Chapter 43: The Divine Vine Appears, Drawing Lightning to Comprehend the Dao
Following that faint yet unique sensing, Yu Yuanchen immersed all his focus into investigating these hills.
His Spiritual Power, like the finest tentacles, brushed over every inch of soil, every rock, and every plant.
He eliminated several sources of interference caused by geological structures or other thunder element plants; eventually, all clues and that mysterious pull pointed to a hill surrounded by others, one that looked no different from the rest, yet was exceptionally steep and majestic, more like a mountain Peak.
This Peak did not belong to the famous, perilous mountains of the Great Star Dou Mixed Region; it stood silently here, as if forgotten by time.
But as he approached, he could feel an introverted, majestic thunder power akin to a sleeping volcano.
The surface of the mountain was covered in dense vegetation, but the higher one went, the sparser it became, replaced by a peculiar, dark purple rock with a metallic sheen.
Yu Yuanchen concealed all his aura and climbed upward quietly like a nimble ape.
The higher he climbed, the purer and more active the thunder element in the air became, even carrying a faint, elusive pressure.
When he finally climbed to the Peak, the sight before him made his breath hitch, his spirit shaken!
The Peak was not pointed but rather a relatively flat and open platform, about a hundred meters in circumference.
In the center of the platform, a strange plant stood proudly!
Its entire body was a deep, dark purple; its main stem was not the softness of an ordinary vine but rather knotted and vigorous like a Dragon body, flashing with a metallic luster, covered in naturally formed, strange patterns resembling thunder runes.
Countless similarly dark purple vines, like living thunder snakes, spread from the main stem; some were Binding around the main stem, while others took root like tentacles into the surrounding rocks, and as they writhed slightly, they triggered the loose thunder element in the surrounding air to emit subtle "crackle" sounds.
On the vines and leaves, tiny, deep-colored sparks near black were constantly jumping.
The most eye-catching part was its top; it was not a flower, but a mass of dark purple thunder clouds constantly rotating, inside which countless thunder Dragons seemed to be roaring!
From within the thunder clouds, what radiated was no longer ordinary thunder element fluctuations, but an aura of the Ultimate Thunder — one that transcended all living things and carried the dual Concept of destruction and creation!
This was exactly what he had been searching for so bitterly, the Thunder Hell Vine!
Yu Yuanchen held his breath, not daring to be the slightest bit careless.
He observed carefully, and relying on his powerful Spiritual Power perception and familiarity with thunder, he judged that the cultivation of this Thunder Hell Vine had already reached over forty-nine thousand years!
It was only a little over a hundred years of accumulation away from that legendary fifty-thousand-year chasm!
"Over forty-nine thousand years... With its Heaven-Defying ability to cultivate by devouring heavenly lightning, plus the majestic thunder element gathered on this Peak, I fear that in little more than a year, it will attempt to Breakthrough to the fifty-thousand-year cultivation mark and trigger that ten-dead-no-living doomsday Lightning Tribulation!" Yu Yuanchen felt a chill in his heart.
At the same time, he was even more certain that this was the target he was looking for; only such a Heaven-Defying object could possess such terrifying power before reaching fifty thousand years.
He cautiously tried to approach, wanting to more clearly comprehend the Life and true meaning of thunder it contained.
However, just as he stepped into the range of about three hundred meters from the Thunder Hell Vine, a sudden change occurred!
The Thunder Hell Vine, which seemed to be slumbering, appeared to be startled by this unfamiliar aura. The dark purple thunder cloud at its top suddenly paused, and then, a bolt of thunder only as thick as an arm but condensed to the extreme, with a color as deep as ink, tore through the air without warning. Like a spear of judgment sent down by the heavens, it instantly crossed hundreds of meters and struck directly at Yu Yuanchen!
The speed of this thunderbolt surpassed thought, and the extreme destructive power it contained made Yu Yuanchen's scalp tingle!
"Not good!"
At the critical moment, Yu Yuanchen's combat instincts exploded! Thunder God mode was instantly activated, Dragon scale armor covered his whole body, the Thunder Strike Garment vibrated at high speed; he raised his own defense to the extreme, while simultaneously using Swimming Dragon Steps at full power to dodge to the side!
"Boom crack—!!!"
Even so, that bolt of Ultimate Thunder still grazed the edge of his defense! The terrifying thunder storm energy exploded; Yu Yuanchen only felt an irresistible giant force slam heavily into him. The Dragon scale armor flashed chaotically, the Thunder Strike Garment was instantly torn, his Qi and blood churned violently, his throat felt sweet, and a mouthful of blood couldn't help but be sprayed out. He was blown away for dozens of meters and smashed heavily onto the ground.
He quickly flipped up, his Soul Power circulating within his body to suppress the churning Qi and blood, and checked himself.
Fortunately, his reaction was fast enough; his defenses were fully open and he had avoided the direct impact. Only his organs had suffered a slight shock, and he had sustained some minor external injuries, but his internal state was not damaged.
But this also made him deeply realize the terror of the Ultimate Thunder! Just a casually triggered lightning bolt had such power; if it were to erupt with full force, or trigger a real Heavenly Tribulation, what kind of world-destroying scene would that be?
"As expected of a super Soul Beast possessing the Thunder God Bloodline!" Yu Yuanchen was horrified in his heart, but at the same time, even more excited.
He did not continue to rashly approach, knowing deep down that with his current strength, facing this nearly fifty-thousand-year-old Thunder Hell Vine head-on was no different from hitting a stone with an egg.
He retreated to a relatively hidden giant rock about one kilometer away. This distance was at the edge of the opponent's alert range, yet he could still barely perceive the unique Concept it radiated by relying on his powerful Spiritual Power.
"Since I cannot defeat it by force, I will take it by wit. My goal was originally to comprehend the mystery of Life contained within its thunder."
He sat cross-legged, his Spiritual Power like a gentle tide slowly spreading toward the Peak, not daring to carry the slightest hostility, simply and purely going to feel, to get close to that Thunder Hell Vine.
He felt the pure destruction contained within that Ultimate Thunder, enough to annihilate all things.
But at the end of this destruction, in the core of that dark purple thunder light, he captured a trace of something more obscure, yet incomparably tenacious, as if born from silence — a vibrant Life!
This was exactly the Foundation of the Thunder Hell Vine's Heaven-Defying actions; it was the miracle of Life it had nurtured within its own body after devouring destructive Heavenly Tribulations!
"Nurturing new Life amidst destruction... Thunder is not just about the end, it is also the beginning..." Yu Yuanchen was immersed in this profound realization.
Sun rose and moon set, time passed. Yu Yuanchen, like an old monk entering meditation, sat for two months, one kilometer away from the Thunder Hell Vine.
He no longer thought about hunting, no longer worried about time, and devoted himself entirely to the comprehension of that thunder Concept where destruction and Life coexisted.
He observed how the Thunder Hell Vine triggered the thunder element between heaven and earth, how it maintained its own fire of Life amidst that violent energy, and how it converted that thunder representing Heavenly Tribulation into resources for its own growth.
These two months, his Spiritual Power generated a subtle resonance with that plant-type Soul Beast.
The faint Concept of Life within his body, originating from the "Spring Thunder of Awakening Insects," under the guidance and nourishment of the Thunder Hell Vine's majestic Origin of Life, was like a seed encountering sweet rain, beginning to grow vigorously, becoming clearer and richer.
His Soul Power also broke through from the Peak of level 66 to level 67 during this period.
He tried to carefully guide this strengthened thunder power, which contained Life, to the location of his liver.
At first, his liver was somewhat resistant to this external power, which, although of the same source, had special properties.
But he was extremely patient; like a spring breeze turning into rain, he guided this gentle thunder of Life bit by bit, nourishing every tiny structure of his liver.
Gradually, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that when his liver received the nourishment of this special thunder power, the four types of thunder property powers — "Fire's Ascension," "Earth's Heaviness," "Wind's Agility," and "Water's Flexibility" — which had been simulated by tempering his heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys (using wind in place of metal) respectively, seemed to be drawn by some invisible force. They began to spontaneously and extremely slowly follow the flow of Qi and blood, forming a weak cycle among the five organs!
The warmth of the heart-fire thunder, the stability of the spleen-earth thunder, the clarity of the lung-wind thunder, the nourishment of the kidney-water thunder, and the newly added growth of the liver-wood thunder — these five types of thunder power, each with different properties but originating from the same source, accompanied by the surging Qi and blood, like five-colored radiance, began to slowly circulate and cycle back and forth among his five internal organs!
Once this cycle was formed, a mysterious change occurred.
The five special properties of thunder power blended and complemented each other in the cycle, and began to seep out of the organs bit by bit, wandering through his whole body with the Qi and blood, beginning an initial contact and Fusion with the thunder-attribute Soul Power that was surging in his Meridians and was originally relatively singular in attribute!
"Hum—"
When the first wisp of special Soul Power, which had fused the changes of the five properties, was born, Yu Yuanchen's whole body shook violently!
He felt as if his Soul Power had been injected with brand new vitality, becoming more agile, heavier, and more full of infinite possibilities!
Although this Fusion was still extremely weak, just an initial sign, he had a strong premonition in the dark —
If his thunder-attribute Soul Power could perfectly fuse these five thunder property changes that represented different emphases, then, quantitative change would lead to qualitative change, and his lightning might be able to break the boundaries and ascend to the true — Ultimate Thunder!
This discovery made him ecstatic!
Ultimate attributes are the pinnacle of power that countless people in the Spirit Master's world dream of!
He originally thought he would need to absorb the Soul Ring of the Thunder Hell Vine to possibly touch it; he didn't expect that in the combination of tempering the five organs and property changes, he had walked out a path leading to the Ultimate!
He immediately began trying to actively guide and accelerate this Fusion.
However, reality gave him a blow to the head.
The process of Fusion was far more difficult than imagined.
The five property changes originated from different organs, representing different sides of thunder; wanting to perfectly integrate them required extremely high control and a deeper understanding of the essence of thunder.
No matter how hard he tried, the progress of the Fusion, after completing about one-third, was like encountering an invisible barrier and could hardly advance any further!
No matter how he urged his Soul Power or guided his Qi and blood, those five property powers were always missing a few chances, unable to completely blend like water and milk, to achieve Perfection.
Yu Yuanchen fell into deep distress.
He repeatedly deduced and discovered that the problem might lie in the "Foundation."
The five property changes he simulated were, after all, "imitations," lacking the "Origin" Concept of true Ultimate attributes to serve as a catalyst and binder.
Especially the Concept of Life represented by the "Wood" attribute, which served as the core; although strengthened, it still appeared immature and shallow compared to the majestic Life nurtured from the destructive Heavenly Tribulation of the Thunder Hell Vine.
"Missing that most critical 'true meaning'..." Yu Yuanchen cast his gaze again toward the Thunder Hell Vine standing quietly on the distant Peak, yet emitting a heart-palpitating aura, and a trace of madness and determination flashed in his eyes.
"Since the comprehended Concept of Life is not enough, then I will go and experience it personally! What method could be better for comprehending the true meaning of the Ultimate Thunder than facing its destruction and new Life head-on?"
A thought, bold to the point of being nearly suicidal, took shape in his heart — actively drawing lightning!
Let the Thunder Hell Vine trigger thunder to strike him, and on the edge of Life and death, capture that sliver of Life born from destruction, and experience the most Origin rhythm of the Ultimate Thunder!
He knew this was incomparably dangerous; the slightest carelessness would result in his form and spirit being destroyed.
But on the road to the strongest, how can one not have the courage to stake everything?
He took a deep breath, adjusted his state, and raised his Soul Power, Qi, and Spiritual Power to the Peak.
Subsequently, he slowly walked out from the giant rock where he was hiding, and once again, toward that mountain, toward that Thunder Hell Vine, he took a step.
This time, he was not going to fight, nor was he going to watch from afar, but he was going to — attend a baptism of thunder!
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