Forest Thunder Cave Heaven.
"Lord of Forest Thunder, you betrayed the Two Heavens Alliance and colluded with Old Ancestor Qi Sea. Your crime is unforgivable — today is the day you lose your head!" Xiao Hejian hovered high in the sky, gazing down below.
Behind him stood a massive host of Two Heavens Alliance Gu Immortals, all standing in silence with expressionless faces, presenting an overwhelming show of force.
The Lord of Forest Thunder, by contrast, stood alone against the enemy army, utterly outnumbered and isolated.
The Lord of Forest Thunder let out a bitter laugh: "Since you've found me out, I won't deny anything. But tell me — do you think I wanted to betray the alliance? They decided to use the Qi Power Fruit of my Forest Thunder Cave Heaven as a guinea pig for their experiments. Before this, the alliance tried multiple times and never succeeded — every cave heaven used for the试验 was destroyed and collapsed. I joined the Two Heavens Alliance purely to protect myself. And now they want to sacrifice my home? In that case, I might as well defect to the enemy. Perhaps there, I'll find a new hope."
Xiao Hejian frowned and let out a displeased cold snort: "You have far too little confidence in our Two Heavens Grand Alliance, and in our Alliance Leader, Lord Wu Shuai. Perhaps this time the experiment will succeed."
The Lord of Forest Thunder chuckled: "If Alliance Leader Wu Shuai treated everyone fairly, I'd have nothing to say. But he's clearly preserving the non-human races while sacrificing the human ones. Every cave heaven brought forward for experiments — they're all human cave heavens. Wu Shuai is a Dragonman, after all. I've seen through this alliance! You human Gu Immortals present here — mark my words well! What happens to me today will be your fate tomorrow. After me, it will be your turn."
Hearing these words, the human Gu Immortals present indeed showed subtle changes in expression. The Lord of Forest Thunder had undoubtedly struck at the worries lurking in their hearts.
Wu Shuai and Old Ancestor Qi Sea were originally one and the same, so their coordination was extraordinary. On the surface they opposed each other, but in reality they had peacefully divided the Two Heavens' forces between them. By now, no neutral cave heavens remained within the Two Heavens. Every cave heaven in the Two Heavens had either been destroyed or pledged allegiance to either Wu Shuai or Old Ancestor Qi Sea.
After the two great powers divided the Two Heavens, both sides ceased hostilities and had been probing for a solution to the Qi Power Fruit affliction.
Compared to Old Ancestor Qi Sea, who secluded himself to research in solitude, Wu Shuai's attainment in the Qi Path was noticeably weaker. As a result, the Two Heavens Alliance could only proceed through constant experimentation, and in their pursuit of efficiency, their methods were exceedingly crude. The attempts to eradicate the Qi Power Fruit failed multiple times, destroying and collapsing several cave heavens in the process.
When it came to Forest Thunder Cave Heaven, the Lord of Forest Thunder refused to let his home become a mere gamble. Desperate to protect himself and survive, he secretly contacted Old Ancestor Qi Sea.
He was truly unlucky — not knowing that Old Ancestor Qi Sea and Wu Shuai were one and the same.
Old Ancestor Qi Sea was none other than Fang Yuan's true self, and he immediately informed Wu Shuai.
Wu Shuai thus issued an order, dispatching Xiao Hejian to assemble a group of Gu Immortals and march to subjugate the traitor, punishing the alliance-breaker severely.
Looking at the Lord of Forest Thunder, Xiao Hejian smiled coldly and said impatiently: "Who will bring me this criminal?"
Cold Ash Fairy stepped forward immediately: "Let me do it." She looked every bit the eager vanguard.
Xiao Hejian nodded: "Very good."
Seeing Cold Ash Fairy charge directly at the Lord of Forest Thunder, Xiao Hejian was secretly pleased, thinking: "This Cold Ash really knows how to read the situation, and she's got considerable ability. My efforts to win her over weren't wasted."
Cold Ash Fairy and the Lord of Forest Thunder clashed — both were Eighth Transformation immortals, and for a time they traded blows back and forth, locked in a fierce stalemate.
The remaining Gu Immortals of the Two Heavens Alliance watched the battle from the clouds. In fights between Gu Immortals, group attacks required precise coordination. Different Paths and their Dao Marks repelled each other — without exquisite teamwork, the internal friction would be immense, doing more harm than good.
Of course, this didn't stop the observing Gu Immortals from silently building up their power, looking for an opening to land a sneak attack.
But the Two Heavens Alliance immortals never found their chance to strike.
Cold Ash Fairy gradually gained the upper hand, seizing control of the battle. Seeing the situation turn dire, the Lord of Forest Thunder immediately fled underground.
Cold Ash Fairy was, after all, the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable in disguise — how could the Lord of Forest Thunder possibly resist her? The evenly-matched fight before had been nothing but an illusion, merely a performance by the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable.
Seeing the Lord of Forest Thunder flee, Xiao Hejian laughed and beckoned with his hand: "After them!"
The swarm of immortals surged forward.
They ignored the vast Forest Thunder Cave Heaven entirely, focusing solely on the Lord of Forest Thunder himself. As long as this lone Eighth Transformation powerhouse was eliminated, no remaining resistance would pose a problem.
They would even actively protect the Forest Thunder Cave Heaven's safety — after all, this cave heaven was still slated for use, and whatever resources it contained, they would each receive a share.
The Lord of Forest Thunder drilled straight down toward the deepest reaches of the earth.
Cold Ash Fairy did not pursue, remaining at Xiao Hejian's side.
Soon, the first wave of Gu Immortals who had plunged deepest underground returned, all looking bedraggled and dust-covered.
After hearing their report, Xiao Hejian was momentarily stunned: "Something like that exists? There's a thunder lightning forest deep underground?"
The returning immortals had, of course, brought back proof.
Through means such as Shadow and Sound Recording Gu, all the immortals of the Two Heavens Alliance witnessed a vast thunder lightning forest.
In the pitch-black depths of the underground, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled ceaselessly at every moment.
Repeated bolts of lightning formed into towering silver-white巨树. Each tree existed for only an instant, yet the Great Thunder Sound Leaves, the multi-forked silver lightning branches, and other features were all solidified as if tangible, tempting every immortal present.
"Good heavens — these are all priceless Eighth Transformation lightning-path immortal materials!"
"This is merely the surface wealth of the thunder lightning forest. According to the Record of Human Ancestor, the source of a thunder lightning forest is the Thunder Lightning Gu itself. A forest of this scale is proof enough that an Eighth Transformation Thunder Lightning Gu resides here!"
"So the Lord of Forest Thunder intends to use the Thunder Lightning Gu to make a last stand?"
"Hmph — that's pure delusion. A single Eighth Transformation immortal Gu — how could it possibly stand against our Two Heavens Grand Alliance?"