Chapter 64: The Old Dog Dares to Follow?

Boom— Crack!

The Black Feather Boat was like a fly that slammed into a machine, no, it slammed into a pot of wildly boiling steel!

The moment it surged into this so‑called "Thunderstorm Core Area", the whole world seemed filled with endless purple and silver.

Lightning! Lightning everywhere!

Dense and terrifyingly massive, it was hardly a natural phenomenon, more like a mad god throwing a party here, dumping billions of years of fury all at once.

Space itself warped; wherever the eye could see, light refracted oddly, even distant cliffs looked like they were in a funhouse mirror, wobbling and ready to collapse at any moment.

What's even more deadly is the Spiritual Sense!

The cultivator's "eyes" and "ears" that he relies on for survival are almost completely rendered useless here!

Wang Shan felt his Spiritual Sense was like a water droplet tossed into hot oil—once it reached out, it was torn to pieces by raging thunder energy, and his brain throbbed with sharp pain.

Don't even talk about locking onto the old dog behind; now even sensing what's ten zhang outside the Black Feather Boat is a struggle!

The Black Feather Boat itself was even more unbearable to look at.

This already scar‑riddled flying vessel's moans at this moment could make even a stone‑hearted person weep.

Each flash of lightning added a few more charred cracks to the hull; tiny fragments were constantly stripped, swept away, and shredded by the invisible energy storm.

The Protective Light Shield stubbornly glowed under the support of a Middle-Grade Spirit Stone, yet it was like a candle in a gale—flickering and about to burn out.

Inside the cabin, deathly silence reigned.

The surviving Wang Family youths were completely numb.

They curled in the corner, clutching anything they could to hold onto, while the Black Feather Boat shook violently like a sieve.

Deafening thunder roared in their ears, hellish lightning flashed intermittently through cracks before their eyes, and the shadow of death was so dense it felt solid, crushing the breath from them.

……

About several hundred zhang behind the Black Feather Boat, Wan Tianjue's figure paused for a moment.

He wielded a flying sword, hovering at the edge of the Core Area, his brows tightly knit.

Even for him, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the scene before his eyes felt a strong threat.

The thunder power here is too strong!

Each randomly striking bolt probably carries power close to a second‑tier Lower Grade technique!

And that's only the natural dispersed power; if hit head‑on by those especially massive thunder columns…

He glanced down at his flying sword. As a Top‑grade Magical Artifact, its blade was already covered with a faint char, its Spiritual Light dimmed considerably, clearly damaged during the recent chase. This damned place erodes artifacts far too severely!

Is it worth risking so much just for a mere Wang Family?

But then he thought, Wang Shan, that old fox, is inside! Plus that bizarre flying vessel and the secrets the Wang Family might hide…

More importantly, as a ten‑thousand‑family Foundation Establishment Elder, chasing a swarm of chain‑qi ants and being forced into this situation—if he retreats empty‑handed, what honor remains?

A fierce glint flashed in Wan Tianjue's eyes.

A mere natural thunderstorm could still block me?

How long could the Wang Family's wreck survive in this environment? At most a quarter of an hour; the ship will be destroyed and the people will perish!

At that thought, he stopped hesitating, pinched a meridian with one hand, his body's Spiritual Light surged, and he summoned a turtle‑shell‑shaped round shield artifact, hovering above his head, draping layered yellow Light Screens that firmly protected him.

Having done all that, Wan Tianjue activated his flying sword and plunged straight into the thunder‑dancing Core Area!

……

"He's followed up!"

Almost the instant Wan Tianjue entered the Core Area, Wang Shan, standing before the Black Feather Boat's Control Console, heard a faint system prompt in his mind. Though his Spiritual Sense was disabled, the system's vague detection of high‑energy entities persisted.

Through a flash that slipped through a porthole crack—the pursuit light spot wrapped in a yellow Light Shield—Wang Shan confirmed it.

A cold, cruel smile slowly unfurled at the corner of his mouth.

Old dog, you refuse the road to heaven, yet you barge into the gateless hell!

Very good!

The plan can begin!

Wang Shan abruptly turned the Control Compass, simultaneously covertly adjusting the rhythm of energy output.

Hum— Creak!

The Black Feather Boat suddenly shook violently, more fierce than any prior jolt! The hull lurched sharply to the left, as if it would lose control the next second and plunge headfirst into the endless Abyss below!

"Family Head! Hold steady!!" Wang Zhitao beside him was terrified, almost lunging forward to help.

"Get out of the way!" Wang Shan shoved him aside, his two hands clumsily operating the console; the Black Feather Boat swayed left and right like a drunk in thunder gaps, its speed noticeably slowed, appearing energy‑depleted and on the brink of disintegration.

……

"Hmph! So it really can't hold up?"

Wan Tianjue, pursuing from behind, immediately noticed the Black Feather Boat's anomaly.

In his view, this was a sign that the opponent's Spirit Stone was exhausted and the flying vessel about to collapse!

Wang Shan was already at the end of his strength!

A cold sneer crossed Wan Tianjue's face, a flash of greed in his eyes. As long as he captured Wang Shan and forced out the secret, that flying vessel might still be repaired…

Can't wait any longer! Delay and disaster will arise!

He instantly increased Spiritual Power output, with the turtle‑shell shield overhead, thrusting his flying sword to accelerate fiercely, dashing toward the wobbling Black Feather Boat! The distance closed rapidly—three hundred zhang! Two hundred zhang! One hundred fifty zhang!

Now!

Seeing the yellow light draw nearer, about to enter the edge of his preset 'Thunder Eye' zone, Wang Shan's eyes flashed with a brilliant light!

Without any hesitation, he thought and communicated with the system.

"System! Exchange for 【Lightning‑Summoning Talisman】! Immediately!"

【Ding! Detected host remaining Spirit Plant Points 712; exchanging for 【Lightning‑Summoning Talisman (single‑use, weak)】 requires 700 points. Confirm?】

Confirm! Exchange!

Damn it, this is the family fortune I've been hoarding for ages! Wang Shan feels blood dripping in his heart, but his actions are as fast as lightning.

【Ding! Exchange successful: Thunder‑Summoning Talisman (single‑use, weak), consumes 700 Spirit Plant Points. Remaining Spirit Plant Points: 12.】

Almost the moment the exchange succeeded, a pale‑blue Talisman flickering with weak electric light appeared in Wang Shan's hand. The Talisman looked ordinary, even a bit rough.

This system thing really has every kind of weird and exotic stuff!

Without time to think further, Wang Shan suddenly poured the little Spiritual Power he had left into the Talisman!

Buzz!

The Talisman glowed with a faint light.

This is it! Go!

Wang Shan swung his arm sharply, hurling the activated Thunder‑Summoning Talisman toward the side‑front, into the "Thunder Eye" region he had marked via the system as the most violently concentrated lightning energy, throwing it forcefully!

The Talisman turned into an insignificant streak of light, silently slipping into that area where violet lightning danced wildly.

The next second, the Talisman burst open silently.

There was no earth‑shaking sound, no dazzling brilliance, only an extremely faint vibration with a unique frequency, like a stone dropped into a calm lake, rippling through the already highly unstable "Thunder Eye" region.

The vibration itself had no lethal force, so weak that even a Qi‑linking cultivator might not notice it.

However, within the "Thunder Eye" where lightning energy was so dense it seemed liquid, this faint ripple acted like a fuse, instantly igniting a massive powder keg!

In an instant!

As if guided and provoked by some mysterious force!

That "Thunder Eye" region erupted violently!

Sizzle—!!!

Boom—!!!

Several bolts! There were multiple bolts, each several times thicker than any lightning seen before, even taking on a terrifying dark‑purple hue that made hearts race, like enraged dragons bursting from deep thunderclouds! Their aim was no longer random strikes; they surged like sharks smelling blood toward the target closest to the "Thunder Eye" with the strongest energy ripple—

Wan Tianjue, and his layered yellow shield, were swept toward with a furious surge!

The speed, ultimate! The might, capable of destroying heaven and earth!

It accelerated at full speed, preparing to take down Wan Tianjue in one strike; he felt his scalp suddenly explode! An unprecedented sense of deadly danger instantly enveloped his whole body!

He startled and looked up!

"No—!!!"