Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu departed, their leaving sudden.
A mere half an hour prior, everyone present had been cultivating in their respective palaces or cave dwellings.
They had all believed that peace would prevail. With the Thunder Emperor and Empress presiding over the Thunderwind Realm, no insignificant forces would dare to surface, and any external enemies would be utterly annihilated. The Thunderwind Realm was poised to usher in an era of unprecedented stability and prosperity, reclaiming the glory of the Thunder Emperor's reign fifty thousand years ago.
Yet, who could have foreseen that merely half a month after the Thunder Emperor's wedding, before he had even completed his honeymoon, he would be gone?
Upon receiving Wan Lei's telepathic message, individuals from various locations were greatly alarmed and immediately rushed over, arriving at the Thunder Emperor's Hall once more.
By the time they arrived, Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu were already waiting for them before the grand hall.
The assembled individuals offered words of entreaty, but to no avail. Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu's decision to leave was firm.
They were venturing towards a vaster expanse of heaven and earth. A shallow body of water could not nurture a dragon, nor could a low mountain contain a ferocious tiger.
The Thunderwind Realm was, after all, too small. Here, the two of them would only be fettered and restricted, making significant achievements difficult.
They had already done too much for the Thunderwind Realm, saving it and countless people. Their contributions were immense. Now, it was time for them to focus on their own cultivation.
Moreover, they both knew that Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu harbored a deep-seated desire: to resurrect the girl named Qi Manyao. However, with their current strength, this goal was still far out of reach. They could only journey to the Immortal Realm, where a sliver of hope remained.
The crowd stood frozen, gazing at the beam of light that had long since vanished in the sky, observing the clouds that had coalesced once more.
The sky was vast, and the wind dispersed the clouds.
These two individuals, with their brief period of cultivation, had risen like a sudden meteor and disappeared just as abruptly. Yet, in such a short time, they had etched a significant and indelible mark on the history of the Thunderwind Realm.
"Alas, they are gone," Wan Hongxin sighed, feeling a profound sense of loss.
His only son, his sole anchor of hope, had departed. While he was proud, he also felt an overwhelming reluctance to let him go.
Old Fang patted his shoulder and chuckled,
"Enough. The children have a brighter future, and that is a good thing. They have left, and we old folks will guard their home for them.
As for you, you must hasten your cultivation. The Thunder Emperor's Hall belongs to the Wan family's Thunder Emperor's Hall. Although no one dares to act against it with us present, you must break through to the Tribulation Crossing stage soon. Otherwise, it would be quite improper for the Wan family's Thunder Emperor's Hall to lack a strong cultivator from the Wan family."
Wan Hongxin smiled and shook his head,
"The Thunder Emperor's Hall is the Thunderwind Realm's Thunder Emperor's Hall, not solely the Wan family's. Lei'er said that it was precisely because our ancestors treated it as the Wan family's that disaster befell us.
Only by instilling a sense of belonging to the Thunder Emperor's Hall in all the people of the Thunderwind Realm can it stand for ten thousand years."
Old Fang chuckled heartily and was about to speak when,
Suddenly, a drastic change occurred!!!
A spatial rift materialized in the sky. The channel, a mixture of deep blue and black, appeared as if a gaping wound had been violently torn open in the heavens, terrifying and menacing.
"What… what is happening? Have the demons returned?"
The crowd, which had been preparing to disperse, immediately ascended to the high heavens, observing the spatial rift with vigilant readiness.
The seven Tribulation Crossing experts stood at the forefront, representing the strongest force in the Thunderwind Realm at present.
As an unnerving silence filled the air, a spacecraft emerged abruptly from the spatial rift and appeared in mid-air.
This spacecraft was entirely different from the battle vessels of the Thunderwind Realm. Its overall design was mechanical and streamlined, constructed from unknown materials with tight seals on all sides, preventing any view of its occupants from the exterior.
The spacecraft was adorned with a myriad of densely packed cannon muzzles and laser emitters, indicating it was armed to the teeth.
Following suit, spacecraft after spacecraft began to emerge from the spatial rift.
Soon, after all the ships had exited, the onlookers could clearly see that there were twenty such vessels.
Each of these ships was easily a thousand zhang in size, while the final and largest, a ten-thousand-zhang vessel, could undoubtedly be referred to as a mothership or flagship.
Furthermore, beneath the mothership, a large banner was unfurled, bearing three imposing characters:
Five Elements Hall!!!
The tension among the crowd reached its peak. Such formidable spacecraft were likely beyond even the capabilities of the demon race.
Soon, numerous cultivators descended from these spacecraft.
Yes, they were cultivators, humans, not demons.
The majority of the approaching army consisted of Nascent Soul realm cultivators, followed by Mahayana realm cultivators. Finally, hundreds of Tribulation Crossing experts descended.
Hundreds of Tribulation Crossing experts!!!
The breath of the assembled crowd hitched. How could they possibly fight? With the Thunder Emperor and Empress gone, no one could stand against them. Had the enemy chosen their moment too perfectly?
However, before the crowd's panic could fully subside, cultivators began to descend from the mothership as well.
This time, over fifty individuals descended.
Each of them exuded an aura and cultivation pressure identical to that of the Thunder Emperor and Empress.
The minds of the onlookers went blank.
These were Immortals!
Over fifty Immortals!!!
Yet, the strongest force in their Thunderwind Realm consisted of only seven Tribulation Crossing experts.
"Im… Immortals?" Sui Xiao Hangtian and the others gazed at the sky with difficulty.
"Quick! Quickly raise the defensive array and prepare to meet the enemy!" Old Fang shouted decisively. Everyone quickly produced the array pearls of the Thunder Emperor's Hall, intending to activate the defensive formation.
Their only hope at this juncture was that the formation and the Myriad Demon Array could hold off the enemy.
However, this hope was slim to none, as the enemy comprised dozens of Immortals!
The crowd immediately drew their weapons. Even if they stood no chance against the enemy, they were resolved to fight to the death.
They had not flinched when faced with the demons, why would they cower before humans!
They would fight any foreign enemy to the bitter end!
The defensive array slowly began to rise. Strangely, however, the "enemy" in the sky made no move.
At this moment, an elder with an immortal aura, clad in a Daoist robe, descended from the mothership.
The elder appeared ordinary, with no discernible pressure emanating from him. Yet, the moment he appeared, the Immortals and cultivators in the sky clasped their hands in a respectful bow.
The elder descended with a gentle smile, waving his hand lightly. The partially erected formation inexplicably retracted, shrinking back under his control.
Such power!
Those below were filled with extreme apprehension.
"Do not be alarmed, everyone. We have come to protect you."
The elder's demeanor was benevolent.
However, the crowd did not believe him.
Was it not a common occurrence for invaders to occupy the lands of others under the guise of righteous justification?
The elder suddenly looked towards Tian Suanzi and chuckled,
"Disciple, do you remember your master?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Tian Suanzi, none having expected him to know this mysterious powerhouse.
Tian Suanzi was momentarily stunned. After a brief moment of contemplation, his expression drastically changed.
"You are… Tianzun!!!"