The Next Morning
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Xiao Bai slowly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within them.
"My soul power has finally fully recovered!"
Ever since he had helped Medusa overcome her tribulation and ended up exhausting his soul, it had taken until now for the soul power in his Mind Sea to fully return. Once depleted, this power was excruciatingly slow to recover!
Sensing his body slightly, Xiao Bai's expression suddenly changed, turning a bit grim.
After cultivating for several days in the charred pit where Medusa had undergone her tribulation, the dense lightning-attributed energy had propelled his cultivation to the peak of the Nine-Star Da Dou Shi.
At the time, he had intended to take advantage of the momentum and break through to Dou Ling in one go. After tempering his body with the Dark Thunder of Wu Earth, his physique had become incredibly strong, requiring little additional refinement.
But just as he was about to make the breakthrough, his spiritual intuition stirred, giving him a vague sense of crisis. After careful thought, he followed his instincts and abandoned the attempt.
Back then, he had assumed that the feeling stemmed from his soul being depleted.
But now, it seemed that was not the case!
At this moment, his mind was calm, and his energy was steady—he was in excellent condition without the slightest discomfort.
Yet that ominous sense of crisis had not disappeared. On the contrary, now that his soul had recovered, the sensation had grown even stronger.
"Is it because of the next Lightning Seed?" Xiao Bai muttered with a frown.
Among the five elements, he already possessed Wood, Fire, and Earth; only Metal and Water remained. However, the one that made him most wary—the Metal lightning—should not, in theory, trigger such an intense sense of crisis.
After all, he already had three lightning seeds in his body, and among them, Little Bing was particularly effective in restraining the Metal attribute.
As for external threats, Xiao Bai had already ruled them out after returning to Wu Tan City.
Neither the tribulations of heaven nor those caused by people should be targeting him.
If it were a heavenly tribulation, even a Dou Sheng breaking through to Dou Di wouldn't necessarily trigger one—so why would it target a mere Da Dou Shi attempting to reach Dou Ling?
If it were a tribulation caused by people, it wouldn't make sense for him to encounter it both in the Snake Tribe's territory and again upon returning to Wu Tan City.
He had no deep-seated enemies with high cultivation levels, and with Xun'er present in the Xiao Clan, that possibility seemed even more unlikely.
Since he couldn't figure it out, Xiao Bai decided not to dwell on it. He had already waited over ten days and didn't want to wait any longer—today, he would find a place to break through.
He couldn't let a vague sense of danger hold him back at the peak of the Nine-Star Da Dou Shi forever. If this ominous feeling never faded, would he remain stuck at this level indefinitely?
Cultivation was never meant to be smooth sailing—if danger arose, he would face it head-on. Retreating was not an option!
After washing up, Xiao Bai stood at the entrance of his courtyard, gazing in a certain direction. His eyes showed a trace of melancholy. After a moment of distraction, he shook his head.
"Forget it. I'll find that little girl after I break through!"
Touching the small bite mark on his neck, he sighed softly, then turned and left.
---
Xun'er's Courtyard
At this moment, two figures stood in the courtyard—one dressed in black, the other in green.
"Is the young miss preparing?" Ling Ying asked softly, his expression filled with joy as he looked at the tightly shut door.
"Yes, Master Ling," Qing Shuang replied respectfully. "Last night, after returning, the young miss gave orders to make preparations—she's going to break through!"
The young miss possessed a divine bloodline, one that appeared only once in a thousand years. As a child, the clan had granted her the inheritance flame—the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame.
This Heavenly Flame had been tied to the Gu Clan's bloodline inheritance for countless generations. It was said that those with exceptionally high talent in the clan could resonate with the flame.
Once such a resonance occurred, the flame could be implanted into the body during childhood. As its wielder grew, it would slowly purify their Dou Di bloodline, making it even purer—bringing them closer to the legendary true Dou Di bloodline and greatly enhancing their cultivation potential.
However, while the long-term benefits were endless, in the early stages of cultivation, the wielder had to endure the torment of being burned by the Heavenly Flame. Moreover, their cultivation speed had to remain controlled—they could only advance gradually as they harmonized with the flame within them.
This process of harmonization was painful at every stage of Dou Zhi Qi realm, especially this final time—breaking through to Dou Zhe would bring the pain to its peak.
The clan leader had long prepared for the young miss's breakthrough. Everything needed had already been arranged, and the required materials had been delivered in advance.
However, the young miss had been waiting for that Xiao Bai, saying she would wait for his return before proceeding.
Qing Shuang knew that in her previous breakthroughs, the young miss had always had that person by her side and had assumed it would be the same this time.
But last night, when Qing Shuang carelessly asked about it, the young miss merely glanced at her and calmly stated that she did not intend to let that person know this time. She even specifically instructed that he was not to be informed.
"When will it begin?" Ling Ying asked seriously, knowing this breakthrough was crucial. Unlike before, he couldn't afford to slack off—he needed to ensure the young miss wouldn't be disturbed, minimizing her suffering.
"In about ten days! That's what the young miss said."
"Alright!"
Inside the room, Xiao Xun'er sat at the table, resting her delicate hand against her chin, staring blankly at a string of green bracelets on her fair wrist—a gift from Xiao Bai.
Thinking about how she had been too upset last night, she had bitten his neck fiercely until the taste of blood filled her mouth before letting go. Then, she had coldly told him she didn't want to see him for the next ten days.
Remembering how he had silently endured it, his voice hoarse and speechless, she felt a pang of heartache but also a bit of frustration.
Since she needed some time to complete her breakthrough anyway, this was the perfect chance to show her stance—to give him a little lesson, so he wouldn't act so recklessly in the future.
It had only been less than a year since he left, and there were already two of them. If this continued, who knew how many more there would be after she left?
"Xiao Bai-gege, don't blame Xun'er for being harsh. If I don't teach you a lesson now, in the future, who knows how many women will fill our home? I don't want a day where there's no space left for me to even step inside!"
Thinking about that heartless scoundrel, a trace of concern flickered in Xun'er's beautiful eyes. She wondered if the wound on his neck had healed yet.
---
Xiao Bai left the Xiao Clan and traveled over a hundred miles away from Wu Tan City to a desolate mountain.
Observing from above, he saw that the surrounding area was devoid of human activity. Only a small path remained, overgrown with weeds, suggesting it had been unused for a long time.
With no risk of being disturbed, it was the perfect place to break through.
After his previous experience with the Dark Thunder of Wu Earth, he had no intention of attempting his breakthrough in the Xiao Clan's back mountain again.
Since his breakthrough in the desert, he had analyzed the behavior of these lightning seeds—each one was more powerful than the last. However, the intensity of their aura didn't vary much, which puzzled him.
If the aura of each lightning seed wasn't vastly different, why were their manifestations so drastically distinct?
From Xiao Yi to Xiao Bing, then to Xiao Wu, each one's range of influence grew exponentially.
Xiao Yi had only affected his internal body, Xiao Bing had begun affecting the area within a few feet around him, and Xiao Wu—no need to mention—had influenced an entire area spanning thousands of meters, though the environmental factors had contributed to that as well.
As his cultivation advanced, the power displayed by each lightning seed upon emerging grew stronger, leading Xiao Bai to a realization:
Could it be that when his cultivation was still weak, the Talisman had sealed most of the lightning seed's power upon its emergence? Otherwise, there was no reasonable explanation for the increasing disparity.
This was precisely why he didn't dare to break through in the Xiao Clan's back mountain this time. Instead, he had traveled this far outside the city.
He feared that if this lightning seed behaved like Xiao Wu—affecting thousands of meters or even more—there would be no need for the Soul Hall to attack. His own lightning would wipe out the entire Xiao Clan before they even had a chance.
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