Chapter 177 - 151: Growth-Type Exotic Treasure, Returning on a Cloud

Chapter 177: Chapter 151: Growth-Type Exotic Treasure, Returning on a Cloud

Ten-odd minutes later, Ji Zhixing slowly opened his eyes. The refinement was complete. With a mere thought, he received the information about that thundercloud.

"Rare treasure, Purple Gold Thundercloud. After refinement, it can be ridden for flight and manipulated to attack enemies.

"The Purple Gold Thundercloud can amplify the power of lightning-attribute attacks. At the same time, it possesses the ability to devour and store lightning. The more lightning it stores, the greater its power.

"Furthermore, there is a certain probability that the Purple Gold Thundercloud can grow by devouring lightning."

"A growth-type rare treasure?" Ji Zhixing thought, surprised but also extremely satisfied.

This rare treasure’s functions were far more comprehensive than he had imagined. Not only could it be used for flight and offense, but it could also amplify his lightning-attribute abilities. Moreover, it could grow by devouring lightning, which meant its potential was immense.

"It’s a pity that the stored lightning inside was completely exhausted by me, with barely any left," Ji Zhixing said, shaking his head and feeling slightly regretful.

After he had poured out most of its power, the current Purple Gold Thundercloud’s might had dropped by an unknown amount compared to the beginning. If he used it to attack enemies now, it probably wouldn’t even have a tenth of its previous power.

Fortunately, this treasure’s power could be restored. As long as he found a way for it to devour more lightning, its might would recover. Once it returned to its peak state—or even surpassed it—it would become a true trump card.

"Also, my previous senses were actually wrong," Ji Zhixing sighed in his heart. "I sensed that my Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing was extremely thirsty for this thundercloud, and I thought it was hungry and wanted to devour it.

"Now I know that my Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing actually wanted the Purple Gold Thundercloud to continue nourishing it.

"The Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing was originally birthed from this thundercloud, so there is a natural connection between the two."

He realized that external genes were external genes after all. No matter how high his compatibility with them was, his senses could still misfire.

"However, this is fine too," he mused. "This way, I can keep this thundercloud."

Opening his eyes and glancing at the sky, Ji Zhixing said to Xiao Mingyue and the others, "Alright, I’m done refining. Let’s head back."

"We do need to hurry," Xiao Mingyue nodded.

By this time, the sky was already growing dark, and the illusory sun above was about to set. Nights in the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land were perilous. The gene beasts that lay dormant during the day would become unusually active at night, and their strength would greatly increase. They had to rush back as quickly as possible. This was especially true because, among the group, everyone except Jiang Qingqian—Ji Zhixing, Xiao Mingyue, and Xu Cheng—had already used the Azure Sky Divine Wood’s teleportation for the day. To return to the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest, they could only run back on foot.

"I’ll give you guys a ride," Ji Zhixing said.

With a thought, he summoned the Purple Gold Thundercloud from his Genetic Melting Furnace, letting it hover in front of him.

The Purple Gold Thundercloud was now less than ten meters in circumference. Dark clouds churned and lightning flashed, but it was much gentler than before, no longer emitting that irritable aura. With a light leap, Ji Zhixing landed on top of the thundercloud.

This time was different from before. He didn’t need to summon the Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing to stand on top of the thundercloud without falling through. After the refinement, this thundercloud had become his treasure, intimately connected to his mind. Standing on it felt like stepping on a tuft of cotton; the surface of the thundercloud had a soft elasticity that made it very comfortable to stand on.

"Will this work?" Xu Cheng’s eyes lit up at the sight. He was eager to try but also a bit worried.

Having been struck by this thundercloud several times earlier to the point where his hair was scorched, he still felt a lingering fear toward it. To actually stand on it, he really didn’t quite have the courage.

"It should be fine," Xiao Mingyue smiled.

She leaped up, landing beside Ji Zhixing and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Seeing this, Xu Cheng and Jiang Qingqian exchanged a glance. No longer hesitating, they gritted their teeth and leaped onto the thundercloud together.

"Stand firm," Ji Zhixing said. "Let’s go!"

The next moment, with a mere thought, he drove the thundercloud to fly toward the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest. The thundercloud slowly rose, hovering at a low altitude of about a dozen meters above the ground, before it started to accelerate.

"Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing," Ji Zhixing thought.

As the thundercloud flew forward, he summoned his Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing. The purplish-gold lightning wings unfurled behind his back, spanning three meters with lightning flashing across them. Flapping his wings in sync with the thundercloud beneath his feet, he sped forward at an even faster pace.

The thundercloud’s innate speed wasn’t slow, but with the added propulsion of the Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing, their speed abruptly surged by a large margin. The wind howled as the scenery below rapidly receded.

"So fast!" Xu Cheng was startled when he felt the thundercloud’s moving speed, hastily steadying his stance. Jiang Qingqian did the same beside him.

Seeing this, Xiao Mingyue’s eyes lit up as she asked, "Your Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing can coordinate with this thundercloud?"

"Yeah," Ji Zhixing nodded. "My Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing was birthed from this thundercloud to begin with. The combination of the two allows me to move even faster."

He paused to gauge their speed and calculated silently, "My current speed should be twenty to thirty percent faster than when I use the Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing alone."

"With this kind of speed, you shouldn’t be any slower than Gongye Zhou, right?" Xu Cheng marveled.

"I still can’t compare to him," Ji Zhixing shook his head.

He had clearly seen the speed Gongye Zhou displayed earlier. Every flap of those illusory equine wings allowed him to glide an extremely long distance. Even with the dual boosts of the thundercloud and the Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing, his current speed still couldn’t match Gongye Zhou’s.

"Unless I can find a way to restore some of the thundercloud’s power, or evolve my Purple Gold Thundercloud Wing to five-star quality," Ji Zhixing thought silently. "Otherwise, it will be very difficult for me to catch up to him in terms of speed."

However, he wasn’t in a hurry. He could take his time with this matter. Now that he possessed flight capabilities, at the very least, he wouldn’t be reduced to staring helplessly when facing airborne enemies like before.

In the distance, the students from the three universities watched Ji Zhixing and his group depart on the cloud. Feeling envious, they immediately rushed into the area where the Twisted Forest used to be to investigate. However, a moment later, they realized there was absolutely nothing left. There was simply no opportunity for them to pick up any scraps. The Twisted Forest had been blasted clean; the giant tree in the core area had been uprooted, leaving only a massive crater and the ground littered with charred debris.

"What a pity. Let’s go too. Watching that grand battle today makes this trip worthwhile," one person said.

Subsequently, they respectfully called out to the Azure Sky Divine Wood, having it teleport them back to the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest.

Meanwhile, in the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest.

Cao Zhenxing and Yu Mengdie, having somewhat recovered from their injuries, stood alongside Gongye Zhou. All three wore rather unsightly expressions.

"What did you say? The reason that thundercloud struck us was because Ji Zhixing was manipulating it?" Cao Zhenxing’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "How is that possible? Isn’t that thundercloud a treasure land? How could he manipulate a treasure land to attack us?"

Yu Mengdie also revealed an expression of disbelief. She had been struck the hardest by the thundercloud; her entire body was charred and her flesh was torn open, and she still hadn’t fully recovered even now. If it was just an accident, it would have been somewhat bearable, but if Ji Zhixing really had been manipulating the thundercloud to strike her, she would feel even more aggrieved.

"I saw it with my own eyes," Gongye Zhou said, his face gloomy. "Ji Zhixing was standing right in the middle of that thundercloud. The surrounding lightning was swimming around him, yet not a single bolt struck him.

"Moreover, if he wasn’t manipulating it, how could that thundercloud have kept chasing us to strike?"

The other two were overwhelmed with disbelief, but they knew Gongye Zhou wouldn’t lie about this. In other words, the ordeal they had just suffered truly had something to do with Ji Zhixing.

"This guy..." Whenever Cao Zhenxing thought of Ji Zhixing, a wave of sheer frustration washed over him.

Ever since the last freshman trial, he had been pinned down by Ji Zhixing, surpassed on the points leaderboard by a regular class student. He hadn’t expected to still be suppressed at every turn by Ji Zhixing after coming to the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land. First, his Illusion Spirit Pearl was snatched right from under his nose, and now he was blasted back to the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest by a thundercloud manipulated by Ji Zhixing.

"How on earth did he do it? That’s a treasure land!" Cao Zhenxing thought in exasperation, unable to figure it out. How could a treasure land be manipulated by someone? It completely exceeded his understanding.

Right at this moment, the students from the three universities who had witnessed the battle returned. As soon as they arrived at the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest, they began spreading the news.

"Are you serious?"

"Are you saying that the reason Cao Zhenxing, Gongye Zhou, and Yu Mengdie returned early today was because they were chased back to the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest by Ji Zhixing manipulating the Thundercloud Treasure Land?"

"And he also conquered that Twisted Forest? How is that possible?"

"How did he do it?"

The news spread like wildfire throughout the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest. The crowd broke into fervent discussions, casting frequent glances toward Cao Zhenxing’s trio.

The three of them wore ugly expressions.

"Ji Zhixing?" Lu Xinghe, sitting in front of his tent, also revealed an astonished expression after hearing the news.

He had paid attention to Ji Zhixing before and knew he was a student from Yu City University’s elite class who had only fused with Tier 3 genes. He hadn’t expected Ji Zhixing to consecutively cause so many incidents in the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land.

"However, something like manipulating a treasure land should just be a special exception," Lu Xinghe thought, shaking his head without caring too much. "Once he leaves that thundercloud, how much strength will he have left?"

True strength ultimately depended on one’s own gene abilities. No matter how powerful external items were, they were merely external objects.

RUMBLE!

Just then, rolling thunder echoed from afar. The crowd looked up one after another, only to see a thundercloud about ten meters in diameter rapidly flying toward the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest in the distant sky. Dark clouds churned, lightning flashed, and thunder boomed.

Standing impressively upon that thundercloud were four figures. At the very front was none other than Ji Zhixing. Beside him stood Xiao Mingyue, her long hair dancing in the wind and her clothes fluttering wildly. Behind the two of them, Xu Cheng and Jiang Qingqian stood shoulder-to-shoulder, both wearing excited expressions on their faces.