The strange man stood beneath a shifting mass of black clouds, his body slightly hunched. When he encountered a blue-green threaded thunder ore, he would pick it up.
And during this process, the terrifying black clouds above would, as if in anger, unleash lightning to strike the man.
Afterward, the man would merely sway, then continue to move with the black clouds, collecting thunder ore.
This scene left Lan Yu and the others dumbfounded.
"He's withstanding heavenly lightning with his bare body, is he even human!" Han Qing stammered, though he was far away, he could still feel the tremor of thunder elements within the cloud layer.
The heavenly lightning that descended was absolutely capable of killing ordinary third-stage cultivators.
But it only made the strange man sway. This left him shocked, just how strong was the strange man's physique to possess such terrifying resilience?
"Which eye of yours saw him withstanding it!" Lan Yu said irritably. Although the heavenly lightning was fierce, the man clearly didn't take it seriously.
Rather than withstanding it, it was more like he was indifferent to it.
It was like a raindrop falling on one's shoulder; in most cases, people wouldn't pay it any mind.
Lightning was like raindrops.
Qing Si frowned. Among the talented disciples of the various peaks of Tianshan Mountain, there were no more than five individuals whose physiques could be cultivated to this level. He had seen all five of them, and this man was none of them.
"Now, has a sixth one appeared?"
Qing Si stared curiously at the strange man's back, as if trying to discern some trick.
But in the next moment, to his surprise, the strange man suddenly turned his head and, with a somewhat wooden expression, began walking towards them.
"Is it an illusion? Why do I feel like he's coming this way," Han Qing blinked, asking somewhat confusedly.
Lan Yu clenched his fists with a solemn expression and said, "No matter who he is, if he intends to cause trouble for us, he's daydreaming!"
The strange man gradually approached.
The three grew increasingly tense.
Then, they realized that the strange man's target was not them, but the thunder ore in front of them.
It was a large thunder ore mountain, which the few had coveted for a long time. The reason they hadn't acted was because a terrifying thunder tribulation was brewing above the mountain.
The overflowing elements formed rolling thunder, leaping like sprites in the dark space, then exploding, destroying everything within a radius of more than ten meters.
Lan Yu and the other two were unsure if they could withstand such lightning, so they planned to wait until the clouds passed before mining.
But Xu Mu walked in first.
Han Qing's expression turned grim. Finding such a thunder ore in the thunder zone was not easy. The three of them had guarded this place, scaring away many other teams, and had long considered this mountain their private property.
But now, Xu Mu had entered first.
Lan Yu stood in place, watching the terrifying bolts of heavenly lightning descend, watching the man mine piece after piece of thunder ore, and finally couldn't help but speak:
"Go around him."
Han Qing, Qing Si: "What?"
Lan Yu's face was grim, and he growled in a low voice:
"I said, go around him!"
"There's another thunder ore mountain ahead. Although it's not as large as this one, based on my observation, it contains everything it should."
"Since we only have limited time for mining, there's no need to clash with that strange man."
Qing Si and the other nodded without speaking.
They all understood that Lan Yu was giving himself an out. The strange man looked too powerful to provoke, so they had to settle for second best.
With unspoken understanding, the three silently bypassed that thunder ore mountain and landed on another mountain hundreds of meters away.
"The thunderclouds here will disappear in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. At that time, I will first..." Lan Yu's words stopped abruptly.
Because not far to their left and rear, the strange man who tempered heavenly tribulations with his body was walking towards them, holding two pieces of pale purple thunder ore in his left and right hands respectively.
A few seconds later, the thunder ore became dim.
That mountain also seemed to dim, so he walked towards the second mountain.
Han Qing's expression turned grim: "Are we just going to watch him steal our thunder ore like this!"
Qing Si's expression was gloomy, and a layer of crimson flame faintly appeared on the dao sword in his hand, as if he would make a move if Lan Yu called out loudly.
But in reality, he was just bluffing.
Lan Yu hesitated for a long time, and finally shook his head and sighed:
"Forget it."
"If Cao Guang were here, the four of us working together, using the Minor Four Symbols Formation, might have been able to try. With just the three of us, even if we won, it would be meaningless. If we fight to the death, we might end up letting Li Yuan gain an advantage."
Qing Si asked: "Then what do we do?"
Lan Yu frowned, pondered for a long time, and said:
"There should be no more mountains in this vicinity."
"Gathering the three of us together won't serve much purpose. It's better to split up into three groups; it won't slow down the mining speed much."
Han Qing hesitated upon hearing this.
"I'm worried..."
"Worried about what? We're not far from each other. Even if Li Yuan comes, he won't pose a threat," Lan Yu said, then he stood up and flew towards the right front.
"All of you, get moving! The amount of blue-green threaded thunder ore each person collects on the last day cannot be less than fifty!"
Han Qing and Qing Si exchanged glances, seeing the helplessness and anger in each other's eyes.
Then, they split into two groups and left.
The three separated.
In the mountain, Xu Mu, who was tempering his body with lightning and absorbing thunder ore to boost his dao source, showed a slight smile on his face.
...
Six hundred meters away from the mountain.
This area was already close to the heavenly punishment zone.
Lan Yu squatted at the edge of an extremely terrifying thundercloud, a hint of greed in his focused expression.
Beneath that thundercloud, a strange crimson red flickered, which was the crimson red-threaded thunder ore worth a thousand merit points.
Lan Yu was extremely excited, even silently thanking the strange man who bathed in heavenly tribulations.
If not for that strange man, he wouldn't have been able to come here at this time, and the crimson red-threaded thunder ore might have been snatched away by someone else.
"Still, fifty-four breaths remaining."
Lan Yu's eyes widened, he amplified his divine soul's perception to its limit, his muscles tensed, just waiting for the thundercloud to drift away so he could rush in and claim the thunder ore.
But at this moment, an accident occurred again.
An extremely arrogant aura intruded into his divine soul's perception.
"Who is it!?"
Lan Yu suddenly turned his head and saw a figure he least wished to see.
It was Xu Mu.
Xu Mu strode heavily, his footsteps accompanied by the wind, at a pace slightly faster than an adult male's jog. His disguised face was extremely cold, filled with killing intent.
This killing intent was real.
So Lan Yu was somewhat afraid.
He feared that Xu Mu was coming for him, and judging by his trajectory, it seemed to be the case. The distance between them was steadily closing.
Lan Yu clenched his fists, and behind him, the phantom of a snow-white bear covered in chains and lightning roared at Xu Mu:
"Halt!"
Xu Mu did not stop. Instead, he accelerated. Accompanied by the gathering thunderclouds overhead, terrifying lightning struck his cracked body, causing no damage, but instead making him more radiant.
A fierce wind arose, and the pressure was terrifying.
Lan Yu retreated half a step, and said with feigned ferocity, "Who are you? I am Lan Yu of Sheng Yang Peak!"
Xu Mu continued to advance without speaking. The terrifying pressure from his physique spread out, and the will of the Great Dao of Death, through his shadow, permeated the space. Lan Yu felt as if he were enveloped in some kind of domain, a chill running down his spine.
The distance between them was now less than fifty zhang.
Lan Yu retreated several dozen steps, and shouted with fear in his voice, "Daoist Lan Qi is my grandfather!"
Xu Mu still didn't stop. Instead, he became faster and more ferocious.
Lan Yu's heart skipped a beat. He finally stopped caring about his pride and directly grabbed his sound transmission jade slip, shouting:
"Han Qing, Qing Si, hurry up and come over! I've run into that lunatic, and he seems to want to kill me!"
After speaking, Lan Yu wanted to run.
He was thirty zhang away from Xu Mu, not a short distance, but he felt this distance was safe, at least it would leave him space to escape.
But in the next second, Xu Mu reached him.
Vast blood qi, pure Great Dao of Death, and starlight like glazed jade all slammed into Lan Yu's face.
Lan Yu's face contorted in terror. With the phantom of the lightning bear behind him, he retreated continuously, begging for mercy:
"Don't, don't kill me!!!"
"Boom!"
The terrifying thunder tribulation collided with Xu Mu's body. The two forces were locked in a stalemate in mid-air for a moment, then exploded instantly. Bloodstains splattered amidst the starlight, like brilliant fireworks.
Lan Yu was pushed back several steps by the shockwave swept up by the wind, then he looked up and swallowed nervously, still shaken.
He wasn't dead.
Xu Mu's target wasn't him.
It was the crimson red-threaded thunder ore.
Lan Yu watched as Xu Mu bent down, broke off the crimson red-threaded thunder ore, held it in his palm, and a smile appeared on his face.
Seeing this, Lan Yu's eyes suddenly turned red. With courage he didn't know he had, he lunged at Xu Mu like a madman, unleashing the power of a third-stage upper-level cultivator.
"Give me the thunder ore!"
The bear phantom, tens of zhang tall, leaped into the air, wrapped in lightning, and descended like a magnified thunderball, smashing towards Xu Mu.
Xu Mu raised an eyebrow upon seeing this. He slowly raised his arms into the air, bent his knees slightly, and struck a Tai Chi pose in front of him.
The thunderbear fell.
He met it with his hands.
"Bang!"
Immense force pressed down on Xu Mu. The starlight within his body completely erupted, surging into his surging blood. The ceaseless power supported his hands and legs.
Xu Mu did not retreat even half a step.
However, the ground behind his feet cracked open in a fan shape, forming a huge pit hundreds of meters long.
"Crack!!!"
The rocks shattered into powder, and the earth collapsed.
Lan Yu stared at the scene before him, his eyes wide with disbelief. He couldn't comprehend how Xu Mu had managed this. In the head-on collision, why was Xu Mu himself unharmed, the ground beneath him unaffected, but the rock layers behind him ruined?
"Since my physique became strong, I haven't used this force-dispelling technique in a long time. Fortunately, I haven't gotten rusty."
Xu Mu looked at the lightning bear in front of him, a smile appearing on his flushed face.
He gripped the bear's paw, and his hands exerted slight force. The Great Dao of Death infiltrated the phantom.
Lan Yu froze, as if feeling some pain, he clutched his chest tightly, looking at Xu Mu in disbelief.
He could feel that the bear he had summoned was being twisted by an extremely powerful force, its capacity to endure reaching its limit, and would shatter with just a little more.
"No!!!"
Seeing Xu Mu still applying pressure, Lan Yu could only endure the pain and stand up, rushing forward to stop him.
This lightning bear had been fed with lightning elements since his childhood and had grown to its current state, almost equivalent to half his life. If it died, the backlash he would suffer was secondary; the damage to his combat power was what he feared the most, because in the current cultivation world, strength was equivalent to everything!
"--Bang!"
"Awooooo..."
The body of the lightning bear, accompanied by a mournful cry and an explosion, instantly turned into scattered remnants, elemental energy falling like snowflakes in the space.
Xu Mu opened his pores and absorbed it wantonly, the thunder elements within his body surging.
"Pfft!"
And Lan Yu, clutching his chest, spat out blood instantly and fell to the ground, looking at Xu Mu with despair and hatred.
"I'm going to kill you!!!!"
"Big Brother, we're here!"
At this moment, Han Qing and Qing Si finally arrived. Seeing the heavily injured Lan Yu from afar, they didn't care if they could defeat Xu Mu or not, and rushed forward together, condensing their powers.
Qing Si's dao sword blazed with crimson fire, and Han Qing summoned immortal wood vines, which grew from the ground, breaking through layer after layer of rock, soaring thousands of meters into the sky with terrifying might.
But Xu Mu, seeing this, merely formed a hand seal.
Five Thunder Orthodox Law.
"Boom!"
At the intersection of the flames and vines, a dazzling heavenly lightning bolt descended.
Xu Mu used heavenly lightning to temper his body.
And also shattered those two attacks.
...