Chapter 27: Beast Dan, Thunder Enters Body

  "You are also a spiritual being born with divine wisdom, today you have reached the end of your road, are you willing to surrender to me and become my protector of the Ling Beast? I can help you withstand the destructive power of the Molting Thunder and let you successfully molt." Ming Xi Yue stepped forward, her voice cold and detached.

  Staring fixedly at the bright moon in front of him, Lei Peng's eyes revealed a hint of confusion, then again showed unwillingness, pain, and even nostalgia. The pupils' blood vessels suddenly surged, and a powerful aura that far surpassed before burst out, causing a strong gust of wind to rise violently into the sky. The light screen that had been shrouding the surroundings began to shake violently, as if it would collapse and disintegrate at any moment.

  His expression suddenly changed, Xuan Qing hastily shouted: "Not good, it's going to self-destruct!" After finishing, he hastily flew towards the distance.

  But Ming Xi's icy face finally showed a hint of shock, and her cherry lips hastily shouted: "Withdraw the formation, escape quickly!"

  While facing the Thunderous Python, Liu Nu had already sensed something was amiss and hastily beckoned with her hand. The six long swords at the top of the light screen immediately flew back down, and the light screen also shattered suddenly as Liu Nu retrieved her swords. The blue sword energy that originally reached the sky quickly dissipated into thin air after losing its support.

  A line of eight people fled rapidly, and the lightning that had been blocked before finally broke through the obstruction, slamming down on the giant head of the Thunder Python. The air hummed with a low growl as the Thunder Python opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar towards the sky. Its blood-red eyes were filled with deep longing and a hint of inexplicable reluctance, but then it became incredibly enraged, sweeping its massive tail across the ground, sending rocks flying everywhere. As the dark purple lightning drew closer, the originally blood-soaked enormous body suddenly lit up with a dazzling purple glow.

  In an instant, Lu Qing was shocked to discover that the wounds on Leipeng's body, whether it was the previous wound or the exposed flesh where the scales had fallen off, were all restored in the blink of an eye. Countless powerful purple lightning bolts wrapped around Leipeng's body and suddenly contracted back, causing his entire body to swell up suddenly.

  Lu Qing, having previously heard Master Xuanqing's words and knowing it was bad, hastily got up and fled towards the Bright Moon Pond behind him. However, his cultivation was vastly inferior to that of Xuanqing and the eight others, and the self-destructive preparations of the Thunderous Python were already in place within a few breaths. Lu Qing didn't even manage to escape twenty zhang before he heard a continuous rumbling sound like thunderclaps behind him, followed by a flash of deep purple lightning above his head. Then, a fierce gust of air struck from behind, leaving him no time to dodge as he was sent flying out, shattered and withered.

  In an instant, Lu Qing only felt a severe pain all over his body, as if his brain had been struck by a huge hammer. Everything in front of him turned black, and he knew nothing more.

  On the top of Chaoyang Peak, the dark clouds are slowly dispersing, leaving a wisp of haze in the sky. On one side of the mountain forest from the foot to the middle waist, the earth seems to have just experienced a disaster, with the land being heavily plowed and emitting faint wisps of smoke. Countless white ashes cover a large area of land. As the sun sets, the earth is bathed in a layer of orange-red gauze, making Chaoyang Peak stand out even more amidst the lush greenery.

  At this time, by the side of Mingyue Lake, a ragged person lay quietly on the ground, with bloodstains on his arms and back, which had already congealed into scabs. A large sword covered in dust was slanted beside him.

  "Ugh——" The figure suddenly let out a low, pained groan, and then, with great effort, sat up using his hands for support. It was none other than Lu Qing. He brushed the scattered hair from his face back behind his head, and gave a bitter smile. At this moment, his entire body felt like it had been disassembled, every bone and muscle aching all over, to the point where he didn't even have the energy to stand up. However, after a while, Lu Qing began to feel fortunate, because in his inner vision, neither his dantian nor his meridians were damaged, only his internal organs had suffered some shock. As long as he used the Sword Origin Qi to warm and nourish them for two or three days, he would be fine.

  This is also considered good luck, Lu Qing thought to himself, but he was immediately overcome by Lei Peng's unyielding spirit. A real man should be willing to die rather than yield! Before his eyes, the familiar majestic figure seemed to reappear, along with those familiar words, each sentence echoing in his ears as if spoken from beside him.

  "Was Master wrong?" Lu Qing asked himself, for the first time, he felt that his master Xuanqing's image in his mind had undergone some changes, but he couldn't put it into words, and only felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.

  "Huh? What's that?" As he turned his gaze, Lu Qing found a deep purple sphere floating quietly on the surface of the pond beside him. The sphere was about one foot in diameter, its entire body smooth as jade, and it shimmered with an enchanting glow under the sunset. Surrounding it were countless snowfish, each blowing out bubbles one by one. With each bubble, Lu Qing discovered that they grew a tiny bit larger, although very small, but already visible to the naked eye.

  He carefully closed his eyes, activated the Soul Refining Technique, and a cool stream of air flowed out of his body towards the sphere. At the same time, within Lu Qing's mind, everything within a radius of ten zhang was in plain sight, and no movement, no matter how slight, could escape detection.

  What!

  Lu Qing was suddenly startled in his heart, and in his mind, the sphere was surrounded by a thick and unparalleled yuanqi. Unlike the usual colorless heavenly yuanqi, it was purple in color. When the airflow touched him, Lu Qing only felt a numbness in his brain, but it was warm and comfortable. At the same time, the group of yuanqi also followed the airflow released by Lu Qing, touching his body and slowly seeping into his skin.

  As this strange energy seeped in, under Lu Qing's gaze, the original wound on his arm began to heal, only with some numbness around the wound, making people want to stretch out their hands to scratch it.

  What's with this familiar aura of yuanqi? As the purple yuanqi seeped in further, Lu Qing also gradually sensed something was off.

  Wait, Lu Qing's heart suddenly moved, and he suddenly remembered a passage from the Zixia Spirit Beast Spectrum he had recorded earlier: The spirit beast is born from the primordial energy of heaven and earth, nurtured by mountains, rivers, and streams. Those who have passed through five stages will experience numerous calamities. Those who pass will gather the beast dan, which is like jade or silk, with its own primordial energy and breath. Those who obtain the beast dan can extend their lifespan to a hundred years if they are ordinary people. As for sword cultivators, they can absorb its exotic primordial energy to achieve an exotic sword core, attaching itself to the natural spiritual power of heaven and earth. However, only one in a hundred can succeed in absorbing it, while those with weak hearts and minds should be cautious not to make mistakes.

  That's the Beast Dan! Lu Qing exclaimed and opened his eyes to look at the floating purple sphere, suddenly having a feeling of unexpected wealth descending upon him, making him somewhat disbelieving of his own luck.

  A moment later, Lu Qing stood up, shook off the dust on his body, and looked at himself again. The wound that was previously torn open had miraculously turned into a red and tender color like a newborn baby's skin, without any scars left. After carefully feeling it, even the internal injuries had recovered as before, and now Lu Qing felt that the fatigue accumulated in his body had disappeared completely, and he was full of energy and spirit.

  The beast Dan was picked up in the previous few steps, and its own food was snatched away. A group of snow fish that had been surrounding it jumped quickly a few times, only to find that they had no effect on Lu Qing, and could only reluctantly disperse.

  Is this the beast core of that Thunderous Python? Lu Qing could feel the dense thunder energy within the beast core, but wasn't that Thunderous Python just barely a Fourth-Order who had just passed its tribulation? Although its size was somewhat different from what was recorded, Lu Qing thought to himself, recalling the conversation between Gong Yangyu and Tai Yun he had overheard earlier, yet he couldn't think of any cause or effect.

  However, this beast dan can now be used properly, dispelling the doubts in his mind. Lu Qing began to think about the use of this rare beast dan, a heteromorphic sword yuan or just as a magical medicine that can heal wounds? Lu Qing kept thinking.

  Suddenly, the Beast Dan in his hand emitted a faint glow, and a not-so-strong thunderbolt entered his palm. Although it was weak, it was enough to wake up Lu Qing. He smiled self-deprecatingly and looked up at the distant orange-yellow horizon: "This five-year plan, whether it's Jianchi or Jiantong, which one am I not betting on? Since they're all bets, why should I be so attached to life or death? How ridiculous!"

  He picked up the Heart Refining Sword that had fallen to the ground, gazed at it for a few moments, and with a flash of purple light in his hand, the sword slid into its scabbard with a "whoosh" sound, leaving behind only a lingering sword hum. Without hesitation, Lu Qing sat down cross-legged beside the scabbard, placed the Beast Dan on both legs, activated the Xuanyang Heart Sutra, and concentrated his mind completely on the Beast Dan. With a press of both hands, in an instant, Lu Qing's entire body shook violently, and suddenly, purple lightning burst out all over his body, making crackling sounds, and his hair stood straight up due to the electrical stimulation.

  Within his arm, a powerful and tyrannical aura surged upwards, causing the meridians to be set ablaze with a deep purple-red hue. As the aura flowed in, Lu Qing felt an intense pain akin to being sliced by a sharp sword, as well as a numbness that was incomparable to the previous tingling sensation. Even the strange airflow generated by the Soul Refining Technique within his Niwan Palace seemed to be numbed and operated unclearly.

  After counting his breaths, Lu Qing let out a low hum and spat out a mouthful of purple-red blood. However, he still clenched his teeth tightly, and his entire body gradually turned into a sickly purplish color due to withstanding the lightning's power. The beast dan that was being pressed down also emitted an increasingly intense purple aura, even starting to float tiny, finger-thick purple electric arcs on its surface, emitting clear crackling sounds.