Two factions locked in a stalemate, and the air grew thick with a tense atmosphere. Although the White Ghost Race outnumbered the other side, they only had a single powerhouse in the Venerable Realm, Venerable Bai Ling, while the other two were clearly his juniors with cultivation at merely the Array Formation Realm.
Time slipped away in silence. Lei Jie forcefully suppressed his anger, his chest heaving violently before he finally calmed down. Taking a deep breath, he said in a deep voice, "You may enter Heavenly Thunder Valley, but you must state your reasons."
As his voice fell, the opposite side remained silent.
Lightning flashed in Lei Jie's eyes, and his voice abruptly turned cold. "Fellow Daoist should understand that this is already my greatest concession. If you insist on forcing your way through..." Lightning snakes faintly slithered around his body. "...My Thunder Shadow Leopard race is not afraid of your White Ghost Race!"
Venerable Bai Ling chuckled upon hearing this, raising a hand to signal the juniors behind him to remain calm. "Why must Fellow Daoist Lei Jie fly into a rage? To tell you the truth, that lord's Apprenticeship Ceremony is imminent." He stepped aside to reveal the two young disciples. "These two untalented juniors want to go try their luck. Fellow Daoist also knows that our race's Treasure Art requires the tempering of lightning, and with time pressing, we made so bold as to come here."
Lei Jie's gaze lingered on the two young cultivators for a moment before he nodded slightly. "To reach the Array Formation Realm at such a young age is indeed extraordinary talent." He pointed toward the valley entrance. "The lightning force on the outer perimeter of Heavenly Thunder Valley is sufficient to temper Treasure Arts. Our clan is carrying out vital business in the inner region, and we hope you all will not cross the boundary, lest..." He paused meaningfully. "...unnecessary misunderstandings occur."
Lei Jie stepped aside to make way, watching the three members of the White Ghost Race step into Heavenly Thunder Valley. Gazing at their retreating backs, a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes-even if these three encountered that human cultivator in the valley, he felt not the slightest worry. Based on his understanding of the White Ghost Race and their consistent style of conduct, they would never choose cooperation and would definitely move to capture him.
Since that human cultivator could injure the Divine Fire Realm powerhouses of their clan, he naturally had the means to make Venerable Realm figures suffer losses or even fall. Should Bai Ling retreat from the gorge heavily wounded... A trace of imperceptible, cold laughter curled the corners of Lei Jie's mouth. By then, he would only need to expend a little effort to keep this White Ghost Race Venerable here permanently.
After venturing deep into Heavenly Thunder Valley, one of the young cultivators could not help lowering his voice. "Clan Uncle, are we really going to listen to Lei Jie and not scout the inner region? The Thunder Shadow Leopard race is making such a big fuss and even sent a Venerable to guard the valley entrance-they must have discovered some supreme treasure!"
Bai Ling chuckled softly, a trace of profound meaning flashing in his eyes. "Once inside Heavenly Thunder Valley, could we possibly be bound by their rules? However, the primary task of this trip is for you two to use the power of lightning to temper your Treasure Arts. That lord's banquet is the absolute priority, and we must not stir up extraneous complications."
The other young cultivator wore a worried expression. "But with the prodigies of various races gathering, the two of us might not stand out..."
Bai Ling flicked his sleeve, and a silver needle entwined with ancient thunder runes appeared in his palm, with faint electric light circulating around it.
"There is no need to worry. Before departure, the Clan Chief handed the Thunder-Avoiding Divine Needle over to me. When the time is right, I will venture deep into the inner region and fetch the Thunder Spirit Liquid to help you temper your bodies. By then, your cultivation and physical bodies will surely advance further. While I dare not say we will surpass all heroes, it will still be enough to greatly boost our race's prestige!"
"The Thunder Spirit Liquid?!" The smaller-statured White Ghost gasped involuntarily, blazing light erupting in his eyes. "That is a supreme miraculous liquid capable of cleansing the marrow and refining the physical body! Legend has it that its divine efficacy rivals the Thunder Tribulation Liquid. I never expected that such a divine object would be nurtured within this Heavenly Thunder Valley!"
Venerable Bai Ling lightly flicked his sleeve, and a soundproofing barrier quietly took form. He nodded slightly, his voice carrying a hint of solemnity. "According to the secret records of our clan, a Thunder Spirit Liquid pool is indeed hidden deep within this Heavenly Thunder Valley. Successive generations of ancestors spent a millennium of painstaking deduction to barely lock onto its approximate location."
Upon hearing this, the two young cultivators felt their spiritual energy involuntarily surge. With such a divine object to assist them, they would surely make a stunning debut at that lord's banquet.
"Clan Uncle..." The tall White Ghost suddenly lowered his voice. "With the Thunder Shadow Leopard clan making such a massive mobilization, could it be..."
"You are quite sharp." A chilling light flashed in Venerable Bai Ling's eyes, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the Thunder-Avoiding Divine Needle. "We truly cannot rule out this possibility." He suddenly halted his steps, and under the reflection of the lightning, his pale face appeared exceptionally gloomy. "The plan has changed. The most urgent priority is to ensure the Thunder Spirit Liquid is secured."
"Understood!" the two young White Ghosts responded in unison, and their three figures suddenly accelerated within the lightning-interwoven valley, transforming into blurred afterimages as they sprinted toward the inner region.
Shi Yi slowly opened his eyes, chaos surging within them and lightning faintly appearing, resembling the primeval scene at the dawn of creation. He lowered his gaze to inspect his recast body-every inch of muscle was forged like divine iron, his meridians wound like coiling dragons, his bones emitted a jade luster, and fine thunder runes flickered across his entire form. This physical body was like a dormant volcano, containing terrifying power capable of tearing the firmament apart.
"In just a short time, I have undergone several rebirths..." He clenched his fist, the air exploding with thunderous claps between his fingers. What surprised him even more was that the depths of his primordial spirit had actually bred the embryonic forms of the Thunder Dao and Spacetime Laws, which meant that practicing related Treasure Arts in the future would yield twice the result with half the effort.
Recalling the perils of refining the Thunder Spirit Liquid, a trace of solemnity flashed in Shi Yi's eyes. That berserk power of lightning had nearly destroyed his soul and spirit; if not for grasping the true meaning of the Thunder Dao at the threshold of life and death, as well as the assistance of that mysterious rune, the legend of the Double Pupils holder would likely have ended here.
"Misfortune is what fortune leans upon..." Feeling the surging power within his body, even if he faced the "self of yesterday" at his absolute peak, he now had a ten-in-ten certainty of winning within a hundred moves. Shifting his gaze to the remaining Thunder Spirit Liquid in the pool, Shi Yi's expression gradually grew cold. "The urgent task is to break through my cultivation realm. Those pursuers might not lack methods to deal with the lightning in Thunderclap Valley..."
Sitting cross-legged in the center of the thunder pool, Shi Yi's pores opened up, greedily devouring the majestic energy contained in the Thunder Spirit Liquid. Every drop of liquid entering his body felt like a trial by the nine heavens' thunder tribulation, and the berserk spiritual force surged through his meridians like an angry dragon, frantically assaulting the portals of the human body's hidden treasuries.
-Boom
A deafening roar echoed from within his body, the sound of potential gates being forcefully blasted open. The bodily treasuries that ordinary cultivators required a grinding, long-term effort to slowly unlock were torn open by Shi Yi in the most brutal manner at this moment. Pale-golden blood oozed from his cracking skin, only to instantly vaporize in the lightning, transforming into rosy mists that coiled around his body.
"Still not enough!"
Feeling the loosening of the realm barrier, divine light erupted from the Double Pupils in Shi Yi's eyes. He actually channeled the entire pool of Thunder Spirit Liquid to backflow into his crown, preparing to assault the later stage of the Array Formation Realm in the most violent fashion. Such a cultivation method could be called sheer madness-realms that ordinary prodigies required decades to polish, he intended to break through two consecutive stages within a single day!
-Crack
Along with a teeth-grating shattering sound, countless blood marks suddenly burst open across Shi Yi's body. Even after undergoing transformation, his precious body could not withstand such a berserk breakthrough method at this moment. But the very instant his physical body was on the verge of collapse, the Thunder Dao Laws within his primordial spirit suddenly manifested, transforming into thousands of thunder runes to repair his injured body.
When the final realm barrier shattered, the entire thunder pool boiled with activity. Shi Yi stood tall, substantive lightning Dao principles revolving around his entire body-at this moment, he truly stepped into the realm of the later stage of the Array Formation Realm!