"Ah! It's a disaster! A disaster!"
Seeing the raging fire, Monica suddenly screamed, panic evident in her voice.
"A disaster? Monica, what happened?"
Everyone anxiously turned their gaze to Monica, eager to hear the "bad news" that had caused her alarm.
"That tree! It was a 113-year-old ancient tree, and now it's been struck dead by lightning! We're in huge trouble!"
"..." The group fell silent for a moment, then began to look at her with disdain.
"I thought it was something serious. You're making such a fuss, you nearly gave me a scare."
"Yeah, it's just a tree, not worth much."
"Monica! You must be doing this on purpose!"
Except for Zhao Lun and Mulan, everyone else scolded her for the "fright" she had caused. No one cared about the tree struck by lightning. Even though it was quite old, it was merely an accessory to the house. They had seen such trees around Anna's place before, and it never struck them as valuable.
"That's not true! This tree is really valuable! It had been appraised!"
"..." The group ignored her and continued watching the live feed from the surveillance video.
Another deafening thunderclap struck, the lightning reaching the tree's roots, until the entire tree was consumed by the strike.
With the destruction of the tree, the area instantly opened up. The fire seemed to have exhausted its special energy and quickly died down, leaving only a few charred remnants of wood, the rest reduced to ash.
As the great tree perished, the thunder seemed to lose its target, gradually fading into the distance, eventually vanishing, leaving only the heavy downpour.
"Lightning-struck wood!"
A cold voice rang out, and everyone turned to see that it was Mulan, who had been silent until now.
"That's a valuable thing! You should go collect it!"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze toward her, and she paid no attention to them, continuing to speak while looking at Zhao Lun.
"Right, I almost forgot about this precious wood!"
Zhao Lun slapped his head, finally snapping out of the deafening storm, and immediately understood Mulan's words.
Lightning-struck wood! It was a treasure! Even with slight processing, ordinary people could use it as a talisman to ward off evil, while some specialized cultivators could turn this wood into advanced, special tools. These tools were most effective when confronting evil entities.
"However, it's raining outside. We should wait until it calms down a bit before collecting it."
Zhao Lun didn't rush to retrieve it, and the group turned back to the video feed.
The heavy rain eased somewhat, and the lightning moved toward the city center, its intensity greatly reduced. Other buildings in the storm remained unharmed.
After watching for a while, Zhao Lun lost interest, deciding to retrieve the lightning-struck wood even without waiting for the rain to stop.
"Brother, I want to go too!"
Maria wanted to join him.
"It's raining outside, you should stay. If you want to see it, wait until I bring it back."
Without waiting for her to say more, Zhao Lun pulled out an umbrella and stepped into the night.
The sound of the rain intensified as it hit the umbrella, creating a constant splashing noise.
The surroundings were dark, and the light from the house's street lamps barely penetrated, leaving limited illumination once they had walked a distance.
The grass was soaked, and every step Zhao Lun took filled his shoes with cold water. "Hah! The cold water is shocking," he thought. "At least I'm wearing slippers, so I don't need to worry about them getting damaged."
At home, Zhao Lun did whatever was most comfortable, wearing sandals for the utmost ease, and his favorite choice was flip-flops.
Tap! Tap! Footsteps sounded behind him.
Could it be that Maria had disobeyed and followed him? Zhao Lun looked behind, only to find it was Mulan! Upon noticing Zhao Lun's gaze, Mulan lightened her steps until there was no sound at all.
Zhao Lun, gazing at Mulan in her white attire, suddenly realized that despite walking in the rain without an umbrella, her clothes remained dry. Oddly enough, her feet seemed to hover above the grass as if floating.
Her snow-white attire, her ethereal aura, and the haunting gaze in the night rain startled Zhao Lun, even though he had seen many spirits before.
"Mulan! Could you make a sound when you leave? Do you not know that scaring someone might actually give them a heart attack?" Zhao Lun complained.
"I made a sound," Mulan replied.
"...That was the sound of footsteps just now?" Zhao Lun asked, bewildered.
"Mm," Mulan nodded.
"..." Zhao Lun was speechless. Considering her strange state, he didn't bother to ask further. He simply headed straight toward the lightning-struck area.
The site of the lightning strike was over a thousand meters from their house, and as they walked, Zhao Lun realized how vast the estate was. For the amount of money spent, buying such a grand mansion seemed justified, he thought, quickening his pace until they arrived at the location.
Mulan had followed him quietly without uttering a word, and Zhao Lun had grown accustomed to it.
Finally, he stopped at a spot where the lawn had been cleared.
This was where the fir tree once stood—a nearly 30-meter tall fir, its thick branches and leaves forming an umbrella shape, with a canopy diameter reaching 18 meters.
The tree had been domineering, turning this area into a desolate zone. The ground had become hard and dry, to the point where even resilient grass could not survive, and there were no small plants beneath the tree.
Its dense foliage provided total shelter from the wind and rain, much like a large umbrella.
Now, with the canopy destroyed by the lightning, the rain poured down, turning the area into a slippery mud pit. Each step sunk deeper, and soon Zhao Lun could no longer move easily in his flip-flops.
Mulan, however, remained unaffected, her white clothes pristine.
"How are you doing this?" Zhao Lun asked.
"Is it some sort of 'cannot be touched by bugs or dirt' ability?"
"No, your footsteps don't even sink into the mud."
Zhao Lun questioned her as a thin layer of protection appeared around him, instantly clearing the mud from his flip-flops. He thought for a moment and, finding the umbrella a hindrance, waved it away, standing in the rain as he approached the broken tree.
"That's Qi," Mulan answered, then looked at Zhao Lun, as if expecting him to understand.
"Qi? Air?"
"Primordial Qi."
Primordial Qi, the vital energy used for sustenance, a unique life force with incredible abilities.
"Oh, so it's this Primordial Qi? What a powerful ability!" Zhao Lun marveled, a little envious of her ability. If he had such a power, a mere breath of Qi could dispel the rain, and he wouldn't need to rely on divine protection to shield himself.
"Oh, you don't need to look at me like that. I used it when entering the black hole passage," Mulan added.
The area around the fallen tree was pitch black, with no light, but fortunately, their vision had surpassed ordinary limits, and they were unaffected by the darkness. Zhao Lun also had his optical neural interface, which allowed him to adjust the scene to resemble daylight.
The area was scorched, with ash scattered across the ground, mixing with the rainwater to stain the land a deep black.
The ash came from the fir tree's branches and leaves, which had been burned! Remarkably, aside from a few segments of the main trunk, the nearly 30-meter-tall fir had been reduced to ash.
The stump of the tree still remained, but its condition was dire—sparks were still flickering, and electrical energy continued to flash. It appeared that the lightning's power was still active.
"This tree has become spiritual!" Zhao Lun exclaimed.
"Too bad, it's about to die. I can't save it!" Mulan sighed after taking a look around, standing beside the tree stump.
The lightning was slowly extinguishing the tree's life force, and her Primordial Qi was limited; it couldn't offer much help.
Zhao Lun remained silent, staring at the tree whose vitality was swiftly fading.
The tree before him seemed to possess a soul, and if he focused, there was a faint pulse of energy, much like a spiritual presence. As Mulan had said, it had attained spiritual consciousness.
Unfortunately, the heavens seemed determined to prevent it, striking it with thunder and lightning. Though it had yet to perish, its life force was slowly fading, and unless something intervened, it would certainly be consumed by the lingering power of the storm.
"It seems it could still be saved," Zhao Lun said, reaching out to touch the tree stump.
Thunder crackled, and a spark of electricity shot out, striking Zhao Lun sharply.