Chapter 1045: Thunderbolt Tempering the Soul

"It's nothing..."

Struggling to stand up, Zhang Xuan felt weak all over.

He had actually made a super-strong expert like Qiuwu Ancient Sage his teacher... Fortunately, no one else had discovered it; otherwise, even just Wu Shi and the others might have beaten him to death.

"I sensed a powerful remnant soul here earlier, carrying an ancient aura, so I left the others to come. But when I arrived, it was gone. It turned out to be Qiuwu Ancient Sage... Have you already learned his 'Traveler Without Borders'?"

Luo Ruoxi asked.

"I haven't learned it yet..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Not learned? That's right. I've read relevant records. This movement technique is very famous and has extremely high requirements for the physical body and true qi. It can't be mastered overnight. Don't worry..."

Seeing him dejected, Luo Ruoxi thought he was feeling guilty for not mastering the technique and comforted him.

"Mm!" Knowing he couldn't explain this matter, Zhang Xuan could only smile bitterly and nod.

"This movement technique ranks among the top three in the Master Continent. Even if you practice it later, use it carefully. Otherwise, if someone with ill intentions discovers it, there will be trouble!" Luo Ruoxi continued.

Although masters valued rules, if the level was too high, it would still tempt people.

Take Zhang Xuan now: young and powerful. It wasn't that no one coveted him, but it was due to the deterrence of 'Teacher Yang' and the Master Teacher Pavilion!

If 'Teacher Yang' hadn't appeared several times, and everyone knew he had a formidable teacher, he would surely have been besieged long ago and studied like a lab rat.

The same went for the Traveler Without Borders technique.

It was too powerful and involved the inheritance of Qiuwu Ancient Sage. Once the news leaked, masters, mindful of their status, wouldn't dare to snatch it by force, but some rogue cultivators and special professions might disregard everything. This had always been the reason he wanted to keep a low profile.

Better to be cautious in everything.

"Thank you for the reminder! I'll be careful..." Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Mm, since Qiuwu Ancient Sage appeared once, he will surely appear again. Let's quickly find Wu Shi and the others. We don't want to wait until that Shi Ye Wang you mentioned appears again, or it will be troublesome..."

Seeing his low spirits, Luo Ruoxi smiled.

"Right, he will appear again... Let's go!"

Zhang Xuan was just feeling guilty about his earlier rash words, but hearing that Qiuwu Ancient Sage might appear again, he breathed a sigh of relief.

That's right, what he encountered earlier was just a remnant soul; there would surely be more later. At worst, he could apologize then.

The urgent task now was not to dwell on these matters, but to continue entering, find the old dean, and thwart the plans of the alien race. Otherwise, if they succeeded in some conspiracy, he would truly be even more sorry to this ancient sage.

Without lingering too long, the two flew straight toward the thunder.

Boom! Rumble!

Before they even got close, they heard violent thunderclaps, the fierce roar seeming to tear heaven and earth apart.

His pupils constricted, Zhang Xuan's expression tightened.

When he came earlier, the thunder was also violent, but compared to now, it was far less intense.

If before it was just a light rain, now it was a torrential downpour, not on the same level at all.

Countless lightning bolts continuously struck the ground, densely packed, blasting everything before them into scorched black. The previously intact area had become like hell, deterring anyone from approaching.

"What happened? Why has it suddenly become so violent?"

His eyes were full of anxiety.

Wu Shi and the others had not fully recovered from their injuries, and with the thunder suddenly becoming so fierce, they were likely in danger!

What on earth had happened to turn the originally calm sea of thunder into this?

"How do we get in..." He frowned.

When lightning was sparse, he could use the witch soul to dodge. But now, with so much lightning flooding the area, even with the best movement technique and fastest reactions, he couldn't evade it all... Before even entering, he would be blasted to ashes. How could he rescue anyone?

"The thunder is too dense. Forcing our way in is definitely not possible..."

Luo Ruoxi also furrowed her delicate brows, seemingly unable to think of a solution quickly.

"You go into the Thousand Ant Hive first. I'll try to think of something..." After a pause, Zhang Xuan looked at the girl.

The Thousand Ant Hive was formed together with her when the bee mother devoured the folded space of the Saint Ascension Platform, so it was no secret to her.

"Alright!"

After a moment of hesitation, the girl nodded: "You be careful too!"

"Mm!" Letting the girl enter, Zhang Xuan used the same trick again, leaving his witch soul behind, gritted his teeth, and flew in.

With such violent thunder, entering directly would reduce even a Saint artifact-level physical body to mincemeat. It was best to go in with the witch soul.

The soul was formless and intangible; being struck by lightning would also reduce the danger somewhat.

Boom!

As soon as he entered, he saw several bolts of lightning immediately strike down from the sky, landing on his body. His whole body stiffened, and the piercing pain felt like it was flaying him alive.

"So painful..."

He gritted his teeth, feeling as if his soul was about to collapse.

Fortunately, he cultivated the Heavenly Way technique, and his soul had no yin-cold attribute; otherwise, he would have dissipated right then.

Even so, he felt as if countless steel needles were piercing his body, like suffering a thousand cuts, on the verge of fainting at any moment.

"It hurts too much. I might not be able to hold out until I reach Wu Shi and the others; I could pass out from the pain..."

His body trembled slightly, and Zhang Xuan's expression was grim.

Throughout his cultivation journey, his willpower had been strong, but facing such intense pain, he still felt he couldn't hold on and might faint at any moment.

The ancient city where Wu Shi and the others were was still far away. Enduring this all the way would surely be unbearable.

"Even if I can't hold on, I have to. If even the witch soul can't bear it, I fear Wu Shi and the others will have an even harder time..."

He raised his eyebrows.

If even the soul found it so hard to endure, Wu Shi and the others, being at the center of the thunder, must be in even greater danger. He had to rescue them as soon as possible.

Gritting his teeth, he continued forward.

Crackle!

Although the witch soul was formless and intangible, the lightning in the air was too dense, attacking indiscriminately. Once inside, escape was impossible. After walking less than a hundred meters, he had been struck at least four or five hundred times.

Spiritually exhausted and dizzy from the intense pain, Zhang Xuan was about to give up and retreat first when he suddenly saw something and his pupils constricted.

"This, this..."

In his intense excitement, his witch soul seemed barely able to hold together, on the verge of collapse.

"The innate fetal poison is actually afraid of this thunderous power and has gathered in one place..."

He hurriedly looked inside his soul body, his fists involuntarily clenching.

The previously arrogant and domineering innate fetal poison inside his body was now huddled together, as if afraid of the rolling lightning power, hiding in a corner, trembling, not daring to move.

Through soul fusion with Wei Ruyan, his soul had formed an innate poison soul body, which greatly suppressed this poison qi, preventing it from causing harm for a short time... But it was only temporary; given the chance, it would still strike sneakily.

But now, this fetal poison was actually huddled together in fear. Since it was so afraid of lightning, could he use the thunder to completely eliminate it?

If he could succeed, it would solve the problem once and for all, and he would no longer have to worry.

"Since you're afraid of thunder, I'll absorb the thunder..."

Thinking of this, suppressing the dizziness in his head, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and sat down cross-legged.

Previously, he had tried to avoid lightning, preventing it from landing on him; now, he actively began to absorb it.

"If the heat from lava can be absorbed, lightning should be possible too..."

The heat in lava could enter the soul body and temper the witch soul; perhaps lightning could do the same...

Focusing his mind, he opened all the acupoints in his witch soul and activated the cultivation technique of the Heavenly Way witch soul.

Although he didn't have a half-saint level cultivation technique, by operating the witch soul technique of the Mortal Transformation Ninth Layer, he could still use external forces to temper his power, making his soul body more solid and substantial.

Sizzle!

As he absorbed it, the lightning power immediately crawled all over his body like little snakes. Previously, it was just needle-like pain; now, it felt like being thrown directly into a frying pan, with pain everywhere!

"Ah..."

He let out a long hiss, feeling as if his whole body was being torn apart.

Anyone else would have been unable to bear it, but Zhang Xuan cultivated the Heavenly Way technique, and both his physical body and soul carried a trace of the Heavenly Way's charm. Coupled with his transcendent state of mind, even in pain, he didn't faint.

Creak! Creak!

The snake-like lightning traveled along his meridians for a cycle, completing a small heavenly circuit according to the technique. Although the pain was excruciating, Zhang Xuan was pleasantly surprised to find that not only had the innate fetal poison become more fearful, but his soul body had also shrunk another circle.

His soul body, which had already shrunk to a range of eight meters, shrank by about ten centimeters after just one small heavenly circuit, reaching seven meters and ninety centimeters.

Not only that, after absorbing the lightning power, his resistance to lightning had also increased significantly. The previously unbearable piercing pain now seemed tolerable.

"Continue!"

Knowing that sharpening the axe doesn't delay the cutting of wood—even if he wanted to save Wu Shi and the others, if he couldn't resist the lightning, he would faint before reaching them, making rescue impossible—Zhang Xuan no longer hurried and continued sitting cross-legged in place.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The surging lightning in the air continuously entered his soul, making his soul body more solid.

At first, he couldn't bear it, but as he absorbed more and his power grew stronger, the stinging sensation of the lightning gradually lessened.

Boom!

After an unknown amount of time, his soul body rumbled again, advancing from half-saint to saint level, and its height shrank from eight meters to seven meters.

"First, rescue them..."

Knowing that with his soul power upgraded, the lightning in the air could no longer make him faint, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, quickly stood up, and continued flying forward.

Although continuing to cultivate would make his witch soul even stronger, saving people was the priority. If he cultivated too long, he feared that even if he arrived, the people might already be dead.

Unafraid of the thunder's might, Zhang Xuan moved extremely fast. After dozens of breaths, he arrived at the place where Wu Shi and the others had been. He looked and couldn't help frowning.

The place was a mess. Wu Shi and the others, who had been sitting cross-legged here healing, were all gone, as if they had vanished into thin air.

"Could it be... that Shi Ye Wang came back?"

His face darkened.