"Roar!"
Amidst the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning's piercing low roar, the Black Demon Lightning deep within the lightning pool went berserk, fearlessly charging into its body.
However, as the intelligence in the eyes of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning became denser, the explosions within its golden dragon body became even more frenzied. The destructive waves from these explosions made even Zi Yan, who was standing next to Xiao Ming, feel her heart skip a beat.
"It looks like this big guy is about to fail..."
As an outsider, Xiao Ming remained relatively calm. He quickly assessed the situation with a glance.
The backlash within the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning's body was increasing exponentially. Following this trend, no matter how relentlessly the Black Demon Lightning charged, it would be impossible to prevent the imminent failure of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning.
It was time for him to intervene!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deep within the lightning pool, the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, with its dimmed golden body, coiled like a golden sculpture. Facing the terrifying backlash, it had become powerless to resist.
As the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning lay in the depths of the lightning pool, appearing resigned, the surrounding Black Demon Lightning ceased their assaults. They circled the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning and uttered deep, mournful sounds. There was a palpable sense of sadness in those sounds.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Ming stepped through the void. With a flicker, he appeared deep within the lightning pool and gazed at the colossal golden lightning dragon that stretched for thousands of meters.
At that moment, the once-imposing eyes of the dragon looked at him, but it didn't launch an attack.
"Give me your power and I will help you gather your spirit."
Xiao Ming's voice, calm and composed, echoed in front of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning. His small figure appeared as tiny as an ant in front of the colossal lightning dragon. However, his words stirred some ripples in its dimmed eyes.
He gently placed his palm on a dragon scale between the eyes of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning. The lightning quickly transferred and spread over his body, arcs of lightning covering him like golden serpents, wrapping around him as if to devour him.
Xiao Ming's expression remained unchanged. The lightning arcs only caused a slight tingling sensation. His body had been tempered by the Rise of Twin Spirits and various Heavenly Treasures, making him highly resistant to this element.
Even when the Rise of Twin Spirits was passively circulating, it was still able to consume the lightning arcs that could destroy a Dou Saint. They were voraciously devoured, refined into pure energy, and then absorbed by him, transforming them into exceptionally pure Dou Qi.
However, these were only small gains. The real prize lay within the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning itself.
Xiao Ming's Emperor Realm soul had already spread throughout the body of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning. He began to capture the violent energies within, which were the root cause of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning's inability to gather its spirit.
"The immense power is your greatest obstacle to gathering your spirit. I'm going to extract it..."
As Xiao Ming's words fell, his soul power began to exert itself.
The Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning let out a piercing, mournful cry. This agony was no less severe than the backlash from the gathering of its spirit. Yet it resisted the instinct to fight back. Its body trembled as it prostrated itself in the lightning pool.
As the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning grew weaker, its colossal body gradually shrank, and the backlash diminished...
Puff!
Suddenly, Xiao Ming forcefully pulled the dazzling golden lightning out of the body of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning. The golden lightning coalesced into a lightning dragon about three hundred meters long.
"Such terrifying destructive power..."
Xiao Ming's palm transformed his soul power into a massive web, firmly binding the golden lightning dragon. This was the power of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, and even he wouldn't be able to absorb it because it was equivalent to the entire energy of a seven-star Dou Saint.
"Roar!"
The golden lightning dragon thrashed wildly inside the soul web, trying to escape, but without someone to guide it, it seemed powerless.
"Seal!"
With a flick of Xiao Ming's fingertip, a line of blood swept out and quickly formed a formation on the lightning dragon, which then glowed brightly.
The soul web that enveloped the golden lightning dragon quickly shrank, eventually forming a small-sized lightning dragon. Xiao Ming released his 'Spirit' and the lightning dragon was swallowed up. For this kind of destructive power, it was best to let the 'Spirit' retain it.
At this moment, the size of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning had been reduced to less than a tenth of its original size, and its aura was weakening. At most, it now possessed the strength of a Dou Venerate.
Xiao Ming gently stroked the lightning dragon's head. His handprint shifted and the spiritual energy from the surrounding world quickly gathered and formed into a spiritual seed that slowly infiltrated the body of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning.
"Calm your mind and gather your spirit, strive for success in one stroke!"
The Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, now weakened by the extraction of its power, felt unprecedentedly weak, with an overwhelming sense of emptiness. Nonetheless, with the infusion of Xiao Ming's spiritual seed, its spirit grew stronger. Its spirit was gradually taking shape as spiritual energy flowed through it.
This time, the process of gathering its spirit was exceptionally smooth, not only because of Xiao Ming's assistance but also because the backlash was almost negligible.
The Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning easily endured the process, and as time passed, its eyes became more vivid than ever before.
"From now on, you will be the only Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning in the world with spiritual intelligence..."
Xiao Ming patted the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning once more and then turned, his figure transforming into a streak of light as he rushed towards Zi Yan in the distance.
Deep within the lightning pool, the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning dragon blinked its eyes and fixed its gaze on the retreating figure. This was the first person it had ever seen after gaining intelligence, a memory etched indelibly into its spirit.
...
"How did it go?" Zi Yan said as she squeezed his arm, her big bright eyes fixed on him.
"Everything went smoothly. It's time we head back to the Ancient Dragon Island, you've been away for a while."
Xiao Ming said with a smile. When he noticed the pout that was forming on her lips, he planted a kiss on her dainty nose.
"Mmhmm..." It was only after several more kisses that Zi Yan did a reluctant nod.
The Ancient Dragon Tribe wasn't far from the Void Lightning Pool, and with their current strength, it only took them a moment to return to the tribe.
Their return immediately stirred quite a commotion within the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe.
It hadn't been easy for them!
The Dragon Emperor had been away from the tribe for quite some time, and this was her first active return to Ancient Dragon Island. If it hadn't been for their confidence in her strength and the presence of an eight-star Dou Saint overseeing matters in the Heavenly Court, they might not have been able to resist the urge to venture out and search for her.
Zi Yan wasn't particularly fond of returning to the Ancient Dragon Tribe for a reason. While there, she had to maintain the regal bearing of a Dragon Emperor. But in front of Xiao Ming and her sisters, she was free to be her true self. Naturally, she had little desire to return.
Besides, she had nothing to worry about. The tribe had successfully dealt with external threats, and an eight-star Dou Saint was protecting them.
However, now that she had returned, she had to maintain her royal demeanor.
She also took the opportunity to tell the tribe about her and Xiao Ming's encounter with the former Dragon Emperor beneath Jia Nan Academy.
Many of the elders were overjoyed to learn that the former Dragon Emperor was still alive. They clamored to go and pay their respects to the former Dragon Emperor, but in the end, most of them were restrained by Zi Yan. Only a few elders from the same generation as Zhu Kun were allowed to leave the island.
These elders possessed formidable abilities; they left and returned quickly.
When they returned, they showed signs of leaning towards acquiring the Tou She Ancient God's Jade.
It was clear that Zhu Kun had shared some information with them.
"Roar!"
Amidst the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning's piercing low roar, the Black Demon Lightning deep within the lightning pool went berserk, fearlessly charging into its body.
However, as the intelligence in the eyes of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning became denser, the explosions within its golden dragon body became even more frenzied. The destructive waves from these explosions made even Zi Yan, who was standing next to Xiao Ming, feel her heart skip a beat.
"It looks like this big guy is about to fail..."
As an outsider, Xiao Ming remained relatively calm. He quickly assessed the situation with a glance.
The backlash within the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning's body was increasing exponentially. Following this trend, no matter how relentlessly the Black Demon Lightning charged, it would be impossible to prevent the imminent failure of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning.
It was time for him to intervene!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deep within the lightning pool, the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, with its dimmed golden body, coiled like a golden sculpture. Facing the terrifying backlash, it had become powerless to resist.
As the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning lay in the depths of the lightning pool, appearing resigned, the surrounding Black Demon Lightning ceased their assaults. They circled the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning and uttered deep, mournful sounds. There was a palpable sense of sadness in those sounds.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Ming stepped through the void. With a flicker, he appeared deep within the lightning pool and gazed at the colossal golden lightning dragon that stretched for thousands of meters.
At that moment, the once-imposing eyes of the dragon looked at him, but it didn't launch an attack.
"Give me your power and I will help you gather your spirit."
Xiao Ming's voice, calm and composed, echoed in front of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning. His small figure appeared as tiny as an ant in front of the colossal lightning dragon. However, his words stirred some ripples in its dimmed eyes.
He gently placed his palm on a dragon scale between the eyes of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning. The lightning quickly transferred and spread over his body, arcs of lightning covering him like golden serpents, wrapping around him as if to devour him.
Xiao Ming's expression remained unchanged. The lightning arcs only caused a slight tingling sensation. His body had been tempered by the Rise of Twin Spirits and various Heavenly Treasures, making him highly resistant to this element.
Even when the Rise of Twin Spirits was passively circulating, it was still able to consume the lightning arcs that could destroy a Dou Saint. They were voraciously devoured, refined into pure energy, and then absorbed by him, transforming them into exceptionally pure Dou Qi.
However, these were only small gains. The real prize lay within the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning itself.
Xiao Ming's Emperor Realm soul had already spread throughout the body of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning. He began to capture the violent energies within, which were the root cause of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning's inability to gather its spirit.
"The immense power is your greatest obstacle to gathering your spirit. I'm going to extract it..."
As Xiao Ming's words fell, his soul power began to exert itself.
The Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning let out a piercing, mournful cry. This agony was no less severe than the backlash from the gathering of its spirit. Yet it resisted the instinct to fight back. Its body trembled as it prostrated itself in the lightning pool.
As the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning grew weaker, its colossal body gradually shrank, and the backlash diminished...
Puff!
Suddenly, Xiao Ming forcefully pulled the dazzling golden lightning out of the body of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning. The golden lightning coalesced into a lightning dragon about three hundred meters long.
"Such terrifying destructive power..."
Xiao Ming's palm transformed his soul power into a massive web, firmly binding the golden lightning dragon. This was the power of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, and even he wouldn't be able to absorb it because it was equivalent to the entire energy of a seven-star Dou Saint.
"Roar!"
The golden lightning dragon thrashed wildly inside the soul web, trying to escape, but without someone to guide it, it seemed powerless.
"Seal!"
With a flick of Xiao Ming's fingertip, a line of blood swept out and quickly formed a formation on the lightning dragon, which then glowed brightly.
The soul web that enveloped the golden lightning dragon quickly shrank, eventually forming a small-sized lightning dragon. Xiao Ming released his 'Spirit' and the lightning dragon was swallowed up. For this kind of destructive power, it was best to let the 'Spirit' retain it.
At this moment, the size of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning had been reduced to less than a tenth of its original size, and its aura was weakening. At most, it now possessed the strength of a Dou Venerate.
Xiao Ming gently stroked the lightning dragon's head. His handprint shifted and the spiritual energy from the surrounding world quickly gathered and formed into a spiritual seed that slowly infiltrated the body of the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning.
"Calm your mind and gather your spirit, strive for success in one stroke!"
The Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, now weakened by the extraction of its power, felt unprecedentedly weak, with an overwhelming sense of emptiness. Nonetheless, with the infusion of Xiao Ming's spiritual seed, its spirit grew stronger. Its spirit was gradually taking shape as spiritual energy flowed through it.
This time, the process of gathering its spirit was exceptionally smooth, not only because of Xiao Ming's assistance but also because the backlash was almost negligible.
The Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning easily endured the process, and as time passed, its eyes became more vivid than ever before.
"From now on, you will be the only Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning in the world with spiritual intelligence..."
Xiao Ming patted the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning once more and then turned, his figure transforming into a streak of light as he rushed towards Zi Yan in the distance.
Deep within the lightning pool, the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning dragon blinked its eyes and fixed its gaze on the retreating figure. This was the first person it had ever seen after gaining intelligence, a memory etched indelibly into its spirit.
...
"How did it go?" Zi Yan said as she squeezed his arm, her big bright eyes fixed on him.
"Everything went smoothly. It's time we head back to the Ancient Dragon Island, you've been away for a while."
Xiao Ming said with a smile. When he noticed the pout that was forming on her lips, he planted a kiss on her dainty nose.
"Mmhmm..." It was only after several more kisses that Zi Yan did a reluctant nod.
The Ancient Dragon Tribe wasn't far from the Void Lightning Pool, and with their current strength, it only took them a moment to return to the tribe.
Their return immediately stirred quite a commotion within the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe.
It hadn't been easy for them!
The Dragon Emperor had been away from the tribe for quite some time, and this was her first active return to Ancient Dragon Island. If it hadn't been for their confidence in her strength and the presence of an eight-star Dou Saint overseeing matters in the Heavenly Court, they might not have been able to resist the urge to venture out and search for her.
Zi Yan wasn't particularly fond of returning to the Ancient Dragon Tribe for a reason. While there, she had to maintain the regal bearing of a Dragon Emperor. But in front of Xiao Ming and her sisters, she was free to be her true self. Naturally, she had little desire to return.
Besides, she had nothing to worry about. The tribe had successfully dealt with external threats, and an eight-star Dou Saint was protecting them.
However, now that she had returned, she had to maintain her royal demeanor.
She also took the opportunity to tell the tribe about her and Xiao Ming's encounter with the former Dragon Emperor beneath Jia Nan Academy.
Many of the elders were overjoyed to learn that the former Dragon Emperor was still alive. They clamored to go and pay their respects to the former Dragon Emperor, but in the end, most of them were restrained by Zi Yan. Only a few elders from the same generation as Zhu Kun were allowed to leave the island.
These elders possessed formidable abilities; they left and returned quickly.
When they returned, they showed signs of leaning towards acquiring the Tou She Ancient God's Jade.
It was clear that Zhu Kun had shared some information with them.
