Two days passed, and Shi Yi was in a terrible state. Only a few scattered scraps of flesh remained on his body, and many of his bones had been shattered. Divine power alone held them together, preventing their complete collapse. The Thunder Spirit Liquid had seeped into his marrow, destroying its ability to produce blood.
More alarming still, the power of thunder had invaded Shi Yi's sea of consciousness.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared within his sea of consciousness, constantly stirring up waves thousands of feet high. Its booming peals rang like great bronze bells, leaving his ears ringing as lightning relentlessly battered his primordial spirit.
The primordial spirit was unlike the physical body, which could be strengthened through cultivation or protected by wielding a Treasure Art.
Although his primordial spirit had fused with that of the body's original owner and possessed extraordinary resilience, he had never cultivated it or trained it in any Treasure Arts. He could only endure through its innate strength and keep evading the thunder. If his primordial spirit was destroyed, he might perish here.
"Damn it! Which bastard recorded the effects of Thunder Spirit Liquid without mentioning that it could invade the sea of consciousness? If I survive this, I'll dig up his grave!"
Shi Yi's primordial spirit was somewhat listless now, flickering with lightning-a clear sign that it had been struck. Still, it kept dodging the bolts hurtling toward it. Worse yet, as time passed, more and more thunder gathered within his sea of consciousness, leaving him ever less room to evade it.
Shi Yi naturally knew why the thunder kept increasing, but there was nothing he could do. The moment the Thunder Spirit Liquid invaded his sea of consciousness, he had lost control of his body.
Boom!
Thunder filled the skies over his sea of consciousness. Shi Yi's primordial spirit looked up, his fists clenched and his eyes brimming with defiance. He turned toward the mysterious Space-Time Rune suspended in midair, but it remained utterly motionless.
"Does it really end here? There's always a thread of hope in everything. There must be a way. I have to calm down and think this through," Shi Yi said.
Thunder rained down ceaselessly from the sky. Lightning covered Shi Yi's primordial spirit, making him look even weaker. Without his fierce will to survive sustaining him, the might of the thunder would already have annihilated his primordial spirit.
Half a month passed. Inside the cave, a pool several feet across was filled with Thunder Spirit Liquid. At its edge, a skeleton lay submerged in the liquid, lightning flickering around it.
A closer look revealed tiny buds of flesh here and there on the skeleton. Cracks densely covered its bones, which were forcibly held together by divine power; otherwise, they would have shattered long ago. Through the cracks, flashes of lightning could also be seen within the marrow.
Within his sea of consciousness, thunder continued attacking Shi Yi's primordial spirit, which was now terribly mutilated. It was barely recognizable as a human form. Both arms and both legs were gone.
At this rate, Shi Yi's primordial spirit would dissipate completely in another few days.
His primordial spirit was still immersed in profound contemplation. This was an exceedingly dangerous moment. If the thunder completely destroyed his primordial spirit before he awakened, he would vanish utterly from heaven and earth.
Thunder battered him without pause. Shi Yi's primordial spirit entered a strange state, and every scrap of knowledge concerning the thunder great Dao laws from both his past and present lives surfaced.
The great Dao of thunder embodied heaven and earth's power to grant life and deal death. Destruction and creation complemented one another within it, manifesting the might of heaven. It represented strength and vibration, displayed the order and warnings of the natural world, and also embodied the destruction of all things.
In his former world, "Awakening of Insects," one of the twenty-four solar terms, was associated with thunder. In the first lunar month, hibernating creatures stirred, emerging from their dormant state. All things arose through quaking, and quaking was thunder; hence the name "Awakening of Insects." It represented the revival and rebirth of all things.
Two more days passed. His already ravaged primordial spirit was reduced to nothing but a head. Just as it was about to dissipate completely, a mysterious power spread from within it.
That mysterious power was majestic yet domineering, wild yet stable, carrying vitality within destruction. It stirred up towering waves throughout Shi Yi's sea of consciousness.
Perhaps sensing this mysterious power, the Space-Time Rune suspended within Shi Yi's sea of consciousness seemed to take it as a challenge. Once again, it radiated a mysterious light. The power of time and space spread outward, stabilizing his sea of consciousness. The great waves ceased their roaring, and everything fell still.
Boom!
Thunder still roared in the skies above his sea of consciousness, but under the mysterious power emanating from Shi Yi's primordial spirit, it could no longer inflict any substantial damage upon him.
Instead, Shi Yi's primordial spirit was devouring the thunder within his sea of consciousness. This thunder had originally formed from the Thunder Spirit Liquid. Now, his comprehension of the thunder Dao laws had reached an unparalleled level, and he had even grasped the principle of finding life through death within thunder.
Thus, the thunder formed from the Thunder Spirit Liquid became a potent medicine for strengthening Shi Yi's primordial spirit. As the thunder within his sea of consciousness gradually diminished, Thunder Spirit Liquid began pouring in from outside. Meanwhile, his primordial spirit slowly recovered.
During this recovery, Shi Yi's primordial spirit also involuntarily absorbed some of the mysterious power emanating from the Space-Time Rune.
As the Thunder Spirit Liquid outside poured in furiously, Shi Yi's primordial spirit recovered completely. His eyes remained tightly closed, and dazzling light radiated from his entire form. Runes of the thunder great Dao laws flashed around him, making his primordial spirit appear even more majestic and sacred.
After Shi Yi's primordial spirit fully recovered, the mysterious power it emitted did not stop. It began traveling along his bones throughout his body.
After hundreds of washes from the mysterious power, lightning shone through every bone in Shi Yi's body. The old cracks slowly began to heal, and his bones grew harder.
Then his flesh began to regrow, and his marrow resumed producing blood. Nearly half the pool's Thunder Spirit Liquid had been absorbed, and Shi Yi's body had been completely reconstructed. Yet he remained immersed in profound comprehension of the Dao and had not awakened.
Outside Thunderclap Valley, two or three white figures rode lightning down, crashing heavily at the valley entrance and scattering clouds of dust.
"Who dares trespass into Thunderclap Valley? Our race is carrying out a mission here. Leave at once, and we'll overlook this!" Lei Jie shouted.
"Heh, your Wind-Thunder Leopard clan is certainly growing more imposing by the day. If I remember correctly, Thunderclap Valley isn't your territory. Other races may fear you, but our White Ghost Race does not. We have important business inside as well. Whatever your mission is, we won't interfere. Let well water stay clear of river water," the leader of the White Ghost Race said.
Seeing who had arrived, Lei Jie narrowed his eyes. Although the White Ghost Race was not an enemy of theirs, the two races occasionally clashed.
This race possessed astonishing mastery of speed, yielding nothing
to the Wind-Thunder Leopard clan. They were also adept at wielding lightning, giving them tremendous offensive power. Had the White Ghost Race not been ill-suited to prolonged battles, they would have completely suppressed the Wind-Thunder Leopard clan.
"So Venerable Bai Ling of the White Ghost Race has honored us with his presence. May I ask what brings you here? Our territory is not far away. If the matter isn't urgent, you could stay with us as a guest for a while. Our race truly does have an important mission here. Once it is complete, you may enter and leave freely, Venerable. Naturally, our race will provide compensation for delaying you," Lei Jie said.
Lei Jie could not possibly let a Venerable of the White Ghost Race enter Thunderclap Valley. If the secret of the Human Race inside was discovered, they could no longer claim all the benefits for themselves. Of course, he did not want fresh branches sprouting from the knot-needless complications-either, which was why he spoke courteously to the three members of the White Ghost Race. They belonged to great races and were all in the Venerable Realm; under ordinary circumstances, the other party would show him some respect.
"We're in a hurry and have no time to wait. I guarantee that even if you dig up a supreme treasure in Thunderclap Valley, we won't covet it or fight you for it," Bai Ling said.
Seeing the other party's unyielding attitude, Lei Jie's gaze sharpened. They would not fight him for it? Even a three-year-old would not believe such nonsense. Did they think he, Lei Jie, was less discerning than a three-year-old?