(Part 1)

When the first ray of white light appeared, the miserable phoenix's call resounded above the peaceful Nine Heavens Heavenly Palace. The immortal lords who had been at ease for thousands of years had no time to react to what happened. Heavy thunder sounding like morning bells and evening drums sounded one after another, slowly spreading across the Three Realms.

Boom...boom...boom...

The sound of thunder from Qinglong Platform was endless as if there was no end. There were a total of forty-nine strikes, and when the thunder stopped, the entire Immortal Realm fell into an incomparably strange silence. Even Xuantian Palace and Yuyu Palace were no exception.

It was well known in the Three Realms that Qinglong Platform was passed down from ancient times, where immortal lords of the heavens were punished. The thunder punishment greatly damaged the foundation of an immortal's spiritual veins, and shouldn't be used easily. What's more, the thunder punishment was too overbearing. Ten strikes of sky thunder were enough to severely injure an immortal lord, and even a peak-power high lord could only endure fifteen strikes.

Among the heavens and earth, regardless one you were an immortal, demon, or monster, they were promoted through sky thunder. Once the sky thunder exceeded thirty-six strikes, it would be called the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder and was the only way to be promoted to a god. But these forty-nine strikes...not to mention that they haven't appeared in the tens of thousands of years since the creation of the post-ancient world. Even in ancient times, they were very rare.

Therefore, when the nine of sky thunders on Qinglong Platform were fulfilled and stopped, almost all the immortal lords of the Immortal Realm flew towards Qinglong Platform uncontrollably.

No matter what caused it, this must be the most shocking thing in the post-ancient world!

A strange surprised sound sounded in Xuantian Palace and Yuyu Palace at the same time. Then a white light flashed, and the Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress disappeared in their respective palaces.

Hou Chi, who was waiting for Qing Mu in Zisong Courtyard, looked suspiciously towards the source of the thunder. She raised her eyes to see Feng Ran hurriedly walking out of Qing Mu's room, a little uneasiness arising in her heart.

"Hou Chi, Qing Mu is not in the room. What happened on Qinglong Platform just now?" Feng Ran had also obviously heard the mighty thunder. Looking at Hou Chi's uneasy eyes, the bottom of her heart suddenly trembled. Qing Mu, did he...

"There were forty-nine. Someone forced the profound thunder out with their immortal power. I think there's an immortal lord who will be promoted to a god. This is a good opportunity. The Heavenly Palace is in chaos, and the Heavenly Empress won't pay attention to Zisong Courtyard. Where did Qing Mu go?" Hou Chi replied absent-mindedly. Seeing that Feng Ran's expression looked a bit wrong, she hurriedly asked.

"Hou Chi, I'm afraid Qing Mu knows that Jing Zhao saved his life using her dragon pellet...I'm afraid..."

"How do you know?" Hou Chi's face froze, and her palms suddenly tightened, "Jing Jian said that."

Nine Heavens Profound Thunder...If the dragon pellet was already absorbed deep into Qing Mu's spiritual veins, only the sky thunder above Qinglong Platform can force it out!

Fifteen sky thunders were enough to inflict heavy damage on him. If forty-nine sky thunders smashed down...what's more was that once the dragon pellet is taken out, Qing Mu will also be burned by the dragon breath and wiped out into ashes. No matter the result, he wouldn't survive.

Her face instantly paled. Hou Chi's heart was cold. She raised her head in a daze, looking at Feng Ran, and her eyes were at loss, "Feng Ran, he promised me yesterday that he would go back to Liaowang Mountain with me."

"Hou Chi..." Feng Ran's eyes were full of pain, and she reached out and patted Hou Chi's shoulders, "I'm afraid it's too late."

Profound thunder sounded, which meant that Qing Mu had already entered Qinglong Platform.

Before the sound of her sigh had completely disappeared, Hou Chi had already turned into blue light and headed towards Qinglong Platform.

On Qinglong Platform, a young man in red with a cold expression on his face looked at the thunder and electricity accumulated in the sky indifferently.

Around him, a meter away from Qinglong Platform, a curtain of thunder and lightning emerged, covering the entire Qingling Platform.

Under the dazzling electric light, the young man's dignified figure was extremely thin. The icy aura spread slowly, and a strong spiritual power gushed out of him, faintly resisting the thunder and lightning in the sky.

However, no matter how strong the spiritual power in his body was, he was far from being promoted to a god. Attracting the profound thunder was tantamount to him looking for death! The immortal lords coming for the scene saw the young man in red standing on Qinglong Platform, and they looked at each other, their faces full of uncertain expressions...

When Jing Jian and Jing Zhao arrived, they saw exactly this scene. Seeing Qing Mu standing under the thunder and lightning, Jing Zhao pushed Jing Jian away and stumbled towards Qinglong Platform, but was blocked by the thin curtain of thunder.

A 'puchi' sound sounded, and the faint thunder turned into lightning, rushing towards Jing Zhao. Jing Jian hurriedly flew over to block it, and looked at Jing Zhao anxiously, "Third sister, it's too late. The profound thunder has already been attracted. Now, unless he can resist the forty-nine sky thunders the barrier will not dissipate at all."

Forty-nine sky thunders. He would probably not be able to endure all of them before...

"He won't..." Jing Zhao turned her head in panic, completely ignored the many immortal deities hanging in the sky, and shouted to Qing Mu, "Qing Mu, I don't want you to stay in the Heavenly Palace anymore. You come out. If the dragon pellet is removed, you will die!"

The immortal lords all around were stunned when they heard this and understood what was happening. It must be Lord Qing Mu who attracted the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder on Qinglong Platform. Some time ago, they heard that Qing Mu was suffering from the Three-Headed Fire Dragon's dragon breath. Goddess Hou Chi brought him to the Heavenly Palace to seek help from the Heavenly Emperor. It seemed like Qing Mu was saved by Princess Jing Zhao using her dragon pellet...

After the god weapon fell on Liaowang Mountain, it was rumored that Lord Qing Mu and Goddess Hou Chi liked each other. Now it seemed like the statement was true. Princess Jing Zhao was probably the goddess with dreams but without the heart.

"Princess Jing Zhao, thank you for using your dragon pellet to save me. However, I will be in charge of my own life." An icy voice came from Qinglong Platform. Without even turning, as if he never cared about the arrival of Jing Zhao and the immortal lords, Qing Mu just watched the thunder and lightning accumulating in the sky with a calm expression.

"Qing Mu, don't suffer the thunder tribulation, come out quickly..." Jing Zhao was still pleading outside Qinglong Platform, her eyes full of regret. Her hairpins were scattered everywhere, and her jade-stunned golden crown fell to the ground, making a crisp sound with fragments all over the ground.

When have the immortal lords to the side seen Princess Jing Zhao, who had always been luxurious and dignified, look so pitiful? They looked at her in wonder, and all lowered their heads and pretended to not see her.

"Jing Zhao, what are you doing? How can this do!" An angry rant came from the sky. Two white lights flashed, and the Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress appeared in the void, looking at the scene below, their expressions a bit ugly.

"Heavenly Mother, you must quickly break the barrier and let Qing Mu come out. If the profound thunder descends, he won't be able to endure it." Jing Zhao anxiously ran in the direction of the Heavenly Empress with an anxious expression, ignoring the Heavenly Emperor's scolding.

"Jing Zhao, the Profound Thunder Curtain is born from heaven and earth. Unless the profound thunder is finished, it can't be damaged at all." The Heavenly Empress lowered her eyes to look at Jing Zhao, then at Qing Mu on Qinglong Platform, with an unpredictable expression, "Qing Mu, do you really rather receive the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder than stay in the Heavenly Palace?"

She never imagined that Qing Mu would be so decisive that he would rather die than be constrained by the Heavenly Palace.

The cold coercion accompanied by the Heavenly Empress's cold words slowly moved towards Qing Mu on the platform and became more and more frightening under the roar of the sky thunder.

Qinglong Platform was silent for a while, and it was a long time before a young man's too indifferent voice could be heard.

"I thank the Heavenly Empress for your interest in me. As soon as the dragon pellet comes out, Qing Mu no longer owes anything to the Heavenly Palace and has nothing to do with Princess Jing Zhao."

Jing Zhao stood on the open space outside Qinglong Platform, staring at his decisive red shadow. Her eyes blurred in an instant, and her body started trembling at a loss.

How could he be so heartless? The entire Three Realms knew that she fell in love with him and was willing to give up her dragon pellet to save him. Now, under everyone's eyes, even if he has an iron heart [1], he shouldn't say such a thing!

It wasn't that he didn't owe her, she was afraid he wanted to say that Hou Chi didn't owe her...

Jing Jian looked at Jing Zhao anxiously and sighed secretly. He walked to Jing Zhao's side and held her back. These words from Qing Mu were said for his Heavenly Father and Mother to hear.

When the Heavenly Emperor and Empress standing in the sky heard these words, their expressions changed. The Heavenly Emperor shook his arm a little, took a step back, and made no sound. The Heavenly Empress's expression sank, and a touch of coldness appeared in her eyes.

"If that's the case, then I will see whether Qing Mu can endure these forty-nine strikes of Nine Heavens Profound Thunder!"

When the Heavenly Empress finished her words, a blue light pierced the sky. Appearing in front of everyone, the girl who walked down from the cloud was dressed in cyan. She had a plain face, but there was a simple, pure, and pleasant aura all over her body.

Seeing Princess Jing Zhao's face suddenly tighten, the immortals didn't need to guess to know how this person was!

Her back figure under the profound thunder was particularly dazzling. Hou Chi stepped down the cloud and slowly walked towards Qinglong Platform.

She fixedly looked at Qing Mu, and the angry aura rising from her made the entire square suddenly quiet.

As if feeling something, the red figure who had his back towards the crowd the entire time slowly clenched his hands behind his back in this strange silence, and his eyes drooped slightly.

Hou Chi stood outside the curtain of thunder and lightning. Although there was no wind, the cyan robe somehow floated upwards. Feng Ran flew towards them on a cloud from a distance. When she saw the scene, she stopped not far from Hou Chi, and looked at her worriedly.

"You have to come out. Whether your spiritual veins will be completely destroyed, or you will become a mortal, or even if you are burned to only a soul by the dragon breath, you have to come out."

(Part 2)

An extremely determined voice sounded outside Qinglong Platform. There wasn't any trace of hesitation or panic, as if she was stating a fact. Hou Chi's words sounded unusually indifferent and were filled with a dense evil aura.

"If you need one reincarnation, I will wait one life for you. If you need ten, I will wait ten lives for you!"

The Heavenly Emperor and Empress looked towards Hou Chi, with a slightly different meaning in their eyes. Compared with Jing Zhao's pleading outside Qinglong Platform, Hou Chi only said a mere sentence...

The figure on Qinglong Platform paused for a while, then nodded invisibly.

At this moment, a ray of light shot across the sky. A roar sounded, and a strike of sky thunder finally formed above Qinglong Platform, descending towards Qing Mu.

Boom...

A strong spiritual power emanated from Qing Mu and wrapped around the Taicang Spear, turning into red light and colliding with the descending thunder and lightning. The power of the thunder and lightning was guided into Qing Mu's body by the Taicang Spear, going deep into his spiritual veins, and slowly guiding the dragon pellet out of his body. The light from the attacking thunder gradually dissipated, and the shadow of the person under the Taicang Spear did not move like he was a rock.

Hou Chi's tightened hand slightly loosened, and she let out a gentle sigh.

Fighting with one's own spiritual power and then guiding the power of the thunder into one's body had never appeared on Qinglong Platform. The immortals were shocked at Qing Mu's spiritual power as they sighed at the power of the thunder. Profound thunder was truly extraordinary. It just started, and already had such momentum.

The Heavenly Emperor released a soft sound, and some doubt crossed his eyes. He looked at the Heavenly Empress with a solemn expression, "Wu Huan, isn't this Profound Thunder a little strange? When the Three-Headed Fire Dragon was being promoted to a god, its power was much weaker than it is now. And there were only thirty-six strikes. How did Qing Mu draw forty-nine [1] strikes...what is happening?

"Profound Thunder is based on the spiritual power of the person having the tribulation. The Three-Headed Fire Dragon is a fierce beast. According to the records in classical texts, it is right that thirty-six Profound Thunders should be drawn. Forty-six strikes can only be attracted by some immortals with deep god veins who are about to be promoted to a god in ancient times, but Qing Mu's power is weaker than the Three-Headed Fire Dragon, so I don't know how he attracted them either..." The Heavenly Empress shook her head. Looking at Hou Chi outside Qinglong Platform, who wasn't moving at all, she said, "Perhaps Qing Mu has a good fate, which is why this sky thunder would descend. But each Profound Thunder strike gets more and more powerful, layering their power. With his current spiritual power, it's impossible to resist the forty-nine strikes of Profound Thunder."

Following the Heavenly Empress's words, another strike of sky thunder descended and fought against the red light produced by the Taicang Spear.

Boom boom boom...

The speed of the sky thunder was getting faster and faster. In only a breath of time, fifteen sky thunders had already fallen, and Qinglong Platform briefly calmed down.

The red light spread and the surrounding immortal deities were stunned when they saw Qing Mu, who was only slightly gasping.

Fifteen strikes of sky thunder was already the limit of an ordinary high lord. Even with the Taicang Spear's help, Qing Mu's spiritual power was too terrifying.

Seeing the slightly gasping figure on Qinglong Platform, Hou Chi raised her feet, and then squeezed her hands, stopping in the same place that she was originally in.

Everyone's exclamation was not over yet. The thunder and lightning surged again, more terrifying than before, and they accumulated, then shot towards Qing Mu. Under the thunder and lightning, the steady red figure finally slightly trembled, and the red light around the Taicang Spear gradually weakened...

There was a crisp sound, and the red light completely disappeared. The Taicang Spear let out a faint whine and fell from the air beside Qing Mu. Jing Zhao gasped and covered her mouth, her face pale as she watched the lightning strike Qing Mu directly.

With every strike, the figure on Qinglong Platform bent more and more, and finally, a muffled groan sounded, and bright red blood slowly escaped from Qing Mu's lips. He trembled all over, half-kneeling on the ground, and squeezed his hands on the ground fiercely.

Hou Chi fixedly looked at the figure on Qinglong Platform, and suddenly clenched her trembling hands. She rushed towards the curtain of thunder and lightning but was held tightly by a pair of hands. Behind her, Feng Ran's words came slowly, flooding over her slow sigh.

"Hou Chi, you can't help him."

Lightning slashed across him without any obstruction. His body of flesh and blood completely carried the wrath of thunder and lightning. His red robe was gradually dyed a dark red. Hou Chi didn't even know how much fresh blood was needed to make the color so strong and dark.

She turned around, her dark eyes deep, with a bit of deep-red color inside. Feng Ran was taken aback and let go of Hou Chi's hand in a daze.

"I know. Feng Ran, I have never hated my incompetence like this before."

The light and cold voice suddenly sounded, with a hollow paleness.

She was a god, but with low spiritual power. Don't mention helping Qing Mu resist the sky thunder, even this curtain couldn't be crossed.

I can only be a meter away from you and watch you suffer all the punishments from the heavens and the gods for me. Qing Mu, how terrible you make me feel!

Counting one after another, the roar of thunder and lightning gradually made people numb. Everyone looked at the figure that seemed would never fall down, the shock in their eyes gradually turning into admiration.

Before the last five lightning strikes, the entire sky fell into silence. Bright red blood slowly dripped from Qing Mu's hand, dying Qinglong Platform into a red shade. The figure was faltering. Everyone could see that he was already at the end of his strength. If a few more lightning descended, they were afraid that Qing Mu might now even have the spiritual power to resist the dragon breath in his body...

In the end, the last five strikes of sky thunder slowly gathered under everyone's concentrated eyes but didn't descend for a long time. Just when everyone was surprised, they realized...the five strikes of lightning and thunder were slowly fusing together, forming a power that could destroy the heaven and earth. Heavy coercion came from the thunder and lightning, and even the immortal lords standing close had the feeling of bowing and surrendering!

Since after the god realm, no one had been able to resist the Nine Heavens Profound Thunder to such a degree, so no one knew that the last five strikes would merge together!

Everyone's complexion changed drastically. Forget about taking out the dragon pellet, I'm afraid that when the last lightning descends will be the time Qing Mu turns into flying smoke!

"Heavenly Mother, I beg you, I don't want the dragon pellet, I regret it, I won't bet anymore!" Jing Zhao muttered to herself and suddenly knelt down in the direction of the Heavenly Empress, her eyes full of panic and despair.

"Jing Zhao, it's too late. The power of the sky thunder has already formed, and no one can reverse it. If he doesn't accept this, then it will be the entire Heavenly Palace suffering this thunder punishment." The Heavenly Emperor slowly shook his head, his eyes full of surprise and suspicion.