143: Chapter 143 Stop jumping! If you jump again, I'll put a pacemaker in your head!

After leaving the Weapon Storage Pavilion, the deep, dark passage seemed endless.

Unlike before, the walls here were no longer cold bluestone but had turned into a kind of dark purple crystal.

Every time that dull heartbeat sounded, these crystal walls would flicker in unison, as if the entire passage were a living blood vessel.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The heartbeat grew louder and louder.

Each vibration felt like a heavy hammer slamming hard against everyone's chest.

Ugh—

Wang Kai, walking at the back, finally couldn't take it anymore and leaned against the wall, dry-heaving.

I can't... I feel like my heart is going to explode...

At this moment, his face was as pale as paper, and his lips were purple.

These were signs of being suppressed by high-intensity sound waves and magnetic fields.

Master Zhang, beside him, was no better off.

He was holding several protective talismans, sticking them onto his forehead, trembling like a zombie.

Even Reba, who possessed cultivation, was furrowing her brows tightly, her breathing becoming rapid, with fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead.

Boss... I feel so uncomfortable too...

Reba felt as if her heart was out of control, beating frantically in time with that eerie rhythm, ready to jump out of her throat at any moment.

This is the Thunder Sound Piercing the Ears.

Su Yang stopped and pressed his hand against Reba's back.

A stream of cool, pure Yang Spiritual Qi entered, instantly calming the restless Qi and blood within her body.

This sound carries a certain mental attack, specifically targeting those with unstable Divine Souls.

Open your mouth.

Su Yang pulled a pair of... Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones from his pocket and put them on Reba's ears.

Wear these, play some Great Compassion Mantra; it can calm your mind.

...

Reba was stunned for a moment, and sure enough, the familiar Namo Ratna Trayaya... came through the headphones.

Although the vibe was a bit off, that sickening sense of oppression had indeed disappeared.

Th-thank you, Boss.

As for Wang Kai and Master Zhang behind them?

Su Yang pretended not to see them.

Cannon fodder should have the awareness of being cannon fodder; if they can't handle even this much suffering, how do they expect to survive?

They walked another five hundred meters or so.

The path ahead suddenly opened up.

This was a huge cavern deep within the mountain's belly, as large as ten football fields.

Below the cavern was a bottomless pit, inside which churned thick, liquid-like purple thunder plasma!

This was the real—Thunder Pool!

And directly above the Thunder Pool, a giant heart was suspended!

This heart was as big as a villa, entirely a strange dark gold, covered in thick, root-like blood vessels that extended into the Thunder Pool below, continuously absorbing the power of thunder.

Thump!!!

With one violent contraction of the heart.

A visible circle of purple ripples instantly expanded, shaking the surrounding air until it emitted explosive sounds.

Pfft—!

Wang Kai and Master Zhang, who had just walked in, were instantly blasted by the loud noise, spitting out a mouthful of blood, rolling their eyes, and fainting on the spot.

Is this... the master of the Thunder Demon?

Marie looked at that giant heart, a flash of disgust in her eyes.

So ugly, and so noisy.

Boss, can this thing be eaten?

If you have strong teeth, you can try.

Su Yang activated [Eye of Investigation].

[Target]: Heart of the Ancient Thunder God (Demonized/Sealed)

[Description]: The divine heart left behind after the fall of the Ancient Thunder God, eroded for ten thousand years by the Qi of the Heavenly Demons from beyond the realm, it has long since developed an evil self-consciousness.

It is accumulating power, attempting to reshape its demonic body and return to the Mortal world.

[Weakness]: Sever its connection to the Thunder Pool, or shatter it with a stronger Thunder technique!

It really is a scourge.

Su Yang looked at the heart that was still beating frantically, feeling his head buzzing.

This is just like the neighbors blasting a subwoofer for a rave in the middle of the night; it's a total nuisance!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Seemingly having detected the intruders, the heart's beating frequency suddenly accelerated.

A grand, violent mental wave crashed directly into Su Yang's mind.

Get... get out...

Mortal... die...

Shut up!

Su Yang shouted fiercely.

So noisy!

Are you a heart or a drum kit? Why are you beating so loudly? Showing off your lung capacity?

Keep jumping! Do you believe I'll install a pacemaker, set it to two hundred miles per hour, and make you die of tachycardia on the spot?!

...

That giant heart seemed to be stunned by Su Yang's shout.

The rhythm of its beating actually stumbled for a beat.

It had survived for over ten thousand years; even the powerful Cultivators of the past would tremble in its presence, whether out of greed or fear.

Never had anyone dared to point at its nose and scold it for being a nuisance!

And even wanted to install a pacemaker for it?!

What kind of vicious Magical Artifact was that?!

Roar—!!!

After a brief pause, there was even more violent rage.

The blood vessels on the surface of the heart bulged violently, and the Thunder Pool below boiled instantly.

Zzzzt!

Countless streaks of purple thunder plasma shot into the sky, condensing in mid-air into Thunder Guards, three meters tall, holding thunder spears.

There were a full hundred of them!

They had no facial features, only a pair of eyes glowing with red light, and their bodies exuded the terrifying Aura of the Early Stage Golden Core.

Kill... them...

The heart issued a kill command.

Yo, can't win an argument so you're calling for backup?

Su Yang looked at the dense swarm of Thunder Guards, not only not panicking but licking his lips with some excitement.

Perfect, that fire poker I just picked up needs some energy to be consecrated.

Su Yang flipped his wrist, and the rusty [thunder-guiding divine needle] appeared in his hand.

Chu Ling, Marie.

Here!

The left half is yours; don't let them disturb my experiment.

Yes!

Chu Ling and Marie exchanged a glance and instantly charged out.

One was the newly evolved [Purple Thunder Flying Zombie], the other was the bloodthirsty [Vampire Duke].

Facing these pure energy monsters, they were not afraid at all.

Come on, little babies!

The silver blade in Marie's hand danced, each strike slicing apart a Thunder Guard; although they would reassemble, this was perfect for her to practice her blade techniques.

And Chu Ling was even more in her element.

She charged straight into the pile of monsters, letting those thunder spears stab her body.

Zzzzt!

The thunder and lightning entered her body; not only did it not hurt her, but it became her supplement.

Refreshing!

Purple light flared in Chu Ling's eyes; she punched and shattered a guard, then took a deep breath, inhaling the dissipated Spiritual Qi of Thunder into her belly.

Watching the two women stabilize the situation.

Su Yang turned around to face the remaining fifty-plus Thunder Guards and that giant heart alone.

Come, let me see how this legendary thunder-guiding divine needle is actually used.

Su Yang raised the iron rod in his hand, pointing straight at the sky.

Thunder, come!

He mimicked the pose from TV shows and shouted.

However...

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Nothing happened.

The iron rod remained in its rusty state, not even sparking.

The Thunder Guards opposite seemed to pause, their red eyes seemingly filled with a hint of confusion?

Ahem...

Su Yang's old face flushed red.

The pose was wrong just now; let's do it again.

He took a deep breath, recalling the System's hint—Requires Thunder Spiritual Qi to activate.

So it needs to be charged first.

Su Yang suddenly realized.

He didn't hesitate; his Golden Core circulated within him, his Palm Thunder instantly activated, and he slammed it hard against the end of the iron rod.

Zzzzt!

Golden thunder light was injected.

The next second.

Crack!

The rust on the surface of the iron rod suddenly cracked open.

A blinding golden light shot out from the crack, instantly illuminating the entire cavern.

Hum—!

An ancient and desolate Aura awakened from the iron rod.

This was no fire poker!

This was clearly a divine weapon forged entirely from an unknown golden metal, covered in ancient thunder patterns!

So this is what you look like.

Su Yang felt the iron rod in his hand becoming hotter and hotter, as if it were a child who had been starving for a thousand years, craving food.

Hungry?

Su Yang looked at the charging Thunder Guards, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Then... let's eat!

Whoosh!

Su Yang swung the Divine Needle violently.

Not smashing, nor stabbing.

But... sucking!

Rumble—!

A terrifying vortex of thunder and lightning instantly appeared at the tip of the Divine Needle.

The aggressive Thunder Guards, not even touching the hem of Su Yang's clothes, felt their bodies flying uncontrollably.

Screech!

They screamed in terror, their bodies stretched and twisted in mid-air, finally turning into streams of pure thunder plasma, swallowed by the Divine Needle in one gulp!

One, two, ten... fifty!

In less than ten seconds.

All the Thunder Guards in front of Su Yang were gone!

Not even a scrap left!

And that Divine Needle, after devouring so much energy, became even more dazzling, the thunder patterns on it seemingly coming alive, constantly moving.

Burp—

The Divine Needle seemed to emit a satisfied tremor.

That's a decent appetite.

Su Yang stroked the rod body with satisfaction, then looked up at the giant heart that had become somewhat sluggish.

The little ones have finished eating.

Now... it's time for the main course.

Su Yang raised the Divine Needle and gestured at the heart.

I see your blood vessels are a bit clogged; you need an angioplasty.

Tell me, should I clear the left ventricle first? Or the right atrium?