Gou Chen

Eastern Thunder Marsh, Primordial Wilderness

"Gou Chen, if you know what's good for you, hand over Thunder Marsh and submit to our Kirin Clan! Otherwise, don't blame This Venerable One for being rude!" A Water Virtue Kirin radiating a powerful aura roared furiously at a floating phantom within Thunder Marsh.

This Water Virtue Kirin had already reached the late Primordial Unity Golden Immortal stage, making it no slouch among the many Innate Beings of the Primordial Wilderness.

At this moment, countless Beast races stood neatly arrayed behind it—all clans that had pledged allegiance to the Kirin Clan. Together, they exuded an oppressive aura, surrounding Thunder Marsh in an impenetrable encirclement.

That phantom was none other than Gou Chen.

Hearing the Water Virtue Kirin's arrogant words, fury instantly flooded Gou Chen's face as he shot back:

"Mo Huang, I've told you before—I am not the master of Thunder Marsh. And the true master of Thunder Marsh is not someone your Kirin Clan can provoke so easily! You delude yourself into thinking you can turn Thunder Marsh into Kirin Clan territory? That's nothing but wishful thinking!"

Mo Huang sneered at Gou Chen's words, his face full of disdain and indifference. "Heh, Gou Chen, do you take me for a fool? Last time I came, you gave me the same excuse. But so much time has passed, and this so-called master of Thunder Marsh you keep talking about hasn't even shown a shadow. If you ask me, either you made him up to scare people, or he's long since fallen! Just surrender to the Kirin Clan already."

Faced with Mo Huang's barrage of accusations, Gou Chen found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Ever since his birth, he had known that before he was born in Thunder Marsh, another Innate Divine Being had been conceived here. Yet no matter how he tried to deduce any information about this mysterious Innate Divine Being, he could glean nothing at all.

However, after Gou Chen's birth, Thunder Marsh had undergone some changes. Countless bolts of lightning began converging toward the very center of Thunder Marsh, condensing there, which greatly reduced the danger level of the outer areas compared to before. Moreover, Thunder Marsh had started to produce numerous Thunder-type Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures—this was precisely why the Kirin Clan had set their sights on it.

But conversely, a certain region deep within Thunder Marsh had grown increasingly perilous and terrifying. The outermost layer of this area was shrouded in Purple Firmament Divine Thunder, capable of easily injuring even a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. Deeper within the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder lurked a profound gray divine thunder and a purple-black divine thunder—these two were none other than Chaos Divine Thunder and Dutian Divine Thunder. All three types of divine thunder were among the most supreme and fearsome existences in the Primordial Wilderness and even the Chaos itself. Even a powerful Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, if carelessly contaminated by them, could very well face the crisis of falling.

Within the depths of Thunder Marsh, these three divine thunders were nearly omnipresent. In many areas, they even intermingled, giving birth to an even more mysterious and unpredictable Seven-Colored Divine Thunder.

As the second Innate Divine Being born from Thunder Marsh, Gou Chen could barely manage to enter the outermost periphery of that dangerous region. As for the core zone of that area, even Gou Chen was utterly unable to set foot inside.

Seeing Gou Chen remain silent, Mo Huang's patience ran out. Impatience crept onto his face as he snarled, "It seems I'll have to make you truly feel the might of our Kirin Clan before you make the right choice!"

The moment his words fell, Mo Huang's form abruptly transformed, expanding into a colossal true body tens of thousands of feet in size. His entire being radiated a powerful Water Virtue force, light blazing around him, his aura astonishing. The Beasts behind him also responded, shifting into their true forms as well. In an instant, all kinds of formidable auras interwove, heightening the tension and oppression in the sky above Thunder Marsh.

Seeing this, Gou Chen let out a helpless sigh. He knew in his heart that today's matter would not end peacefully.

In truth, he was not afraid of Mo Huang. What he feared was the Kirin Clan standing behind Mo Huang. The Kirin Clan wielded immense power in the Primordial Wilderness, and Gou Chen had no desire to provoke them lightly. That was why, in the face of Mo Huang's earlier provocations, he had chosen to endure and refrain from striking back. But now, it seemed his good temper had led Mo Huang and the others to mistake it for fear, emboldening them to act ever more recklessly and brazenly.

"Since that's the case, don't blame me for being rude! Even if the Kirin Clan hunts me down, I'll just hide inside Thunder Marsh. I refuse to believe they'd dare chase me in there!" Gou Chen steeled his resolve, his expression turning savage.

Then he too transformed into his true body, lightning flickering all around him. His true form bore a strong resemblance to Xuanxiao's, for Xuanxiao was the source of all Thunder's origin; his image represented the Thunder Great Dao itself. Thus, when Gou Chen took shape, his form subconsciously leaned toward Xuanxiao's likeness.

At the same time, a scroll materialized in his hand out of thin air—his Companion Spirit Treasure, the Supreme Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, Myriad Thunder Diagram. The diagram radiated a powerful aura, runes flashing across its surface as if countless thunderous forces surged within it.

Gou Chen used lightning as his brush, swiftly sketching upon the Myriad Thunder Diagram. Countless thunderous forces within Thunder Marsh were drawn into the diagram.

"Damn it, Gou Chen, you actually have a Supreme Grade Innate Spirit Treasure!" Mo Huang's face twisted hideously at the sight of the Myriad Thunder Diagram suddenly appearing in Gou Chen's hand, his eyes filled with shock and terror.

Mo Huang had witnessed the power of a Supreme Grade Innate Spirit Treasure before, and now bitter regret churned in his heart. "Damn it! If I'd known Gou Chen had a Supreme Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, I'd never have come to provoke him even if you killed me! And you, Gou Chen—if you had such a powerful treasure, why didn't you say so earlier! If you'd just told me, how would I have dared to challenge you?"

Gou Chen, of course, had no idea what was running through Mo Huang's mind. Since he had already decided to strike, he had no intention of letting Mo Huang leave this place alive.

As Gou Chen continued his sketching, the Myriad Thunder Diagram blazed with brilliant light. A bolt of Purple Firmament Divine Thunder slowly took shape, radiating a terrifying aura as if it could tear space itself. The very void around it trembled faintly at its appearance.

Sensing the disturbance in the void, Mo Huang whipped his head around to the Beasts behind him and bellowed, "He's got a Supreme Grade Innate Spirit Treasure! Give it everything you've got—don't hold back! Otherwise, it might be us who fall here today!"

Even without Mo Huang's warning, the commotion in the void told them they couldn't afford to hold back. They desperately activated all kinds of Divine Abilities, hurling them at Gou Chen.

Seeing the barrage of Divine Abilities rushing toward him, Gou Chen frowned slightly. "So many Divine Abilities... if this drags on, even I won't be able to hold out. I need to finish them quickly."

With that thought, Gou Chen spat out a mouthful of essence blood. As the blood appeared, countless divine thunders rained down upon Mo Huang and his forces. These thunders were naturally inferior to the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, but they still posed a considerable hindrance to Mo Huang and the others.

Meanwhile, high in the void, Xuanxiao silently watched everything unfolding below, a thoughtful expression on his face.

In truth, Xuanxiao had already returned to Thunder Marsh by the time Mo Huang arrived outside it.

He did not reveal his aura, however—not even Gou Chen sensed Xuanxiao's arrival.

Originally, Xuanxiao had intended to strike directly and drive Mo Huang and the others away.

But when he saw Gou Chen emerge from Thunder Marsh, he changed his mind and decided to observe first, to see how Gou Chen would handle this crisis.

"This little one has some nerve—ruthless enough. Once he decides to act, he shows no mercy; his first move is a killing blow." Xuanxiao watched the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder taking shape within the Myriad Thunder Diagram and nodded in satisfaction, quite pleased with Gou Chen's performance.

"This fellow is called Gou Chen... I recall that name in my memories. It seems that later, in the Heavenly Court, he becomes one of the Five Heavenly Emperors." Xuanxiao gazed down at Gou Chen while pondering to himself.