188: Glorious Phoenix

"Gooo—!" Just as Lin Luo was carrying Erina and climbing rapidly along the vine, a deafening, violent roar suddenly erupted from above!

A massive, hulking figure descended from the sky, accompanied by a gust of wind, and slammed heavily onto the vine ahead, blocking their path.

It was a Sky Ape, its body covered in hard, grayish-white fur, its muscles bulging like rock. A pair of scarlet eyes locked onto Lin Luo, and its wide-open mouth revealed stark white fangs, drool streaming down, emitting an extremely ferocious Aura.

capture rank 40.

"Gooo—!!!" The Sky Ape seemed to view Lin Luo's ascent as an encroachment on its territory. It roared, beat its thick arms against its chest, and then, using all four limbs, pounced forward with an Aura capable of destroying everything!

Erina let out a low cry on Lin Luo's back, subconsciously holding onto him tighter.

However, at this critical moment— "Rustle, rustle, rustle—!"

Several huge cracks suddenly split open on the main trunk of the vine nearby, and several massive, thick vine-snakes, their bodies green as emeralds, lunged out! They were the vicious creatures parasitic on this "Sky Vine"—the Evil Bean Trees!

The largest Evil Bean Tree moved with lightning speed. It opened its blood-red maw and, with incredible precision, bit down on the Sky Ape that was pouncing in mid-air!

"Awoo—!" The Sky Ape only had time to let out a short, miserable scream before it was swallowed whole by the giant green vine-snake, disappearing into its writhing "belly."

The threat from the Sky Ape was instantly neutralized, but Lin Luo and Erina were now in an even more dangerous situation!

The Evil Bean Trees had a capture rank as high as 46! Their strength, speed, and ferocity far exceeded the Sky Ape, and... there were many of them!

The Evil Bean Tree that had just devoured the ape, along with several others that had crawled out from nearby cracks in the vine, fixed their countless cold, merciless vertical pupils simultaneously on Lin Luo, the new "intruder"!

"Hiss—!"

Several green vine-snakes launched their attacks simultaneously! Some swept across like long whips, some thrust forward like sharp arrows, and others opened their huge maws to bite, sealing off all of Lin Luo's space for evasion with incredibly fierce attacks!

Lin Luo's eyes narrowed, a halo of light flowing around his body. Holding Erina, his figure twisted strangely in the air, narrowly avoiding the first two vine-snakes that lashed out. At the same time, spiritual light condensed under his feet, and several sharp blade beams, like crescent moons, were slashed out!

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The blade beams struck the bodies of the Evil Bean Trees with precision, leaving deep gashes as green sap splattered everywhere.

However, the regenerative abilities of these Evil Bean Trees were astonishing! The flesh at the gashed wounds writhed frantically, beginning to heal in almost the blink of an eye, and even severed vine-snake bodies could rapidly regenerate new heads!

Getting entangled with them would only attract more!

Lin Luo made a decisive choice and stopped fighting. He gathered spiritual light in his hand again, forming a more solid and massive energy blade, and slashed forcefully forward!

"Boom!"

A brilliant blade beam split the air, temporarily forcing back the two Evil Bean Trees blocking the way and clearing a narrow path.

"Hold on tight!" Lin Luo gave a low shout. A phantom of light wings flashed behind his back, and his speed exploded once more. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, he transformed into a streak of colorful light, shot up from the gap in the encirclement of those fierce vine-snakes, and instantly broke through the blockade!

The wind whistled in his ears, and the angry hissing of the Evil Bean Trees came from below, but the distance was rapidly increasing.

Erina had just let out half a sigh of relief— "Bzzzzzzzz—!"

A dense, ear-piercing sound, like a high-speed electric drill, suddenly came from diagonally above!

They saw a flock of strange birds—small in size but with exceptionally sharp, long, spiral-conical beaks—shooting toward them like countless cannonballs fired from a barrel! Their rotating sharp beaks tore through the air, emitting a teeth-grinding noise.

Drill Birds! Their capture rank wasn't high, but they were numerous, their attack methods were extremely tricky, and they were adept at swarming, specializing in breaking through all kinds of armor and energy shields.

They had obviously smelled the energy fluctuations from the previous battle or were attracted by the airflow from Lin Luo's high-speed ascent.

Seeing this flock of "living drills" about to collide with his protective halo— a cold glint flashed in Lin Luo's eyes.

His invisible Divine Sense, like the most precise ripples, instantly spread out from him, sweeping accurately over the simple yet ferocious consciousness core of every Drill Bird.

"Pop, pop, pop, pop..." A series of subtle sounds, like balloons being pricked by invisible needles, rang out densely in the air.

The menacing flock of Drill Birds, just meters away from the halo, saw the fierce light in their eyes instantly dim and dissipate. Their rotating beaks lost power, and the massive flock began to fall like dumplings, plummeting downwards in unison and disappearing into the vast sea of clouds.

The Divine Sense shock had directly obliterated their fragile consciousness.

Lin Luo sped upwards along the Sky Vine, the scenery around him changing rapidly.

Before long, the previously clear high altitude suddenly darkened, and muffled thunder rolled and roared within it.

Looking up, a boundless, pitch-black cumulonimbus cloud stretched out before them like a natural chasm. Inside, snakes of electricity danced wildly, and lightning frequently tore through the darkness, illuminating the outline of the churning, living-like cloud mass.

"Finally here." Lin Luo narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming a bit more solemn.

The Thunderstorm Clouds—the greatest natural barrier to the Sky Vegetable Garden, where countless adventurers had met their doom.

This was a super thunderstorm cloud that could reach a scale of ten thousand meters, containing terrifying precipitation, violent turbulence, deadly low temperatures, and destructive lightning. It was a death zone that even large aircraft would shy away from.

"Crack! Boom—!" A thick bolt of lightning, like a silver Dragon, split the darkness, followed immediately by a deafening thunderclap, showcasing the violent majesty of nature.

Erina said, somewhat afraid, "Can we make it through? Will we get struck?"

"It's fine. Stay low, close your eyes, it'll be over soon."

Lin Luo took a deep breath, the colorful halo around his body circulating more solidly. Without a moment's hesitation, like a meteor flying in reverse, he charged defiantly into the rolling, dark thunderclouds!

Once inside the cloud layer, his vision was instantly stripped away. Absolute darkness, as thick as ink that couldn't be dissolved.

Lin Luo immediately closed his eyes, his powerful Divine Sense spreading out like an invisible radar, accurately sensing the changes in every inch of space around him.

The lightning that struck occasionally brought a momentary flash of pale light, outlining the violent, chaotic airflow and ice crystal structures in his Divine Sense's "vision," which actually allowed him to "see" the path ahead even more clearly.

He did not reduce his speed and continued upward.

Suddenly, without warning, a terrifying downdraft began to blow from all around! This was a cold air subsidence phenomenon unique to cumulonimbus clouds. A freezing air mass of minus fifty degrees Celsius struck like an invisible bomb, crashing down from all directions with destructive force!

However, the colorful halo around Lin Luo was like the toughest barrier, steadily isolating this extreme cold and impact, while keeping the interior at a suitable temperature and stability.

As they continued to ascend, dense, giant hailstones began to rain down from above. Each one was comparable to a cannonball, whistling down with terrifying kinetic energy!

Lin Luo's figure was as agile as a fish, weaving through the hail. When he truly couldn't avoid one, he would punch out, shattering the incoming hail mid-air, ice shards flying everywhere.

His pace never paused for even a fraction of a second due to these obstacles.

At this moment, he had penetrated deep into the core area of the cumulonimbus cloud.

The turbulence here reached a terrifying degree. Above, below, left, right, and from all directions, there were violently tearing cyclones, as if they were placed in a giant atmospheric blender, being frantically shaken and squeezed. The temperature plummeted to minus eighty degrees Celsius, and oxygen was almost non-existent; ordinary creatures would freeze to death or suffocate instantly here.

"Hold your breath, charge!"

Lin Luo's gaze was focused, energy surging within his body, and his speed actually increased again!

He held his breath, relying on his own powerful internal circulation and energy support, firmly protecting Erina in the most stable center of the halo, transforming into a colorful arrow tearing through the darkness and cold current, charging upward!

"Crack!" A blinding bolt of lightning struck almost right against the soles of his feet. The scorching heatwave and terrifying electromagnetic disturbance caused the halo to fluctuate violently, but it ultimately failed to cause any harm. Lin Luo seemed completely unaware of this, with only one thought in his mind—break through it!

The sky-filling thunderclouds seemed to have become a trial ground for his Heaven-Defying Ascension.

Right in this desperate situation intertwined with endless darkness and thunder, deep within the dense thunderclouds ahead, a warm and brilliant golden light suddenly lit up without warning!

"Skree—!" A clear, long, and highly penetrating cry rang through the thunder domain!

They saw a magnificent giant bird, spreading its incomparably gorgeous golden wings, soaring calmly within the violent thunderclouds.

Its feathers seemed to be forged from pure sunlight and gold, each one flowing with divine radiance. Against this dark background, it was like a divine lamp guiding hope.

What was most shocking was that those terrifying bolts of lightning, capable of shattering mountain rocks, fell upon it like clay oxen entering the sea, failing to stir up even a ripple. Instead, it seemed as if they were crowning it, making it appear even more majestic and divine.

"Radiant Phoenix..." Even though Erina was protected behind Lin Luo, she clearly saw this scene through the halo. Her purple eyes erupted with a light of wonder and infatuation, "The legendary divine bird that inhabits thunderclouds, a dream creature that few have ever seen... it actually exists!"

"It possesses the most beautiful golden feathers in the world, is immune to thunder, and is a symbol of auspiciousness and happiness. Legend has it that if a bride can wear a wedding dress made from its feathers, she will receive eternal blessings and happiness."

Witnessing it with her own eyes, the shock and beauty far exceeded any textual description.

It seemed not to be a creature of the mortal world, but an elf king that controlled lightning, naturally born from this violent thundercloud—elegant, powerful, and radiant.

Lin Luo glanced at Erina, who was so shocked she was almost breathless, and spoke with some amusement, "Before, when we encountered those Pseudo-Lupin Birds and Evil Bean Trees, you knew nothing about them. Yet for this legendary creature that has hardly been properly recorded, you know every detail."

Erina puffed out her cheeks and reached out to give Lin Luo's cheek a not-too-light, not-too-heavy pinch, "Don't say such mood-killing things at a time like this!"

"Radiant Phoenix... the name is not bad." Lin Luo turned his gaze back to the divine bird that was leisurely enjoying itself in the thunderstorm, the surprise in his eyes gradually replaced by a more intense, more "dangerous" light. He curled the corner of his mouth slightly, "Erina, you really like it, don't you?"

Alarm bells rang in Erina's heart, and a sense of foreboding welled up in her mind, "You... what are you planning to do?"

Lin Luo's smile deepened, carrying undisguised "greed" and determination, "What a coincidence, I've taken a fancy to it too."