Divine Vine Appears, Attract Lightning to Comprehend the Dao

Following that faint yet distinctive sensation, Yu Yuanchen immersed his entire mind in surveying these hills. His Spiritual Power was like the finest of tendrils, brushing over every inch of soil, every rock, and every plant. He eliminated several sources of interference caused by geological formations or other lightning-attributed plants. In the end, every clue and that intangible pull pointed toward a hill enclosed by several others—a hill that seemed no different from the rest, yet was exceptionally steep and majestic, more like a mountain peak.

This peak was not one of the famed perilous mountains of the Star Dou Great Mixed Zone. It stood there quietly, as though forgotten by time. Yet as he approached, he could sense a vast, restrained thunderous might, like that of a dormant volcano. Dense vegetation covered the mountain's surface, but the higher he climbed, the sparser it became. In its place were strange Deep Purple rocks that gleamed with a Metallic Sheen.

Yu Yuanchen concealed all his aura and silently climbed upward like an agile ape. The higher he went, the purer and more active the Lightning Element in the air became, even carrying a faint, almost imperceptible pressure. When he finally reached the summit, the sight before him made his breath catch, and his mind tremble in shock!

The summit was not pointed. Instead, it was a relatively flat and open platform roughly a hundred meters across. At its center stood a strange plant in proud splendor!

Its entire body was a deep dark purple. Its main trunk was not soft like an ordinary vine, but twisted and rugged like a Dragon Body, glinting with a metallic luster. It was covered in naturally formed, strange patterns resembling Thunder Runes. Countless equally dark-purple Vines spread out from the trunk like living Lightning Snakes. Some coiled around the trunk, while others rooted themselves into the surrounding rocks like tendrils. As they faintly wriggled, they stirred the free Lightning Element in the air, producing soft crackling sounds. Tiny electric sparks, dark enough to be nearly black, constantly danced across the vines and leaves.

Most eye-catching of all was its crown. There was no flower there, but a rotating mass of Deep Purple Thunder Clouds, within which countless thunder dragons seemed to be roaring! What radiated from those Thunder Clouds was no longer the fluctuation of ordinary Lightning Element, but the aura of Ultimate Thunder—something that stood above all living beings and carried the dual Artistic Conceptions of destruction and creation!

This was the Thunderclap Nethervine he had searched for so painstakingly!

Yu Yuanchen held his breath, not daring to let down his guard in the slightest. He observed it carefully, and with his powerful spiritual perception and familiarity with thunder, he determined that this Thunderclap Nethervine had already reached a Cultivation Level of more than forty-nine thousand years! It was only a little over a hundred years away from the legendary fifty-thousand-year threshold!

"More than forty-nine thousand years... With its heaven-defying ability to cultivate by devouring Heavenly Thunder, along with the immense Lightning Element gathered on this peak, it will likely attempt to break through to fifty thousand years in just over a year and trigger that apocalyptic Thunder Tribulation with no chance of survival!" Yu Yuanchen's heart tightened. At the same time, he became even more certain that this was his target. Only such a heaven-defying being could possess such terrifying might before even reaching fifty thousand years.

He cautiously attempted to approach, wanting to gain a clearer understanding of the Life Force and the true meaning of thunder contained within it. However, the moment he stepped within roughly three hundred meters of the Thunderclap Nethervine, a sudden change occurred!

The Thunderclap Nethervine, which had seemed dormant, appeared to be stirred by his unfamiliar aura. The mass of Deep Purple Thunder Clouds at its crown abruptly froze. Then, a bolt of lightning no thicker than an arm, yet condensed to the utmost extreme and black as ink, tore through the air without warning. Like a Spear of Judgment cast down from heaven, it crossed several hundred meters in an instant and crashed toward Yu Yuanchen's head!

The lightning was faster than thought itself, and the Ultimate Thunder's destructive power within it made Yu Yuanchen's scalp go numb!

"Not good!"

At the critical moment, Yu Yuanchen's battle instincts erupted! Thunder God Mode activated instantly, Dragon Scale Armor covered his entire body, and the Lightning Strike Robe vibrated at high speed. He raised his defenses to the limit while using Dragon Swimming Steps with all his strength to dodge sideways!

"BOOM—CRACK!!!"

Even so, that bolt of Ultimate Thunder still grazed the edge of his defenses! Terrifying thunderstorm energy exploded. Yu Yuanchen felt an irresistible force smash viciously into him. The light on his Dragon Scale Armor flashed wildly, his Lightning Strike Robe was torn apart in an instant, and his Qi and Blood churned violently. Sweetness rose in his throat, and he could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood. His entire body was blasted dozens of meters away before crashing heavily to the ground.

He swiftly flipped to his feet, circulated his Soul Power to suppress his churning Qi and Blood, and examined himself. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly, deployed his full defenses, and avoided the direct impact. His internal organs had only suffered a slight shock, and he had sustained some superficial wounds without any serious internal damage. Even so, this gave him a profound understanding of the terror of Ultimate Thunder! A casually summoned bolt already possessed such power. If it unleashed its full strength or triggered a true Heavenly Thunder tribulation, what kind of world-destroying spectacle would that be?

"As expected of a supreme Soul Beast with the Thunder God Bloodline!" Yu Yuanchen was horrified, but also even more excited. He did not recklessly approach again. He knew that, with his current strength, confronting this Thunderclap Nethervine that was nearing fifty thousand years head-on would be no different from smashing an egg against a rock.

He retreated to behind a relatively concealed boulder about a kilometer away. At that distance, he was at the edge of its alert range, yet could still barely sense the unique Artistic Conception it emitted through his powerful Spiritual Power.

"Since I cannot defeat it by force, I will have to outwit it. My goal was to comprehend the mysteries of Life Force contained within its thunder."

He sat cross-legged, and his Spiritual Power slowly spread toward the summit like a gentle tide. He did not dare harbor the slightest hostility, only purely seeking to sense and draw close to the Thunderclap Nethervine.

He sensed the pure destruction within that Ultimate Thunder, enough to annihilate all things. Yet at the end of that destruction, within the core of the Deep Purple lightning, he caught a trace of something even more hidden, yet incomparably tenacious—a vigorous Life Force born from Nirvana! This was the foundation that allowed the Thunderclap Nethervine to Go against the heavens, the miracle of Life it nurtured within itself after devouring destructive Heavenly Thunder!

"New Life born from destruction... Lightning is not merely an ending. It is also a beginning..." Yu Yuanchen immersed himself in this profound realization.

The sun rose and the moon set as time passed. Like an old monk in meditation, Yu Yuanchen sat a kilometer away from the Thunderclap Nethervine for two whole months.

He no longer thought about hunting it, nor did he worry about time. He devoted himself entirely to comprehending the thunderous Artistic Conception where destruction and Life Force coexisted. He observed how the Thunderclap Nethervine drew upon the Lightning Element between heaven and earth, how it preserved its Life Fire amid that violent energy, and how it transformed lightning that represented heavenly punishment into Provisions for its own growth.

Over these two months, his Spiritual Power formed a subtle resonance with that Plant Spirit Beast. The faint Artistic Conception of Life Force within him, originating from the Awakening Spring Thunder, was drawn forth and nourished by the Thunderclap Nethervine's immense source of Life Force. Like a seed meeting sweet rain, it began to flourish, becoming clearer and richer. During this time, his Soul Power also broke through from the peak of Rank 66 to Rank 67.

He attempted to carefully guide this strengthened Thunder Power containing Life Force into the area of his liver.

At first, his liver resisted this foreign power. Though it shared the same origin, its nature was unique. But he was extraordinarily patient, guiding this gentle, life-filled lightning little by little like spring rain, nourishing every minute structure of his liver.

Gradually, he discovered to his delight that after his liver was nourished by this special Thunder Power, the four lightning natures he had previously simulated through tempering his heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—"the rising of fire," "the solidity of earth," "the lightness of wind," and "the suppleness of water"—seemed to be drawn by some invisible force. They began to spontaneously and extremely slowly form a faint circulation among the five viscera along with the flow of Qi and Blood!

The warmth of Heart Fire Lightning, the stability of Spleen Earth Lightning, the clarity of Lung Wind Lightning, the nourishment of Kidney Water Lightning, and the growth of the newly added Liver Wood Lightning—five Thunder Powers of differing natures yet originating from the same source began to slowly circulate through his internal organs like five-colored radiance, following the surging flow of Qi and Blood in an endless cycle!

The moment this circulation formed, an extraordinary change occurred. The five special Thunder Powers blended and complemented one another within the cycle, then began to seep out from his internal organs little by little. As they traveled through his entire body with his Qi and Blood, they began their initial contact and fusion with the originally relatively single-natured lightning-attributed Soul Power surging through his Meridians!

"Hummm—"

When the first wisp of special Soul Power fused with all five Nature Transformations was born, Yu Yuanchen's entire body trembled violently! He felt as though his Soul Power had been infused with new vitality, becoming more agile, more substantial, and more full of endless possibilities! Although this fusion was still incredibly weak and only an initial sign, a powerful premonition arose within him—

If his lightning-attributed Soul Power could perfectly fuse these five Thunder Nature Transformations, each representing a different emphasis, then a quantitative change could bring about a qualitative transformation. His lightning might break through its limits and advance into true Ultimate Thunder!

This discovery filled him with wild joy! Ultimate Attributes were the pinnacle of power countless people in the Soul Master World dreamed of obtaining! He had originally believed he would need to absorb the Thunderclap Nethervine's Soul Ring before he could possibly touch upon it. Yet unexpectedly, through the combination of Viscera Quenching and Nature Transformation, he had carved out a path toward the ultimate himself!

He immediately began trying to actively guide and accelerate this fusion. However, reality dealt him a crushing blow.

The fusion process was far more difficult than he had imagined. The five Nature Transformations came from different internal organs and represented different aspects of thunder. To perfectly unify them required extraordinarily precise control and a deeper understanding of the Essence of Thunder. No matter how hard he tried, once the fusion had reached roughly one-third completion, it was as though it had encountered an invisible barrier and could advance no further! No matter how he drove his Soul Power or guided his Qi and Blood, the five natures always lacked some final opportunity. They could not completely meld together and achieve perfection.

Yu Yuanchen fell into deep frustration. After repeatedly analyzing the problem, he discovered that it might lie in the "foundation." The five Nature Transformations he had simulated were ultimately mere imitations. They lacked the "source" essence of a true Ultimate Attribute to serve as a catalyst and binding agent. In particular, the meaning of Life Force represented by the core wood attribute, though strengthened, still seemed immature and shallow compared to the immense Life Force the Thunderclap Nethervine had nurtured from a destructive Heavenly Thunder tribulation.

"It lacks that most crucial trace of 'true meaning'..." Yu Yuanchen's gaze turned once more toward the Thunderclap Nethervine standing quietly atop the distant peak, radiating a heart-palpitating aura. A trace of madness and determination flashed through his eyes.

"Since the Life Force Artistic Conception I have comprehended is not enough, then I will experience it personally! What method could be better for grasping the true essence of Ultimate Thunder than directly facing its destruction and New Life?"

A bold thought, almost suicidal in nature, took shape in his heart—he would actively draw lightning! He would make the Thunderclap Nethervine summon lightning to strike him, and at the Edge of Life and Death, seize that thread of Life Force born from destruction and experience the most fundamental rhythm of Ultimate Thunder!

He knew this was incomparably dangerous. The slightest mistake would end in both body and soul being destroyed. But on the path toward ultimate strength, how could one lack the courage to stake everything on a single gamble?

He took a deep breath and adjusted his condition, raising his Soul Power, Qi and Blood, and Spiritual Power to their peaks. Then he slowly stepped out from behind the boulder where he had hidden and once again walked toward that mountain, toward the Thunderclap Nethervine. This time, he was not going to fight, nor was he merely going to observe from afar. He was going to undergo—a baptism of lightning!