Thunder Wyverns Acknowledge Their Master

Eastern Emperor Taiyi's face was ashen. The Eastern Emperor Bell hung above his head, the patterns of sun, moon, and stars upon its surface gradually dimming, yet it still radiated a terrifying aura capable of suppressing the universe.

His protective golden light had been forcibly torn open by that gaze. Although the wound had already healed, the annihilating aura born of the power of the Heavenly Dao still lingered there, like a humiliation branded upon his soul.

"A Golden Immortal at perfection... wounded me."

His voice was unnaturally calm, but Dijun knew his younger brother too well—the calmer he was, the more furious he was.

"Taiyi, calm down."

Dijun raised a hand, and the River Chart and Luo Script turned into two streams of light that vanished into his sleeve. The Star Dipper Formation that had sealed off space dispersed along with them. He stood in the void with his hands behind his back, his deep gaze fixed in the direction where the Thunder Pool had vanished, the emotions in his eyes shifting again and again.

"That boy is merely a Golden Immortal at perfection, yet he can wield the power of the Heavenly Dao. There is a great secret behind this," Dijun said.

"Big Brother, aren't you skilled in divination? If you can deduce his location and obtain the secret of how he wields the power of the Heavenly Dao, we will be invincible in the Primordial World." Eastern Emperor Taiyi's gaze burned.

A Golden Immortal, empowered by the Heavenly Dao, could already face him head-on without falling behind. If he obtained the empowerment of the Heavenly Dao, even if he could not stand shoulder to shoulder with a Saint, he would not be far inferior.

At those words, a sharp glint flashed through Dijun's eyes, but it quickly darkened.

"You think I haven't tried?"

He raised his hand, and the River Chart and Luo Script appeared once more. The two spirit treasures slowly revolved above his palm, evolving countless profound runes.

Those runes outlined the contours of the Primordial World—mountains, rivers, stars, and suns all contained within them—like a living map of the Primordial World.

"The instant he fled, I used the River Chart and Luo Script to deduce his location."

Eastern Emperor Taiyi frowned. "What was the result?"

"Nothing."

"I could not deduce the slightest information related to him. His past is a void, and his future is chaos." Dijun shook his head.

Eastern Emperor Taiyi fell silent.

Dijun's art of divination ranked among the top three in the Primordial World, while the River Chart and Luo Script were supreme innate spirit treasures meant for divination.

If even he could not deduce any information about Lei Xiao, then in the entire Primordial World, perhaps only Hongjun could do so.

At that moment, Eastern Emperor Taiyi deeply regretted his actions. Had he known this earlier, he should have captured Lei Xiao on Purple Abode Island.

Meanwhile, deep within Thunder Marsh, the Thunder Pool manifested once more.

"I actually gained control over the authority of heavenly tribulation."

Feeling the additional information in his mind, Lei Xiao found it difficult to believe.

This authority was not a one-time thing. So long as someone in the Primordial World underwent a heavenly tribulation, he could control the heavenly tribulation and thus gain the ability to wield the power of the Heavenly Dao, just as he had this time.

And with the power of the Heavenly Dao empowering him, he even possessed the strength to fight Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Though it could not last long, it was still an extremely powerful trump card, capable of turning the tide when the winds were against him.

The troublesome part was that there had to be a living being nearby undergoing heavenly tribulation.

"Master—"

Just as Lei Xiao was deep in thought, three voices sounded in his mind at once.

Lei Xiao lowered his head, his gaze settling on the three thunder wyverns in his palm.

He had almost forgotten about them.

Logically speaking, now that the power of the Heavenly Dao around him had dispersed, the three thunder wyverns should have been able to easily break free from his suppression.

Yet at this moment, the three thunder wyverns had obediently shrunk themselves down, reining in all their auras and coiling into a ball like tamed spirit pets.

"Why do you call me Master?"

Lei Xiao had originally intended to refine the three thunder wyverns, but he had not expected them to be completely different from the thunder lifeforms he had encountered before. They had actually developed intelligence.

He could not help changing his mind.

"Master—"

The three thunder wyverns did not answer. Instead, they repeated "Master," their bodies trembling faintly.

It seems these three thunder wyverns have only just developed intelligence. Their wisdom appears quite low, Lei Xiao thought.

"Since you acknowledge me as your master, I'll give you names."

He pointed at the three thunder wyverns, from left to right.

"You will be called Thunder One, you will be Thunder Two, and you will be Thunder Three."

The three thunder wyverns: "..."

"Since none of you object, it's settled. Continue cultivating in the Thunder Pool!"

With a wave of Lei Xiao's hand, the three thunder wyverns seemed to have received a pardon. They turned into three bolts of lightning and plunged into the Thunder Pool, vanishing from sight.

Shaking his head slightly, Lei Xiao's gaze returned to the Thunder Pool. He had not noticed before, but after making a trip into the Thunder Pool, he discovered that it was actually an innate spirit treasure.

Moreover, judging from the information fed back by the Thunder Pool, it was a growth-type innate spirit treasure.

However, if he wanted the Thunder Pool to continue growing, he could not take it away from Thunder Marsh.

Fortunately, when he obtained the authority of heavenly tribulation, he had muddleheadedly refined the Thunder Pool completely. Even if other powerful cultivators discovered it, because of the Thunder Pool's special nature, they would not be able to snatch it away from him.

Speaking of which, the Thunder Pool had contributed the most to his obtaining the authority of heavenly tribulation.

"The thunder origin within this Thunder Pool is at its richest. I'll cultivate here next. In roughly a thousand years, I'll be able to attempt a breakthrough to the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal."

He sat down cross-legged, and the lightning beneath him automatically condensed into a lotus dais, supporting him at the center of the Thunder Pool.

With a thought from him, the most central and most violent thunder origin from the depths of the Thunder Pool seemed to receive some supreme summons. It transformed into thick thunder dragons that roared as they surged toward him.

If an ordinary cultivator dared absorb the Thunder Pool's origin so defenselessly, they would be torn into pieces by that violent power of destruction in an instant, body and soul utterly destroyed.

But Lei Xiao was different. Purple Firmament Origin Divine Thunder flowed within his body. To all thunder beneath heaven, this force was the absolute king.

The thunder dragons entered his body and were swiftly refined. Most of them became nourishment for the Purple Firmament Origin Divine Thunder, while a small portion was stored within the cell spaces he had newly opened.

Every cell seemed to transform into a miniature thunder furnace, greedily devouring and purifying this origin of heaven and earth.

Under the scouring of this power, his physical body was transforming at an inconceivable speed. Faint purple thunder patterns emerged across the surface of his bones, like natural Dao patterns branded deep within his marrow.

It was not merely his strength that was improving. At this moment, even his innate foundation was evolving from that of a mid-grade innate lifeform toward that of a high-grade innate lifeform.

Time lost all meaning amid this endless baptism of lightning.

One year, two years, ten years, a hundred years...

Lei Xiao sat cross-legged at the center of the Thunder Pool, his entire being seemingly fused with this heaven and earth. His aura was sometimes restrained and deep as an abyss, sometimes violent as a dragon, each breath rising and falling with the tides of the Thunder Pool.

Thunder One, Thunder Two, and Thunder Three were also silently breathing in and out thunder origin deep at the bottom of the pool, though their speed was far inferior to Lei Xiao's. They could clearly sense that their master's aura was rising at a terrifying rate.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, Dijun declared war on the Twelve Ancestral Witches.