The Ferocious God in the Celestial Master's Mansion

Chapter 51: A Mysterious Aura Detonates, Meeting with Everyone

Deep inside the unfinished building, the air seemed to solidify into a tangible substance.

Zhang Yulei stood silently outside the mottled wooden door, his Qi senses acting like the most sophisticated radar, meticulously tracing every fluctuation of the eerie Qi within. He could clearly "see" that the energy body, forcibly blended from countless chaotic Qi flows, was restlessly throbbing like a dying beast, its internal repulsion and collisions growing increasingly intense, as if it might break free from that invisible confinement at any moment.

He wanted to observe a little longer, trying to glean more clues about the source of this chaotic Qi. After all, this artificially forced fusion of Qi was too abnormal, and there must be some unusual secret behind it. Seventy years of seclusion had instilled in him the habit of planning carefully before acting, and he would never easily break the current balance unless absolutely necessary.

However, just as his senses were about to touch the core of that confinement—

"Buzz—!"

A strange aura suddenly erupted from within the door!

That energy, which was originally scattered like duckweed, seemed to be suddenly injected with some kind of violent will, instantly breaking free from all restraints, like a ignited powder keg, expanding, compressing, and expanding again in a very short time! Countless mixed Qi flows collided and annihilated violently within it, and the resulting energy fluctuations even caused the surrounding space to distort slightly.

Zhang Yulei's heart sank suddenly.

This is not a chaotic collapse of energy, but... a conscious self-destruction!

"Oh no! This is a self-destruction!"

The thought had barely formed when a deafening roar shattered the silence of the unfinished building.

"boom--!!!"

A blinding white light burst forth from the crack in the door, followed by a shockwave carrying rubble, wood chips, and violent energy, like an invisible giant hand slamming down on Zhang Yulei outside. The entire unfinished building trembled violently, the walls rattled, and large amounts of dust fell, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

The explosion sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet suburban night, like a thunderclap from a clear sky. Even cars traveling on the distant highway were affected, slowing down and honking their horns.

At the other end of the unfinished building, Zhang Chulan, Wang Ye, and Zhuge Qing, who were carefully searching, were startled by the sudden loud noise and stopped abruptly.

"What's going on? They set off firecrackers?!" Zhang Chulan instinctively covered his ears, his face filled with astonishment. The sound was too close; it was right inside this building!

Wang Ye's expression turned grave as he sensed the center of the energy explosion: "No, it's not a cannon. It's an explosion of Qi, and it's incredibly powerful! It's located to our northwest, about three stories high."

"There are others?" Zhuge Qing's eyes sharpened. "Let's go see what's going on! There might still be some survivors trying to cover something up with an explosion!"

The three exchanged a glance, then without further hesitation, rushed towards the direction from which the explosion had come.

Feng Baobao, who was on guard at the entrance of the unfinished building, suddenly focused her previously vacant gaze the moment the explosion rang out. Without the slightest hesitation, she moved like an arrow, rushing towards the source of the sound into the building. Her speed was astonishing; the rubble beneath her feet flew up, leaving a blurry afterimage in the dimly lit corridor.

The center of the explosion.

A violent shockwave surged forth like a tidal wave, crushing wooden doors into fragments and tearing a huge gap in the walls in its wake.

But Zhang Yulei, who was directly in the face of this destructive storm, appeared unusually calm.

At the instant the explosion occurred, the Qi within his body had already instinctively reached its maximum.

"Buzz—"

A layer of condensed, almost tangible golden light, like an eggshell, emerged from within him, instantly enveloping his entire body. This golden light was not the somewhat thin protective aura of a beginner disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion; instead, it possessed a deep and profound color, with faint rune patterns flowing across its surface—the ultimate manifestation of seventy years of dedicated and arduous cultivation.

The Celestial Master's Mansion's signature technique, the Golden Light Mantra, had long been refined to a state of perfection, reaching a level of unparalleled mastery. Normally, this golden light resided within his body, nourishing his internal organs and strengthening his physical foundation. Seemingly invisible, it was in fact omnipresent. With a single thought, it could erupt instantly, forming an indestructible defense.

"Bang bang bang—!"

Pebbles, wood chips, and raging Qi surged against the golden light barrier, producing dull thuds, yet not even a ripple was stirred; all were blocked outside. The golden light barrier remained unmoved, like a rock in a raging sea, no matter how violent the wind and waves.

As the aftershocks of the explosion gradually subsided and the smoke and dust filled the air, Zhang Yulei's figure slowly emerged. He remained standing in the same spot, his clothes fluttering in the wind, his hair slightly disheveled, and the golden light emanating from him had dissipated, revealing a simple Taoist robe underneath. Apart from a few specks of dust, he was completely unharmed.

He looked at the room in front of him, now a mess because of the explosion—most of the walls had collapsed, the floor was covered with rubble, and everything that should have been here had been reduced to dust in the explosion, leaving not a single intact trace.

That eerie aura vanished completely with the self-destruction, as if it had never existed.

Zhang Yulei frowned slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

"I was careless."

He hadn't expected the other side to be so ruthless, willing to self-destruct to destroy all clues. It seemed this force was far more cautious and, more...unscrupulous than he had imagined.

This self-destruction was clearly premeditated. Perhaps from the moment they stepped into this unfinished building, the other party had already prepared for the worst.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the stairwell.

"Tap tap tap—"

Feng Baobao appeared outside the broken wall. She immediately saw Zhang Yulei standing in the dust and smoke. Her tense expression froze for a moment before she recognized him.

Isn't this the old Taoist priest who stopped me from burying Wang Ye at the Luotian Grand Ceremony on Longhu Mountain? Later, he even beat up Zhang Chulan because Zhang Chulan talked nonsense. According to Zhang Chulan, he should call him Grand Uncle.

Feng Baobao blinked, walked up to Zhang Yulei, and asked in her usual calm tone, with a hint of barely perceptible curiosity, "Old Taoist priest, what are you doing here?"

Her appearance softened the coldness in Zhang Yulei's eyes slightly. He looked at the girl before him, whose eyes were clear yet whose actions revealed a naive ruthlessness, nodded slightly, and did not answer immediately.

Almost at the same time Feng Baobao spoke, Zhang Chulan, Wang Ye, and Zhuge Qing arrived, panting heavily.

When they passed through the hole in the wall and saw the figure in the center of the room, they were all stunned.

Zhang Chulan, in particular, froze when he saw that familiar, somewhat dignified face. His eyes widened, his mouth opened slightly, and he almost bit his tongue.

This... isn't this Zhang Yulei, the Grand Uncle of the Celestial Master's Mansion who went into seclusion for decades, and upon emerging, slaughtered the Quanxing gang to the point of running for their lives, and even beat himself up?!

What is he doing here?!

After a brief moment of shock, Zhang Chulan's mind went blank. Almost reflexively, he put on a fawning smile, quickly stepped forward, bowed slightly, and spoke with undisguised reverence and a hint of obsequiousness: "Grand...Grand Uncle! How are you? What are you doing here? Did the explosion hurt you?"

As he spoke, he secretly winked at Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing beside him, signaling them to greet them quickly.

Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing were also surprised.

Although Zhuge Qing had never met Zhang Yulei in person, he had long heard of the legendary deeds of this figure from the Celestial Master's Mansion. In particular, the story of Quanxing's rampage at Longhu Mountain after the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, where they were almost wiped out by this senior who had just emerged from seclusion, was widely circulated in the world of supernatural beings.

Wang Ye was surprised because he recognized Zhang Chulan's grandmaster uncle as the one who had saved him from being buried by Feng Baobao. Moreover, he had heard that the person from the Celestial Master's Mansion who was of the same generation as his grandmaster and was known as the "fierce god" during the War of Resistance Against Japan was Zhang Chulan's grandmaster uncle. But Wang Ye never expected that the old Taoist priest who saved him was Zhang Chulan's grandmaster uncle. Immediately after regaining his senses, he and Zhuge Qing, who had also regained their senses, bowed to Zhang Yulei.

"Junior Zhuge Qing of the Zhuge family pays respects to senior."

"Wang Ye, a former disciple of Wudang, pays his respects to the senior."

They simply couldn't understand how such a prominent figure, who had been living in seclusion for many years, could appear in this remote, unfinished building and happen to be caught in this explosion.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the dust-filled ruins became somewhat subtle.

Zhang Yulei looked at the group of young people with different expressions, especially Zhang Chulan's obsequious look that clearly showed he was "afraid of getting beaten up." He raised an eyebrow and a subtle meaning flashed in his eyes.

He didn't answer Zhang Chulan's question immediately, but his gaze slowly swept over the three of them before finally settling back on Feng Baobao's still expressionless face.