BOOM!
"AHH!"
The Silk Embroideress opened her eyes.
The voice she'd heard might have been a hallucination, but the deafening clap of thunder was undeniably real, especially as it was accompanied by the man's bloodcurdling scream. He hadn't cried out so wretchedly even when he was first struck by the Celestial Spirit Talisman.
Then, the Silk Embroideress saw the black aura around the man completely disperse. His pale face seemed to bear scorch marks, his clothes were tattered and torn, and even his form had grown somewhat dim.
"Holy crap!"
As soon as she heard this catchphrase, the Silk Embroideress knew Gu Zhao had arrived. She had heard him say it a few times over the past two days, and he had explained it was a dialect from his hometown used to express shock.
'What a powerful Ghost!'
According to traditional lore, all manner of ghouls and evil spirits would have their Divine Souls destabilized just by hearing the sound of a Thunderbolt, let alone being struck by one directly. A mere graze would wound, and a direct hit meant death.
But Gu Zhao knew that since the Thunder Techniques within the Shenxiao Yushu Zhan Kan Five Thunder Technique varied in strength, it naturally meant there were malevolent spirits that ordinary Thunder Techniques couldn't handle.
Take this black-robed male ghost, for example. He was clearly far stronger than the previous female ghost in green, having withstood a Palm Thunder strike without any sign of dissipating into thin air.
'I can't believe the second Ghost I've encountered in this world could withstand Palm Thunder!'
Gu Zhao sucked in a sharp breath. Shocked, he didn't hesitate for a moment. His left hand never loosened its grip on the Celestial Thunder Seal as his right hand formed another seal and he began Chanting, "Lightning and thunder chase one another, heaven and earth are the eyes. Qi of the eight directions, let the electric light flash!"
BOOM!
Another bolt of purple light flashed by in an instant, striking the man's dumbfounded and shocked face.
"AHH!"
The man screamed wretchedly again as his form instantly dispersed.
The man was utterly dumbfounded. He was an old ghost with decades of Dao Practice, who had absorbed Incense and Candle Telekinesis for years. His Divine Soul even contained a trace of Divinity, and he was aided by the Golden Thought Silk bestowed by the Sect Leader. An ordinary Mage was no match for him at all.
But with that one Thunder Technique from his opponent, all of his defenses had proven useless. If not for the sliver of Divinity deep in his soul offering some resistance and stabilizing his Divine Soul's form, he likely would have been struck dead on the spot.
'This guy isn't a god or a Spirit Monarch, but just a human Grand Mage?'
'A Grand Mage who can control lightning?'
But before he could recover from the shock of the first thunderbolt, the second had already descended, giving him no time to react. It directly blasted apart his Ghost Body, which was already significantly dimmed and just barely holding together.
If not for the trace of Divinity that remained, that one Thunderbolt would have directly annihilated his Divine Soul.
At the same time, however, the man was jolted to his senses, for he knew with absolute certainty that he could not possibly survive a third thunderbolt.
The man, now a flickering, vaguely humanoid black shadow, "saw" the youth who had suddenly appeared retract his right hand and once again begin to form a seal and chant, "Lightning and thun—"
The distorted black shadow let out an involuntary, bizarre cry, then transformed into a basketball-sized cloud of black smoke and fled swiftly into the distance.
He didn't want to think about anything anymore. He just wanted to run. He wanted to flee back to the Divine Sect and tremble under the Sect Leader's protection, releasing all his fear.
But the Demonic Sound from behind him reached his ears with chilling clarity, completing the incantation.
"—der chase one another, heaven and earth are the eyes. Qi of the eight directions, let the electric light flash!"
A few strands of golden thread materialized on the surface of the black smoke, struggling to meet the purple lightning that arrived in the blink of an eye. The moment they made contact, the threads melted away like ice.
The next moment, the purple lightning spread to the black smoke behind the threads. If time were slowed down, one could see the lightning delve into the smoke with the precision of a master butcher, gradually piercing through it and filling its core. All the black smoke that came into contact with the lightning was instantly vaporized.
From a normal perspective, one would only see that after the purple lightning touched the black smoke, the cloud of smoke dissipated in an instant, turning to ash and dust that scattered into the air.
"AHH!"
After a final, faint scream, the entire mountain forest fell silent. Not an insect chirped, not a bird sang. Only two people and a fox stood quietly, not far from each other.
The next moment, Gu Zhao felt the Five Thunders Order absorb another stream of energy. It merged with the surrounding lightning, then slowly enhanced his Dao Practice and strengthened his Inner Qi.
This stream of energy was larger than the one from killing the Female Ghost. Gu Zhao focused on the sensation and discovered that it seemed to be a kind of Evil Qi, which the Five Thunders Order absorbed and converted into pure energy for him.
As the Five Thunders Order absorbed this energy, its own power gradually recovered, allowing Gu Zhao to clearly perceive the nature of this Evil Qi.
This Evil Qi had nothing to do with the opponent's strength, only with whether they were evil. Those who actively committed evil deeds would have their Divine Soul tainted with this Qi. This ghost's evil acts were more egregious than those of the female ghost in green, so he had more Evil Qi.
Although this Evil Qi could only be absorbed by the Five Thunders Order after the target's death, as long as the target used a technique or came into close proximity, the Order could sense their aura. It could then determine if they carried Evil Qi and alert Gu Zhao.
"Does this count as me opening my third eye?" Gu Zhao clicked his tongue, then looked around. "Job's done, time to clock out!"
RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...
Another sound came from the woods. The Silk Embroideress and Gu Zhao both turned to look, only to see the White Fox trembling like a leaf.
Feeling Gu Zhao's gaze, the White Fox instantly rolled over onto its back, exposing its belly. But its limbs and entire body were still trembling, causing the leaves on the grassy ground beneath it to rustle.
Seeing the White Fox so terrified, Gu Zhao and the Silk Embroideress exchanged a glance and couldn't help but smile. The atmosphere immediately relaxed.
Gu Zhao had no intention of harming the White Fox. The Five Thunders Order showed no reaction to it, and considering how the fox had just tried to rescue the Silk Embroideress, it was probably a good Demon.
"Sir!" the Silk Embroideress cried out, her voice a mix of sobs, joy, and a hint of guilt.
Gu Zhao waved to the Silk Embroideress and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness I made it back in time."
He had spent the afternoon with Zhang Hang, shooting a "beauty tests out the shop" style video. They'd finished dinner early, and Zhang Hang had even invited him to go out and party for the night. However, Gu Zhao decided to return here instead, wanting to recover his energy and improve his strength as much as possible.
Gu Zhao calculated the time here, grabbed some takeout, and only then went home to cross over to this mountain forest again.
He hadn't expected that on his way back, he would sense a fluctuation of Magical Power nearby, along with the Sun and Moon Heavenly Light Qi from a Celestial Spirit Talisman. Alarmed, he had rushed over immediately, arriving just in time to see the black shadow blocking the path and the White Fox putting up a brief defense before hiding behind Silk Embroideress He.
And so he had intervened, killing the seemingly formidable Ghost with three bolts of Palm Thunder.
"Sir..." The Silk Embroideress walked hesitantly to Gu Zhao's side.
Gu Zhao asked, "Did you come into the woods to find me?"
The Silk Embroideress nodded. "You said you would be back tonight, Sir. I waited at the village entrance for a while and thought I'd come in to meet you. I never expected..."
"You ran into a Ghost and a Demon." Gu Zhao glanced at the White Fox nearby. 'By the way,' he thought, 'are there really this many Ghosts and Demons in the world?'
Seeing the Silk Embroideress approach and speak with Gu Zhao, the White Fox seemed to realize that this was the "Sir" she had mentioned. It looked as if a weight had been lifted from its shoulders. It then rolled back onto its feet and revealed a very human-like, fawning smile.