Su Yu and the group had long noticed the existence of Yu Chan and the other stranger and had slowed down. The three were surprised to meet Yu Chan here.

"Brother Dalei, this lady has the same goal as us!" Qin Jiuyang said, hesitating for a moment. "Might this affect our plans?"

"The person we should be worried about is not Yu Chan," said Su Yu, "but that person over there."

Su Yu looked gravely at the white-robed youth sitting cross-legged on the rock. He made Su Yu feel incredibly threatened. He might be as powerful as Xue Ling.

Gang Dalei's gaze also fell on the white-robed youth, the creases on his forehead becoming more prominent. "That man over there is very strong. We might not be able to defeat him even if we all joined forces."

The white-robed youth who had suddenly appeared made Su Yu and the group uneasy.

"The three of you! We meet again!" Yu Chan had a look of joy, turning to look at Su Yu. Her eyes sparkled. "Sir Black Snow, it is great that you managed to escape the body of the monster alive."

She was, however, secretly shocked to see him. She had not expected Su Yu to be able to escape from that Fairy Realm-level monster. Coupled with their previous experiences in battle, Yu Chan did not dare look down on this Heaven Master. But suddenly, Yu Chan realized he was not a Heaven Master at all; he was releasing the aura of a Human King.

"Oh! You achieved a breakthrough!" she said. "Congratulations on your massive improvement."

She was surprised. Not only did Su Yu not die, but he had instead received a huge boon! Even in the world of Jiuzhou, it was only possible to break through to Human King from Heaven Master with a considerable amount of time. Miracles like this only happened in places like the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Pavilion. So even though she was surprised, she did not give it much thought.

Su Yu returned her respect. "I was lucky. I did not expect to meet you here."

Hearing this, Yu Chan asked directly, "Is your goal to reach the Great Thunder Palace?"

Gang Dalei silently glanced at the white-robed youth, immensely cautious. "To think that our goals align with yours…."

Saying this, the three of them kept their distance from Yu Chan, giving themselves the opportunity to attack or defend if needed.

"You have saved me once," Yu Chan said, a little frustrated. "Naturally, I would never repay that kindness with animosity. I come bearing good news."

Qin Jiuyang was wary. "Please speak."

"That person over there is an Outer Sanctum Disciple of the Returning Principle Palace, Yang Yidao. He is the leader of the group sent by the Returning Principle Palace. If we were to enter successfully, we might require the help of my senior."

It was not difficult to discern the admiration Yu Chan had for Yang Yidao. Su Yu creased his brows but shot his gaze toward Gang Dalei. He was the leader of their group.

Gang Dalei also had some considerations. Their initial plan had been to charge into the Great Thunder Palace alone to search for the Thunder Herb. If they were to cooperate with Yang Yidao, they might be unable to call the shots, given his unfathomable ability. But if they were to reject the offer here, Yang Yidao would surely not allow them to enter the Great Thunder Palace. He might even attack them. Even that would have been all right if he only attacked in order to chase them away. But if he was merciless, he might decide to kill them on the spot.

Considering for a moment, Gang Dalei had no choice. The only choice he had was to enter first.

"All right, please," Gang Dalei said, cupping his fists in agreement.

Yu Chan seemed to understand their concern. She let out a wide smile. "You can rest easy. With Senior Yidao present, your safety is guaranteed. As for the loot we'll get after we enter, that will depend on your abilities."

These words seemed fair, but how could they hope to compete with Yang Yidao? If the other party insisted on snatching their treasures, who could stand up against him? The only thing they could do now was to take one step at a time and fly there together with Yu Chan.

Yang Yidao only opened his eyes when the three of them arrived in front of him. With a glint in his eyes, he shot a fist toward Gang Dalei without warning.

Gang Dalei was surprised, quickly guarding his chest with both his hands. At the same time, he released spirit energy to form a second layer of protection.

Boom—

With a dull thud, the veil of spirit energy in front of Gang Dalei was torn to shreds instantly as though it was made of paper. That fist did not seem particularly powerful, it but broke past the protective veil and landed on Gang Dalei's arms. He was sent back several steps, his eyes reflecting his shock.

After the punch, Yang Yidao retracted his fist, a bit satisfied. "Retreating back three steps. Your physical body is not bad. You pass!"

After saying this, his body flickered as he pointed toward Qin Jiuyang. Qin Jiuyang grabbed a strand of hair without thinking, forming seals with one hand, quickly unleashing his curse techniques. His strand of hair immediately appeared on Yang Yidao's finger, but it did not even have time to leave a mark before Yang Yidao smiled and flicked with his finger, tossing the strand of hair to the ground.

Qin Jiuyang turned pale. He grunted, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Yang Yidao's finger landed on his chest without any obstruction, but he toned down the attack at the critical moment, his expression visibly disappointed. "Even though curse techniques are strange and difficult to defend against, it is clear that your training is not on point yet. Thus, you barely pass."

Finally, he shot his gaze at Su Yu. "Junior Yu Chan has many praises for you. Let me see how strong you are."

In terms of their true abilities, Su Yu might not lose to him in head-on combat, but he did not wish to reveal his trump cards indiscriminately.

Whoosh—

Yang Yidao stuck out two fingers, taking the form of a sword. He had a fierce glow in his eyes as his fingers sliced through the air like a longsword.

Creak, creak—

The air shifted. The surrounding spirit energy scattered under the pressure. It was clearly two normal fingers, but they presented themselves as an extraordinary threat. At the same time, a half-zhang long illusion appeared, striking down upon Su Yu.

Off to the side, Yu Chan's expression changed. "For Senior Yidao to use a trace of the sword decree…!"

Even though it was clear that Su Yu was the weakest amongst them, Yang Yidao had decided to test him with the most powerful attack.

Seeing this, Su Yu was unperturbed. Automatically, he formed seals with both hands. A pale ice origin welled out from his original body while his clone turned into a ball of crimson flames. The two extreme energies intertwined with each other, one red and the other white, illuminating the surroundings. At the same time, Su Yu formed seals once again. A large amount of spirit energy welled out from the two vital energy crystals in his body, forming a defensive barrier around his body.

Creak—

The figure of the sword sliced down, colliding with the ball of ice and fire. The ice ball shattered, followed by the ball of fire. The figure of the sword did not slow down.

The sword had not even closed in on Su Yu when the shield of spirit energy flickered under the pressure. It was about to shatter. Su Yu remained calm. He had not expected to stop the opponent's sword so easily. With a thought, the bronze mask on his face flickered with light—the sign of the Eternal Mask being activated.

The figure of the sword suddenly dissipated. Yang Yidao had stopped his attack, looking at Su Yu disappointedly.

"You do not live up to your reputation," Yang Yidao said. "Your cultivation level is too low, and your understanding of the origin is not accurate enough. Your victories must be due to your partners. But I guess I can pass you. I did not expect you to be able to do anything against that sword."

Yang Yidao retracted his sword decree, once again regaining his composure.

Su Yu shrugged nonchalantly, putting away the treasure he had been about to activate.

"What's the meaning of this, friend?" Gang Dalei was a little displeased.

Yang Yidao answered, "I am Yang Yidao. I am sure you have heard of my name. I used that test just now to deduce whether you meet my requirements. Now, follow me into the Great Thunder Palace. Thunder Emperor Mountain is filled with lightning seals. If you do not wish to meet with any mishaps and die here, it is best to listen to my orders. If you act rashly and invite trouble… Well, you'll forgive me if I don't mourn your loss."

Hearing this, Su Yu froze. Was the mountain that floated in the air and released an ancient aura the Thunder Emperor Mountain? He was filled with awe when he looked at the mountain, for the lightning in his dantian—be it the purple lightning he had cultivated or the suppressed lightning from the Heavenly Punishment—were quaking. It was as though they wanted to charge out of Su Yu's body and return to the mountain of lightning.

It was as though the mountain was calling for them.

"If you have no objections, we set off now," Yang Yidao said.

He rubbed his right palm with his left index finger. The black jade ring on his finger lit up with a spiritual glow. Five half-zhang wide pearls appeared before him. The five pearls had different colors: red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple.

"This is the Dry Cloud Five Elemental Formation," he said. "It is a defensive formation that can counter lightning! The three of you will each stand atop a ball and inject spirit energy to activate it. Only by doing so can we safely enter the Thunder Emperor Mountain and proceed deep into the Great Thunder Palace."

Hearing this, Su Yu's eyes lit up with passion. A formation that could counter lightning?

Gang Dalei wore a similar expression. Wasn't the sloppy old man searching for a treasure that could counter lightning? This treasure before them…

"Remember this," continued Yang Yidao. "This formation requires the simultaneous activation of five people. You cannot stop injecting spirit energy along the way. Otherwise, the formation will shatter! If that is the case, Junior Yu Chan and I can protect ourselves deep within the Thunder Emperor Mountain, but you might not be so lucky!"

Hearing this, the passion in Su Yu's eyes subsided.

"Also, you must be careful when using this Dry Cloud Five Elemental Formation. Do not damage it! This formation is something we borrowed from an elder from the Returning Principle Palace. You cannot afford to damage this item!"

Su Yu was shocked. An elder? If Yang Yidao was already this strong, close to the level of Fairy Realm, then the elder he spoke of must have been incredibly powerful.

In other words, thought Su Yu, the grade of this Dry Cloud Five Elemental Formation must also be very high! At least at the level of high-grade divine artifact. In fact, it might even be a half manufactured spiritual artifact!

Su Yu felt incredibly tempted.

"Let's go!" Yang Yidao let out a low grunt, and his figure flickered as he made his way atop the purple ball.

Su Yu chose the blue ball, and he and the others jumped up to take their places.

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