285: Refining the origin of thunder!

After Azure Water finished speaking, he focused all his attention on the immortal body, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to it.

Xia Fan watched silently from the side, even holding the Source of Thunder in his hand, but he made no move for now, as he didn't know the outcome of the struggle between Azure Water and the headless monster's autonomous consciousness.

Currently, the Disciple of the True Lord, the Descendant of the Earth Mother, and the Monkey King's clone were either dead or had fled. Other fierce beasts or human powerhouses dared not provoke the two of them. It could be said that Xia Fan and Azure Water no longer faced any credible threats here.

At this moment, Azure Water's face showed signs of struggle, at times ferocious, at times calm. Occasionally, the autonomous consciousness would let out an angry roar, "We are one, why can't I exist independently?"

"Even if you want to reclaim your body, you don't have to destroy me, do you?"

"At worst, I'll just find another body..."

Despite the immortal body's self-consciousness saying this, Azure Water gave no response. He only continued to compress the space of the autonomous consciousness, not allowing it to escape from the body.

The two consciousnesses... seemed to be in a love-hate relationship!

Xia Fan was now simultaneously observing the struggle between Azure Water and the headless immortal body's autonomous consciousness, and examining the Source of Thunder before him.

This Source of Thunder was enveloped by bolts of lightning. If one didn't carefully sense it, or if it didn't occasionally release a wisp of its original aura, it would be virtually undetectable.

Perhaps because he possessed the Divine Firmament Lightning Technique, this Source of Thunder was very quiet in his hand, even showing traces of affinity.

This greatly reassured Xia Fan!

"Hmph!"

After an unknown period, Azure Water suddenly let out a cold snort, drawing his attention.

He saw that the aura around the now complete immortal body was rapidly changing, with its violent intensity growing stronger and stronger.

He stared with wide eyes as the immortal body slapped its own head, and Azure Water's more authoritative voice rang out, "You wretch!"

"If you hadn't acted so wantonly after gaining autonomous consciousness, This Lord might have spared your life!"

"But look at what you've done..."

"It seems Azure Water has learned of the headless immortal body's past actions..."

Xia Fan saw it and couldn't help but make this assessment.

Back in the Southernmost Land, he had heard Azure Water and Frost discuss some of their past experiences, knowing that Azure Water had sought ways to rapidly increase his strength to fight the demon race.

Later, with the help of Bing Shuang, the Imperial Daughter's father, he dismembered and suppressed himself to avoid a calamity, but the deep-seated 雜念 (miscellaneous thoughts/negative emotions) that arose from his misguided path at that time began to surface and develop autonomous consciousness.

This was why the headless immortal body went on a killing spree as soon as it revived.

At this moment, Xia Fan finally understood the reason for the headless immortal body's cruelty.

"Perish!"

Suddenly, Xia Fan heard Azure Water's angry roar. When he looked up, he saw the violent aura rapidly dissipating like a tide, and the immortal body's expression gradually returned to normal.

It seemed that after that roar, one consciousness had completely vanished.

Indeed, about half an hour later, Azure Water opened his eyes, which were filled with clarity.

He nodded to Xia Fan, cupped his hands, and said, "This Lord is grateful for your protection this time, This Lord will remember it."

The other party's attitude and tone of voice were identical to Azure Water's when he appeared as a head. Therefore, Xia Fan nodded slightly, a hint of a smile in his words, "Immortal Lord, you are too kind. I was merely curious how you would reclaim this body."

"Now, I must offer my sincere congratulations."

"From now on, the Immortal Lord can regain confidence and advance further."

"Hahaha, thank you for your auspicious words, young friend."

At this moment, Azure Water was in a very good mood. After apologizing to Xia Fan, he raised his hand and gathered the scattered spiritual energy from all directions. As he absorbed it into his body, his aura surged wildly.

In just a short moment, he had already displayed an Eighth-rank aura!

Although Xia Fan didn't yet know what kind of aura an Eighth-rank would emit, the aura Azure Water was now radiating definitely far surpassed the Seventh-rank and was certainly not something a Seventh-rank could control, which startled him.

Coming back to his senses, he once again congratulated Azure Water, "Congratulations, Immortal Lord, on reaching the Eighth-rank. There is no place in this world that the Immortal Lord cannot go."

"You speak too highly of me, young friend."

Azure Water waved his hand. Seeing that Xia Fan was almost at the Eighth-rank, he pondered for a moment and said, "Currently, although there are no Eighth-rank powerhouses in this world, the world is undergoing great changes. As time passes, such existences will surely appear."

"I merely had the good fortune to encounter this opportunity and should not become conceited."

"One must know that the world is profound and boundless, with countless secrets awaiting exploration by people of this era. How can an Eighth-rank fully cope with the dangers within?"

"Therefore, even upon reaching the Eighth-rank, one must not be self-deprecating, nor should one be greedy for quick success, otherwise, a great mistake will be made!"

As someone who had survived from ancient times and experienced that calamity, he deeply understood the consequences of being overly eager for success. He used this occasion to remind Xia Fan, "Your talent, young friend, is already rare in the world. If you proceed step by step, you can still maintain your position at the forefront for a long time. There is no need to pursue speed."

"However, judging by your appearance, you seem to know how to control the dark aura you absorb into your body?"

"You don't have to answer, after all, that is your secret."

Azure Water waved his hand, continuing to speak to himself, "This trip to the Thunder Immortal Realm reminded me of some past events. Now I also want to see how many of those fellows from back then have survived."

"So, rest assured, young friend, This Lord is leaving!"

After saying this, Azure Water left directly, without even mentioning the Source of Thunder.

This made Xia Fan feel a surge of emotion.

Coming back to his senses, he looked at the Source of Thunder in his hand and secretly thought, "Azure Water, having fought against the demon race and having experiences similar to mine, naturally understands some things."

"And because of everything that happened before, he actually has some goodwill towards me. He didn't even contend for the Source of Thunder this time."

"Since that's the case, I will gratefully accept it."

As his voice fell, Xia Fan swallowed the Source of Thunder, enveloped in lightning, into his stomach in one gulp, and simultaneously refined it with his own strength.

In an instant, a large amount of lightning flashed around his body, and the vast lightning in the Thunder Immortal Realm also surged towards him, as if to engulf him.

As time passed, a wisp of golden lightning suddenly appeared. At this moment, it was like a small snake, happily swimming around him.

This was the effect of refining some of the Source of Thunder.

Feeling the power within it, Xia Fan couldn't help but make up his mind, "Next, I must reach the Eighth-rank as quickly as possible!"