As that pitch-black pillar of lightning struck vertically from the center of the clouds, Meng Qiuran felt his heart skip a beat.

He watched the mountain shrink inch by inch within the lightning, everything silently melting away in the blinding glare.

When the lightning faded, the massive, vortex-like thundercloud in the sky began to slowly dissipate. Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, and everything returned to tranquility.

The wind stopped, the thunder ceased, and a dead silence fell over the distance.

Ye Shuang’s legs gave way and she slumped directly onto the ground. Li He’s lips were trembling; he wanted to say something, but his throat felt as if it were blocked, unable to utter a single word.

Meng Qiuran stood in place, his hands clenched tightly into fists behind his back. The man in black beside them was the first to regain his composure.

Shifting his gaze away from the sky, he said in a deep voice, “It’s over.”

Meng Qiuran took a deep breath. “Let’s… go over and take a look.”

Ye Shuang looked up, tears still hanging in her eyes. “Senior Brother Meng, what is there left to see… Under a Heavenly Punishment like that, nothing could possibly remain.”

“There must be something still there!” Meng Qiuran said with rare anger. “Someone capable of attracting a Heavenly Punishment, even if they have fallen, will surely leave behind traces at the site of their demise! We must record their marks, document their deeds, and pass them down to future generations.”

Meng Qiuran didn’t continue speaking; he simply stepped forward and flew toward the ruins.

The few people behind him exchanged glances and followed. No one said another word along the way.

Arriving outside the ruins, a strange scorched scent permeated the air above the blackened earth. With every breath, their nasal passages and throats felt dry.

Ye Shuang said softly, “The Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth here… is completely in chaos.”

In ordinary places, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth was like a quietly flowing stream, but the Spiritual Qi here was like shredded duckweed, fragmented and surging without any pattern.

The group continued forward. The closer they got to the center of the ruins, the more chaotic the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth became. Meng Qiuran had to prop up a thin Spiritual Power Shield to resist the impact of the chaotic Spiritual Qi, while Li He and Ye Shuang each circulated their Cultivation Techniques to stabilize the Spiritual Power within their bodies.

Then they saw the mountain that had been almost entirely leveled. Now, only a slight protrusion remained, an earthen mound about three zhang tall, situated right in the center of the ruins.

And in the center of the mound was a cave entrance. Meng Qiuran’s heart skipped a beat.

The entrance was still there and hadn’t been completely destroyed, but even so, it didn’t mean the person inside had survived.

How could the power of heavenly lightning be stopped by mere layers of soil and rock? That destructive force would surge through the mountain, reducing everything inside to ashes.

“Let’s go down and take a look.” Meng Qiuran’s voice was somewhat tight.

The four of them descended. With their feet stepping on the scorched earth, they cautiously walked forward.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, the burning smell in the air actually grew fainter, and they could even catch a faint, lingering aroma.

It was the smell of meat, the aroma of roasted meat.

Meng Qiuran’s footsteps halted. Li He and Ye Shuang smelled it too. The three of them looked at each other, all seeing the disbelief in one another’s eyes. Beneath his cloak, the man in black’s brows also seemed to furrow slightly.

After they entered the cave, their field of vision suddenly opened up. There were a few small cracks on the ceiling of the cave, which were the only traces left by the impact of the heavenly lightning. A few rays of sunlight leaked down through the cracks, illuminating the center of the cave.

A fire was burning in the center of the cave. Several wooden skewers were propped up over the fire, and the skewered wild boar meat sizzled with oil under the licking flames.

The surface of the meat had already been roasted to a tempting golden yellow, and the savory aroma filled the entire cave.

Two people were sitting by the fire. Su Wan’er was sitting upright, holding a skewer of roasted meat in her hand and taking small bites, her cheeks bulging.

Sitting next to her was that gray-robed man, the hem of his robe still stained with some dust, and his hair slightly disheveled. He was holding a meat skewer just like her, but eating much more uninhibitedly than Su Wan’er, finishing a skewer in three bites, his mouth shining with grease.

Yet, it was exactly such a person eating with a mouth full of oil who sat there faintly exuding an invisible layer of oppression around him.

The group froze in place. Ye Shuang pinched her own arm hard. It hurt; this wasn’t a dream.

Even the habitually silent man in black stiffened slightly for a moment beneath his cloak.

These two people were in the exact center of the Heavenly Punishment… eating roast meat?

Lai Li’an bit off a piece of wild boar meat and chewed a few times, feeling delighted inwardly. His culinary skills of so many years hadn’t been lost; although the seasoning was simple, the heat control was perfect.

Just as he was reaching out to grab the next skewer, he suddenly sensed a few auras approaching. Lai Li’an paused his movements, his gaze passing over the dancing flames to land on the four people at the cave entrance.

The System Panel quietly popped up.

Damn it, Late Golden Core!

He had just finished opening his Spiritual Root. His entire body’s Spiritual Power hadn’t even had the time to be properly cultivated once, and those Heaven-Grade Cultivation Techniques were still gathering dust in the System Inventory.

The Life-Protecting Pearl of the Great Void had somehow inexplicably triggered just now and was currently on cooldown. His only usable life-saving trump card was gone, yet a Late Golden Core was standing right in front of him.

Lai Li’an felt a chill run down his spine. He slowly put down the skewer of roasted meat in his hand, raised his head, and calmly swept his gaze over the four of them.

There was no expression on his face, but his right hand had already discreetly reached into his clothes to pull out the Immortal-Slaying Truth-Revealing Talisman. His body leaned forward slightly, like a cheetah ready to strike.

Being swept by that gaze, Ye Shuang felt a chill shoot straight from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. The gray-robed person had clearly only glanced at her, but she felt as if she had been completely seen through from head to toe.

Her knees gave out, and she fell to her knees with a thud. Ye Shuang’s kneeling was like knocking over the first domino.

Li He almost instinctively bent his back, cupping his hands together, and bowed deeply to the ground.

Meng Qiuran was, after all, the leading senior brother of this experiential journey and had seen some of the world. Gritting his teeth, he locked eyes with Lai Li’an for a split second.

In that instant, he felt as if he were staring into a bottomless starry sky. Then, he lowered his head and bowed respectfully.

Finally, it was the man in black. He had sensed from the very beginning that this person possessed a Mid Golden Core Cultivation Base, yet he still lowered his head.

The movement was slight, but for a Late Golden Core cultivator to bow to someone with a lower Cultivation Base, this in itself was already the utmost reverence.

Meng Qiuran’s heart pounded fiercely. He knew that his Dao Protector never bowed his head to anyone. At least within the Branch Sect’s territory, he had never seen him act submissively toward anyone, yet now, he had lowered his head.

“Please quell your anger, Senior!” Meng Qiuran hurriedly said. “This junior is Meng Qiuran, a disciple of the Alchemy Sect Branch. These three are my fellow sect members and Dao Protector. We bear absolutely no ill intent. We were simply… simply drawn over by the phenomenon of the Lightning Tribulation just now to investigate. We had no intention of offending you, Senior!”

Having said this, he kept his posture bowed, not daring to look up.