"Ah!"

"Help—!"

"I don't want to die yet!"

"..."

Desperate wails of agony echoed continuously within the Divine Bone Forest, making one's scalp tingle upon hearing them. In just a brief moment, more than a dozen people were struck by the "ball lightning," subsequently dying in extreme pain.

Hiding behind a tree, Luo Xiu noticed that even the weakest of those dying like cannon fodder were at the Purifying Void Realm.

Amidst the panicked crowd, Yang Zhilu, relying on her unique movement technique—Animal Stance—appeared relatively composed, suggesting she wouldn't be caught anytime soon.

Unexpectedly, a black-haired elder from the Upper Realm grabbed her shoulder, pulled her over with a palm strike, and then kicked her toward the Thundering Bees that were in hot pursuit.

"Lower Realm wench, I see you run quite fast. Might as well feed you to those demons! It is your honor to buy us time to escape!"

As she was flung through The Void, Yang Zhilu looked back at the black-haired elder with a face full of grief and indignation, her heart brimming with unwillingness.

Once on Earth, she was the ninth-ranked powerhouse on the Heavenly List, a supreme existence among the elites. But now, she was no more than an ant, her life and death at the mercy of these people from the Upper Realm!

Hiding behind a tree, Dou Dou watched this unfold, clenching her tiny fists and shaking with rage. "Can anyone believe this? That stinking old geezer is too much! I can't believe this Lao Liu!"

What infuriated her was not that Yang Zhilu was being bullied, but that someone from the Upper Realm was bullying a person from Earth.

"A bunch of small fry from the Upper Realm trying to bully our fellow Earthling? Dou Dou won't stand for it!"

Luo Xiu suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be impulsive. I'll go rescue her. You all stay here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark aura rose around him, and he flashed away. He snatched Yang Zhilu into his arms just as she was about to be surrounded by a swarm of Thundering Bees.

Kuang Pi exclaimed in surprise, "Charging in just like that? Xiao Luo is being too rash!"

Luo Ying, the one most concerned for Luo Xiu, remained quite calm.

She didn't believe a swarm of Thundering Bees could pose a threat to the Azure Emperor.

"Don't worry, Young Master will be fine. Besides, look, those Thundering Bees seem quite wary of the Young Master's Aura of the Dead."

Just as Luo Ying had said, with Luo Xiu's appearance, the aggressive Thundering Bees retreated as if facing a formidable enemy, not daring to approach any further.

Kuang Pi's eyes lit up. "It's true! Indeed, for everything, there is a counter!"

"To be honest, even I don't dare get close to Xiao Luo's Aura of the Dead. It's that very aura that has tormented me all these years, which is why I can't leave the Burial Sword Tomb of the Thunderstorm."

「Elsewhere.」

With the unconscious Yang Zhilu in one arm, Luo Xiu slowly raised his other hand. In an instant, dark lightning blossomed from his palm! The branching, tree-like black lightning formed a stark contrast with the white lightning released by the Thundering Bees.

"Supreme Jade Pure King, Dominate Heaven Thirty-Six."

"Thunder Law!"

With a loud crackle, countless fine threads of black lightning tore through The Void. The swarm of Thundering Bees, as if sensing a mortal threat, scattered and fled in all directions.

Soon, calm was restored.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded by the scene.

He had dealt with the Thundering Bee swarm, which even an Earth Immortal couldn't handle, with just a casual wave of his hand? Who on earth was this young man?

「A moment later.」

Luo Xiu handed the unconscious Yang Zhilu to Luo Ying, then crouched down to pick up a dead Thundering Bee from the ground and examine it. The Thundering Bee was entirely crystalline, as if polished from transparent crystal, and its internal organs were clearly visible.

An elderly man with the air of an immortal walked up to Luo Xiu and cupped his fists. "Thank you for lending a righteous hand just now, little friend."

Luo Xiu slowly stood up and gave the elder a detached glance.

He hadn't been acting out of righteousness; he had acted only to save Yang Zhilu. And he had saved Yang Zhilu only to find out Mu Xueyan's whereabouts. He couldn't care less about whether these small fry from the Upper Realm lived or died.

Just then, a black-haired elder strode over and said coldly, "Boy, what's with that look? Didn't you hear my senior brother, the Sect Master, speaking to you?"

Luo Xiu shot the black-haired elder a glance, a hint of frost in his eyes.

The one who had struck Yang Zhilu and tried to feed her to the Thundering Bee swarm to buy everyone else time to escape… was this very same black-haired elder!

The black-haired elder sensed the coldness in Luo Xiu's gaze but merely sneered, unconcerned.

"A mere cultivator at the Great Perfection of Purifying Void Realm, and a Lower Realm Mortal at that. I could kill you at any time!

"You only got lucky because you have a special Cultivation Technique that happens to counter these Thundering Bees. You think that gives you the right to put on airs in front of me?"

The black-haired elder's tone deepened as he said, "I am Yao Yi, the Chief Elder of the Upper Realm's Jade Blade Sect."

He pointed to the white-haired elder beside him. "And this is the Sect Master of the Jade Blade Sect, Yu Qingfeng!

"Boy, it is your honor to know our names. I won't beat around the bush; I'll be direct. I see that your Cultivation Technique is special and can counter the Thundering Bees, so I will grant you permission to become an Outer Sect Disciple of the Jade Blade Sect. Afterward, you will assist our sect in breaking into the Bee Hive to seize the Thunder Paste. When the time comes, you will not be treated unfairly. We will certainly reward you with a Precious Elixir!"

Hearing this, Yu Qingfeng glanced at Yao Yi, wanting to say something but ultimately holding his tongue. His junior brother's temperament still hasn't changed after all these years.

However, what Yao Yi said was also what Yu Qingfeng had in mind. Yu Qingfeng did indeed want to use Luo Xiu to help break into the Bee Hive and obtain the Thunder Paste. Yao Yi was just the vicious dog at his side, saying the words he found inconvenient to say and doing the deeds he found inconvenient to do.

Luo Xiu suddenly laughed, a mocking tone in his voice. "So, you mean I work for you, and all I get in the end is one Elixir? And it's a *reward*? You all certainly have a high opinion of yourselves."

"What?" Yao Yi's gaze turned frosty. "Don't tell me you also want the Thunder Paste? Such a Divine Object is not something a mere Purifying Void Realm cultivator like you can even dream of touching."

Luo Xiu turned to leave. "I have no desire to communicate with idiots like you. I'll only say this once… if you dare babble in front of me again, I'll feed you to the bees."

"Ying'er, let's go."

"Hah! Ignorant, arrogant, and ungrateful!"

Yao Yi was so furious he laughed. His figure flashed, leaving several afterimages as he appeared like a phantom in front of Luo Xiu, blocking his path.

"Boy, since you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, don't blame me for what happens next!"

"..."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.