Thirty kilometers away, in a U-shaped river valley located between two mountains, a shadow darted swiftly past.

"Zzz~ Zz~"

Amidst the flickering electrical sparks, a figure rushed into a concealed cave.

"Gulp." Fang Lingfeng gasped for breath in large gulps, swallowing a mouthful of saliva hard.

Despite being a formidable entity of the Yangyang Sea, such a panicked and frightened figure was truly unbecoming of her stature.

"Who exactly was it?" Fang Lingfeng's face turned grim.

Though she had run far away, every time she recalled the hammer that brushed across her body with a fierce swing, she was filled with terror!

Waves of lingering fear churned in her heart, refusing to dissipate.

She had almost died!

Just barely escaped!

Was it a hammer? She couldn't be sure.

The irony was that Fang Lingfeng, from beginning to end, hadn't dared to look back. She didn't know what weapon the other person was using, nor did she know if her attacker was male or female, or what they looked like!

She only knew that their ferocious aura likely originated from the brutal Fierce Heavenly Sect!

No... that's not right!

Fang Lingfeng furrowed her brows tightly.

If it truly was a disciple of the Fierce Heavenly Sect, how could they appear so suddenly and silently, hovering above her from nowhere?

This person either had the ability to become invisible, like those sinister, treacherous wolves, or could perform instantaneous movement, similar to Qiang Xiu's disciples.

Instant Teleportation?

At the thought of this term, Fang Lingfeng's expression grew even uglier.

If it truly was instant teleportation, and the enemy was that strong...

Could this person, and this mysterious organization of cloaked individuals, be the same group responsible for annihilating Tiantu Mountain?

Everyone at Thunder Mountain knew that Luo Tiantu had a grudge with an Evil Dog believer!

To ensure his safety, Luo Tiantu personally visited the Thunder Sect and hired two bodyguards.

Everyone envied those two bodyguards for landing a lucrative job.

No one could have anticipated the grim news that arrived months ago—Tiantu Mountain had been destroyed.

The Village Chief of Tiantu Mountain, Luo Tiantu, who was the Sea Realm Peak, perished in battle!

Madam Kong, also a Great Power of the Sea Realm, met the same fate!

The entire village of Tiantu Mountain, including the two bodyguards involved, were all wiped out!

Massacred without survivors!

Even the entire Tiantu Mountain was set ablaze and burned to the ground...

There was no doubt that Tiantu Mountain had provoked a force it shouldn't have.

Merciless, thorough destruction!

"Gulp." Fang Lingfeng swallowed hard again.

So, the annihilation of Tiantu Mountain—could it have been done by this unnamed organization?

In the southeastern-central region of the Holy Spirit Mountain, the number of active factions was limited. Luo Tiantu was on friendly terms with the Sect Master of Thunder Mountain. Most forces would show him respect.

Even if conflicts arose, it wouldn't escalate to the point of exterminating an entire faction, let alone setting the entire mountain ablaze.

What kind of hatred would provoke such destruction?

Especially the final fire—it was clearly an act of venting anger!

That fire seemed to reveal the identity of the perpetrator.

The mastermind was highly likely to be an Evil Demon disciple with a deep-seated grudge against Luo Tiantu—the Evil Dog believer!

So...

The one who had appeared mysteriously and nearly took her life—could it also have been this Evil Dog believer?

Fang Lingfeng's speculation ultimately boiled down to one reason:

Within the area surrounding Thunder Mountain, no one or any force dared to treat a disciple of Thunder Mountain in this manner!

Upon revealing her name, she hadn't been met with fear or flattery.

The cloaked person simply didn't care about the Thunder Sect!

Fang Lingfeng genuinely suspected that she might have encountered the same group of people as Tiantu Mountain.

The same bunch!

"Hm?" Fang Lingfeng's chaotic thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of electrical currents buzzing.

She whipped her head around, only to see a man dashing into the cave.

"Hall Master Fang!" The man's face lit up with joy upon spotting Fang Lingfeng inside, as if he had found his anchor.

Fang Lingfeng's demeanor instantly stiffened, transforming back into a commanding presence, as she admonished:

"Stop panicking! What do you look like?"

"Y-Yes!" The man shuddered, bowing his head in a trembling acknowledgment.

This River Valley Cave was a temporary base for Fang Lingfeng's Hall branch.

Whenever the team split up or lost members, they would regroup here.

Having awaited the arrival of her subordinate, Fang Lingfeng's tone was sharp as she interrogated:

"You're the only one who escaped?"

"N-No, I'm not sure." The man's face showed guilt as he hurriedly knelt before his Hall Master. "In the sandstorm, I couldn't see clearly. The Flowing Sand River nearly devoured me.

I... I, Hall Master Fang, I tried to search for you, calling your name... but couldn't find your traces anywhere..."

Hearing this, Fang Lingfeng's phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly, as a surge of killing intent bubbled within her.

"H-Hall Master! I wasn't... the battlefield was too chaotic, the enemy too strong... Ugh." The man hadn't finished his words before a muffled groan escaped him.

"Crack!"

As the man kowtowed, Fang Lingfeng thrust her Sky-piercing Halberd downward, easily piercing through the man's Water Flow Armor.

The sharp point of the halberd instantly stabbed through the back of his skull!

His frantic kowtowing froze at once.

Killing intent suffused Fang Lingfeng's eyes!

She withdrew the Sky-piercing Halberd, then stabbed down again to deliver another blow.

"Splat!"

Fang Lingfeng lowered her gaze, looking down at the corpse now pinned beneath her weapon. Word by word, she muttered:

"My Hall's forces were carrying out their mission when they encountered an enemy attack.

The enemy was powerful. My Hall's soldiers fought to the death.

Only I, Fang Lingfeng, fought until exhaustion and could no longer resist!

As a last resort, I slaughtered my way out, just to return to Thunder Mountain to report the intelligence, so my brothers wouldn't die in vain..."

As she murmured, Fang Lingfeng pressed a foot onto the man's skull and ripped her Sky-piercing Halberd free.

Finally, the Sea Realm Great Power bent down, lowering herself.

Reaching out with one hand, she plucked the Divine Power Bead Chain from the man's neck.

Fang Lingfeng rubbed the blood-stained bead chain with her fingers, then wore it around her own neck.

"Zzz~ Zzz..."

Suddenly, the sound of electrical currents rang out again, drawing closer.

Following it came two excited voices.

"Hall Master Fang, you're really here!"

"Hall Master Fang... This... What's this?"

The two Hall members who arrived were shocked at the sight inside the cave.

Fang Lingfeng's gaze flickered as she slowly turned to face the two bedraggled, deathly surviving Hall members.

A bone-chilling aura of killing intent began to permeate the cave.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away in a dense forest, a team was advancing in an orderly fashion.

"Nineteen Great Powers of the Sea Realm, over 180 River Realm experts." Lu Ran muttered softly.

This information was provided by the captives.

Even more astounding was that within Thunder Mountain, there were about 200 East Thunder disciples but close to 400 slaves!

On average, each East Thunder disciple had two slaves?

"No wonder it's the East Thunder Sect's headquarters." Lu Ran sighed. "Truly a gathering place for elites."

Gao Yunyan chimed in for once: "Even stronger than Tianhuang Mountain's forces!

More River Realm disciples and significantly more slaves than Tianhuang Mountain."

Lu Ran nodded. "Its geographical location is well-positioned."

The selection of Thunder Mountain's base was exceptional.

If Wuji Peak were considered the center of the Holy Spirit Mountain Continent, then Thunder Mountain would lie in its southeastern-central region.

Here, the number of Weak God believers far exceeded those near the northwestern Ten Thousand Blade Mountain.

Thus, the East Thunder Sect inevitably captured more slaves.

Why did He Qifeng position the Forbidden City thirty kilometers south of Wuji Peak?

One reason was to benefit from proximity to powerful allies; the other was the larger "traffic flow" in the continent's center!

"Your Thunder Mountain's Sect Master Lv is a Sea Realm Peak?" Jiang Ruyi suddenly asked.

"Indeed, Sect Master Lv is in the Sea Realm·Fifth Rank. It's said that he's been at that rank for many years now!"

The captive answered hurriedly, terrified of being burned again by the Soul Fire if he hesitated.

Jiang Ruyi spoke softly: "Generally, powerful individuals keep their Realm and strength a secret. How are you so certain Sect Master Lv is at the Sea Realm Peak?"

Her worry was that the Sect Master of Thunder Mountain might be hiding their true strength and was actually a Heavenly Realm Power!

If that were the case, Lu Ran and the others would be courting death!

However, one redeeming fact was that a faction's conduct typically reflects that of its leader.

This was Jiang Ruyi's only reassurance.

After all, if Sect Master Lv were truly a Heavenly Realm expert, the Thousand Boat Alliance would likely have been crushed by Thunder Mountain long ago.

"Sect Master Lv's personality likely disdains dishonesty." The captive replied, trembling. "The Sect Master also never conceals his strength."

Listening to the captive's words, Lu Ran could already picture Sect Master Lv's swaggering demeanor.

The captive had a valid point:

East Thunder Sect disciples were generally arrogant and were unlikely to stoop to lying.

Jiang Ruyi nodded slightly before asking again: "Your Sect Master has ruled Thunder Mountain for so many years, amassing so many slaves. He must have numerous weapons and artifacts?"

The captive answered truthfully: "Sect Master Lv possesses a Divine Weapon Halberd and a Divine Weapon Sword, of which the Sky-piercing Halberd has activated its Divine Weapon Domain!

His four wives also each have a Divine Weapon, though none have activated any domains.

Madam First Wife has a magic artifact bracelet, while Madam Third Wife has a magic artifact sachet... Oh, right! Just recently, Sect Master Lv acquired a magic artifact ring..."

Everyone: "..."

What kind of Thunder Mountain is this?

It's practically Overflowing Treasure Mountain!

Well... to be fair.

Even a modest Tiantu Mountain had four treasures: the Blood-Weeping Dagger, the Jade Hairpin, and the twin Heaven-Sealing and Earth-Cleaving Swords.

As a prominent sect, Thunder Mountain's wealth couldn't possibly fall short.

Jiang Ruyi's thoughts grew grave as she commented: "Give me detailed descriptions of the Divine Weapon Domain's specific functions and the magic artifact's efficacy."

"Yes, my lady. Sect Master Lv's Divine Weapon Halberd..."

"Hm?" Lu Ran suddenly murmured in doubt.

Looking up to the western sky, he saw a soul drifting upward.

Ever since Lu Ran used the Pupil of the Dead World to pinpoint ground-level battlefields through the floating souls of Sword Lotus believers, he had occasionally activated the ability during their trek.

The area was still within range of the Thousand Boat Alliance's influence. If fighting was ongoing, Lu Ran wouldn't mind offering support while simultaneously dismantling Thunder Mountain's forces.

And now... he actually spotted something!

"What's wrong?"

"There appears to be combat to the west!" Lu Ran said, eyes fixed on the drifting soul. He roughly estimated the distance: "It's about twenty to thirty kilometers away.

Let's go and take a look!"

...

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