Chapter 256: Breakthrough
The chilling aura was still continuously flowing into her body, becoming gloomier and colder. Her blood and even her meridians were showing signs of being frozen.
If the two Wind Owl Beasts could hear her inner thoughts, they would definitely feel wronged. They would probably think something along the lines of how they worked so hard and fought so hard for this with their lives, what did it have to do with this random girl? It was obvious to see that it was this girl who was greedy and cut in, and yet she still shamelessly blamed them for the situation she ended up in.
Ling Chuxi knew that continuing on like this would only end with her freezing to death sooner or later. She immediately calmed her thoughts and circulated her Thundercloud Battle Qi in her meridians. However, under such extreme coldness, even circulating her Thundercloud Battle Qi became an extremely difficult and slow task.
Ling Chuxi used her full concentration and used all her strength to circulate her Thundercloud Battle Qi though her meridians over and over again. All long as her Battle Qi did not cease circulating, her life would not be in danger for now.
Slowly, a pleasant surprise appeared like a flash in her eyes. Together with the circulation of her Thundercloud Battle Qi, the incomparably cold and gloomy aura was also integrated into her meridians and her Battle Qi seemed to become purer and purer, and more and more condensed as a result. These were the vague signs of a breakthrough.
Slowly, the cold aura flowing through her body became thicker and thicker. Ling Chuxi surprisingly realized that even the huge stones surrounding the area had already frozen over till they had split open and the two Wind Owl Beast were so scared that they were shivering. With a quick turn of their bodies, they escaped.
However, under the extreme cold she was experiencing, Ling Chuxi felt an odd sense of comfort and coziness. Even she herself was incredibly surprised by this.
The night sky thickened and Ling Chuxi noticed that she had been standing here for quite some time. By now, the Battle Qi in her meridians had been circulated so many times that she had lost count.
In the depths of her Qi Ocean, suddenly a crisp sound rang out, like a celestial sound. Her mind was plunged into a void in an instant.
A breakthrough… She had actually broken through! Ling Chuxi could feel that there was an unprecedented force of Battle Qi surging and flowing in her body. Level 9, this was Level 9 Battle Qi. She had actually broken through just like that.
Ling Chuxi was so happy and excited that she almost shouted aloud. However, she suppressed the ecstasy she felt within her heart.
This difficult task had not ended. The extremely cold and gloomy aura was still constantly flowing into her body and was actually slowly merging into the vast amounts of Level 9 Battle Qi running through her.
How was this possible? Ling Chuxi totally could not comprehend what was happening.
Logically speaking, with the might of thunder and the force of clouds rushing forth that was characteristic of Thundercloud Battle Qi, it was absolutely impossible that other types of Battle Qi or other qis could integrate together with it to become one. However, at this moment, the cold and gloomy qi seemed to have become a part of her. Even the Thundercloud Battle Qi did not seem to show any signs of rejecting it.
Two entirely different qis were actually flowing and integrating together, refining each other into becoming purer and purer, stronger and stronger. If things continued on like that, would it be possible for her to achieve another breakthrough past Level 9 and reach the realm of great fulfilment?
Ling Chuxi also could not delve into the reason for this as she focused her full concentration to cultivate at this moment. Such an opportunity for a promotion can be met but not sought. If it hadn’t been for these two Wind Owl Beasts, even if she had been searching for a year along the Silver Ancient Mountain Range, she would not have been able to find a place where she could borrow the advantage of such a terrain for such a promotion.
Without knowing when, the sky had already brightened, and the rising sun shone brightly like a thousand golden glows upon the earth.
A graceful figure stood upright atop an odd stone. Amidst the floating robes and sleeves of her garments, Ling Chuxi stood like a fairy in the wind, untainted by the dust of this world. The cold qi had long since disappeared, and there was no more frost and ice crystals on her face. She was so lovely and beautiful to look at that it was almost impossible for one to look at her directly.
Ling Chuxi slowly opened her eyes. At this moment, the Thundercloud Battle Qi in her meridians could no longer be described as abundant. The amount of Battle Qi contained within her was as plentiful as the waters of a majestic sea that was beyond her imagination. Even if just a tiny drop more was added, she feared she would die as a result of Battle Qi breaking through her meridians and rupturing her.
This, was this Battle Qi Level 9 Pinnacle stage? Just a little bit more and she would breakthrough past Level 9 as well, reaching the realm of great fulfilment.
Chapter 257: Ling Chuxi’s Crisis!
Thinking about this, Ling Chuxi felt her heart tremble. If she broke through past Level 9 Pinnacle stage, would she have to undergo the test of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body? Only a body that has undergone Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body could withstand the abundance of Battle Qi.
Ling Chuxi did not think at all that she would reach Level 9 Pinnacle stage so quickly through such a method and was totally unprepared for it. The moment she thought about the heavenly lightning experience she had during her previous breakthrough, her scalp turned numb. One needed to know that countless top-notch cultivators had ultimately succumbed to the baptism of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body. It was an experience known as the insurmountable moat for cultivators.
‘Heavens protect me, please don’t come for me so quickly. Let me make some preparations and at least let me have a meal first,’ prayed Ling Chuxi in her heart as she leapt down from the odd rock.
Just at this moment, a thunderbolt appeared in the sky despite it being a clear day. A strike of thunder and lightning pierced towards the ground like a sharp arrow, knocking Ling Chuxi out of mid-air.
“F*ck! It’s really happening!” cursed Ling Chuxi aloud as she flipped over and got to her feet. When she touched her head, a felt that a warmth was spreading from the crown of her head. This caused her to raise her head to take a look, and she saw that a pillar of white smoke was rising from her head. Truly a case of having what you fear come to you! She never thought that the Thunder of the Ninth Heavens would actually come for her so soon!
However, was this indeed Heavenly Lightning Striking The body? That can’t be right. Ling Chuxi frowned, feeling extremely perplexed. It seemed like it did not have much lethality if this was indeed it. Wasn’t the Ninth Heavens’ Thunder of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body so mighty that it was shocking? This shocking little bit thunder did not seem like much.
Just as Ling Chuxi thought about this doubtfully, she saw that the original clear skies that had stretched on for miles suddenly changed. Dark clouds suddenly filled the whole sky and in between lightning flashes, two shocking cracks of thunder rang out explosively. They converged in the sky into a thick beam of bright electric light that fell towards Ling Chuxi’s head. This kind of power was naturally much greater than the strike just now. However, Ling Chuxi knew that this could not be over yet!
Ling Chuxi looked to the sky with a sorrowful face as she wailed in her heart. Was it that the fake heavens could actually hear her inner conversations?! ‘Can I take back what I said?’
…
At one end of the mountain range, a calm-faced man stared at the burst of thunder and lightning in the distance. “Is that Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body?” He wasn’t sure who was experiencing it and whether or not the person had the luck to make it through. But still, he had actually witnessed someone experiencing Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body here of all places?
The corners of his lips curled up into a faint smile. It had an undisguised pride about it. He certainly had the qualifications to be proud. From the past till the current day, there were many cultivators who were known as geniuses. However, how many of them actually could withstand the testing of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body and successfully broken through past Battle Qi Level 9 and entered the great fulfilment? Not very many, and he was one of the few who actually succeeded.
With his age and level of cultivation, not to mention being a student of Wind Cloud Academy, even taking into account others from the whole of the mainland, these achievements were still sufficient for him to be proud of himself.
This was Baili Han. As to why he had appeared here, there was naturally a reason to it.
…
Ling Chuxi stood up once again and felt a sore pain buzzing through her body. This heavenly lightning was obviously much stronger than the one before. However, upon examination, the meridians in her body did not show any innate changes. Obviously, Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body had not taken place yet.
In the sky above, black clouds were coming together so densely, they looked like the tops of mountains, revealing endless pressure. Small electrical sparks flickered between the ominous clouds, attracting each other into forming three electric beams, thundering loudly as it happened. The three thunderbolts merged into a huge blue pillar of light which fell towards Ling Chuxi once again.
Ling Chuxi gritted her teeth. Since she hadn’t been struck by Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body yet, from the looks of how things were going, she needed to endure another lightning strike.
The flashing beam of light instantly enveloped Ling Chuxi as a flare of faint blue flashed in front of her. Suddenly her body numbed as if she had fallen into an abyss and her mind went completely blank.
‘Argh! This is painful! Really too painful!’ A heart-piercing pain pierced through her mind and across every inch of her skin and even stabbed through to the blood in her body. Ling Chuxi almost screamed out in agony and could only circulate her Thundercloud Battle Qi with all her strength to resist against the power of the thunder and lightning that invaded her body.
Chapter 258: Despair
Ling Chuxi only managed to stand back up after a while. She swayed on her feet. A trickle of blood oozed out from the corner of her lips. Only her two eyes remained as clear as usual. She stood in the center of a crater as the ground she was standing on had been blasted into a pit by the thunder and lightning, a physical account as to the power of the strike of heavenly thunder just now.
Looking at the condition of her own body, there was still no qualitative change, which meant that the process of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body was still not completed! Things had already reached such an extent, yet it still wasn’t completed!
Ling Chuxi gave a bitter laugh. No wonder so many people fell on the road of promotion at the Level 9 Pinnacle stage. This process of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body was truly not an easy feat to overcome.
Regardless, it was already here for her to face anyway. No matter how, she still had to hold on. Ling Chuxi ruthlessly decided this and looked up again at the freely roving sparks against the black sky.
With a monstrous rumble, the fourth strike of heavenly lightning fell. This time, it was actually four pillars of lightning that gathered together, bringing together the power of heaven and earth before striking down mightily from the sky.
The solitary slender figure standing in a crater in the woods was once again surrounded by lightning sparks.
Then the lightning dispersed, and that figure slowly stood up once again. Bloody spots and traces appeared all over her robes, however, her gaze remained as stubborn and determined as before.
Without waiting for her to slowly regain her breath, the fifth, sixth and seventh strikes of heavenly lightning immediately struck her one after another without giving her the slightest chance to take a breather.
Between the flashes of lightning and roars of thunder, the entire Silver Ancient Mountain Range seemed to have descended into an apocalypse, able to plunge anyone watching into depression and fear.
The lightning dispersed eventually and after a long while, Ling Chuxi finally managed to stand back up again. Traces of blood had soaked through her robe and even her vision seemed to be drifting in and out.
Her whole body was in so much pain that she had lost all her senses. It was as if her soul had left her body and was floating around in boundless lands.
“Come on. I won’t give up. I absolutely won’t give up,” muttered Ling Chuxi to herself as a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in her eyes as they once again shone with an unyielding determination.
In the sky, countless bolts of blue lightning were coiling like snakes. They collided against one another, making sizzling sounds, and gradually gathered into a group of eight lightning bolts. But they did not fall as before. Instead, the collection of lightning bolts soared across the sky as they took on the features of a dragon, letting out a loud roar of thunder.
At the other end of the mountain range, Baili Han’s smile had already frozen on his lips. All of his pride had disappeared and there was even a hint of awe at such a sight.
There was actually such a thing as Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body that looked like this in this world? From the second strike onwards, each strike was actually a convergence of a few heavenly lightning bolts and therefore the might of those strikes had increased by many folds.
The Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body experience he had back then was not like this at all. Although there were as many as nine strikes and each of them was stronger than the one before, they were all separate, individual bolts of heavenly lightning, and the power of each strike could not be compared with a strike featuring the gathering of several bolts heavenly lightning.
Honestly, if it were him that was facing this kind of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body, he could probably only resist up until the third strike at best. And then he would have succumbed to the power of heavenly lightning, just like his unfortunate predecessors.
Seeing the eighth heavenly lightning strike gather in the dark sky, Baili Han was felt very surprised and dubious as to who exactly it was that was able to withstand the seven heavenly lightning strikes before this one. Could that person be able to withstand this eighth strike?
The dragon-like eighth strike of lightning in the sky finally gathered in one place, resembling a divine dragon that exterminated the world and swallowed the sky and flew down with its teeth and claws of lightning bared.
Ling Chuxi stood proudly as waves of piercing pain drilled into her mind. Her expression was unprecedentedly calm, and the Thundercloud Battle Qi in her body was raised to the extreme at this point.
The blue lightning covered her like a cage and threw her entire self into an endless abyss once again.
Ling Chuxi closed her eyes and prepared to receive this blow that contained endless power.
At this moment, her heart had actually already fallen into the deepest depths of a valley. She knew that she herself was perhaps unable to withstand this strike of heavenly lightning.
Despair spread out across her at this moment.
Chapter 259: He Who Appeared In Time
The sound of thunder rang out beside her ears, yet she did not feel the severe pain of the lightning invading her body.
She opened her eyes in doubt and saw a figure standing straight in front of her with his enchanting mane of long silver hair swaying gently despite it not being blown by the wind. Under the cage of lightning that did not disperse for a long time, the sight of it contained an indescribable charm.
Huangfu Qingjue!
At present, countless lightning sparks flowed into Huangfu Qingjue’s body. He was helping Ling Chuxi withstand the baptism of this eighth strike of heavenly lightning.
“What are you doing? This is heavenly lightning that strikes and alters the body! You won’t be able to withstand it!” exclaimed Ling Chuxi in surprise as the emotions in her heart became a mess.
“Could it be that you don’t know this? Only the ninth strike of the heavenly lightning is the true body-altering lightning. The eight strikes before that are just tests of heavenly might,” explained Huangfu Qingjue as he turned his head ever so slightly. His calm voice contained a slight tremble and his handsome face was pale. Obviously, the power of this heavenly lightning strike was hard to withstand, even for him.
“Ugh… Stupid heavens. I’m going to fight it out with them!” roared Ling Chuxi in anger. Despite being stunned at her own outburst, she proceeded to draw the Luo Chen Sword and slashed at the pillars of lightning engulfing them! The few heavenly lightning strikes before this one had already made her unable to withstand much more and now the eighth strike was one that even Huangfu Qingjue found hard to withstand! Much less her! Plus, going through all this counted for nothing yet as only the ninth strike was the true Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body! These old heavens really wanted her life!
The moment the sword was brought out, Ling Chuxi realized that this heavenly lightning was actually so strong that even the first seven strikes of heavenly lightning combined together were not comparable to it. No wonder even Huangfu Qingjue seemed to be strained under its might.
Mid-air, lightning was falling like rain, merging into that one singular strike of heavenly lightning bearing down on them.
Huangfu Qingjue groaned and his body trembled slightly. A trace of blood trickled out from the corner of his lips.
It turns out that this was the real power of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body. It was no accident that so many prior geniuses had fallen victim to this heavenly lightning.
‘No! I absolutely cannot let anything happen to Huangfu Qingjue!’ At this moment, Ling Chuxi felt angry, anxious and worried in her heart.
Ling Chuxi wielded the Luo Chen Sword once more and gathered the strongest Battle Qi within her body and slashed downwards once again. The lightning surged across the sword, and there was a loud noise. A surge of thunder and lightning full of destructive qi surged towards Ling Chuxi along the length of the sword.
The Luo Chen Sword trembled vigorously, as if it were making a noise no one could hear. Under the power of such devastating thunder and lightning, cracks appeared on the Luo Chen Sword’s blade which made it look like it could be broken apart into a pile of scrap iron at any time.
Suddenly, the Luo Chen Sword emitted a delightfully clear cry. Emitting a bright starry light, the cracks in its blade recovered quickly and the blade’s sheen became as clear, cold and bright like as a pool of water in autumn.
The endless might of thunder and lightning poured into the sword. Ling Chuxi suddenly had a strange feeling that within the body of the sword, there seemed to be a jubilant cheer. As if a soul that had been in a long, deep sleep was awakening.
Immediately afterwards, a white light that made the heavens and earth lose color exploded from the sword and shot towards the scary-looking shocking lightning.
Amidst the loud noise, a strong current of air swept across the grounds. Ling Chuxi’s figure trembled and she was unable to hold on any longer as she fainted.
In the blur of her vision as it slipped away, it was as if there was a warm hand gently stroking her cheek. A clap of thunder rang out across the distant sky, and then a faint blue light surrounded her once more. Was this the ninth strike of heavenly thunder? It did not seem to be as violent as the ones before, instead, it was as soft and warm as a clear spring. Her whole body felt warm and somewhat uncomfortable. All the pains in her body disappeared and the dark clouds in the sky dispersed.
After an unknown period of time had passed, Ling Chuxi opened her eyes again. There was no blood on her body, and the condition of her clothes was different as well. The moment Ling Chuxi opened her eyes, she saw that Huangfu Qingjue’s handsome face was pale. Seeing Ling Chuxi awakening, Huangfu Qingjue displayed a faint smile.
“It’s great that you are fine,” said Huangfu Qingjue as another stream of blood trickled down his chin from the corner of his lips again.
Chapter 260: You are My Woman
Seeing Huangfu Qingjue’s injured appearance, Ling Chuxi’s heart tensed up and she asked urgently, “Are you okay? How do you feel right now?” As she spoke, she grabbed Huangfu Qingjue’s wrist and read his pulse. There was obvious panic and concern in her eyes.
“I’m fine,” murmured Huangfu Qingjue as he smiled gently. However, his pale face did not make his answer look the least bit convincing.
Ling Chuxi took Huangfu Qingjue’s pulse and knitted her brows together even harder. He had such serious internal injuries! His qi and blood were both churning all around within and his inner qi was very unstable.
“You know, you really are stupid. Why did you help me withstand that strike of heavenly lightning for? You almost died!” admonished Ling Chuxi as she rummaged through her belongings for her gold needles to administer treatment to Huangfu Qingjue. However, in her heart, she was deeply moved by his gesture. Ling Chuxi knew very well that if Huangfu Qingjue hadn’t come forward when he did, she really would have died today! She could not have survived that eighth strike of heavenly lightning no matter how she went about it.
“How could I let anything happen to you?” asked Huangfu Qingjue as he looked at the petite girl who was busy administering gold needles to him. Seeing how she did not cover up her concern and worry for him, he felt a pang of delight in his heart despite his injuries.
Ling Chuxi raised her head and looked into Huangfu Qingjue’s purple eyes. She could see that the look in his eyes was full of pampering and gentleness. For a moment, Ling Chuxi spaced out. Huangfu Qingjue also did not say anything and only stared back at Ling Chuxi quietly.
It was as if time stood still.
Silence triumphed over sound in this moment.
After a long while, a gentle breeze blew past them and the chirp of a small bird trilled clearly from somewhere beside them. Ling Chuxi finally regained her senses.
“Why did you appear here?” asked Ling Chuxi softly as she lowered her head to continue administering the gold needles. Why was her heart beating so fast at this moment?
“Since you are here, naturally I will be too,” answered Huangfu Qingjue indirectly with a smile.
Ling Chuxi also did not continue to pursue the matter. Anyway, since Huangfu Qingjue did not wish to talk about it, naturally she would not be getting any answers. He was always so elusive. It was fine once she got used to it.
“I never thought that Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body would be so scary,” said Ling Chuxi with a lingering fear as she finally finished administering the gold needles. “Today, if it weren’t for you, I probably would have…”
“Not everyone’s experience of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body is so shockingly powerful,” said Huangfu Qingjue as his expression turned serious. “Chuxi, don’t you feel that those strikes of lightning from the Ninth Heavens earlier were too appalling?”
“Ah?” Ling Chuxi was stunned. The meaning of Huangfu Qingjue’s words… So, not everyone experienced such powerful and shocking heavenly lightning when they undergo Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body? “You mean that other peoples’ experiences of this were not as dangerous as mine?”
“That’s right. For other people, the nine strikes of heavenly lightning they undergo perhaps could not even be compared to the first three strikes of heavenly lightning you went through,” explained Huangfu Qingjue as he nodded seriously with doubt circling in his purple eyes. “Chuxi, your experience of Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body is totally different from others.”
Ling Chuxi heard this and her mouth dropped opened wide. She had thought that Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body was always this scary and that it was practically asking for her life. She never thought that it was only her that experienced such a powerful and shocking Heavenly Lightning Striking The Body and was in such danger! Why was this so? Were the fake heavens playing a joke on her? Was this what they would call “winning a great prize”? A “great prize” indeed! Such a “great prize”. Just forget all about it!
“However, it’s good that you are fine now,” said Huangfu Qingjue as a faint, comforting smile appeared on his peerless face. “Also, I have yet to congratulate my little Chuxi for truly stepping into the main gate of cultivators.”
“Thank you. If it wasn’t for you…” chattered Ling Chuxi after she regained her senses from looking at Huangfu Qingjue’s smile.
“I have said it long before. You are my woman. Why is there a need for thanks?” said Huangfu Qingjue softly by Ling Chuxi’s ear as he suddenly drew close. His tone had an indescribable charm and dominance to it.