Chapter 1491: Taming the Thunder

He had expected his swordplay to easily dispatch his opponent. To his surprise, the opponent used his own force against him, redirecting his attack into the lightning.

The lightning tribulation could not be replaced or attacked. Doing so would only cause it to intensify, delivering devastating blows to the assailant.

This was precisely why he had refrained from interfering with the powerful lightning tribulation. He hadn't anticipated that his attempt to attack the opponent would result in his own strike being diverted into the lightning.

Realizing that he would be struck dead if he didn't defend himself, the Grand Elder abandoned his pursuit of Zhang Xuan's soul and met the lightning with a palm strike.

*Crack!*

As the lightning collided with his palm strike, ripples spread outwards, and countless buildings collapsed again.

His strength was immense, already exceeding Saint 9-dan. Though the lightning was potent, it couldn't harm him in the slightest.

While he fended off the lightning, Zhang Xuan's soul seized the opportunity to dive into the sea of lightning and disappeared.

"A soul entering the lightning... is he seeking death?"

The Grand Elder was momentarily stunned, finding it hard to believe.

He had previously thought the opponent's ascent into the sky was a deceptive tactic to disorient him, but he never imagined it was genuine.

Souls are yin in nature and most vulnerable to the raw, violent power of lightning. What else could directly entering a sea of lightning be but an act of suicide?

"Whether he's seeking death or not, since he's a soul oracle, if I kill him, the Master Teacher Pavilion will not hold me accountable!"

He snorted coldly, his eyes burning with murderous intent as he looked up at the body still suspended in the air before him.

As a Master Teacher, it was his duty to eliminate soul oracles.

He had harbored various concerns before, but now, even if he acted directly, no one would be able to fault him.

Sword qi surged from his fingertips once more. Just as he prepared to cleave the opponent's body into mincemeat, leaving the soul nowhere to go, he felt a sudden tremor and saw another massive bolt of lightning descending.

"You..."

His scalp tingled, and the Grand Elder hastily met the lightning with his sword qi.

*Boom!*

The two forces collided, and the lightning dissipated, but the sea of lightning seemed to cling to him, striking down continuously, bolt after bolt, leaving him momentarily flustered.

"It actually worked..."

Witnessing this scene from within the lightning, Zhang Xuan's soul couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

If the Grand Elder were to truly engage him, Zhang Xuan, with his current strength, would be unable to prevail even with all his techniques. His only option was to deliberately expose traces of his soul, provoking the Grand Elder to attack and thus drawing the lightning tribulation.

Once entangled by the lightning, even one of the world's strongest experts would find it difficult to evade.

"There's only one way to make the lightning disperse..."

Knowing that the Grand Elder wouldn't have time to trouble his physical body for a while, Zhang Xuan disregarded him and narrowed his eyes, gazing at the sea of lightning before him.

To make the lightning fear him, there was only one path: to continuously absorb it until it was afraid.

Currently, his vital energy was full, and he lacked a cultivation technique for a breakthrough, which had previously forced him to abandon the idea. However, if he didn't absorb the lightning now, the Grand Elder would eventually kill him. He had to stake everything.

"Absorb!"

With a low cry, his soul vigorously absorbed the surrounding lightning, like a giant whale swallowing water.

*Creak! Creak!*

With unreserved absorption, his soul body immediately surged. It had already reached about ten meters when not controlled, and now it was growing even faster.

The soul body, unconstrained by physical limitations, could continuously grow by absorbing spiritual energy. Previously, he had refrained from excessive absorption because it would become too large to merge with his physical body. At this moment, however, with no way to control the sea of lightning, he could only use this method to instill fear in it. As for whether his soul could re-enter his body later or if there would be any lasting side effects, he no longer cared.

*Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!*

The power converged with increasing speed. The vast ocean of lightning seemed to form a whirlpool, continuously pouring into him with him at its center.

Eleven meters!

Twelve meters!

Thirteen meters!

In less than a minute, his soul grew to twenty meters, standing like a giant in the sea of lightning.

"I can keep absorbing until you are completely annihilated!"

Feeling his soul body expand further, Zhang Xuan snorted coldly.

The lightning, which had been so arrogant moments before and insistent on striking him down, now seemed to be gripped by fear. The entire dark cloud trembled incessantly, its former imposing presence gone.

It had expected that by summoning all its kin, it would strike this fellow dead. It never anticipated that the opponent's greatest trump card was his soul, capable of absorbing spiritual energy at will. If this continued, its entire 'clan' might be wiped out.

Without prolonged hesitation, it shuddered and intended to continue its escape.

"Don't run... If you don't want to be completely absorbed by me, listen to my instructions. I have something else I want you to do!"

He wasn't sure if the lightning possessed its own consciousness, but he knew for certain that it understood his words, otherwise it wouldn't have repeatedly fled in terror.

"It finally stopped..."

Below the lightning, the Grand Elder let out a breath.

The lightning had been striking relentlessly, one bolt after another. Although he was incredibly strong, he felt his scalp tingle and almost couldn't hold on.

Now that the lightning had ceased, it should no longer attack. His gaze shifted, and he looked again at Zhang Xuan's physical body nearby, his eyes burning with murderous intent.

"Soul oracles, everyone has the right to eliminate them!"

With a flick of his wrist, he delivered a chopping strike through the air.

He had been pursued by the lightning when using sword qi earlier, so this time, he had learned his lesson.

*Crack!*

Before his palm strike could reach Zhang Xuan, another massive bolt of lightning descended.

This lightning bolt was several times more powerful than the last. It descended from the sky as if to ignite the very air, carrying an irresistible aura and force.

"This..."

His scalp tingled, driving the Grand Elder to distraction.

He had just attacked the lightning, but it wasn't intentional... It had been striking for so long; surely, it wouldn't be so relentless as to insist on striking him dead!

The crucial point was... striking him was one thing, but the true subject of the tribulation was standing perfectly fine nearby, eyes closed as if asleep... Why wasn't it striking *him*?

However, despite his frustration, he knew that failure to resist would result in severe injury, even with his current strength. Helplessly, he met the strike with a punch.

*Rip!*

Cracks appeared in space, and under the impact of the residual power, countless buildings collapsed once more, and formations were destroyed.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Although he managed to block the lightning, he sustained some damage, coughing several times with charred marks appearing on his body.

"I must kill this fellow for the lightning to disperse..."

Knowing he couldn't withstand two more bolts, he gritted his teeth, raised his fist, and launched another attack towards Zhang Xuan.

Before his force could reach the opponent, the lightning, as if singling him out and protecting Zhang Xuan, struck down once more.

*Crack! Crack!*

Smoke rose from his head, and the Grand Elder's body trembled uncontrollably as if in a convulsion. He looked at Zhang Xuan again, only to see that the fellow had, at some point, opened his eyes, his body swaying precariously in the air as if he might fall at any moment.

"You hold them off for now; I'm going to rest for a bit..."

With that, he used a bolt of lightning to cleave open the surrounding confined space and leisurely floated downwards.