Chapter 1042: Unbroken Past Eleven

As She Ji fled, she repeatedly glanced behind her. Although she saw no spiritual light, a peculiar intuition guided her, preventing her from flying directly to her cave dwelling.

Mr. Gao was right; the Sun family's background was indeed extraordinary. Another highly skilled cultivator had appeared, and that single sword stroke revealed he was a true master of the orthodox Xuanmen sect. Since the person himself had explicitly stated he was not the Sun family's old ancestor, a possibility immediately dawned on She Ji.

The Sun family was the ancestral lineage of a certain immortal master. Although many generations had passed and connections had long been severed, their karmic ties, like the lingering fibers of a broken lotus root, still protected the Sun clan.

She Ji believed that forming a marital bond with the Sun family would be greatly beneficial to her. Based on their two interactions, she judged that the powerful being protecting the Sun family followed the Daoist path of seeking truth and immortality, revering natural law. Such masters were rare, but those who achieved profound enlightenment were truly great, holding no obvious prejudice against any creature. They were the kind of spirits and demons willing to risk approaching in search of wisdom.

As She Ji flew, she drew nearer to her hidden cave dwelling in the valley. Just as she was eager to return and share her discoveries and joy, a sudden premonition of danger surged within her. Her escape light instantly shifted, and she darted away rapidly in a different direction.

Hu Yun, who had been subtly following from a great distance, paused in surprise. Had he been discovered? Surely not; could that demon's spiritual perception truly be so acute?

Hu Yun, a fox demon adept in profound magical arts, excelled at illusion and concealment. It was improbable for him to be detected by a demon of lesser cultivation, unless the other party possessed some kind of treasure.

She Ji's escape speed continued to increase, forcing Hu Yun, still far behind, to accelerate as well. However, he soon sensed that something was amiss and looked up at the sky in surprise.

Thunder rumbled as dark clouds rapidly gathered in the sky, persistently shrouding She Ji's escape route.

A lightning tribulation?

Hu Yun's heart jolted. This demon had actually invoked a lightning tribulation?

"No! This isn't a genuine Heavenly Dao lightning tribulation. This is an act of the Thunder Department deities from the Celestial Realm!"

The Celestial Realm gradually established its own authority. Aside from serving as a crucial link, two other vital factors contributed to its power: first, it offered an additional cultivation path for various practices between heaven and earth, particularly for mid-to-low-level divine beings; and second, it wielded a degree of heavenly punishment, with lightning being its primary tool.

This was also somewhat related to Ji Yuan. The heavenly punishments in the Celestial Realm were, to some extent, connected to the Heaven and Earth Book left by Ji Yuan. Qin Zizhou had gained profound insights from a small portion of the book, deducing magical techniques and disseminating them as unique Celestial Realm secret methods to various departments within the Heavenly Realm.

Initially, they could only barely imitate a trace of Ji Yuan's lightning magic to harness heavenly thunder. As the Celestial Realm's emergence was a grand alignment of destiny, the gods of the Thunder Department spent years cultivating, contemplating, and deducing, eventually forging their own path and developing this derived technique to a grand extent.

True Heavenly Dao lightning tribulations do not occur easily, and some malevolent beings often exploit loopholes in the Heavenly Dao. However, the Celestial Realm's lightning punishments serve as an effective deterrent against various evil cults and forces throughout the world.

Hu Yun instinctively reduced his escape speed, realizing that any faster movement might bring him within the lightning tribulation's range.

"Could my judgment have been mistaken? Is this five-colored spirit lynx not a pure-hearted demon at all, but rather a deeply hidden, malevolent entity?"

The sudden appearance of the lightning tribulation made Hu Yun somewhat suspicious, while She Ji continued her desperate flight.

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed, as dark clouds filled the sky and brilliant strikes illuminated the mountains and earth.

"Evil creature, where do you think you're going!"

Amidst the thunder, several divine figures faintly emerged. Their eyes, like bolts of electricity, glared down as they wore golden robes draped with cloud-like cloaks, enveloped by boundless lightning. They were none other than the deities of the Celestial Realm's Thunder Department.

"CRACK!"

A thick bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking directly at She Ji and illuminating her face, twisted with both fear and rage. She raised a hand, gathering her demonic energy, and spiritual energy converged from all directions to form a shield, which then collided with the lightning.

"BOOM!"

"Ah..."

She Ji shrieked as the lightning struck her down from the sky, sending her crashing into the tall mountain below. For a moment, she lay motionless.

"Fiend, you won't escape!"

"RUMBLE!" "RUMBLE!" "RUMBLE!"

Lightning bolts continued to strike, shifting their aim, shattering boulders on mountaintops, striking small rivers in the forest, or piercing through trees, igniting raging forest fires.

Hidden outside the tribulation clouds, Hu Yun frowned as he watched the distant spectacle. Bolts of lightning danced and struck relentlessly, followed by a torrential downpour that extinguished the mountain fires. Yet, the thunder showed no signs of abating, though Hu Yun knew the female demon could endure for a while longer.

After a long wait, the thunder suddenly began to subside, and two deities from the Thunder Department slowly descended from the sky, causing Hu Yun to frown.

The Celestial Realm maintained a strict order: deities of the Thunder Department were generally forbidden from descending below the clouds. Their mandate was either to strike down evil creatures or depart immediately after. They were also prohibited from interacting with demons or spirits in the lower realm. If an evil creature needed to be apprehended, gods from other departments were meant to assist.

"Fiend, do you still intend to flee?"

The two Thunder Gods subtly exuded divine might, which was lethal to demons. Even the most powerful among them harbored extreme apprehension towards the deities of the Thunder Department.

"She's here!"

One of the divine beings suddenly flew towards a mountain peak, treading on lightning. The lightning in his hand transformed into chains and lashed out with a "CRACK!" In an instant, the mountainside shattered, and a five-colored spiritual light darted away from the edge of the lightning, revealing She Ji, desperately fleeing.

"I neither devour nor harm humans, nor do I disturb the mortal realm, nor do I usurp divine positions. I haven't even sensed the aura of a Heavenly Dao tribulation, yet the Great Thunder God unleashes such a tribulation to cripple my cultivation and kill me. What justice is this? All beings seeking the Dao have a glimmer of hope; why am I, She Ji, denied it?"

"Fiend, I bear an imperial decree! How dare you argue? Surrender at once!"

As the divine being roared, lightning flared anew, and another bolt struck. She Ji, caught in the pursuit, had nowhere to hide and was struck directly by the lightning once more.

"AHH!"

She Ji's protective demonic aura was largely shattered by the lightning. Struck, she bled profusely and fell miserably from the sky.

Another bolt of lightning struck, following She Ji as she plummeted.

At that moment, Hu Yun stomped his foot, already having entered the lightning tribulation's range. But before he could manifest, a dull yellow light suddenly emerged from the large mountain below. Countless rocks and earth, carrying trees and timber, seemed to form a massive bridge, blocking the descending lightning.

"BOOM!"

The lightning was blocked, scattering shattered rocks everywhere. She Ji seized the opportunity to escape, flying desperately close to the ground.

"A petty deity below dares to obstruct our apprehension of this demon?" "Merely a minor mountain spirit, incapable of fully connecting with the earth's ley lines, not even a true mountain god. Do you honestly believe we wouldn't dare strike you?"

"You celestial gods cannot act recklessly and damage my mountains and terrain!"

The mountain god's voice echoed, but was swiftly drowned out by the thunder.

The voices of the two Thunder Department deities boomed, reverberating through the sky. The tribulation clouds grew denser, and the lightning intensified.

"Wait!"

The thunder and Hu Yun's clear shout rang out in unison. A brilliant red flame appeared from thin air as Hu Yun, employing fire-controlling magic with his fox tail, disguised it to resemble a large fan and swept it through the lightning.

Fire and electricity vibrated in the sky, then dissolved into each other.

Between the mountains and the thunderclouds, a "woman" in red robes suddenly appeared, directly blocking the two Celestial Thunder Gods.

"I am Hu Yun; greetings to both Celestial Thunder Gods!"

Hu Yun's rather magnetic voice, tinged with an ethereal quality, emerged as he bowed politely to the two deities.

At the same moment, riding the afterglow of the fire swept out by his tail, his illusion magic unfolded. She Ji's demonic aura instantly faded. The two Thunder Gods, initially bewildered by this person's intervention, were now astonished and enraged to suddenly lose all trace of their target.

At this moment, not a trace of demonic aura was visible on Hu Yun. Instead, he exuded abundant immortal energy and a profound Daoist charm, appearing, in a mix of truth and illusion, to be a high-level immortal cultivator.

"Immortal maiden, from what immortal sect do you hail? Obstructing our enforcement of the law not only constitutes a sin in the Celestial Realm but also violates the Heavenly Dao. This is not a benevolent act!"

"I've long heard that the righteous gods of the Thunder Department abhor evil, so naturally, I would not dare to casually obstruct you, but..."

Hu Yun's eyes subtly flickered as he glanced downward, then began to weave a story.

"However, this mountain god has some connection with my sect. Your recent actions, esteemed deities, could very well sever the mountain god's cultivation foundation. I was hidden nearby, but at this moment, I truly could not stand by idly, so I intervened to save him. I hope you will be understanding!"

"Hmph, that's merely a minor mountain spirit; how can he be called a mountain god? He's sheltering an evil creature, so any harm that befalls him is his own doing!"

"Yes, yes, yes, sheltering an evil creature is certainly wrong. However, his fundamental purpose was to protect the mountain's terrain, not intentionally to shield the demon. Moreover, I happened to be passing by and felt compelled to intervene. Please, esteemed Celestial Gods, continue your demon-extermination. I will restrain this minor spirit to prevent him from interfering, and I will also admonish and punish him! Furthermore, this deity cultivated on his own and is not subject to the Celestial Realm's jurisdiction. I hope the Celestial Gods will show mercy."

"Hmph, let's consider this matter settled for today."

One of the Thunder Gods spoke, mainly because Hu Yun exuded a strong immortal aura, and they were reluctant to overly offend him. Instead, he asked about Hu Yun's origins again.

"May I ask, immortal maiden, from which lineage do you come? It would be beneficial for us to have a proper account when we report back."

"Oh, I am Hu Yun. My sect roams the four directions, experiencing the mortal realm, and has no fixed spiritual abode. My master strictly forbids me from revealing his name, so I cannot disclose it. However, I have some acquaintance with Lady White and also know Lady Ying of the Grand Ocean Glazed Palace. You two may inquire with them; they will surely know who I, Hu Yun, am."

The two Thunder Department deities were slightly taken aback. This person seemed to have quite a formidable background!

Ordinary individuals would not dare casually claim such connections, and it would be even less likely for an orthodox immortal cultivator. If one were to falsely claim powerful connections and be discovered by the parties involved, there would be severe consequences. Therefore, the two Thunder Gods ceased their aggressive stance.

"Since that is the case, immortal maiden, take care!"

The two deities cupped their hands in salute, then turned and flew back into the thunderclouds. Moments later, the heavy rain ceased, and the dark clouds gradually dispersed.

Hu Yun grimaced, thinking to himself that despite his accomplishments over the years, merely stating his name yielded no reaction; he still had to invoke powerful connections. This left him somewhat displeased.

"Hmph, if only I had learned Mr. Ji's thunder spell, I'd have scattered your thunderclouds in a fit of rage right then and there!"

"Many thanks for your rescue, immortal lady!"

An old man emerged from a mountain peak, bowing gratefully to Hu Yun in the sky.

"May I ask, immortal lady, what is the connection between your sect and this humble old man? I will certainly..."

"Hahaha, I have matters to attend to; I must be going!"

Hu Yun chuckled awkwardly. Unwilling to immediately deny, let alone admit, his fabricated connections, he instantly transformed into an indistinct ray of light and flew away.