Chapter 78: Great Demon

In the Hall, all the monsters witnessed a bizarre scene.

Hordes of mice, eyes glowing red, surged out from every crack and burrow, fleeing out of the cave without a backward glance.

The broad passage outside the Hall was packed with running mice, surging like a torrential river.

Outside Luoyun Cave, more and more mice had gathered around Shu Da.

All around him, countless pairs of eyes glowed with a red light.

One by one, green points of light drifted from the bodies of the mice and gathered in the palm of his right hand, condensing into a glowing green orb that grew larger and larger, spanning several feet in diameter.

The orb was like a blazing sun, radiating an intense green light that made everything around as bright as day.

It was almost enough.

Any more, and his body would no longer be able to withstand it.

Shu Da stopped summoning the surrounding mice.

He opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

Then, he pressed the massive orb in his hand against his own body.

Bit by bit, the orb melted into his body.

Shu Da’s tall frame began to tremble slightly, his bones emitting a teeth-grinding “crack-crack” sound, and his muscles spasmed uncontrollably.

A trace of pain appeared on his stern face.

Within his dantian, Demon Aura gathered toward his Serpent Core.

The Serpent Core began to change shape, growing from the size of a walnut to that of an egg, and it became even more solid, shifting from a state of elasticity to a fully solid core.

As his Serpent Core condensed, thick ink-like clouds rapidly gathered in the night sky above Luoyun Cave.

The clouds pressed downward, with arcs of lightning twisting through the mass; an overwhelming aura of destruction filled the air.

The red light faded from the eyes of the mice, and they each regained their senses.

Sensing the aura of destruction, they squeaked in panic, tumbling, rolling, scrambling to flee in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, only Shu Da was left on the wide platform outside Luoyun Cave.

Shu Da looked up at the sky.

His tall figure seemed minuscule beneath the towering dark clouds.

Gale winds howled around him, blowing sand and stones, with wild grass and trees swaying madly.

Boom!

The first bolt of violet heavenly thunder tore through the sky, carrying a majestic force as it struck down!

A flicker of determination flashed in Shu Da’s blood-red eyes.

He gathered all his demonic power to protect himself, stretched out his arms, and howled into the heavens, his voice piercing the clouds.

The bolt of heavenly thunder struck him squarely on the head.

The rocks on the ground cracked inch by inch, and Shu Da was pounded down by three inches, his skin torn and flesh split, blood streaming from his mouth and nose, his fur scorched black and curled, reeking of burnt hair.

Shu Da wiped the blood from his face and sneered, “Is that all you’ve got!”

His face twisted ferociously, and he roared up at the sky, “Come on, give me more!”

Another roaring bolt of thunder crashed down, slamming into his small figure with unstoppable force.

Shu Da stood firm and unmoving.

Then came the third bolt, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth…….

Inside the Hall, a thousand little monsters listened in terror to the raging winds and rolling thunder outside, as bolt after bolt of lightning struck down.

So this is the Lightning Tribulation?

No wonder it’s called Heaven’s might—such an awe-inspiring force.

If any of them were standing outside, they’d have been reduced to ashes by now.

Hong Lao San and his daughter, Hong Yanzhi, looked terrified and uneasy.

They both knew, once Shu Da survived the Lightning Tribulation, it would spell the end for the two of them.

Especially Hong Yanzhi—her face was deathly pale.

She recalled dumping a chamber pot on Shu Da’s face, forcing him to taste her urine, then stomping on his brother’s leg that very day, and even pressing her foot into his face in public to humiliate him.

If Shu Da ascended to Grand Demon, the first he’d seek revenge on would surely be her.

Imagining the kind of vengeance and humiliation she might face before death, her face turned completely bloodless.

The monsters from other mountains below felt a little more at ease.

Since this mouse demon was ascending to Grand Demon to claim the position of mountain lord of Xixia Mountain, he probably wouldn’t trouble outsiders like them.

After all, no matter who became the boss, they’d need to maintain good relations with neighboring peaks.

Surely this mouse demon wouldn’t get so arrogant after just ascending that he’d detain them and declare war on all the surrounding mountains—a suicidal move.

Only Lang Buping’s expression kept shifting, uncertain what he was thinking.

Shu Er and the rest of the Mouse Family—dozens of mouse demons—were also anxious, their faces filled with both anticipation and fear.

If Shu Da survived the tribulation, they would soar to the top, becoming the masters at once.

From then on, Xixia Mountain would be under the rule of their Mouse Family.

But if Shu Da failed the tribulation and was struck dead by heavenly thunder, they’d be labeled rebels, outcasts with nowhere to hide—neither Xixia Mountain nor the neighboring peaks would tolerate them.

Their fate would likely be the same as the thirty-five members of the Tian Jia Mouse Family: lined up and beheaded in public.

Everyone waited nervously for the outcome.

In the Di Lao, Zhang Zongnian listened to the endless muffled thunder, feeling quite shocked.

He gripped the bars and tried hard to see outside, but couldn’t see a thing, nor did he know what was happening.

After a while, he gave up and returned to a corner, sitting down on a beast hide, ignoring the thunder and silently reciting the Heavenly Demon Transformation Art and the Beast Refinement Codex in his mind.

In the Yi Fang, Lin Xue lay on the bed, her complexion restored to a healthy flush, as if she were only sleeping.

Elder Huai sat by the ground stove, brewing a nourishing medicinal soup for her.

Hearing the rumbling thunder, his face was filled with confusion and suspicion.

He was an old tree turned spirit and had no need for food, so he hadn’t joined the Hall’s banquet, and was unaware of the events unfolding there.

Now, hearing the commotion outside, he wanted to go out and see what was happening.

But seeing the medicine nearly finished on the stove, and then glancing at the still-unconscious Lin Xue, he ultimately sat down cross-legged, focusing his attention on tending the brew.

After about half a cup of tea’s time, the medicinal soup was ready.

Elder Huai poured the decoction from the pot into a bowl, carried it over to Lin Xue, and with his wrinkled old hands gently pried open her mouth, feeding her spoonful by spoonful.

After feeding her the medicine, as usual, he placed his hand on Lin Xue’s wrist to check her recovery.

A hint of surprise appeared on his old face.

He had thought Lin Xue’s injuries were so severe that she’d need over ten days to fully recover.

He hadn’t expected that in less than three days, she’d already healed more than half.

At this rate, she’d awaken in another two days.

Over the past few days, to stabilize Lin Xue’s cultivation, he’d fed her the very best medicinal herbs found in the mountains.

One of the medicines even included materials from a demon beast’s Serpent Core.

Now, Lin Xue’s cultivation and realm had not only not fallen, but had faintly increased.

Elder Huai couldn’t figure it out—he didn’t know how Lin Xue could recover so quickly, or how she could grow stronger after being injured.

He could only attribute it to Lin Xue’s unique constitution, different from ordinary demons.

How could he know, Lin Xue had mastered the Beast Refinement Codex, and her body had already developed muscle memory.

Though she was unconscious, her body automatically circulated the Beast Refinement Codex, absorbing and digesting the Demon Aura within the Serpent Cores that had entered her body, gathering it atop her own Serpent Core in the dantian.

With the help of the medicinal decoctions made from those Serpent Cores Elder Huai had fed her, her Serpent Core was now at the verge between liquid and viscous state.

A few more doses, and she would directly break through in her sleep, reaching the late stage of Body Refinement.

Outside Luoyun Cave, the thunder rolled on for half an hour before finally subsiding.

The clouds gradually dispersed, the wind died down, and calm slowly returned.

Inside the Hall, Shu Er looked expectantly toward the doorway, hoping for his brother’s silhouette to appear, hoping he could finally cast off his lowly status and become the second-in-command of the mountain.

Hong Lao San and Hong Yanzhi also watched the door in anxiety.

Hong Yanzhi silently prayed that the tall figure would not appear.

She hoped that mouse demon had died under the Lightning Tribulation.

Every big and small demon turned their gaze to the entrance, waiting for the final result.

After a moment, a tall and sturdy figure slowly appeared before all the monsters’ eyes.

It was a young man, his face human, expression icy cold, over ten feet tall, with broad shoulders and muscles knotted and bulging all over.

His body was battered and blackened, as if freshly burned by fire.

Judging from the tattered clothes on his body, it was clearly Shu Da.

At this moment, Shu Da had fully transformed into human form.

He had survived the Lightning Tribulation and become a Grand Demon of the Condensed Core stage.

Hong Lao San and Hong Yanzhi’s faces instantly went white.