Chapter 1074: The Secret of the Storm Temple

"Elemental Lord!" Lei En's expression grew solemn.

Wind Elements are among the purest elemental beings; in any world or plane where wind elements exist, they may be born, yet the overwhelming majority of wind elemental creatures congregate on the Wind Element Plane, occupying over ninety percent.

Newly born small wind elements correspond, by human transcendent ranks, to levels ranging from low to high.

By continuously absorbing energy, a wind element's power rises step by step.

Small wind elements advance to large wind elements, entering the legendary stage; if they can advance again, they become giant wind elements, whose strength equals that of a human Saint Rank strong.

Giant wind elements have developed intelligence, forming an intelligent race; they possess their own names, territories, and subordinate armies.

Afterwards, after countless years—at least a thousand, up to tens of thousands—giant wind elements vie for a sliver of advancement; gaining the favor of the Wind Element God Akadi, they may ascend to become an Elemental Lord!

Regardless of the element, any Elemental Lord is a demigod!

Moreover, they are among the most powerful demigods.

Among all demigods, Elemental Lords are the closest to the deities.

Even on the Element Plane, Elemental Lords are extremely scarce and rarely leave their own plane. If a power benchmark is needed, an Elemental Lord is at least equivalent to a Wizard Elementalist of Level 40 or higher.

They could even be higher; Level 50 would not be surprising!

Lei En originally thought the enemy invading the Storm Plane was merely an ordinary demigod, but it turned out to be an Elemental Lord.

"Elder, this Elemental Lord..."

"Luohaxiya," Suolim said. "Its name is Luohaxiya."

Lei En nodded. "How strong is this Luohaxiya? Elder, you should know its background, right? What is its relationship with the Mistress of Wind?"

The Mistress of Wind is the Wind Element God Akadi, one of the oldest deities; the Divine Kingdom is built within the Wind Element Plane, the entire plane being Akadi's domain. In theory, every Wind Element Lord serves Akadi, though the closeness varies.

"Luohaxiya is a bit stronger than me."

Suolim replied calmly, "Its divinity is about three times mine; originally it should far surpass me, but here on the Storm Plane, I leverage the environmental advantage and can barely hold it at parity."

Lei En gave a slight nod.

A demigod's strength is no longer measured by Soul Transformation count, but by the magnitude of divinity.

Divinity stems from followers; the more followers and the more devout their faith, the greater the power of belief they provide, converting into more divinity. For demigods, divinity is the most precious force and the foundation for future apotheosis; once spent it does not return, so it is never used lightly.

Back then on the Blood Elf Revenge Island, Elder Suolim attacked the Naxas Fu Kong Cheng without employing divinity.

Battles between demigods rarely consume divinity unless they reach a life‑or‑death brink.

Suolim continued, "As for Luohaxiya's origin, you need not worry. Over ten thousand years ago it entered the Storm Plane; at that time the Second Era had just collapsed, giants were at their weakest, and many invaders poured into the Storm Plane, Luohaxiya being just one of them."

"Back then, Luohaxiya was merely a large wind element."

"It ascended to a giant wind element on the Storm Plane, then eliminated many rivals, climbing step by step to high rank and successfully becoming an Elemental Lord."

"Thus Luohaxiya's relationship with the Mistress of Wind is not intimate," Suolim said, smiling lightly. "Lei En, even if Luohaxiya serves the Mistress of Wind, it does not affect the larger picture. Its sole concern is the Wind Element Plane, maintaining absolute neutrality, showing no interest in other planes or followers, and it does not support invading the Storm Plane."

"I understand," Lei En said, nodding.

He actually knows something about the Mistress of Wind Akadi's temperament.

The Elemental Gods are among the oldest deities in the Ai Lun E Si world; they are embodiments of elements, wield great divine power, each with distinct personalities, yet they share one trait: neutrality!

Of the four major Elemental Gods, the most active and strongest is the Fire Element God Keshus.

The Water Element God Istisia fell in the previous era, and the water elemental office was seized by the Storm Lord Kessula.

The Earth Element God Gulanba is a subordinate deity of the Mother Earth, perpetually dormant.

Their strength derives more from control over elements than from divine power, so they have little interest in followers.

The Mistress of Wind is especially so.

Although Akadi has a church among mortals, its follower count is extremely low and it does not proselytize.

Even the most fervent followers' prayer ceremonies rarely elicit a response from the Mistress of Wind. She does not partake in the gods' conflicts, is neither a benevolent nor an evil deity, maintains absolute neutrality, and thus has almost no presence among mortals.

Nevertheless, Lei En still has a question.

"Elder, for thousands of years Luohaxiya never defeated that Leiyuying demigod; how did it suddenly achieve victory?"

After such a prolonged clash, their strengths must have been very close; a sudden outcome likely indicates external interference.

Could it be support from the Wind Element Plane?

Suolim's expression darkened as he said gravely, "This has nothing to do with the Wind Element Plane; a Cloud Giant tribe has pledged allegiance to Luohaxiya."

Lei En felt something stir within.

Cloud Giants are upper‑tier giants, ranking just below Storm Giants among all giant branches; they are born with mastery of wind element power and can also give rise to Titan Giants. After the Giant Empire's destruction, giant numbers sharply declined and scattered worldwide, Cloud Giants included.

"Where does this Cloud Giant tribe come from?" Lei En asked.

"From the Wind Element Plane."

Suolim sighed, "Over ten thousand years ago they fled from the Prime Material Plane into the Wind Element Plane, erected a cloud‑borne fortress, and have survived to this day. I was unaware of their existence until they appeared on the Storm Plane, which revealed that the Wind Element Plane harbors a cousin tribe as well."

Lei En, puzzled, "Is this Cloud Giant tribe populous?"

"Slightly more than the Storm Giants, though not by much—perhaps over a thousand—yet their overall strength is inferior to the Northern Temple," Suolim, anticipating Lei En's question, added, "However, they possess a complete inheritance of Titan Rune knowledge..."

The Titan Elder was in a foul mood.

He paused a few seconds, "I originally thought the Northern Temple was the only giant tribe worldwide that mastered Titan Rune knowledge, so even if the Storm Temple and Eastern Temple fell to the enemy, I was untroubled, for the enemy could not wield the temples' power."

"I didn't expect..."

"Luohaxiya gained the Cloud Giants' loyalty, easily seized the Eastern Temple, and, using the temple's power, defeated its opponents."

"Shameful Cloud Giants!"

Suolim could no longer contain his fury, roaring, "For over ten thousand years they've still followed 'Manuo', committing such disgraceful and vile deeds. They betrayed the giants, betrayed Annam, and after I eradicate the enemy, I will mete out the harshest punishment upon them!"

The demigods' wrath made the entire Furnace Temple tremble, with thunderous booms exploding overhead.

Lei En remained unaffected, merely shaking his head in silence.

Most giant deities have already fallen; while they existed, most were benevolent, and only one was labeled an evil god by the giant pantheon—that is the malevolent Cloud Giant god Manuo.

Even from the title, it's clear Manuo's followers are primarily Cloud Giants.

Manuo is the second son of the giant god Annam; they are extremely cunning, intelligent, proud, and also very cruel and unscrupulous, having repeatedly plotted to usurp the divine office of their elder brother, the Sky and Thunder God Anheluozi, even attempting patricide, attacking the giant god Annam, but failed.

Annam expelled Manuo, and their whereabouts became unknown.

When the Second Epoch was destroyed, the giant deities either fell or fell into slumber, which instead allowed Manuo to escape disaster, though their divine power was greatly diminished.

Throughout the entire Third Epoch, Manuo remained silent.

Now they seem to have become active again.

Lei En asked cautiously, "Elder, could this be Manuo's plot?"

"There is that possibility." Suo Lim's expression was also heavy, "Manuo's Divine Realm is in the bottomless Abyss level 303 'Sulfur Hell'; I have been watching in secret, and if they enter the Storm Plane, I will sense it immediately. They are still within the Divine Realm, so likely won't come out easily, but the possibility of descending onto the Storm Plane cannot be ruled out."

"Is Manuo's target the Storm Temple?" Lei En guessed.

Suo Lim couldn't help but glance at him.

Lei En smiled; he remembered clearly that when the Titan Elder made a pact with him years ago, he said the Storm Plane concealed secrets and benefits, that it had once been the most important territory of the Storm Giants, and even Manuo coveted it, which was far from simple.

"I know I can't hide from you," Suo Lim hesitated for a moment, then said, "The Storm Temple was formerly my lord Anheluozi's Divine Realm."

Anheluozi, the Sky and Thunder God, is the eldest son of the giant god Annam.

Anheluozi's power and status are second only to Annam, who created the giant race; his most favored followers are the Storm Giants. Almost all Storm Giants are Anheluozi's devotees, much like Manuo's relation to the Cloud Giants.

However, Anheluozi fell at the end of the Second Epoch.

When a deity falls, the Divine Realm it created is also destroyed, losing divine protection, yet divine power remains and likely hides great secrets.

These thoughts flashed through Lei En's mind.

Sure enough, he heard Suo Lim say, "The six sanctuaries of the Storm Plane actually form a complete system; if the six temples can be activated, one can control the entire plane and become its master."

"Unless one is a deity, no creature within the plane can resist the power of the Plane's Master."

"The Plane's Master can seal the plane, forbidding anyone's entry or exit. Even deities must expend great divine power to break such a seal."

The Titan Elder wore a look of yearning.

Lei En suddenly felt that this temple system resembled a weakened version of a Divine Realm, and also bore some similarity to the Abyssal Lord's might.

"Elder, do the temples only allow control of the plane?"

"Yes, that alone is sufficient," Suo Lim nodded, encouraged, "If I can regain control of the Storm Plane, the giant race will have hope of revival."

That's not right!

Lei En realized, the Storm Temples had already been reduced to three; could they still control the whole plane? He said directly, "But only three Storm Temples remain."

"The enemies are eliminated; the temples can be rebuilt in the future," Suo Lim replied.

The Soul Eye immediately detected an anomaly.

Although he could not see the Titan Elder's Element of soul, with Lei En's current strength and multiple device upgrades, he could directly gaze upon the demigod and sense the other's emotional shifts. Suo Lim's emotions surged sharply, clearly hiding something.

And it was the most important thing, likely Manuo's target!

Lei En said calmly, "Elder, I come with sincerity; the enemy is so powerful, taking great risk, I hope to obtain all the information."

Suo Lim frowned, "What else do you want to know? I've already told you everything I know."

"Then the elder must tell me."

Lei En looked at Suo Lim; the other's emotional fluctuations were intense, showing he had guessed correctly. Yet Suo Lim still shook his head, "Our original agreement was to eliminate the enemies of the Storm Plane; you only need to help me destroy Luohaxiya."

"If the elder refuses to speak, I will not fulfill the agreement," Lei En stood, turned, and walked toward the entrance of the Furnace Temple.

A wave of pressure came from behind.

Lei En's steps never faltered; the demigod's aura felt like a gentle breeze, unimpeded.

When he reached the palace doorway, about to step out, Suo Lim's voice finally sounded from behind, "Your Majesty, please stay!"

Lei En halted, turned, yet said nothing.

The terrifying pressure that had filled the palace vanished without a trace, as if it never existed; Suo Lim's face showed helplessness and apology, with a hint of awkwardness. Lei En was no longer the weak transcendent he once was, and even as a demigod he could not suppress it.

Conversely, Lei En could now control himself.

Suo Lim wrestled internally for a long time, finally bowed to reality and sincerely said, "Lei En, I was thoughtless, please forgive me."

"Elder, you speak heavily."

Lei En returned to the table, sat down, gave the other a step down, and laughed, "Can the elder speak now?"

Suo Lim looked at his youthful face, and solemnly said, "Lei En, this is the greatest secret of the Storm Giant race; if revealed, it would invite even more dreadful trouble, scarier than the Elemental Lords, even scarier than Manuo, are you sure you want to know?"

Hearing that, Lei En vaguely guessed.

Manuo is a deity; what could be scarier than Manuo in this world? Certainly other deities, and more numerous and stronger ones.

The thing that can attract many deities is already obvious.

"Elder, please speak," Lei En said calmly.

At this moment, the entire Furnace Temple held only Lei En and the Titan Elder; outside there was no one, yet Suo Lim still turned and scanned the area, ensuring no one had infiltrated, then said, "The Storm Temple hides my lord Anheluozi's Divine Flame!"

That day I asked for leave just to rest a bit, but ended up resting too much and finally got back on track.

Sorry, I won't ask for leave again this month.

(End of Chapter)