Chapter 2184: Thunder Beast

When the radiant light breaks through the barrier between the dark space and the Sacred Land, the Thunder Palace will inevitably be impacted. They must be vigilant, as if the radiant light has already spread and swept across the Thunder Palace, grey figures will also appear.

In the presence of the grey figures, Qin Sang and the others would be greatly affected, unable to unleash their full power.

Therefore, the moment to strike must be chosen just as the radiant light is about to arrive but has not yet, a window of opportunity that could be very brief.

It seemed they could wait for the radiant light to destroy the Thunder Palace and reap the benefits effortlessly. However, Qin Sang had a misgiving: he worried that if the Thunder Generals were not personally slain by them, they might not obtain the Thunder Crystals.

The Thunder Crystals only appeared after the Thunder Generals were killed. Before the Thunder Generals descended, there was no trace of Thunder Crystals in the thunderclouds. Once the radiant light dispersed the thunderclouds, any Thunder Crystals within them would very likely dissipate, leaving no trace.

The Thunder Crystals were closely related to the golden page imprint on Qin Sang's palm, clearly an indispensable and very important part of the process.

Qin Sang voiced his concerns and plans. The others realized that even with the radiant light's assistance, the path ahead wouldn't be easy. Their spirits, which had just begun to relax, immediately tensed up again.

"Master Daoist, what do you believe is sealed within the Thunder Palace?" Fu Jiang couldn't help but ask.

Their joint effort to breach the Thunder Palace had eased their relations somewhat. Although the treasures weren't theirs, Clan Chief Fu and Fu Jiang were both naturally curious about what lay inside.

Ordinarily, anything that needed to be sealed would be harmful, and opening the seal might not be a good idea. However, this was a Sacred Land; if forbidden items were sealed here, the ancient ancestors of the alien race would surely have warned their descendants, let alone left instructions for entering the place.

Another possibility was that a living creature was sealed inside, prevented from roaming freely, simply waiting there patiently for a predestined individual.

Qin Sang couldn't provide an answer, as various treasures flashed through his mind.

The golden page imprint, Thunder Crystals, armor, Xuanshan Pearl... Perhaps they would need to be combined to reveal their true form. However, none of these had the slightest trace of life, so what was sealed shouldn't be a living creature.

While deliberating, they awaited the opportune moment.

Three more days passed amidst continuous tremors.

On this day, Qin Sang activated the imprint on his palm, attempting to return to the Sacred Land to observe the outside situation. Unexpectedly, the imprint merely flickered, and he remained in place.

"The outside has been destroyed by the radiant light!"

Qin Sang said gravely.

The last time he had been outside, Qin Sang saw a lake of radiant light appearing at the edge of the island. He estimated that the entire island had now been swallowed by this lake of radiant light.

This indicated that the opportune moment was approaching.

Clan Chief Fu observed the thunderclouds and said, "The fluctuations in the thunderclouds are several times more intense than three days ago. The sealing array must have already been affected."

"True, but it's still not enough for us to get through the final stage," Qin Sang said, turning to gaze at the Thunder Palace.

They re-entered the palace, arriving before the vermillion gate that had previously blocked them. Everyone stared intently at the sky.

'Crack!'

'Whoosh... Rumble...'

Dark clouds surged, wind and thunder intertwined. Amidst lightning flashes and thunderclaps, the thunderclouds could be seen fluctuating wildly, sometimes rising high, sometimes plummeting suddenly.

'Boom!'

Even as the thunderclouds above crashed down with a roar, with lightning close enough to touch and dark clouds almost pressing against their heads, they suddenly bounced back up.

A glint flashed in Qin Sang's eyes. "Enter!"

'Bang!'

The vermillion gate sprang open, and everyone filed in.

With outsiders intruding, the sealing array should have been triggered immediately, and the Guardian Thunder Generals should have descended. However, only a silver mist arrived as expected.

They saw five clusters of thunder light appearing in the sky, rising and falling in the clouds. It seemed five Thunder Generals were meant to descend right from the start. But at this moment, these five clusters of thunder light varied in brightness. Some immediately transformed into bolts of lightning and struck down, while others flickered erratically, showing signs of stagnation.

'Bang! Bang!'

Only two Thunder Generals successfully manifested, and even they appeared one after another. Their giant eyes were wide and glaring, and just as they were about to roar furiously, streams of light already submerged them.

Divine abilities and spiritual treasure radiance covered the sky. It was a rare opportunity for the Thunder Generals to be isolated, so they naturally showed no mercy.

The power of the Void Realm, the Five Elements divine light, the Grey Oriole Sword...

Qin Sang held nothing back.

They had already figured out the Thunder Generals' weaknesses. Under their combined siege, the first Thunder General quickly turned into lightning and returned to the sky.

Then came the second, the third...

The thunderclouds seemed to intentionally cooperate; for every Thunder General they slew, a new one would descend. Regardless of the number of Thunder Generals, their formation was completely disrupted, making it impossible for them to perform their combined attack. They were ultimately defeated one by one, making this stage even easier than the previous one.

'Swish!'

Qin Sang grabbed a Thunder Crystal, and with a flash of his figure, he appeared in front of the grand hall. Pushing open its doors, he saw that it only stored the neck guard part of a helmet; the helmet itself had been dismantled into various components.

After putting away the armor, Qin Sang glanced up at the sky. During the time they had spent slaying the Thunder Generals, the changes in the thunderclouds had accelerated more than anticipated.

They dared not hesitate and immediately proceeded to the next stage.

The radiant light became their ally, and the sealing array lost its due power. Sometimes, to save time, risks had to be taken, and Qin Sang bore all the responsibility. Liu Li and the others didn't need to worry about anything else; they just had to cooperate fully.

One vermillion gate after another was breached.

Finally, Qin Sang opened the last grand hall before the core Thunder Palace.

Inside the hall was the last piece of the helmet, which looked like a beast's head, utterly formidable.

Seeing this beast-headed helmet, Liu Li and the other two felt confused; they had never seen such a spiritual beast before.

"This is one of the thunder beasts revered by the ancient Daoist sects..."

Qin Sang explained.

From the origins of the Daoist Court, it was evident that the ancient Daoist sects had chaotic lineages, none subordinate to another. Each tradition had its own source and developed unique characteristics during its transmission. Only after the Shenxiao Deliberation did the Daoist Court eventually form.

The ancient Daoist sects gained power by observing the natural world, and thus, the power of thunder was what they most revered and feared. The Thunder God was also one of humanity's earliest worshipped deities.

Across different Daoist traditions, the image of the Thunder God varied greatly, and the legends associated with the Thunder God were naturally diverse, including various kinds of thunder beasts. Some traditions revered genuinely existing demonic beasts in the world as thunder beasts, while others incorporated human imagination, resulting in thunder beasts that had no real-world prototype but were simply called 'thunder beasts'.

These legends rose and fell with their respective traditions, with most sinking into the long river of history.

Qin Sang had seen many records about ancient Daoist sects in the Daoist Court's ancient texts. One type of thunder beast described bore some resemblance to this beast head. Although not entirely identical, he could still determine that this was indeed the head of a thunder beast!

This set of armor precisely borrowed the image of a thunder beast. In ancient times, thunder beasts held a high status; some even regarded them as the Thunder God, or at the very least, the Thunder God's mount. The origin of this armor was unknown.

Qin Sang effortlessly drew the thunder beast helmet before him. He took out the other parts and realized they could form a complete set of armor.

If that was the case, then what was stored in that Thunder Palace?

Was it just the helmet plume?

This thought flashed through Qin Sang's mind. He tried to activate it, but the Thunder Beast Armor still showed no reaction.

At this moment, cracks had appeared in some parts of the thunderclouds, and a faint, five-colored radiance shimmered on the horizon.

Before long, the radiant light would pierce the barrier and sweep across the palace!

Without further ado, and with no time for deeper investigation, Qin Sang immediately put away the Thunder Beast Armor and pushed open the last vermillion gate.

Behind the vermillion gate lay a vast courtyard, with the Thunder Palace situated precisely in its center. Lightning struck the palace like raindrops. Bathed in the thunder, the Thunder Palace exuded an inexplicable might, inspiring awe.

Qin Sang noticed that the ground was paved with smooth flagstones, but there were also several slightly raised stone platforms distributed around the Thunder Palace.

The stone platforms were empty. As they stepped over the threshold, all the platforms began to glow with spiritual light, forming a connection with the thunderclouds in the sky. At the same time, a familiar aura emerged from within the thunderclouds.

The number was secondary; the spiritual energy between these platforms was interconnected, clearly forming an extremely intricate grand array designed to complement the Thunder Generals' combined attack.

"This array... Hiss..."

Clan Chief Fu's face showed a look of shock. "Except for the Feathered and Merman Races, even members of the upper clans would likely find it difficult to pass this stage relying solely on their own kin; they'd have to seek outside help!"

"Yet, we've stumbled into a fortunate situation..."

Qin Sang secretly felt lucky.

The array formed by the stone platforms required all Thunder Generals to be present to exert its full power. But now, with the Thunder Generals scattered and in disarray, less than one-tenth of its power remained.

Seeing lightning strike one of the stone platforms, they immediately acted, slaying the first Thunder General. Without a moment's hesitation, they moved to another platform.

One Thunder General after another met its demise there, leaving behind Thunder Crystals that merged into the golden page imprint. Qin Sang felt waves of burning sensation emanating from his palm.

This stage had completely lost its intended power; the Thunder Generals were like a pile of loose sand, and the situation gradually became clear. At the same time, the thunderclouds' tremors became increasingly violent.

'Boom!'

The thunderclouds were torn apart, and finally, radiant light shone in.

A beam of radiant light happened to fall just outside the palace. Like sunlight after rain, it dispelled the gloom, but for the group, it brought a crisis. Soon, a second beam of radiant light shone in, fortunately still far on the horizon.

'Whoosh!'

A third, a fourth...

The radiant light continuously pierced through the dark clouds and began to spread outwards, making the situation urgent.

Suddenly, a beam of radiant light shone into the palace. Although it didn't directly fall on them, it would quickly spread their way.

Qin Sang's expression sank. He fully activated the Sky-Trapping Golden Lock, and his Void Domain power simultaneously enveloped the last two Thunder Generals.

The Thunder Generals were confined by the Void Domain. Liu Li and the others immediately surrounded one, while Qin Sang pounced on the other.

Finally, one Thunder General fell. Immediately after, the last Thunder General before Qin Sang burst apart with a roar, leaving behind a Thunder Crystal.

Qin Sang slowly turned around, watching the radiant light spread from outside the vermillion gate, and suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

'Boom!'

The radiant light crashed into the Thunder Palace. Thunder light flickered, and the Thunder Palace trembled slightly but did not collapse.

Grey figures appeared beside everyone.

Qin Sang secretly transmitted a message to Clan Chief Fu. Their figures crisscrossed, and Clan Chief Fu actively blocked the grey figure pursuing Qin Sang, while Qin Sang approached the Thunder Palace and found that its restriction had dissipated on its own.

Pushing open the main door and stepping into the hall, he found it unusually spacious, with only a circular altar inside.

Above the altar floated a cluster of silver light, like a ball of lightning, with countless threads of lightning and electric flashes shimmering within.

"What is this object?"

Qin Sang felt a sense of doubt. This silver light should have ties to the power of thunder, yet it was not a power he was familiar with.

Then, Qin Sang took out the armor fragments. These fragments were drawn by the silver light, all attempting to break free from his control.

Qin Sang pondered for a moment, then released his true essence.

'Swish! Swish! Swish!'

The fragments shot towards the silver light. With a series of 'bang' sounds, the silver light suddenly vanished, replaced by a complete set of Thunder Beast Armor.

The Thunder Beast Armor quietly hovered above the altar. It hadn't grown larger, its height barely reaching his knees. Qin Sang touched it with his true essence, but there was no reaction.

At this point, Qin Sang roughly understood. He stepped forward, raised his palm, and pressed the golden page imprint from his palm onto the chest of the Thunder Beast Armor.

The next moment, a strange power surged from his palm and entered the Thunder Beast Armor's chest.

'Whoosh!'

From the beast head's empty eye sockets, silver light suddenly shot out, as if they were real beast eyes, and a fierce aura burst forth.

Qin Sang's heart tightened, and he retreated several zhang. He saw countless bolts of lightning moving across the Thunder Beast Armor's entire body. The Thunder Beast Armor almost turned into a ball of lightning, seemingly concealing an unprecedentedly powerful aura within.

These bolts of lightning intertwined to form a familiar pattern that perfectly matched the sealing array.

Qin Sang realized in his heart that the Thunder Palace was not merely a simple seal. Instead, it had disassembled the Thunder Beast Armor, and the sealing array had actually evolved from the Thunder Beast Armor itself. It was both the seal and the Thunder Beast Armor!

That aura was awakening within the Thunder Beast Armor, drawing the attention of everyone outside the hall.

At this point, it could be confirmed that this was definitely not just a set of battle armor.

This aura grew stronger and stronger, and gradually, Liu Li and the others began to feel wary.

Qin Sang was also secretly on guard, but he could always sense a trace of connection between himself and the Thunder Beast Armor, an inexplicable feeling of closeness. This connection must have been brought about by the golden page imprint.

Under everyone's curious gaze, the Thunder Beast Armor finally completed its transformation. Standing nine feet tall, shimmering with silver light, it had become a set of thunderous armor. The thunder beast's eyes were particularly striking, brightly intimidating and full of sentience.

However, the thunder beast was missing one eye; its left eye socket was empty. Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. He immediately took out the Xuanshan Pearl and flicked it towards the thunder beast's left eye.

A perfect fit!

With the eye returned, the silver light in the thunder beast's eyes became even more dazzling, and an indescribable ferocity flowed within them. Looking closely, a difference could still be discerned between the two eyes: one was real, the other illusory.

Suddenly, fierce light flickered in the Thunder Beast Armor's eyes, and it vanished into thin air.

With a clap of thunder, the Thunder Beast Armor appeared before Qin Sang, within arm's reach, startling everyone.

In that instant, the speed unleashed by the Thunder Beast Armor was second only to Qin Sang's Thunder Escape Art. From this single detail, the general picture could be inferred. If it weren't for the radiant light, Qin Sang would definitely want to test its power.

"This object is likely not a living creature. I wonder if it's a puppet or a thunder guard? It could probably fight alone against top-tier late-stage cultivators, couldn't it? Congratulations, Revered Immortal, on gaining such a powerful ally! This is truly a great opportunity!" Clan Chief Fu said with no small amount of envy.

"I prefer to call it the Thunder Beast Battle Guard. Only because of the anomaly in the Sacred Land did this humble Daoist obtain this opportunity. I fear that not a few Daoist friends will have gained great opportunities this time..."

Qin Sang said calmly, but he was thinking to himself that Clan Chief Fu had not yet seen the full picture.

If an Integration Stage level thunder spell were sealed into the Xuanshan Pearl, the Thunder Beast Battle Guard's power would be even more terrifying!