silver merfolk.
After giving the plot a little thought, Lei Chong understood the reason. He had killed so mercilessly in the Kunpeng Nest that day that he had frightened these merfolk, making them think he had come after them to kill them.
He had no grudge against these merfolk, nor had he killed any of them that day.
Yet when the merfolk saw him, they still trembled involuntarily.
Lei Chong felt somewhat disheartened, but he dived down anyway, because there happened to be a teleportation array in the Merfolk Tribe's territory.
With the help of that array, he could save a great deal of time.
When the merfolk saw Lei Chong enter the sea, they scattered and fled. They even called him a demon king, and they fled at astonishing speed.
Lei Chong shook his head with a wry smile and pursued the school of merfolk.
At first, the seawater was clear and blue, but it gradually darkened until he could not see his own hand before his face. After descending several thousand meters, he was deep inside a sea trench.
He followed the merfolk downward all the way into an undersea abyss. It was pitch-black, and only after a long while did light gradually begin to shine through.
At the very bottom of the sea, auspicious multicolored light surged, shooting out in wisps. The place was brilliant and dazzling, a kaleidoscope of colors that swept away the darkness completely.
It was an undersea city built of crystal, pearls, and the like. Dreamlike and illusory, it radiated multicolored light. It hardly seemed like the real world, but rather a dream.
Lei Chong marveled at the sight. Although he had read the original novel and knew how luxurious this place was, seeing it with his own eyes still left him stunned.
Just as Lei Chong stood there in a daze, a silver figure swam out of the Dragon Palace.
She was a silver mermaid. Her upper body was human, her skin white as ivory, and her long blue hair was smooth and lustrous. Her lower body was a silver fish tail.
A group of merfolk followed behind her, stealing glances at Lei Chong. The fear in their eyes could not be concealed, no matter how they tried.
Even the mermaid girl at the front looked tense.
He had not touched the Merfolk Tribe in the Kunpeng Nest that day. The tribe was not warlike to begin with, and they had kept well away whenever they saw him.
It was mainly because he had robbed so mercilessly that day, leaving these merfolk in his shadow.
Now that they saw him come looking for them, they thought he was here to rob them.
"Everyone, please don't worry. I haven't come to make enemies. I only wish to borrow your teleportation array," Lei Chong said with a smile, cupping his fists.
Hearing that Lei Chong had not come to rob them, the surrounding merfolk were completely reassured.
"Honored guest, please come into the palace so we can talk," the mermaid girl said with a smile.
With that, the mermaid girl led the way, swimming toward the enormous undersea city.
Lei Chong smiled and nodded, then followed behind her.
Of course, as he went, he did not forget to look around with his Heavenly Eye.
There were even more treasures in the city: pearls several meters across, plaques made from sea-blue marrow, and other precious materials.
There had been none of these materials in the Kunpeng Nest. Perhaps the Kunpeng had simply looked down on them.
After entering the enormous undersea city, Lei Chong used his Heavenly Eye and discovered numerous arrays throughout the city. They all seemed to have been left behind by deities.
The arrays were not activated, but quite a few merfolk stood guard over them.
The Merfolk Tribe was very hospitable and invited Lei Chong into an enormous palace.
A banquet had already been prepared inside. The ingredients were all specialties of the sea; some were exceptionally rare and contained a startling amount of divine power.
Lei Chong fell somewhat silent. The two sides had no close relationship, yet they had prepared so much. It was rather strange.
"Honored guest, please," the mermaid girl said with a smile, inviting Lei Chong to sit.
Lei Chong was not worried, and he sat down without ceremony.
The mermaid girl did not sit. She merely excused herself and left.
Shortly after the girl departed, several elders entered the palace. Warm smiles graced their faces as they all walked toward him.
"Young friend, you're young, yet you have an extraordinary bearing. Might I ask which sect's heavenly genius you are?" one elder asked with a smile.
The elder had heard a little about what had happened in the Kunpeng Nest.
He asked the question now to confirm it once and for all.
"I am on my own. I do not belong to any sect," Lei Chong replied without concealing anything.
Hearing this, the elders showed looks of understanding.
Such a young heavenly genius did not belong to any great sect.
In other words, the young man before them had relied on his own efforts, cultivating one step at a time to achieve what he had today.
While they were talking, the mermaid girl returned. Her lower half had now transformed into two fair human legs.
When the elders saw the mermaid girl approach, their faces all blossomed into smiles.
"Young friend, when you killed Han Tian of the Flame Fish Clan in the Kunpeng Nest that day, you did our tribe a great service," one elder said with a smile.
Lei Chong was somewhat puzzled. What grudge was there between the two tribes?
An elder explained the reason. The grudges between the Merfolk Tribe, the Sea God Tribe, and the Flame Fish Clan dated back to ancient times.
Han Tian was a genius of the Flame Fish Clan and was already extremely powerful. He was certain to surpass the other Flame Fish and lead the Flame Fish Clan to glory.
If he had obtained the Divine Illumination Lamp as well, it would have been an utterly devastating calamity for the present-day Merfolk Tribe.
After hearing the elder's explanation, Lei Chong understood much.
"It was no more than a small effort. There's no need for you to concern yourselves with it," Lei Chong said, cupping his fists and bowing to them.
"No. For you, young friend, it was a small effort, but for our tribe, it was a life-saving kindness. Whatever you ask, we will do our utmost to grant it," an elder said earnestly.
"I came here hoping to borrow your tribe's teleportation array," Lei Chong said.
"Think nothing of it, young friend. You are an honored guest of our tribe. The Merfolk Tribe's teleportation array is open to you at any time," an elder said with a smile.
"Thank you, everyone." Lei Chong smiled, cupping his fists and bowing to them.
The elders solemnly returned the gesture and once again invited Lei Chong to the banquet.
During the banquet, Lei Chong thought of something. This place lay at the edge of the North Sea, and there was a good chance the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow would pass through here on its way back to land.
"Seniors, when your tribe patrols these waters, have you ever seen the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow pass by?" Lei Chong voiced the question on his mind.