Chapter 99: Strike by Lightning
The lightning bolt arrived in the blink of an eye, and Xiang Shaoyun wasn't even ready to face it. Fortunately, a few lightning condors had arrived on time and were directly above him when the lightning bolt shot down.
Rumble!
The merciless lightning bolt struck a lightning condor that was almost a Great Demon, instantly turning the condor into a mass of blood that splattered on Xiang Shaoyun. The blood carried strains of lightning energy that assailed Xiang Shaoyun with numbness and pain.
The lightning bone in his body reacted, and a devouring force appeared to draw in all the lightning energy. With the appearance of the devouring force, Xiang Shaoyun looked at the lightning energy as if they were his prey rather than a catastrophic disaster.
A pure thirst rose from the depths of his heart, a thirst for the lighting energy. With the death of the lightning condor, the nearby Minor Demons and Intermediate Demons were all frightened and no longer dared to attack him, giving him an opening to do what he was here for. He took out the lightning strike wood and removed the piece of cloth wrapped around it. He pointed the wood at the sky and shouted, "Come at me, lightning!"
That action of his was crazily suicidal.
In the beginning, Xiang Shaoyun had not planned to act so crazily. Based on his original plan, he was supposed to approach the area before setting the lightning strike wood down to attract the lightning bolts. He would be by the side, absorbing the remnant of the lightning energy leaking out the wood after it was struck by lightning.
But when he was finally here, he suddenly had a sensation that he could definitely take on the entirety of the lightning bolt. The thirst of the lightning bone filled him with greed.
Rumble!
One particular lightning bolt suddenly streaked across the sky, and as if it had sensed the lightning strike wood, it shot down toward the tree Xiang Shaoyun was at.
"Holy shit!" Xiang Shaoyun could see clearly the trajectory of the incoming lightning bolt. The destructive force brought by the lightning bolt was something even a King Realm cultivator would suffer from.
Fear filled his heart, yet he still stood there with the lightning strike wood in hand. It was already too late for him to retreat.
Bang!
The lightning bolt struck the lightning strike wood, and the impact caused Xiang Shaoyun to fall off the tree. At the same time, the tree he was on collapsed. The dense layer of lightning energy covering the lightning strike wood numbed his senses. It caused him no small amount of suffering since he had both his arms wrapped around the lightning strike wood. The lightning energy then spread across his body, turning him into a charred person.
The lightning energy was overbearingly powerful, and even a tiny strain of it was already sufficient to electrocute a person to death. Xiang Shaoyun felt like he was dying. It was at this moment that the lightning bone started greedily devouring the lightning energy.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Instantly, all the lightning energy in his body was pulled into the lightning bone. The lightning bone seemed to possess an extremely mysterious power that allowed it to devour all the lightning energy in the blink of an eye. The pain Xiang Shaoyun was feeling receded.
Even so, he was still numb all over and could no longer move. Even worse was the fact that his arms were still wrapped around the lightning strike wood. It wasn't that he did not want to let it go but that he couldn't discard it even if he wanted to, as he felt like the lightning strike wood was now completely stuck to him.
"Oh f*ck! I screwed myself royally this time! Lightning bone, don't fail me now!" Xiang Shaoyun felt like crying.
Yet another bolt of lightning struck the lightning strike wood. What happened before repeated with Xiang Shaoyun being incapable of doing anything except for suffering helplessly. Fortunately, he was better prepared this time. His Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual was fully activated, his nine stars all activated, and even his astral cosmos sea activated, all in hope of surviving the lightning strike.
One ought to know that the lightning strike wood in his arms was like a magnet for lightning bolts. If the lightning bone failed him right now, the only thing that would happen to him was death. The overbearing lightning bolt finally slammed down, flooding his immediate surrounding with lightning energy. This time, apart from the lightning bone, the nine stars and the astral cosmos sea within him also worked hard to absorb the lightning energy.
The lightning energy caused Xiang Shaoyun's body to twitch repeatedly, with smoke rising from his hair, and his entire body looked horribly damaged. Before he was even done devouring the energy from the second bolt of lightning, a few more bolts headed toward him.
Meanwhile, the lightning condor king was at its final stage of breakthrough. It shrieked and flapped its wings repeatedly as it rushed toward the newly formed lightning bolts. Its demonic core was forming; thus, it could not afford any mistakes. So long as it could complete this final step, it would be a true Demon King. But right as it was about to reach the lightning bolts, they suddenly shifted their trajectories as the lightning strike wood attracted them. Missing the lightning bolts, the condor king felt extremely gloomy.
"You won't be able to escape! Bow before me or die!" said the Young Lightning King as he stabbed in the direction of the lightning condor with his spear.
With that one stab, numerous lightning spears formed in the air and rained down upon the world below. Each of the lightning spears was extremely powerful and destructive. Fortunately, the naturally formed lightning bolts near the lightning condor king were much more powerful. Thus, the Young Lightning King dared not approach them. Otherwise, the lightning condor king would have been subdued by now.
The lightning condor king also shifted its trajectory and dove straight into the midst of the lightning bolts. Its body was badly damaged, but it was much more powerful than other condors. Thus, it survived despite the heavy damage it suffered.
Thanks to the lighting condor king taking on a majority of the lightning bolts, the pressure on Xiang Shaoyun lessened considerably. The lightning bone continued devouring the lightning energy greedily. The nine stars had also absorbed a large amount of energy, building a large deposit of lightning energy within Xiang Shaoyun's body.
The current him had electrical currents all over his body, making him look like a person built out of lightning. He lay on the ground, gasping for breath repeatedly. Anyone else would have died by now. Xiang Shaoyun was the only freak that could survive this. Even so, if he was struck by even one more lightning bolt, he would probably die for real. Alas, he really was quite unlucky as yet another lightning bolt formed in the sky.
"AHH! You stupid bird! This is your actual fate tribulation, not the lightning bolts earlier. F*ck!" yelled the Young Lightning King, whom the new lightning bolt struck. He only realized that this was a tribulation lightning of the lightning condor king after he was struck and greatly injured.
To enter the Demon King realm, all demonic beasts had to suffer the lightning tribulation from the heavens. With the lightning tribulation, they would cleanse their body and form their demonic core, becoming a Demon King. Lightning tribulations were very dangerous, and if one failed to resist it, death was certain.
All along, the Young Lightning King had assumed that the lightning condor king was already resisting its lightning tribulation. He was waiting for the condor king to finish the breakthrough before subduing it.
Unexpectedly, all the lightning bolts earlier were merely natural lightning bolts from the thunderstorm. The actual lightning tribulation had just begun. Even worse for him was the fact that since he had intruded upon the lightning condor vicinity during the breakthrough, he became a target of the lightning tribulation as well.
Rumble! Rumble!
The lightning tribulation merged with the natural lightning bolts, turning into even more powerful lightning bolts. Unluckily for Xiang Shaoyun, the condor had landed beside him, sharing the lightning tribulation with him as well.
"F*CK!" Xiang Shaoyun's mind went blank from shock.