In a secluded, rugged depression of rocks within the Thunderclap Zone, a shadowy figure was hidden.
Scattered around the ground were blood-soaked strips of cloth and empty bottles of hemostatic powder, indicating that someone had recently treated their wounds here.
"There were some unexpected complications. I couldn't kill that brat, but I managed to extort some thunder ore. I can give you half."
Behind a large rock, Cao Guang sat on the ground, clutching a sound transmission jade pendant and speaking weakly.
A surprised voice came from the other end of the jade pendant, followed by a questioning tone:
"How is that possible?"
"What happened to your voice? Are you injured?"
Cao Guang's expression flickered. He didn't want Qing Si to know that he had been struck by lightning and injured like this while seeking trouble with Xu Mu in the Cloud Thunder Zone; that would be too humiliating.
"It was all an accident."
"I have some personal matters to attend to. I'll talk to you later."
Cao Guang deactivated the sound transmission jade pendant.
Then, with inexplicable anger, he kicked away the medicine bottle at his feet.
He still had no idea how to explain his injuries to Lan Yu and Qing Si. Without an explanation, he wouldn't be able to go to the Thunderclap Zone to collect thunder ore.
Considering this, he had actually undersold the thirty pieces of blue-patterned thunder ore.
Cao Guang's face darkened, and he cursed:
"It's all that Xu Mu's fault!"
"Weren't you the one who came looking for trouble first?"
A voice suddenly came from above the thunder ore.
Startled, Cao Guang immediately sprang to his feet, looking up with shock and asking:
"Who is it!"
Xu Mu met his gaze and said expressionlessly:
"It's me."
"We meet again, Senior Brother Cao Guang."
Seeing Xu Mu, Cao Guang froze for three seconds, then cautiously scanned his surroundings and asked:
"I didn't expect you to find me here."
"What, did you find some helpers? Want revenge?"
Xu Mu didn't answer. Instead, he smiled and asked:
"Senior Brother Cao Guang, was that Lan Yu of Sacred Sun Peak you were just talking to? Why does he want to kill me?"
"Strange, there's no one here." Cao Guang withdrew his spiritual sense and then looked at Xu Mu with surprise, asking in confusion, "You came alone?"
Xu Mu remained silent.
Cao Guang slowly chuckled. He rotated his wrists and said with a smile, "You have guts."
"It doesn't hurt to tell you. It's Qing Si of Azure Cloud Peak. He has some connection with Daoist Master Liu Ru, and you happen to be in Li Yuan's team. So, both Qing Si and Lan Yu want you dead."
"The former wants profit, the latter wants to establish his authority and get revenge. Regardless, you have to die!"
As Cao Guang spoke, his latent abilities surged. The metallic element of the third stage transformed into an invisible pressure, cracking the hard rock ground around him like a spiderweb.
His abilities were potent.
But Xu Mu remained calm.
"What's going on..." Cao Guang looked at Xu Mu. He had already unleashed his abilities. Logically, an ability user of Xu Mu's strength should be howling in pain and have their bones shattered instantly. But why was the other party showing no reaction?
Could it be because he was injured?
Confused, Cao Guang increased the intensity. The metallic elemental energy in the surrounding space condensed into a tangible form, expanding its range and drawing the thunderclouds from the sky.
Metal conducts electricity.
Clearly, his abilities were effective.
But not on Xu Mu.
Xu Mu stood there calmly, facing a pressure that could shatter rocks, seemingly unaffected. He simply stared into Cao Guang's eyes.
Cao Guang's expression froze again, then slowly turned solemn.
For some reason, a bad premonition arose in his heart. He felt he might have underestimated Xu Mu. If the latter came here alone to find him, he must have come prepared.
Therefore, Cao Guang decided it was time to leave.
"Wait a moment longer." Xu Mu looked at Cao Guang, then glanced at the gathering thunderclouds overhead. They were rolling and roaring like ferocious beasts, as if about to unleash a terrifying bolt of lightning.
"You want to use that to kill me?" Cao Guang looked at the thundercloud, paused slightly, then bent his knees and chuckled, "I underestimated you. So that lightning was indeed brought by you."
"But it doesn't matter. I've seen through you. As long as I'm prepared, your lightning won't harm me."
Upon hearing this, Xu Mu smiled and asked:
"Then why are you trying to run?"
Cao Guang's smile froze on his face. Cold sweat broke out on his back as he realized he couldn't move.
A hand had been placed on his shoulder.
No matter how hard he tried to move his legs, he couldn't break free from the ground to flee. The strength in that hand was just right, neither too strong nor too weak, holding him in place as if he were a wooden block made of interlocking joints, utterly immobile.
What kind of control, or what level of terrifying power, was required to manipulate him so effortlessly?
Cao Guang couldn't guess.
But he could guess that he was no match for Xu Mu. And now that he couldn't escape, he decided to call for help.
At that moment, the lightning finally struck from the sky.
"Rumble!!"
It was a cluster of lightning, countless bolts engulfing the area. Within a hundred-meter radius, lightning flashed everywhere. Amidst the white light, fragments of shattered rock and fire produced by lightning strikes, a scene of chaos.
In that instant, the muscles in Xu Mu's forearm bulged. He ignored the metallic energy condensed in the air, grabbed Cao Guang's shoulder blade, and crushed it. Then, he pushed half of Cao Guang's body directly into the ground.
"Crack!"
As the lightning subsided, Xu Mu had returned to the large ore rock.
Cao Guang's upper body was crippled. He was pressed into the ore rock in an extremely contorted shape, blood gushing out from the cracks like a spring.
"Mistakes must be paid for."
"This is your price."
Xu Mu ignored the distant, faint aura of domain lord pressure and calmly looked at Cao Guang on the ground.
The reason he hadn't acted sooner was to wait for the opportune moment when the heavenly lightning descended to mask his presence.
The Thunder Pool did not permit open conflict.
Therefore, he used the heavenly lightning to conceal his actions. That way, even if there were only the two of them in this area, the elder would not accuse him of transgression.
Layers of dark golden Dao Origin appeared on Cao Guang's body, accompanied by a misty aura. A mysterious power was constantly repairing his body.
Then, with effort, he pulled his head out of the ground, lying on the ground in a pathetic state. He looked at Xu Mu in terror and said:
"You are not Xu Mu. You are definitely not an ordinary disciple. Who are you!"
Xu Mu looked at Cao Guang, raising an eyebrow slightly. He had already used eighty percent of his strength. Cao Guang's bones were shattered; surviving at all was a stroke of luck. Yet, he could still speak.
"I am Xu Mu." Xu Mu looked at Cao Guang, smiled slightly, and extended a hand gently, saying, "Senior Brother, you must be more careful when collecting thunder ore. How did you end up like this?"
"Come, let me help you up."
"Don't catch a cold."
Cao Guang looked at Xu Mu, as if remembering something, and his face showed fear, like he was looking at a ghost.
He quickly shuffled back several meters, swallowed, and said:
"Xu Mu, you are Xu Mu!"
"I knew your name sounded so familiar. I knew your strength was so immense that I couldn't break free. So it's you. The entire cultivation world is looking for you, and you're here in Heavenly Master Mountain!"
Hearing this, the smile on Xu Mu's face slowly disappeared.
Trembling, Cao Guang took out his sound transmission jade slip, intending to inform Lan Yu and others of what was happening. Suddenly, another bolt of lightning descended from the sky.
"Crack!"
Xu Mu's figure flashed with the lightning.
Then, Cao Guang's hands were crippled.
His lower body was pressed into the ground, his upper body with crippled hands, like a radish, blood flowing from his seven orifices, his eyeballs bulging. He looked at Xu Mu in terror.
Xu Mu stood not far away, his calm eyes carrying a hint of killing intent as he looked at him and said softly:
"Senior Brother, you're talking nonsense."
"You're so heavily injured, you seem like you'll die soon. But don't worry, I'll go find reinforcements for you now."
The dark clouds in the sky turned pure black like ink, and the lightning flashing within them became terrifying.
As Cao Guang watched Xu Mu leave, he saw the incredibly pure Dao Origin flowing from his hand towards the sky. Infinite fear welled up in his heart.
He knew that the Dao Origin would make the falling lightning even more ferocious, and if it struck him, he would surely die.
So, he opened his mouth, wanting to call for help or beg for mercy, but unfortunately, Cao Guang's chest had also been crushed by Xu Mu, making it impossible to utter a sound.
"—Crack!"
A torrential lightning bolt descended, striking Cao Guang's head.
"So poor."
The flashing white light cast a long shadow of Xu Mu from a hundred meters away. He took out Cao Guang's spatial bag and, after a cursory glance, retrieved a large pile of thunder ore, tossing it aside.
Then, he continued his journey deeper into the Thunderclap Zone.
...
Three days later.
Deep within the Thunderclap Zone.
The thunderclouds here were more than twice as violent as when they first entered the Thunderclap Zone. At intervals, bolts of heavenly lightning comparable to peak third-stage realm would descend, which was terrifying.
The thunder ore here was naturally extremely rare. Blue-patterned thunder ore was everywhere, and even some mutated purple-patterned thunder ore could be seen. These were variations of the blue-patterned kind and could be exchanged for more points at the Merit Hall.
Deep in the Thunderclap Zone, in a recently harvested thunder ore area, three figures in golden-robed Daoist attire stood.
"What's going on with this fellow Cao Guang!"
Qing Si's expression was grim as he put away the sound transmission jade slip. This was not the first time he had tried to contact Cao Guang, but all his attempts had been like a clay ox entering the sea, with no response. Their last conversation was three days ago.
Han Qing of Rakshasa Peak frowned and said:
"Could it be... something unexpected happened?"
"Didn't he go to kill that Xu Mu? That disciple from Immortal Roaming Peak. Could Li Yuan have gone to help him?"
Lan Yu shook his head, refuting:
"No."
"I saw Li Yuan enter the Thunderclap Zone with my own eyes. I also saw him yesterday. He should be nearby now, not returning to the Cloud Thunder Zone to cause trouble for Cao Guang. Besides, that's not his usual behavior."
Han Qing frowned:
"But besides Li Yuan, who else could control Cao Guang so stealthily? He's a late-stage third-stage cultivator!"
Qing Si frowned and said, "Even Li Yuan couldn't control him stealthily. His trump cards are very powerful."
"The only explanation is that he himself doesn't want to contact us."
As Qing Si spoke, Lan Yu clenched his fists in anger. He was already furious that Cao Guang hadn't completed the mission, and now he had inexplicably disappeared.
In the Thunderclap Zone, losing the help of one person came at a huge cost. It could very well lead to them losing a lot of precious thunder ore.
"When we get back, I expect him to give me a perfect explanation. Otherwise, we'll talk about his sect transfer later," Lan Yu snorted.
After saying this, he was about to seize the time to collect thunder ore. At this moment, not far from them, a shirtless, strange figure suddenly appeared, harvesting thunder ore amidst the heavenly lightning.
...