Chapter 352 - 187: Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder, Tongxuan Middle Stage

BAM!

The sudden blow instantly pierced Ji Li’s chest. A triumphant glint flashed in Bi Jiang’s sinister eyes. "Fellow Daoist Ji, in the end, I’m the one who won."

"Don’t you worry. I’ll take good care of this Nine Nether Spirit Dark Grass for you, brother."

Ji Li’s stout body was impaled by Bi Jiang’s fist, blood trickling out. A wave of excruciating pain washed over him.

Ji Li’s eyes went wide, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he offered a bleak smile. "Cough... Cough, Bi Jiang, you’re truly ruthless!"

"But..."

"If I can’t have it, then you can fucking forget it!"

A look of grim determination flashed in Ji Li’s eyes, and a chilling smile spread across his lips.

"Let’s die together!"

With that, Ji Li violently detonated his foundation, opting for mutual destruction!

"Oh no!!" Bi Jiang’s pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks.

’This guy is actually going to self-destruct!!’

At such a close range, he had no way to resist the explosion of a True Martial Realm Second Layer Cultivator. If he couldn’t get away, death was the only outcome!

At this thought, raw fear washed over Bi Jiang’s face. He stammered, "Brother Ji, no... no, I won’t take a single piece of this Nine Nether Spirit Dark Grass! I’ll even give you everything I own! Please, don’t do anything rash!"

A chilling smile spread across Ji Li’s plump face. "Too late!!"

BANG!!

Centered on Ji Li’s Dantian, an immense burst of True Essence Energy erupted. Ripples, like waves on the ocean, instantly spread out from him, causing space itself to tremble wherever they passed.

The supremely powerful force instantly annihilated them both. The surrounding cliffs crumbled in an instant, massive boulders turning to dust that scattered into the air.

At that moment, thousands of miles away in the sky,

a figure streaked through the heavens like a bolt of lightning.

"Hm, two at the True Martial Realm..." Gu Yun’s profound gaze pierced through the world. He instantly flashed to where the two had been, a hint of surprise in his eyes. ’So one of them self-destructed.’

Then, his gaze shifted to the Spirit Grass, which was emitting a faint, misty glow and contained a vast amount of energy.

’This is... Nine Nether Spirit Dark Grass!’

’No wonder.’

Gu Yun instantly understood why the two had fought to the death. Brothers turning on each other for a rare treasure—such incidents were all too common in the Cultivation Realm.

"What a pity..." Gu Yun’s gaze fell upon the Nine Nether Spirit Dark Grass, now severely damaged by the aftershock of the self-destruction. Its energy was dissipating. Such a rare treasure was completely ruined.

He glanced at the surrounding devastation—cracked peaks and a land covered in rubble—before turning his attention tens of thousands of miles away. There, two mountains, tall as swords piercing the heavens, formed a canyon-like shape where a faint red light flickered.

"That must be the place," Gu Yun murmured to himself. With a single step, he transformed into a streak of light, crossing thousands of miles in an instant.

Soon, Gu Yun arrived in the canyon formed by the two towering mountains. The sky was dim, the clouds were heavy, and fierce winds raged. The airflow was like a surging tsunami, roaring with power.

As Gu Yun ventured deeper, his surroundings suddenly became unnaturally quiet, so much so that one could hear a pin drop.

’That’s...’ Soon, Gu Yun’s pupils constricted.

In the deepest part of the canyon, a crimson spatial vortex hung in mid-air. It pulsed with gnarled arcs of lightning and a terrifying Divine Power.

It looked as if it could vanish into the void at any moment.

But Gu Yun stepped forward and, almost instantly, entered the vortex of crimson Thunder Arcs. The world spun, and everything went black.

When Gu Yun opened his eyes again, they widened, his face flushed with excitement.

The world before him was completely crimson. The sky crackled with red Thunder that contained immense Divine Power!

This place was a natural Thunder Domain!

"That’s right... this is it."

"It’s you." Faint Thunder Arcs flickered in Gu Yun’s profound eyes as he looked up at the crimson sky. At its very zenith, he could see something that emanated an extremely profound aura, like a Thunder Punishment. It radiated a scorching light, containing a terrifying power that seemed capable of shattering the world!

The Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder!!

It burns the heavens and earth, its thunder annihilating the masses!

The next moment, Gu Yun took a gentle step forward, sending out ripples through the air. He then instantly flashed to the center of the crimson Thunder Domain.

HUMMM!!

Gu Yun’s Celestial Thunder Dao Body instantly reacted.

It had sensed the Heaven and Earth Divine Thunder!

A profound fluctuation emanated from Gu Yun’s body, covering the entire domain. It seemed to be attracting the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder, a deep sense of familiarity calling out to it.

RUMBLE!!

Countless crimson bolts of Thunder suddenly ripped through the domain, scorching the land and tearing apart the sky. They let out earth-shattering roars, releasing a vast Divine Power that could destroy the world!

The Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder seemed to be jumping for joy, extremely excited!

The figure suspended in mid-air—clad in a white robe that fluttered in the wind, long hair dancing, possessing the Celestial Thunder Dao Body, and surrounded by Dao Rhythm, radiating a terrifying aura—

He was the one it had been looking for.

SWOOSH!

In the next instant, a bolt of intensely crimson Thunder, radiating a Divine Power like that of Celestial Punishment and containing a terrifying chaotic aura, surged into Gu Yun’s body.

"It... it entered on its own?!" Gu Yun was stunned, feeling the origin source of the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder now floating in his Dantian.

Disbelief was written all over Gu Yun’s face. ’I... I subdued it just like that?’

He had originally thought he would have to go through countless hardships and ultimately rely on the Secret Technique Extreme Spirit Thunder Method to forcibly absorb the Divine Thunder.

But he never expected it to come to him willingly.

Moreover, he felt an extreme sense of familiarity with it, as if it were a natural bond!

After a moment, Gu Yun figured out the reason.

It was probably because of the Celestial Thunder Dao Body he had obtained in the Holy Origin Seven-Star Tower.

The Celestial Thunder Dao Body possesses a natural affinity for the Thunder Dao. When it reaches its peak,

one can command the Myriad Thunders and enact punishment on behalf of the heavens. It could be called a true child of the heavens, one of the most suitable physiques for cultivating Thunder Techniques. Even across the vast and boundless Cangwu Immortal Continent, it was considered a top-tier talent.

If not for his Celestial Thunder Dao Body, he couldn’t think of any reason why the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder would offer itself up to him.

"Having a special physique really makes a difference..." Gu Yun floated in mid-air, his face full of emotion. ’Even Divine Thunder delivers itself to my doorstep.’

It was just like...

when you have immense wealth, everyone is your friend.

Feeling the extremely pure Thunder Power and the boundless energy it contained within him, Gu Yun understood that this was the energy brought by the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder. Once he completely refined it, his strength would surely soar!

At this thought, a flash of lightning crossed Gu Yun’s eyes, and arcs of thunder flickered around his body.

"Divine Thunder extinguishes, Celestial Thunder falls, Myriad Thunders enter my body!!"

RUMBLE!!

In the crimson Thunder Domain, thousands of red lightning bolts tore through the sky, flooding into Gu Yun’s body like a tidal wave.

For a time, the sky above radiated an unprecedented crimson glow. Gu Yun, suspended in the center, looked just like a Heaven and Earth Thunder God!

Gu Yun fiercely activated the Nine Tribulations Thunder Gang Decision, beginning the Circulation of Heaven and Earth to refine the pure energy of the Divine Thunder.

Time passed slowly. Gu Yun’s aura climbed steadily higher. The mere wisps of power leaking from him were enough to cause the surrounding space to collapse and shatter, revealing the deep, endless abyss of the void!

「Three months later,」

BOOM!!

An incredibly terrifying wave of power, like a dust storm, blasted out from Gu Yun, impacting the surrounding domain.

He slowly opened his eyes, which now glinted with lightning. A crimson Thunder Arc flashed and disappeared. A powerful aura burst forth, causing the space around him to collapse and the entire domain to tremble violently as if struck by a flood!

"Tongxuan Realm Middle Stage!"

Gu Yun slowly exhaled, feeling the vast ocean of Magical Power within him. He felt so powerful that a single punch could shatter the heavens.

By refining the immense energy from the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder, he had advanced his Cultivation to the Tongxuan Realm Middle Stage in just three months. This was progress that would take other Tongxuan Realm Cultivators decades of hard work to achieve. Furthermore, after subduing the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder, his combat strength had become terrifyingly powerful.