The pitch-black thunderbolt struck vertically from the center of the clouds, and Meng Qiuran felt his heart skip a beat.
He watched the mountain shrink inch by inch in the thunderlight, everything silently dissolving within the radiance.
The thunderlight faded, and the massive vortex-like thundercloud in the sky began to slowly dissipate. Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, and everything returned to calm.
The wind stopped.
The thunder ceased.
In the distance, there was only dead silence.
Ye Shuang’s legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.
Li He’s lips trembled; he wanted to say something, but his throat felt blocked, and not a single word came out.
Meng Qiuran stood still, his hands clenched into fists behind his back.
The black-robed man beside him was the first to regain composure.
He shifted his gaze from the sky and said in a deep voice, “It’s over.”
Meng Qiuran took a deep breath.
“Let’s… go over and take a look.”
Ye Shuang raised her head, tears still hanging in her eyes.
“Senior Brother Meng, what’s there to see… Under a divine punishment like that, nothing could possibly remain.”
“Something must still be there!” Meng Qiuran said with rare anger.
“A person who can attract divine punishment—even if they’ve fallen, the fallen ground must bear traces! We should record the traces, document the events, and pass them down to future generations.”
Meng Qiuran said no more.
He simply stepped forward and flew toward the ruins.
The others exchanged glances and followed.
No one spoke along the way.
When they reached the outskirts of the ruins, a strange scorched aura hung in the air above the blackened earth.
With every breath, their noses and throats felt dry.
Ye Shuang whispered, “The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy here… is completely chaotic.”
Normally, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy in a place flowed like a quiet stream, but here it was like shattered duckweed—broken and churning without any pattern.
They continued forward.
The closer they got to the center of the ruins, the more chaotic the spiritual energy became.
Meng Qiuran had to raise a thin Spiritual Power Shield to resist the impact of the chaotic energy.
Li He and Ye Shuang also activated their techniques to stabilize their internal spiritual power.
Then they saw the mountain that had been nearly flattened.
Now only a slight protrusion remained—a mound about three zhang high, located at the exact center of the ruins.
And at the center of the mound, there was a cave entrance.
Meng Qiuran’s heart pounded violently.
The cave entrance was still there, not completely destroyed.
But even so, it didn’t mean the people inside had survived.
How could mere layers of soil and rock withstand the power of Heavenly Thunder?
That destructive force would have surged through the mountain, turning everything inside to ash.
“Go down and look.”
Meng Qiuran’s voice was tight.
The four descended, stepping onto the charred ground, and proceeded cautiously.
When they reached the cave entrance, the scorched aura in the air actually faded, and they could even smell a faint fragrance.
It was the smell of meat—the aroma of roasted meat.
Meng Qiuran’s steps halted.
Li He and Ye Shuang smelled it too.
The three looked at each other, all seeing disbelief in one another’s eyes.
The black-robed man’s brow seemed to furrow slightly beneath his cloak.
Entering the cave, the space opened up before them.
Several thin cracks ran across the ceiling—the only traces left by the thunder strike—and a few rays of sunlight filtered through, illuminating the center of the cave.
In the middle of the cave, a fire was burning.
Several wooden skewers were propped over it, and wild boar meat threaded on them sizzled as the flames licked at them, oil popping.
The surface of the meat had already turned a tempting golden brown, and the aroma filled the entire cave.
Two people sat by the fire.
Su Wan’er was sitting upright, holding a skewer of meat, eating in small bites, her cheeks puffed out.
Beside her sat the gray-robed man.
The hem of his robe was dusted with some ash, and his hair was slightly disheveled.
He also held a skewer of meat, eating far more heartily than Su Wan’er—three bites per skewer, grease shining at the corners of his mouth.
Yet, despite looking like someone eating messily, as he sat there, an invisible pressure radiated faintly from his entire being.
The group froze in place.
Ye Shuang pinched her arm hard.
It hurt.
This wasn’t a dream.
Even the ever-silent black-robed man’s form under the cloak stiffened for a moment.
These two people were at the epicenter of the divine punishment… eating barbecue?
Lai Li’an bit off a piece of wild boar, chewed a few times, and felt pleased inside.
He hadn’t lost his skills over the years.
Though the seasoning was simple, the fire was perfectly controlled.
Just as he reached for the next skewer, he suddenly sensed several auras approaching.
Lai Li’an’s movements paused, and his gaze crossed over the flickering flames, landing on the four figures at the cave entrance.
A system panel quietly appeared.
[Target 1: Meng Qiuran, Foundation Establishment Peak]
[Target 2: Li He, Foundation Establishment Peak]
[Target 3: Ye Shuang, Foundation Establishment Peak]
[Target 4: Deng Shutong, Late Golden Core]
‘Damn, a late Golden Core!’
He had just opened his Spirit Root, and his spiritual power hadn’t even been properly cultivated once.
Those Heaven-grade Techniques were still lying in the System Warehouse gathering dust.
The Taixu Life-Protecting Bead had triggered out of nowhere just now and was currently on cooldown.
The only life-saving trump card he could use was gone, and now a late Golden Core stood before him.
Lai Li’an felt a chill run down his spine.
He slowly put down the skewer in his hand, raised his head, and calmly swept his gaze over the four.
There was no expression on his face, but his right hand had already moved subtly, reaching into his clothes to pull out the Immortal-Slaying Delusion-Breaking Talisman.
His body leaned forward slightly, like a predator ready to pounce.
Ye Shuang, caught by his gaze, felt a chill shoot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
That gray-robed man had only glanced at her, yet she felt as if she had been seen through from head to toe.
Her knees gave way, and with a thud, she knelt.
That single kneel was like the first domino falling.
Li He almost instinctively bent at the waist, clasped his hands, and bowed deeply.
Meng Qiuran, after all, was the team leader senior brother for this training exercise and had seen some things.
He gritted his teeth and met Lai Li’an’s gaze for a moment.
In that instant, he felt as if he were staring into a bottomless starry sky.
Then he lowered his head and respectfully executed a bow.
Finally, the black-robed man.
From the start, he had sensed that this person was at Mid Golden Core cultivation.
Nevertheless, he lowered his head.
It wasn’t a deep bow, but for a late Golden Core cultivator to bow to someone of lower cultivation—that in itself was the greatest sign of respect.
Meng Qiuran’s heart pounded fiercely.
He knew that this Guardian Dao Protector of his never bowed to anyone—at least, on the branch sect’s grounds, he had never seen him show any deference to anyone.
And now, he had bowed.
“Senior, please calm your anger!” Meng Qiuran quickly spoke.
“I, your junior, am Meng Qiuran, a disciple of the Dan Sect Branch. These three are my fellow disciples and our Guardian Dao Protector. We have no ill intentions… We were merely drawn here by the Thunder Tribulation phenomenon just now and came to investigate. We did not mean to offend Senior!”
After saying this, he kept his body bowed, not daring to raise his head.