Chapter 176: Thunderstorm

Two months later.

On a pitch-black sea, the water showed an eerie pale purple, stretching endlessly to the horizon.

In the vast ocean, waves rose three feet even without wind; now the wind was strong, stirring up raging billows that roared like ten thousand horses galloping.

Dark clouds densely packed the sky above, thick and heavy, hanging extremely low, only sixty or seventy zhang above the sea.

The waves below rose so high they seemed to touch the black clouds in the sky.

From within the thick clouds, thick bolts of lightning would occasionally dart out, illuminating the nearby sea area with rumbling thunder.

The sea presented a scene of utter doom.

This was the famous Thunderstorm Ocean of the North Sea Immortal Domain.

"Rumble..."

Another thick bolt of lightning emerged, tearing through the dim sea.

Beneath the distant black clouds, a huge shadow appeared, speeding forward rapidly—a deep purple giant ship, hundreds of zhang long and over ten zhang high, breaking through wind and waves as it advanced swiftly.

The entire hull seemed made of a type of wood, but this wood was clearly no ordinary material, giving a metallic texture and appearing very sturdy.

The hull was covered with runes, flashing with purple light; most peculiar was that the entire giant ship was coated with a layer of crystalline film.

Although the purple giant ship flew as low as possible, it could not avoid being struck by lightning rolling in the clouds.

But those seemingly powerful lightning bolts, upon hitting the film on the ship, were immediately deflected, and the film did not even tremble, as stable as a mountain.

Inside the giant ship were individual rooms, independent of each other, making it seem like a passenger vessel. Each room had a window facing outside, from which one could clearly see the scene outside.

"I've long heard that this Thunderstorm Ocean is known as a thunderous forbidden zone, full of magnificent scenes—truly worthy of its reputation," said a fair-skinned, slightly plump young man standing by the window, watching the huge bolts of lightning tearing through the sky, clicking his tongue in admiration.

Behind the young man, a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion sat cross-legged. He also looked out the window and nodded slightly, saying, "Such a natural wonder is indeed rare to see."

The man was Han Li.

"Exactly! Brother Li, you don't know—my family's place is all mountains, the climate is dry, and we don't even see rain all year round. It's boring to look at," the plump young man said excitedly.

Han Li just smiled and did not respond.

The plump young man, named Sun Ke, was a Void Refinement stage cultivator. According to him, he was the young master of a fairly influential clan in the Huanglan Continent. They had met over a month ago.

At that time, Han Li was in the Thunderclap City market, staying at a remote inn waiting for the Thunder Ship to depart. The night before departure, he happened to encounter Sun Ke, who was being pursued by assassins at the same inn.

He had not intended to meddle, but the pursuer, relying on his Integration stage cultivation, planned to kill everyone in the inn to cover his tracks.

Seeing this, Han Li effortlessly killed the pursuer on the spot.

Sun Ke was extremely grateful to Han Li for saving his life. The next day, they met again at the Thunder Ship dock. Sun Ke was also heading to the Guyun Continent, so he immediately tried to get close to Han Li.

He claimed to be traveling for experience, and the one pursuing him was an elder of his clan, originally assigned by the clan leader to protect him, but was bribed by his half-brother to assassinate him secretly along the way.

Fortunately, he discovered it in time and, with the desperate protection of several loyal retainers, managed to escape all the way here.

Along the way, he also learned that a major upheaval seemed to have occurred in his clan; in short, he could not return now.

So, to avoid the heat, he decided to leave the Huanglan Continent altogether.

Talking with him, Han Li found that Sun Ke was quite knowledgeable, especially fond of reading various miscellaneous texts and unofficial histories. So Han Li went along with the flow and traveled with him.

After all, since returning to the Immortal Realm, he had long lived in the information-isolated Black Wind Sea region and still lacked much knowledge and experience about the Immortal Realm. This was a good opportunity to learn more.

Sun Ke had a bellyful of orthodox and unofficial histories, full of miscellaneous knowledge, and liked to show off, but usually no one in his family listened to him. Meeting Han Li, who humbly sought advice and listened attentively, was like scratching an itch. Coupled with Han Li's life-saving grace, his goodwill toward Han Li greatly increased.

"It is said that the deeper one goes into the Thunderstorm Ocean, the stronger the lightning becomes. We've just set out not long ago, and the lightning outside is already this strong. At the depths of the Thunderstorm Ocean, the lightning power in the clouds might increase tenfold. Will this cross-sea Thunder Ship be all right?" Han Li asked with a frown.

"Brother Li, rest assured. This cross-sea Thunder Ship is made from hundred-thousand-year-old Lightningwood, which is most resistant to lightning strikes. The lightning film coating the hull, from my observation, is made from at least two-hundred-thousand-year-old Lightningwood sap. It will be fine," Sun Ke said confidently.

"I didn't expect Brother Sun to be so familiar with the construction of this cross-sea Thunder Ship," Han Li praised.

"Brother Li flatters me. Speaking of which, the Blackfeather Merchant Guild has quite a few connections with my clan. Alas, I wonder when I can return to my clan," Sun Ke seemed to think of something, his expression suddenly darkening.

Seeing this, Han Li said nothing more, stood up, and looked out the window.

Through the ship's restrictions, he could still feel the extremely strong lightning aura outside, and the Roc bloodline within him resonated faintly.

Although dangerous, this place was definitely a treasure land for those cultivating lightning-attributed techniques.

However, the Thunderstorm Ocean was not just about lightning.

Since entering this place, Han Li had noticed that the spatial suppression here had suddenly begun to intensify.

In the Immortal Realm, the dense spiritual energy and strong spatial suppression greatly limited his flight speed and divine sense range.

Unexpectedly, over the Thunderstorm Ocean, the spatial suppression was several times stronger than elsewhere. He wondered if it was related to the unique environment here.

"Brother Sun, you must have also felt the spatial suppression here. Do you know why it is so?" he asked, looking at Sun Ke beside him.

"This... I have also specifically looked into the cause, but couldn't find a well-founded answer. Some say it's from a fierce battle between two Dao Ancestor level powerhouses long ago, others say a gigantic thunder beast is hidden in the Thunderstorm Ocean. But these are all rumors; no one can be sure," Sun Ke scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.

"Haha, it's rare to find something you don't know," Han Li laughed heartily and did not press further.

The scenery outside was stunning at first, but after a while it became monotonous. Sun Ke soon lost interest in admiring the view, bid Han Li farewell, and returned to his own room.

Han Li waved his hand to set up a restriction in the room, then took out the Star Shift Mother-Child Plate, and waved his hands to form incantation gestures. The black plate immediately emitted a dazzling light.

After a long while, he stopped activating the plate, holding a small lump of heavy water the size of an egg in his hand, a bitter smile on his face.

Here, the transmission ability of the Star Shift Mother-Child Plate had decreased again. It had taken so long just to transmit this bit of heavy water.

He shook his head, put away the plate and heavy water, then took out a thick book and began to read.

The Thunderstorm Ocean was vast; crossing it would take at least two or three years. There was still plenty of time.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, half a year went by.

The increasingly dense lightning in the clouds indicated that the cross-sea Thunder Ship had gradually entered the deepest part of the Thunderstorm Ocean.

Han Li stood by the window, looking at the clouds. Thick lightning snakes writhed in the black clouds, one every short distance, illuminating the entire sea area brightly, no longer as dim as before.

Most of the lightning snakes writhed within the clouds; only a few struck down.

The giant ship was so large that it was often hit by lightning.

The lightning here was much thicker than before, and its power had clearly increased. Each time the ship was struck, it began to tremble, and the lightning film on the hull fluctuated but showed no signs of cracking.

Han Li stood by the window, staring intently at the raging lightning outside, his expression focused.

The lightning here seemed chaotic and disorderly, yet it contained some subtlety, ever-changing.

Watching these lightning changes, his understanding of lightning techniques subtly improved.

At that moment, the black clouds in the sky suddenly began to churn, as turbulent as the sea below. The lightning within the clouds also surged violently, producing loud rumbles as if huge objects were colliding.

Han Li's eyes lit up, but he was not too surprised; he had seen such scenes many times along the way.

The cross-sea Thunder Ship emitted a bright purple light, immediately changed direction, and fled into the distance.

Though the ship moved quickly, the changes in the clouds were faster, forming a huge vortex in an instant.

Zzzt!

The lightning near the cloud vortex seemed attracted, all converging toward it. At the center of the vortex, electric arcs darted about, so dense that they appeared a scorching white, dazzling and impossible to look at directly.

"Rumble..." A terrifying sound arose.

The cross-sea ship flew at full speed, trying to escape the range of the vortex in the sky.

The next moment, the center of the huge vortex flashed brightly, and countless thick arcs shot out, striking the sea below, covering an area of thousands of li.

Thick lightning bolts, like giant trees, formed a huge forest of lightning. The sea below boiled like a cauldron.

Fortunately, the cross-sea Thunder Ship had barely flown out of the vortex's range and was not struck by the lightning forest.

Han Li's eyes flickered, a hint of awe in them.

This scene was the most famous thunderstorm of the Thunderstorm Ocean. There were many types of thunderstorms here; this lightning vortex was a relatively common one.