Li Yan speculated about what kind of scene it would be when he first accepted a mission from the Heavenly Court.

Perhaps it would be like a Netherworld task, presenting part of the Heavenly Court scene through an Illusion Realm, maybe the palatial White Jade City.

But he didn't expect it to be in such a form.

Although Li Yan was full of curiosity, he was even more cautious not to expose any anomalies, pretending to have discovered nothing unusual as he approached the stone well.

He looked down and immediately found something different.

Originally, the stone well displayed Netherworld tasks, the black water inside would swirl around, but now it was enveloped in golden light, yet as calm as an ancient well.

Oddly, there was nothing displayed within the golden light.

Li Yan tried touching the golden light but found nothing unusual.

Frowning and feigning confusion, he actually already had a guess.

He estimated that the temporary mission release from the Heavenly Court would need to reach an agreement with the Netherworld to appear.

Sure enough, a voice faintly echoed from afar:

"The Netherworld isn't your Thunder Department…"

"Judge Zhou, who ordered this matter?"

"Of course, but it requires King Yan's consent…"

Li Yan remained calm, though his mind was racing.

Though it was unclear, he could discern a lot from these snippets.

For instance, the relationship between the Netherworld and the Heavenly Court.

In some folklore, the Netherworld is under the management of the Heavenly Court; when the Great Sage caused havoc in the Underworld, King Yan had to report it to Heaven.

But listening to this, it seemed they were conversing as equals, though the Heavenly Court Thunder Mansion was somewhat more assertive.

It felt to him like two organizations negotiating...

And the title "Judge Zhou" should be the Judge of the Thunder Mansion.

Legend has it that Thunder City is in the Yuqing Zhenwang Mansion, within the Bixiao Upper Qingwei Qi, two thousand three hundred miles away from the mansion, towering eighty-one feet tall.

It governs all creation, drives the mountains and seas, manages the seasons, and records good and evil.

Internally, it is divided into one mansion, two institutes, and three departments.

The mansion is the Divine Thunder Jade Mansion, abbreviated as the Divine Thunder Mansion.

The two institutes are the Five Thunder Institute and the Evil Extermination Institute.

The three departments are the Gods Thunder Department, the Thunderbolt Department, and the Thunder Department.

Worship of thunder has existed since ancient times.

But the emergence of the Thunder Mansion is also tied to reform in human worship practices.

Like the division of the Heavenly Court's Thunder Department, which began during the Northern Song Dynasty.

During the Northern Song, Daoist Shenxiao and Qingwei sects revered the use of Thunder Technique, prompting the mystic sect's reform in sacrificial practices, leading to the Thunder Mansion's emergence.

Amidst this, there indeed were judge positions in the Thunder Mansion.

Is this judge surnamed "Zhou"?

Uncertain if they were an ancient ascended being,

or another form of existence...

While Li Yan was pondering, a conclusion had already been reached across from him.

"Hmph!"

The massive red-robed silhouette snorted coldly, clearly dissatisfied, but said no more.

Buzz!

Soon after, the golden light in front of Li Yan trembled, gradually revealing a golden silk jade scroll, and upon unfolding, was densely covered with lightning-like patterns.

They appeared like words, but Li Yan couldn't recognize them at all.

Rendered speechless, he cautiously reached out to touch them.

Subsequently, beams of light flickered before him:

There was a high mountain, shrouded deep in the clouds, and a figure, wearing a square hat and holding a bamboo staff, strode away, while behind, a young man bearing a large bamboo talisman knelt long without rising…

That young man donned a Daoist robe, training in the mountains, often capturing spiritual medicine for alchemy, surrounded by swirling Qi…

The Daoist took in many disciples, and after passing away in old age, his disciples placed him in a coffin, only for clouds and mist to curl within the coffin before reaching the burial site, leaving only a large bamboo talisman upon opening it...

The bamboo talisman circulated through the human world, later discarded into a mountain crevice by a shadowy figure, triggering an earth dragon roll...

A monk came, entered the collapsed underground, took the bamboo talisman, and his demeanor began to change dramatically...

As he watched these images, a flood of information poured in at the same time.

Li Yan's expression gradually turned to shock.

After a while, he regained his composure, full of disbelief.

No wonder many things seemed peculiar.

His intelligence was wrong,

The one causing trouble wasn't the River God General!

Or rather,

The River God General had been displaced like a pawn!

The Daoist in the illusion was named "Li Wenyuan."

This name was very obscure, but he and his master were renowned in ancient texts, known as Shen Wentai of Jiuyi Mountain, recorded in the "Immortal Chronicles."

The text describes: Shen Wentai, a man of Jiuyi, who obtained the Tao of longevity from the River Gods with a soil talisman and an elixir. It was effective, and he intended to rest in Kunlun for over two thousand years, passing on to Li Wenyuan: "The soil talisman and elixir, if practiced incorrectly, are fruitless on the path." Wenyuan then shared the secrets, eventually ascending to the heavens.

This master and disciple were very low-key, yet ascended to divinity successively.

Subsequent events then turned strange.

Li Wenyuan became immortal by entrusting himself to a bamboo talisman.

Similar methods include "staff release" and "soldier relief."

No matter what, it was considered an escape from the cycle of life and death reincarnation.

However, the magic artifact he left behind was thrown into the depths of Ba Mountain by someone, breaking the residual soul seal of the River God General.

Li Wenyuan, with a single strand of true soul, secretly descended to the mortal realm, merging with the residual soul of the River God General, attaching to the "Langwu."

From then on, "Langwu's" character changed dramatically, not only extending life with evil techniques, disturbing Yin and Yang, but also starting to organize the Dragon Worship Sect…

Thus, Li Yan received two tasks at once.

One from the Netherworld, to cast "Langwu" into the Netherworld, with a reward of an Astral Order.

The other, from the Heavenly Court Thunder Mansion.

To find "Li Wenyuan" and request the Thunder Tribulation for suppression and killing.

The reward for this was very tempting: a Thunder Astral, also Innate Astral Qi, profound and extraordinary, with two usage methods.

The first is to store it in the Thunder Mansion, to summon a Heavenly Thunder once.

He had witnessed the use of Thunder Technique by the Mystic Sect orthodox, setting up altars, time-consuming and laborious, requiring alignment of time, place, and many high-skilled practitioners performing simultaneously.

Yet he could directly summon using Thunder Astral.

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.