Chapter 1253: Spirit Gathering

Chi—!

And as Lin Feng appeared in this space that had been silent for an unknown number of years, a number of black magic thunders, having detected his presence, instantly turned sharply, like enraged giant serpents whose territory had been invaded, roaring and charging at him.

Heh heh, Xiao Ling, it's up to you.

Facing these pitch‑black thunders that were far stronger than the ordinary black magic thunders outside, Lin Feng showed no panic at all; he simply called Xiao Ling in his mind with a calm expression.

Alright, mere black magic thunder, watch me, Master Xiao Ling, swallow them all clean!

Upon receiving the order, Xiao Ling instantly appeared before Lin Feng, laughing confidently.

Although she cannot defeat the ancient spirit‑plant beasts that have existed for countless years on Gu Nanfang Dalu, can she still not handle a tiny black magic thunder for you!

Of course, while laughing, the girl did not forget her task; she pointed a hand in front of herself, and exotic fire within her body spread out rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, a black flame vortex dozens of zhang tall formed before her.

Hoo

At the moment the black flame vortex formed, an extremely strong suction burst out, forcibly pulling in all the nearby black magic thunders, which then turned into pure energy that Lin Feng and Xiao Ling devoured completely.

Boom! Boom!

However, Lin Feng's intrusion into the sanctuary of these black magic thunders seemed to utterly enrage them; even though they had no effect on Xiao Ling, the pitch‑black thunders still surged out in overwhelming waves, shooting straight at Lin Feng and Xiao Ling from all directions in relentless succession.

Although these black magic thunders are fearless, they are only at the initial Dou Saint level. Xiao Ling, now a Seven-Star Dou Saint, faced their assault by instantly summoning a circular shield to protect both of them, then swiftly swallowing the incoming black magic thunders completely.

Yet while Xiao Ling was ravenously devouring those black magic thunders, the golden thunder dragon coiled deep within the thunder pool ahead suddenly snapped its tightly shut dragon eyes wide open.

Its eyes flared; within its massive golden pupils, lightning flashed and thunder roared instantly, as if the entire heavens and earth were being reflected back into those huge dragon eyes!

But faced with the beast's fierce gaze, Lin Feng was not the least bit unsettled; he even continued to ponder matters in his mind.

He was contemplating whether to resolve the Nine-Xuan Golden Thunder before him together with Xiao Ling and then absorb it to advance.

After all, this Nine-Xuan Golden Thunder has existed here for an unknown number of years, and the energy it contains must have reached a terrifying level.

If he absorbs it, Lin Feng surmises that he could at least ascend to Eight-Star Dou Saint!

But in doing so, this celestial oddity that only recently formed consciousness after countless years would simply dissipate into the world.

And while Lin Feng hesitated, the golden thunder dragon on the other side also watched the intruder with great apprehension.

Because it sensed an extremely strong sense of danger emanating from the two of them.

Its own instinct told it that if the other side made a move, it might vanish forever from the world.

Little golden dragon, I see you haven't yet Spirit Gathered; how about we make a deal—be my subordinate for a hundred years, and I'll ensure you succeed in Spirit Gathering, what do you say?

After pondering for a long time, Lin Feng decided to leave this celestial oddity behind and immediately spoke.

After all, Nine-Xuan Golden Thunder is exceedingly difficult to form naturally in the world; perhaps only after the black magic thunders here have undergone tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years of prolonged devouring and growth could they finally condense into Nine-Xuan Golden Thunder.

And after such brutal devouring and growth, these Nine-Xuan Golden Thunders gave rise to a Nine-Xuan Golden Dragon possessing a fragment of consciousness.

Swallowing it merely to obtain energy that only boosts strength would be such a waste!

Moreover, if the celestial thunderclaps have a ranking similar to the exotic fire chart, this Nine-Xuan Golden Thunder would rank roughly alongside Pure Lotus Demonic Fire or even Wu Nie Tun Yan, making it exceedingly rare even in the far more flourishing ancient eras.

Its special abilities and destructive power are also outstanding; in battle, Nine-Xuan Golden Thunder strongly counters certain yin‑evil and soul attacks, making it exactly what Lin Feng urgently needs, so he naturally cannot bear to destroy the Nine-Xuan Golden Dragon before him.

Argh!

Yet faced with Lin Feng's arrogant words, the Nine-Xuan Golden Dragon at the center of the void thunder pool seemed insulted, instantly letting out a furious roar toward the sky; its massive golden eyes glared viciously at the presumptuous human ahead, as if its angry gaze could kill the opponent.

Chi—!

After the howl, the golden thunder dragon gaped its massive jaws, and in an instant a golden lightning bolt roughly a hundred zhang long whoosh out at near‑light speed, flashing and arriving right before Lin Feng.

Sigh, it looks like we still have to subdue the opponent first!

Seeing the Nine-Xuan Golden Dragon strike at the slightest provocation, Lin Feng muttered helplessly.

But the situation before him was something he had long anticipated, so he was not overly surprised.

After all, he knew that on this continent strength reigns supreme; if you're not powerful enough, getting these celestial oddities to obey you is simply too difficult.

As for the suddenly swooping golden lightning, Xiao Ling's pitch‑black pupils instantly contracted.

After all, the Nine-Xuan Golden Dragon's strength is no less than hers, and the opponent is also among the topmost celestial oddities.

Though she might surpass the opponent, the void thunder pool is the opponent's domain; fighting here naturally puts her at a disadvantage, forcing her to steel herself and respond earnestly.

With that in mind, Xiao Ling immediately and solemnly extended her hand, placing it over the black vortex that had just absorbed the black magic thunders like a black hole, then black flames continuously surged from her body and poured into the vortex.

Wooo

After receiving Xiao Ling's injected black exotic fire, the black vortex's suction surged again, and as it spun it continuously emitted a heart‑pounding wooo sound.

Chi—!

Just after Xiao Ling reinforced the black vortex before her, the golden lightning struck the continuously rotating flame vortex fiercely, and in an instant the Nine-Xuan Golden Thunder collided with it like a solid wall, instantly turning into countless tiny golden thunder serpents that rampaged.

But soon, as the black flame vortex in front of Xiao Ling began to exert force, those tiny Nine-Xuan Golden Thunders were instantly swallowed by the irresistible suction, disappearing as if they had never existed.

And right after those Nine-Xuan Golden Thunders were devoured, a vast energy with a faint destructive edge surged within Lin Feng, automatically circulating along his meridians.

However, wherever this energy passed, it left behind tiny golden lightning arcs.

Lin Feng was instantly astonished by this situation.

Of course, Lin Feng's astonishment was not at the vast energy itself, but at the fact that even after being filtered through Xiao Ling's dozen or so fused exotic fires of the new fire spirit, the Nine‑Xuan Golden Thunder still retained remnants!

Thinking of this, Lin Feng couldn't help but exclaim, "The Nine‑Xuan Golden Thunder truly lives up to its reputation as the continent's only rival to the Imperial Core Thunder; it is indeed terrifying."

While marveling in his mind, he no longer chose to wait and instantly vanished from the spot.

In an instant, he reappeared above the Nine‑Xuan Golden Dragon; with Dou Qi raging along his meridians, Lin Feng raised his palm and struck down at the golden thunder dragon below.

Boom—boom—boom!

At the same moment his palm struck, a massive yellow energy palm imprint, a thousand zhang tall, rapidly coalesced in the sky, then plummeted down at a world‑shattering speed.

Argh!

Facing the attack, the Nine‑Xuan Golden Dragon refused to concede, letting out a long howl toward the sky and immediately spitting out a golden thunder bolt that shot toward the energy palm imprint above.

Bang!

The next moment, the golden lightning and the yellow energy palm print collided; both then exploded and instantly turned into nothingness.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Meanwhile, before the shockwave from the exploding energy palm print had even settled, five massive fire spirits—a wolf, a leopard, a lion, a tiger, and a jiao, each hundreds of zhang tall—suddenly descended from the heavens, surrounding the Nine Profound Gold Lightning at the center.

At the same time, several scorching fire pillars spewed from the mouths of these fire spirits, intertwining in the sky; finally, as a fire curtain descended from the heavens, a complex fire formation instantly formed, trapping the Nine Profound Gold Dragon within.

As the fire curtain descended, Lin Feng's hand seal, whose silhouette had gradually become visible in the smoke and dust of the explosion above, abruptly shifted; then the surrounding fire curtain began to undulate in waves.

Immediately, strands of intertwined, gorgeous five-colored flames surged endlessly from the fire curtain, then transformed into a raging sea of fire that filled the entire light formation.

Roar!

As the five-colored flames surged forth, the Nine Profound Gold Dragon also sensed the terror of these flames; cut off from the external Black Demonic Lightning by the fire formation, it let out a long roar to the heavens, then slightly contracted its tail, and with a mighty leap sprang forward, opening its blood‑filled maw and lunging straight at Lin Feng above.

Separating Fire, Burn the Heavens!

Seeing the Nine Profound Gold Dragon lunge at him, Lin Feng's expression grew grave; at the same time, his Battle Qi surged out endlessly, rushing quickly into the surrounding fire curtains, and finally he pointed his finger sharply downward at the golden lightning dragon.

As his motion proceeded, the extraordinarily terrifying five-colored flames within the fire formation instantly resembled a ferocious beast, unleashing wave after wave of destructive power so fearsome that even a Seven‑Star Dou Saint would be terrified, sweeping toward the Nine Profound Gold Dragon.

Moreover, Lin Feng is now not far from reaching the Eight‑Star level, and furthermore, the flames he unleashed with this Five‑Cycle Separating Fire Technique are all among the top ten on the exotic fire ranking.

The power unleashed is such that even an Eight‑Star Dou Saint would have to treat it with utmost caution.

Roar!

As the golden lightning dragon sped forward at full tilt, in the blink of an eye it plunged into the gorgeous five‑colored flames; instantly, the intense heat caused the thunder scales on its body to sizzle, and an uncontrollable, earth‑shaking dragon roar burst from its mouth.

However, this dragon roar, compared to the previous one, lacked a bit of draconic might and carried a touch more pain.

However, Lin Feng's attack did not end so quickly; after the Nine Profound Gold Dragon's thunder scales had been roasted for a while, they were actually ignited by the exotic fire's high temperature, and the flames quickly spread across the dragon's body.

In less than the blink of an eye, the Nine Profound Gold Dragon's massive body was completely enveloped by the five‑colored flames, instantly transforming from a thunderous giant dragon into a five‑colored fire dragon.

Roar! Roar!

After enduring this burning for a while, the anguished golden giant dragon could no longer endure; it ceased to care about its dignity as a heaven‑earth wonder and emitted a dragon roar full of pleading and submission toward Lin Feng. Seeing the Nine Profound Gold Dragon finally yield, Lin Feng lightly waved his hand, drawing all the flames from the golden lightning dragon into himself and then swallowing them anew.

Of course, after retrieving the flames from the Nine Profound Gold Dragon's body, he immediately ceased supplying Battle Qi to the fire formation.

As for the Five‑Cycle Separating Fire Formation, once its source of Battle Qi was cut off, it quickly collapsed and eventually vanished completely.

Roar

Once the danger around it had passed, the Nine Profound Gold Dragon let out a long roar to the heavens; immediately, the Black Demonic Lightning that had been blocked by the fire formation hissed and then streamed in, one after another, into the golden lightning dragon's body.

With this replenishment of lightning power, the Nine Profound Gold Dragon's previous injuries vanished instantly, restoring the golden giant dragon to its original state.

However, though its injuries had healed, the Nine Profound Gold Dragon did not act fickle; instead, it obediently stretched its head toward Lin Feng, awaiting his command.

After all, its spiritual intelligence is still low; it doesn't understand feigning weakness to lure an enemy and then sneak‑attack.

It merely follows simple instincts: when faced with a stronger creature, it submits just as the Black Demonic Lightning does upon seeing it.

Lin Feng, seeing that he had subdued this Nine Profound Gold Dragon, felt a flash of excitement cross his face.

As for Xiao Ling, after seeing the Nine Profound Gold Dragon submit, she strutted over like a victorious rooster, head held high and chest out, as if she were the boss, she patted the golden lightning dragon's head and said with a grin, 'Big golden dragon, I didn't expect you to be so savvy—rest assured, as long as you work hard, you'll definitely get your share of benefits.'

Hiss!

However, the golden lightning dragon instantly shot a bolt of golden lightning at Xiao Ling's action, driving her back; then its huge golden eyes glanced at her, as if saying, 'Don't get near me, or I'll smack you.'

"You damned big golden earthworm, don't act all high and mighty—keep acting arrogant and I'll beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you!"

Suddenly shocked, Xiao Ling, feeling she had lost face before her master, burst into angry wails, ready to fight the Nine Profound Gold Dragon to the death.

Meanwhile, the lightning dragon merely gave the raging Xiao Ling a dismissive glance of its massive head, as if saying, 'I disdain to fight you.'

Seeing this, Xiao Ling became even angrier, almost bursting on the spot, and then she furiously pointed at the Nine Profound Gold Dragon and shouted, 'You damned dead earthworm, behold my Xiao Ling adult's.'

"Alright, Xiao Ling, keep quiet."

However, just as Xiao Ling was preparing to fight the Nine Profound Gold Dragon to the death, Lin Feng suddenly called out to stop her.

As for her, she dared not disobey her master's words; seeing that fighting was hopeless, she gave a cold snort, then angrily flicked her sleeve and returned to her master's side.

Having dealt with the girl, Lin Feng then turned to the Nine Profound Gold Dragon and said, 'I observe your condition; it seems you wish to gather spirits.'

The so‑called Spirit Gathering simply means condensing spiritual intelligence.

Although the Nine Profound Gold Lightning currently possesses terrifying power, it still lacks complete spiritual intelligence and therefore cannot unleash its full strength.

In other words, it cannot yet be called a true living spirit.

Because, whether in intellect or any other aspect, it cannot be considered a genuine living spirit.

To become a complete living spirit, this kind of innate wonder can only attempt Spirit Gathering; only after passing the trial set by heaven and earth for such innate wonders can it become a true living spirit.

Take the Nine Profound Gold Lightning before us: if it succeeds, it will become a strand of Nine Profound Gold Lightning endowed with complete spiritual intelligence, thereby becoming a true living spirit in the full sense!

At that point, its status will be comparable to that of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire and the Wu Nie Tun Yan among exotic fires, becoming the spirit of the Nine Profound Gold Lightning.

Of course, for such innate wonders, the higher their power, the more the Battle Qi continent seems to resist their Spirit Gathering in the dark, making the process extraordinarily difficult.

Perhaps this is why the Bodhi Ancient Tree has still been unable to complete Spirit Gathering and successfully transform into a human form.

Roar!

As Lin Feng recalled those days of endless confusion and directionlessness, the moment his words fell, the golden lightning dragon immediately tapped its huge head and let out a resounding dragon roar.

After all, if Lin Feng had not appeared, it would indeed have been preparing to make a solitary attempt soon, beginning its own Spirit Gathering.

Lin Feng saw the Nine Profound Gold Dragon nod, then his expression grew slightly grave as he said, 'Although your spiritual energy has begun to show, there is a certain chance of success. Moreover, with your current Seven‑Star Dou Saint level strength, if Spirit Gathering succeeds you could fully master the Nine Profound Gold Lightning's energy, and perhaps even reach the peak of Seven‑Star in one fell swoop.'

But, the stronger your strength, the lower the chance of Spirit Gathering succeeding. Given your current power, the success rate is probably under thirty percent; however, with me and Xiao Ling present here, this girl possesses devouring power, so she can draw off a portion of your energy, after which you can attempt Spirit Gathering yourself—this would raise the success rate to over eighty percent.

Having said that, Lin Feng fell silent for a moment, then looked at the enormous golden dragon before him and asked, 'So, are you ready to take a gamble with Xiao Ling's help, or will you just follow me?'

Roar!

After hearing Lin Feng's words, the Nine Profound Gold Dragon remained silent for a while, then let out a long roar to the heavens, its voice filled with resolve.

For so long it has been muddled and unaware of itself; it has had enough and does not wish to continue like this.

Therefore, it must undergo Spirit Gathering!

Even if the failure rate is extremely high, it will spare no effort!

Lin Feng, upon hearing the voice, instantly knew the former's decision.

He then nodded, then looked at the girl beside him and said: "Xiao Ling, you helped it absorb some energy, keeping its strength at, uh, three-star Battle Saint level. Also, you must not decompose that energy; I still plan to refine it into a Thunder Tribulation Pill."

Oh, I understand.

Hearing that she could absorb energy, Xiao Ling was initially excited, but upon learning she couldn't decompose it, the girl puffed her cheeks and spoke somewhat glumly.

As soon as her words fell, she immediately floated before the dragon's head under the gaze of the golden giant dragon.

While they faced each other, Xiao Ling's petite figure, before the Nine Profound Golden Dragon's body thousands of zhang tall, appeared even smaller than an ant.

However, Xiao Ling now had no mind to worry about her size; after arriving before the Nine Profound Golden Dragon, she promptly extended her tender little hand and lightly pressed it against a brilliant scale between the golden thunder dragon's eyes.

Immediately, black flames surged from Xiao Ling's fingertips, and then, with the golden giant dragon offering no resistance, the alien fire instantly penetrated every part of the Nine Profound Golden Lightning within its body.

Seal!

The field fell silent for a brief moment, then Xiao Ling let out a delicate shout, and swiftly she clenched her small hand, pulling out countless black flames in a fierce jerk within the Nine Profound Golden Dragon's body.

Because the Nine Profound Golden Dragon offered no resistance and even helped Xiao Ling draw it out, under Lin Feng's gaze, those brilliant golden thunder lights were forcibly pulled from the dragon's body by the girl and rapidly gathered in her hand.

Finally, the extracted golden thunder light, in the blink of an eye in Xiao Ling's hand, coalesced into a lightning dragon tens of zhang long, flashing with blinding light.

Roar!

However, at the instant this golden lightning dragon formed, it went mad, struggling wildly to break free.

However, facing this situation, the black flames in Xiao Ling's palm flared up, instantly shooting out to form a huge fire net that tightly bound the extracted golden lightning dragon.

Then Xiao Ling clenched her palm; the fire net flashed with a hint of black light, then gradually exerted force, forcibly shrinking the dragon's body formed from the lightning.

Finally, under this force, the golden giant dragon's body was compressed to less than half a zhang in size, and Xiao Ling promptly swallowed it whole to store.

Tsk, such rich power—looks like we came at the right time. This energy should be enough to refine pills for Zi Yan's breakthrough.

Accompanying Xiao Ling's consumption, sensing the violent thunder light suddenly appearing within his own body, Lin Feng couldn't help but flash a hint of excitement in his eyes, then lightly stroked his chin and said.

He could sense what kind of power was contained within the golden thunder dragon's body inside himself.

If this energy were rashly absorbed into the body, even some seven-star Battle Saints would likely suffer for a while.

But then Lin Feng turned his head toward the golden thunder dragon, weakened greatly from having its energy drawn by Xiao Ling, and said: "Alright, you may begin."

As soon as his words fell, Lin Feng's body suddenly withdrew, darting to a place a thousand zhang away.

At the same time, seeing her master withdraw, Xiao Ling immediately followed Lin Feng's silhouette, also retreating to a distance of a thousand zhang.

As soon as the former's words fell, the golden thunder dragon, whose strength had temporarily dropped to three-star Battle Saint level after Xiao Ling's extraction, suddenly burst forth with huge arcs of lightning across its massive body.

Ang! Ang!

Its body exploded, and the next instant, waves of mournful dragon roars instantly echoed endlessly across heaven and earth.

As for the numerous black demonic lightning around, they too were frightened by this dragon's roar and fled far away, no longer daring to approach the golden giant dragon at the center of the void lightning pool.

Hope it succeeds.

A thousand zhang away, Lin Feng gazed at the surrounding spiritual qi rapidly converging toward the center of the lightning pool, and couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy as he silently prayed.

When unnecessary, he would not intervene in the Nine Profound Golden Dragon's Spirit Gathering, letting it complete as much as possible on its own, after all this would best preserve the Nine Profound Golden Lightning's own power.

Of course, if he saw the Nine Profound Golden Dragon heading toward failure, he naturally could not just stand by with his hands off regarding this newly acquired junior; instead, he would have Xiao Ling continue extracting energy from the Nine Profound Golden Dragon's body to reduce the difficulty of the Spirit Gathering. (End of chapter)