[FEW MINUTES EARLIER]
On the streets of Qinghe City, there were two sets of people. One group could be seen fleeing in every direction. Be it ordinary people or martial cultivators, all were attempting to seek shelter from the terrifying dark clouds containing lightning in the sky, which blocked out the entirety of the sun, giving the town the gloomy atmosphere of an impending ghost town.
The other set of people weren't running but were searching the entire city, moving from house to house and even stopping the natives who were running away. When they were stopped, they were very unhappy and started to scold those who blocked their path, but the searchers released their cultivation aura on those who scolded them, making them go quiet and behave honestly.
However, some of those who had already lost their minds due to fear of dying from the sky lightning tried to resist by attacking them, but were killed instantly, making the others pale in fear and answer the questions honestly.
These other sets of people were naturally the Alchemist Association, the Martial Pavilion, and the Zhao family, with the Zhao and Chu families being the most invested in the search, with the Chu family doing the stopping, interrogation, and killing, trying to please the Zhao clan.
"Hurry up and search, you bunch of trash! The clan leader has instructed us to find and retrieve this thing, whatever it is," the leader of the Zhao search team said.
"Yes!" The rest echoed.
"But boss, look. Aren't those people from the Alchemy Guild and Martial Pavilion? Do you think they are also here to try and find the treasure too?" another person leaned into the leader's ear and spoke while pointing at the people of the Alchemist Association and Martial Pavilion.
The leader turned his attention to them, then gave the person who spoke a blank look as if he were staring at an idiot. He raised his hand and slapped him in the face. The slap was so sudden that he was not prepared for it, and due to the disparity between him and the leader, he was thrown to the ground. His face swelled, and he nearly passed out due to the pain.
"Idiot! Do I still need you to tell me, as if I don't have eyes? Why else would they be here if not for the treasure? Or could they be here to look at my face? Quickly find it before them, or the clan leader would have our heads!"
The man who was slapped did not dare to utter another word. Instead, he stood up quickly, bowed, and apologized repeatedly, despite being the one who was slapped.
"Hmph!" Seeing the other man's humble and apologetic attitude, the leader decided to let him go. He turned around to another man and stopped paying attention to him.
"Zhao Lei, you are most proficient in lightning elements. Can you track the source of the lightning?" he said, looking at another man who was obviously a Martial Master like the leader, but weaker.
"Yes, leader, I should be able to," Zhao Lei replied respectfully.
"Then do that already!" the leader shouted.
"Yes," Zhao Lei bowed, sat cross-legged, and began to pinch formulas with his hands.
On the other side, the people of the Martial Pavilion, the Alchemist Association, and the Chu family were all watching.
"Deacon, look, it's Zhao Lei. Rumors have it that he has the rare lightning attribute. It seems he wants to try and track the source," one of the Chu family's lackeys spoke to the deacon in charge.
"Yes, and it seems the rumors are true," he said and frowned, shaking his head and sighing.
'Do the heavens really want to destroy my Chu family?' he thought as he looked up at the heavens.
"Alright, get back to work, everyone," he said after gazing at the sky briefly.
Then they continued the search.
Suddenly, the lightning, which had been brewing dangerously, started to dissipate as mysteriously as it came, leaving all parties looking stunned.
"What's going on?"
"Is it leaving?"
"We're saved! Hurray!"
The people who were running away stopped and raised their heads, first in bewilderment, then it transformed into joy at surviving a disaster. The Zhao family, on the other hand, weren't looking so pleased.
'It disappeared. Did someone find it before us? Damn it,' the Zhao family leader thought, then turned to his side.
"Zhao Lei, were you able to find the location before it disappeared?" he asked anxiously.
"Rest assured, leader, I found it. Just the location is a bit tricky," he replied, then whispered into the other man's ear.
The leader's expression turned solemn.
"Indeed, a bit tricky," he mumbled.
"Go inform the clan leader. This isn't something I can decide on. Let him decide," he instructed one of his men.
The latter nodded and ran back to the clan while the others waited alongside the other factions.
The Alchemist Association search party, after discussion, decided to wait and see what the Zhao clan would do.
The leader of the pavilion group gave instructions to his men, then separated from his group.
"My Lord, the Zhao family has discovered the source of the disturbance. Shall we confront them for the information?" the pavilion leader knelt on one knee and spoke to the seemingly dark and empty street alley.
Suddenly, the darkness in the alley surged and spread all over it as if trying to swallow the surrounding light, and a figure stepped out of it.
"No need. I already know the source. All of you may retreat," the figure said.
"Already found? As expected of my Lord! My Lord is invinc—"
"Alright, that's enough. I don't need flattery. Return now," she waved dismissively.
"Yes," the man bowed his head, not daring to say another word, and returned back to inform the team. The maid also disappeared back into the shadows.
On the side of the Zhao family, a fat and short middle-aged man could be seen walking toward the search party with an arrogant expression on his face.
"Greetings, Third Elder," the leader of the party and his team did not dare show any disrespect toward the man. They bowed deeply in unison and greeted.
"It's alright," the fat man waved away their greetings condescendingly.
"Alright, let's go to the place," he ordered and walked in front while everyone else walked behind him.
"Hey, isn't that the Zhao family's Third Elder, Zhao Lee? What's he doing here?" the Alchemist Association party whispered among themselves.
"Could it be they found the source? What do we do, leader?" they all turned to the man clearly in charge.
"Let's follow. Otherwise, how will I explain to the chairman?" the leader took a deep breath, realizing this was much bigger than they originally thought, especially now that it involved a Grandmaster powerhouse. He gritted his teeth and ordered them to chase.
They followed behind, keeping a good distance away in order to show respect to Zhao Lee.
"Hey, isn't this road leading to the Lin family?" one of them suddenly realized, and all of them also realized it.
Before they could analyze the situation, there was a—
"BOOM!"