Hearing the Crimson Sun Executioner's words, the elders present were momentarily bewildered, wondering if they had misheard or if his primordial spirit had been affected in some way, making him speak nonsense.
Seeing Elder Sun and the others looking either dazed or dumbfounded, the Crimson Sun Executioner concisely recounted everything that had taken place inside the Spirit Realm instance.
At the end, he surged with soul power, emphasizing his tone:
"You all know very well how immense the mental burden is when forcibly devouring the spirit body of an expert of the same level. The fusion failed. The wills of the two gods of wind and lightning are tearing at each other within the same vessel, clashing and driving each other insane until all reason is lost.
"The spiritual power of wind and lightning is inherently violent and domineering. Without reason to restrain them, they will destroy everything in sight."
He looked toward his own mangled remains. "I am living proof."
Only then did Elder Hongying and the others realize the true gravity of the situation, their minds buzzing. Compared to the insanity of the two gods of wind and lightning, the First Elder, the Crimson Sun Executioner, returning to the Spirit Realm seemed trivial—a minor matter by comparison.
The loss of a peak Dominator was not a fatal blow to the orthodox faction, but for the two Chief Executives of Heaven's Punishment to turn on each other, fall into madness together, and be placed on the Spirit Realm's wanted list was enough to plunge the entire world into chaos.
One wrong step, and order would completely collapse.
Elder Zhao knitted his brows, eyes heavy, and sighed:
"So it seems that fallen one was merely bait intentionally cast out by the evil faction. Inviting the First Elder to Heaven's Punishment to purify the fallen one was also part of their plan. Not only did they want to destroy the two chiefs, but they also took the chance to eliminate the First Elder. Ling Tuo... oh, Ling Tuo..."
By the end, his voice carried the grit of clenched teeth.
Before Ling Tuo fell to evil, he had studied mystic arts under the elders of the sect, including the Crimson Sun Executioner. While they never held the formal title of master and disciple, the reality was no different.
"Enough chatter! Old Zhao, go notify the Sect Master. I'll head over to the Five Elements Alliance headquarters. Hongying, take the First Elder's primordial spirit to the Xie family and beg their ancestor to help reshape his physical body." Elder Sun's face was fraught with urgency and deep distress. "Boreas, what utter foolishness..."
Suddenly, a Spirit Realm notification rang in everyone's ears:
[Ding! The Morality Points of the Thunder God and Boreas have been cleared to zero. Slaying either will yield lavish rewards.]
The status panels of all the Dominators popped open automatically, projecting a holographic map where a red dot blinked incessantly.
[Ding! The Morality Points of the Thunder God and Boreas have been cleared to zero. Slaying either will yield lavish rewards.]
In the Grand Marshal's study, Mr. President, swirling a wine glass, was doing his utmost to convince the Grand Marshal to see the light and join him in supporting the Lord of the Sun when the Spirit Realm notification chimed in his ears.
The hand swirling the wine glass froze. In the eyes of the ever-cynical Mr. President, an unprecedented gravity and solemnity surfaced.
Fu Qingxuan's face paled dramatically.
"Disaster..." the President muttered to himself. "The Thunder God and Boreas have completely cast off all pretense."
Both Fu Qingxuan and the President felt the chilling foreboding of a collapsing edifice. Even for a demigod, being placed on the Spirit Realm's wanted list was perilous beyond measure.
First, a Spirit Realm wanted bounty could unite the demigods of the evil faction into a single cord—an alignment not even faction wars were guaranteed to achieve.
Second, even within the orthodox faction, demigods would be tempted by the bounty, for the reward for hunting a demigod would inevitably be an item or tool of the same caliber.
For Heaven's Punishment's two chiefs to have their Morality Points wiped out at such a juncture was undoubtedly a catastrophic blow to the orthodox faction.
***
At Mohist Mechanism City.
Zhang Yuanqing, currently condensing the divine power of the sun into a long saber as he sparred with Lady Sandao, suddenly froze, his expression turning to sheer shock and bewilderment.
The thrusting golden sword swerved aside, grazing past his neck.
Lady Sandao knitted her delicate brows and scolded gently, "What has distracted you?"
Zhang Yuanqing looked as though he had seen a ghost, stammering, "Heaven's Punishment's two chiefs... have been... placed on the Spirit Realm's wanted list..."
What happened?
Why would the two chiefs be wanted by the Spirit Realm?
Being wanted by the Spirit Realm naturally meant their Morality Points had dropped to zero, but why zero! And why had both chiefs of Heaven's Punishment had theirs cleared simultaneously?
He had only been in closed-door cultivation within the Spirit Realm for two days, not two years! What on earth had happened in the outside world?
Lady Sandao did not disturb the dazed Zhang Yuanqing; after all, he was like a late-born son to her—a disciple was no different from a son.
She turned an inquiring gaze toward her other disciple.
Commandery Princess Yinyao raised her little megaphone. "The two chiefs of Heaven's Punishment are at the Human Immortal stage. When their Morality Points drop to zero, the Spirit Realm issues a wanted order, releasing a massive bounty and exposing the targets' locations."
Lady Sandao nodded slightly and looked at Zhang Yuanqing. "Are any other Human Immortals wanted?"
Zhang Yuanqing shook his head.
Lady Sandao gave her conclusive verdict: "Then the two Human Immortals must have quarreled, inflicting countless casualties upon mortals."
"Your Ladyship is right. But at a time when the demonic path runs rampant, for two Human Immortals to be wanted by the Spirit Realm makes this disciple fear there is deeper intrigue at play. Something terrible must have happened out there." Zhang Yuanqing bowed deeply. "This disciple must return to check."
With that, his figure vanished into thin air before Lady Sandao and Commandery Princess Yinyao.
Commandery Princess Yinyao raised her little megaphone. "Master, after hanging around you for a few days, that brat's started talking all scholarly."
She cared nothing for the mortal world; even if the world ended, what did it matter to a yin corpse who had passed away ages ago?
In contrast, a thread of worry flitted across Lady Sandao's brow. "When the demonic path runs rampant, the common people will suffer."
***
Songhai, Fujia Bay.
In the drafting room, biting down on his pen while leading the Xiahou family's scholars in drafting mechanism blueprints, Xiahou Aotian heard the Spirit Realm notification ring in his ear.
Xiahou Aotian kept his eyes fixed on the blueprints, sneering through the pen between his teeth: "Thunder God and Boreas—where did this pair of geniuses come from? In all my years, I've never seen Spirit Realm walkers so utterly stupid."
One of the clan elders trembled all over, stammering, "Ao... Aotian... those are the Spirit Realm IDs of the two Chief Executives at Heaven's Punishment headquarters! You never pay attention in basic knowledge class!"
Snap!
The 2B pencil in Xiahou Aotian's mouth snapped in two.
***
[Ding! The Morality Points of the Thunder God and Boreas have been cleared to zero. Slaying either will yield lavish rewards.]
In his study, Fu Qingyang, hard at work at his desk, abruptly jerked his head up, his pupils contracting violently.
At that moment, every Spirit Realm walker—including those inside instances, whether Extraordinary or Saint, Dominator or demigod—received the Spirit Realm prompt.
A global wanted notice!
***
Capital City, Linggan Temple.
The century-old bodhi tree planted in the back courtyard rustled. Wisps of emerald light drifted from its branches and leaves, coalescing above the canopy into a man with a blurred face.
After gazing into the distance for a moment, he suddenly surged into the heavens, transforming into an emerald rainbow that streaked across the sky.
At the same time, in a valley on the outskirts of Capital City, a white-haired elder sank into the earth, descending deeper and deeper until reaching subterranean depths beyond the reach of human instruments, rushing along the earth veins toward the coordinates provided by the Spirit Realm.
Dark clouds tumbled, scudding swiftly across the sky and vanishing into the distance, unleashing torrential rain wherever they passed.
Far away in the northwest, the Holy Mountain of the Soldier Master sect rumbled and shuddered, earth and rock clattering down as though in an earthquake.
The Bewitching Demons at the Soldier Master headquarters all felt a terrifying aura stirring to life, like an ancient dragon awakening from slumber, striking trembling terror into every living being nearby.
The Four Heavenly Kings and Divine General Silver Moon rushed out of their rooms and gathered on the observation terrace midway up the mountain.
Divine General Silver Moon's expression was a mixture of thrill and fear. "Is... is Asura waking up?"
Heavenly King Miejue shared a similar expression, licking his lips. "A demigod-level bounty... Nothing like this has ever appeared in the century since the Spirit Realm emerged. Heaven's Punishment's two chiefs are practically gift-wrapping equipment for Asura."
Moments later, the trembling of the Holy Mountain ceased. The aura gradually receded, returning once more to deep slumber.
Heavenly King Miejue looked thoroughly disappointed, bewildered and reluctant. "Why? Can Asura not even be bothered by demigod-tier rewards?"
He couldn't fathom it.
Heavenly King Fear stood with his hands behind his back and gave a soft chuckle. "They weren't enemies meant for Asura in the first place. He was merely startled awake by an aura of equal rank. Just wait and see. The real show is yet to come."
Demon Eye Heavenly King looked wary. "What show?"
Heavenly King Fear looked back over his shoulder, his smile fading into an indifferent expression: "I'm not telling you! Wouldn't want you tipping off someone in the orthodox faction. Don't think I don't know what you pulled a few days ago in that Dionysus Club instance."
***
New York County, bank building.
Zhang Yuanqing returned to reality. Without a word, he burst out of his bedroom and headed straight for Winnie Berrent's office. Along the way was utter bedlam; members of Heaven's Punishment scurried back and forth like headless flies, either huddling in heated arguments or shouting hysterically, "Why?!"
He navigated past several open work areas and barged straight into Winnie's office, only to find the prosecutor looking grim as she dialed phone after phone. Young Miss Chris was pacing frantically, panic written all over her face.
A fish tank sat on the coffee table; the little fish, Ruth, looked left and right, too frightened to speak.
"What happened?" Zhang Yuanqing demanded the moment he stepped inside. "Why are the headquarters' two chiefs on the Spirit Realm's wanted list?!"
Winnie put down the landline, drew a deep breath, and took a long time to choose her words before speaking: "Headquarters in Washington has suffered a devastating blow. Countless personnel are dead or wounded, including Dominators. Communications are down. I'm doing everything I can to contact colleagues who survived and fled headquarters."
Zhang Yuanqing was astounded. "The evil faction attacked Heaven's Punishment headquarters?!"
Winnie's thin lips pressed into a tight, hard line.
With Zhang Yuanqing pressing for answers, Chris yelled impatiently from the side, "It was the two chiefs! Boreas and the Thunder God did it!"
Zhang Yuanqing froze on the spot, unable to react or speak for what felt like ages.
Only after a long while did he hear his own trembling voice: "Wh-why..."
Winnie closed her eyes and shook her head.
From the tank, the little fish Ruth spoke timidly, "Washington is in complete chaos. The two chiefs are slaughtering people throughout the city. No one dares to stand in their way. We're sick with worry, but there's nothing we can do except wait for the orthodox demigods to intervene and bring it under control."
Zhang Yuanqing wheeled around and left, whipping out his phone to call the President.
An automated voice informed him that the President's phone was turned off.
Has he already rushed to Washington to deal with it? Zhang Yuanqing actually felt a slight sense of relief. Though he desperately wanted firsthand information, his rank was too low; knowing or not would change nothing about the broader situation.
Compared to that, having the President arrive on the scene immediately was what truly mattered right now.
Hanging up, Zhang Yuanqing dialed Fu Qingyang's number instead.
The phone rang for a long time before Fu Qingyang finally picked up: "You want to ask about what happened at Heaven's Punishment headquarters, don't you?"
"Boss, you know?" Zhang Yuanqing's spirits lifted.
"I was in a meeting just now. The First Elder of the Taiyi Sect was there..." Fu Qingyang relayed everything heard at the conference to his trusted subordinate without missing a single detail.
When Zhang Yuanqing finished listening, his mind erupted into a storm of realization. Having personally lived through the faction war in New York County, a shuddering sense of revelation washed over him: So that was it! It was all like this, damn it!
From the very day the Soldier Master sect, the Night Rose, and the Southern Sect dispatched teams of Saints to New York County, Ling Tuo's blade had been aimed straight at the two chiefs.
The Saint teams were merely bait. Everything was orchestrated to make Channing Lu's exposure appear "natural," thereby shepherding this ticking time bomb into the Lightning Pool as a matter of course.
The Crimson Sun Executioner, First Elder of the Taiyi Sect, nearly returning to the Spirit Realm was most likely part of Ling Tuo's calculation as well: after driving two demigods insane, taking out a peak Dominator along the way.
Of course, Zhang Yuanqing still harbored many doubts. How did the evil faction know that the Wind and Thunder classes could be cultivated together?
Why did Boreas know while the Thunder God was in the dark?
Why had Boreas trusted the evil faction so easily? Had ambition for advancement truly blinded her?
Zhang Yuanqing reported the situation at Heaven's Punishment headquarters back to Fu Qingyang, drawing a sharp breath as he said: "Boss, why do I feel like the orthodox faction is finished? If the two chiefs can't be saved, they can only be packed up and sent back to the Spirit Realm. Heaven's Punishment headquarters is destroyed, with so many Dominators and Saints dead.
"If another demigod falls while trying to subdue the two chiefs, won't the orthodox faction suffer a total collapse?"
Fu Qingyang fell silent for a few seconds before remarking calmly: "With the Spirit Realm's bounty, the two chiefs haven't truly left us. They are merely continuing to protect order in a different way."
The Spirit Realm's bounty was bound to be lavish. Hunting down the dual gods of wind and lightning in exchange for that massive reward could indeed offset some of the losses, but a dual-class demigod wouldn't be easy prey... Zhang Yuanqing gave a bitter chuckle: "If the orthodox side collapses, I'll go defect to the Soldier Master sect and become a Heavenly King."
Chapter 773