As a dignified max-level Celestial Master, who am I supposed to explain this to?

three days later.

Longhu Mountain, the main hall of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

The old Celestial Master Zhang Qingyuan has returned.

He didn't want to come back on his own; he was summoned back by an urgent message sent by a messenger crane.

The message contained only one sentence: "Master, return quickly, something has happened at the mountain gate. —Han Xuan"

When Zhang Qingyuan saw this letter, he was engaged in a fierce battle with a flying zombie deep in western Hunan.

He thought something terrible had happened at Longhu Mountain, so he immediately abandoned the flying zombie and led the three elders back overnight. They covered the more than 1,000 li journey in just half a day.

He rushed into the mountain gate, panting heavily.

A piece of peace.

The air was filled with birdsong and the fragrance of sandalwood incense. Several young Taoist priests were practicing their skills in the square. The peaceful scene made him feel like he had been tricked.

"Where is Han Xuan?!"

Zhang Qingyuan's voice was like a resounding bell, causing dust to fall from the beams of the main hall.

Zhao Xiaofan peeked out from behind the pillar, his neck hunched:

"Master, my eldest brother is in the back mountain..."

"The back mountain? What's he doing on the back mountain?"

"Practice...practice martial arts."

Zhang Qingyuan's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He was seventy-three years old this year, tall and with a face like a red date. A long, snow-white beard hung down to his chest. He wore an apricot-yellow Taoist robe and held a whisk in his hand. He looked exactly like an old immortal who had stepped out of a New Year's painting.

But at this moment, the old immortal's expression was not good.

"You called me back from western Hunan just to watch him practice martial arts?"

Zhao Xiaofan shrank his head even further:

"My senior brother said... that something has happened at the mountain gate..."

"What's changed? Have zombies broken in? Or is it a cult attack?"

"No, no... It's just that three days ago, a corpse cultivator named Chen Jiuyin brought a group of zombies to cause trouble, but our senior brother chased them away..."

Zhang Qingyuan was taken aback: "Chen Jiuyin? A corpse cultivator? What level of cultivation?"

"I don't know much about that corpse cultivator, but the zombies he brought were hairy zombies..."

"A zombie?!"

Before Zhang Qingyuan could speak, the Third Elder behind him exploded, "The hairy zombie requires at least the fourth level of the Golden Light Mantra to deal with! How did you handle it?"

Zhao Xiaofan whispered:

"The eldest brother alone... sent it flying with a single punch..."

There was a three-second silence in the hall.

Zhang Qingyuan frowned: "Han Xuan's Golden Light Spell is only at level three, how can he possibly defeat the hairy zombie?"

Zhao Xiaofan's voice became even softer:

"Senior Brother's Golden Light Mantra now seems to have more than three layers..."

"Which floor is that?"

Zhao Xiaofan hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his right hand, spread his five fingers, and then raised one finger.

"Six...sixth floor?"

Zhang Qingyuan's whisk fell to the ground with a "thud".

"What did you say?"

"The sixth level of the Golden Light Mantra!"

Zhao Xiaofan gritted his teeth and told him everything, "After Senior Brother woke up three days ago, the Golden Light Mantra went directly from the third level to the sixth level!"

"Moreover, he also knows the Heavenly Thunder Technique of the Five Thunder Orthodox Method!"

"A single palm strike sent the zombie flying! All the fellow disciples present saw it!"

The main hall was deathly silent.

The three elders looked at each other, their expressions quite fascinating.

The Second Elder was a thin and wiry old man surnamed Lin, named Lin Shouzheng, who specialized in the art of talismans.

His eyes were so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

"The sixth level of the Golden Light Mantra?"

Lin Shouzhen's voice changed, "It took me fifty years to reach the fifth level, and that kid reached the sixth level at eighteen? Are you kidding me?"

The Fourth Elder was a taciturn middle-aged man surnamed Zhou, named Zhou Tieshan, who specialized in physical martial arts.

He didn't speak, but clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

The Fifth Elder was a smiling, chubby man surnamed Qian, named Qian Guangjin, who specialized in formations.

He wasn't too shocked; instead, he stroked his beard with interest.

"Interesting, very interesting. Could going into a qi deviation really open up the Ren and Du meridians?"

Zhang Qingyuan remained silent for a long time.

He didn't make a fuss like the elders, but something was churning violently deep in his eyes.

The sixth level of the Golden Light Mantra. Heavenly Thunder Technique.

He spent forty years mastering these two skills.

Han Xuan was eighteen years old.

"Let's go take a look at the back mountain."

Zhang Qingyuan bent down to pick up the whisk, his voice returning to calm, but his pace quickened by three points compared to usual.

Behind the mountain, Leichi (Thunder Pool).

Leichi is a unique landform on the back of Longhu Mountain. It is a hundred feet in circumference, barren of vegetation, with the ground covered with black gravel and a faint smell of ozone in the air.

This place is low-lying and frequently experiences lightning strikes, making it an excellent location for practicing the Five Thunder Orthodox Method, but also extremely dangerous.

Longhu Mountain has been established for 1,800 years, and no more than twenty disciples have ever been able to cultivate in the Thunder Pool.

No more than five people could stay in the Thunder Pool for more than an hour.

When Zhang Qingyuan arrived at the edge of the Thunder Pool with the three elders.

The first thing you see isn't Han Xuan, but a zombie.

A zombie wearing tattered armor and covered in silver bristles stood in the center of the Thunder Pool, roaring to the sky.

"A silver-armored corpse?!" Zhang Qingyuan's expression changed drastically.

Silver-armored corpses are flying zombies above hairy zombies, equivalent to the fifth or sixth level of a human cultivator's Golden Light Mantra.

This level of zombie requires at least three to five cultivators at the fifth level of the Golden Light Mantra to suppress it.

On Mount Longhu, there are only four cultivators above the fifth level of the Golden Light Mantra, including Zhang Qingyuan himself.

"Where is Han Xuan?!"

Zhang Qingyuan asked sternly.

Zhao Xiaofan caught up, panting, and pointed to the other side of the Thunder Pool:

"Over there!"

Zhang Qingyuan looked in the direction he was pointing.

Across from the Thunder Pool, on a huge black rock, Han Xuan sat cross-legged.

He closed his eyes, his posture relaxed, as if he were meditating in his own backyard.

On the left is a pot of tea, and on the right is an open ancient book.

Occasionally, he would pick up his teacup and take a sip, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Between him and the silver-armored corpse was a purple lightning barrier, like a wall, firmly trapping the silver-armored corpse in the center of the lightning pool.

"This is……"

Zhang Qingyuan squinted, carefully observing the lightning barrier, and then gasped.

That was no ordinary Five Thunderbolts Righteous Law Barrier.

That is……

The highest level of the Five Thunder Orthodox Method is the Divine Firmament Thunder Formation.

Using one's own true energy, one can draw upon the thunder of heaven and earth to form a closed-loop lightning array within a designated area.

This requires the practitioner to have an unparalleled understanding of the Five Thunder Orthodox Method and to have a natural and seamless connection with the Qi of Heaven and Earth.

Zhang Qingyuan himself also knew this technique.

However, he only learned it after he turned sixty, and each time he used it, he needed to prepare for at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, which was extremely taxing on him.

And Han Xuan.

While drinking tea and reading a book, he also trapped a silver-armored corpse.

Without blushing or panting, he even had the leisure to turn a page of a book.

"This kid..." Zhang Qingyuan's voice was tinged with shock as he exclaimed, "How could he have grown so much in just a few days? Could he really be a one-in-a-million Daoist genius?!"