Thundercloud's Depths!

The concentration of lightning elements in the Thunderclap Mountain Range far exceeded Huang Yun's expectations.

He had stood atop the ridge for less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea when a fine layer of blue arcs already covered his entire body. It was a natural reaction caused by the free lightning elements in the air gathering around him on their own, showing that this area's lightning-element environment was highly compatible with his Lightning Falcon Wuhun.

Huang Yun did not hesitate any longer. With a leap, he transformed into a streak of blue-white lightning and shot toward the depths of the mountain range.

His flying posture was even lighter and more fluid than it had been three months ago.

After the Indestructible Vajra Body reached minor mastery, his physical strength had increased greatly. The fierce winds and air currents he struck head-on during high-speed flight would once have created considerable resistance, but now they were like a thin veil that he easily tore through. His flying speed was at least a third faster than before.

The terrain below changed rapidly.

The outer region was still an ordinary primeval forest, with towering, lush trees. Occasionally, he could spot a few low-level lightning-element Soul Beasts moving through the woods.

The deeper he flew, the more the trees began to change. Their trunks gradually became charred black and coarse, while their branches and leaves took on a dark-purple hue—a mutation caused by being struck by lightning year after year.

A faint scent of ozone permeated the air. With every region he crossed, he could feel the density of lightning elements between heaven and earth continuously rising.

As Huang Yun flew, he released his Mental Power to scan his surroundings, searching for traces of Thunder Shadow Eagles.

Thunder Shadow Eagles lived in the high-altitude thundercloud layer, so he did not fly low. He maintained an altitude of roughly two hundred zhang above the forest canopy, giving him a broad view of both the forest below and the clouds above.

After less than half an hour, he had crossed three mountain ranges and two basins. Along the way, he encountered several thousand-year Thunder Eagles and a ten-thousand-year Thunderstripe Leopard, but none were his target.

He could not be bothered to stir up trouble, so he simply sped past them. The Soul Beasts did not even catch a glimpse of his shadow before he vanished beyond their sight.

It was not until he flew over a massive rift shrouded in dense thunderclouds that he finally found something.

The rift stretched for more than ten li, with steep cliffs on both sides as sheer as blades. A layer of grayish-white lightning mist filled the valley floor, reducing visibility to almost nothing.

The sky above the rift was blanketed year-round by a heavy layer of black thunderclouds. Lightning frequently struck from within, and nearly every few breaths, a blue-white bolt tore through the cloud layer and illuminated the entire rift.

Huang Yun hovered high above the edge of the rift, his gaze passing through gaps in the thunderclouds as he surveyed the interior.

He saw them.

Deep within the black thunderclouds, three incredibly swift figures darted and circled through the clouds.

They moved with astonishing speed, their forms flashing in and out among the clouds. Each time they appeared, they were far from their previous position, as though they were leaping through the cloud layer.

Huang Yun narrowed his eyes and focused all his vision on tracking their movements.

There.

The largest of the three shadows had a wingspan of more than ten zhang. Its entire body was covered in black feathers tinged with blue, while fine white arcs flowed along the edges of its plumage.

It moved through the clouds with extraordinary fluidity. Every flap of its wings was accompanied by an explosion of electricity, and its speed was astounding.

More importantly, Huang Yun noticed the terrifying explosive force it displayed when accelerating and changing direction.

In that instant, its body seemed to vanish directly from where it was. The next second, it had already appeared in another patch of clouds a hundred zhang away, leaving not even an afterimage behind.

That explosive burst of movement perfectly matched the descriptions of the Thunder Shadow Eagle.

Thunder Shadow Eagles—and more than one.

Huang Yun was secretly delighted, but he quickly calmed himself as well.

Based on his observations, the largest of the three figures was likely a Thunder Shadow Eagle. The other two were slightly smaller, perhaps companion beasts from the same nest or immature offspring.

Three Thunder Shadow Eagles gathered together made things somewhat troublesome.

Thunder Shadow Eagles possessed incredible flight speed and terrifying explosive power. He was completely confident in facing one alone, but three together would form an encirclement.

No matter how fast he was in the air, he could not outpace three flying Soul Beasts of the same level attacking him from different directions at once. If they managed to entangle him, it would be troublesome.

He could not recklessly charge into the thundercloud layer and fight head-on. He needed a way to lure his target out and deal with it alone.

Huang Yun floated outside the thundercloud layer, his eyes fixed tightly on the three darting figures as his mind raced.

A moment later, the corner of his mouth curled upward. He had an idea.

He first retreated some distance, flying to the outer edge of the thundercloud layer above the rift. He found a position roughly one li away from the three Thunder Shadow Eagles and hovered there.

Then he raised his right hand, gathering a fist-sized blue lightning sphere in his palm before hurling it forcefully into the thundercloud layer.

The lightning sphere streaked across the sky like a meteor, accurately smashing into the depths of the thunderclouds before exploding with a thunderous boom.

The bursting electric light instantly illuminated a vast area of clouds. Thunder rolled and echoed through the valley, shaking even the surrounding space.

Deep within the thundercloud layer, the three darting figures halted at the same time.

Immediately afterward, the largest Thunder Shadow Eagle was the first to turn. With a beat of its wings, it transformed into a streak of black lightning and shot at extreme speed toward the source of the explosion, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek.

The two smaller Thunder Shadow Eagles followed close behind, though they were clearly a step slower than the first.

Huang Yun immediately turned and fled.

He deliberately slowed down, maintaining the appearance of being "very nervous but not quite fast enough," ensuring that the Thunder Shadow Eagle behind him remained firmly on his tail.

The Thunder Shadow Eagle's burst speed truly was terrifying. Within only a few breaths, it closed the distance from one li away to less than a hundred zhang.

It let out a sharp, ear-piercing cry and abruptly folded its wings. Its entire body shot toward Huang Yun's back like a black arrow.

Huang Yun sensed the sound of wind tearing behind him, and the corner of his mouth rose slightly.

Just as that streak of lightning was about to pierce through his body, he activated his second soul skill—Teleportation.

His body vanished from midair, appearing dozens of zhang away at the Thunder Shadow Eagle's side the next instant.

The Thunder Shadow Eagle struck empty air. Its massive body surged forward dozens of zhang from inertia before barely stabilizing itself. In the instant it turned to search for its target, Huang Yun had already completed his counterattack.

His first soul skill—Lightning—erupted instantly, increasing his speed by twelve hundred percent. He transformed into a blue-white streak and lunged straight for the Thunder Shadow Eagle's neck from the side.

The Thunder Shadow Eagle reacted just as quickly, violently beating its side wing in an attempt to open the distance. But at that moment, Huang Yun's speed had already surpassed its own.

At the same time, his third soul skill activated. Clones appeared, and ten identical figures threw the Thunder Shadow Eagle into momentary confusion, unable to determine the true target.

Seizing the opportunity, Huang Yun formed Raikiri in their palms. The milky-white lightning resembled sharp short blades as the ten figures pierced through the Thunder Shadow Eagle's vital neck area from different positions with precise speed.

A brief mournful cry exploded within the thunderclouds. The Thunder Shadow Eagle's body convulsed violently a few times before losing all power, its massive form beginning to plummet toward the rift below.

The Clones dispersed. Huang Yun's true body dove after it, catching the Thunder Shadow Eagle's corpse with both hands and lowering it steadily onto a relatively flat stone platform at the bottom of the rift.

A black Spirit Ring rose from the corpse, radiating an overwhelmingly dense wave of Soul Power.

More than twenty thousand years old. Lightning-element, flying type, explosive type.

Perfect.

Huang Yun took a deep breath, sat cross-legged on the stone platform, circulated his Soul Power, and guided the black Spirit Ring down toward himself.