A flicker of electricity constantly coiled and spun at the tip of his right finger. It danced restlessly as Zong Shou, deep in thought and seemingly preoccupied, moved unconsciously. Occasionally, it emitted a sharp crackling sound—the sound of airborne dust particles being instantly annihilated by the lightning.

This was the Thunderwing Sun Serpent. Half an hour earlier, when he awoke from his stupor, Wei Xu had casually tossed the little creature to him.

Wei Xu had explained that in the previous battle, he had only managed to withstand twenty-three sword strikes from the black-robed elder before being utterly defeated and collapsing before the Martial Venerable expert. Zong Shou's own Thunderwing Sword had been one of the casualties.

Seeing that the sword's spirit was promising, Wei Xu had seized it and helped it advance to the peak of a Sixth-Tier Soul Beast.

His senior brother's abilities were indeed profound, yet whenever Zong Shou contemplated his own defeat, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. Twenty-three strikes? That was pretty much in line with his earlier predictions, perhaps even exceeding them slightly.

However, drinking wine truly didn't suit him. His greatest strength, calculation, was completely neutralized afterward. Moreover, forgetting everything that happened offered no benefit for refining his sword path or self-reflection.

Xuanyuan Tong had once told him that drinking more before a fight would be quite beneficial. But Zong Shou couldn't figure out the precise advantage.

It was said to aid in grasping the state of Spirit-Martial Unity, but how could such a realm be grasped so easily?

He wondered where Xuanyuan Tong got such a basis. If it were truly helpful, wouldn't every drunkard in the world be capable of achieving it?

He let out a short, dry laugh just as another sharp snap echoed from his fingertip. Zong Shou snapped back to attention, then gazed intently at the Thunderwing Sun Serpent in his hand.

Possessing both the power of lightning and the power of sun-fire, this little fellow would be the bane of all Soul Beasts below the Ninth Tier, as well as all Chi Mei Wang Liang specters.

What surprised Zong Shou most was that this creature had become a natural Guardian Beast. The mutual communion between them was even stronger than with his first companion, Xiao Jin—who, theoretically, should have been his inherent Life-Bound Guardian. It was close to a symbiotic unity.

He had no idea how Wei Xu managed it.

Natural Guardian Beasts do not count against a Spirit Master’s quota of Guardians, making them objects of every Spirit Master's desire. The benefits didn't stop there: Natural Guardians never faced betrayal, and after subjugation, they required little attention. In the future, as the master's cultivation advanced, these Natural Guardians would receive a significant boost, requiring only minor support to follow suit in advancement.

As for the Thunderwing Sun Serpent, Zong Shou couldn't tell what methods Wei Xu employed, but its vitality was so vigorous it seemed poised to reshape its physical body.

And Xiao Jin, now returned to his arm, was the same; some sort of hand must have been played on him, too.

It was likely for the better. Previously, Xiao Jin felt like a skin pouch he had overstuffed with various materials, about to burst despite rapidly accumulating strength.

The feeling now was completely different. That skin pouch had been replaced by an iron canister—not only much sturdier, free from any worry of tearing, but the internal space had expanded more than tenfold. He only needed to return and capture a few Spirit Veins to allow it to advance again.

Is this one of the benefits of joining the Cang Sheng Dao? It's not bad at all.

Zong Shou then sank his consciousness into his body, observing his interior slightly.

He could clearly feel his latent potential and Yuan Qi surging explosively. The battle with the Martial Venerable expert had almost completely ignited his physique, squeezing out countless hidden strengths.

And the Thunder Luan Essence had also been largely integrated.

His cultivation was still capped at the Two-Vein realm, so the majority of the essence had fused into his physical body.

He estimated that even without using true Qi, relying purely on his physical body, he could unleash a gigantic force of 120,000 Jin—equivalent to a mid-to-low-tier Martial Ancestor expert.

The absorbed Thunder Luan Essence now amounted to less than thirty percent of the original total. He estimated that before long, he wouldn't need to seal it anymore.

This too, must be another benefit bestowed by Wei Xu. Zong Shou knew perfectly well that receiving the twenty-third strike before that Martial Venerable was nowhere near enough to develop his body to this degree.

The current effect was as if a master several tiers above him had used immense force to temper his physique.

And with Wei Xu’s Saint Realm cultivation, even minimal assistance could benefit him greatly.

In high spirits, Zong Shou opened his eyes, then smiled as he drew the Thunderwing Sun Serpent into his fingertip, leaving behind only a faint, rune-like mark on his index finger.

Natural Guardian Beasts could indeed merge directly into the body.

"Heh, this Guardian is quite good. It probably has the potential to evolve into a dragon someday. Combining the forces of thunder, fire, and sun, it will surely be a top-grade dragon species. From now on, I'll call him Xiao Lei—Little Thunder."

"Xiao Lei?"

Xuanyuan Yiren, sitting opposite him, watching him with concern, was left speechless, her jade-like forehead suddenly covered in black lines.

"Xiao Jin, Xiao Lei, Xiao Zhi, Xiao Yao? Zong Shou, why must you name everything with 'Xiao'? Fine, the name isn't bad." Zong Shou chuckled, then his expression immediately clouded with sorrow. "This time, it was my incompetence, Zong Shou, that implicated you all..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xuanyuan Yiren reached out and covered his lips.

Sunlight streamed down like water, and her eyes held a hint of accusation.

Zong Shou immediately fell silent, knowing that what truly annoyed Xuanyuan Yiren was not this incident, but the word "implicated" he had just uttered.

Yet, he still let out a sudden, heavy breath, filled with self-reproach. If Wei Xu hadn't happened to arrive today, he couldn't even imagine the consequences.

He had truly underestimated this turbulent era where sects ran rampant and killed without blinking, and he had underestimated these Demonic Sects.

Their cruelty and venom were far beyond those Demonic Sects of later generations, which had been infinitely weakened and fallen into decline.

Then, a wave of happiness washed over him—he had a wife and daughter; what more could he ask for?

Just as he was about to seize this opportunity to speak more with Yiren, he heard Wei Xu call out from a hundred zhang away, "I gave you time to recuperate, not time for sweet talk. If you are ready, we can leave."

Zong Shou was speechless for a moment. He immediately pulled an exquisitely carved wooden hairpin from his sleeve and inserted it into Xuanyuan Yiren's elaborate hairstyle.

"I estimate it will take at most ten to fifteen days before I bring people to Cloud Sea..." Xuanyuan Yiren was about to speak, but upon hearing this, she quieted down, only her eyes revealing a pleased expression.

Qian Tian Mountain City was going to hunt below the Cloud Sea, and naturally, Xuan Mountain City would not be excluded.

Zong Shou then squeezed Yiren's delicate, almost translucent cheek before nodding toward Wei Xu. Wei Xu smiled faintly, flicked his sleeve slightly, and the space before Zong Shou transformed again.

His body was still suspended in the air, about two thousand zhang high. Before him was another mountain peak.

However, he could not discern their location at all. He only knew that the surrounding area was full of continuous mountain ranges, suggesting they were deep within the mountains.

Zong Shou was momentarily stunned. He had assumed Wei Xu intended to take him back to the main hall of the Cang Sheng Dao in the Cloud Realm—one of the deeply mysterious Five Vault Realms (Wu Qiong Jing). Instead, he found himself in this place. Although the concentration of spiritual energy here was decent, it looked nothing like a Vault Realm location.

"Senior Brother, where is this?" Zong Shou looked up, trying to identify the positions of the stars, then frowned slightly. This direction seemed to be east of the Eastern Lin Cloud Continent.

"Where else could it be? Naturally, the Su Dian Mountain Range, near Cloud Saint City. You’ve spent quite some time in this vicinity."

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, still somewhat confused. Then he heard Wei Xu look up at the sky again.

"The Demonic Mountain Sect was besieged and killed by the various sects in the past and fled to the Eastern Lin Cloud Continent, hiding here to recover. It's less than two thousand li from the Ling Yun Sect's Pill Spirit Mountain." Zong Shou suddenly understood, followed by a jolt of surprise. He looked at Wei Xu with a dawning realization.

He saw his Senior Brother nod slightly. "Junior Brother, why do you think I deliberately used you as bait to lure out Kui Qi, and only intervened after he made his move? If I wanted to help you, wouldn't it have been much more satisfying and swift to just execute him?"

Zong Shou smiled. He had indeed been puzzled earlier. Wei Xu had gone to great lengths to deliberately use him as bait, yet insisted that Zong Shou handle both Kui Qi and the black-robed elder himself. This had struck him as extremely strange, and he truly couldn't fathom Wei Xu's motive.

"Only when one has a legitimate reason, a cause of righteousness, can one kill without restraint! Since they provoked the direct disciple of my Cang Sheng Dao, they should be prepared for the extermination of their entire sect. If I don't root out this Demonic Mountain Sect entirely and exterminate every last one, I won't feel at ease leaving you alone in the Cloud Realm."

As he spoke, Wei Xu suddenly stamped heavily downward. Instantly, ripples spread across the air, accompanied by a rapid succession of explosive sounds.

The scene below suddenly shifted. Clusters of spiritual light vanished, and a large expanse of exquisitely built residences suddenly materialized before Zong Shou's eyes.

Zong Shou was startled; he had been completely unaware of the illusionary formation surrounding this area previously. He then shifted his gaze directly to the mountain gate located halfway up the slope.

The three characters—Mo Shan Zong (Demonic Mountain Sect)—blazed into his vision!

On the mountaintop, dozens of angry shouts immediately erupted. Spirit Masters soared into the sky, while the Martial Cultivators gathered in loose groups of three or five, spreading far apart, their expressions alert and wary.

A grim voice suddenly rang out: "Who are you, and why do you dare trespass upon my Demonic Mountain!"

A skeletal, claw-like chain suddenly shot out from a valley, expanding over a hundred zhang wide, aiming remotely toward the two figures.

Wei Xu ignored it completely and stamped again. More than ten nearby mountain peaks began to shake.

The mountaintop where the Demonic Mountain Sect resided first generated a spontaneous resistive force to counter the pressure.

But it collapsed after only a moment. The entire spiritual formation rapidly disintegrated. All the houses and structures on the peak instantly shattered into dust.

Whether Spirit Masters or Martial Cultivators, regardless of their cultivation level, they all spat blood, their bodies collapsing instantly, dissolving entirely into fine powder!

Zong Shou’s gaze contracted slightly. This single strike was overwhelmingly domineering. He had watched with his own eyes as two Day Roaming Spirit Masters and three Heaven Rank Martial Ancestors were crushed into powder by Wei Xu's single stomp!

The giant chain-and-claw was directly repelled by this immense force.