by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
"You dare act impudently in the presence of this emperor?" Jin Wo roared.
Among the silver-winged lightning wolves was a wolf king who had reached the late-stage Demon King realm. With great difficulty, the king spoke timidly. "Lord Demon Emperor, we...we don't mean to offend you. We will retreat immediately."
"You can stay. As for the others, disperse. Or I will eat them all," said Jin Wo overbearingly.
The wolf king did not dare to resist and quickly ordered the other wolves to leave.
"How may I help you, Lord Demon Emperor?" asked the wolf king deferentially.
"His highness will tell you that," said Jin Wo.
Finally, Xiang Shaoyun spoke. "I heard there are silver lightning bolts here?"
The wolf king looked at Xiang Shaoyun, and a slight trace of hostility appeared in his eyes when he sensed that Xiang Shaoyun was a human. However, he quickly withdrew the hostility when he looked at Jin Wo again and answered, "Yes."
Chapter 358: Silver Lightning Stone
"So, when do you usually get silver lightning bolts?" asked Xiang Shaoyun.
"It depends. Some months we get it twice, and sometimes we only get one every few months," answered the wolf king honestly.
"I see." Xiang Shaoyun sank into thought.
"Young master, I thought you had a way to lure lightning bolts? You can give it a try," said Devouring Ghost.
"Yes, I do, but it's only useful for ordinary lightning bolts," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"Natural lightning bolts all have some sort of resonance with each other. Perhaps it will work," said Devouring Ghost.
Xiang Shaoyun gave it some thought before his gaze landed on the lightning wolf. "You should have some unique object here in your territory capable of attracting them, right? Otherwise, the silver lightning wouldn't show up so frequently. Can I know what item it is?"
Xiang Shaoyun was a quick-witted person and, after a short thought, was able to figure out the reason for there to be frequent silver lightning bolts.
Devouring Ghost slapped his forehead and said, "Right, there must be some unique object here related to silver lightning. Young master, you're smart!"
The wolf king's pupils shrank as he answered, "N-no, there's no such thing."
"Hmph. You dare lie?" Jin Wo could sense that the wolf king was lying. He shouted with a ferocious expression on his face, and his boundless demonic aura roiled out again.
The pressure from the demonic aura tormented the wolf king greatly, causing him to quickly submit. "Y-yes, we actually have a silver lightning stone here, which is why we frequently get silver lightning."
"Silver lightning stone? That is an excellent lightning-elemental material," said Du Xuanhao, who had been staying silent.
Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed joyfully, "Looks like it won't be long before I become a King."
The silver lightning stone was a stone that had undergone a huge transformation after bathing in silver lightning, obtaining a unique property that made it resonate with silver lightning. Because of that, places with the stone would attract frequent silver lightning bolts.
Apart from attracting silver lightning bolts, the silver lightning stone also contained a large amount of silver lightning energy. For a cultivator focusing on the power of lightning, the stone was extremely helpful. At the same time, it was also an excellent material for forging lightning-elemental items.
Thanks to the purple lightning bone, Xiang Shaoyun had an innate lightning power within him. Because of that, lightning-elemental materials were extremely helpful to him as well. Under the suppression of Jin Wo's demonic aura, the wolf king was forced to obediently bring Xiang Shaoyun's group to the silver lightning stone.
Soon, they arrived at the lair of the silver-winged lightning wolves. Here, one could see a silver stone as glossy as jade. It was round with a silvery radiance swirling about its sleek surface, emanating an intense lightning power that caused there to be no life within a radius of 100 meters. Even some low-leveled silver-winged lightning wolves did not dare to approach the stone, and they only dared to absorb lightning energy from far away.
Lightning condor king's eyes became burning hot with desire when he saw the stone. He also cultivated the power of lightning, and the silver lightning stone would be very useful in helping him reach a higher level.
If the silver lightning stone was instead placed in his territory, it wouldn't be a trouble at all to create even more condor kings. Unfortunately, that would only remain a wish.
"It's really a silver lightning stone. Not bad at all," praised both Du Xuanhao and Devouring Ghost.
Not saying anything, Xiang Shaoyun started striding step by step toward the silver lightning stone.
"Be careful, your highness. The silver lightning energy is quite strong," reminded Jin Wo.
Xiang Shaoyun ignored him and continued stepping forth until he finally entered the range of the silver lightning stone.
Bzzt! Bzzt!
Instantly, countless electrical currents surrounded his body. Thankfully, he was already prepared. He directly activated his lightning bone, letting it absorb the boundless lightning energy creeping all over his body.
Even with the lightning bone absorbing the silver lightning energy, his body still twitched numbly. The lightning energy was no weaker than natural lightning bolts. Fortunately, he was only absorbing the lightning energy from the fringe of the stone's active range. Otherwise, his body would have turned crisp black.
The lightning bone seemed to have transformed into a purple dragon that opened its jaws wide and started devouring the silver lightning energy. Behaving like a starving dragon, it consumed silver lightning energy rapidly, instantly clearing a large portion from Xiang Shaoyun's body, reducing his pain.
With a powerful absorption force, the purple dragon started absorbing the silver lightning energy in the vicinity as well. Instantly, numerous silvery electrical currents wrapped Xiang Shaoyun's body completely.
The silver lightning energy was extremely overbearing, causing Xiang Shaoyun's body to twitch as he howled in pain. One ought to know that Xiang Shaoyun had an extremely tough body that had survived being struck by natural lightning bolts. But just this bit of silver lightning energy was enough to cause him such pain. The energy's power was evident.
But since the purple dragon dared to pull over so many strands of silver lightning energy, it only meant that it had the capability to devour them all. Sure enough, with a roar, the purple dragon opened its mouth wide and swallowed all the silver lightning energy strands.
After absorbing so much silver lightning energy, the lightning bone started transforming again. Lightning energy rippled repeatedly on its surface as the patch of purple on Xiang Shaoyun's spine started growing again. This time, a slight trace of silvery patches could be seen permeating the purple bone as well, and the inclusion of the silver lightning energy further enhanced the innate purple lightning.
At the same time, Xiang Shaoyun's flesh also went through a cleansing, and even as intense pain assailed him, his flesh grew stronger. He stood there motionless, but Devouring Ghost did not appear worried. With a faint smile, he thought, The Xiang Clan's lightning bone is extremely rare. In the past, master had relied on this bone to become the world's supreme overlord. The young master is not strong enough yet, but he still has a bright future ahead of him.
As for Jin Wo, the silver-winged lightning wolf king, and the lightning condor king, when they saw Xiang Shaoyun standing amid the silver lightning perfectly safe, they were overwhelmed with shock. There was enough lightning power to give any King a hard time. Thus, it was quite unthinkable that Xiang Shaoyun could actually stand there safely.
Even after absorbing such a large amount of silver lightning energy, Xiang Shaoyun still sensed a massive thirst from the lightning bone. He thus continued stepping toward the silver lightning stone.
As he neared, the lightning power in his surroundings intensified, and his lightning bone ceaselessly absorbed the energy, pl
acing him in both joy and pain.
"This feels amazing!" Xiang Shaoyun cried out in excitement.
He started sprinting due to his excitement, and before long, he was standing right before the silver lightning stone. A large amount of energy was converging around his body. The lightning bone was still absorbing the lightning energy at a rapid speed, but it wouldn't be able to devour all the energy anytime soon, forcing Xiang Shaoyun to quickly circulate the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual. He directed the lightning energy into his first star to start enhancing it as well.
Chapter 359: Come, Silver Lightning
Xiang Shaoyun was already at the peak of the Transformation Realm. With so much energy pouring into his body, his instinctive reaction was to break through right then and there, and it took him a great amount of effort to suppress his desire.
"Still not enough," Xiang Shaoyun muttered as his gaze landed on the silver lightning stone.
The energy emanating from it was extremely overbearing and was comparable to the prowess of natural lightning. Whoever dared to approach it would be burned crisp immediately, yet Xiang Shaoyun had actually sat down cross-legged beside the stone, looking like he was going to start cultivating.
The silver-winged lightning wolf king was extremely anxious seeing this, but he did not dare to say anything. On the other hand, the lightning condor king was filled with envy. However, the only thing he could do was watch on.
"Alright. You may leave. Don't stay here and disturb his highness's cultivation." Jin Wo eventually chased away the two.
They were unwilling to leave but were left with no other option. After all, Jin Wo was the Demon Emperor. He was much stronger than them, and if they provoked him, he could easily turn them into food.
After the two Demon Kings left, both Jin Wo and Devouring Ghost stood guard at different positions, not allowing any beasts to disturb Xiang Shaoyun. Becoming a King was akin to stepping through a natural barrier. No mistakes could be allowed, or there would be terrible consequences. A mistake could cause something as minor as a drop in strength or something as bad as dying instantly from bodily implosion. Therefore, this cultivation session was extremely important, and they could not afford to be sloppy.
"With the silver lightning stone's assistance, it won't be a problem for the young master to break through. After the breakthrough, I can finally bring him to experience a place that is truly hellish. There, I can also completely switch this body's astral energy and make a push toward the Soul Foundation Realm," muttered Devouring Ghost as he looked at Xiang Shaoyun.
Xiang Shaoyun had all his focus on cultivating with the help of the silver lightning stone. The energy converging on his body grew without stop as the speed at which he absorbed the energy increased unceasingly, helping him grow furiously.
As his strength grew, he suppressed and compressed it, stabilizing and thickening his foundations. Building a sufficiently solid foundation would only bring him more benefits when it was time to reap the result of his hard work.
Dots of silvery light were all over his lightning bone, each dot as majestic as a star. As they spread, his innate purple lightning grew in power. The current innate purple lightning was already strong enough to pose a threat to tier-4—or even tier-5—Skysoar Realm experts.
At the same time, Xiang Shaoyun's flesh was also being tempered by the silver lightning energy, causing his body to improve and grow without stop. However, he was clear this growth was nothing as his body was still nowhere strong enough to withstand being struck by silver lightning bolts.
This cultivation session lasted seven days and nights. Xiang Shaoyun had absorbed more than half of the energy within the silver lightning stone, and by this point, the speed at which his lightning bone absorbed the lightning energy was starting to slow. The astral energy within his body had also reached a point of saturation, and his body was barely absorbing any energy anymore.
All that only proved that the lightning energy here was no longer enough for him. He needed a stronger source of lightning energy to help his lightning bone grow more.
Should I break through now? Xiang Shaoyun asked inwardly.
With his accumulation thus far, he would be able to easily enter the Skysoar Realm. However, Devouring Ghost had suggested that he draw silver lightning bolts into him and cleanse his bones beforehand. In the long run, doing so would benefit him more.
But he did not know if his body could even withstand being struck by a silver lightning bolt. What if the lightning bolt was too much for him? But that thought had only remained for a split second before he regained his confidence.
If he had to hesitate for a trial this minor, how could he be an Emperor or Sovereign in the future? Finally, he opened his eyes, which were glowing with a silver radiance, looking sharp enough to pierce the heavens above them.
He stood up, turned around, and wrapped his arms around the silver lightning stone. He then fully activated his lightning bone and the lightning energy within his first star. The terrifying lightning energy within the silver lightning stone was forcefully drawn out before it collided with the lightning bone.
"Come, silver lightning," roared Xiang Shaoyun as he faced the sky.
Along with the roar, a purple dragon rushed out of his body, charging straight to the nine skies above, displaying an overbearing might. Abruptly, the sky above them changed.
Rumble!
A loud thunderclap sounded, followed by a silver lightning bolt shooting down from the sky toward Xiang Shaoyun's purple dragon.
"Come, devour it!" shouted Xiang Shaoyun with a fanatical look in his eyes as he circulated the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual, fully unleashing the power of his lightning bone and first star.
He was going to forcefully devour the silver lightning bolt. The purple dragon opened its mouth wide and swallowed it entirely then returned to Xiang Shaoyun, bringing with it the silver lightning bolt.
"AHHH!"
The silver lightning energy was extremely overbearing. The instant it entered Xiang Shaoyun's body, a pain assailed him that made him feel like his body was going to explode.
Natural lightning bolts had always been terrifyingly destructive, and the silver lightning was a unique mutated lightning that was far stronger than regular lightning. The strength of the silver lightning bolt was about tenfold that of the lightning energy within the silver lightning stone, or even more.
Even though Xiang Shaoyun's body had already been tempered by silver lightning energy, he still felt like his body was about to be ripped apart. He nearly lost his consciousness then and there. The main target of the silver lightning's assault was his lightning bone, which was currently on the brink of destruction.
Crack!
Xiang Shaoyun had a feeling his spine was about to disintegrate into nothingness. A mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth, and he collapsed in a puddle of his own blood.
On the verge of rushing to his side, both Du Xuanhao and Jin Wo cried out in alarm, "Young Master Xiang (your highness)!"
"Don't worry. He will be fine. Just watch on silently," said Devouring Ghost.
"Will he really be fine?" asked Du Xuanhao anxiously.
"I won't do anything to harm the young master," said Devouring Ghost.
Several silver lightning bolts then shot down from the sky. Each bolt was terrifyingly powerful, filled with a dreadful destructive force that seemed capable of reducing the entire area into ruins.
"Shit! There are too many of them!" Devouring Ghost cried out in alarm.
Rumble! Rumble!
Fortunately, not all the bolts were targeting Xiang Shaoyun. Some of them were also targeting the silver lightning stone by Xiang Shaoyun's side. Even late-stage Skysoar Realm experts would find it hard to survive the bombardment of such silver lightning bolts. With Xiang Shaoyun's current condition, it did not seem likely that he would survive.
Even so, as the silver lightning bolts rained down, the purple dragon roared resolutely and continued swallowing the li
ghtning energy tenaciously, displaying an intense unwillingness to fall.
Chapter 360: When Should I Break Through If Not Now
The purple dragon was a form the innate purple lightning within Xiang Shaoyun's lightning bone had taken. All along, the purple dragon had been staying within the lightning bone, constantly devouring lightning energy to grow the innate purple lightning.
Presently, the entirety of Xiang Shaoyun's spine had cracked. It was an injury serious enough to cripple anyone. If someone could see inside his body, one would be able to see the innate purple lightning surging violently within his broken spine, constantly rejoining the cracks, working like a healing force instead of a destructive lightning energy.
It was extremely astonishing—something nobody would expect. Xiang Shaoyun was not the only person who was undergoing a transformation. The silver lightning stone beside him seemed to be changing as well; it looked like some cracks had appeared on its glossy surface.
Silver lightning bolts rained down without stop. To the side, Du Xuanhao and Jin Wo were getting increasingly worried, but Devouring Ghost still insisted that Xiang Shaoyun would be fine.
If Jin Wo was as loyal to Xiang Shaoyun as he was toward Little White, he would have already charged into the midst of lightning bolts. Finally, after six consecutive bolts, the sky calmed.
The purple dragon had been completely destroyed by the bombardment. No new silver lightning bolts were appearing, but the area 100 meters around Xiang Shaoyun was filled with silver lightning energy, becoming a restricted zone no regular person could approach.
As for Xiang Shaoyun himself, he seemed to be barely alive. A layer of silver lightning energy covered his body, and not a shred of his clothes remained as he lay there naked, his aura feeble, yet it was undeniable that he was still alive.