Chapter 451: A Vastly Different Situation, Like Playing House

Profound Heaven Star Realm.

Flowing Cloud Mountain Range.

Deep within this mountain range lies a valley rarely visited by humans, filled with many strange plants and trees. Every single one of them bears scorched, twisted marks, as if they are constantly being lashed by thunder, which is why they possess such an odd, spasming form.

Crackle!

The occasional explosive sound of electric arcs in the air confirms that this is indeed a rare thunder-land. Naturally, although these plants and trees are all strange-looking, they are all species capable of enduring the lashing of thunder without dying.

In other words, they are spirit materials and spirit objects of the thunder element! The deeper one goes, the more precious they become, until at the very depths, it seems as if a source of thunder is hidden within, occasionally emitting a booming breathing sound in the daily routine.

Naturally, such a unique treasure land would attract the covetous eyes of cultivators.

At this very moment, three human cultivators have arrived here; their high level of skill makes them bold, and they have already reached the deepest territory.

Rumble! Accompanied by a giant thunderclap on flat ground, the deep valley trembled and the plants bowed. Those three human cultivators—a sturdy middle-aged man, a young girl in yellow, and a gloomy youth in green robes—flew out of the deep valley in a sorry state, covered in scorch marks and electric arcs, their faces filled with shock, anger, and terror.

Daring not to delay at all, they each drove their escape lights and sped out of the valley at extreme speed.

Shockingly, these three are all Nascent Soul stage cultivators! It is just unclear why they did not use the divine escape technique of their realm: spatial movement.

Therefore, before they could even fly out of the valley, they saw the bottom of the valley suddenly burst open. A dazzling ball of light appeared from within, bristling with thick electric arcs that lashed out wantonly at the surroundings, turning nearby plants and rocks into ash. Its speed was like a lightning bolt; in a single flash, like spatial movement, it had already appeared before the three of them.

"Damn it!"

The middle-aged man stopped in a hurry, his expression filled with panic.

"What are we supposed to do now? We didn't know before that this Thunder-Shock Toad was actually at the late Nascent Soul stage!"

The girl in yellow also stopped, her pretty face deathly pale, regret surging within her.

The youth in green robes naturally stopped as well, but he did not speak at this moment, only staring fixedly at the ball of light before them.

That was formed by demonic Qi and demonic power entangled with lightning, crackling and popping. Inside, one could vaguely see a toad demon beast several zhang wide.

"Fellow Daoist Qing, although its realm exceeds our expectations, since it was struck by the poison you specifically prepared to corrode thunder, its full strength should now be less than half of its peak. Otherwise, it wouldn't have stopped to regulate its breath just now. Therefore, at this moment, only if you and I, both at the mid-stage, join forces and fight with our lives on the line, will there be a glimmer of survival!"

The middle-aged man spoke hurriedly, glancing at the girl, his gaze shifting from panic to determination.

"Then what about me? Besides, even if this Thunder-Shock Toad's strength is less than half, it is after all a variant beast, a blood descendant of that Profound Thunder Three-Legged Toad. Its combat power far exceeds those of the same rank. Even if you join forces, I fear you still won't win!"

The girl in yellow appeared incoherent, her regret even deeper.

"I know all this, but we can only do this now. Otherwise, with its escape speed, once it recovers, we will never be able to escape the Flowing Cloud Mountain Range!"

"Fellow Daoist Qing, hurry! You and I must join forces immediately!"

The middle-aged man urged, and at the same time said to the girl: "And you, an early Nascent Soul stage cultivator is of no use here. Run quickly! If you can reach Nine Clouds City outside the mountains, perhaps you can invite the forces of the City Lord's Mansion. For a variant beast like the Thunder-Shock Toad, I imagine they would be interested!"

Before the girl could open her mouth again, the youth in green robes had already acted decisively.

As his sleeves flicked, two balls of green light shot out immediately. In mid-air, they transformed into two green, mist-like cobras, opening their snake mouths and spreading their backbones, looking exceptionally ferocious and terrifying.

The mere diffusion of the green mist at the edges already gave the other two a sense of bodily numbness. It was truly potent poison, causing the middle-aged man to reveal a look of great joy.

"Good, good, good! I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Qing's Green Poison Art to be practiced to such a level of mastery. Now, our chances of winning have increased by another twenty percent!"

As he spoke, he also stimulated his magic power. A ball of earth-colored light shield immediately emerged from his body, adhering to him to form a mid-grade earth armor, which also reached the level of a master.

At the same time, yellow mysterious patterns quietly covered him, quickly spreading to his face and head, bringing a sense of steadiness and weight. With another opening of his mouth, his natal magic treasure, the Mountain-Opening Axe, was spat out. It immediately grew in the wind, transforming to the size of a house, and smashed fiercely toward the Thunder-Shock Toad within the ball of light.

This variant beast, which had been regulating its breath to suppress the poison and staring coldly at the three people outside, immediately widened its two massive eyeballs. The rage burning within could no longer be suppressed.

"Croak!"

Rumble! Amidst the frog's croak, the air exploded with a bang, forming a Thunder-Shock roar. It directly stirred up a wave of empty space, blocking the attacks coming from two directions respectively. Then, it suddenly spat out its tongue, and a bolt of lightning as thick as a water vat shot out, crackling and popping, mixed with thick demonic power.

In the blink of an eye, the ball of light that had been shrouding it was swallowed up, revealing its true form: a giant toad with blue skin and thunder patterns. It had four legs, but the half of its front leg appeared underdeveloped, as if withered and crippled.

And that tongue, which had swallowed the demonic power and lightning, was now truly like a bolt of thunder, directly crushing the two green-mist cobras. The expression of the youth in green robes changed, but he was already unable to dodge and could only bite the bullet and spit out his natal magic treasure, the Hundred-Poison Cup.

Inside it, various poisonous gases and venoms were intertwined, eventually turning into a greenish color. Once it appeared, it immediately evolved into a hundred poisons, intending to weave a picture of a hundred poisons devouring each other.

Rip!

But the thunder tongue came even faster, directly tearing apart the incomplete picture of a hundred poisons devouring each other. It looked as if it were about to strike and shatter the Hundred-Poison Cup and then kill the youth in green robes.

"Ha!"

Just at this moment, a loud shout rang out. It was the middle-aged man, who had actually leaped above the Thunder-Shock Toad. As he clenched his fists and exerted his strength, a zhang-wide earth hammer manifested. The mysterious patterns on his face were twisting incessantly, as if they were sucking blood; he had already used his trump card, a self-harming method to amplify his own strength.

At this moment, the Thunder-Shock Toad's thunder sound was hindered, its tongue was extended, and it was deeply poisoned, so it had no possibility of escaping for the time being and could only take the move head-on.

Thud! The giant hammer smashed down, and the thunder tongue stopped, but before the three could show any joy—

Boom! The toad's body was like a drum, and the giant hammer beat upon it, immediately erupting with a resounding thunderclap!

The three people's faces turned pale instantly, each unable to stop themselves from vomiting blood. Their magic power was in a state of chaos, and they were almost unable to remain suspended in the air. Even though they barely managed to stop, they were unable to move for a moment.

The most miserable was the middle-aged man. He was directly sent flying back by the counter-shock. His giant hammer and earth armor were both shattered, the mysterious patterns on his body cracked, and he vomited blood wildly, flying backward and smashing heavily into the mountain wall, unable to even be pried out.

"Uncle!"

The girl in yellow managed to cry out in alarm.

"I... I'm fine... Hurry! This beast can't move for the moment. If we don't leave now, it... it will be too late!"

The middle-aged man wanted to move but could not, and could only speak with such difficulty.

Upon hearing this, the girl in yellow could not help but grit her teeth, her eyes filled with tears. She hurriedly channeled her cultivation and magic power, which were fluctuating, intending to break free from the predicament and escape.

However, just at this moment, the Thunder-Shock Toad opened its mouth and spat out a mass of green, viscous matter. Inside, it seemed as if insects were moving, but they were all twitching from the electricity, half-dead.

"Oh no, it actually used that last strike to force out the Bone-Eroding Maggot poison I planted!"

The three of them were still unable to move at this moment, and the Thunder-Shock Toad, having removed the poison, had already stood up, recovering its ability to act. As demonic power surged, dark clouds quietly appeared in the sky, and static electricity began to flicker in the air.

It seemed it intended to use its killing move to directly slaughter these demon hunters who dared to covet it! Seeing this, the eyes of the three could not help but reveal a look of despair.

It's over!

Just at this moment, between the humans and the toad, a figure suddenly flashed into existence.

One could only see him clad in mysterious armor, as deep as an abyss, drawing away all gazes. Although his face was calm, it was not cold or distant. At this moment, he seemed to have a trace of doubt, and his brows were slightly furrowed.

"Croak?"

As soon as the Thunder-Shock Toad saw him, its heart immediately turned cold, and all its rage vanished completely. It suddenly boosted all its demonic power, and a lightning bolt ten zhang thick immediately fell from the sky. At the same time, it erupted with thunder light and turned to run, bolting a thousand zhang away in the blink of an eye! It had actually fled directly!

The three of them watched, dumbfounded; even more stupefying was that, facing such terrifying thunder, even an average Nascent Soul perfection stage cultivator would not dare to take it head-on, yet that person didn't care in the slightest, being struck directly as if he were bathing, seemingly even annoyed that his Profound Armor had become somewhat inappropriate.

"I have something to ask you."

A calm voice rang out.

Ask whom?

Us?

The three were stunned for a moment, and in the very next instant, the thunder suddenly vanished as if it were a hallucination, and the Thunder-Shock Toad, which had already run several thousand zhang away, appeared back in its original position in a daze.

Before it stood the mysterious person who had turned his head to look.

Du En.

The Thunder-Shock Toad's three and a half legs were currently weak, and it croaked in great panic and fear.

How could it not know that it had encountered a Great Power!

And a human Great Power at that!

Finished!

"Can you not speak human language?"

Yes, yes, yes! The Thunder-Shock Toad dared not be slow, nodding frantically, and then actually vividly squeezed out a fawning expression; it truly had no backbone at all, leaving the three monster hunters even more foolish and sluggish.

"……You can at least communicate via divine sense, right?"

"Croak, croak, croak!"

That it still used such a method for divine sense communication made even Du En's calm expression seem like it was about to fail, so he just waved his hand casually, "Fine, you may go."

"Croak?"

The Thunder-Shock Toad could not help but be shocked.

Just like that? I can leave just like that?

That shouldn't be right; the Great Cultivator from Nine Clouds City before would chase me the moment he encountered me, and if it weren't for my fast thunder-escape, I would have long been captured, skinned, or kept in captivity! Of course, it immediately reacted, kowtowed three times in gratitude, and then ran off without looking back.

Du En did not pay it any mind.

Humans hunt monsters, monsters kill humans; since this was the normal ecology of this place, he originally did not want to interfere, but the situation in this Profound Azure Star Realm was truly strange. In the vast Flowing Cloud Mountain Range, the strongest individual was actually just that little toad! He had been extremely serious and earnest before coming, and in the best-case scenario, he expected a start at least ten or a hundred times better than a life-source star realm, yet the result was a scene like children playing house……

"I can be considered to have saved your lives, so I hope you can answer my questions."

It wasn't even a matter of 'the word becoming law', but with a mere shift of his thoughts, the three scattered people were already standing neatly on the ground, their magic power states restored to calm, no longer vomiting blood, and their spirits revived.

Before them was Du En, who had put away his Profound Armor; at a glance, he looked quite ordinary, wearing a set of cyan dharma robes with a slovenly outer robe draped over them, his overall demeanor exuding peace and indifference.

In a trance, the three even felt as if they were seeing a green forest in spring under a warm sun, natural and serene.

Just then, a long diamond-shaped mirror surface that appeared abruptly, with what looked like a figure inside, broke the three's trance and floated calmly above Du En's shoulder, setting him off with a sense of mystery and loftiness.

The three were shocked and terrified, not daring to be the least bit negligent.

"Whatever the Senior wishes to ask, we would never dare to conceal anything!"

"Tell me about the situation in this realm and its surroundings, and whether there have been any anomalies recently; no matter how minute, you must describe them carefully."

"Yes! This place is the Flowing Cloud Mountain Range, located in……"

To Du En, looking at these three, their ages, the exact hour of their birth, the age at which they achieved breakthroughs in cultivation, and the key experiences in their lives were all clear at a glance.

Origin-Seeing Holy Pupils!

Seeing their life-source, seeing their origin! The so-called life-source is not just the source of life, but also functions like a written record of a living being's history; it is just like a book, where all sorts of important experiences leave marks, whether deep or light.

That is why the Formless Life Mother can realistically evolve billions upon billions of living beings, even basically reproducing their cultivation strength from before death, and why the Holy God can devour the mutated star life-source to thoroughly liberate the stars and break free from the shackles and fetters of the Fallen Feather Immortal Gate.

Because of this, Du En had already made a preliminary judgment that these three were just ordinary cultivators; two of them were even the type who were overly weak, Nascent Soul stage cultivators who could be called the elite of the weak third-rate, whose cultivation was basically pushed up entirely by external forces.

Corroborating this with the battle process he had just observed, the level of this Profound Azure Star Realm really seemed a bit too poor.

However, he naturally would not draw a conclusion casually, listening carefully and deliberating over the three's accounts, asking questions from time to time.

Thus, after half a day, the three had somewhat dazed expressions, looking at each other with lingering suspicion.

Because Du En's figure was no longer before them, and there were no traces of him in their memories; all their various experiences had been replaced by a logical development, and they were still in the midst of escaping, having had a sudden whim to take a risk and hide in the shadows of the light.

"Quick, quick, quick, while that Thunder-Shock Toad hasn't come to its senses yet, let's go!"

The middle-aged man said hurriedly, taking the lead in flying away, and the other two naturally had no objections, following closely behind.

Another half an hour or so passed, and the Thunder-Shock Toad came charging back in a rage; it had also forgotten the previous events, only feeling that it had been played by those three, and was so angry it jumped about in a fury.

It followed the tracks to hunt them for a while, until it sensed that the three had already escaped very far and could not possibly be caught before leaving the mountains, so out of fear and dread of the Great Cultivator in Nine Clouds City outside the mountains, it lashed out at the surroundings with thunder in vent of its anger.

In the end, it still dared not continue the pursuit and could only gloomily return to its lair to stay.

Everything seemed unchanged, yet everything was quietly changing.

(End of chapter)