Sweeping across the heavens, starting with the first emperor of the ancient times.

The majestic, curved ram horns on the head of the Great Sage of Daoyang Mountain were instantly charred black, emitting wisps of smoke. His massive, mountain-like body trembled violently, and he staggered backward.

He spat out a mouthful of blood crackling with electricity, his breath instantly weakened, and his face turned ashen.

The flesh on his body emitted an alluring fragrance after being struck by lightning.

It made many people silently swallow their saliva.

The Great Sage of the Azure Nether Clan fared even worse. His entire body was shrouded in smoke from the blows, his magnificent robes were torn to shreds, his hair stood on end, and his face was blackened, leaving him in a wretched state.

Everyone was stunned, staring dumbfounded at the two Great Sages who had just been so arrogant, boasting that they would sink the Eastern Continent.

In the blink of an eye, it turned into this charred and mushy state, looking utterly pathetic.

What happened?

Why is it suddenly thundering?

And it chopped so fast and so accurately.

"What... what's going on? Why are we suddenly being struck by lightning?" a cultivator stammered, breaking the silence.

"I don't know, it just struck down without any warning!"

"Yes, and they only attacked those two Great Sages..."

"Could it be that they've become so arrogant that even God can't stand it anymore?" someone whispered, their tone filled with disbelief.

This statement was met with approval from many, because the lightning only struck those two Great Sages.

Xiao Fan and Zhang Bo were also stunned. They looked at each other and saw shock and confusion in each other's eyes, but then a huge sense of surprise and schadenfreude welled up in their hearts.

"It really was a lightning strike! Could it be that their arrogant words angered the will of Heaven? Whatever the case, good riddance!"

Zhang Bo laughed inwardly, "Hahaha, serves you right! Serves you right for showing off, for wanting to sink Dongzhou! I'll chop you up, you old bastard!"

He almost burst out laughing, then quickly lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Wu Liang peeked half his head out from behind Jiang Hao, his small eyes wide open, staring at the miserable state of the two Great Sages, muttering unconsciously:

"My goodness... this lightning strike must have come at the most opportune time! I've dug up so many graves, and I've never seen anything this bizarre. Could it really be retribution?"

Lu Qingxuan and the sage ancestor of the White Deer Clan were also stunned.

"Who is it?" The Great Sage of Daoyang Mountain barely suppressed his injuries, looked up at the sky in shock and anger, his voice hoarse from the pain and rage.

He didn't believe it was some kind of divine will; someone must be up to something. How could sinking Dongzhou anger the will of heaven? What a coincidence! He didn't believe it.

The Great Sage of the Azure Nether Clan was both shocked and furious. His face was so black it could drip water. He frantically scanned the surrounding void with his divine sense, but found nothing.

"Stop playing tricks! Come out here!" the Great Sage of the Azure Nether Clan roared.

As if in response to his roar.

"Boom!"

A second bolt of lightning did indeed appear, and it was even thicker than the first one.

Thunder struck with pinpoint accuracy once again!

This time, everyone could see clearly that the lightning seemed to have locked onto the two of them, ignoring distance and defense, and was heading straight for them!

"No!"

The two Great Sages cried out in terror, desperately using their protective magic treasures and burning their life essence to try and resist.

However, in the face of that majestic, heavenly thunder, all resistance seemed futile.

"Bang!"

"puff!"

The protective magic treasure shattered instantly, and the two were sent flying like rag dolls, crashing into several small hills in the distance, raising clouds of dust.

When they struggled to crawl out, their bodies were charred black, their skin torn and their breaths extremely weak. They had clearly suffered severe injuries, and it would be difficult for them to recover without hundreds of years of recuperation and top-grade medicine.

This time, no one doubted it anymore.

It was neither an accident nor someone's doing anything wrong; it was simply the will of Heaven that punished these two Great Sages who spoke arrogantly and intended to sink the Eastern Continent!

"Is...is this really divine punishment?"

"Absolutely, otherwise there's no other explanation!"

"Sink the Eastern Continent? How dare you say such a thing? The Eastern Continent has billions of living beings and countless forces and sects. You think you can just sink it like that? What about the Heavenly Court?"

"Serves him right for getting struck by lightning; those who show off get struck by lightning. The ancients were right... Hmm, it seems that this saying is coming true today!"

"There are gods watching over us; the ancients were right," another elderly rogue cultivator murmured, looking at the sky with awe.

"There are gods in our world, and the Heavenly Emperor is our god, and he is stronger and more effective than any so-called god."

"Indeed, our god is the Heavenly Emperor."

"Yes, the will of the Heavenly Emperor is the will of Heaven."

Discussions arose, and everyone looked up at the sky with awe.

The two Great Sages, lying on the ground on the verge of death, had lost all their previous greed and murderous intent, leaving only lingering fear. They kept kowtowing and begging for mercy, clearly terrified.

Even the Great Saints of the Purple Mansion Sect and the Azure Cloud Sect turned pale at this moment, quietly concealing all their auras and daring not to make any further moves, for fear of attracting the attention of the will of Heaven in the dark.

The Qingming Clan and the other clansmen from Daoyang Mountain were already terrified. After they came to their senses, they dared not utter any more threats and rushed over in a panic.

He helped up his seriously injured and dying ancestor, not daring to look back, and hurriedly tore through the void to escape, wishing his parents had given him two more legs.

The crisis was resolved in a way that no one expected, which was quite dramatic.

The sage ancestor of the White Deer Clan knelt down with a thud, repeatedly kowtowing towards the sky, tears streaming down his face.

"Thank God! Thank the Heavenly Emperor!"

The Bailu tribesmen behind him also knelt down, moved to tears of gratitude.

Lu Qingxuan also bowed solemnly to the sky, her heart filled with indescribable shock and gratitude.

They felt even greater reverence for the supreme Heavenly Emperor and Heaven itself.

If it weren't for this lightning strike, she really wouldn't know how she would have survived this ordeal.

Xiao Fan and Zhang Bo also bowed respectfully towards the sky.

The two were filled with turmoil, both relieved to have escaped a calamity and utterly shocked and bewildered by this sudden divine punishment.

Wu Liang huddled behind Jiang Hao, his face pale, muttering to himself:

"This is bizarre, so bizarre... I swear I'll be more careful from now on, no, I'll be more careful with my words..."

Seeing this, all parties knew the situation was hopeless and were filled with apprehension, fearing that staying any longer would bring trouble upon themselves. With mixed feelings, they quickly left.

This turmoil surrounding the inheritance of the White Deer Ancient Emperor ended dramatically with the two arrogant Great Sages being severely injured by a bolt of lightning and then fleeing in panic.

After everyone had left, the sage ancestor of the White Deer Clan said to Lu Qingxuan:

"Qingxuan, let's return to the clan immediately, activate the ancestral array, and protect the imperial weapon. This young friend Xiao Fan..."

He looked at Xiao Fan, then at Jiang Hao and the others, hesitating to speak. The White Deer Clan was going through a turbulent time, and he didn't want to drag others into it.

Lu Qingxuan said to Xiao Fan:

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, I am very grateful for your help this time. If you don't mind, you can come back to the White Deer Clan with me for a while, so that I can thank you all."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fan looked at Zhang Bo and Jiang Hao, realizing that the best place for him to go right now was indeed the White Deer Clan.

Zhang Bo grinned: "I'll listen to Xiao Fan!"

Jiang Hao stroked his beard and said with a smile, "This old man won't go. You young people have your own paths to walk and your own things to do. As for me, I'll continue to travel around and see what's going on."

Jiang Hao did not let the lightning strike the two Great Saints to death. These were Xiao Fan and Lu Qingxuan's enemies, and they needed to be dealt with by them themselves.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fan felt a strong sense of reluctance.

Throughout his journey, although Mr. Jiang seemed ordinary, he repeatedly provided guidance and helped resolve crises at crucial moments, for which Mr. Jiang was extremely grateful.

This period was the happiest time of his life in several years.