Distress (IV)

The dusk was like a layer of gauze, silently spreading over the back of the mountain forest. The mountain peaks in the distance gradually disappeared into the orange sky, and their outlines became softer.

The forest breeze was wrapped in the coolness of the evening mist, making the pine needles rustle. Occasionally, a late-returning bird flew over the branches, its wings breaking the silence, leaving behind a few short chirps, which were soon swallowed up by the deeper silence.

The vines cast mottled shadows on the tree trunks. As the sky darkened, those shadows gradually merged into one, blending with the deepening dusk.

Near a cliff, He Shu was about to transform into wings and fly down, but suddenly a loud thunder exploded in his ears.

"Boom—"

He suddenly looked up at the sky. The clouds, which had been calm just now, suddenly surged with huge waves. The horizon seemed to be split open by Xingtian's giant axe, leaving a pale crack. Continuous rolling thunder poured down from here, rolling over the vast mountains and forests.

The wind suddenly became violent, tearing at He Shu's clothes and hair, and even the trees on the roadside were torn to pieces. The leaves wailed in despair, as if they were screaming to avoid something.

In a blink of an eye, the white mark exploded again above his head, and the silver snake-like lightning twisted and turned in the inky sea of ​​clouds, instantly illuminating the sky and the earth with a pale white, and in the next second, it was swallowed up by the thick darkness again.

This is not ordinary lightning, it is thunder from the sky!

As a fairy beast, ordinary heavenly thunder is nothing to be afraid of, but He Shu knows very well that his fairy bones are extraordinary. The consequences of his enlightenment that year made him one of the few unlucky people in the Nine Heavens who would be seriously injured by the residual power of heavenly thunder.

He thought to himself that something was wrong and immediately formed a protective spell in his hand. The irresistible fear quickly rose from the bottom of his heart and spread throughout his body.

He Shu stood stiffly where he was, a chilling chill emanating from deep within his bones, making it impossible for him to move.

This guy who is undergoing the thunder tribulation...could he be the immortal envoy from Luzhu Mountain who has been unable to be contacted?

I just heard the mountain god mention that she seemed to be going through a tribulation...

What's wrong with this guy? Doesn't he know that one needs to be in a deserted place to survive the thunder tribulation? Although the thunder won't harm mortals, what if it accidentally injures an innocent monster?

What's more, in such a mountain forest rich in spiritual energy, there must be many animals and plants with spiritual intelligence.

He Shu thought so and quickly looked around, and found that there were many weak monsters that had intelligence but could not transform.

His heart sank, he closed his eyes helplessly and sighed resignedly.

Forget it... I can't escape anyway, so I might as well save them at the same time.

Fine golden light surged from He Shu's side, flowing and buzzing, flickering and gathering with difficulty.

The color on his face quickly faded, and cold sweat oozed from his forehead. After consuming most of his immortal energy, a translucent barrier finally formed, covering the surroundings:

"The Mysterious Sect of Heaven and Earth, the root of all mysteries, cultivate the great calamity, and prove my supernatural powers... Hurry and obey the command!"

He Shu gritted his teeth and tried to maintain the somewhat shaky protective barrier, but his ability was really limited. The area protected by the barrier was not large, and even he himself didn't know how long it could last.

"Dead bird, the way you're fighting so stubbornly really puts me in a good mood!"

The cat demon's familiar shrill voice suddenly sounded, and it seemed a little vague under the roar of thunder, but He Shu heard it clearly.

He turned around and saw the figure of the cat demon emerging from the surging shadows of the trees like a ghost. Before her triumphant laugh had faded, the black-robed man beside her just raised his hand slightly, and where his fingertips passed, the barrier formed by exhausting the immortal power of Crane Book was silently torn like thin paper.

The strong wind rushed in through the gap, and the two of them walked in slowly with their hair flying.

"It's only been a short time since we last met, and you're already in such a mess. What a turn of events..."

A dangerous aura instantly permeated the barrier, and the animal's instinctive alertness made He Shu's hair stand on end. His heart beat wildly in his chest, almost breaking his ribs. His dark brown pupils suddenly contracted, and all the feathers that could not be retracted exploded.

The person next to the cat demon must be no ordinary person. Her breath is familiar yet strange, but he cannot figure it out at all. He can't even tell whether she is a demon or an immortal.

Seeing the two people with bad intentions approaching, He Shu hurriedly summoned his magic weapon and took the initiative.

He spread his wings and flew into the air, then with all his might shot the arrows, which made a sharp sound of breaking through the air, and rained down on the two of them. However, when they were just inches away from the target, they were easily blocked by countless twisted branches that grew out of thin air and intertwined into a web, and were nailed to the wood with a clanging sound.

It turns out to be a tree demon with magical powers far exceeding his own?

He Shu knew that he could not escape this time, but he didn't expect that the cat demon would take shelter under a big tree, and he was caught by her when he was most helpless.

The branches full of feather arrows quickly attacked him. He Shu was unable to dodge and his arms were grabbed, hanging in the air.

The branches moved like a swarm of snakes, cold and hard like black iron chains, quickly shrinking and wrapping around him, digging deep into his flesh, leaving hideous blood marks and locking him firmly in place. No matter how frantically he struggled or flapped his wings, he couldn't budge at all.

The despair brought about by the huge disparity in power instantly overwhelmed He Shu. After flapping his wings in vain a few times, he finally fell down helplessly.

The jade token around her waist was also pulled down by the intact vines that had stretched out again and handed to the cat demon, who held it in her hand and played with it.

If I had known that the cat demon wanted the jade token so much, I would have given it to her myself. It's just a thing that can prove one's identity when entering and leaving the Heavenly Palace. If it's lost, I can just ask the Imperial Guards for a new one. Why let herself be held hostage like this and be in such an embarrassing state?

He Shu was not willing to give up and used the Fire Spell again, but the flame ignited by his fingertips could not even leave a trace of burn marks on the dark branches, and it went out unwillingly. These annoying branches were not afraid of ordinary fire at all.

"I didn't expect you, a dead bird, to be so harsh on me, but you have such a kind heart towards them."

The cat demon snorted disdainfully, weighed the jade token he had just obtained, and ran his fingertips across the warm jade surface. He put it in his arms with satisfaction, and said sarcastically,

"Is it worth it to use up all my immortal energy to open such a huge turtle shell just to protect these ants under my feet?"

She opened her red lips slightly, wanting to make a few more mocking remarks, but was interrupted by the black-robed man beside her:

"Alright, Shakudama."

She took a step forward, leaned close to the cat demon's ear, and whispered a few words very quickly.

Upon hearing this, the cat demon glanced at He Shu, who was still hanging high on the branch with his wings drooping, and nodded.

"Okay, then I'll go first...right!"

The cat demon suddenly remembered something and asked anxiously:

"Where's Qingle? Didn't you two go to Yuguan together? Did he go home first?"

"He's slow and still on his way. I used magic to rush back first. It would be inconvenient to bring him along."

The black-robed man raised his hand and tapped the cat demon's smooth forehead with his knuckles.

"My dear sister, we can discuss everything after I return. The might of heaven has arrived, and the thunder tribulation is about to fall. We cannot stay here for long..."

She raised her head to look at the thunder brewing in the clouds, her expression darkened, and she pushed the cat demon towards the crack in the barrier with an unquestionable tone.

In a flash, only He Shu and the man in black robe were left in the crumbling barrier.

"The jade token is yours now. What else do you want?"

He Shu tried to remain calm, but his voice was hoarse from exhaustion and lacked any power.

"Oh……"

"What are you laughing at? We've never met before, why would you do such a cruel thing... Who are you?"

He Shu didn't want to be an ungrateful scapegoat, so he wanted to get to the bottom of it before the man in black took any action.

He couldn't just get beaten up for no reason and die with hatred before seeing the ending of "Qi Xiang Zhi".

"My name is Huaiguang, naturally it's for—"

"You come..."

"Who else said you would definitely die?"

"What's the meaning?"

"It depends on your luck."

A low laugh came from under the black robe. She tilted her head and approached He Shu step by step. With a slight movement of her fingertips, the person hanging in the air was sent in front of her by the branches.

He Shu struggled desperately again.

This man in black robe not only wants to kill him, but also wants to tease him at the last moment. How hateful! What a bullshit luck! Doesn't it mean that she has the final say?

"You're talking nonsense! Don't blame me for not warning you. The sin of killing an immortal is unforgivable even in the nine heavens and ten earths! Moreover, the mountain god of Luzhu Mountain is not far away. If I die, he will definitely sense it and will be here in an instant to destroy you, this evil creature, both in body and soul!"

"Really? Then I'll wait and see..."

The black-robed man raised his hand gently as he spoke. He ignored He Shu's words and directed the vines to pierce his heart.

"I want to see how the mountain god will deal with me."

As soon as she finished speaking, the vine with dark red blood dripping from the tip emerged from her body and slowly stretched towards He Shu, who had nowhere to escape.

"If you can't hold on any longer and die, don't blame me. Blame your mountain god..."

——

In Dingyun Temple, in the meditation room, the oil lamp is as small as a bean.

"Master, why did the weather change so suddenly?"

Li Qingshan put down his pen and looked out the window worriedly. Ink-like thick clouds rolled in, and thunder rumbled like a drum. Every explosion made his heart skip a beat.

"Brother He has come down the mountain alone. I wonder where he is now? It looks like a storm is coming..."

"Qingshan..."

Xuan Tongzi, who was lying on the couch, sat up and looked out the window. What caught his eye was the ink color that was so thick that it could not be dispersed.

His eyes narrowed slightly, his body stiffened imperceptibly, something seemed to flash in his eyes, and then he lowered his eyelids and twirled his beard.

"Don't let your imagination run wild. Didn't your brother He say, 'Those in the martial arts world can protect themselves?' Thunder and rain are nothing to him. If you go there, the mountains are high and the forests are dense, and it's pitch black. Where can you find him? Even if you find him, what can you do to help? You'll be lucky if you don't cause more trouble."

Seeing Li Qingshan had stood up and walked towards the door, he quickly got off the bed and grabbed his apprentice's arm:

"Oh, listen to my advice, your friend is quite capable. I even read his fortune for him, and it's the Li hexagram, which means 'walking on a tiger's tail, it won't bite you, and you'll be prosperous.' He will surely be able to turn misfortune into fortune..."