358: Situ's planning

Di Jingzhe snapped back to his senses, suppressing the towering waves in his heart, and let out a sharp shout.

Regardless of who made the move or what their purpose was, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

He held nothing back, his Wings of Thunder vibrating wildly as Zixiao Divine Thunder condensed at the tip of the Awakening Thunder Sword, transforming into a condensed streak of deep purple lightning that stabbed fiercely toward the iron grate of the drainage outlet!

Sizzle!

Without the suppression of Zhou Yan's Domain, the hard thunder-patterned iron grate was like rotten wood before the Zixiao Divine Thunder, and a large hole was instantly melted through it!

Di Jingzhe pulled the still-shocked Feng Linger, and the two transformed into streaks of purple lightning, charging boldly into the interior of Thunderclap Fortress through the drainage pipe!

Inside the fortress, the alarm sirens were shrill and piercing!

The Crimson Thunder Guards in the corridor finally recovered from the sluggishness caused by the dissipation of the Profound Venerable Domain, but the instantaneous fall of their backbone, Zhou Yan, plunged them into massive chaos and panic!

"Elder Zhou... is dead?!"

"How is that possible?!"

"Stop them! Quickly activate the Crimson Thunder Extinction Array!"

However, it was too late!

Di Jingzhe and Feng Linger were like tigers among a flock of sheep!

Di Jingzhe led the way, the Awakening Thunder Sword turning into a streak of purple lightning that harvested lives; wherever he passed, the Crimson Thunder Guards trying to block him were like withered grass struck by lightning, instantly charred and falling dead!

Feng Linger followed behind, her zither notes transforming into invisible sonic blades, precisely slicing the throats and joints of guards further away, creating even greater chaos!

The two had a clear goal and moved with unstoppable momentum!

In just a few breaths, they rushed to the huge metal door at the end of the corridor!

"Break!" Di Jingzhe roared, holding the Awakening Thunder Sword high, as the Zixiao Divine Thunder from his entire body poured unreservedly into the blade!

An immensely thick pillar of deep purple lightning, carrying the will to destroy everything, slammed fiercely against the warehouse door!

Rumble—!!!

The hard metal door, along with the runic Restriction on it, was instantly vaporized before the domineering Zixiao Divine Thunder!

The scene inside revealed piles like mountains—crates of shimmering thunder-patterned fine gold, neatly stacked rare spiritual materials like lightning-attracting wood and thunder-soul crystals, and rows of shelves emitting powerful fluctuations from thunder-attribute Magic Treasures and Talismans!

A sharp glint flashed in Di Jingzhe's eyes; he didn't even try to collect them!

His hands suddenly formed a seal.

"Zixiao Divine Thunder—Detonate!!!"

There was no time to collect these treasures, as a large number of Zhou Family experts were swarming over, so Di Jingzhe could only destroy them!

Following his roar, countless bolts of violent deep purple lightning, like out-of-control thunder dragons, surged wildly from his palms and slammed into the mountain-like piles of thunder-attribute spiritual materials deep within the warehouse!

Boom! Boom, boom, boom—!!!

A chain reaction exploded instantly!

The thunder-patterned fine gold was ignited!

The lightning-attracting wood shattered!

The massive amount of thunder-attribute spiritual materials stockpiled in the warehouse, catalyzed by the Zixiao Divine Thunder's Origin power—the ultimate Yang and strength that commands all lightning—underwent an unprecedented sympathetic detonation!

Blinding white light instantly swallowed the entire core warehouse area!

The deafening explosion sounded like billions of thunders clapping simultaneously!

The sturdy Thunderclap Fortress was like it was being torn apart from the inside by an invisible giant hand; the thick fortress walls were easily ripped open and blown away by the violent energy shockwave!

Soaring flames mixed with destructive thunderstorms formed a terrifying pillar of light connecting heaven and earth, tearing a huge hole in the leaden clouds above Thunderfall Gorge!

The entire canyon shook!

The Thunderclap River was tossed into waves dozens of feet high by the explosion's shockwave!

In the instant before the explosion, Di Jingzhe and Feng Linger had already used the extreme speed of the Wings of Thunder to turn into two streaks of purple light, shooting through the torn gap in the fortress and heading into the vast curtain of rain outside Thunderfall Gorge without looking back!

Behind them was Thunderclap Fortress, completely turned into a sea of fire and ruins, like a purgatory!

Thunder Prison Prefecture, Situ Family.

Situ Qi stood leaning against a railing, "The snake has been removed, and the fire has been lit."

On his refined face, a fox-like smile slowly bloomed—gentle, yet carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

"Zhou Yan... first-layer Profound Venerable, heh..."

"That old dog Zhou Tianxiong's heart must be bleeding right now, isn't it? The supplies in Thunderclap Fortress... tsk tsk, it's enough to make his Zhou Family ache for ten years."

A shadow-like old man appeared silently behind him, whispering: "Patriarch, with Thunderclap Fortress destroyed and Zhou Yan dead, that old lion of the Zhou Family... is likely to go completely mad. The fall of a Profound Venerable is an irreconcilable blood feud! All the secluded old monsters of the Zhou Family will probably be disturbed."

"It's good that he's mad!"

Situ Qi interrupted him, eyes flashing with the glint of calculation.

"Without madness, there is no life. If he doesn't go mad, how will we have an opportunity?"

He looked toward the direction of Crimson Thunder Mountain City, as if seeing the towering rage and panic permeating the sky above that city.

"A Profound Venerable has fallen, and Thunderclap Fortress has vanished... this news will soon spread through Thunder Prison Prefecture like a plague. The Zhou Family's prestige has completely sunk into the mud."

Situ Qi's smile grew deeper, "Pass down the order: our people can begin to 'inadvertently' contact the Zhou Family's subordinate forces. The conditions... can be a bit more generous than the Zhou Family's."

"As for those two little fellows..." Situ Qi paused, an inscrutable light flashing in his eyes.

"Having caused such a huge commotion, the Zhou Family will dig three feet into the ground to find them."

"However... before the Zhou Family is truly crippled and reveals a fatal flaw, nothing can happen to them. Have Shadow Blade continue to follow them, ensuring those two little fellows don't die... before the Zhou Family truly goes insane and uses their trump cards."

"Yes!" The shadow old man bowed in response and quietly faded away.

Situ Qi stood alone by the railing, watching the thunderstorm clouds over Crimson Thunder Mountain City that refused to dissipate due to the Thunderclap Fortress explosion, as if admiring the opening of a grand play.

"The Zhou Family... this pot of boiling oil, the heat... is just right."

He whispered to himself, his voice scattering with the wind in the cold drizzle, carrying the composure and ruthlessness of one controlling a chessboard.

On the chessboard, the Zhou Family was already a trapped beast, and those two mysterious little fellows were the sharpest and most dangerous pieces in his hand.

The next step was to splash this boiling pot of oil completely onto the Zhou Family's final Foundation—Crimson Thunder Mountain City!

Thunderclap City, a major city under the control of the Situ Family, had high walls built from deep green lightning-attracting stones. Constantly struck by lightning, the walls were covered in profound natural thunder patterns, with small silver-blue electric snakes occasionally jumping across them under the gloomy sky.

The largest restaurant in the city—"Cloud-Reaching Tower"—had become a temporary haven for Di Jingzhe and Feng Linger.

The building was five stories high with flying eaves and bracket sets, its main structure built from resilient lightning-struck wood, emitting a faint charred fragrance and a latent aura of thunder.

At an elegant window seat on the third floor, Di Jingzhe leaned back in a large chair covered with soft animal skins, his face showing a hint of paleness.

He closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, with subtle deep purple electric arcs occasionally flickering beneath his skin.

The Awakening Thunder Sword lay horizontally across his knees, its simple blade absorbing the free-floating thunder yuan in the air, emitting a low hum.

The earth-shattering sympathetic detonation at the end in Thunderclap Fortress had forcibly ignited a massive amount of thunder-attribute spiritual materials, certainly destroying the Zhou Family's vital stronghold, but the violent backlash had also severely injured his internal organs, his Meridians feeling as if they were being repeatedly burned and torn by countless tiny thunders.

Had the Zixiao Divine Thunder not continuously released pure Purple Firmament thunder yuan within his Dantian to nourish and repair him, he would likely find it difficult even to stand right now.

Feng Linger sat opposite him; she had changed into a plain green martial outfit, appearing a bit less ethereal and a bit more capable, though that lingering coldness between her brows remained.