Bathing in Lightning

The weather was unpredictable...

The moon waxed and waned...

All at once, dark clouds filled the sky. Arcs of lightning, like thunder dragons, roamed the heavens, colliding and exploding!

The atmosphere instantly grew oppressive, and birds, beasts, insects, and fish scattered in panic.

"Boom—crash!"

"Boom—crash!"

Raindrops fell upon the mountain range. Drops dripped from leaves and slid downward, while ripples spread across the previously tranquil cold pool.

Xiao Yi Xian stood atop the mountain, allowing the rain to soak her clothes. Chilly droplets slowly traced their way down her cheeks.

Her purple hair was mercilessly drenched by the rain, transparent beads of water quietly gathering at the tips...

Xiao Yi Xian savored the nourishment of the rain. This was the first time she had seen rainfall in another world.

The entire sky was incomparably gloomy, with only faint light weaving through the black clouds. Demonic beasts roared everywhere throughout the mountains—

The branches and leaves of the forest played a beautiful symphony with the rain, occasionally accompanied by beastly roars as though providing the music. Everything seemed like an illusion...

Winds carrying the rain rose in gusts. Feeling the heavens so close at hand, a surge of boldness rose within Xiao Yi Xian. The sword case on her back trembled slightly, and with a whoosh, a sword cry suddenly rang out.

A silver-white sword instantly flew from its sheath, its sharp tip pointing straight at the sky as though it wished to touch the boundless heavens.

"Rumble!"

Thunder resounded throughout heaven and earth, as if angered by Xiao Yi Xian's actions. Suddenly, an arc of lightning as thick as a bowl, resembling a swimming dragon, came crashing down.

Xiao Yi Xian held You Su in hand as the Purple Cloud Wings behind her instantly spread open. Purple Dou Qi erupted forth, and a massive sword radiance collided with the surging lightning.

"Crack!"

The sound of something shattering came from the sky. Liu Yan and Chi Han both looked over, only to see a graceful purple figure shatter the lightning with her silver-white sword.

Several pale purple feathers drifted down from the lifelike wings on her back.

The breeze in the heavens gently scattered the hair across Xiao Yi Xian's forehead...

Her entire body was like an unparalleled divine sword, frigid Sword Qi continuously striking against the raindrops...

It was as if the entire sky contained nothing but heaven's wrath and that single graceful figure...

"What?"

Chi Han and Liu Yan were both dumbfounded. What was their master doing?

Standing atop a mountain with a sword, pointing it at the heavens?

Wasn't that asking to be struck by lightning?

Xiao Yi Xian soared into the air. The Purple Cloud Wings behind her flapped again, and she shot into the lightning-filled thunderclouds like a streak of light.

On the Dou Qi Continent, only pills and magical beasts would draw down heavenly tribulations. Since ancient times, heavenly tribulations had represented destruction, yet they also contained the purest vitality.

There was not much difference between lightning and heavenly tribulations... only a difference in power.

Xiao Yi Xian wielded the longsword in her hand again and again in the air as silver-white lightning continuously closed in, strike after strike...

From below, one could vaguely see strands of hair and pale purple feathers falling alongside the raindrops.

Rapid cultivation inevitably left one's foundation somewhat unstable. She wanted to test the might of lightning, temper her physique, stabilize her foundation, and perhaps see whether there was anything good within it.

Xiao Yi Xian charged into the black clouds filling the sky. Endless thunderbolts seemed to grow restless because of this intruder, snake-like bolts of lightning striking toward her.

A suit of Dou Qi armor condensed over Xiao Yi Xian's body. Facing the overwhelming lightning, her eyes brimmed with fighting spirit.

It had been far too long since she had stretched her limbs...

Streams of purple Sword Qi rampaged through the black clouds as though they were about to sweep through everything in all directions.

Surrounded by purple Sword Qi amid the black clouds, Xiao Yi Xian looked like an exiled immortal, leaving the two below staring in astonishment.

"Myriad Swords Returning to Origin!"

The fighting spirit and madness in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes flashed away. Dou Qi instantly erupted from her dantian, while You Su in her hand seemed to transform into countless streams of Sword Qi that gathered around her.

A biting killing intent burst forth, and purple sword radiance flickered from You Su's tip.

Pale purple translucent sword shadows filled the surroundings, densely packed enough to make Chi Han and Liu Yan's scalps tingle.

"Go!"

Xiao Yi Xian shouted softly. Purple sword shadows, accompanied by Poisonous Gas brimming with killing intent, shot forth with a whoosh, seemingly tearing through space in an instant.

"Boom!"

Countless bolts of lightning were shattered by Sword Qi...

Countless sword shadows were broken apart by lightning...

"Heh!"

The corners of Xiao Yi Xian's lips curled up slightly. The Purple Cloud Wings on her back seemed to grow much larger, and her flying speed rose by another level.

Liu Yan looked at Chi Han beside him and said in astonishment, "This... Miss is clearly emitting the aura of a Da Dou Shi, so why does her attack power feel so terrifying?"

Chi Han's vertical snake pupils glimmered faintly. Sword shadows filled the black clouds, while the silver-white lightning was no weaker. If it were him, he likely would not even have the courage to approach.

The terror of heavenly tribulations, etched deep within his bloodline memories, still affected him, even though he was now a Three-star Dou Wang.

No one knew how much time had passed when the black clouds in the sky began to quietly retreat. Xiao Yi Xian stood amid the lightning, her entire body in tatters.

Pale purple hair and feathers drifted down softly, and Chi Han and Liu Yan felt as though there was only that one figure between heaven and earth.

A phantom of a sphere of light was reflected in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes. Strands of electricity seemed to be moving within it.

There was no need to think about it. This was definitely a treasure.

"Sword One!"

A massive purple sword radiance cleaved open a path. The Purple Cloud Wings behind her flapped in an instant. Looking at the small sphere of light within reach, Xiao Yi Xian licked her lips and swallowed it without the slightest hesitation.

The strands of lightning power seemed exceptionally gentle, the complete opposite of the violent lightning from before.

The lightning power flowed through her meridians, and her body involuntarily began circulating the Sword Canon.

White energy continuously circulated through her extraordinary meridians and eight channels. Even the sword case on her back and You Su in her hand absorbed a trace of lightning essence.

The black clouds quietly faded away as well, leaving only the silver moon standing alone high in the sky.

Standing high in the air, Xiao Yi Xian felt her body become incredibly light. A few impurities had even been expelled from her skin!

"Splash!"

Xiao Yi Xian fell from the sky into the icy cold pool, her flawless white body faintly visible beneath the water.

"Splash!"

(Beauty emerging from her bath)

Xiao Yi Xian slowly emerged from the water. Tiny raindrops slid down her body, stirring faint ripples across the cold pool.

With a thought, Xiao Yi Xian used Dou Qi to evaporate the water droplets from her body and changed into a white dress.

Under the moonlight, her reflection on the water appeared before her. Xiao Yi Xian touched her face and felt that it had become more supple than before. It even seemed to have become fairer.

Her whole body felt wonderfully relaxed, comparable to soaking in a hot bath after working herself to death all day in her previous life.

"This truly feels marvelous!"

"Miss!"

"Master!"

Liu Yan and Chi Han flew over as well. Seeing Xiao Yi Xian emerge from seclusion even more beautiful than before, they felt sincerely happy. Their master had become stronger again.

"Mm!"

Xiao Yi Xian nodded. The mark on her hand glimmered faintly, and a familiar figure appeared in her embrace.

Xiao Ling'er's eyes were full of joy. Hugging Xiao Yi Xian's delicate body tightly, she said quietly, "Sister, I broke through to Dou Shi. I can help you now too!"

A glimmer flashed through Xiao Yi Xian's eyes. She scraped Xiao Ling'er's nose and nodded with a smile—Xiao Ling'er had slept for a long time during this transformation, but her aura had already reached nine-star Dou Shi.

Perhaps she had completed her transformation long ago. Seeing Xiao Yi Xian still cultivating, she had not disturbed her and only came out now.

"The big snake and the old man?"

Xiao Ling'er tilted her head and looked at the two before her in confusion. She had no memory of them.

"Uh!"

The man and beast were both dumbfounded. Liu Yan felt as if he had been dealt a crushing blow and was about to cough up blood. They had clearly met before.

The man and beast carefully looked after the little ancestor, indulging her in everything. Xiao Yi Xian looked at the scene before her and smiled from the bottom of her heart.

"Chirp chirp!"

Xiao Lan, who had been in the sky, landed beside Xiao Yi Xian and affectionately rubbed against her familiar purple hair.

Xiao Yi Xian stroked Xiao Lan's feathers. She was now a Da Dou Shi. Time had passed so quickly—it felt as though it had happened in the blink of an eye.