Chapter 263: Divine Dragon Above the Oriental Pearl Tower!

Boom—

Lightning like a giant axe that split heaven and earth tore a huge gap in the dark, heavy sky, and torrential rain poured out from the breach, sweeping across the whole world.

The repeated booms were like ten thousand horses galloping, like mountains collapsing and earth splitting; the purple thunder beast roared, tearing apart the cloud layers and the sky's bonds, staring down at the humans below with tiger-like intensity.

Such a huge commotion quickly drew the attention of everyone in the Demon Capital; although there had been rainstorms and lightning before, none had ever been this grand.

The heavens and earth were filled with an inexplicable killing aura, oppressive enough to make it hard to breathe.

"Hey, look quickly!"

In the residential building, someone gazing at the sky outside the window suddenly let out a cry, instantly drawing the attention of the whole family.

All that could be seen was the surging thunder; within the endless purple sea of lightning, a blurry silhouette appeared on the horizon, about tens of meters in size, surrounded by crackling electricity.

Because it was too far away and the rain kept falling, the view was especially blurry, but one could barely see the silhouette flying toward the firmament, swallowing clouds and exhaling mist, before finally disappearing completely into the ocean of lightning.

Many residents of the Demon Capital noticed the sky-filling lightning and the mysterious, blurry silhouette.

"Whoa! What is that?"

"I didn't see wrong, right? It feels like there's a living creature inside the lightning."

"Don't you feel that the silhouette looks a bit like a dragon?"

Watching the scene in the heavens, the people of the Demon Capital chattered among themselves.

Lightning flashed, the downpour poured, and the black clouds weighed down on this steel-and-concrete city like mountains, so much that even its steel frames could not bear the weight.

The once-prosperous metropolis now swayed in the wind and rain, like a tiny boat in a storm, ready to capsize at any moment.

Ye Qin walked between heaven and earth; these times of life and experience kept flashing in his mind as the life of an ordinary person—seemingly long, yet actually extremely brief.

All of this gave him too many insights; it was different from a cultivator's experience—no longer a mere observer, nor a lofty deity, but a participant as a mortal.

"What exactly is real and what is fake? Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, or the butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou?"

"Having just awakened from a great dream, the years are vast, time flows on, and only the Dao remains eternal."

Ye Qin murmured to himself, as if the Dao were whispering; light and brilliance flowed around him, strands of divine rhythm entwined, and a faint breath gradually permeated, causing his previously scattered energy to surge again.

His scales turned crystal clear, each releasing endless spiritual power; countless mysterious symbols and patterns emanated from his body, isolating the surrounding lightning.

Ye Qin ascended, entering the nine heavens, heading toward the optimal tribulation site.

At the moment his energy surged, the tribulation clouds over the Demon Capital also underwent a drastic change.

Boom—rumble!

The muffled thunder shattered the firmament, one after another purple bolt splitting the sky into countless sections.

Within those massive dark clouds, a terrifying aura surged, as if an ancient ferocious beast had awakened, slowly opening its eyes, purple light gleaming within, locking onto its target.

An indescribable pressure descended from the ninth heaven; almost everyone felt it, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, gazing at the apocalyptic scene above, leaving them breathless.

The next second, the dark clouds roiled; the terrifying thunderclouds that had lingered over the Demon Capital for a long time suddenly erupted without any warning.

Countless thunder dragons roared, appearing in the sky; each bolt of purple light resembled the branches of the World Tree, taking root in the firmament and growing wildly.

The released electric light illuminated the entire Demon Capital and nearby cities like daylight; the tremendous thunderclap echoed through heaven and earth, making all buildings seem to shake.

Within the endless dark clouds, a faint, slender shadow flickered in and out, its form massive, head and tail indiscernible, bathed in lightning as if an ancient divine palace's reward existed in this world.

Many people saw the shadow of this unknown creature, only feeling their heads buzz nonstop, their expressions even more shocked.

"What, what exactly is that?!"

"Is it an illusion or does it truly exist?"

"How could there be a living creature in the lightning sea? It's simply unimaginable."

"In the lightning‑cloud sea, this shadow is slender—could it be a dragon?"

"Dragons are legendary creatures; how could there be dragons in the world?"

Many people staring at the scene above had their pupils contract sharply, revealing utter horror, but just as they were about to pull out their phones to take a picture, that mysterious shadow swiftly vanished into the lightning sea, leaving no trace.

The next second, an unimaginable downpour and lightning poured down, as if the whole world had become their playground.

At the same time, in the distant Longyuan Mountain, as well as Huashang, Everwhite Mountain, Great Mountain, Immortal Island, and so on, countless Great Demons felt a majestic aura and fluctuation.

This fluctuation is hard for humans to detect, but the monsters sensed its world‑shattering power; even though they are far apart, they can still feel it.

For a moment, all the Great Demons had their hearts in their throats.

"This aura is too terrifying."

Longyuan Mountain, the yellow weasel spoke with lingering fear, only to see its fur explode all over its body, looking extremely fluffy.

Beside it, the fox nodded repeatedly, "Master has finally begun the tribulation—indeed, if you don't go through it, you're fine; but once you do, it's astonishing."

"Who says otherwise? If it were me, I'd probably be left with nothing but scraps after being struck."

"I'm a bit worried about comforting Master; do you think we should go take a look?"

"What for? If we go now, we'll just distract Master and make him worry; better to stay put and not cause him trouble."

Countless Great Demons gazed into the distant sky, their eyes full of worry.

Likewise worried were the high‑ranking officials of the Demon Capital.

"What on earth is going on?!"

"Wasn't I supposed to have you monitor this rain cloud around the clock? How did it turn into this in such a short time, and erupt so suddenly!"

"I don't want to hear your nonsense right now—quickly think of a solution, or else the whole Demon Capital will be flooded."

In the office of the Demon Capital's supreme commander came Gao Zhanpeng's angry roar.

Gao Zhanpeng held the phone, his expression as grim as the clouds outside the window, the creases between his brows tight enough to pinch a mosquito.

"Whoosh!"

A blinding flash of lightning split the heavens, striking the huge floor‑to‑ceiling glass; for a moment, Gao Zhanpeng thought the glass would be shattered by the lightning.

The torrential downpour was truly shocking—nothing like ordinary rain, as if the heavenly river waterfall had been flung open, wildly pouring onto the earth.

In the raging storm, within just half an hour the entire Demon Capital was submerged in vast floodwaters; lightning flashed, revealing deep puddles on the ground, with countless districts inundated by the downpour.

The once bustling and prosperous roads are now filled with large swaths of stalled cars, almost blocking the road completely; even the street-side shops have taken in considerable water, and the electrical systems have suffered varying degrees of damage.

The vast Magic City has suddenly become a water city; in the deepest flooded areas, the water nearly submerges an adult's bare feet.

Upon receiving this news, the Mayor of Magic City was on the verge of collapse, "I clearly told you to keep watch, so how did it still erupt suddenly! Now such a major incident has occurred—can you bear responsibility for it?"

Faced with Gao Zhanpeng's angry scolding, the Meteorological Department was like someone eating coptis while mute—bitter but unable to speak; the department head stared at his large dark circles and eye bags, gazing out the window at the scene, his expression also helpless.

With such heavy rain clouds looming overhead, plus everything that had happened before, even thinking with your toes you could tell it wasn't simple.

Here at the Meteorological Department, personnel have been assigned around the clock without interruption, daring not to slack off in the slightest; even the department head personally took charge, and over this short period they have basically not slept a full night.

All day long, whether eyes open or closed, it's just satellite cloud maps; sometimes even their sleep-talk consists of observing data and such.

Even so, it was still useless—just the time it takes to drink a sip of water—and the rain clouds erupted without any warning, with such speed and ferocity that they gave people no time to react.

Purple lightning resembled a winding, coiling long dragon, circling above the nine heavens; each time it roared, the whole earth trembled uneasily, and even the people of Magic City felt a faint numbing sting.

Many Meteorological Department staff, looking at the pitch-black sky outside and the incessant rain and lightning, only felt dizzy and disoriented.

"This is too terrifying; I've lived this long and never seen such terrifying rainstorm weather."

"It feels as if the apocalypse has arrived."

"What should we do from now on? Will Magic City really be flooded?"

The Meteorological Department staff were anxious and uneasy, and after lengthy discussion they still had no good solution or plan.

Thunder rumbled incessantly; the rain clouds that had accumulated for a long time above Magic City finally erupted completely, and in an instant it was like opening a floodgate—everything poured down, beyond human power to stop.

The department head hurriedly asked for the latest cloud map, only to discover that after the heavy rain clouds burst, even satellites could not observe or detect them.

He tried to explain all this to Gao Zhanpeng.

"Leader, hear me out—our department had absolutely no negligence; the rain clouds simply reached critical point all at once and then erupted suddenly, and our instruments detected nothing at all."

But Gao Zhanpeng had no mood to listen to these explanations; he immediately issued an order, urgently activating the response measures of all departments in Magic City.

After nearly two months of thunderstorm weather, various departments had already been on alert, and with official compensation and overtime pay, they were mentally prepared.

Almost as soon as the rainstorm hit, everyone sprang into emergency action, including lifeguards, firefighters, soldiers, police, and so on.

The military and civil authorities of Magic City almost simultaneously sprang into action, dispatching large numbers of personnel for disaster relief.

"Hurry! Everyone go to the upper floors to take shelter, to avoid electric leakage from water below; please be careful, don't push, lest a stampede occur."

"Don't go onto open-air rooftops; watch out for lightning!"

"Where are the sandbags? Quickly block the water flow at this subway exit to cut it off!"

"There are still over a dozen people down here who haven't been evacuated; we absolutely cannot let the floodwaters sweep this place away."

"Just now we received word—let's hurry to Magic City University, where many students are trapped awaiting our rescue."

Countless troops were mobilized, conducting disaster relief in every district of Magic City and nearby cities; countless lifeboats and kayaks rushed to every corner of the city.

The personnel engaged in emergency rescue had bloodshot eyes; the scale of the rainstorm before them was truly enormous, and even though they had anticipated it, they were overwhelmed to the point of being frazzled.

All drainage facilities and pipes in the Magic City urban area also kicked into high gear immediately, and hundreds of millions of tons of rainwater were frantically pumped out to sea by the drainage system.

Faced with this torrential downpour, all possible countermeasures were deployed, but human strength remained utterly insignificant.

In the office, Gao Zhanpeng's roaring never ceased.

"Concentrate all efforts to rescue residents trapped by the rainstorm!"

"Have the people inside Line 1 subway been rescued?"

"What, there are still dozens! No matter what methods you use, you must absolutely get the people out!"

"Does the power system need repairs? Put that aside for now—the top priority is saving lives!"

After hanging up the phone, Gao Zhanpeng looked out the window; his expression matched the dark clouds outside, grim to the extreme.

Above the firmament, thunder dragons darted about; looking down from the high-rises, the entire city had turned into rivers, truly becoming a water city, with no exposed ground visible.

"Why has this happened!"

Although we had anticipated the horror of the rainstorm, we never imagined the situation would develop to this extent; it truly surpassed everyone's expectations.

Countless civilians were trapped in the subway, vast floodwaters flowing; even with prior preparation, in the face of natural disaster, how fragile human strength is.

Just now, many reports came in saying that due to this massive thunderstorm, the power systems in many parts of Magic City have completely collapsed.

"What on earth is going on with this mass of rain clouds!"

"I recall the Meteorological Department saying that this mass of rain clouds originally drifted over from the Longyuan Mountain Range."

"Could it really be related to Longyuan Mountain?"

Just as Gao Zhanpeng was at a loss, countless residents in the Magic City urban area also gazed at the heavens and earth's rainstorm, their expressions filled with surprise.

"This is probably the greatest rainstorm in Magic City's history; even if you look at the whole world, such a scale has never appeared."

"This lightning is too terrifying; for no reason I feel a bit panicked, as if something major is about to happen."

"I'm so afraid; when will this rain end?"

Residents also realized the seriousness of the situation, staying indoors and not daring to run around, hoping this terrifying weather will pass as soon as possible.

Magic City Bund, near the Oriental Pearl Tower.

The surging river water kicked up waves taller than a person; giant beasts in the river tumbled and roared as they surged from both banks into the Yangtze.

Countless civilians hid in the high-rises on both banks, shivering.

The rainstorm flood came all too suddenly; just tens of minutes ago they were still here strolling and eating, enjoying the riverside scenery, but in a moment they became drenched chickens.

Those on the Bund could only watch helplessly as the rain intensified, the final outpouring unstoppable, with water accumulating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

First to be swallowed were the many benches on the Bund, plus some bicycles and motorcycles, which were engulfed by the flood in the blink of an eye.

Many people at the windows of the high-rises looked down at the scene, their faces turning deathly pale instantly; fortunately they reacted quickly and avoided danger in time, otherwise they too would have been swept away by the flood.

In the end, even some small cars were caught up in the murky current and then vanished from their sight.

Under the intertwining lightning, the flood swept everything away, resembling an apocalyptic scene; as a seaside city and the mouth of the Yangtze, if anyone had previously said this place would burst into flood, they would never have believed it.

But the scene before us now truly makes one's scalp tingle.

What terrified them most wasn't these rainstorms, but the thunder dragons ravaging the midair; lightning struck down from the high sky, carrying the power to shatter the withered and rotten, tearing the whole sky in two.

Many trees and buildings around were damaged; looking outside, numerous small structures had been swept away or destroyed, and the people inside the skyscraper were terrified.

"How long will we be trapped here?"

"The government surely won't just stand by; wait a bit, and once the rain eases things should be fine."

"But looking at this rain, it doesn't seem like it'll stop anytime soon."

"Will the flood sweep away our building?"

The people inside the skyscraper were like ants on a hot pan, and to make matters worse, the originally bright building suddenly turned pitch black without any warning.

Screams rose and fell throughout the building.

"What's going on! Who turned off the lights!"

"Pulling a prank at a time like this is sick."

Darkness suddenly fell, all office buildings and shops plunged into blackness, and the already panicked crowd grew even more terrified.

"Don't panic, everyone, and definitely don't run around; it's likely the power system was affected by the thunderstorm, causing a blackout."

"Crack!"

As the words hit the ground, a thick bolt of purple lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the darkness before it instantly returned to black.

The people's panic didn't subside but grew; everyone was like a startled bird, and fear kept spreading through the crowd.

From the pitch-black Magic City Bund came many sobbing sounds.

"I want to go home."

"Is anyone coming to save us?"

The rain poured down, the world filled with darkness, endless floodwaters below, and the sudden blackout made even the steadiest person panic.

Just then, someone suddenly exclaimed, "What is that?"

He stared out the window, dazed, and saw a thick bolt of lightning tear the sky; in the brief flash of light, a thin, blurry shadow could be seen appearing in the sky.

"There's something up in the sky!"

Many were drawn by his words and hurried to look out the window.

Endless lightning blazed across the heavens, intertwining and spreading vast patterns, and within that dense web of electricity there really was a shadow.

Right above the Oriental Pearl Tower, it floated in midair!

Though it looked blurry and its nature unclear, a slender body could be made out, alone, facing the sky-full of lightning.

Countless bolts of lightning surged wildly around that shadow, shocking the heart! (End of chapter)