Novel Full Chapter 174: Thunder Beast Ridge
Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Thunder Beast Ridge
Chapter 174: Thunder Beast Ridge
Two hundred miles separating Stormveil City from the Thunder Beast Ridge was not a short distance.
For ordinary Essence Condensation cultivators, it would have been a grueling journey of a whole day.
But for Spirit Manifestation Realm experts, it was merely a matter of a few hours.
After a few hours of relentless travel, the sky before them drastically changed in the distant horizon.
It was completely blanketed in dark, and stormy clouds.
RUMBLE—!
Rhain saw a flash of purple lightning tearing through the dark clouds, crashing against the ground in the distance.
Four of them gradually slowed their pace, finally coming to a halt at the outskirts of their destination.
"Senior, we’re here," Beric said, his voice tense. "We need to be careful. Outer perimeter is filled with lightning beasts."
Rhain looked ahead at the gargantuan mountain range that looked like the back of a massive sleeping beast.
Beside them, Jace let out a scoff.
"Careful? Speak for yourself, Beric."
Jace crossed his arms, raising his chin as he cast a sideways glance at Rhain.
"If some people can’t handle the pressure, they can just hide behind me."
Beric frowned but didn’t dare say a word.
Rhain didn’t even look at the kid.
He was too accustomed to idiots like this.
In the face of strength, squabbling with a child was utterly pointless.
But it also didn’t mean that he wanted to keep hearing those childish remarks.
He turned his head toward Beric.
"Beric."
"Yes, Senior?" Beric looked at Rhain with a humble gaze.
"Describe the exact appearance and characteristics of the Lightning Spirit Herbs you are looking for," Rhain asked.
Beric was caught off guard by the abrupt question.
’Why is he asking about that now?’
Despite his confusion, Beric didn’t dare to delay. "Ah, well... they are relatively small, Senior. They have glowing, silver-colored leaves and tiny sparks of lighting can be often seen on them. Usually, they grow in clusters near areas where lightning frequently strikes the soil."
"Silver leaves. Lightning arcs. Understood."
The moment Beric finished his description, Rhain closed his eyes for a brief second.
A wave of invisible energy radiated outward from his body.
He unleashed his thousand-mile Spiritual Sense, letting it cover the vast mountain range.
In an instant, every living creature within a massive radius became as clear to him as the palm of his own hand.
A moment later, Rhain opened his eyes and raised his hand, pointing directly toward a steep, hidden ravine far to the east.
""There," Rhain directed. "Approximately eight miles to the east, there is a narrow ravine with a small stream running through it. On the eastern cliff face, there is a cluster of roughly thirty Lightning Spirit Herbs. That should be more than enough for your mission."
Beric, Quinlan, and Jace stared at him, completely dumbfounded.
How could he possibly know that?
They had only just stepped into the forest.
The location he described was miles away, hidden behind several mountain peaks.
There was no way anyone could see that far.
Before the trio could even begin to process the impossibility of his words, Rhain spoke again.
"We part ways here," Rhain said simply. "You three go collect your herbs. I have my own hunt to complete."
And without waiting for a single word of response—
Swish!
A faint arc of golden lightning flickered around Rhain’s boots.
His Flashing Thunder Boots activated, and his figure vanished into the depths of the Ridge with a flash, leaving behind nothing but a faint gust of disturbed wind.
The trio were left standing there.
"D-Did you see that?" Quinlan stammered, rubbing his eyes. "He was here one second, and then... gone! That speed... it’s not normal!"
Beric could only nod slowly. As a fifth-level Spirit Manifestation cultivator, even he hadn’t been able to clearly track Rhain’s movement.
The Gold Badge senior had simply disappeared.
Jace, however, narrowed his eyes, a flicker of suspicion crossing his youthful face.
"How could he possibly know where the herbs are?" Jace muttered, "He just made it up. There’s no way he could see eight miles through solid mountains."
Beric hesitated, then shook his head.
"Jace... think about it," Beric said slowly. "He’s a Gold Badge disciple. What possible reason would he have to lie to us about something so trivial? He gains nothing from deceiving us."
Jace fell silent, unable to refute that logic.
After a long moment of consideration, the three of them exchanged glances and ultimately decided to head toward the ravine Rhain had pointed out.
After all, they had nothing to lose by checking.
___________
Meanwhile, deep within the dangerous heart of Thunder Beast Ridge, Rhain began his solitary hunt.
He leisurely strolled through the dense underbrush, his expanded Spiritual Sense painting a clear view of his surroundings.
With his overwhelming Spiritual Sense constantly running in the background, finding his prey was practically a mundane chore.
He didn’t need to track footprints or inspect broken branches like a common hunter.
He already knew exactly where every Violet Thunder Panther in the region was nesting.
Within a few minutes, he easily located his first target.
Prowling silently atop a mountain range was a massive, pitch-black beast.
It was easily the size of a small carriage, and its sleek fur occasionally crackled with arcs of violet electricity.
Its blue eyes glowed with predatory intelligence, and the aura radiating from its powerful frame marked it clearly as a late-stage Spirit Manifestation Realm beast.
Rhain didn’t bother hiding his aura, so the moment he reached within a radius of few metres, the violet thunder panther’s head snapped toward him.
Sensing the intrusion of an unfamiliar human, the beast didn’t hesitate for a millisecond.
ROAR!
The panther lunged.
The Violet Thunder Panther transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, launching itself off the boulder, its razor-sharp claws and fangs aimed directly at Rhain’s throat.
To any ordinary third level Spirit Manifestation cultivator, the attack would have been impossible to even perceive, let alone dodge.
The beast moved faster than the eye could follow.
But Rhain looked as if he had all time in this world.
His body shifted half a step to the side with leisurely ease, and the lightning-fast strike whistled harmlessly past him, the panther’s claws tearing through nothing but empty air.
The beast’s blue eyes widened in shock as it sailed past its target.
Before it could even land or attempt to reorient itself, Rhain calmly raised his fist.
Not even bothering to use any martial art, he simply delivered a single, brutal, raw physical punch directly to the side of the panther’s skull.
CRACK!
The sound of shattering bone echoed clearly.
The Violet Thunder Panther’s body crashed heavily to the ground, its limbs twitching once before going completely still.
It was dead instantly — its skull caved in by the sheer overwhelming force of Rhain’s monstrous physical strength.
Rhain lowered his fist, glancing at the corpse with mild satisfaction.
"One down," he murmured.
With a flick of his wrist, the intact corpse of the panther vanished into his spatial ring.
He then turned his head, his dark grey eyes locking onto the next direction his Spiritual Sense had marked.
Without wasting another second, Rhain’s figure blurred and shot off toward his next target.