38: The Thunder Pool in the Bottle
Within the Bottle Grotto, inside a ten-zhang wide time bubble, life force surged like boiling magma.
One day outside was five days within the Grotto.
Time here was furiously accelerated by an unseen hand; every moment carried transformation and new birth.
Mo Yuan's conscious phantom floated in the core area, its dark-gold and purple light condensed into a tangible form, with a clear outline.
He was like a deity of this accelerated world, his cold "gaze" piercing through unseen barriers, scrutinizing this small land of Nirvana.
The vine platform had completely covered the core of the Buddhist Light Fertile Soil; tender green vines intertwined to form a resilient floor and a skeletal dome, with new leaves sculpted like jade, brimming with vigorous life.
The faint golden Buddhist light's power of purification, like warm sunlight, permeated every corner of the space, continuously cleansing the last traces of Nine Nether's lingering chill.
In one corner of the platform, a Dark blue light pulsed like a breath.
The Dark Moon Rabbit's curled figure was enveloped within a massive cocoon of light, woven from countless fine, Dark blue threads.
On the surface of the light cocoon, deep dark night patterns slowly flowed, like a living creature.
Under the nourishment of five times the normal time, the final transformation was occurring within the light cocoon.
The phantoms of the five long, crescent-shaped Dark Moon Claw Blades flickered in and out of existence on the cocoon's surface; each flash brought a heart-palpitating sense of destructive sharpness, as if capable of cleaving the Origin of space.
Her aura steadily ascended within the light cocoon, like an impending monarch of the dark night about to break free.
The Ant King's vast conscious link, like a steady pulse from the earth's veins, transmitted across the void.
Under the nourishment of pure earth-attribute energy permeating from the core area, its body in the shallow river bend had fully recovered.
The cracks on its bronze carapace had not only healed but had become thicker and deeper, faintly exuding a dark-red luster like a molten core, with defensive power surpassing its past.
Its newly grown limbs were thick and powerful, its molten compound eyes gleamed with inner restraint, and a more refined, more violent power lay dormant and settled within its body.
And in the shallow river bend, the Stone-skinned Turtle, floating like a fortress of profound iron, became Mo Yuan's greatest solace and trump card at this moment.
On its profound black, heavy carapace, emerald defensive runes pulsed like breathing, emitting a magnificent will of "absolute defense," firmly protecting Mo Yuan's unconscious remnants behind it.
Its black eyes, smooth as jade, scanned the river surface vigilantly, like the most loyal stone guardian.
Resources! Repair the Physical Body! Support evolution! No time to lose!
Qingyang City's Wang family was the only option!
Mo Yuan's conscious phantom turned towards the Grotto ruins, where time was relatively frozen and battered by a torrent of destructive energy.
The sky was covered with hideous cracks, and the remnants of the Nine Nether Lock Void Array's black light and poisonous Spiritual Qi flowed like maggots gnawing on bone, eroding everything.
The earth was scorched and cracked, with remaining vine fragments resembling giant beast skeletons.
Destructive energy, like a raging dragon forcibly frozen in amber, slowly but continuously ravaged this space.
However, deep within these chaotic and ruined depths, Mo Yuan's "perception" keenly captured an extremely faint, yet incredibly pure... Thunder Spiritual Power fluctuation!
This fluctuation did not come from the destructive energy itself, but from deep within the ruins' earth veins!
It was when the Ant King was frantically digging mining tunnels earlier that it accidentally touched a weak branch of a thunderous Thunder Spiritual Power vein within the Grotto's earth veins, exposed from dormancy by the impact of the Nine Nether Lock Void Array!
This branch, like an injured thunder snake, painfully twisted and dissipated pure Thunder Spiritual Power Origin under the pressure of destructive energy!
Thunder Spiritual Power vein!
Mo Yuan's dark-gold pupils suddenly lit up!
The mutated Thunder Spiritual Root's craving for Thunder Spiritual Power Origin was instantly ignited!
A bolder, crazier plan instantly formed in his cold consciousness!
Draw Thunder Spiritual Power into the magic bottle! Use the magic bottle as a furnace! Use the ruins as a pool! Use destructive energy as fuel! Forge a unique — Thunder Pool! To provide an excellent tempering ground for his Thunder Spiritual Root's Breakthrough! And at the same time, accelerate the core's transformation!
"magic bottle! Assist me!" Mo Yuan's conscious phantom let out a silent roar, his will, like the sharpest carving knife, fiercely stabbed into the magic bottle's core!
At the same time, the Thunder Hell Demon Hand phantom pointed across the void towards the source of that Thunder Spiritual Power fluctuation deep within the ruins!
Buzz — —!!!
The magic bottle's body vibrated violently!
The silver-purple thunder patterns on it instantly brightened to their extreme, erupting with unprecedented greed and desire!
The bottomless darkness of the bottle's mouth transformed into a madly spinning purple-gold vortex!
Rumble — —!!!
As if drawn by the magic bottle and commanded by Mo Yuan's will!
The weak Thunder Spiritual Power vein branch deep within the ruins' earth veins suddenly erupted!
Countless tiny silver-purple electric snakes, like frenzied dragons breaking free from their shackles, furiously shot out along the earth vein cracks!
They did not directly attack the magic bottle, but under the guidance of the magic bottle's power, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, they fiercely slammed into the ruined area filled with destructive energy and where time was relatively frozen!
Zzzzz — —!!!!
The violent Thunder Spiritual Power and the chaotic destructive energy instantly collided, intertwined, and annihilated!
The cracks in the sky violently twisted and expanded under the clash of thunder light and black light!
The scorched earth was ploughed with countless deep furrows by the rampaging thunder snakes!
The remaining vine fragments were completely reduced to ashes in the energy storm!
The entire ruined area instantly boiled as if a red-hot iron had been thrown into it!
However, under the magic bottle's powerful control and organization, this destructive collision did not completely spiral out of control!
The purple-gold vortex at the magic bottle's mouth spun madly, like an invisible giant hand, forcibly guiding, gathering, and compressing the dissipated Thunder Spiritual Power and some relatively stable destructive energy (such as earth-attribute brute force, and fragments of plant life force)!
Zzzzz... Rumble!
In the center of the ruined area, a massive vortex composed of violent Thunder Spiritual Power and chaotic energy slowly formed!
At the center of the vortex, countless silver-purple electric snakes frantically darted and collided, emitting deafening thunderous roars!
The edges of the vortex, meanwhile, flowed with a torrent of earthy-yellow brute force and wisps of emerald plant life force fragments!
A nascent, chaotic, and dangerous — energy Thunder Pool was being forcibly carved out in the center of the ruins!
Violent Thunder Spiritual Power roared within it, and destructive energy turbulence raged!
This was by no means a Cultivation Holy Land, but an energy bomb that could explode at any moment!
"Not enough! Refine! Stabilize!" Mo Yuan's conscious phantom issued the command!
He knew this primitive Thunder Pool was too violent to be used for Cultivation!
Buzz — —!!!
On the magic bottle's body, the silver light threads representing space Dao patterns instantly lit up!
Several extremely subtle, yet incomparably tough space Dao pattern forces were forcibly extracted by the magic bottle, like the most nimble carving knives, piercing into the violent energy Thunder Pool vortex!
Crack! Crack!
Space Dao patterns weaved, cut, and traversed within the Thunder Pool!
Like forcibly carving stable river channels in a chaotic quagmire!
The violent Thunder Spiritual Power was forcibly organized and guided by the space Dao patterns, forming a relatively orderly flow!
Those chaotic destructive energy fragments, meanwhile, were cleverly repelled and compressed by the space Dao patterns to the edge of the Thunder Pool, forming a relatively solidified "pool wall"!
At the same time, the rich Buddhist light's power of purification from the core area was also drawn across the void by the magic bottle's power, transforming into wisps of faint golden warm currents, slowly injecting into the Thunder Pool's edge like a neutralizing agent!
Zzzzz... Zzzzz...
Under the organization of the space Dao patterns, the neutralization of the Buddhist light's power of purification, and the magic bottle's continuous energy injection (forcibly extracting relatively stable parts from the ruins), the violent Thunder Pool vortex in the center finally gradually calmed down!
A purple-gold Thunder Pool, about five zhang in diameter and three zhang deep, strikingly appeared in the center of the Grotto ruins!
The "pool water" was not actual liquid, but composed of countless purple-gold Thunder Spiritual Power condensed into a tangible form, slowly flowing and rotating!
On the surface of the "pool water," fine silver-purple electric snakes constantly jumped and flickered, emitting a low hum!
The edges of the Thunder Pool were formed by a "pool wall" of earthy-yellow brute force and emerald plant life force fragments, compressed and solidified by space Dao patterns, exuding a tough defensive fluctuation.
Wisps of faint golden Buddhist light flowed in the "pool water," neutralizing the destructive aura and bringing a strange stability and vitality!
The Bottle Thunder Pool! Forging complete!
It's done! Mo Yuan's conscious phantom erupted with ecstatic thoughts!
Although this Thunder Pool was far less vast and magnificent than the natural Thunder Pool in the Seven Mysteries Forbidden Land, it excelled in its pure and controllable energy, and it also contained the destructive Dao rhyme of his own Thunder Spiritual Power Root, making it an excellent place to temper himself and accelerate the sequence's evolution!
"Rabbit! Ant King! Enter the pool!" Mo Yuan's cold will, carrying an undeniable command, instantly pierced through the spatial barrier!
Buzz!
On the vine platform, the massive Dark blue light cocoon suddenly erupted with dazzling light!
The cocoon shell shattered inch by inch like broken colored glaze!
A figure slowly rose from within!
Dark Moon Rabbit!
The transformation was complete!
Her figure remained slender, yet she seemed to merge with the surrounding shadows.
Her silver-gray long hair flowed with a moonlight-like luster, and the Dark blue at the tips of her hair was like smudged ink.
Most striking were her large Rabbit ears, the tips to the base of which had completely turned a deep, mysterious Dark blue, seemingly capable of devouring light, with naturally formed dark night patterns slowly flowing like living things!
Her eyes were still ruby-red, but deeper, as if containing an endless starry night sky.
On her right hand's five fingers, the five Dark Moon Claw Blades had completely transformed into Dark blue crescent shapes, their entire bodies radiating a dark moon-shattering sharpness that ignored all obstacles and could cleave the Void Realm!
A faint Dark blue halo, like starlight of the dark night, enveloped her, making her appear like an elf born under the moon, beautiful and deadly!
Sequence 001 · Dark Moon Rabbit! Advancement complete!
Her ruby-red eyes swept over the newly formed Thunder Pool, without any hesitation.
Her figure flickered, Phantom activated!
She became like a stream of light merging into the dark night, instantly appearing at the edge of the Thunder Pool.
A trace of instinctive apprehension towards the violent Thunder Spiritual Power flashed in her Dark blue eyes, but even more was absolute obedience to her master's command.
She took a deep breath and leaped into the pool of flowing purple-gold Thunder Spiritual Power!
Zzzzz — —!!!
The Dark Moon Rabbit's figure was instantly engulfed by the violent purple-gold Thunder Spiritual Power!
Countless tiny electric snakes frantically coiled around her body!
The dark blue protective halo fluctuated violently, and the destructive sharpness on the Dark Moon Claw Blades automatically activated, cutting through the invading thunder snakes!
She let out a muffled groan, her body trembling slightly, clearly enduring immense pain.
But with the neutralization of the Buddhist light's purifying power, this pain was still within a tolerable range.
She sat cross-legged at the edge of the Thunder Pool in a relatively gentle area, guiding the pure Thunder Spiritual Power to temper her body, consolidate her Dark Moon Origin after advancement, and simultaneously attempted to merge the destructive sharpness with the Thunder Spiritual Power!
At the same time!
By the Qingyang River, the Stone-skinned Turtle guarding Mo Yuan's broken body seemed to receive an instruction.
Its body, like a profound iron fortress, moved slightly, clearing the way.
Rumble!
The Ant King's body, like a lava fortress, stepped through the shallow water, moving step by step towards the unconscious Mo Yuan.
Its massive, bronze-armored forelimbs carefully, as if holding a fragile treasure, gently lifted Mo Yuan's still pale, fragmented body, covered in tiny cracks!
Then, it turned and headed towards the Bottle Grotto!
Buzz!
Space ripples spread!
The Ant King, carrying Mo Yuan's body, instantly vanished above the river bend!
The next moment!
The Ant King's massive figure appeared in the core area of the Bottle Grotto!
Its lava-like compound eyes respectfully glanced at the newly formed purple-gold Thunder Pool, then, without hesitation, it carried Mo Yuan's body and strode into the Thunder Pool!
Sizzle—!!!!
The violent purple-gold lightning instantly engulfed the Ant King and Mo Yuan, whom it held!
"Roar—!!!" The Ant King let out a roar mixed with pain and excitement!
Its already formidable bronze armor emitted an unbearable "creaking" sound under the furious tempering of the lightning, and the dark red glow of the lava on its surface flickered wildly, brightening and dimming!
Countless tiny cracks reappeared, but they rapidly healed under the immense vitality and earth-attribute essence contained within the Thunder Pool!
Each destruction and Rebirth made its armor tougher and heavier!
A more violent, purer sense of power was ignited and forged within its body by the lightning!
And Mo Yuan's broken body, at the moment the violent lightning surged in!
"Ugh ah—!!!" In reality, the body, which had been unconscious, suddenly convulsed violently!
An extremely suppressed scream of pain erupted from its throat!
The tiny cracks on the skin's surface were instantly filled, torn, and enlarged by purple-gold lightning!
His entire being seemed on the verge of complete disintegration under this violent Thunder Spiritual Power!
However, just at the edge of this destruction!
Deep within the Dantian, the dark-gold purple Thunder Spiritual Root light core, which had dimmed due to the magic bottle's backlash and severe damage to his Physical Body, instantly erupted with an unprecedented, blinding light, as if thrown into a boiling oil pot!
Within the light, countless fine dark-gold electric snakes shot out madly, greedily devouring the pure Thunder Spiritual Power surging into his body!
Break and then stand! Die to live!
Under the violent tempering of his own Thunder Pool, and with the help of the Dark Moon Rabbit and the Ant King, the two core sequences, jointly sharing the Spiritual Pressure from the lightning, Mo Yuan's Physical Body, like divine iron thrown into a furnace, began its ultimate transformation of destruction and Rebirth!
His dried-up Meridians were forcibly torn, widened, and reshaped by the violent Thunder Spiritual Power!
Like a dried riverbed being scoured by a raging flood, becoming wider and tougher, capable of carrying even more vast Thunder Spiritual Power!
The Qi Refining Stage 4 Bottleneck, under this internal and external assault, this make-or-break tempering, shattered like a fragile eggshell with a roar!
Buzz—!!!
A surge of dark-gold purple Thunder Spiritual Power, far purer, vaster, and more overbearing than before, gushed out from the newly formed Dantian light core like a bursting dam!
It instantly permeated all the reshaped and widened Meridians!
Flowing through his limbs and bones!
Nourishing every inch of flesh, tendons, and bones torn apart and reassembled by the lightning!
Qi Refining Stage 5! Breakthrough!
Mo Yuan's tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open!
Two solidified, dark-gold electric beams pierced through the rolling purple-gold light of the Thunder Pool!
A powerful Spiritual Pressure, belonging to a Qi Refining Stage 5 Cultivator, mixed with the destructive aura of lightning, erupted with a roar!
He felt the vast power surging within him, the comfort of his Meridians being forcibly widened, and the strengthened texture of his Physical Body after destruction and Rebirth!
A wild joy of controlling power and a cold intent for revenge surged in his chest!
However, this joy did not last long.
Mo Yuan's gaze instantly turned cold and focused, falling upon the Dark Moon Rabbit and the Ant King, who were jointly enduring the tempering in the Thunder Pool.
A thought originating from the depths of his Soul, naturally emerging due to the Thunder Spiritual Root's Breakthrough, flashed across his Sea of Consciousness like lightning—Body Integration technique!
"Rabbit! Ant! Focus! Draw the lightning!"
"Thunder… Shadow… Heavy… Punch!!!"
Mo Yuan's thought, like a thunderclap, exploded in the Soul link between the Dark Moon Rabbit and the Ant King!
At the same time, his dark-purple Thunder Hell Demon Hand suddenly lifted, fingers splayed!
The newly born, vast and pure dark-gold purple Thunder Spiritual Power in his Dantian surged out wildly, transforming into a solidified band of lightning, instantly connecting the Dark Moon Rabbit and the Ant King in the Thunder Pool!
The Dark Moon Rabbit's ruby-like eyes instantly lit up!
She endured the intense pain of the Thunder Spiritual Power tempering her body, and the five dark-blue Dark Moon Claw Blades on her right hand suddenly burst forth with dazzling dark-blue light!
A power of Dark Moon destructive sharpness, ignoring defense and cutting through the Void Realm, was forcibly extracted and condensed!
The Ant King simultaneously let out a furious roar!
Its bronze giant mandibles, enduring the Thunder Pool's tempering, suddenly opened!
A torrent of crimson energy, a mix of pure brute force and newly tempered violent Thunder Spiritual Power, spewed forth!
Under Mo Yuan's Thunder Spiritual Power band's forced guidance and Fusion!
The dark-blue destructive sharpness condensed by the Dark Moon Rabbit was like the sharpest carving knife!
The crimson Thunder Spiritual Power torrent spewed by the Ant King was like the most violent lava!
The two forces were not simply superimposed; rather, in the violent purple-gold lightning environment of the Thunder Pool, and under the forced Fusion guided by Mo Yuan's newly broken through Qi Refining Stage 5 Thunder Spiritual Power, an incredible qualitative change occurred!
Sizzle—Boom!!!
An indescribable phantom of a fist aura instantly condensed in front of the Ant King's massive bronze giant mandibles!
The fist aura was not a solid entity, but rather its body was composed of internal crimson lava Thunder Spiritual Power, with a core enclosing a constantly rotating, cutting, dark-blue destructive sharpness that distorted space itself!
On the surface of the fist aura, countless fine purple-gold lightning bolts wrapped and danced like madly swirling electric snakes!
A terrifying aura, a mixture of absolute power, destructive sharpness, and lightning destruction, erupted with a roar!
Merely its condensation caused the entire Thunder Pool's purple-gold lightning to become restless and resonate!
Thunder Shadow Heavy Punch! Prototype of a Body Integration technique! Awakening!
"Roar!!!" The Ant King, feeling the heaven-shattering power contained within the fist aura, let out an extremely excited roar!
It fiercely swung its forelimbs, and the terrifying phantom of the fist aura, condensed from the three forces, like a meteor shot from a cannon, carrying a destructive gale that tore through everything, fiercely slammed towards the yellow "pool wall" at the edge of the Thunder Pool, which was compressed and solidified by spatial Dao patterns!
Rumble—!!!!
An indescribably terrifying roar exploded in the grotto ruins!
The tough "pool wall," formed by the Origin fragments of the Elder of the Hegemonic Body and compressed spatial Dao patterns, capable of withstanding attacks from a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, shattered like glazed glass struck by a red-hot hammer under the impact of the Thunder Shadow Heavy Punch, instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks!
Immediately after, it exploded with a crash!
Countless yellow energy fragments mixed with spatial turbulence splattered wildly!
The fist aura, its momentum undiminished, fiercely struck the outer layer of scorched earth in the ruins!
Boom—!!!
A terrifying giant pit, over ten zhang in diameter and several zhang deep, instantly appeared!
Crimson lava and leaping purple-gold lightning flowed at the bottom of the pit!
The edges were smooth, mirror-like cuts carved by the dark-blue destructive sharpness!
The power of a single punch was indeed terrifying!
Within the Thunder Pool, the figures of Mo Yuan, the Dark Moon Rabbit, and the Ant King swayed slightly from the recoil of the fist aura's strike.
Mo Yuan's face was slightly pale, his newly broken through Spiritual Qi significantly depleted.
The Dark Moon Rabbit's dark-blue claw blade light dimmed slightly, indicating a huge consumption from extracting destructive sharpness.
The Ant King's aura was even slightly disordered, and the lightning on its armor flickered erratically.
But in the eyes of all three, an unprecedented brilliance and wild joy erupted!
Body Integration technique! A true ultimate weapon!
The power of this Thunder Shadow Heavy Punch could definitely threaten Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators!
Just as this joy of newfound power had not yet subsided—
Buzz!
The spatial barrier in the core area rippled slightly.
A Soul link thought from the Stone-skinned Turtle instantly arrived, carrying vigilance and a hint of… information about external disturbances.
Mo Yuan's consciousness instantly penetrated the grotto barrier, falling towards the Qingyang River.
On the official road at the edge of the river bend.
Hooves clattered, wheels rumbled.
A luxurious carriage, pulled by four magnificent, pure white Dragon-scaled Horses, slowly stopped at the entrance of the river bend, surrounded by over a dozen guards in uniform green attire, exuding a sharp aura.
The carriage was entirely crafted from precious golden-threaded nanmu, inlaid with warm spiritual jade, and the curtains were woven from expensive ice silkworm silk, embroidered with intricate cloud patterns. A small triangular flag was planted on the carriage shaft, its deep blue flag surface embroidered with a silver "Wang" character, written in a dynamic, dragon-and-Phoenix style, with a small ripple mark beside it.
It was the carriage of the Wang family of Qingyang City!
Moreover, judging by the ripple mark, it seemed to be the personal carriage of Wang Linger, the proud daughter of heaven from the direct lineage of the Wang family, renowned for her "Thunder Dao medical skills" and rumored to possess a rare water-attribute mutated Spiritual Root!
The curtain was gently lifted a corner by a fair, jade-like hand.
A clear, melodious, yet undeniably authoritative female voice, like pearls falling on a jade plate, clearly transmitted out, echoing over the tranquil river bend:
"Is the Fellow Daoist Mo Yuan, who has come from the Seven Mysteries Sect, below?"
"Wang Linger of the Qingyang Wang family, by my father's command, has specially come to invite you."
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