Mu Chen let out a long cry as he entered the formation. He held his right palm up, and a speck of chaos radiance suddenly flared above it, swelling wildly in the wind!
One-Qi Chaos Tower!
"Suppress!"
Before the tower arrived, its invisible field of power, capable of suppressing all arts, had already enveloped the space around the Thunder Spirit.
The towering waves of lightning, which had been crashing furiously against Bei Ming Dragon Kun's cold tide, suddenly stalled.
The Thunder Spirit's constantly twisting, shifting body of lightning seemed to be shackled by invisible chains. It struggled silently, yet with even greater fury.
The thunder slurry coursing over its body exploded wildly as it tried to break free of those invisible restraints. Yet, like an insect trapped in amber, its movements grew slower and heavier.
The One-Qi Chaos Tower descended, suppressing it outright!
The Thunder Spirit's struggles grew weaker and weaker. Its form gradually stabilized, finally becoming a pure black lightning sphere hundreds of yards across that kept collapsing inward.
The One-Qi Chaos Tower hovered silently above the black lightning sphere. Wisps of chaos energy descended from its base, winding around the sphere like silken ribbons and pinning it firmly in the void.
Mu Chen moved, darting to the side of the suppressed lightning sphere.
Following Bei Ming Dragon Kun's instructions, he extended his right hand. An exceedingly faint wisp of chaos light curled around his index fingertip as he gently touched the sphere's surface.
Hiss...
A liquid as viscous as mercury, yet radiating heart-pounding fluctuations of pure lightning, was slowly drawn out of the tiny opening by an invisible force. It gathered in midair into a mass of black slurry roughly the size of a human head.
Thunder marrow!
Though it fell short of a Thunder God Pill, the difference was not great.
Mu Chen took out a jade bottle and stored the thunder marrow inside. With a thought, he summoned the black Thunder God Lotus bearing the Thunder God Pill from his spatial storage, letting it hover above his palm.
The lotus slowly rotated. At its center, the black pearl the size of an infant's head emanated the enticing Dao resonance of heaven and earth.
Bei Ming Dragon Kun transformed back into a bald old man, his breathing noticeably quicker. He extended his withered hand and picked up the Thunder God Pill with a slight tremble.
His cloudy eyes remained fixed on it, as though he were gazing at the most precious treasure in the world.
He carefully put away the Thunder God Pill before finally letting out a long breath. The look he gave Mu Chen now held much more heartfelt gratitude.
"Young friend, you have my thanks for this!" the bald old man said solemnly.
"You're too kind, senior. We each got what we needed." Mu Chen smiled.
The bald old man laughed heartily, in excellent spirits. "I will never forget what I promised you. I'll have Tai Cang make the arrangements shortly."
He paused, sweeping his gaze over the gradually calming Thunder Sea below, then glanced at Nine Nether and continued, "No one will come to disturb this tenth level of the Thunder Domain for a while."
"You've just obtained thunder marrow, young friend. This is the perfect place to refine it. Now that this little sparrow has obtained the blood essence, she can also prepare here to evolve and face her tribulation."
"Then thank you, senior." Mu Chen cupped his hands. This truly was a good place for Nine Nether to face her tribulation.
"Mm, I'll be off, then. May you achieve mastery of your cultivation method, young friend, and may this little sparrow evolve smoothly and join the ranks of divine beasts!"
With that, the bald old man delayed no longer. His figure flickered, turning into a streak of dark light that tore through space and left the Thunder Domain, leaving this place to Mu Chen.
Mu Chen pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the little sparrow on his shoulder. "I'll refine the thunder marrow first. Once I'm done, I'll guard you and help you refine the blood essence so you can break through to the divine beast realm. How does that sound?"
Nine Nether naturally had no objection. Facing her tribulation and evolving was the most important-and most perilous-threshold of her life.
Her previous attempt at rebirth in the Black Nether Abyss had come about because she had been ill-prepared, yet had no choice once the tribulation descended. In the end, all her efforts had nearly come to nothing.
Now she held the blood essence of a top-tier divine beast like Bei Ming Dragon Kun, and she even had Mu Chen, a monster of unfathomable strength, to guard her... These were simply the perfect conditions she had dreamed of!
Seeing her agree, Mu Chen moved, finally settling beneath the black lightning sphere suppressed by the One-Qi Chaos Tower. He sat cross-legged on the Thunder God Lotus.
Without hesitation, Mu Chen tipped back his head and poured all the thunder marrow in the jade bottle into his mouth!
Skin, muscles, fascia, bones, internal organs, marrow... Every inch of his body endured the thunder marrow's cleansing and strengthening!
Time quietly slipped by within the silent space of lightning.
In no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Mu Chen had completely refined the thunder marrow!
He looked like the Thunder God descended into the world. Chaos radiance and lightning intertwined into a halo, repelling the thunder slurry for dozens of yards below him and creating a temporary pocket of empty space.
As his body grew stronger, it strengthened his spiritual energy; as his spiritual energy grew stronger, it raised his cultivation!
Threefold Divine Soul Tribulation-complete!
After the long tempering of the Chaos Divine Mill Contemplation Method, this mere refinement was nothing worth mentioning.
Mu Chen turned his palm over and took out Bei Ming Dragon Kun's blood essence. He looked at Nine Nether. "Shall we begin?"
Nine Nether Sparrow nodded her little head. Opening her beak, she released a stream of deep black flames that wrapped around the golden blood essence, then swallowed it into her body.
Hum!
Indescribably scorching fluctuations erupted from her tiny body. The next instant, she became a streak of black flame and shot straight into the sky.
A clear, resounding cry, filled with boundless ancient majesty, tore through the Thunder Domain's eternal thunder.
Black flames swept out from that speck of dark light, blanketing a vast stretch of sky in an instant.
Rumble!
Almost at the very moment Nine Nether Sparrow unleashed her power without restraint, a muffled response sounded from deep within the void above the Thunder Domain.
The black god lightning tribulation!
"Why does it feel... like this lightning tribulation isn't even as violent as the lightning on the tenth level?" Mu Chen gazed up at the forming tribulation clouds, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Screee!"
High in the sky, Nine Nether Sparrow let out an even more piercing cry, brimming with unyielding fighting spirit.
Her burning eyes stared fixedly at the ever-thickening black clouds. A deeply buried tremor flickered through their depths, only to be swiftly replaced by fiercer flames.
This very black god lightning tribulation had nearly blasted her body and soul into oblivion last time. Had it not been for the power in her bloodline that came from the Undying Bird, she would long since have vanished from heaven and earth!
But this time was different.
She turned her head slightly, glancing at the tall, straight figure in black standing over the Thunder Sea below.
Though tiny, he seemed like a pillar holding up the heavens.
This time, he stood behind her.
She would not lose again!
Rumble-!
Ever more terrifying lightning power gathered deep within the clouds, giving off a teeth-grating crackle. Its might had almost caught up with the Thunder Sea on the Thunder Domain's tenth level!
At last-
Boom-crack!
An indescribably deafening explosion!
The thunderclouds were torn completely apart. A bolt of pitch-black divine lightning crashed down toward Nine Nether, carrying such terrifying power that even the Thunder Sea below surged backward!
"Screee!"
Nine Nether Sparrow cried out sharply. Without a trace of fear, she thrust her enormous wings forward!
Towering black flames swept from her body, boldly meeting that bolt of black divine lightning head-on!
Boom-!!!
She had successfully blocked the first bolt of black god thunder!
But the heavenly tribulation had only just begun.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Nine Nether's immense body shuddered violently beneath the lightning tribulation's baptism. Her magnificent black-flame feathers were scorched and shattered, wounds covering her entire body. This battle was brutal and prolonged.
As the final bolt of tribulation lightning fell... Nine Nether successfully overcame her tribulation!
Before you continue