Chapter 367: Breakthrough to Nascent Soul [6]
Fang Hao leaned on that charred stick, kneeling on one knee. There wasn’t a single patch of intact flesh on his body, all bloody and mangled, looking as if he had been fished out of a blood pool in the eighteenth level of Hell and then deep-fried in a cauldron several times over.
Yet his back remained straight as an arrow, his head held high. His eyes shone like a wolf’s, staring fixedly at the increasingly black Lightning Tribulation clouds above.
"Damn it all... this is killing me..." Every breath he took was laced with blood foam, his lungs burning with searing pain.
To have lasted until now, he himself felt it was a miracle. The previous sixteen lightning strikes had been full of variety and tricks, nearly finishing him off.
If not for relying on the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art having been trained to the fourth level, "Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing," which tempered his bones and flesh to be even tougher than other Body Cultivators of the same rank, he would likely have been down having tea with the King of Hell back at the seventh or eighth strike.
This "Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing" sounded intimidating, and training it was even more life-threatening; one had to draw the Geng Metal sharp Qi into the body to scrape the bones and cleanse the marrow. The feeling was no better than being sliced by a thousand knives.
But once achieved, it was truly useful! His tendons, bones, skin, membranes, and internal organs were all as if mixed with gold essence, sturdy and durable.
Those previous lightning strikes—burning, freezing, slashing, and chopping—would have turned anyone else into a pile of charred meat. Yet, he relied on this "iron-forged" body, combined with the "unkillable cockroach" attribute of his Chaos Spiritual Power, and the Medicinal Pills and nascent soul forming pills he swallowed like candies, to forcefully endure it all.
Just now, when the sixteenth metal-earth mixed lightning strike slammed down, he felt his entire being fall apart; he didn’t know how many bones had broken, and his internal organs were likely displaced.
But now, after catching his breath and taking a brief internal look, hey, the broken bone fragments were actually knitting themselves back together, and the ruptured internal organs were slowly healing under the influence of the medicinal power and residual vitality.
Although it still hurt enough to make him want to curse, at least he had managed to keep this breath of life going.
"There are still... the last two..." Fang Hao licked his dry, bleeding lips. There was no fear in his eyes, but rather a near-manic excitement.
He had endured sixteen, so no matter what, he had to bite through the last two! The Nascent Soul was right before his eyes; if he cowered now, wouldn’t all that previous suffering have been in vain?
Trembling, he used his still-functional hand to fish out another cold jade bottle. This was the fourth nascent soul forming pill.
As the Medicinal Pill entered his throat, the familiar warm current surged again, but the effect seemed slightly weaker than before. It wasn’t that the Medicinal Pill was ineffective; it was just that his battered body had become a bit "numb" to the medicinal power, like soil that had been watered too much and could no longer absorb it as quickly.
"I need to get serious..." Fang Hao guided the medicinal power to repair his most severe injuries while his mind raced.
Relying solely on his Physical Body and Chaos Spiritual Power to endure the last two strikes probably wouldn’t be enough. This damn Heaven was getting more ruthless the further it went; looking at the Lightning Tribulation clouds, which were as black as the bottom of a pot, the lightning within had turned a chilling dark purple. Who knew what kind of evil it was brewing.
He slapped his Storage bag, and two rays of light flew out in succession, hovering before him.
On the left was an axe, ancient in design, dark gold all over, and only the size of a palm. It was the battle heaven axe, obtained from an ancient ruin, with a mysterious Origin.
It usually didn’t have much movement, like a decoration, but Fang Hao knew this thing was definitely not simple; an extremely terrifying power seemed to be sleeping within it, but his current strength was too low to activate it at all. However, using it as an "Advanced shield" should... be okay, right?
On the right was a small cauldron with three legs and two handles, made of a material that was neither gold nor jade, with Chaos cloud patterns flowing on its surface. The chaos pill cauldron! This treasure could not only be used for Alchemy, but its material was also ridiculously hard, and it seemed capable of absorbing and containing a portion of energy attacks.
"Old friends, kept for a thousand days, used for a single moment. Whether I succeed or not depends on you!" Fang Hao muttered to himself, as if greeting old friends.
Gritting his teeth, he split the little remaining Chaos Spiritual Power in his body into two streams, one injected into the battle heaven axe, the other into the chaos pill cauldron.
Upon receiving the spiritual power, the battle heaven axe trembled slightly, emitting a low hum. On its dark golden blade, a faint, sharp Aura that seemed capable of cleaving Heaven and Earth flashed and vanished, then fell silent again. However, the axe body floated up on its own, blocking in front of Fang Hao’s head, exuding an air of heaviness, antiquity, and indestructibility.
The reaction of the chaos pill cauldron was much more direct. Its body flashed with light and instantly grew to half a person’s height, spinning rapidly as it hovered beside Fang Hao. The mouth of the cauldron aimed at the Lightning Tribulation clouds in the sky, and an invisible suction force spread out, as if it intended to suck the lightning into the cauldron to refine it.
Fang Hao took a deep breath, endured the agonizing pain throughout his body, sat cross-legged, formed seals with his hands, and adjusted his state to the best he could currently achieve.
Inside his Dantian, the inch-tall Nascent Soul, identical to him, also sat cross-legged in synchronization. Its tiny face was full of solemnity, surrounded by swirling Chaos mist, faintly echoing the Aura of the chaos pill cauldron.
As if completely enraged by Fang Hao’s "armed to the teeth" actions, the ink-like Lightning Tribulation clouds in the sky suddenly contracted inward. Immediately, a bolt of lightning, only as thick as a child’s arm but condensed to near materiality, appearing a deep dark purple all over, emerged from the clouds like a cold, sinister poisonous snake!
There was no earth-shattering roar like before, only a faint "hiss" that made one’s Soul tremble. As soon as this dark purple lightning appeared, the surrounding space seemed to freeze and distort; the light dimmed, and the air was filled with a heart-palpitating Aura of destruction, corrosion, and decay!
"nirvana purple heaven thunder?!" Fang Hao’s heart pounded wildly, and a chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his crown!
He had only seen brief descriptions of this thing on the tattered pages of the most ancient classics. It was said that its power was even greater than the "Thunder of Nirvana," not only containing the power of ending but also carrying the property of eroding and corrupting all energy and matter, specifically designed to break Magic Treasures and destroy one’s Dao foundation! It was one of the top-tier Lightning Tribulations that, according to legend, only those Heaven-Defying Prodigies or those carrying monstrous sins would encounter! This damn Heaven really didn’t intend to give him a way to live!
The dark purple lightning snake was not fast; it could even be said to be "swimming" slowly toward Fang Hao. But the invisible pressure was ten times more terrifying than any previous lightning strike! Fang Hao felt his thinking was about to be frozen, and even breathing became incomparably difficult.
"If I can’t block it, I’ll die! Fight it!" At this life-or-death juncture, Fang Hao was forced to unleash the ruthlessness deep in his bones. He roared wildly, no longer holding back, and poured his remaining spiritual power along with his Divine Soul power frantically into the battle heaven axe and the chaos pill cauldron!
"Hum—!" The battle heaven axe shook violently. On the blade, that faint, sharp Aura appeared again. Although it was still dim, it carried a tragic Aura of cleaving through everything and pressing forward without retreat! It did not actively strike back but just lay there quietly, yet it seemed like an impassable chasm!
The chaos pill cauldron’s body erupted with brilliant light, its rotation speed increased sharply, and the suction force from its mouth surged, actively meeting the dark purple lightning snake, actually intending to suck it into the cauldron!
The dark purple lightning snake seemed to sense the provocation, suddenly accelerated, and slammed into it fiercely!
"Clang—!!!" It first hit the mouth of the chaos pill cauldron! A thunderous sound, like a great bell, shook the entire valley!
The chaos pill cauldron trembled violently, its light instantly dimming, and a fine crack even appeared on its surface! But in the end, it had blocked it!
The mouth of the cauldron erupted with intense Chaos light, frantically countering and grinding against the dark purple lightning. It actually managed to forcibly suck a small part of the lightning snake’s front end into the cauldron! Inside the cauldron came a "hissing" sound, like cold water dripping into boiling oil; the cauldron vibrated violently, as if it were about to explode!
The remaining, thicker dark purple lightning snake bypassed the chaos pill cauldron and hacked fiercely onto the battle heaven axe lying across the front!
"Clang—!!!" Another, even sharper and more ear-piercing sound of metal clashing rang out! A stream of blinding sparks erupted from the dark golden body of the battle heaven axe!
That faint, sharp Aura collided fiercely with the dark purple lightning and annihilated it! The axe body emitted an unbearable creaking sound, and on the blade, a tiny, almost invisible nick was actually corroded! But it had also blocked it! That terrifying nirvana purple heaven thunder, capable of eroding the Origin of a Magic Treasure, was actually forcefully slashed and repelled of most of its power by this seemingly unremarkable axe!
However, even so, both the chaos pill cauldron and the battle heaven axe had reached their limits. The remaining dark purple lightning, about thirty percent, like a fish that slipped through the net, bypassed the two treasures and struck Fang Hao solidly!
This time, there was no earth-shattering explosion, nor was there flesh and blood flying everywhere. As soon as the dark purple lightning touched his body, Fang Hao felt a cold, dead, and highly corrosive force instantly drill into his limbs and bones, heading straight for his Dantian! Wherever it passed, Meridians withered, flesh melted, and spiritual power dissipated! Even his tough Physical Body, which he was proud of and had tempered through Golden Qi Marrow Cleansing, quickly turned ashen and lost its vitality under this force!
"Ah—!" Fang Hao let out a scream of extreme misery. His whole body, as if his bones had been removed, collapsed. His skin lost its luster at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming dry and wrinkled, as if he had aged a hundred years in an instant! The vitality within his body was being frantically eroded and plundered by this nirvana purple heaven thunder!
Inside the Dantian, the newly solidified Nascent Soul was also affected; its tiny body instantly became dim, and gray spots even appeared on its surface, as if it were about to petrify and decay!
Just at the moment when Fang Hao’s consciousness was about to sink completely and his vitality was about to be cut off, the silent Chaos Origin Pill that had been hovering below the Nascent Soul, and the chaos pill cauldron with its dimming light beside it, shook simultaneously!
The Chaos Origin Pill once again emitted a wisp of Chaos Origin that was purer and more ancient than before, forcibly protecting the core of the Nascent Soul and attempting to dispel the eroding power of Nirvana.
And the chaos pill cauldron shook violently. From the crack on its body, it actually "puffed" out a small wisp of the dark purple lightning that it had forcibly sucked in and partially refined! This wisp of lightning, although still dangerous, had its destructive and corrosive intent seemingly weakened and transformed by the chaos pill cauldron at the cost of its own damage, carrying a trace of a strange, life-and-death revolving Chaos Aura!
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