A Pawn's Passage

The power of this lightning could hardly be called insignificant.

In the past, the Zhengyi Sect rarely deployed such killing weapons, not because they were unwilling, but because they were unable to. The 36 Thunder Gods consumed vast amounts of divine power, and ever since the collapse of the Heavenly Sect, the Zhengyi Sect had been stretched thin in this regard, utterly incapable of sustaining such enormous expenditure. As a result, they could only be sealed away within the Xuanwu Hall. Thus, whether it was Elder Xu’s surprise assault on the Dazhen Mansion or the chaos surrounding the deposed Heavenly Preceptor, these Thunder God incarnations had no opportunity to be put to use.

It was only after the Daoist Order was rebuilt and rose to become the ruler of the world that Zhengyi Sect’s predicament improved, allowing these great killing weapons left behind by their predecessors to be used once more.

Each incarnation of the 36 Thunder Gods was equivalent to a Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being. Though they could not be compared to the Three Yin Beings or the Sakka, their strength lay in numbers, so they should not be underestimated.

If all 36 Thunder God incarnations were deployed together, that would make them invincible. But in reality, there was simply not enough divine power to sustain 36 such incarnations. Moreover, over the years, many had been lost. From what Qi Xuansu glimpsed in his dazed state alone, no fewer than six Thunder God incarnations had been destroyed by the Wuists. There were others he had not seen. As such, the present-day Zhengyi Sect might not even be able to gather the full count of 36. Even the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor had never gathered all 36. How many of these Thunder God incarnations truly existed was something only the Zhengyi Sect knew.

However, Qi Xuansu himself was also at the Zaohua stage, so he was not particularly afraid. Once the lightning spread over a wider area, it certainly looked terrifying, but its power was correspondingly diluted, far inferior to when it had been concentrated at a single point on the spear. These roaming lightning serpents simply could not shake Qi Xuansu’s Manly Immortal True Body.

Instead, Qi Xuansu reached out and tore the lightning apart. He strode straight toward the Thunder God incarnation and unleashed one punch.

The immense fist intention descended in a spiraling motion, striking the Thunder God incarnation.

The Thunder God incarnation shuddered violently. Though no cracks appeared on its form, it rippled like a reflection in water. Layers of waves spread outward, rising and falling unsteadily.

Fist intention was highly effective against all illusory entities. Not to mention, this Thunder God incarnation was merely a manifestation of Wu Ji’s residual will. Even if a true Thunder God incarnation were present here, its essence would still be more false than real.

The Thunder God incarnation let out an angry roar as two ribbon-like arcs of lightning appeared out of thin air, coiling around its body and forcing Qi Xuansu to retreat.

In response, Qi Xuansu activated the Qilin Armor of the Manly Immortal Hundred Forms, isolating the lightning. His fists continued to strike without pause, hammering every part of the Thunder God incarnation and using fist intention to render its form unstable between the real and the unreal.