Chapter 1208: Chain Lightning

With a thunderous boom, a colossal arc of lightning, resembling a sky-piercing sword, shot forth from deep within the dark clouds, striking directly atop the demonic gale.

With a flash of silver light, the greyish-white demonic gale trembled violently, splitting cleanly in half from the middle.

Both vanished simultaneously into thin air.

The silhouette of the demonic beast, with the head of an ox and the body of a dragon, appeared in the low sky below. Its lower body was now coiled into a mass, and its form had changed somewhat from before: a pair of purple fleshy wings and two thick, powerful green arms had emerged from its sides. Han Li observed it for a long while, but couldn't tell which mythical spirit beast it resembled from legends.

The Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast, staring at the thick, flickering arc in the high sky, gently flapped its newly grown pair of fleshy wings. With each beat, clusters of greyish-white demonic energy abruptly materialized nearby, swiftly enveloping the beast.

The thunder in the sky finally reached an unprecedented intensity. Amidst deafening claps, foot-long arcs of lightning continuously fell from the aerial lightning net, completely engulfing an area of over ten *li*. Even Han Li, observing from the side, could not escape its reach.

Han Li let out a soft sigh. As he formed a hand seal, a low rumble of thunder emanated from his body. An eerie golden lightning net materialized, then rapidly expanded outwards, transforming into a colossal golden web that shielded him.

When the aerial lightning arcs struck the golden net, they burst forth with golden and silver light before vanishing in a flash. The golden net remained unharmed, merely trembling slightly.

However, Han Li paid no mind to the events around him. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, observing the greyish-white demonic energy not far away. Although he was caught in the aerial lightning strikes, the majority of the arcs were directed towards the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast at the center of the formation. The density of falling silver arcs in the small area centered around the beast was several times greater than on Han Li's side.

Using his Bright Clarity Spiritual Eyes ability, Han Li could only see the greyish-white demonic energy being completely engulfed by surges of silver light. The thunder was so dense it was like falling rain, utterly inescapable.

Han Li's face remained impassive, but he felt a touch of surprise. Speaking of transformation tribulations, Han Li had witnessed one before in the Scattered Star Seas. However, when the demon that had perished by his hand underwent its tribulation, the scale was nowhere near as grand. Furthermore, that demon was already in its final stage, while this Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast was already so astonishing from the outset. In its final stage, wouldn't it be incredibly powerful?

Could it be that the lightning tribulations each demonic beast undergoes are entirely different?

Regarding the secrets of demonic beast tribulations, few human texts in the Human Realm truly mention them; even if they do, it's merely a passing remark. This is not surprising, as transformation tribulations are experiences unique to demonic beasts and bear little relation to human cultivators. Naturally, human texts rarely contain detailed records. Even if a cultivator were genuinely curious, ordinary individuals would have few opportunities to witness a high-level demonic beast undergoing tribulation. After surviving a tribulation, a demonic beast is at its weakest, so it would never allow human cultivators to observe nearby.

However, while Han Li found it somewhat peculiar, he didn't dwell on it. After all, such lightning strikes were insignificant compared to his current divine abilities.

After these foot-long lightning arcs had fallen for the duration of a meal, the thunder in the sky subsided, finally pausing temporarily. Han Li looked intently, discovering that the greyish-white demonic energy within the formation was now scattered, with only an extremely thin layer remaining. Inside, the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast was seizing this respite, forming hand seals, its fleshy wings furiously flapping. Simultaneously, it opened its large mouth and exhaled more greyish demonic energy. As a result, a mass of demonic energy, several times denser than before, instantly formed, shielding the demonic beast once again.

The Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast's gaze was calm and clear, completely unperturbed, as if it had long anticipated the ferocity of this lightning tribulation. Upon seeing this, Han Li smiled faintly. It seemed this demonic beast could indeed withstand the initial lightning tribulations on its own, as it had claimed, making his premature intervention unnecessary. However, the benefits the other party promised would be immensely useful to him in the future, and he could not easily let them slip away.

As he considered this, Han Li patted the storage bag at his waist with one hand. Several magical artifacts of various colors shot out, then aligned themselves on the ground in front of him. They were a deep yellow gourd, a pure white round alms bowl, and a green jade bottle—three container-type magical artifacts.

Just then, the thunder in the sky resumed, and the second wave of lightning descended from above. This wave of lightning was noticeably denser than the first, and the falling silver arcs were also much larger, naturally creating an even more astonishing display.

Han Li retrieved these magical artifacts, no longer observing the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast's tribulation. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and appeared ready to rest and conserve his energy.

In this manner, within a mere hour, the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast successively endured six waves of lightning strikes, each more terrifying and astonishing than the last. By the third wave, the falling lightning arcs were already half a *zhang* long, resembling silver serpents plunging directly from the sky. Even many of the restrictions Han Li had set up around him were destroyed by this wave of lightning. However, the lightning net formed by Han Li's Evil-Dispelling Divine Thunder remained completely unharmed, firmly protecting him within it.

As for the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast, situated at the very center of the lightning strikes, from the fourth wave onwards, it finally lost its earlier composure. It began casting spells to enlarge its body again, reaching a colossal size of over ten *zhang*. The demonic energy it exhaled was no longer greyish-white; it had transformed into a silvery-white color, resembling lightning.

This demonic beast's energy was exceedingly peculiar. Upon contact with the heavenly lightning arcs, it emitted a "clanging" sound, like metal colliding, directly deflecting the majority of the arcs. It only bore a small portion of the lightning strikes. This bizarre situation caused Han Li, who had been meditating with closed eyes, to open his eyes in surprise and gaze intently for a few moments. He then noticed that this silvery-white demonic energy shimmered with a dazzling luster, yet emitted an extremely cold sensation.

"Hmm, this seems related to the cold marrow I gave it," Han Li pondered to himself. "Could this demonic beast have refined the cold marrow in such a short time?"

Having exhaled this strange demonic energy, the Heavenly Azure Beast suddenly felt much lighter, and it successively blocked several more waves of lightning strikes. However, as the seventh wave of lightning strikes began, the demonic beast's expression grew solemn, and it instantly became extremely tense.

The oppressive dark sky suddenly began to boil, the black clouds rolling and roaring. The colossal lightning net, composed of arcs of electricity that had been hovering beneath the dark clouds, began to descend entirely. In an instant, the entire sky was bathed in silver light, and the thunder drowned out all other sounds completely. For a moment, it seemed as though nothing existed in the entire world but lightning.

"Fellow Daoist Han," the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast's faint voice transmitted into Han Li's ear, "this Human Realm lightning tribulation seems more powerful than I anticipated. I can only withstand two more waves. For the final three waves, I'm afraid I'll truly need your assistance to get through it."

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. I will naturally intervene when the time comes," Han Li replied with a faint smile, transmitting his words calmly.

"Then I shall trouble Fellow Daoist Han; this old one will certainly not forget a generous reward," the Heavenly Azure Beast responded. Only upon hearing Han Li's words did it truly feel at ease. After all, with such a powerful cultivator assisting as its protector, even if the lightning tribulation intensified further, it should remain safe.

One silver lightning net after another completely enveloped the demonic beast. Countless arcs of electricity simultaneously sprang from the nets, furiously striking the silver demonic energy. Even though the majority were deflected by the energy, the sheer number of remaining arcs was still astonishing. The silvery demonic energy rapidly dissipated and shrank amidst the lightning arcs at a visible pace. As soon as the seventh wave of lightning strikes passed, the silver demonic cloud was reduced by over half. This type of demonic energy seemed to replenish at will. The moment the seventh wave of lightning strikes ended, the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast simply exhaled more greyish-white demonic energy, forming another layer around the silver demonic energy.

Just then, the eighth wave of lightning strikes immediately began. A lightning net almost twice as large as the previous one descended ferociously. The roar was earth-shattering. The surface of the demonic energy instantly became entirely silvery-white, and the nearby ground trembled slightly from the thunderous sound.

Han Li, sitting cross-legged outside the formation, subtly frowned upon witnessing such astonishing momentum, but his expression quickly returned to normal. However, he now slowly stood up, raising his head and continuously scanning the sky, as if searching for something. Suddenly, Han Li's expression changed. He abruptly lowered his head, glanced at a distant spot on the ground, and a strange glint appeared in his eyes.

"Hmm, this is quite interesting," Han Li murmured to himself. "I didn't expect such a being to exist in Tiannan." Suddenly, he flicked his ten fingers towards the ground. With a few 'pupu' sounds, ten slender red threads shot out, then instantly vanished into the ground. Han Li stared at that patch of ground, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Suddenly, that patch of ground trembled violently, followed by a chilling, strange cry from underground. Immediately, large amounts of earth shot skyward. Amidst the yellowish dust, a colossal creature, dozens of *zhang* in size, burst forth from underground. Its massive upper body was entangled by seven or eight wraps of thin threads emitting crimson flames, scorching its skin and causing the behemoth to wail continuously in pain. These were precisely the ten remarkably potent Fire Spirit Threads that Han Li had recently mastered.

Seizing this opportunity, Han Li thoroughly observed the behemoth's appearance. The behemoth was immensely long, deep yellow all over, resembling a gigantic, inflated earthworm. Yet, its upper body bristled with countless fleshy tendrils of varying sizes, writhing wildly, and at its head was a brilliant golden horn, sparkling and exceptionally eye-catching. What was surprising was that when the aerial lightning net fell near this beast, the single horn on its head flashed wildly. All the lightning, as if attracted by something, changed direction and shot towards this horn, then vanished into it in a flash.

"So it's a unicorn earthworm," Han Li mused, staring at the unusually enraged giant earthworm, a strange look in his eyes. "But why is its size so immense? If I recall correctly, the horn of this type of demonic beast should be white!"