Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds

Gu Zhao shared gossip with the women of Bishui Palace, Snow God Mountain began making inquiries about Daluo Palace, and Xue Bingbing, Zhan Qing, and the others went to Songyun Prefecture to eliminate evil...

Meanwhile, in the deep, ancient forests where Wuya Ridge met the An Tai Mountain Range, Taoist Yan Song, Taoist Ming Yu, Ye Ruyan, and Miaoyun Princess trailed far behind a pair of demons.

"To think that woman is a Harmony Mage, and a human at that, yet she commits such cruel and vicious acts."

Recalling the sight of the young child tortured to death in Bai Shi Prefecture, an irrepressible killing intent flashed even in the eyes of a mischievous old man like Taoist Yan Song.

"Torturing young children to death, tempering their souls, and turning them into vengeful infant spirits to use for Refining Techniques and Refining Treasures," Taoist Ming Yu said, his face cold. "For people like them, complete annihilation of their souls would be a mercy. We should have brought Elder Jing Feng along to cast their souls into the Divine Prison and torture them for a century!"

Ye Ruyan, who was not far behind them, heard this and smiled faintly. "There’s no need for Elder Jing Feng to intervene. If you two Elders are angry, just give the couple’s souls to me.

"I’ve spent several hundred years cultivating on Yanxia Ridge, drawing on the poisonous fire from the valley floor. That fire can not only incinerate flesh and bone, but it can also sear a person’s Divine Soul. Torturing them in that fire for a century would be no less agonizing than Elder Jing Feng’s Fire Shadow Prison."

For once, Taoist Yan Song and Taoist Ming Yu nodded in unison. "Then we’ll leave it to you, Miss Ye."

Just then, a black-and-white Cloud-Piercing Flying Swallow swooped down from a nearby branch. It circled over their heads for a moment before heading northwest again. With a gentle beat of its wings, it soared out of the dense woods and into the open sky.

"They’re heading northwest."

"The northwest is right in the An Tai Mountain Range, between Jiangzhou and Shanzhou."

"Good. They aren’t heading south to Yuezhou and into the Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Southern Border, nor are they going west to Shanzhou. That means they’re still within the An Tai Mountain Range."

"Could they still have designs on Lianshan Prefecture?"

"With their brand of magic that tortures the Divine Souls of children, where would they find enough victims in the Southern Border to practice on?"

"What about Shanzhou?" Taoist Ming Yu asked.

"Shanzhou?" Ye Ruyan seemed to recall something and chuckled. "There’s an old demon in Shanzhou who loves nothing more than killing Harmony Mages to refine their Yin Yang True Spirits."

Taoist Yan Song raised an eyebrow. "Silent God Mountain has a cultivation method that involves killing Mages for refinement. Is this old demon even pickier?"

Ye Ruyan nodded. "This old demon is morally ambiguous and has profound Dao Practice. Fortunately, he doesn’t kill often, so the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court mostly leave him alone."

The two old Daoists understood and didn’t pursue the topic further.

The trio moved through the forest. Ye Ruyan’s eyes were sharp, and she used her Magical Power to sense the fluctuations in the surrounding world, sometimes taking the initiative to detour around areas that felt wrong.

The An Tai Mountain Range was larger than Wuya Ridge and home to numerous demons and ghosts. Because it was close to the prosperous State Mansions, its inhabitants could leave the mountains to roam at their leisure. As a result, the density of supernatural beings here was even greater than in the Southern Border, and it was not lacking in masters with profound Dao Practice and Magical Power.

Unless a being was steeped in Evil Qi, Taoist Yan Song and Taoist Ming Yu wouldn’t go out of their way to provoke them.

This was where the value of a great expert like Ye Ruyan, who had lived in seclusion in the deep mountains for years, truly showed. She could keenly sense whether an area was another master’s abode and would proactively steer them clear to avoid unnecessary conflict.

"This area should be the territory of a Mountain Monarch. I can smell its scent even from this far away."

"I recognize this one. It seems to be a Ghost God with a thousand years of Dao Practice. I ran into them once in Yazhou while watching an opera. They also enjoy roaming the mortal world."

"There’s a snake in this river gorge, too. Her favorite pastime is going to the State Mansions to find pretty boys to seduce for Absorbing Yang and Nourishing Yin. She’s not all bad, though. After she’s done, she even helps them recuperate."

As Ye Ruyan moved through the mountains, despite suppressing her presence, she seemed to know every master in the region as if they were family heirlooms. Even those she hadn’t met, she could make an educated guess about, leaving Taoist Yan Song and Taoist Ming Yu utterly amazed.

WHOOSH—

Before long, the Cloud-Piercing Flying Swallow reappeared ahead of them. It circled leisurely above their heads once, then slowly began to lead the way forward again.

"Their pace has slowed."

"Are they getting close to their lair?"

BOOM!

A huge explosion echoed from up ahead, and four distinct auras—human, ghost, water, and fire—erupted and spread out.

"They’ve run into an opponent!" Ye Ruyan’s eyes lit up, and she immediately picked up the pace. "Go!"

The trio still concealed their auras, but their speed didn’t falter. They quickly crossed several miles and appeared on a mountaintop not far from the battlefield.

The battle was taking place on a low mountain. The man and woman they had been trailing stood on one side, their faces contorted with venomous hatred as they faced another couple.

On one side was the couple they’d followed. The man, dressed in black, was gloomy and ruthless. His eyes were as black as ink, and his body emanated a fierce Ghost Qi. Faint, ethereal infant souls swirled around him, letting out shrill, ghostly wails.

The woman wore an ink-blue and green dress with heavy, garish makeup and sported long, red fingernails. Her accessories were tiny but disturbingly realistic skulls, all a ghastly white.

The couple on the other side was comprised of a short, scrawny man holding a Qimei Staff, and a tall, powerfully built woman with a Vajra Pestle resting on her shoulder. They stood side-by-side, glaring with fury at the human and the ghost opposite them.

Behind them stood a little monkey radiating Demon Qi. Its Cultivation was low, and it had not even achieved Transformation.

"You two witless Monkey Demons! You dared to kill my only son! I’ll flay you, rip out your tendons, and dig out your brains to make soup!" the man in black snarled.

"Bullshit!" the short man roared. "My kin and I were cultivating in seclusion, at peace with the world! We had no grudge against you, yet you brought your disciples here and slaughtered our entire clan! And you have the nerve to blame us?"

"My husband and I needed your monkey kin for our Refining Techniques and Refining Treasures. You should consider it an honor," the woman with heavy makeup said, her gaze fixed on the little monkey behind the other two. "I didn’t expect one to actually escape."

"My son! Mother has failed you!" The woman stretched out her hand, and a tattered soul flickered unsteadily in her palm. It was clearly far too weak and beyond saving.

"Mother will avenge you!" the woman shrieked. Then, she swallowed the tattered soul in a single gulp. With a surge of Magical Power, she refined it completely.

The next moment, the woman was wreathed in Yin Qi. She lunged forward, her ten fingernails glowing with a blackish-red light as she clawed at the short, scrawny man.

At the same time, the man in black remained motionless, but a torrent of black energy transformed into a dark river. Within its currents, the vengeful spirits of infants and children churned and bobbed, surging toward the tall, powerful woman with ferocious wails.