Metamorphosis

Hu Mang headed straight for the center of the Tempering Treasury, to the large thunder and fire furnace.

In the raging flames, both human bones and spears were scorched red.

Even the corpse of this female celestial general showed signs of bone melting.

"If I don't walk the path you didn't finish, are you willing to let the tradition end?"

"Hu Mang muttered to himself."

Then he tossed the Storage Bag outside, placed his palm on the edge of the stove, flipped it over, and plunged directly into the huge pot.

Inside the stove, besides charcoal of unknown material, were countless broken swords, spears, and halberds, densely packed together.

Stimulated by the intense heat of the fire, the Mysterious Yin Black Robe transformed into black smoke and entered the seven orifices of the Hu Mang. On the surface of the Hu Mang's body, a faint black halo enveloped its entire body. Despite the intense heat of the lightning and fire, the Hu Mang did not feel any particularly high temperature.

The transformation of Yin and Yang neutralized the high temperature outside the body.

Hu Mang walked directly to the opposite side, sat cross-legged, and at the same time, the Heavenly Soldier Divine Office shone brightly, enveloping both of them.

The next moment, Hu Mang seemed to see the predecessor of this Shattering Thunder Great Spear, that valiant female celestial general, appear opposite the Dark Lightning Puppet-Control Hub.

A shattered platform suspended in the void, a deathly silence after being abandoned by heaven and earth, and a gigantic vertical pupil.

"Tribulation Eye."

The Hu Mang muttered to itself.

However, his gaze quickly passed through the Tribulation Eye and landed on the shattered platform Tribulation Eye.

Or rather, this is the real purpose of this female celestial general's appearance here.

A message suddenly appeared in Hu Mang's mind.

The Ascension Platform is a High Antiquity passage used by the Azure Mysterious Realm to ascend to the upper realm.

However, this is not the original Ascension Platform, but a replica from the Jade Firmament Divine Dynasty. Its purpose is not for ascension, but to guide immortals from the upper realm to descend to the mortal world.

Tracing its origins, it seems that the founder of the Jade Firmament Divine Dynasty was also the leader of a major power in the Upper Realm.

Under Hu Mang's watchful eye, the female celestial general took a deep breath, took out her great spear Shattering Thunder, and attempted to comprehend the principles of ascension on this Ascension Platform.

Although it was just a simple thrusting and retracting of the spear, a subtle evolution emerged as the spear technique unfolded. It was as if each thrust of the spear tip carved a tiny crack in the void, from which emanated an aura that did not belong to this world.

Soon, the scene shifted, and the female celestial general appeared above a "thunder eye" in the city. She also began to demonstrate her spear techniques, each thrust carrying the force of thunder. Moreover, it was the Three Devil-Subduing Forms Hu Mang was familiar with: Heavenly Star Falls, Fire Phoenix Scorches the Plains the Plains, and Qian Yang Subdues Devils.

As she wielded the spear, she constantly experimented with variations, disassemblies, and recombinations, attempting to break free from the constraints of these three techniques and forge a new path of her own. Her spear techniques were sometimes as violent as thunder, sometimes as gentle as the wind, sometimes as fierce and domineering, and sometimes unpredictable—she was exploring, struggling, and pushing her limits.

Then, the figure of the female celestial general appeared in various demon-suppressing sites and demon-suppressing hubs of the Demon-Subduing City.

This woman's marksmanship became increasingly Ghost God, even Hu Mang, the inheritor of her skills, could no longer discern its evolution.

This woman's Compatibility with Shattering Thunder is definitely over 90%.

As Boss Gu once said, once swordsmanship surpasses 90%, one will completely break free from the constraints of moves and enter a realm of unpredictability. Every step beyond that will be more difficult than any path taken before.

Hu thought to himself, "Is it really that exaggerated? Are you trying to show off in front of me?"

Of course, considering that the opponent's swordsmanship is indeed abnormal, then you're awesome, and whatever you say makes sense.

Now, having witnessed the entire process of this female celestial being forging a new path, Hu Mang began to think that Boss Gu was being too modest.

Because every step forward is not only more difficult than any path before, but more importantly, the cost of trial and error is higher. Basically, every time the evolution fails, this woman's life force will decrease significantly. She is forcibly evolving by burning her lifespan.

Besides pushing his own limits, this individual also began a killing spree in the city, honing his spear skills against a variety of opponents, most of whom were Jade Heaven Divine Officials.

"These are not remnants of the Divine Dynasty," but complete priests, each at least comparable to a Great Cultivator with the Three Flowers and Five Qi Perfection, and several even equivalent to Primordial Spirit expert." She single-handedly stirred up all sorts of bloody storms in the entire city.

During this process, Hu Mang gradually understood the other party's purpose.

The Jade Firmament Imperial Dynasty collapsed, the divine authority was severed, and all the officials were waiting to die, but this one chose to seek death.

She was evolving her spear techniques, trying to break through the Thunder Net, trying to find a path outside of "opening up the divine palace".

With her lifespan nearly exhausted and her marksmanship honed to perfection, this female celestial general's challenge was not actually the Lightning Puppet, but rather the Thunder Net within the city.

She stood atop the tallest tower in the Demon-Subduing City, Shattering Thunder at her waist, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground. The wind ruffled her tattered clothes, revealing deep, bone-revealing wounds on her arms—the price of countless trials and errors. Her hair was mostly white, her face gaunt, her bones prominent, but her eyes remained astonishingly bright.

--

Above her, the boundless thunderclouds vanished, replaced by a massive Thunder Net.

She didn't make any unnecessary movements, she simply took a deep breath, and then—

Draw your gun.

The shot wasn't fast; in fact, it was quite slow, so slow that the Hu Mang could clearly see every arc the spear tip traced. But strangely, wherever the spear tip passed, sound, light, and airflow all vanished.

The Thunder Net reacted faster than any living creature. Almost the instant the spear tip touched the edge of the Thunder Net, the thunderclouds above the entire Demon-Subduing City simultaneously lit up. Thousands upon thousands of lightning bolts, like an enraged swarm of bees, converged from all directions, transforming into a dense, impenetrable net of lightning that descended upon the female celestial general. Each bolt was as thick as a pillar, containing terrifying power capable of reducing ordinary great cultivators to ashes.

The female general did not dodge; her spear thrust continued unabated as she advanced forward.

The first bolt of lightning struck the tip of her spear and vanished silently. The second, the third, the tenth, the hundredth bolts of lightning surged forward one after another, but they all disintegrated and dissipated three inches before the tip of her spear, as if they had struck an invisible barrier.

But the power of the Thunder Net seemed inexhaustible. Every time a bolt of lightning was annihilated, more bolts would fill the void, layer upon layer, densely packed, engulfing her entirely in a blinding white light.

Hu Mang saw her arm, which was holding the gun, begin to tremble violently, her thumb and forefinger split open, and blood slid down the gun barrel, only to be evaporated into a blood mist by the lightning.

Blood was seeping from all seven orifices of her body, and fine cracks appeared on the surface of her skin, as if her whole body would shatter at any moment.

But she didn't stop.

Her spear-like form was constantly deformed and twisted under the crushing force of the Thunder Net, only to be reassembled and regenerated amidst the collapse.

The trajectory of the spear tip became increasingly bizarre and unpredictable. Sometimes, what appeared to be a straight thrust would suddenly turn into an arc halfway through; other times, what appeared to be a sweeping motion would disintegrate into dozens of tiny piercings the moment it touched the Thunder Net.

Her marksmanship is undergoing a qualitative change under the pressure of the Thunder Net, a transformation after being forced to the limit.

Finally-

A faint sound, like shattering glass, rang out.

A crack appeared on the Thunder Net.

The crack was only as thin as a hair, almost invisible amidst the swirling lightning, yet it undeniably existed; the female general's eyes suddenly lit up, her spear thrust accelerated abruptly, all her power, all her will, all her burning life force poured into the next strike—

The spear tip pierced the crack precisely and flicked upwards!

She ripped a hole in the Thunder Net!

With a piercing scream, a phantom image of the Thunder God flashed by.

Hu Mang recognized the other person: Gong Lei!!

The female Thunder God severely injured by the opponent's tearing of the Thunder Net was none other than the mysterious woman in white Gong Lei.

It turns out she was the earliest self-aware individual on the Thunder Net.

No wonder she has amnesia.

No wonder this woman is always thinking about me.

Hu Mang finally understood why this female Thunder God was doing nothing but targeting him – it turned out she was an old enemy.

To be precise, whoever inherits the Heavenly Soldier Divine Office is her enemy.

"There's a subtle feeling of being a scapegoat, but it's not like I'm taking the blame for nothing."

The Hu Mang muttered to itself.

Because the opponent's entire deduction about gun techniques was presented to him without reservation.

Moreover, challenging Thunder Net is just the surface; her true "half-step" lies within, not without.

Just as Hu Mang was contemplating the evolution of the previous generation of Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier, Old Man Chen finally completed the settlement of the brother and sister.

--

Looking at Zhou Yu, who was wrapped tightly in bandages, and Zhou Tong, who seemed to be still trapped in a nightmare, the old man felt helpless.

When will this ever end?

What if this so-called "Judgment of Righteousness and Devilry"Turbid Sha Old Man happens to him? He doesn't even know if "Zhou Yu, let alone Zhou Tong.

Just as he was having a headache, the old man's expression suddenly changed. The formation he had set up outside the Tempering Treasury had been disturbed.

Moreover, the other party seemed to have no intention of hiding anything at all, with beams of divine light shooting into the sky one after another.

"Where did all these 'remnants of the divine dynasty' come from? Have all the priests in the city gathered here?"

Old Man Chen counted on his fingers repeatedly.

"Oh no, oh no! The Worldly Stem has entered the tomb with the Ghostly Stem, the end is near, the road ahead is fraught with danger, nine out of ten steps are perilous!"

"This is going to kill me!"

Old Man Chen dragged the brother and sister, one in each hand, with great difficulty, pulling them towards the interior of the treasury.

Then someone pressed down on my shoulder.

"Old man, didn't you say you couldn't tell fortunes?"

"But I was surprised that you didn't take off running."