Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds

A moment later, the Evil Qi was collected.

The Heihe River was obliterated by the Thunderbolt. Taoist Ming Yu then dispelled the viciousness from the souls of the young children in the river, allowing them to scatter between heaven and earth.

Taoist Yan Song hacked the black-clothed man’s Ghost Body into a dozen-odd pieces and incinerated them with the Taiyi Divine Fire, burning him to a pile of black ash and wiping him from the world completely.

The heavily made-up woman was burned beyond recognition by Ye Ruyan, then killed with a single slap from Miaoyun Princess. Her long, blood-red fingernails shattered into hundreds of fragments, scattering in all directions.

The short man and the tall woman watched, their hair standing on end at the sheer ruthlessness of the group of four and the miserable fate of the other pair.

When they saw that the black-clothed man and the heavily made-up woman had been utterly annihilated, and the four victors turned their gazes upon them, the couple couldn’t help but shudder and huddle closer together.

These two great masters of the current age now seemed just like a pair of terrified children.

"Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid," Taoist Yan Song smiled again. "You bear no Evil Qi, so you are friends of Daluo Palace."

"Daluo Palace?" the short man asked tentatively. "A faction recently established itself in Lianshan Prefecture, calling themselves the Daluo Temple."

"That is precisely Daluo Palace’s branch temple in Lianshan Prefecture," Taoist Ming Yu said with a smile. "The Observatory Master is Brother Jing Hong, who is also an Elder of the palace."

The tall woman’s eyes lit up, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "So you are all fellow disciples of Taoist Jing Hong. A junior of ours was in peril in Lianshan Prefecture, and it was Taoist Jing Hong who intervened to save them."

"Then I suppose we are connected by fate," Taoist Ming Yu nodded.

"Indeed, it is fate. Indeed," the short man nodded repeatedly. "Taoist Jing Hong saved our junior, and now you have all saved my wife and me. This is truly a fateful connection."

After exchanging names, Taoist Yan Song’s group learned that the short man was named Hou Hao, a Purple-haired Spirit Monkey who had gained sentience, and the tall woman was named Yuan Lin, a High Mountain Ape who had achieved Transformation.

They had become husband and wife two hundred years ago and had been living in seclusion in the mountains ever since, gathering a large troop of monkeys and apes and leading a carefree existence.

Unexpectedly, however, a junior from their troop was bullied in Lianshan Prefecture. By the time the couple left the mountain to investigate and returned, the monkeys and apes taking shelter in their cave dwelling had been almost completely slaughtered.

Fortunately, the couple had no offspring of their own, or they would have been utterly devastated.

Since there was a connection, Taoist Yan Song continued his inquiry. "Besides that man and woman, there should be another new faction in these mountains. Do you know anything about them?"

Taoist Ming Yu added, "The leader was a goshawk Demon, but we’ve already killed it. It left behind several dozen troublemaking Little Demons."

"I know."

Before Hou Hao and Yuan Lin could speak, the little monkey behind them jumped forward. "A whole bunch of new Demons suddenly appeared on Yellow Flower Mountain! They’ve made a huge mess of the place and even killed several of the mountain spirits. Song Xiaotian barely managed to escape.

She said the leader of that group of Demons was a giant eagle. She had to hide in a tree hollow, holding her breath for a day and a night. She only snuck away when the eagle landed to eat."

"Is Yellow Flower Mountain far from here?" Taoist Ming Yu asked.

"Not far, not far! It’s just over a dozen peaks from here," the little monkey said.

"Then we’ll trouble you to lead the way." Taoist Yan Song flicked his finger, and a wisp of True Qi flowed into the little monkey’s body, healing his minor internal injuries and fatigue.

"We’ve cleaned out this family’s disciples, so that bonus is gone. We can’t let the other one get away," Taoist Yan Song chuckled slyly.

Taoist Ming Yu shook his head and let out a laugh. With their profound Dao Practice, and having just eliminated two powerful masters, the Evil Qi provided by a few Little Demons would not be of much help to them.

"Of course, of course! I’ll take you right now!" The little monkey nodded hastily. Having masters of this caliber be so polite to him made him flush with excitement, and he wished he could fly over the mountains in an instant to lead them to their destination.

Yuan Lin reached out, pulled the little monkey to her, and then rose into the air. "I’ll carry you. You lead the way."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The little monkey pointed to the northwest, and six streaks of Escape Light shot off into the distance.

For them, a dozen or so mountain peaks was a distance crossed in an instant. A sweep of their Divine Sense revealed a cave in the mountain where Demons were inside, cooking and feasting heartily on mortals and beasts.

One of the Demons, the fur on its hands not yet fully shed, gripped a red squirrel and chuckled sinisterly. "Little girl, you already escaped. Why come back to die? Did you think I hadn’t eaten my fill?"

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK—" the red squirrel shrieked, but it couldn’t break free from the Demon’s grasp.

"No rush. Your meat is tender. I have to offer you to the Ancestor as an appetizer first." The Demon shook the red squirrel. "You get to live for another two..."

Before it could finish speaking, a paper effigy shot forward. As it neared the Demon, it unleashed a boundless golden light, transforming within the glow into a Golden Armor Divine General. The general fluidly raised a Golden Whip and brought it crashing down.

CRACK!

The Demon’s skull cracked and its brains splattered, all signs of life extinguished.

Then, a divine wind carrying sparks of fire swept into the cave. Every Demon died upon being touched by the wind and perished upon being grazed by the fire. They were completely powerless against the Taiyi Wind and Fire.

...

Seeing Taoist Yan Song and Taoist Ming Yu take action, Ye Ruyan and Miaoyun Princess remained still, also holding back Hou Hao and Yuan Lin, who had wanted to rush forward and help.

"In Daluo Palace, we cultivate the Dao and the heart," Ye Ruyan said with a smile. "Exterminating demons and punishing evil aids the two Elders in their cultivation."

So, Hou Hao and Yuan Lin stopped. "Are you two also Elders of Daluo Palace?"

Ye Ruyan shook her head. "We are Guardian Star Officials of Daluo Palace."

She then gave the pair a brief introduction to Daluo Palace, explaining that the palace teaches all without discrimination—its disciples included humans, Demons, and ghosts. She told them that they strove to be benevolent and to enact justice on behalf of the heavens.

"As long as you do not commit evil driven by desire, or wantonly slaughter living beings, you are free to come and go as you please throughout the Jiangzhou South Five Prefectures," Ye Ruyan said.

Hou Hao and Yuan Lin exchanged a glance, a thoughtful expression appearing in their eyes.

Just then, Taoist Ming Yu and Taoist Yan Song flew back up from the mountain below, accompanied by a plump red squirrel.

"Squeak squeak! Song Xiaotian!" the little monkey cried out.

"Squeak squeak! Hou Xiaobao!" the red squirrel replied.

"So that’s Song Xiaotian?" Taoist Ming Yu raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips. "It seems we arrived just in time."

Taoist Yan Song nodded. "Indeed. A meritorious deed."

Taoist Ming Yu waved his hand, and the red squirrel floated over to the little monkey’s side. The two small animals held hands, making the two old Daoists feel as if they were watching a cartoon.

Taoist Yan Song turned to Hou Hao and Yuan Lin and was about to speak when he saw the pair descend slightly and kneel in mid-air. "We, husband and wife, petition to join Daluo Palace. We beg the Daoists to grant our request."

"Eh?" Taoist Ming Yu turned back in curiosity. "You two possess profound Dao Practice and live a carefree life in the mountains. Why would you want to join Daluo Palace? Besides, we can consider ourselves friends. If you ever need help, you can just come to the palace. There’s no need to formally join."

Hou Hao shook his head. "A carefree life in the mountains is also fraught with danger. Take today, for instance. If you all hadn’t righteously intervened, my wife’s and my several hundred years of Cultivation would have been washed away."

Yuan Lin added, "If we don’t contribute to the palace, how could we dare ask for its help?"

Seeing that the pair were sincere about joining, Taoist Yan Song and Taoist Ming Yu exchanged a glance. Only then did one of them speak, "You are both Spirit Monarchs, so of course Daluo Palace welcomes you. In that case, please accompany us back to the mountain."