Chapter 130: The Lonesome Thunder Sound Abyss Vine

Qian Renxue stepped onto the white stairs and went down.

The purple mist in the air gradually dissipated?!

At the bottom stood a ruined giant palace; just by its style one could still see its former glory.

The black hall exuded an astonishing pressure.

Such pressure came from the deepest part of the divine hall; it seemed that a terrifying existence, one that made even the sun, moon, and stars feel dread, resided there.

Because it was underground, the surroundings were dark, and bones from who knows how many years lay scattered everywhere. These bones were not human but soul beast skeletons! Moreover, the bone quality was quite fine; these beast skeletons were likely from soul beasts of ten-thousand-year level or higher in life.

Their white bones, at the time of death, all retained a worshipful posture, as if pleading to some existence for something.

It's a pity that there were no soul bones inside; some skeletons were missing pieces, perhaps taken away by generations of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's clansmen.

The deeper one went, the sparser the flashing electric light and mist became.

Perhaps because there was no thunder and lightning, this place was extremely cold, its temperature utterly different from that of the outer ring and core area; the chilly air made Qian Renxue feel slightly uneasy, yet the speed at which her soul power circulated through her body increased.

"Interesting, why does the most mysterious core area have no thunder and lightning?"

Qian Renxue quickly arrived at the palace gate; the surrounding white bones did not come within five meters of the gate, all staying outside that range.

Qian Renxue also felt a bit wary, planning to let Xiao Qing push open the palace door; after all, it was merely a martial soul, and even if severely injured it could be repaired with a soul seal, having been raised for so long it ought to be of some use.

"Go, push the door open for me."

"Ah? Me?" Xiao Qing, coiled around Qian Renxue's serpentine body, stiffened slightly, opened its snake mouth, gazing at the pressure-filled divine hall with a look that said, "You're being rather rash."

Qian Renxue glared at it: "If you won't go, then should I?"

Just then, suddenly, Qian Renxue felt an intangible pressure surge from all directions; her mental power, which she had released to probe the surroundings, was instantly compressed back by the pressure.

This is…

Xiao Qing's face showed panic; it quickly shrank its body, darting to hide behind Qian Renxue's neck, cautiously extending its snake head to observe.

"Crack—"

A dull door-opening sound suddenly rang out; a tremendous pressure came from behind the palace, inducing an indescribable panic. What was even more terrifying, Qian Renxue discovered, was that the other attributes of heaven and earth energy and energy molecules in the air were rapidly vanishing, even describable as fleeing; only the thunder element remained.

"Boom—"

A low thunderclap shook the entire palace, making it tremble.

"You've finally come; I've been waiting for you for a long time."

A voice echoed throughout the underground space; Qian Renxue narrowed her eyes. This soul power fluctuation—could it be a hundred-thousand-year soul beast? But how could a mere hundred-thousand-year soul beast exert such pressure on her? Such terrifying pressure, aside from a soul beast with cultivation equal to or above that of a human Title Douluo (hundred-thousand-year level or more), there was nothing else; yet the oppressive force of this newcomer was simply unimaginable, absolutely the strongest soul beast she had ever seen.

Not even the Azure Python nor the Titan Giant Ape could compare; even the ferocious Golden Godzilla she had seen on Hell Road, over two hundred thousand years strong, fell far short.

The surroundings suddenly became bright, faint purple light flickering; the dense thunder element power all around made the air seem to ripple with strange waves, as if countless suppressed thunderclaps sounded, and the formerly chilly underground space instantly turned as bright as daylight.

Qian Renxue snorted coldly, "Just playing mysterious."

Qian Renxue activated the Eight-Winged Angel Soul Seal; a thread of light suddenly shone from her body—it was brilliant golden light, the strange mark on her forehead appearing, half of her wings blazing with gold, spreading from the mark on her forehead and the soul seal on her chest to her entire body in an instant.

Soul rings appeared one after another on her body, red red red red red red! They were six hundred-thousand-year-or-higher soul rings in a row.

Her hair also turned into a brighter, shining golden hue, each strand glowing; the clothing on her back split open, four pairs of holy wings radiating golden light unfolded from behind, her body seeming to break free of gravity's control as it gently floated up, hovering one foot above the ground.

"Huh? You don't have a thunder-attribute martial soul? Then how did you get in here, and how is this soul ring configuration possible?" a doubtful voice came from deep within the palace.

Just then, the palace before Qian Renxue finally opened fully, revealing a passage inside; the passage was dark purple, visible only through that dark purple light, faintly discernible.

At the end of the passage, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness; she was clothed head to toe in dark purple, her figure slender, chest full, legs straight and slender; above her chest, her shoulders bore white skin and the deep cleavage of her chest was visible, a cascade of light purple hair flowed behind her, moving on its own, naturally swaying from both sides of her body.

Her beautiful face was extremely bewitching; her eyes were light purple, her lips bright purple; on her forehead sat a purple-gold eight-pointed star, radiating layers of golden halos that naturally flowed down from above her head.

The purple-clad woman saw Qian Renxue's strange divine-exam mark on her forehead; her pupils contracted slightly, her eyes holding a hint of envy.

"Are you the heir of the divine exam?"

Qian Renxue nodded, feeling doubtful—how could it be a woman when the earlier voice was clearly male? "Who are you? Was that earlier voice yours?"

The woman drew nearer; dark purple lightning gleamed in her eyes like substance flowing to both sides; the closer she came, the greater the pressure she exerted on Qian Renxue, and the more golden light Qian Renxue released; their soul powers opposed each other like needles, the surrounding area split into golden and purple soul power zones.

She shook her head and said, "I am the High Priest chosen by the Thunder God, Thunder Sound Abyss Vine; you had already passed the trial and were qualified to take the Thunder God's examination."

Qian Renxue stared, "The Thunder God didn't die in the Dragon God War? How can there still be believers, and how did He leave a legacy?" "Originally? So I'm no longer qualified?"

The purple-clad woman nodded, "Since you are already God's Chosen, you need not continue the examination; just leave. Moreover, you may bring others here to undergo the trial, but do not reveal what you have seen and heard here; without passing the trial, one is not qualified for the Thunder God's examination—speaking the truth will only harm them, and those lacking sufficient talent who come here desperately will gain only despair."

"So that's how it is."

Qian Renxue asked curiously, "You say you are Thunder Sound Abyss Vine, but such a vine couldn't live that long, could it? Yet you have become a ferocious beast in human form."

A flicker of sorrow passed through the purple-clad woman's eyes as she softly said:

"I didn't expect you to know the concept of ferocious beasts; having received the Thunder God's 'favor', as repayment I must remain here to help Him select a successor for His divine position; although the Thunder God has perished, a trace of His divine soul remains, I have gained His protection, and He allowed me to transform directly from a fifty-thousand-year entity into a fifteen-thousand-year ferocious beast; as long as I stay in this palace, I will not suffer the heavenly tribulation's lightning baptism, and my cultivation will naturally not increase further."

Qian Renxue said, "So you really have never gone out to face the heavenly thunder? I've never seen a Thunder Sound Abyss Vine willing to halt its cultivation, even if the Thunder God commanded it, I doubt any would comply."

The purple-clad woman's calm face suddenly showed a ripple: "Because this is an agreement; back then the Thunder God duped me, saying he could quickly help me break the ten-thousand-year soul beast limit, that I should find him a thunder-attribute martial soul master as successor, and it would be fast—only a few thousand years to find one; I was young and couldn't resist such temptation, so I agreed. Who knew it would take this long! I've been stuck here for who knows how many hundred thousand years." "Then you never thought of leaving? I see you don't seem to be confined now."

The purple-clad woman said lightly, "Since I made a promise, I must fulfill it; He kept His promise to me back then, and I naturally must also seek someone who can inherit the Thunder God's position; as soon as someone can become the new Thunder God, I can abandon all this and regain my freedom!"

"My goodness," Qian Renxue thought, startled, "After the Dragon God War, this agreement—just how old must this being be? Qian Renxue was astonished by the obstinacy of Thunder Sound Abyss Vine; in some respects, soul beasts are indeed far simpler than humans."

She scratched her cheek and continued asking, "Can such divine secrets be spoken directly?"

The purple-clad woman stared blankly at Qian Renxue, "So this originally cannot be spoken?"

"."

"Then why did you just ask me?"

Qian Renxue's gaze wandered; she didn't know whether it could be said or not—Thunder Sound Abyss Vine looked like a mature older sister, yet its personality was so honest, it felt foolish.

"It should be okay to say."

The purple-clad woman nodded reassuredly and continued, "Once you understand, leave quickly; finally, please help me guide a few high-talent thunder-attribute soul masters here."

Then she turned and left.

"Wait!"

Qian Renxue hurriedly called out, "You should at least let me try; the Thunder God examination—what if I get selected? Don't you want to swiftly fulfill your promise to the Thunder God and go outside to have a look?"

The purple-clad woman froze; she had never heard such talk before. What if? Everyone who had come here before was extremely confident, believing they would surely obtain the Thunder God's inheritance. People like Qian Renxue, who just wanted to give it a try, mostly never made it this far.

The purple-clad woman continued, "If you insist, I have no objection. I've never seen a divine trial inheritor come to take the test before. Come with me."

Qian Renxue retracted her martial soul and followed her into the palace, "Do you have a name?"

The purple-clad woman didn't mind her being bothersome, and honestly replied, "Didn't I say that already? My name is Lei Ming Yan Yu Teng."

Qian Renxue shook her head slightly, "Not that. Isn't that your species' name? I'm asking for your personal name, the one that represents only you."

The purple-clad woman stopped, thought for a moment, then said, "Then just call me Ziyi."

"Ziyi? What does that name mean?"

Ziyi said indifferently, "Because I'm wearing purple today, the name would also be easy to recognize, right?"

This really is the thought process of a spirit beast—simple and straightforward.

Qian Renxue nodded, then fell silent, quietly following behind Ziyi toward the place of the Thunder God's trial.

Thirty minutes later, Qian Renxue saw the end of the purple road; she looked at the scene before her, and a hint of strangeness appeared in her eyes.

A purple six-pointed star formation stood straight ahead; each of the six points of the formation held a dark purple bamboo shoot, and in the center of the formation stood a white cylindrical pillar.

Behind the formation lay a purple-gold staircase, emanating an aura of sacred dignity.

This thing is a bit like the formation used when awakening a martial soul—rather crude, and completely on a different level from the scene of opening the Angel's trial.

Just then, Ziyi suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared fixedly at Qian Renxue, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Qian Renxue asked strangely, "What's wrong? Are you about to start overseeing the trial?"

Ziyi shook her head, then asked, "Do you start disliking me?"

Qian Renxue looked at her, bewildered, "Dislike you? Why would you think that? I never said I disliked you."

"Then why have you suddenly stopped talking to me from just now until now?"

"Huh?"

Qian Renxue stared at the expressionless Ziyi before her, feeling her head about to burst; I've finished asking my questions, what did I say? "You really do dislike me."

Qian Renxue coughed, then had to find something to say to comfort her, "How could that be? What is that pillar in front for?"

Ziyi's voice remained indifferent, but Qian Renxue clearly felt she was a bit happier than before.

That is the Thunder God's Pillar, the remnant soul of the Thunder God that, after awakening from sleep, originally ran to Sea God Island and plagiarized over. The Thunder God is a brainless oaf; when he saw the Sea God, before becoming a god, collecting various faith-based practices, he was instantly amazed, directly calling Poseidon an old schemer; it's a pity he was already dead then, so learning those underworld tactics was useless.

A brainless oaf? You, an iron dullard who's been duped by an oaf and doesn't know how many tens of thousands of years of labor you've put in, how can you have the nerve to say others lack brains?

Qian Renxue carefully looked left and right; this purple-clad woman is too bold, saying the Thunder God lacks brains right at the place of his inheritance—"Is the Thunder God's divine soul still around?"

"I don't know; probably died long ago."

Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment; pious, this is truly too pious.

Qian Renxue looked at the purple-clad woman gazing at her eagerly, then said, "How about you first help me oversee the trial? The Chief Priest's duty isn't just chatting, right?"

Upon hearing that, Ziyi showed a disappointed expression, like a soaked puppy; she was really too lonely.

"First go into the Thunder God's formation."

4000, brothers, today I'm busy; the company forced me to tell them—I, an intern, actually have to go on a business trip; if I have to go on a business trip later, I might need to take leave, messed up.

(End of chapter)