Chapter 167 - 145: It’s Out, Lightning Attribute Gene Ability

Chapter 167: Chapter 145: It’s Out, Lightning Attribute Gene Ability

Meanwhile, Ji Zhixing had withstood more lightning strikes than anyone could count.

"Whether he pulls through or not is entirely up to him," Xu Cheng muttered, inwardly clicking his tongue in amazement.

He had been struck by this very same lightning before. However, he had only managed to endure two bolts before the agony became unbearable, forcing him to flee. To his dismay, the thundercloud had relentlessly chased after him, raining down strike after strike. Left with no other choice, he had to rely on the power of the Azure Sky Divine Wood to finally escape.

The agonizing, bone-deep pain, coupled with a maddening numbness, was still fresh in his memory.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, Ji Zhixing had already absorbed an ungodly number of bolts. He stood there, seemingly as oblivious to the pain as a piece of dead wood.

"Does this guy really not feel any pain?" Xu Cheng murmured.

Xiao Mingyue watched Ji Zhixing with a mixture of profound worry and heartache, her face etched with tension. She could clearly see the wounds on his body, his skin charred black from the strikes, and the slight tremors that wracked his frame each time a bolt hit him. But she also knew she was utterly helpless to intervene. Right now, Ji Zhixing could only rely on himself.

Beneath the churning thunderclouds, bolt after bolt crashed against his body. Ji Zhixing focused inward, sensing the subtle tremors of his Five-Colored Mutant Willow Tree gene. He could feel its primal fear of the lightning, and he felt it slowly sinking into a state of dead silence.

"This is the feeling..." Ji Zhixing thought silently.

Under the relentless bombardment of the lightning, the Five-Colored Mutant Willow Tree gene was undergoing a subtle, mysterious transformation. It was not a blossoming of vitality, but rather a transition from abundant life into absolute dead silence. It was like a real tree struck by lightning—its branches and leaves withering, its trunk scorched black, looking as though it could perish at any moment.

Yet, hidden deep within that dead silence, a new spark of vitality was faintly brewing. As the lightning continued to crash down, that tiny spark of life was not extinguished. Instead, it grew stronger and more concentrated. It was like a seed buried in dark soil, quietly accumulating power, waiting for the perfect moment to break through the surface.

"Lightning... isn’t just about destruction..."

In that moment, Ji Zhixing suddenly gained a much deeper understanding of the element. Lightning could cleave through anything and destroy everything in its path; this was its destructive power. But in the wake of destruction, new life often followed. That was the vitality of lightning.

Destruction and rebirth—two sides of the exact same coin.

"So that’s how it is..."

Ji Zhixing faintly grasped the true meaning of the lightning’s annihilation, as well as its vitality. At this stage, however, his understanding was only rudimentary. He had yet to fully comprehend his own lightning-attribute genetic ability.

"What exactly do I need to do?" he wondered, desperately trying to cling to that fleeting flash of enlightenment.

But the moment the thought crossed his mind, another bolt crashed down from the sky, slamming into him.

BOOM!

The intense pain and numbing shock stunned him for a split second, causing his focus to instantly scatter. The budding thoughts he had just managed to form evaporated into thin air under the sheer force of the strike.

Ji Zhixing shook his dizzy, throbbing head.

He thought, "This won’t work if things keep going like this. With every bolt of lightning that falls, my thoughts are blown away, leaving absolutely nothing behind. It’s virtually impossible to comprehend anything under these conditions. What should I do?"

He couldn’t think of an immediate answer; he only knew that he had to calm himself down. Only by calming down and detaching himself from the physical agony of the lightning strikes would he have any hope of comprehending his own lightning-attribute genetic ability.

He attempted to activate his Hundred Generations Stone Heart ability, willing his mind to become as solid and unyielding as a boulder.

It was no use. While turning his mind into stone successfully calmed him down, it simultaneously blocked his ability to perceive and comprehend the lightning.

"Calm down..."

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind. The next moment, while maintaining his Five-Colored Spiritual Light and petrified armor, he completely quieted his mind, directing his full consciousness toward his Five-Colored Mutant Willow Tree gene.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Bolt after bolt of lightning crashed down, mercilessly striking Ji Zhixing. But this time, he acted as if he couldn’t feel a thing. He didn’t even flinch. His body was still enduring the brutal bombardment, but his consciousness was now entirely submerged within himself, severed from the outside world.

He relied purely on instinct to maintain the Five-Colored Spiritual Light and petrified armor, immediately repairing them the moment the lightning shattered their defenses. Simultaneously, his feet remained firmly planted on the ground, acting like the roots of a tree. They continuously siphoned power from the earth to replenish his Genetic Source Power.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Ji Zhixing felt the presence of his Five-Colored Mutant Willow Tree gene. He discovered that as his physical body endured the lightning strikes, the phantom image of his gene was simultaneously enduring its own barrage. These bolts seemed to be miniature versions of the ones striking his physical form. They continuously struck the phantom of the Five-Colored Mutant Willow Tree in a relentless, endless stream.

After suffering this continuous bombardment, the bark of the phantom tree gradually blackened, and its branches and leaves withered away piece by piece. The entire tree slowly fell into absolute stillness, looking as though it was about to die completely.

"This is annihilation..." Ji Zhixing muttered in his mind.

He watched as the once-vibrant phantom of the Five-Colored Mutant Willow Tree turned entirely lifeless under the illusory lightning.

One bolt, two bolts, three bolts...

As the lightning endlessly crashed down, the phantom grew increasingly dim and profoundly silent.

Suddenly, an indeterminable amount of time after the final bolt of lightning fell...

HUM!

A flash of lightning flickered across the branches of the phantom tree, vanishing as quickly as it appeared. Immediately following that, the charred bark began to peel off bit by bit, revealing brand-new bark underneath. The newly formed bark was a deep, profound dark green. Faint arcs of lightning danced across its surface, as if every inch of it was saturated with the primal power of thunder.

"Is this the process of the Five-Colored Mutant Willow Tree evolving into the Thunder-Silent Willow Tree?"

In that precise moment, Ji Zhixing finally felt that he had grasped something profound.

BOOM!

Right then, another bolt of lightning tore through the sky and slammed into his body. The instant the lightning entered him, his aura fundamentally shifted. It became ethereal and nearly imperceptible, as if he himself had transformed into a dying willow tree struck by lightning.

There was no life in that aura—only dead silence and decay.

"Annihilation... So this is annihilation," Ji Zhixing thought.

He snapped his eyes open, a brilliant light flashing within his gaze. Slowly, he raised his right hand and spread his five fingers.

The next moment, an arc of purplish-black lightning abruptly materialized in the center of his palm. The lightning arc was only as thick as a finger, its color as deep and dark as ink. It radiated an aura entirely distinct from ordinary lightning. It did not possess a chaotic, all-destroying ferocity. Instead, it was an inward-drawing, profoundly restrained power infused with the essence of absolute annihilation.

It felt as though wherever this lightning passed, all things would return to dead silence.

"The Thunder of Annihilation... I’ve finally comprehended it!"

Ji Zhixing’s pupils dilated as a radiant light shone from his eyes. He had finally awakened his own lightning-attribute genetic ability.

The Thunder of Annihilation—a power perfectly synchronized with his Thunder-Silent Willow Tree gene.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Zhixing suppressed the overwhelming surge of excitement in his heart and looked inward at his Genetic Acupoint. The Five-Colored Mutant Willow Tree gene was no longer in a state of annihilation. Instead, it was brimming with vibrant life once more. Arcs of lightning danced across the newly formed bark, and tiny electrical currents flowed seamlessly through its branches and leaves. The entire tree radiated an entirely new and overwhelmingly powerful aura.

"It’s still missing something," Ji Zhixing thought, probing his senses slightly.

He knew that in just a few days, his Five-Colored Mutant Willow Tree gene would fully evolve into the Thunder-Silent Willow Tree gene.

"A few days... That’s nothing." He took another deep breath, his heart brimming with anticipation.

"Wait, something’s wrong!"

Right at that moment, he suddenly noticed something amiss. Ever since he fully comprehended his own lightning-attribute genetic ability, the thundercloud directly above him had completely ceased striking him. The purple-gold lightning bolts continued to snake through the dense clouds, yet none of them rained down.

Furthermore, in that exact moment, he faintly sensed a subtle, almost ethereal connection forming between himself and the colossal thundercloud. It was a miraculous sensation, as if an invisible thread had tethered the two of them together.

"This thundercloud..." Ji Zhixing raised his head, staring deeply into the black mass above.

The electrical currents within the dark clouds were still flashing, but they had entirely shed their previous chaotic hostility.

"This entire thundercloud... is an extraordinary treasure!"

In an instant, this inexplicable realization surfaced in Ji Zhixing’s mind.

"Could it be... because I comprehended the Thunder of Annihilation, this thundercloud has acknowledged me?" A bold thought welled up in his mind, causing his heartbeat to accelerate uncontrollably.

If this thundercloud truly was an extraordinary treasure, its immense value would be absolutely immeasurable.