43: The blood of the thunder beast, the crushing of the flesh

Meanwhile, Lu Ming, dragging the injured Nether race grunt, had just stepped into the Thunder Marsh World.

A bolt of purple lightning instantly locked onto both of them.

Lu Ming’s expression drastically changed; without a word, he dropped the grunt and flashed ten-odd meters away.

The purple lightning struck.

The Nether race grunt, his face full of despair, glared at Lu Ming and cursed loudly:

“Didn’t we agree? I’d be your mole, and you’d protect my personal safety!”

“You motherf*cker, are you even human? You beast! You absolute beast!”

Boom!

The grunt instantly turned to ashes.

Lu Ming chuckled, still shaken.

Look at this kid, so desperate he’s spouting his mother tongue.

But if heaven wants to claim a beast like you, what can I do?

“Damn it! Not me!”

Lu Ming’s pupils contracted, his movement technique exploding to its fastest, flashing several meters away.

Boom!

Another bolt of lightning struck.

The spot where he had been standing was blasted into a deep crater, the scorched earth still sizzling with electric sparks.

If he hadn’t dodged quickly, he would have been the first to use the new energy.

With such power, even his peak Third Realm body couldn’t withstand it.

“What in the world is this place?” Lu Ming frowned.

This Thunder Marsh, aside from being a bit weaker, somewhat resembled the Hundred Thousand Thunder Marshes.

Could this be the destination he originally intended to reach?

No wonder he had scoured the entire ruin earlier and found no trace of that mysterious Dharma Idol.

So it was hidden here!

Reid the Venerable was truly beyond devious.

The entire ruin was like a heifer wearing a bra, layer after layer.

So annoying!

Thunderclap Killing Burst was unleashed again, and Lu Ming narrowly dodged the lightning bolts from the sky.

“Oh?”

Lu Ming’s movements suddenly paused, his expression somewhat incredulous.

The lightning elements that had scattered everywhere after exploding now seemed to be drawn by invisible threads, slowly gathering towards the blood-colored lightning around his body.

Purple-blue electric snakes and blood-red lightning intertwined and coiled in mid-air, emitting a fine, dense crackling sound, as if countless tiny stars were exploding around him.

Lu Ming subconsciously stopped dodging, trying to slow down the rhythm of Thunderclap Killing Burst’s operation.

Strangely, those violent lightning elements did not lose control; instead, they attached themselves even more docilely, like wanderers finding their home.

He could even clearly feel that the power of these Thunder Marsh origins was seeping into his body through his pores, merging with his vital energy and spiritual power.

The Thunderclap Killing Burst, which had been a bit clunky, now operated with increasing smoothness.

“This is… actively adapting?”

Although this change was very slow, Lu Ming became ecstatic.

One must know, Thunderclap Killing Burst was already a top-tier Third Star movement technique; with its enhancement, his speed reached the peak of the Third Realm.

If he went further, to Fourth Star?

Would he then be able to contend with Fourth Realm cultivators?

Lu Ming’s heart pounded wildly, and fine sweat even beaded on his palms.

What did a Fourth Star top-tier movement technique mean?

It was a trump card that even Fourth Realm cultivators would covet!

A peak Third Realm body coupled with a Fourth Star movement technique—even against an early Fourth Realm opponent, if not a guaranteed win, he would at least have the confidence to contend or even escape.

“Hahaha, Reid, I forgive you now, you’re a damn good person!”

Lu Ming couldn’t help but burst out laughing, the frustration of being chased by continuous lightning strikes earlier completely swept away.

He no longer deliberately dodged; instead, he walked slowly forward, facing the sky full of purple lightning.

Whenever a lightning bolt struck, he would circulate his cultivation technique, drawing it into his palm, transforming it into energy to nourish himself.

Approximately half an hour later.

Just as Lu Ming was about to reach the depths of the Thunder Marsh.

The purple lightning disappeared!

The dark clouds in the depths of the Thunder Marsh seemed to have their bones removed, drooping listlessly in mid-air, and the violent purple lightning from before had completely vanished.

Lu Ming couldn’t help but smack his lips: “Nine-fold water bottle? Please, come strike me!”

In the past half an hour, the power of Thunderclap Killing Burst had surged by nearly fifty percent.

But this sudden calm was like a bucket of cold water dousing his enthusiasm.

“Hahahahaha! Mr. Shi, what a brilliant move! I, Old Mo, am truly impressed!”

“With this drop of Thunder Beast blood, breaking through to the Fourth Realm is certainly not an issue. If I can even awaken a trace of my ancestor’s bloodline through this…”

Mo Ya’s booming laughter suddenly reached his ears.

Lu Ming’s footsteps abruptly halted, and he looked in the direction of the sound.

He saw Mo Ya on the lotus platform in the depths of the Thunder Marsh, holding a glazed cup high.

Inside the cup was a drop of dark red blood.

Within the blood, purple lightning surged and leaped, and the surrounding air constantly emitted faint crackling sounds.

Lu Ming’s lips curled slightly: “I finally found you!”

A ripple suddenly exploded beneath his feet, the Thunderclap Killing Burst pushed to its extreme, his entire being transforming into a streak of blood-colored light, instantly crossing tens of zhang to rush straight towards the lotus platform.

Suppress, draw sword, cleave.

Three actions in one fluid motion, so fast that only afterimages remained.

“It’s you?” Mo Ya’s purple pupils contracted into pinpricks.

Seeing the blade about to land on his neck.

He unleashed unprecedented potential, letting out a roar from his throat.

Emerald green blood surged frantically from his seven orifices, condensing into a ferocious Nether Beast phantom in front of him.

“Nether Bone Armor!”

This was a forbidden technique of the Nether race that burned their essence, the cost being an inability to advance for the next ten years, but granting hundreds of times the defense instantly.

“Clang!”

The long blade struck the phantom of the Nether Bone Armor, emitting a crisp clang like metal on stone.

Lu Ming’s long blade actually shattered into pieces!

“Haha, you little bastard! I’m going to tear you apart!” Mo Ya’s eyes blazed with unprecedented hatred.

His massive fist swung out, imbued with emerald green Nether power, striking towards Lu Ming’s face with a tearing howl through the air.

But Lu Ming showed no fear, advancing instead of retreating, dropping his blade and clenching his fist, actually taking the angry blow head-on!

“Bang!”

The dull thud of fists colliding shook the lotus platform.

“Crack!”

Mo Ya’s ferocious grin instantly froze.

His arm suddenly felt an intense pain, and the bone armor attached to it cracked like a spiderweb!

Immediately after, the flesh and blood of his arm instantly burst, and the immense force directly pierced through his heart.

The severe pain made his vision darken, and he couldn’t help but let out a desperate shriek, his body staggering uncontrollably backward.

The glazed cup fell to the ground.

He clutched his chest tightly, repeating one phrase over and over.

“How can your physical body be so strong…”

Lu Ming slowly stepped forward, picked up the glazed cup, his expression indifferent.

“You dare to covet what belongs to this Venerable!”

Shi Hu, who was nearby, heard Lu Ming refer to himself as “this Venerable,” and a mysterious glint flashed in his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

His originally sharp, knife-like gaze gradually softened, and a warm smile returned to his face.

He quickly retracted the paper umbrella in his hand, actually standing still unhurriedly.

Lu Ming glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, instantly understanding.

No wonder he had been hesitant to act just now; he had suspected from the beginning that I was possessed by Reid!