Chapter 39: The Calamity of Wind and Thunder

“Brother Mu, Young Master Chu, there’s no need to be anxious! This is a long story, so please allow me to explain it slowly,” Han Mo said with a faint smile, his manner unhurried. “Brother Mu, let me first ask you something—have you ever heard of the Wind and Thunder Calamity at the Wind and Thunder Martial Hall?”

“The Wind and Thunder Calamity?” Mu Zhentong was taken aback. “You mean the disaster that befalls the Wind and Thunder Martial Hall once every two cycles of sixty years? The storms and tempests that erupt in the Wind and Thunder Cavern, known as the Wind and Thunder Calamity?”

“Exactly so!” Han Mo nodded, but as he spoke of this calamity, his expression grew far more grave.

“Uncle Han, I wonder—what does your sect’s Wind and Thunder Calamity have to do with me?” Chu Feng couldn’t help but ask.

Han Mo replied, “Originally, this matter had nothing to do with you, Young Master Chu. However, because of that golden serpent…”

“Uncle Han, one moment!” Chu Feng interrupted at once. “If this concerns confidential matters, should we perhaps speak elsewhere or have everyone else leave?”

As he spoke, Chu Feng’s gaze swept the room and settled on Ding Wanchong standing behind Mu Zhentong. Earlier, Chu Feng had noticed the cold, scheming look on Ding Wanchong’s face, and how he had been eavesdropping with obvious ill intent. Whatever business the Wind and Thunder Martial Hall had with him, Ding Wanchong was certainly not someone who should know about it.

Seeing Chu Feng’s piercing stare, Ding Wanchong, already feeling guilty, blurted out in a panic, “Chu Feng, are you… are you suspecting me…?”

“Senior Brother Ding, did I say I suspected you of anything? Your anxious reaction only makes you look more suspicious, as if you’re confessing without being accused,” Chu Feng said with a cold sneer.

Ding Wanchong’s face flushed bright red, and he turned to Mu Zhentong to protest, “Master, he’s being unreasonable…”

“That’s enough, say no more. You and everyone else may leave—go help out at the Autumn Trials arena,” Mu Zhentong ordered with a wave of his hand.

“Yes, Master!” Ding Wanchong dared not protest further and quickly withdrew with all the disciples. In truth, Ding had only wanted to listen in and figure out why the Wind and Thunder Martial Hall was seeking Chu Feng. Now that Chu Feng had called him out, he was only too eager to get away.

Watching Ding Wanchong’s hurried retreat, Chu Feng made a mental note. For now, he would let the matter rest, but once current affairs were handled, he fully intended to investigate who had anonymously tipped off the two great powers—whether it was Ding Wanchong or not.

Now, the vast audience hall was left with only Chu Feng, Mu Zhentong, and Han Mo.

“Young Master Chu, before we discuss the main matter, I must first confirm something with you,” Han Mo paused, then continued, “Some time ago, around the days when you killed the second son of the Xiong family, did you happen to slay a golden giant python by the riverside?”

“That’s right. But strictly speaking, I wasn’t the one who killed the golden python. I found it already dead and then proceeded to dismember it,” Chu Feng replied. At this point, he had nothing to hide. Since Han Mo was asking him directly, Chu Feng recounted in detail how, at dusk by the river, he had discovered the corpse of the golden python.

When it came to the half-digested martial artist in the python’s belly, and the hidden weapon tightly clutched in the deceased’s hand, Chu Feng did not conceal the truth. He admitted he had taken the weapon, buried the man locally, and then cut the python into pieces to take with him.

“Young Master Chu, thank you for your candor. What you’ve described matches almost exactly with what we had deduced,” Han Mo nodded, then asked, “After you cut up the python’s body, you must have found its gallbladder. What became of it? Did you eat it or sell it?”

“I ate it! At the time, I had a pot and a fire at hand. When I found the gallbladder, I cooked and ate it right away,” Chu Feng replied.

“Did you eat all of it then, not leaving a bit?” Han Mo asked.

“Yes! The gallbladder was about the size of a small wine jar, but my appetite was immense at the time—I consumed the entire thing in one sitting!” Chu Feng said. “Uncle Han, what are you getting at?”

Han Mo gave a wry chuckle. “Truth be told, the gallbladder of the golden war-serpent was an item our Wind and Thunder Martial Hall needed at all costs. Though you devoured it entirely, that’s still better than if you’d sold or discarded it.”

Chu Feng and Mu Zhentong were left somewhat bewildered, unsure what Han Mo was getting at.

“To be brief,” Han Mo said, sipping his tea, “over a thousand years ago, the Eighteen Veins of the Nine Mountains suffered a massive earthquake. The epicenter was right at the Storm Peak of Wild Thunder Mountain, where our Wind and Thunder Martial Hall now stands! The earthquake not only caused countless deaths and injuries in our sect, it also gave rise to the Wind and Thunder Cavern.”

“Since that earthquake, every two cycles of sixty years—one hundred and twenty years—the storms and tempests within the Wind and Thunder Cavern erupt like a flood, wreaking havoc across the lands controlled by our martial hall. This disaster is what we call the Wind and Thunder Calamity.”

“There have been eight such calamities since then. Each time, our martial hall has assembled its most elite masters to enter the cavern and suppress or divert the storms and tempests, striving to minimize the disaster.”

“But over time, the sources of wind and thunder within the cavern have grown, and the storms ever more violent. By the last calamity—the ninth—those masters who entered to suppress the forces were slaughtered or maimed. They failed to contain the calamity, and so, the thousand-mile territory under our control was ravaged by storms and lightning. In a single night, ruins were everywhere, and the land was left in devastation.”

After recounting so much in one breath, Han Mo fell silent.

Mu Zhentong nodded and said, “Though I didn’t witness it myself, I’ve heard much about the last Wind and Thunder Calamity within your sect’s domain. It’s said that the ninth calamity set the Wind and Thunder Martial Hall back fifty years overnight, and its influence in the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Veins diminished greatly. That must have been one hundred and twenty years ago?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a realization struck Mu Zhentong. Han Mo wouldn’t mention the Wind and Thunder Calamity for no reason—could it be that the tenth is imminent?

“Indeed. Two cycles have passed in the blink of an eye. The tenth Wind and Thunder Calamity is nearly upon us,” Han Mo said, his face full of worry. “A hundred and twenty years ago, though our masters failed to stop the calamity, they made a major discovery in the cavern—nourished by the powers of wind and thunder, a new creature, the Thunder Confluence Beast, had appeared. Many of our masters were killed or injured in the cavern during the last calamity because of this beast.”

Mu Zhentong frowned. “The Thunder Confluence Beast? Is this some fearsome creature? Is it a savage beast or a mystical one?”

“Whether it is savage or mystical, it’s hard to say. But the Thunder Confluence Beast has an extraordinary ability: it can match its strength to that of a martial artist it faces, becoming just slightly stronger. The beast itself is not powerful, but by stacking its opponent’s strength onto its own, it becomes an unbeatable foe,” Han Mo explained.

“How does that work?” Chu Feng asked in confusion, not fully grasping the meaning.

“To put it simply, Young Master Chu, say you are at the fourth level of body refinement. When you face the Thunder Confluence Beast, it instantly stacks your strength onto its own, becoming just a bit stronger than you. With that edge, your defeat is certain. When I, with seventh-level body refinement, face the same beast, it again stacks my strength, becoming just a bit stronger than me. Thus, no matter who faces it, the beast is always stronger by a margin and impossible to overcome,” Han Mo patiently explained. “In essence, the beast is like a flea—it leaps onto the head of the wolf when facing a wolf, onto the head of the tiger when facing a tiger. It is always just a notch above its adversary. The ‘confluence’ in its name refers to this stacking ability.”

“I see, now I understand,” Chu Feng nodded. No matter how great the number ten, it can never surpass eleven—this was the true terror of the Thunder Confluence Beast.