Deep within the Kunlun, the valleys are silent, save for the acrid smell and wisps of electric arcs that linger in the air after the lightning tribulation.
In the northern part of Thundercliff lies a massive, deep valley, forcibly torn open by divine punishment.
The rock face has a glass-like texture and a chillingly charred black color.
The lingering power of the fourth tribulation of the Dragon Transformation had not yet completely dissipated; a low rumble of thunder still rolled across the sky, as if it were the last breath of the heavens.
Li Qingshan sat cross-legged on a blue stone at the top of the cliff, his eyes slightly closed, surrounded by crimson clouds, as if the phantom of True Dragon was flowing through his veins.
At the spine, the fourth dragon-shaped halo had completely solidified, its radiance restrained, exuding a powerful life essence.
The Fourth Dragon Transformation, and its success is now complete.
With each long breath he took, he drew forth vital energy from all directions like a tidal wave.
At this moment, the Innate Dao Embryo resonated mysteriously with the ancient Kunlun earth veins.
His body was enveloped in a flowing Daoist aura, as if he were not breathing, but rather the entire world was pulsating in rhythm with him.
On the barren, scorched earth, tiny specks of green stubbornly sprout, as if paying homage to this near-path.
Suddenly, Li Qingshan frowned slightly, a sense of crisis, not originating from himself but incredibly strong, pierced his mind like an ice needle.
It wasn't a backlash from an unstable realm, but rather came from an extremely distant place.
A will filled with greed and destruction had firmly locked onto him.
He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear, like the moon reflected in a cold pool, gazing into the deeper depths shrouded in the clouds and mist of Kunlun.
The distant Void was slightly distorted, and the air currents were stagnant like mountains.
The residual lightning from the tribulation, which had originally been scattered throughout the heavens and earth, seemed to be drawn by an invisible force.
They transformed into countless tiny electric snakes, wailing as they plunged into the shadows.
The plants all bowed their heads, their leaves trembling, revealing an instinctive fear.
"Such pure demonic energy, capable of arousing the remaining divine might; the visitor is surely hostile."
Li Qingshan spoke softly and stood up.
His dark Daoist robe fluttered slightly, and the dazzling divine radiance around him completely subsided, making his aura even more ethereal.
It blends into the cliffs beneath its feet and the entire Mount Kunlun Range.
"Bah!"
A bird's cry, sharp enough to shatter metal and split rocks, suddenly rang out without warning.
Its sound was shrill, like thousands of thunderclaps exploding at the same time, causing rocks within a radius of a hundred miles to tumble down.
High in the sky, a huge gap was forcibly torn open in the dense dark clouds by a brute force.
The intense, dazzling Purple Gold lightning poured down like a burst dam from the Milky Way, turning the dim world a ghastly white.
At the core of the lightning, a golden figure swooped down at a speed beyond visual perception.
Wherever it passed, the air was scorched, emitting a pungent burnt smell, leaving a long vacuum trail, and producing continuous sonic booms.
"BOOM!!!"
The figure crashed heavily onto a mountain peak, accompanied by a deafening roar.
The entire mountain collapsed and disintegrated from the middle, like a clay sculpture, with massive rocks mixed with dust rising into the sky.
It crashed down like a torrential rain, striking the ground and creating countless deep craters.
The raging demonic energy and thunderous power transformed into a visible shockwave.
It spread in a ring, scraping the ground down three feet to reveal fresh, lightning-shimmering rock layers underneath.
The smoke and dust slowly settled, revealing its true form.
He was a tall man dressed in a golden robe, standing over 12 feet tall, with an arrogant face.
His golden eyes were sharp as an eagle's, flashing with lightning when they opened and closed.
His body was coiled with Purple Gold electric snakes as thick as an arm, crackling and popping, each movement causing the surrounding Void to ripple slightly.
Its aura was as vast as the sea, clearly indicating that it had reached the peak of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm.
It subtly echoed the lingering Calamity Qi in this world, further enhancing its power.
He turned his cold, golden eyes, his gaze instantly piercing through the Void and locking firmly onto Li Qingshan on the cliff top.
"I have waited for you for so long; you have endured thunder and dew, and today you have finally ripened."
That gaze contained an undisguised greed, the kind of greed one would show for a rare treasure.
" The Fourth Dragon Transformation are enough to trigger a heavenly tribulation of this scale."
It even summoned the Humanoid Lightning phantom of the Ancient Great Emperor in his youth, tsk tsk.
His voice had a harsh, metallic quality, "Your physical body has the blood and qi of True Dragon roaring, and the stability of your foundation is something I have never seen before in my life!"
Devouring you would save me a hundred years of arduous cultivation; crossing the threshold of the Immortal Platform would be just around the corner!
Li Qingshan remained calm, as still as a deep well, and said indifferently:
"Hiding and cultivating deep within Kunlun is no easy feat, yet you dare to leave your lair and seek death?"
"Trying to die? Hahahaha!"
The tall man in the golden robe let out a wild laugh, and the phantom image of his wings flashed behind him.
This immediately caused a howling wind and turbulent airflow around him. "Young man, within a radius of tens of millions of miles, I am the undisputed number one King below the Immortal Platform Secret Realm!"
To become the supreme resource for my ascension to the Immortal Platform is Fortune you've accumulated over many lifetimes!
"Will you voluntarily offer your flesh and soul to avoid the torment of soul extraction and refinement, or will I personally chew you up and devour you, skin and bones, along with your pure essence?"
The overwhelming demonic energy, mixed with the pressure of Peak Dragon Transformation, crashed down on Li Qingshan like a tangible tsunami, attempting to crush his will.
Upon hearing this, Li Qingshan showed no fear whatsoever.
A faint, yet unmistakably sardonic, smile curled at the corner of his lips, enough to enrage Thunder Peng.
He gently brushed the cuffs of his Daoist robe, his tone calm, yet every word was like an ice pick piercing to the bone:
"Number one below Immortal Platform? Ha, in the end, he's just a Dragon Transformation cultivator."
Those who fail to reach the Immortal Platform are ultimately like frogs at the bottom of a well, or ants gazing at the sky.
His gaze suddenly rose, like two unsheathed celestial swords piercing straight into the depths of Thunder Peng's soul:
"Since your title of 'Number One' is so prestigious, why don't you hand over your cultivation and life to me? What do you say?"
"Perfect timing. All this time in my cultivation, I've been lacking a whetstone of sufficient weight to test this newly acquired power and see if it's truly beneficial or detrimental."
"Arrogant and ignorant brat! I will grind you to dust!"
Thunder Peng was completely enraged, his killing intent erupting like a volcano!
He stopped talking nonsense, his figure suddenly swayed, leaving behind a series of lingering afterimages.
Its true form had transformed into a Purple Gold lightning bolt that tore through the Void, its speed reaching its limit!
A large hand covered in fine lightning patterns reached out, its five fingers like hooks, wrapped with destructive lightning.
Strike straight at Li Qingshan's crown!
This single claw strike is enough to turn even refined gold and immortal iron into dust!
However, Li Qingshan seemed to have foreseen this opportunity long ago.
He shifted his body slightly, his movements subtle and elusive, like a willow swaying in the wind or a cloud drifting on water, narrowly escaping the deadly claw in the blink of an eye.
Five divine lights quietly appeared behind him: white, blue, black, red, and yellow, corresponding to the five elements. The halos flowed, and the Daoist charm was naturally formed.
The Five-Colored Divine Light, sensing the spiritual intent before the attack even arrived, activated the Thunder Peng's demonic power and concentrated its strength.
Even the many changes that followed that claw were clearly reflected in the lake of my heart.
His Innate Dao Embryo was in harmony with heaven and earth, which made him extremely sensitive to changes in Qi.
"Um?"
Thunder Peng's attack missed, a hint of surprise flashing in his golden eyes, but his offensive intensified.
He suddenly swung his arms, lightning flashing all around him, and roared:
"You can dodge one blow, but you can't dodge ten thousand arrows! Heavenly Waterfall of Lightning Arrows!"
In an instant, countless arrows formed entirely of Purple Gold- gold lightning appeared out of thin air, centered on him.
The dense, overwhelming rain poured down on Li Qingshan like a torrential downpour flowing against the current!
Each lightning arrow possesses the terrifying power to pierce mountains and tear the earth apart.
The sound of the arrow piercing the air was sharp and shrill, ionizing the air and giving it a burnt smell, blocking all possible directions for Li Qingshan to dodge.
Li Qingshan remained calm in the face of this devastating rain of arrows.
He moved with a mysterious gait, his figure subtly blending with the majestic terrain of the Mount Kunlun Range, as if he had become part of the mountains.
The black water-based divine light behind him suddenly rippled outwards, transforming into a circle of seemingly gentle yet incredibly profound ripples that protected his entire body.
" Five-Colored Divine Light, for protection."
The lightning arrow, imbued with the violent power of fire and metal, shot into the range of the black divine light, like a blazing sun plunging into a deep pool.
The destructive energy on it was quickly neutralized and guided by the supremely yin and gentle water-elemental divine power.
Most of the lightning arrows took strange detours, whistling past Li Qingshan's clothes.
It shoots into the ground or rocks in the distance, blasting up clouds of dust and debris, but it can hardly get within three zhang of him.
The few most powerful ones were also weakened by the divine light and scattered by the divine power casually flicked out by Li Qingshan.
"You can actually control the Five Paths and neutralize my thunder magic?"
Thunder Peng's eyes flashed with hostility, and his suspicions deepened.
He moved again, unleashing an even more exquisite killing move, his figure swaying as he did so.
It transformed into hundreds and thousands of incredibly solid Humanoid Lightning afterimages.
Each one exuded a demonic aura and killing intent identical to its true form.
They rushed towards Li Qingshan from all directions, up and down, left and right, like a tidal wave!
" Thousand Illusion Lightning Shadow Kill!"
Thousands of afterimages attacked simultaneously, each carrying a thunderous force capable of shattering mountains and splitting rocks—whether fists, palms, or fingers.
The force of their fists and the shadows of their palms intertwined to form a web of destruction, completely enveloping Li Qingshan.
The Void itself trembled violently from the intense barrage of attacks, emitting a groan of unbearable strain.