Chapter 1361: 雷劫逃走

CRACK!

As soon as he entered the cloud layer, a bolt of lightning struck. Zhang Xuan gathered all the zhenqi within his body to meet it.

Blood spurted out. Just like the others, his hair stood on end.

The lightning had been intensified by Bi Hongyin and the others to the point where it exceeded what he could currently withstand. Even though he had rushed inside before it had fully gathered its maximum power, it was still not something he could contend with.

“Defensive Sword Intent!”

Knowing that if he continued like this, even with the healing power of the Heaven's Path zhenqi, he wouldn't be able to keep up with the lightning's speed, Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows and pointed in mid-air.

Whoosh!

Countless sword qis burst forth from his acupoints, forming a massive protective shield.

It had to be said that the Flowing Water Sword Art was indeed incredibly powerful. When the sword art was unleashed, it was like a tortoise shell, impermeable even to splashing water.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The lightning bolts continuously struck it, making Zhang Xuan's lips turn blue and his face pale from the impact.

“The sword art can block the lightning, but its power is too immense; it won't last long...” His eyes were grave.

It was like an umbrella: it could block a downpour, but it would be useless against large hailstones.

The Flowing Water Sword Art offered unparalleled defense, but with his current strength, even if he could resist for a while, he wouldn't be able to last long.

At most, in a dozen breaths, the surrounding sword qi would collapse, and he would once again face so many lightning bolts.

“I can only do as I thought just now: improve my strength as quickly as possible...”

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan did not hesitate. His Wuwu Soul suddenly leaped out from between his eyebrows.

Unlike his breakthrough in front of the mountain gate, this time, he directly entered the dark cloud, unseen by outsiders. Therefore, he could use all his abilities without restraint.

“Cultivate!”

His physical body had long since reached the state of no thoughts and no desires, allowing it to cultivate autonomously. Now, it also received the Wuwu Soul's cultivation art, allowing both to progress simultaneously for faster improvement.

Sizzle!

Absorbing the Jade Elixir and Spirit Yuan Pills, his zhenqi rapidly circulated according to the Heaven's Path Golden Body method, and his physical body visibly progressed. Layers of dead skin peeled off his body, like a cicada shedding its shell.

With his physical body having reached its current state, even slight improvement was difficult. Lava burning, ice tempering... many methods were no longer effective.

Among the secret manuals given by the fatty, there was one created by a senior body cultivator who, by observing cicadas shedding their shells, had a sudden inspiration. It allowed one to shed old muscle and dead skin layer by layer, just like a cicada, with each shedding strengthening the physical body.

Over time, it would become extraordinarily powerful.

Zhang Xuan's Heaven's Path cultivation art was primarily based on this manual, and the cultivation technique he refined from it was even more profound and sophisticated. As more and more skin was shed, his entire complexion appeared increasingly delicate, like an infant's, yet it was actually growing more and more resilient, gradually surpassing the level of a mid-grade Saint artifact.

As his physical body rapidly progressed, his Wuwu Soul also held onto the Jade Vein Spirit Marrow and absorbed it frantically.

The Heaven's Path Wuwu Soul, having begun cultivation from the Transcendent Mortal realm, was already familiar with the path. As cultivation arts for the Out-of-Body realm flowed, spiritual energy swirled into the acupoints of his soul body, making it even stronger.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, his Wuwu Soul broke through to Half-Out-of-Body, then immediately to the early stage of the Out-of-Body realm...

However, it wasn't long before the power of the Jade Elixir, Spirit Yuan Pills, and Jade Vein Spirit Marrow was completely depleted.

Although Luo Xuanqing and the others had given him many items, the simultaneous progression of his physical body and Wuwu Soul demanded too much spiritual energy. These three items were simply not enough to allow him to advance to the peak.

“The sword aura can't hold out much longer...” When it rains, it pours. Not only were his resources depleted, but the protective sword aura around him also began to waver, on the verge of collapse at any moment.

“Clone, go out and block the lightning tribulation for me, buy me some time...” Knowing that he wouldn't be able to rapidly advance further with the lightning striking, Zhang Xuan commanded.

The clone was the same person as him, unlike artifacts, so even if it was released, it wouldn't increase the power of the lightning tribulation.

“It's just a little lightning tribulation; look how scared you are... Give me the Wuwu Soul cultivation art!” Appearing before him with an arrogant expression, the clone snorted coldly, broke through the sword aura, and leaped into the sea of lightning before them.

Crack! Crack!

The moment he appeared, lightning bolts immediately surged towards him in a dense torrent. The clone showed no fear, stretched leisurely, grabbed a towel, and began scrubbing its back.

The lightning, as if being uniformly 'scrubbed' by the towel, flowed across the clone's body, and the clone's aura and Wuwu Soul visibly and rapidly increased.

“This...” Zhang Xuan's face twitched; he was so depressed he almost coughed up blood.

In front of the mountain gate, his Wuwu Soul had bathed in the lightning. He hadn't expected that fellow to learn it...

“If he can endure it, so can I. Perhaps by tempering myself with the lightning, both my Wuwu Soul and physical body can make significant progress!”

Seeing the clone scrubbing itself while casting a disdainful look his way, as if mocking its main body, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth.

He currently had no suitable source of spiritual energy, and was surrounded by so much lightning. If he didn't find a way, he might truly die within it.

Since the clone entered the lightning without any trouble, and they shared the same origin, he refused to believe he couldn't even compare to it!

His Wuwu Soul returned to his physical body once more, and he withdrew the sword aura. This time, instead of dodging, he floated in place, allowing the lightning to strike him.

Again, blood spurted out. The immense electric current made his body somewhat stiff.

“The Heaven's Path zhenqi can imitate anything. What if it imitated zhenqi with lightning attributes?” A thought suddenly sparked in his mind.

Since the Heaven's Path zhenqi could even imitate the destructive zhenqi of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, it should also be able to imitate zhenqi with lightning attributes. If successful, he might be able to withstand the onslaught of the current lightning.

Concentrating intensely, he carefully sensed the power of the lightning. With a slight turn of the zhenqi within his body, some lightning attributes indeed appeared.

Crack!

Just as he finished transforming his zhenqi, another lightning bolt struck. Although it was still somewhat painful, it was no longer unbearable as it had been moments ago.

“Excellent!” His eyes gleamed, and Zhang Xuan's body trembled with excitement.

It had only been a fleeting thought, but he hadn't expected it to actually work!

“If zhenqi transforms into lightning attributes, it must also be able to absorb lightning to improve cultivation!” Another idea popped into his head.

Chen Leiyao, who cultivated a Yin-cold art, could absorb Ice Spirit Liquid to cultivate. Those who cultivated fire-attribute arts would also find great success absorbing flames... So now, if he transformed his zhenqi into lightning attributes, could he also absorb lightning like spirit stones? And greatly increase his strength?

Back in Qiuwu Palace, his Wuwu Soul had indeed absorbed lightning power. Although that was lightning generated by a formation, differing countless times from a true Heaven's Path lightning tribulation, there must certainly be some commonality.

“I'll try...” Knowing that absorbing lightning directly into his body was extremely dangerous, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and flicked his palm.

The Flowing Water Sword Art was unleashed once more to protect him. With a thought, he left a small gap, allowing a bolt of lightning to slip in.

Rumble!

The lightning bolt entered his body, instantly becoming uncontrollable, constantly crashing about, and in the blink of an eye, it tore through his meridians.

Lightning was violent, and even with lightning-attributed zhenqi, it was extremely difficult to control. Otherwise, cultivators of lightning-attribute arts would have long ago become renowned throughout the continent, yet he had never heard of any.

“Zhenqi fusion...” Having anticipated this situation, Zhang Xuan wasn't anxious. He raised his eyebrows, and his Heaven's Path zhenqi surged forward to meet it.

Zap!

His zhenqi, now imbued with lightning attributes, instantly merged with the lightning upon contact, becoming even purer.

“It actually works...” Excitement resurfaced on his face.

Since this was feasible, then this lightning could replace spiritual energy, allowing him to rapidly progress.

Without further hesitation, he withdrew the protective sword light. Zhang Xuan opened all his acupoints simultaneously.

In the blink of an eye, the lightning engulfed him.

Thick bolts of lightning coursed through his body, and Zhang Xuan desperately absorbed them.

His Wuwu Soul quickly broke through to the early stage of the Out-of-Body realm, and continued to ascend, while his physical body also grew increasingly robust.

“Are you ready?” Luo Xuanqing spoke.

“Mm!” Bi Hongyin and the others nodded simultaneously.

Although the lightning before them was incredibly powerful, there was no other option now. They couldn't just stand by and watch Zhang Xuan be struck to death, his body utterly destroyed.

Thus, after a brief discussion, they decided to rush in and rescue him, while simultaneously unleashing their strongest moves to completely destroy the dark cloud.

If they succeeded, the crisis would be resolved. If not, fighting together was still much better than him resisting alone.

“Then let's begin!” Responding, Luo Xuanqing looked up at the dark cloud, his zhenqi circulating within him. Just as he was about to give the command for them to charge together, a surprised voice rang out.

“Hold on, something doesn't seem right?” It was the short man who spoke, his eyes fixed on the sky, as if trying to see through the vast lightning tribulation.

“Doesn't seem right?” Luo Xuanqing frowned, “What do you mean?”

The other two also looked over.

“Look closely, I feel like the thundercloud is moving?” said the short man.

“Moving?” The group looked up in confusion. Indeed, they saw the vast dark cloud constantly shifting, already having moved from directly above them to one side.

“Once a lightning tribulation descends, it usually doesn't move unless the tribulation-taker flees...” Bi Hongyin frowned.

A lightning tribulation was a Heavenly Tribulation. As long as the tribulation-taker didn't run, it generally wouldn't move erratically. Zhang Xuan was currently within the lightning, surely not running away, so why was the dark cloud moving?

Full of bewilderment, the clouds had completely moved away from above them, revealing a figure.

It was Zhang Xuan.

“He's fine?” Seeing the young man's figure appear, not having been struck into dust as they had imagined, everyone's eyes lit up. Just as they were about to call out and tell him to come down quickly, they saw the fellow in the air suddenly open his eyes and let out a furious roar.

“Don't run!” Immediately after, his body flickered, and he plunged back into the dark cloud.

Crackle! Crackle!

There was a burst of clashing lightning.

Immediately after, the dark cloud shifted to one side again, and his figure was revealed once more.

“Where do you think you're going...” Shouting again, Zhang Xuan charged after it.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

This time, he flew fast, but the dark cloud fled even faster, as if it had seen something terrifying, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

“You...” Zhang Xuan was almost bursting with anger and furiously gave chase.

The fact that the lightning tribulation could appear as soon as it sensed someone undergoing tribulation meant its speed was beyond imagination. As he chased, it vanished into the horizon, completely out of sight.

“This... the lightning tribulation got scared off?”

“Lightning tribulations always chase people; he actually chased the lightning tribulation until it fled in disarray?”

Luo Xuanqing, Bi Hongyin, and the others exchanged bewildered glances, each pulling at their hair with expressions as if they had seen a ghost.