"He's right, even if you can tear open spatial rifts, if you can't withstand the heavenly lightning and your soul scatters, that would be too easy for me!" Yan Yuqing sidled closer. "When that happens, I'll go be Xiao Junyan's stepfather!"
"Dream on!" Yue Ran retorted irritably. "You can't even beat me, and you think you can be my great-nephew's stepfather? Not a chance."
"Being a stepfather has nothing to do with fighting prowess," Yan Yuqing said with a grin. "Besides, besides me, there's also Wen Ting eyeing us covetously. If you want to go on an adventure, be my guest. If you die, it'll just benefit us."
"Brother Nangong, I also feel your method isn't quite appropriate," Jiang Lan added, trying to dissuade him.
"It's appropriate, why wouldn't it be? As far as I'm concerned, this is the way to go," Wen Ting strode in from outside, a mocking expression on his face. "This is the fastest method. Go ahead."
"Wen Ting, are you itching for a fight?"
Wen Ting coughed. He couldn't defeat Nangong Yu now, nor could he defeat Yue Ran. He, the young sect master of the Beast Taming Sect, had fallen so far. In the Eight Directions Sword Sect now, there were plenty of people who could crush him!
"Alright, you brat, stop being so cheeky here." Sect Master Wen followed him in. "Lord Nangong."
"Sect Master Wen."
"Lord Nangong, others might not know of Heaven's Will, but there is one person who definitely does," Sect Master Wen said mysteriously.
"Who?"
"Xuan Xin."
Nangong Yu immediately understood. That's right, Xuan Xin was the former master of Cang Xuan. If anyone knew of Heaven's Will, it would undoubtedly be Xuan Xin.
"I'll make a trip to the Ghost Realm," Nangong Yu decided resolutely. "Yue Ran, Yan Yuqing, and Jiang Lan, I entrust the Eight Directions Sword Sect to you."
"I'll go with you," Yue Ran replied. "I also want to rescue my sister as soon as possible."
"You stay here; it will be more convenient for me to act alone," Nangong Yu explained. "Besides, if anything happens to you, I won't be able to account for it to your sister. And..."
"And what?"
"I'm worried about Xiao Junyan."
"Someone else is going to kill him?" Yue Ran asked nervously.
"That's not the issue. I'm afraid he'll rashly come looking for us." Facing the fight of gods, that kid showed no fear, possessing the same spirit as Xiao Man back then. Now that he witnessed Xiao Man being captured by Heaven's Will for his sake, that kid might find any means to come to Cang Xuan.
Yue Ran swallowed. Xiao Junyan was, after all, a mortal. If he rashly entered the immortal cultivation world, any ferocious beast here could probably devour him!
"I... I'll stay," Yue Ran said with difficulty. Faced with the choice between finding his sister and staying to protect Xiao Junyan from any accidents, he chose to stay.
"I'm counting on you."
"Brother-in-law, you must bring my sister back safely."
"I will!"
"Huowu, you come with me. Taotie, you stay behind." Nangong Yu waved his hand. Huowu immediately transformed into a small bird and perched on Nangong Yu's shoulder. Seeing this, Zhu Qing immediately turned into a small snake and burrowed into Nangong Yu's sleeve.
"Take Taotie with you as well."
"Taotie stays. He is your sister's contracted beast. Once your sister regains her freedom, he will be able to sense it immediately, and you will know the news sooner."
"Let that snake stay as well," Taotie said slowly after glancing at Nangong Yu. "That snake is about to transform into a dragon. It might attract lightning tribulation mid-transformation. It would be very dangerous if you take it with you."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Qing quickly wrapped itself around Nangong Yu's arm. No, it wanted to find its master!
Taotie got up and nudged Zhu Qing off Nangong Yu. "This is a matter of life and death, don't get involved. Cultivate well and strive to transform into a dragon soon, otherwise, you'll be left behind by us."
Zhu Qing flicked its tail, unwilling to go, but it also knew Taotie was right. It had to strive to transform into a dragon as soon as possible so that it could be useful when its master encountered powerful enemies in the future!
"Huowu, when you return with Master, I will surely have completed my transformation into a dragon."
"If you fail your transformation, I'll die laughing. You'd better work hard!" Huowu flapped its wings. "Daddy, let's go."
When Xiao Man woke up, she found herself chained to an altar with several iron chains. Above the altar, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Every so often, heavenly lightning would strike down. This was her punishment for forcibly tearing open a spatial rift to the lower realm.
Xiao Man tugged at the iron chains on her hands, only to find that she couldn't break them at all. Even the spiritual energy within her body had vanished. If her body hadn't been tempered through countless trials, she would have long since been reduced to ashes by the heavenly lightning.
At first, Xiao Man could feel the pain caused by the heavenly lightning. Gradually, as more struck, Xiao Man became accustomed to it. The heavenly lightning not only failed to harm her but instead tempered her body to be even tougher. Even her meridians, after being tempered by the heavenly lightning, increased in resilience, allowing her body to store more spiritual energy.
"Damn Heaven, you wanted to strike me dead with heavenly lightning, but you probably didn't expect that I would use heavenly lightning to temper my body instead." Xiao Man, using the strength of her physical body alone, snapped the chains that bound her and prepared to leave, only to discover she was on a desolate island surrounded by sea. Even more incredibly, the sky here was like the Ruoshui River; nothing could fly over it.
Xiao Man looked around. "Can you trap me to death like this? If I can't fly over, I'll swim across."
Xiao Man dove into the water. Before jumping in, she had tested it; there was a flying restriction here, but one could float in the water. With her abilities, swimming across should not be a problem.
However, very soon, Xiao Man leaped out of the water again and swiftly darted back to the altar. A bolt of heavenly lightning struck down, turning a large fish chasing her into a perfectly roasted delicacy!
Seeing this, Xiao Man quickly dragged the fish ashore. She hadn't eaten fresh fish in a long time. Food delivered to her doorstep could not be wasted. After a ravenous meal, Xiao Man sat by the shore, staring blankly at the sea.
She couldn't fly in the sky, and the sea was filled with fierce beasts, each incredibly powerful, comparable to ancient divine beasts. She wondered where this place was and why Heaven wanted to imprison her here. Could the fierce beasts in the sea be her guards? Sudancn.com
"Damn Heaven, you're truly insidious. Not only do you strike me with lightning every day, but you also have so many ancient fierce beasts here as guards. Really, is it worth such a grand gesture just to guard one person like me?" Xiao Man roared to the sky. "I just forcibly tore space to go to a lower continent. I'm not the only one who did this. You, damn Heaven, only bully the weak and fear the strong, punishing only me."
RUMBLE! Another bolt of heavenly lightning struck Xiao Man, making her hair stand on end. Xiao Man spat out a puff of green smoke and rolled her eyes at the sky.