"Boom!"
Accompanied by a sharp pain, an irresistible force slammed Yao Yan from mid-air, causing him to crash heavily against the rock wall with a deafening roar. The silver light emanating from his body seemed to dim considerably; his current physical body was clearly insufficient against the pill lightning triggered by the seventh-grade pill.
However, directly confronting the pill lightning with his bare body wasn't without its advantages. The power of lightning was inherently a force of destruction and life, containing the essence of rebirth.
Yao Yan's body was clearly perfectly suited to it, and the immense life force within him was continuously stimulated amidst the destruction of the pill lightning, allowing his body to evolve to higher levels through destruction and rebirth. The silver light shimmering on his body gradually penetrated deeper into his flesh, becoming less dazzling and more subdued, yet the power surging within him grew increasingly terrifying.
However, Cai Lin was unaware of all this. Watching Yao Yan being struck down, she couldn't help but clench her fist, wanting to rush forward, but was stopped by Elder Yao's outstretched hand.
"No need to go over there. Feel his life force. Does he look like he's been seriously injured?"
Yao Lao shook his head slightly and said slowly, gazing at the rock wall in the distance where a deep crater had been smashed. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. What a little monster! His alchemy talent was terrifying enough, but even his physical body was ridiculously strong. If he didn't know that the other party was human, he probably would have suspected that Yao Yan was some powerful magical beast in human form.
The life force emanating from that body was too vigorous. Under his soul perception, it was like a small sun. Especially after being baptized by the pill lightning, the other party's body seemed to have produced an emergency response.
"Whoosh~"
At the same time, Yao Yan, who had been smashed down, soared into the sky again, even laughing with a bit of joy. He reached out and tore off the tattered clothes on his upper body. His eyes were burning as he stared at the dense dark clouds in the sky and said, "Again!"
As he spoke, he punched the sky. The terrifying force directly created a vacuum in front of him. The air inside instantly condensed and turned into an air cannon that rushed towards the dark clouds in the sky.
"Sizzle~"
The power of this punch was not weak, directly piercing through a section of dark cloud. However, this action seemed to have thoroughly enraged the dark cloud that was constantly nurturing pill lightning. Countless silver lightning dragons began to roll, and the terrifying power of thunder swept across the heavens and earth, making the air seem much more oppressive.
The old alchemist frowned and said in a deep voice, "This kid has disrupted the process of pill lightning nurturing, causing the pill lightning that was originally falling one by one to become disordered..."
"What will happen then?"
Cai Lin was shocked upon hearing this and couldn't help but ask.
The old alchemist stroked his beard, shook his head slightly, and slowly said, "The power of the pill lightning will increase, and the interval between its falls will be much shorter than before. Similarly, the end time will also be faster... He should know this!"
An ordinary alchemist might not know these things, but Yao Yan was obviously not among the ordinary alchemists. Moreover, he was born into the Yao Clan and should not be unfamiliar with pill lightning. After all, the Yao Clan's clan school would never lack seventh-grade alchemists, and he would definitely have attended the ceremony many times in previous years.
Therefore, it's highly likely that Yao Yan deliberately provoked the pill lightning, increasing its power to improve his body-refining efficiency.
It has to be said, this kid is ruthless to himself.
"Boom!"
As the two were exchanging words, the dark clouds in the sky suddenly thickened, turning pitch black, with silver lightning flashing erratically. The next moment, a bolt of pill lightning, several times thicker than before, crashed down from the sky. Its speed gave Yao Yan no chance to react, instantly engulfing him and slamming him heavily against the rock wall, creating a deafening roar. Countless bolts of lightning raged outwards.
The scene was extremely visually striking.
Unlike the previous pill lightning that dissipated after striking, this bolt, comparable to a waterfall of lightning, lasted for several full breaths before dissipating.
As the smoke cleared, a patch of scorched earth came into Cai Lin's view. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her hands, clasped together at her lower abdomen, clenched involuntarily. Even though she could sense that Yao Yan's aura hadn't weakened, it was clearly impossible for him to be unharmed.
However, she quickly suppressed this slight anxiety, seemingly unwilling to let Yao Lao beside her see anything.
Yao Yan, struck by lightning in the distance, naturally couldn't focus his attention on Cai Lin either. At this moment, he felt sore all over, but an indescribable sense of exhilaration swept through him. Perhaps those who cultivate their bodies are all abnormal; he was also showing this tendency at this moment, even vaguely hoping that the lightning strike would be even harder.
This wasn't a masochistic tendency, but rather a necessary process in body cultivation. To make the physical body stronger, one could only constantly wear down the originally fragile body; only in this way could the newly formed body become more powerful.
"Hoo~"
He slowly rose, his skin now charred black, the silvery sheen gone. Even his breath released plumes of blackish-gray smoke. Yet, he grinned, revealing his white teeth, his gaze brightening as he looked up at the sky. The dark clouds gathering there hadn't dissipated, still accumulating a bolt of pill lightning.
Pill lightning is truly a wonderful thing… Yao Yan felt the strengthening of his body and couldn't help but sigh. Compared to using spatial power to refine the body, pill lightning was clearly more direct, tempering it thoroughly inside and out. Its destructive power was comparable to a strange fire, but strange fire only had an effect the first time it was absorbed; after merging with the body, it became immune. Pill lightning was different.
Don't forget that above ordinary pill lightning, there was nine-colored pill lightning, and above that, there was black demon lightning, and so on.
"As expected, compared to the thunderbolt containing the power of heaven and earth, the demonic poison spots are a bit lacking~" Yao Yan felt the demonic poison spots in his body disappear, and his mood became increasingly pleasant. At this moment, the demonic poison spots purified by the thunderbolt transformed into the purest energy to nourish his body, causing his physical body to continuously transform and strengthen.
"Boom!"
The thunderbolt didn't give Yao Yan much time to catch his breath. After about ten breaths, another bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket suddenly fell from the dark clouds, still locking onto Yao Yan, seemingly having no interest in the Ice Heart Pill in the Black Demon Cauldron anymore.
"Awesome! Keep going, I can handle it!" Yao Yan laughed wildly and roared to the sky.
"Boom!"
Another bolt of lightning, even thicker than the previous one, fell, its power even more intense than the previous one, directly pressing Yao Yan deep into the rock wall. The surrounding rock walls crystallized due to the high temperature.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
This time, it was a double strike, with the two bolts of lightning less than ten breaths apart. The violent pill lightning even drowned out Yao Yan's arrogant laughter. In this space sealed by Yao Lao, it seemed that only the sound of lightning falling could be heard, again and again, lasting for a full quarter of an hour, with the number of bolts approaching three digits.
At this moment, Yao Lao was dumbfounded, staring at everything in astonishment. In his understanding, even if the pill lightning was interfered with the gestation process, it shouldn't have lasted this long. That seventh-grade Ice Heart Pill wasn't some extremely heaven-defying eighth-grade pill, so how could it have attracted so much pill lightning?
Could it be that this kid's talent had offended the heavens, causing him to be struck by lightning tribulation?!
Cai Lin couldn't help but ask at this moment, "Do pill lightning usually last this long?"
She didn't know much about pill lightning. The only time she had ever seen it was when Yao Yan refined the Instant Qi Pill. However, compared to the pill lightning of the last time, this pill lightning was obviously more terrifying. It made her scalp tingle. If she were in Yao Yan's position, she definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand it for this long.
"Zzzzz~"
The dark clouds in the sky had not yet dispersed, still brewing another bolt of pill lightning. The power of heaven and earth seemed to be growing increasingly terrifying, and some of the lightning could even be faintly seen to be changing color, as if transforming into a higher-level lightning.
"Nine-colored pill lightning! How is this possible?!" Yao Lao could no longer hold back and shouted in extreme disarray.
"Boom!"
Another bolt of pill lightning suddenly fell, this time even tinged with a red halo, like thunder and fire, crashing down on Yao Yan.
"You fucking come again!"
With an angry shout, Yao Yan, who had been taking the hits, finally moved. He roared and threw a punch at the falling pill lightning. At this moment, the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame flowed around him. The terrifying force combined with the power of the strange fire instantly distorted the surrounding space. Terrifying ripples of wind spread rapidly from the surface of his fist like waves.
"Whoosh!"
Yao Yan's fist, imbued with terrifying power, struck the giant red lightning bolt. At that moment, heaven and earth seemed to freeze. A deafening roar echoed through the heavens and earth, and where the two forces collided, even dark cracks appeared in space.
The two terrifying forces were constantly eroding each other. The red lightning bolt seemed intent on erasing Yao Yan from the world, which undoubtedly ignited his fighting spirit.
"Break for me!"
he roared, the silver aura around his body intensifying. His terrifying power surged to its peak, his eyes now tinged with blood red, and even a third eye faintly appeared on his forehead, causing his power to increase several times over. His punch shattered the falling red lightning bolt, and the force of his fist pierced through the dark clouds, revealing a beautiful glimpse of the night sky.
Yao Yan stared coldly at the thunderclouds in the sky, a hint of crimson light flickering deep within his eyes, making his aura even more wild. His heart was extremely cold at this moment, because he hadn't expected that part of his bloodline would trigger a mutation in the Dan Lei (a type of spiritual energy).
He hadn't noticed it at first, until the constantly falling lightning power tried to destroy the core bloodline power within his body.
That hidden power was finally stimulated.
However, with this punch, the thunderclouds he had blasted through seemed to have exhausted all their power and began to slowly dissipate. But Yao Yan showed no joy, because he truly felt the malice of this world, and this was only the Dou Qi Continent. If it were the Great Thousand World, this tribulation would probably be far more trivial.
"Heh~ World Will..." Yao Yan sneered inwardly, instantly suppressing the Devouring Spirit Clan's bloodline, and the extremely strange evil energy was also suppressed deep within his body.
In truth, his strongest power now wasn't physical strength, but rather the evil energy originating from the Devouring Spirit Clan's bloodline. That power was far more domineering and bizarre than battle qi, filled with corrosive and devouring properties. Even destructive lightning like Dan Lei could be devoured, and even used to strengthen itself.
This strangeness even alarmed Yao Yan. He realized he might have underestimated the terror of the extraterrestrial evil race. Trying to convert their power for his own use could ultimately turn him into their puppet.
Perhaps he couldn't allow the Devouring Spirit Clan's bloodline to take root and sprout within him; he had to make it his own… Yao Yan's eyes flickered. He thought of the Dou Di bloodline. Why did the bloodline undergo a transformation after breaking through to Dou Di? Perhaps when he reached that level, he could try to completely refine the Devouring Spirit Clan's bloodline, instead of this superficial fusion.
The power he currently possessed seemed to belong to him, but its essence still belonged to the extraterrestrial evil race. Given the bloodline level suppression of this race, if he encountered a higher-level evil being, he might involuntarily kowtow to them, something he couldn't tolerate.
However, he was currently too weak, and thinking about such things was undoubtedly unnecessary worry.
As the dark clouds in the sky completely dispersed, a bright night sky came into Yao Yan's view, easing his tense nerves. He then collapsed weakly to the ground, panting heavily. That punch had overexerted his body; if it weren't for the final boost from the evil energy, he might not have shattered the pill lightning, but instead be severely injured.
"Whoosh!"
Cai Lin had already arrived beside Yao Yan, handing him several pills without a word. Her deep purple eyes held a hint of concern, but her mouth remained coldly sarcastic as she said, "Serves you right for being so stubborn! How come you weren't struck dead by the pill lightning?"
"You almost got your wish~" Yao Yan smiled, taking the pills and swallowing them whole, letting the medicinal power dissipate within him.
Yao Lao also floated over, controlling the Ice Heart Pill in his palm, carefully handing it to Yao Yan. After Yao Yan put it into the medicine bottle, he asked, "What happened just now?"
He stared at Yao Yan with puzzled and confused eyes. It was only a brief moment, but the power Yao Yan had just unleashed was clearly not battle qi, nor soul power, nor even physical power, but a more bizarre power that made his soul tremble slightly, a feeling of encountering his nemesis.
It was like a human encountering a tiger in the wild, a sense of oppression originating from his bloodline.
"It's a secret technique I obtained before, capable of instantly boosting one's power, but it takes a heavy toll on the body," Yao Yan blurted out, lying without batting an eye. He was taking advantage of Yao Lao's ignorance; as for the matters concerning the extraterrestrial evil races, he had no one on the Dou Qi Continent to confide in.
Yao Lao nodded upon hearing this, not pressing further, but instead steer the conversation to another question: "How did the Pill Lightning change today?"
Yao Yan shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.
Yao Lao frowned, unable to come up with a solution for the moment.
(End of Chapter)