172: Chapter 172 Thunder Beast

Behind the Stone Gate was a gray, misty world.

The moment Xia Jin stepped inside, he sensed something was wrong.

He looked back, but where were Jian Wuhen and Venerable Miaodi? Behind him was only churning thick mist and flashes of lightning flickering beneath the fog from time to time.

"This Lightning Pool doesn't seem simple..." Xia Jin didn't immediately walk in any direction; instead, he surveyed his surroundings. However, he wasn't overly worried about himself or the other two.

After all, judging by the older group from the Temple he had just seen, even Jian Wuhen—the weakest of the three—wasn't at the bottom among this batch of Earth-rank Disciples entering the Lightning Pool Trial.

As long as they didn't encounter any major trouble, they should be safe.

After a moment of silence, Xia Jin chose a random direction and walked forward.

But after just a few steps, a tiny arc of lightning jumped out from the surrounding mist and landed directly on his shoulder.

Xia Jin paused. Before he could act, he realized that after the arc landed on him, it didn't cause any harm. Instead, it seemed to automatically decompose into spiritual energy with lightning attributes... merging directly into his Physical Body.

"What's going on?..." A trace of surprise flashed in Xia Jin's eyes.

He took a few more steps, and several more arcs swarmed from all directions, landing on him. This time, he felt that sensation even more clearly.

"I see, it's actually the Shenxiao Lightning Technique!" A thought flashed through Xia Jin's mind, and he suddenly understood.

Previously, with the System's help, he had already reached Great Perfection in the Shenxiao Lightning Technique. It was precisely because of this technique that Xia Jin's Physical Body also carried a hint of lightning attribute. The lightning in this pool, a fatal threat to others, would mistake him for one of its own.

"Hahaha, in that case, this Lightning Pool poses no threat to this Prince at all! In fact, it's a great supplement!" A smile appeared on Xia Jin's face. He thrust a hand into the mist, pulled out an arc of lightning, crushed it, and took an appreciative deep breath, inhaling the lightning-attributed spiritual energy directly into his body.

Having tasted the benefits, Xia Jin headed toward areas where the mist was thickest.

The originally violent arcs swarmed toward him, but like swallows returning to their nest, they docilely merged into his body. From a distance, Xia Jin seemed wrapped in a layer of lightning, looking like a God of Thunder descending upon the world.

...

After walking for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Xia Jin suddenly stopped and instinctively looked ahead.

He could sense a violent aura rapidly approaching from within the thick mist ahead.

"Hmm? What is that?"

Xia Jin narrowed his eyes as the mist churned, and a giant beast entwined with lightning charged out.

Its form was somewhat similar to a Qilin, with two horns on its head, covered in scales, and its four hooves treading on lightning and fire.

"A Thunder Beast? This should be the outer perimeter of the Lightning Pool; why would a Thunder Beast appear here?"

Xia Jin's expression turned strange. Before he could think further, the Thunder Beast had already reached him.

It opened its bloody maw and spat out a thick pillar of lightning, blasting straight toward Xia Jin.

The moment the pillar hit the ground, the earth shattered, and debris flew everywhere.

But Xia Jin's figure had already vanished from the spot.

"Roar!"

The Thunder Beast let out a roar and turned its head toward another direction. There, Xia Jin stood thirty feet away, observing it with interest.

"You beast, your strength is lacking, but your temper is quite large," Xia Jin chuckled.

The Thunder Beast seemed to understand him, as the tyrannical aura on its body grew even more intense.

It lunged again, hooves treading on lightning and fire, moving with startling speed to ram Xia Jin with its horns.

Xia Jin didn't dodge. He simply raised his hand and struck with a palm.

The palm strike landed solidly on the beast's head. The massive Thunder Beast was sent flying as if hit by a mountain, its body gradually disintegrating in mid-air.

But in the next moment, something that surprised Xia Jin happened.

Although most of its body had been dispersed, in the blink of an eye, the surrounding lightning power swarmed in, and its body actually reformed, standing up once more.

"Hmm? Could this Thunder Beast be unkillable?"

Xia Jin frowned.

His previous palm strike, though not at full strength, was enough to severely injure any Cultivator below the Creation Realm. Yet this Thunder Beast recovered so quickly?

"Roar!"

The Thunder Beast lunged again.

Xia Jin struck again with another palm.

"Bang!"

The Thunder Beast was sent flying again, its body dispersed once more. But after only two breaths, it reformed again, and its aura seemed even stronger than before.

"Damn it, is this never-ending!?" Xia Jin's face darkened.

A Sun Mark suddenly appeared on his brow as he stared intently at the Thunder Beast's body.

This time, he saw clearly that there was a flickering silver bead inside the Thunder Beast. It was that bead that drew in the surrounding lightning power, allowing it to reform.

"That bead... seems to be an extraordinary treasure!!"

A glint flashed in Xia Jin's eyes.

Just then, the Thunder Beast lunged for the third time.

Xia Jin sneered and met it head-on.

He was so fast that the Thunder Beast couldn't react. In an instant, he reached the beast and thrust his right hand into its chest.

"Roar!"

Amidst the Thunder Beast's shrill roar, Xia Jin's right hand gripped the silver bead.

He squeezed hard and pulled.

The bead was in his hand.

The Thunder Beast's body trembled violently as arcs of lightning erupted from within, but without the bead, it could no longer reform. Within two breaths, its body completely collapsed, dissipating into countless arcs of lightning.

Xia Jin looked down at the bead in his hand.

The bead was about the size of a thumb. Holding it, he could clearly feel an extremely pure power of Lightning Origin within it.

"Lightning Origin?!"

Xia Jin's pupils shrank slightly, and a look of shock appeared on his face.

Even a hint of Lightning Origin was a priceless treasure to those who cultivated lightning techniques.

"No wonder that Thunder Beast could keep undergoing Rebirth," Xia Jin murmured to himself. "To think it had such a thing inside its body."

"Good stuff."

A smile appeared on Xia Jin's face as he tucked the bead into his robe.

He didn't rush to move on, but stood still and closed his eyes to sense the surroundings. After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked in a certain direction.

In that direction, there was a faint sense of even denser lightning power.

"Deep in the Lightning Pool... there should be even more good things."

The corner of Xia Jin's mouth curled into a smile, and he stepped forward.

His figure quickly disappeared into the thick mist.

...

Not long after Xia Jin left, the mist where he had just stood suddenly churned violently.

A hand reached out from the mist.

The hand was dry and pale, like the hand of someone who had been dead for many years. It slowly reached out, fingers loosely curled, and made a gentle grasping motion toward the direction where Xia Jin had gone.

The next moment, at the spot where Xia Jin had killed the Thunder Beast, a tiny red arc of lightning emerged from the mist.

The red arc was as thin as a hair, yet it emitted an eerie light. It seemed alive, twisting slightly in the air before slowly falling into that hand.

The hand closed around the red arc and slowly withdrew into the mist.