A terrifying torrent of Lightning Essence poured madly into Yang Zhen's body. The immense pain felt as though it could tear him apart in an instant, leaving him grimacing and nearly crying out.
Then the Ancient Elephant Lightning Defense Body, which Yang Zhen was circulating at breakneck speed, erupted in full force. Like raging waves within him, it swept through the meridians of his entire body.
Boom!
It was as though something had shattered in his mind. Waves of profound understanding rang out in his head like the thunderous chanting of the Heavenly Dao, while countless abstruse runes flickered with myriad bolts of lightning and swirled through his mind.
The already seething lightning phenomenon grew even more violent. Amid rumbling thunder, terrifying lightning dragons, even more fearsome than when the Thunder Essence Wood had emerged, soared and plunged through the lightning that filled the sky, roaring without cease.
Every inch of Yang Zhen's skin burst open again and again under the pounding lightning, only to heal anew each time. Covered in blood, he threw back his head and let out a long roar, a feeling that his darkest hour had given way to better days soaring straight into the clouds.
Feeling the power within him grow without cease, and even the sinews, bones, and flesh of his body rapidly toughen under the baptism of lightning, Yang Zhen gritted his teeth and rose to his feet. Step by step, he walked toward the center of the lightning.
Zhen Ping'er's expression changed drastically. Disbelief flashed in her eyes, and she cried out in shock, "Impossible! A Spirit Grade cultivation method could never do this."
It wasn't as though Zhen Ping'er had never seen a Spirit Grade cultivation method. Even when the master of the Demonic Sect cultivated one, he could not trigger such a terrifying phenomenon of heaven and earth, much less with Lightning Essence, the most violent of all powers. Everything Yang Zhen was doing now lay beyond Zhen Ping'er's comprehension.
A Spirit Grade cultivation method truly could not reach such a level, much less an incomplete one. Otherwise, Yang Zhen would likely have been blasted to pieces by the lightning the instant he entered the lightning marsh.
Even Golden Core Realm experts dared not set foot in the lightning marsh lightly. How could someone of Yang Zhen's cultivation possibly withstand it with an incomplete Spirit Grade cultivation method?
Yang Zhen felt exhilarated. Sensing the violent power of lightning within him, with even every cell in his body seeming to contain boundless Lightning Essence, he could not help growing excited.
He had succeeded!
No one knew that the incomplete Spirit Grade cultivation method Princess Changyang had given Yang Zhen, the Ancient Elephant Lightning Defense Body, had indeed been perfected by his off-the-charts talent. It had even risen a full grade. The Ancient Elephant Lightning Defense Body Yang Zhen was now cultivating was no Spirit Grade method at all, but a saint-grade cultivation method bearing the same name!
"I wonder if Princess Changyang's eyes will pop out of her head when she finds out that the perfected Ancient Elephant Lightning Defense Body is actually a saint-grade cultivation method. No, that's not right. This method is definitely more than saint-grade. It might even be able to advance further."
Yang Zhen murmured to himself as he felt the Ancient Elephant Lightning Defense Body circulating madly within him. He absorbed and converted wave after wave of Lightning Essence, forging it into his sinews, bones, and blood.
Half a day later, Yang Zhen stood up. He could no longer feel the lightning striking his body at all.
He casually moved his limbs, and a crackling like a thunderstorm rang out at once. In a flash, serpents of lightning coiled around his body, shining brilliantly and radiating terrifying Lightning Essence.
Yang Zhen felt that he could now smash a huge boulder with a single punch. Whether it was the Heavenly Demon Gang Fist or the Skyward Cannon, he could use either as he pleased.
That was the benefit of a powerful body. Yang Zhen grew ever more satisfied with the Ancient Elephant Lightning Defense Body.
By now, Yang Zhen had cultivated the saint-grade Ancient Elephant Lightning Defense Body to the tenth layer, only one step away from mastery.
If everyone found out that Yang Zhen had completed his cultivation of the Ancient Elephant Lightning Defense Body in just half a day and reached the tenth layer, they would surely have scoffed and thought he was talking nonsense.
But that was the truth. This was the effect of Yang Zhen's terrifying talent, and it was no incomplete Spirit Grade cultivation method, but a genuine saint-grade one.
Saint-grade cultivation methods were rare even among major sects, to say nothing of body-tempering methods, which were rarer still among cultivation methods.
Enveloped in lightning, Yang Zhen had numerous lightning serpents roaming over his body. The terrifying presence of Lightning Essence surged within him like a mighty river. As that fearsome power seethed, his skin seemed to be coated in a layer of silver light, with radiance flowing beneath its surface. Wave after wave of terrifying power burst forth, making Yang Zhen feel as though his body contained boundless strength.
This was the effect of a saint-grade body-tempering method. Yang Zhen had never felt as full of strength as he did today.
For a full half day, Zhen Ping'er stood motionless where she was. The shock in her eyes did not fade; instead, it only deepened. Only when Yang Zhen slowly emerged from the lightning marsh, surrounded by countless lightning serpents, did she recover from her shock. She spat and turned her head away.
The clothes on Yang Zhen's body had long since been burned to ashes by the lightning.
His clothes were gone. Yang Zhen stood there dumbfounded and searched for a long time, but found no spare clothes. In his haste, he had no choice but to wrap himself in a large leaf and sneak through the mountain forest.
He did not know whether everyone else had gone to the so-called Dao Comprehension Stele. Yang Zhen walked for a long time and, after the labor of nine oxen and two tigers, finally found a beaming fellow.
Yang Zhen did not know which sect the fellow belonged to. He was facing a huge pit, seemingly digging up a century-old ginseng root, so excited that he was practically drooling. When Yang Zhen, squatting behind him, tapped him on the shoulder, he jumped in fright, let out a wail, and sprang forward into the great pit he had dug with such difficulty.
"Come on, brother, was that really necessary?" Yang Zhen looked at the horrified cultivator sprawled in the pit and clicked his tongue in wonder. "You dug such a huge hole for a ginseng root. Are you planning to bury yourself in it?"
"You... what do you know? Even a single rootlet can be sold for Spirit Stones." The cultivator looked horrified and stared at Yang Zhen warily. When he saw that Yang Zhen was only at the Foundation Establishment Realm Sixth Layer, he relaxed.
"I've seen poor people, but never anyone this poor." Yang Zhen shook his head and sighed.
"You can't even afford clothes!" The cultivator glanced at Yang Zhen and muttered, then said with utter disdain, "However poor I am, could I be poorer than you?"
Yang Zhen was amused to hear that. This fellow clearly hadn't grasped his own situation. At a time like this, he still had the mind to look down on someone?
"Brother, may I ask, is this the road to the Dao Comprehension Stele?" Yang Zhen walked up to the cultivator and asked with a sincere expression.
"It is, but I'd advise you not to go. With your meager cultivation, it would be no use even if you did. The disciples of the major sects have taken all the good spots there, and no one else has the slightest chance."
Having said that, the cultivator gave Yang Zhen a somewhat contemptuous look and muttered, "Only at the Foundation Establishment Realm Sixth Layer, and already so full of yourself. Do you think you're Yang Zhen, who made Zhang Zongjin spit blood from anger when he was only at the Foundation Establishment Realm Third Layer?"
Yang Zhen was amused. He jumped into the pit, patted the cultivator on the shoulder, and said, "Brother, let me give you a piece of advice."
"What?" The cultivator watched Yang Zhen nervously, terrified that he might snap his rootlets.
"Go find somewhere to get yourself a pair of glasses!" Yang Zhen widened his eyes and fixed the cultivator with a fierce stare. "Now, this is a robbery. Take off your clothes!"
(End of chapter)