Chapter 364: Breakthrough to Nascent Soul [3]
This one was cyan! It was traveling at extreme speed, like a cyan divine spear piercing through heaven and earth, filled with an aura that was fierce, sharp, and indestructible!
Wherever it passed, even the air was sliced, emitting sharp sonic booms!
"Wood Element Divine Lightning?!" Fang Hao’s internal alarm bells rang wildly.
Wood-attribute lightning governed both vitality and slaughter; its sharpness far exceeded that of metal or iron!
Moreover, it was too fast; there was simply no time to deploy complex defenses!
At this life-or-death moment, inspiration struck Fang Hao.
Instead of dodging or evading, he violently gathered the Chaos Spiritual Power, which had been somewhat scattered by the Earth Element Divine Lightning, into his right fist!
He did not use any Move; he simply poured all his strength, all his will, his desire for survival, and his pursuit of power into this single punch!
On his fist, the Chaos light fused with the power of his golden body, faintly forming an incredibly solid fist Protective Aura that seemed capable of shattering everything!
"Break for me!"
He roared and threw a punch, meeting the rapidly thrusting cyan lightning spear!
This punch had no frills; it only possessed a tragic and resolute forward momentum.
"Sshh!"
When the fist Protective Aura collided with the lightning spear, there was no earth-shattering roar, only a piercing, extreme tearing sound!
Fang Hao’s fist Protective Aura actually managed to hold back the tip of the cyan lightning spear!
The violent, sharp lightning power crazily impacted and sliced at his Protective Aura and arm, emitting a teeth-grinding friction sound.
"Ahhh!"
Blue veins bulged on Fang Hao’s forehead, and the sleeve of his entire right arm instantly turned to dust.
On the surface of his arm’s skin, the faint layer of golden halo vibrated violently under the impact of the cyan lightning, appearing as if it could shatter at any moment!
But not only did he not retreat, a flash of madness appeared in his eyes!
"Now is the time! Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art, circulate for me!"
He let out a low roar and actually took the initiative to withdraw part of the Chaos Protective Aura from the surface of his fist, allowing the incomparably sharp Wood Element Divine Lightning power to wash directly over his right arm!
This was not seeking death; he was gambling—gambling that his Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art’s first stage, "Lightning Induction Body Tempering," had already reached Minor Achievement, and gambling that although this Wood Element Divine Lightning was sharp, it was ultimately lightning, containing a tempering power where violent vitality and destruction coexisted!
"Crack!"
Lightning poured directly into his arm, and Fang Hao felt as if his entire right arm was being sliced by countless tiny blades at once, and also as if it were being pricked by millions of steel needles.
The sensation was so intense it made him want to pass out immediately!
But he gritted his teeth and frantically circulated the method of the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art!
Beneath the skin of his right arm, a layer of dark golden patterns suddenly lit up, wriggling and intertwining like living things, forming complex and ancient runes!
These runes seemed to possess life, greedily devouring and absorbing the Wood Element Divine Lightning power rushing into his arm!
The lightning flowed and collided between the runes, emitting "crackle" explosions.
Each explosion made Fang Hao’s right arm tremble violently, but the light of the runes also became more solid with each one!
The Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art was inherently an extremely domineering Body Refining Cultivation Technique; it emphasized drawing external forces to temper oneself, breaking and then establishing anew!
Ordinary Cultivators needed to seek out various extreme environments or Heaven And Earth Treasure to polish their Physical Body, yet Fang Hao was currently using Heavenly Tribulation divine lightning to conduct Body Tempering!
This boldness, this madness—if the Senior who created this Cultivation Technique knew, they would probably jump up and curse him as a "madman"!
After a stalemate of about three breaths, the power of the cyan lightning spear finally began to weaken, and the dark golden runes on Fang Hao’s right arm shone brightly, almost dyeing his entire arm dark gold!
Although fine cracks still appeared on the surface of his arm’s skin, oozing wisps of blood, the overall structure was incredibly stable, even faintly revealing a tough luster like refined steel!
"Shatter!"
Seizing the moment when the lightning spear ran out of power, Fang Hao followed up with his left fist.
His two fists struck together, and Chaos light exploded!
This time, when the right fist struck out, the layer of dark golden halo fused completely with the Chaos Spiritual Power, and the power of the fist Protective Aura was actually a cut above before!
"Boom!"
The cyan lightning spear was forcibly blasted apart by his even more formidable stance!
The exploding lightning power blasted him flying backwards for over ten zhang, crashing heavily onto the ground and plowing a deep trench into the earth.
But this time, after landing, he flipped over and stood up.
Although his right arm was still trembling and the skin surface had scorched marks and bloodstains, the whole was intact.
Even when clenching his fist, he could hear a slight "clanging" sound like metal clashing from the friction of his muscles and bones!
"Hiss... that really hurt like hell..."
Fang Hao shook his right arm and sucked in a cold breath.
That sensation just now was absolutely not meant for humans to endure, but the effect was immediate.
He could feel that the strength, power, and even the capacity to carry and conduct Spiritual Power of his right arm had all improved by a large margin compared to before!
The Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art truly lived up to its reputation!
"That was the seventh... only two more... what will this eighth one be?"
As if to answer his question, the tribulation clouds overhead, having consecutively struck down Red Flame, Earth Element, and Wood Element divine lightning, seemed to become even more violent.
The clouds rolled violently, and their color began to shift from pitch black to an eerie, deep, ghostly blue!
A terrifying aura that was cold, dead, and seemed capable of freezing the Soul began to spread!
The eighth Heavenly Tribulation lightning had not yet fallen, but that bone-chilling cold had already caused the temperature in the valley to plummet, and the surface of the stream even began to frost over!
The breath Fang Hao exhaled turned into white mist.
"Mysterious Yin... Ice Lightning?!"
Fang Hao looked at the increasingly dense ghostly blue in the sky, feeling a chill seeping out from his very bones.
Just hearing the name, he knew this thing was no good; it was both Yin and ice.
If it hit him once, he reckoned his Soul would be frozen stiff.
He exercised his right arm; although it was still a bit sore and numb, it could Move without hindrance.
The effect of the tempering from the Wood Element Divine Lightning was still continuing, and the strength of his arm was slowly improving.
This gave him a little more confidence.
However, facing this kind of Yin-cold attribute lightning specifically designed to freeze the Divine Soul and damage one’s foundation, using his Physical Body to hard-carry it would be a bit foolish.
The Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art had good resistance to physical attacks and attribute damage, but against this kind of Yin-cold power that struck directly at the Divine Soul, the effectiveness would likely be discounted.
"I can’t take it head-on; I have to scatter it!"
Fang Hao’s brain spun rapidly.
His current state was actually not great; although his right arm had been strengthened by a stroke of luck, his overall Spiritual Power and physical stamina were heavily depleted, and the medicinal power of the nascent soul forming pill was still repairing his previous internal injuries.
The Chaos Spiritual Power was highly inclusive, but against the Mysterious Yin power that specifically countered vitality, he probably wouldn’t gain much of an advantage.
"Star Shattering Finger!"
In a flash, Fang Hao thought of the Star Shattering Finger he had Cultivated, an extremely domineering Divine Ability of finger techniques focused on "piercing" and "penetration."
It was said that at the highest level of cultivation, a single finger could shatter stars!
Although he wasn’t even at Minor Achievement yet and had only barely entered the threshold, its characteristic of concentrating on a single point with extremely strong penetrating power might be just right for dealing with this kind of condensed lightning!
He did it as soon as he thought of it!
Fang Hao took a deep breath, suppressing the roiling blood and bone-chilling cold within his body.
He raised his left hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together.
The remaining Chaos Spiritual Power within his body followed the unique, domineering, and even somewhat tragic route of the Star Shattering Finger, frantically circulating, compressing, and condensing!
All his strength, all his spirit, and all his Battle Intent seemed to converge onto these two fingers!
At his fingertip, a point of extremely condensed finger light, flickering with the color of Chaos yet carrying an incomparably sharp edge, slowly took shape.
This finger light was not dazzling, even somewhat restrained, but the penetrating and destructive aura contained within it caused the surrounding space to slightly warp!
Fang Hao’s complexion turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye; this one finger almost drained the little remaining Spiritual Power in his body!
Just at the moment when the point of Chaos finger light at Fang Hao’s fingertip condensed to the extreme, the eighth Heavenly Tribulation lightning, carrying an extreme cold that seemed capable of freezing space and an aura of destruction, crashed down!
There was no deafening roar, only a teeth-grinding "crack" sound as if space were being torn apart and simultaneously frozen solid!
A thick, condensed, ghostly blue lightning that looked as if it were carved from ten-thousand-year black ice fell silently yet as fast as lightning, striking straight at the top of Fang Hao’s head!
Wherever the lightning passed, the air condensed into tiny ice crystals, leaving a straight trail of frost!
Even before the cold touched his body, it made his Divine Soul tremble and his thinking sluggish!
"Star Shattering Finger, break for me!"
Fang Hao roared hoarsely, pointing the finger that had gathered all his strength and spirit defiantly at the falling ghostly blue ice lightning!
This finger had no fancy variations, only the determination to Move forward and pierce through everything!
"Swish!"
A streak of Chaos finger light, condensed to the extreme, as thin as a hair but faster than the eye could catch, shot out from Fang Hao’s fingertip.
It was silent, yet carried a sharpness that could pierce through all things, shooting straight at the ghostly blue lightning!
The finger light and the lightning collided with a boom in mid-air!
"Ding!"
An incomparably crisp, sharp sound, like metal clashing or ice crystals shattering, rang out!
The sound was not loud, but it was extremely penetrating, making one’s eardrums ache and one’s mind sway.
The seemingly indestructible ghostly blue Mysterious Yin Ice Lightning actually had a tiny hole appear at the center point where the Chaos finger light struck!
Immediately after, centered on this hole, fine, spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread across the entire lightning bolt!
The extremely condensed, all-piercing penetrating power within the Chaos finger light had actually managed to destroy and disintegrate the structure of this eighth Heavenly Tribulation lightning from the inside!
However, the Mysterious Yin Ice Lightning was, after all, the eighth Heavenly Tribulation, and its power was terrifyingly immense!
Although the Chaos finger light had pierced and cracked it, it had also rapidly dimmed and dissipated in the intense confrontation with the ice lightning.
The cracked ghostly blue lightning, still carrying most of its residual power and that coldness that froze the Divine Soul, continued to strike down towards Fang Hao!
Its speed and momentum were just much weaker than before, and its trajectory had also shifted slightly.
"Good!"
Sharp light exploded in Fang Hao’s eyes; instead of being alarmed, he was delighted!
The Star Shattering Finger had succeeded!
He might just be able to take this residual lightning!
He let out a low roar and, instead of retreating, advanced.
His right fist, which had just been tempered by the Wood Element Divine Lightning and had greatly increased in strength, clenched tight again.
The dark golden halo mixed with the newly mobilized Chaos Spiritual Power, and he punched towards the Mysterious Yin Ice Lightning, which was already covered in cracks and greatly reduced in power!
At the same time, the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art operated to the extreme, and a layer of faint dark golden luster appeared on his body surface, especially on his right arm, where the golden light was most intense, as if it had truly turned into metal!
"Bang!!!"
His fist collided with the residual lightning!
This time, there was no sharp tearing sound like before, but a dull, loud noise like a heavy hammer smashing ice!
The cracked ghostly blue lightning was completely blasted apart by Fang Hao’s long-prepared punch!
It transformed into countless ghostly blue ice crystal fragments flickering with lightning, splashing everywhere!
However, the exploded lightning still had a large amount of Yin-cold lightning power that, like maggots on bones, frantically surged into his body along his fist and arm!
The extreme cold instantly swept through his entire body.
Fang Hao felt as if he had been thrown naked into an Arctic ice cave.
Starting from his fist, his muscles, bones, Meridians, and even his flowing blood and Spiritual Power began to rapidly stiffen and freeze!
A thick layer of ghostly blue ice crystals flickering with lightning condensed on his body surface at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"Hah... hah..."
Fang Hao maintained his punching posture, frozen into an ice sculpture, with only his eyeballs able to Move with difficulty.
His thinking became incredibly sluggish; his consciousness felt as if it were frozen in the ice, making it extremely difficult to even turn a single thought.
The most terrifying aspect of the Mysterious Yin Ice Lightning lay in its ability to freeze vitality and erode the Divine Soul.
Even just its residual power left him as if fallen into an ice prison, in extreme danger!
"I cannot sleep! I cannot stiffen! Circulate! Circulate for me, damn it!"
Deep in his heart, an extremely intense desire for survival roared!
Relying on a sliver of will that had not yet been completely frozen, Fang Hao frantically and with all his might urged the Chaos Derivation Art and the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art!
The Cultivation Technique operated with extreme difficulty, like pushing gears through solidified steel.
Every inch of progress brought pain and cold that tore at his Soul.
But he disregarded it all, desperately pushing, inch by inch, the nearly stagnant Spiritual Power and blood Qi within his body.
Deep within his Dantian, the Chaos Origin Pellet seemed to sense the crisis of its host on the verge of death and vibrated gently once again.
Another weak yet incomparably pure force of Chaos Origin flowed out, like a warm stream, slowly flowing through his frozen Meridians.
Wherever it passed, that domineering Mysterious Yin cold power was assimilated and dissolved bit by bit.
Although the speed was excruciatingly slow, it was definitely happening!
The Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art was also operating spontaneously.
The layer of dark golden halo on his body surface flickered stubbornly beneath the ice, resisting the further penetration of the cold, and began to passively absorb and refine the Mysterious Yin lightning power that had invaded his body surface, converting it into nutrients for Body Tempering.
This process was equally painful, a double heaven of ice and fire, but it was also slowly enhancing his Physical Body’s resistance.
Time seemed to be stretched infinitely long at this moment.
Each breath felt like a year.
He did not know how long had passed.
"Crack... crackle..."
The thick ghostly blue ice layer enveloping Fang Hao began to show its first crack on the surface.
Immediately following were the second, the third... the cracks spread rapidly like a spiderweb!
"Bang!!!"
The ice layer finally shattered completely!
Countless ice crystal fragments shot out in all directions, hitting the rocks with "pfft" thuds.
Fang Hao stumbled out from the ice shards, covered in white frost, his complexion a mixture of pale and blue.
His hair and eyebrows were covered in icicles, and his whole body was shivering like a leaf in the autumn wind, his teeth chattering "clack-clack."
"Cough cough... cough... froze... froze me to death..."
He cursed tremblingly, his voice shaking.
But in those eyes, the relief of surviving a disaster and an increasingly blazing Battle Intent were clearly visible.
He looked down at his right fist; the surface was covered with a thin layer of ice, but the skin was intact, his muscles and bones undamaged.
Even because of passively enduring the impact of part of the Mysterious Yin power and the refining of the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art, the toughness of his skin seemed to have improved by another sliver.
Hard-carrying it with the Star Shattering Finger and the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art, although the process was extremely dangerous and he was almost frozen into an ice lolly, he had ultimately survived this deadly eighth one!
Moreover, his Physical Body seemed to have been tempered a bit more in the desperate situation.
Before he could catch his breath, and before he even had time to circulate his Cultivation Technique to disperse the residual cold in his body, the tribulation clouds overhead, seemingly enraged, let out their final and most violent roar!
"Rumble!!!"
The ninth Heavenly Tribulation lightning crashed down defiantly!
"Five Elements Mixed Sha Lightning?! No... it’s even messier than that! This is... a hodgepodge of deadly lightning!"
Fang Hao’s heart was filled with horror, and his mouth tasted bitter.
This last one was indeed the hardest bone to chew!
The attributes were mixed, the power was running wild, and there was simply no trace to follow.
Any single method of defense would likely be as flimsy as paper in front of it!
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