Even hybrid monsters have their day

Of all the people present, only Jiao Lingfeng and Peng Yuxian maintained a calm demeanor. Jiao Lingfeng had only recently survived his tribulation, so his memory was still vivid. As for Peng Yuxian, no one knew whether he had witnessed it or experienced it firsthand.

Jiao Lingfeng glanced at the composed Peng Yuxian. This man possessed an extraordinary bearing and an innate arrogance; he didn't seem like an ordinary cultivator at all. Even with his current strength, he couldn't fathom Peng Yuxian's cultivation level, demonstrating its profound depth. What surprised him most was that when Geng Miaowan spoke, he seemed to have seen a sudden flash of golden light on her.

If he remembered correctly, that light only appeared on the people above. But it disappeared in just a moment, and he wasn't sure if he had seen it wrong.

Over here, Zhang Zijian's tribulation lightning had been fully prepared. Above his head, seven bolts of lightning rolled and surged. The number of bolts of lightning used for tribulation is determined by the tribulation seeker's own abilities, with the most powerful being nine bolts.

Of course, those who can attract nine bolts of heavenly lightning during their tribulation are extremely rare. The most recent instance of someone attracting nine bolts of heavenly lightning was ten thousand years ago. Geng Miaowan had read about it in a book; it was a human cultivator named Dongfang Liancheng. He possessed exceptional talent and aptitude, and withstood nine bolts of heavenly lightning with his physical body alone, successfully ascending to the Immortal Realm.

However, he disappeared without a trace after the war between the six realms a thousand years ago. Some say he single-handedly held off the allied forces of demons and monsters before finally passing away. Others say he went into hiding, relinquished his immortal status, and wandered the vast world.

However, none of these are the main points. The main point is that no one has appeared in nearly ten thousand years who can attract nine heavenly lightning bolts. Even when Jiao Lingfeng was undergoing his tribulation last time, he only attracted five heavenly lightning bolts. Even so, the people of the Underworld were amazed by him.

When everyone saw that Zhang Zijian had actually managed to summon seven bolts of heavenly lightning, their jaws nearly dropped. However, Peng Yuxian and Jiao Lingfeng showed a hint of seriousness on their faces. They knew that in Zhang Zijian's current state, let alone seven bolts of heavenly lightning, he would be lucky to withstand even four.

The heavenly thunder had reached its final stage. Zhang Zijian opened his eyes, looked at Geng Miaowan, and said, "I have been cultivating diligently for five hundred years, but I have been unable to break through the final level. That is why I wanted to borrow the power of Ninth Sister to improve myself. I never expected that after listening to your words today, you would enlighten me. Your way is the great way, and I have lived for thousands of years in vain, yet I still cannot comprehend this."

As he spoke, the first bolt of heavenly lightning struck, and he grunted, managing to withstand it. Seeing that the second bolt of heavenly lightning was about to be successfully formed, he continued, "I, Zhang Zijian, am undergoing my tribulation today. If I fail, so be it; but if I succeed, I will never forget your kindness in guiding me. If we are destined to meet again in the future, I will certainly repay you."

After Zhang Zijian finished speaking, he closed his eyes again and focused all his energy on using his magic to resist the increasingly powerful heavenly lightning.

In truth, Geng Miaowan really wanted to say, "Report whatever you can now, because we may never meet again." But seeing the second bolt of lightning rolling down, she held back her words.

Finally, Peng Yuxian and Jiao Lingfeng joined forces to help him withstand the seven bolts of heavenly lightning. After all seven bolts had struck, Zhang Zijian's figure vanished from everyone's sight, leaving only his voice in the air, "Little girl, we'll meet again someday..."

Her tone made it sound like she knew him very well.

After all that commotion, it had gone from dusk to late at night, and they were still on the mountaintop. Fortunately, there were many of them, so Geng Miaowan wasn't afraid.

With Zhang Zijian gone, Peng Yuxian and Jiao Lingfeng had nothing left to argue about. Geng Miaowan persuaded Peng Yuxian to let Ninth Sister go back with them. Seeing that things were over, Peng Yuxian had nothing to do with staying, so he bid farewell to everyone and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he whispered something in Geng Miaowan's ear, and a smile immediately bloomed on Geng Miaowan's face.

Only after Peng Yuxian's figure was no longer visible did Haozi and the others come over and ask her, "What did he say to you that made you so happy?"

Geng Miaowan gave them a meaningful look and said, "The Buddha said, it cannot be spoken, it cannot be spoken." As she spoke, she shook her head and swayed her body, which made Haozi and the others chase after her to interrogate her.

Although the result was somewhat unexpected, the mission was still accomplished, and the group returned to the Underworld. After handing in their mission, they all went home to rest.

After filling her stomach, Geng Miaowan took the ring she had snatched from Zhang Zijian's hand and examined it closely.

It's hard to tell what material this ring is made of. The style is similar to ordinary rings, with nothing particularly fancy about it. It looks very rustic, the kind of ring that she might not even pick up if it fell on the roadside.

However, as a zombie who has cultivated for thousands of years, why would Zhang Zijian wear an insignificant and ugly ring on his body? So she felt that there must be some mystery behind it, but she just didn't understand it yet.

As soon as Xiao Bai came back, he went to sleep in his room. After thinking about it, she decided that she could only ask Luan Hao.

"You mean, this is a storage ring?" Geng Miaowan's eyes narrowed immediately. Wasn't that something cultivators had always used to store their treasures? "Then how do you open it?"

She felt incredibly lucky, and all her previous resentment towards Zhang Ziqian vanished instantly. She didn't care much for the storage ring itself; what mattered was the treasure inside…

“If you infuse your spiritual energy into the ring, you will naturally be able to see what’s inside,” Luan Hao said, still answering every question.

In her excitement at finding a treasure, Geng Miaowan didn't notice Luan Hao's unusual behavior and quickly sat down to channel spiritual energy into the ring.

Luan Hao fell silent again, his mind still echoing with Geng Miaowan's words from the mountaintop. His memories stretched far into the distance, to a time long, long ago, when someone else had also harbored such thoughts, attempting to change the way humans, demons, and monsters interacted.

He couldn't help but wonder, "Geng Miaowan, could what you said be a coincidence...?"

Ten minutes later, Geng Miaowan stared at the gray stone in front of her and channeled her spiritual energy into the ring for the fifth time. However, the large space inside was truly empty. Frustrated, she slammed the ring onto the table.

As a zombie who had cultivated for thousands of years, how could Zhang Zijian not have any treasures stored up? Apart from this dull, grayish stone, there was nothing else in his storage ring.

She asked Luan Hao, but even Luan Hao didn't know what the stone was for. He did say that the storage ring was a rare and valuable item and told her to keep it safe.

Geng Miaowan threw the stone back into the ring. She thought that although there were many things in the underworld, she had never heard of any storage rings for sale. So she decided to treat it as a storage ring and gave the stone as a gift.

Thinking about it this way, she felt much more at ease.

The next day, as soon as she arrived at the office door, two people ran out from the next office. One of them said to the other as he ran, "Hurry up, hurry up! Group 101 and Group 1 are fighting. If we're late, we won't have any excitement to watch."