Chapter 35: Thunder Fissure Secluded Valley

Upon entering, the cliff walls on both sides of the valley entrance were covered in blue-black thunder patterns. Strands of lightning hung from the clifftops as dense as spiderwebs, with purple electricity and blue arcs constantly darting between them.

An uneven path of bluestone lay beneath their feet, with pale purple thunder light surging from the cracks. Every bluestone bore obvious thunder patterns that flickered between light and dark.

Sun Qiankun stepped forward onto a bright bluestone and warned, “Make sure to step on the bright stones. The dark stones hide thunder; stepping on the wrong one will trigger thunder blossoms, causing the spiritual power in your body to surge. If you step on the wrong ones repeatedly, the thunder patterns on the cliff walls will draw down lightning to attack along the hanging strands.”

Since Qin Wu had accepted the mission, he had naturally prepared in advance. He took out a Lightning Avoidance Talisman and stepped onto the bluestone.

If one moved fast enough, the bluestones were not dangerous, but the fissures in the cliff walls would randomly shoot out stray thunder. If unlucky, one might be hit by them.

Fang Ruoyan walked at the back, performing a hand seal to summon a White Silk Sash to wrap around her. Qin Wu suspected it must have been brought from the Seventh Outpost, as it would be impossible to gather enough Spirit Stones to buy a Magical Artifact in the Holy Land in such a short time.

Sun Qiankun used a Thunder Pattern Shield to block the stray thunder that shot out from time to time. He spoke from the front, “You are new Disciples, so you might not know. This place was actually accidentally split open a hundred years ago by the sword wind of a Senior Brother skilled in thunder techniques while he was practicing. Later, the thunder never ceased and formed a thunder spring in the heart of the valley, becoming the current Thunder Fissure Secluded Valley.”

Fang Ruoyan couldn’t help but feel shocked. The highest-level Cultivator in her family was only at the Golden Core stage, so she only knew the power of a Golden Core. Even if one could split a mountain peak in half with a single sword strike, they couldn’t make thunder persist for a hundred years.

She couldn’t imagine how powerful that Senior Brother’s cultivation must have been.

Infinite ambition then rose in her heart. She was now a Disciple of the Holy Land and had the Seventh Outpost as her backing; could she one day reach such a level?

They emerged from the bluestone path without much danger until they saw the heart of the valley, which suddenly opened up before them.

Inside, hundreds of stone pillars stood evenly, with blue-purple lightning coiled around them like living pythons.

Thousands of arcs and strands of lightning interlaced to weave an airtight net across the sky. The thunder light was blindingly bright, with frequent thunderclaps exploding. Several lightning arcs struck the cliff walls, sending gravel and scorched earth flying in all directions, blasting charred pits into the surface one after another.

Fang Ruoyan’s face turned grim at the sight. She had investigated this mission when she first accepted it; it was supposed to be a simple task with rich rewards and very hard to snag, but the scene before her didn’t look simple at all.

Forget Qi Refining, even Foundation Establishment might not necessarily make it through.

“Senior Brothers, this is too dangerous. It’s far beyond my capabilities,” Fang Ruoyan took a deep breath and gave up decisively. “I will not participate in this mission after all.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Sun Qiankun and Qin Wu both turned their heads simultaneously and stared at her expressionlessly.

Fang Ruoyan’s heart tightened. She opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word.

“Because the thunder here is too active, a Formation Master set up a Formation to restrain it.” Sun Qiankun smiled, as if he hadn’t heard Fang Ruoyan’s words, and handed two Flight Talismans to them. “I know you both have flying artifacts, but these are more flexible.”

Qin Wu took the Flight Talisman without a word and stuck it on himself. Fang Ruoyan didn’t dare mention leaving again and quickly took hers.

“I did this mission last time. There’s a safe path through the Formation with the least thunder. Follow behind me.” Sun Qiankun activated the Flight Talisman and flew into the thunder formation, with Qin Wu and Fang Ruoyan following closely behind.

However, Fang Ruoyan’s nerves were strained to the limit. She secretly took out her defensive Magic Treasure. Now that they were inside the Formation, her life and death were effectively in Sun Qiankun’s hands. If he had ill intentions, she would be in grave danger.

Thinking of this, Fang Ruoyan’s eyes darkened. This mission’s intelligence was investigated by Qian Tuo. If she had known the heart of the Thunder Fissure Secluded Valley was this dangerous, she would never have accepted the mission.

What was going on with Qian Tuo?

Could he have made a mistake in gathering intelligence? Or was it intentional?

Killing intent rose in Fang Ruoyan’s heart, but she had to get out safely first before she could seek revenge on Qian Tuo.

Although the path Sun Qiankun took had less thunder, lightning arcs still constantly struck at them. The White Silk Sash surrounding Fang Ruoyan had already begun to take damage, and she could even smell a scorched scent.

Qin Wu’s Lightning Avoidance Talismans were not as good as Fang Ruoyan’s Magic Treasure; he had already used two in just a short distance.

He said anxiously, “Senior Brother, how much further until we’re out of this thunder domain? My Lightning Avoidance Talismans are about to run out.”

“Soon,” Sun Qiankun replied immediately. “We’re about to reach the Formation eye. There’s no thunder near there, so we can rest for a bit.”

Sun Qiankun continuously used his Thunder Pattern Shield to block the electric arcs shooting over. The surface of the shield was already sizzling with black smoke.

“The Formation eye is right here!” He sped up and flew forward.

But that area looked like thunder was raging even more terrifyingly than the surroundings. However, Sun Qiankun flew through it unscathed; the terrifying scene seemed to be an illusion.

Qin Wu seemed to trust him completely and rushed in without hesitation, but Fang Ruoyan subconsciously stopped her footsteps.

Then she saw that as soon as Qin Wu rushed into the thunder net, a thunder pillar as thick as an arm crashed down from above.

The thunder pillar struck his body instantly. A searing, piercing pain bored into his bones and veins. His Dantian and Qi Sea surged violently, and the spiritual power in his body fluctuated wildly. A metallic taste rose in Qin Wu’s throat, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood into the air.

The Lightning Avoidance Talisman in his palm shattered into ashes bit by bit, and the Flight Talisman lost its luster as his spiritual power collapsed. The lifting force was instantly withdrawn, and he fell downward like a kite with a broken string.

At the critical moment, Qin Wu gritted his teeth and forced his spiritual power to his fingertips, pressing it onto the failed Flight Talisman to barely support his falling body.

“Senior Brother Sun, you…!!”

Seeing that he wasn’t dead yet, a cold light flashed in Sun Qiankun’s eyes. A thunder blade hidden in his sleeve suddenly unsheathed. The three-inch cold blade, wrapped in pale purple electricity, stabbed ruthlessly into Qin Wu’s heart.

“Don’t blame me. If you must blame someone, blame yourself for somehow offending a True Disciple!”

Sun Qiankun pulled out the thunder blade and coldly watched Qin Wu fall into the thunder pool below. Purple electricity swallowed his body. He then looked up at Fang Ruoyan.

“I won’t say a word!” Fang Ruoyan hovered in the air, her whole body cold as if being stared at by a venomous snake.

She said without hesitation, “I can swear on my Dao path that I will never tell anyone what happened in the Thunder Fissure Secluded Valley!”

Sun Qiankun gave a fake smile. “What happened in the Thunder Fissure Secluded Valley? Didn’t Qin Wu die because he was careless and accidentally struck by lightning?”

“Of course he did.” The smile on Fang Ruoyan’s face was very forced.

However, she also had doubts in her heart.

Back at the Taixu Ruins, Qin Wu had seemed aloof and incredibly powerful. Perhaps his cultivation wasn’t strong, but he gave her a mysterious and unfathomable feeling. So, could this man really have died so easily?

Sun Qiankun snorted and continued flying into the thunder domain. Fang Ruoyan clenched her fists, her expression dark and uncertain, but she still held her damaged White Silk Sash and followed behind him.

The lightning along the way seemed to be targeting her, constantly splashing onto her body. Fang Ruoyan could only struggle to resist. She knew Sun Qiankun was just weakening her strength, but she had no choice.

After all, she didn’t know the correct path. One wrong step and she might end up like Qin Wu, struck by thunder and falling into the thunder pool below.

The two gradually moved away, heading towards the spring eye of the thunder spirit liquid.

After they left, no one saw a charred corpse beneath the thunder pool being dragged around by a Beautys Head, as if searching for something.