Immortal of the Ages

Thick smoke and a mist of blood mingled with the dust of corpses and the remnants of chaos.

In the ruins of the Nine Thunders Arena, where all the officials had been decimated, Yun Xiao found no one to disrupt his scavenging. He commanded Blue Star and Red Moon to transform into a fierce beast with black scales, which devoured clouds and spewed fog, and craft a dense maze around him.

This allowed him ample time to sift through the treasures at his leisure, gathering as many True Immortal Jades, celestial fruits, and pills as he could carry—items that were easy to absorb and digest were always preferable.

As for the cumbersome celestial weapons that could stick between teeth or pierce stomachs, Yun Xiao avoided those. Such items were hard to fence and risky to hold, likely to give him away.

"The Crown Prince's order to the Thunder Department to execute Cao Shuo with the Thunder Immortal Formation gave me the opportunity to maneuver in unnoticed," Yun Xiao mused, having laid his groundwork before making his move. His performance of ruthlessness had even infuriated the clever Cao Shuo.

Such was the artistry of his deception, honed through countless brushes with danger—skills not just of Moon Fairy but truly his own.

"This task is riskier than the massacre in Sky Soaring City. But if I can bluff my way through, I will. If not, the rewards from this grand looting combined with my winnings from the tournament should provide enough leverage to confront any challenge head-on."

So, Yun Xiao would not lose. Ideally, he would remain hidden, continuing to bide his time within the Celestial Court, perhaps reaping even greater benefits in the days to come.

He looted with discernment. "The cleanup crew won't know how much wealth the officials carried, nor if they were obliterated on the spot. I just need to leave behind the stuff I can't use.

"Speaking of which, if they weren't all obliterated on the spot, I could've increased my Sword and Rune Prisons too!" Yun Xiao sighed.

The officials of the Thunder Department had vanished without a trace, not even a hair left behind!

Yun Xiao collected treasures swiftly, while Blue Star and Red Moon devoured them even faster.

“This will be marked as the most heinous case in the annals of the Celestial Court. The obliteration of so many officials from the Thunder Department is unprecedented. If exposed, I'll become the second Divine Heaven grade criminal!” Yun Xiao realized, acknowledging this as the perfect moment to secure his foundation.

Blue Star and Red Moon had seen fortunes rise and fall dramatically. The last time Lu Fan had struck them, they were left drained. But now, under Yun Xiao's cunning strategy—first securing a reward of 100,000,000 True Immortal Jades, and now plundering everything in sight—they soared from the ground up!

The more substantial his foundation, the stronger Yun Xiao's confidence grew!

Still, Yun Xiao was not one to recklessly force his way through. Money was to be saved when possible because a prodigal moment could lead to a lack of crucial funds later—a complete disaster.

Divine Dawn was the one known for brute force, not him.

After what felt like an eternity, Yun Xiao finally finished his cleaning spree.

“All the Rank 6 or above officials of the Thunder Department banding together to donate all their wealth to a young upstart—how touching.”

Touching his bulging golden Bag of Holding, Yun Xiao returned to the sides of the Moon Sword Goddess and Gu Suwan.

Pointing to the sky, he declared, “Let the thunder strike.”

And with a thunderous roar, a bolt struck him squarely.

Yun Xiao lay charred, his body rigid, sprawled across the Moon Sword Goddess and Gu Suwan, unmoving.

“Such a fierce man, to others and to himself.” Blue Star rolled his eyes.

As anguished cries rang out across the Thunder Department, the Nine Thunders Arena remained eerily silent.

About a quarter of an hour passed.

“Uh…”

Amid excruciating pain, the Moon Sword Goddess slowly opened her pale, moon-colored eyes.

Her eyes were bloodshot, haunted by a deep haze of confusion and fear even as she forced them open.

"What's wrong..." she muttered, feeling a heavy tightness in her chest.

Straining with all her might, she lifted her head only to see a young man lying beside her, half his face charred, his hair mostly burnt away, and his neck smeared with blood—it was Yun Xiao.

"Lu Yao!" The Moon Sword Goddess's voice was hoarse as she reached out a hand scarred from the thunder to pat Yun Xiao's face. "You're not dead, are you? Wake up."

Her gesture didn't rouse Yun Xiao, but it did startle Gu Suwan.

Gu Suwan's spirit, lost in chaos, slowly gathered strength. Her eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw being two legs draped over her abdomen.

"Ah!" In a panic, she pushed the legs away and sat up.

Sitting up tore at her wounds, bringing tears to her eyes from the sharp pain.

"Moon Sword Goddess..." she began, seeing the Moon Sword Goddess sitting up beside her, holding Lu Yao, her voice trembling. "It was Lu Yao... The protective formations from his Platinum Champion Set saved us..."

Hearing this, Gu Suwan's mind cleared enough to recall the events that had led them here.

She widened her eyes in horror, gazing around at the thick black fog that still swirled like a storm.

There was zero visibility; all that could be heard were the distant, woeful cries of the Immortals from the Thunder Department.

"Old Cao..." Gu Suwan suddenly remembered, her husband had seemingly been obliterated by the first strike of thunder.

In a burst of heartrending agony, she attempted to stand, only to collapse again due to the severe injuries to her legs.

"Your husband is likely gone," the Moon Sword Goddess said, her condition somewhat better as a Lightning Duchess. She looked down at Yun Xiao in her arms and added, "Quick, search yourself. Do you have any celestial elixirs? He's not dead yet. We have to treat him first."

"Ah, alright, alright..." Gu Suwan's spirit seemed detached from her body, her hands trembling as she searched through her Bag of Holding, retrieving several jade bottles and feeding Yun Xiao a handful of pills, consuming some herself.

"Here, take this Thunder Containment Pill; it'll absorb the residual electric fury in your body," Gu Suwan handed the remaining jade bottle to the Moon Sword Goddess.

Without hesitation, the Moon Sword Goddess swallowed the pill, and after a moment of regulating her breath, her celestial power seemed to rejuvenate slightly. She then turned to Gu Suwan, "Look after your son. I'll check if there are any other survivors..."

As she spoke, her demeanor was distant, her mind still echoing with the crack of thunder.

From her high vantage, she fully grasped the catastrophic devastation that had befallen the Thunder Department.

"Alright, alright." Gu Suwan hastily took over caring for Yun Xiao, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded, "Moon Sword Goddess, please check if Cao Sheng is still alive. If he's gone, see if there’s a body at least..."

"Alright." The Moon Sword Goddess moved slowly, vanishing from her sight, only to return quickly with a face etched in somber stillness, her voice hoarse as she informed Gu Suwan, "Gone, all gone."

"What do you mean!" Gu Suwan gasped for air.

"All officials of the Thunder Department, those of Rank 6 and above, are dead except for you and Lu Yao... Even the neighboring Grand Firmament Academy seems to have been leveled to the ground!"

It meant that not only were they gone now, but there was no future either.

"Ah..." Gu Suwan's eyes widened in shock as she was rendered speechless.

"No, no, no, it can't be true." Gu Suwan shook her head, tears falling on Yun Xiao's face as she sobbed.

Yun Xiao frowned slightly, feeling the itch of the tears on his skin, yet he maintained his act.

The Moon Sword Goddess, oblivious to Yun Xiao's reaction, sighed deeply at Gu Suwan, urging, "Face the reality!"

She then scanned their surroundings, adding, "The news of what happened here must already be spreading. The forces from the Celestial Court should be on their way. Weren't there Projection Orbs set up?"

"Yes, there were..." Gu Suwan nodded through her tears.

"Crying won't help. Let's try to figure out what caused this. Is it normal for your Thunder Immortal Formation to spiral out of control like this?" the Moon Sword Goddess pressed her.

"I don’t know..." Gu Suwan was too distraught to offer any meaningful answers.

The Moon Sword Goddess had no choice but to keep moving, eventually finding several Projection Orbs scattered around.

As the post-apocalyptic haze slowly began to clear… the sky suddenly roared with thunder and wind.

BOOM! The Nine Thunders Divine Ark tore through the sky, halting with a resounding blast.

BUZZ! Dozens of celestial figures surged from the ship—about 30 Immortals from the divine land of the Celestial Court descended, their eyes wide with disbelief as they took in the apocalyptic scene of the Thunder Department.

Leading them were two figures.

One was the violet-haired Nine Thunders Sovereign, his body enveloped in orbs of lightning, radiating with the fury of a storm, a testament to his inner turmoil.

The other was a strikingly young man, his skin as pale as white jade, his features otherworldly in their perfection. More impressive than his looks was his demeanor, dressed in a golden dragon robe, his face as fine as carved jade, his eyes bright as stars, his presence radiant with divine light.

"The Crown Prince has also arrived..."

Gu Suwan and the Moon Sword Goddess tensed slightly at his arrival.

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