“Screech!”
Emerging from the thunderfire vortex, the strange thunderfire bird cried out into the heavens. Its screech sounded like the collision of thunder and fire, shaking the heavens and earth.
Roused by this, the primordial energy of heaven and earth whistled over and was absorbed into the bird.
In the next instant, the bird flapped its wings of thunder and fire. Carrying majestic thunderfire primordial energy, it shot forth like a meteor tearing through the night sky, colliding head-on with the descending crimson slash.
Boom!
The collision instantly whipped up a violent storm of primordial energy.
Brimming with spirituality, the thunderfire bird seized the crimson blade light with its sharp talons and ripped it apart. Its sharp beak pecked down, tearing through and devouring all the primordial energy contained within.
Meanwhile, Guo Kui's face turned deathly pale. He stared in horror at the strange bird and rasped, “This is... Thunderfire True Primordial Energy?! Lu Jin, you actually refined a strand of True Primordial Energy?!”
At that moment, Guo Kui's mind was in turmoil, filled with utter disbelief.
According to the intelligence he had gathered, Lu Jin's lamp was already running out of oil. Covered in injuries, his vitality and potential were on the verge of total exhaustion. It should have been virtually impossible for him to take another step forward in his lifetime—to condense True Primordial Energy and become a True Primordial Energy Master!
This had been the common consensus among all Divine Ability Masters in Qingyuan Ward.
Lu Jin was old, his potential exhausted, with no possibility of further progress!
It was precisely because of this that Guo Kui had dared to target Thunderfire Hall without reserve. After all, why fear an old fool whose potential was depleted? As long as he dragged Lu Jin to his death, Thunderfire Hall would collapse in an instant, and its seemingly booming reputation would vanish without a trace.
Without Thunderfire Hall as his backing, even if Lu Ming possessed a High-grade Divine Ability Bone, he would hit walls at every turn. Who knew if he might be covertly assassinated while out and about one day?
In this world, high-grade geniuses were neither exceptionally rare nor overly common; losing one would make little difference.
Yet... all these self-evident assumptions were instantly torn to shreds before the True Primordial Energy that had manifested as the strange thunderfire bird.
“How could this be?!” Guo Kui stared blankly in shock. Tonight's ambush, which was supposed to be guaranteed and completely within his grasp, had not gone smoothly from the very beginning.
However, now was not the time to daze off.
Because the crimson slash emanating a towering bloody stench had been completely torn apart by the thunderfire bird.
Pfft!
Guo Kui spat out a mouthful of blood, his already weakened state growing even grimmer. As he watched the thunderfire bird—unabated in momentum after tearing through the crimson slash—charge straight toward him, he knew in his heart that this operation had utterly failed.
If he did not flee for his life right now, he would die here.
With that, Guo Kui let out an ear-splitting shriek. His left leg suddenly exploded into a dense crimson light that surged up and enveloped his body. Then, like a streak of thick blood-light, he fled through the air at unimaginable speed.
“Lu Jin, I, Guo Kui, will remember this grudge! In the future, I will slaughter your Thunderfire Hall in blood!” Guo Kui let out a venomous roar as the blood light vanished into the night sky.
Lu Jin watched the fleeing blood light, somewhat surprised by its speed. No wonder Guo Kui had always managed to escape encirclements over the years; he had been hiding such a formidable life-saving technique.
Lu Jin did not pursue him at this moment. With a wave of his hand, the thunderfire bird swept back, transforming back into a strand of Thunderfire True Primordial Energy, which he swallowed back into his body.
He then descended and landed in front of Lu Ming.
“Grandfather, you actually refined True Primordial Energy?!” Lu Ming said in pleasant surprise.
“Heh heh, isn't this all thanks to you? Once my internal injuries healed, I used Guo Kui tonight to temper my primordial energy, which allowed me to refine a strand of Thunderfire True Primordial Energy. However, it is still somewhat weak, not yet enough to support a true advancement into a True Primordial Energy Master,” Lu Jin chuckled with deep gratification.
Still, with this first strand of Thunderfire True Primordial Energy, the hardest step had been crossed. From here on, as long as Lu Jin refined more and more Thunderfire True Primordial Energy, achieving the status of a True Primordial Energy Master would merely be a matter of time.
“Let's resolve these Peach Mountain Bandits first. You hide here so they don't do something desperate and harm you.”
Without further words, Lu Jin instructed Lu Ming before fluttering his Thunderfire Feather Robe. In an instant, he appeared in the sky above the caravan camp.
By now, the situation down below had completely reversed.
When Guo Kui's venomous roar echoed through the night sky, the Peach Mountain Bandits had already been thrown into total chaos. Fan Li and the others were filled with disbelief and terror, unable to accept that their chief had actually failed.
Wasn't Lu Jin supposed to be an old bastard whose lamp was running dry?
Yet no matter how unbelievable it was, the cold reality was before them. Thus, the moment Guo Kui transformed into a blood light and fled, Fan Li and the others immediately scattered to retreat.
They attempted to use the cover of night to make a desperate escape.
However, Lu Qingyan, Lu Jinglei, and the others knew that these pests could not be allowed to get away. Otherwise, once they fled back to the Peach Miasma Mountains and caught their breath, they would remain a thorn in Thunderfire Hall's side.
Thus, they gave their all to tightly pin them down.
Until Lu Jin arrived on the scene.
Looking at the old man clad in the Thunderfire Feather Robe and holding the Thunderfire Whip—descending like a divine general of thunder and fire—Fan Li and the others felt deep despair and regret welling up in their hearts.
They knew that this time, they were truly finished.
In that moment, resentment toward Guo Kui welled up inside them. “That bastard! You ran fast enough, but didn't give a damn about us at all!”
Their past fear and respect for Guo Kui vanished entirely in the face of impending death.
Yet all their regret and resentment came far too late.
Lu Jin struck with ruthless efficiency. Activating his Thunderfire Whip, he blasted four of the five remaining chief lieutenants of the Peach Mountain Bandits to death in an instant, leaving only Fan Li crippled. Dragging him back, he tossed him among the crowd like a dead dog.
Lu Qingyan, Lu Jinglei, and the others surrounded him fiercely, their eyes brimming with killing intent.
Lu Ming slipped out from the forest and stood behind Lu Qingyan.
“I ask, you answer.”
“Was it Lin Changkong who colluded with you Peach Mountain Bandits to ambush our Thunderfire Hall?” Lu Jin asked impassively, the blood on his Thunderfire Whip baked dark by thunder and fire.
With all four limbs broken and knowing death was inevitable, Fan Li had a dismal expression and no intention of hiding anything. He merely shook his head.
Seeing his response, everyone was stunned. Not Lin Changkong? How could that be?!
“Heh, all I know is that after receiving a letter a while back, the chief ordered us to raid your medicinal garden. I asked him afterward if it was a request from the Golden Gang Sword Hall, but he said no.”
“As for who sent the letter to target you... heh, you'll probably have to ask the chief yourself.”
Fan Li gave a sinister chuckle. Finally, his eyes gradually closed as he shattered his own heart, taking his own life.
Lu Jin frowned slightly as he looked at the lifeless Fan Li. This answer was somewhat unexpected.
“Grandfather, even if Lin Changkong didn't take the initiative to collude with the Peach Mountain Bandits, he certainly isn't clean in all this,” Lu Ming spoke up.
Lu Jin nodded.
Meanwhile, as the toxic mist dissipated, the personnel accompanying the caravan gradually regained consciousness. For a time, the camp was filled with people vomiting and suffering diarrhea, giving off a pungent smell.
Fortunately, their lives had been saved.
Manager Xu of the Qingchuan Chamber of Commerce approached, still shaken. Bowing deeply in gratitude to Lu Jin, he said, “Thank you, Hall Master Lu, for rushing to our rescue. Otherwise, every last one of us would have died here today.”
Lu Jin offered a few reassuring words and sent him off to organize the caravan.
“Grandfather, did Guo Kui escape?” Lu Ming asked with concern.
“He had a trump card for escaping, and I couldn't catch up,” Lu Jin replied, equally regretful. He knew that Guo Kui was the greatest threat. Though severely wounded this time, having a Divine Ability Master lurking in the shadows watching them was indeed enough to keep one awake at night.
Lu Ming himself wasn't afraid, but he worried Guo Kui might target the people of Thunderfire Hall—especially his mother, Zhong Ying, and his younger sister, Lu Mengmeng. What if they were targeted? After all, a scoundrel like him abided by no rules whatsoever.
“We can't let him go. He must die!” Lu Ming said gravely.
Since they had made their move, they had to wipe him out completely!
Lu Qingyan and the others nodded as well. However, the problem was that Guo Kui had undoubtedly fled back to the Peach Miasma Mountains, where the Peach Miasma formed a natural barrier. No one had ever been able to find their lair in there.
Over the years, relying on this geographical advantage, Guo Kui had avoided countless extermination campaigns.
Lu Ming's eyes flickered. “Grandfather, let's hunt him down into the Peach Miasma Mountains!”
Lu Jin mused, “Do you have a plan?”
Lu Ming pointed to his eyes, golden light swirling within his pupils. “My Golden Pupils can see through illusions and miasma. Perhaps I can see through the Peach Miasma.”
Lu Jin's eyes lit up immediately; he had forgotten Lu Ming possessed such a skill.
If Lu Ming truly could locate the Peach Mountain Bandits' lair within the Peach Miasma, they could genuinely wipe out this menace once and for all.
“Good, let's go!”
Lu Jin made a swift decision, instructing Lu Qingyan and the others, “You continue escorting the caravan. Once finished, head over to the Peach Miasma Mountains to back us up. I will take A-Ming to the Peach Miasma Mountains right now to see if we can pull this evil up by its roots.”
Lu Qingyan glanced at Lu Ming and cautioned, “Be careful. Stay close to your grandfather and don't run off.”
Lu Ming nodded.
With their decision made, Lu Jin wasted no time. The Thunderfire Feather Robe materialized around his body, and grabbing Lu Ming by the shoulder, he soared directly into the sky. Transforming into a streak of thunder and fire, he sped off in the direction of the Peach Miasma Mountains.
They were going to wipe them out completely!
...
Shortly after Lu Jin and Lu Ming departed, as the caravan checked their goods and rested, the rapid, continuous thud of horse hooves suddenly thundered from the distant road, echoing from afar.
Lu Qingyan, Lu Jinglei, Lü Feng, and the others staying behind had a sudden change of expression. Was the Golden Gang Sword Hall attacking?
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