Chapter 649

"Tsk tsk tsk, the marvels of nature—this Nine Mystery Golden Thunder lacks any Shen Mi Zhi Yi ability, unlike Jing Lian Yao Huo and Xu Wu Tun Yan. But in sheer destructive power, this Nine Mystery Golden Thunder is likely no weaker than either of them."

The greatest strength of the Strange Fires is naturally their Shen Mi Zhi Yi abilities.

In a thousand years, no one on the Dou Qi Continent has ever forged a Nine-Treasure Golden Pill; thus, the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder has not appeared in a very long time.

A golden thunder dragon, coiled at the deepest depths of the Lei Hai, its eyes tightly shut, golden lightning arcs flickering across its body, subtly radiating a force of annihilation that caused the Void Space around it to warp violently.

Countless Black Demon Thunders surrounded the golden dragon a thousand zhang away, as if paying homage to their sovereign.

Seeing the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder again, Xiao Yan's shock deepened. Though he had once considered refining it, he could only sigh helplessly—it was not a Strange Fire, and nearly all of his resistances were useless; the Burning Art was useless.

Even though Xiao Yan possessed Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire, granting him dual Thunder-Fire attribute Dou Qi, without the Burning Art, he had no Cultivation Method for Thunder attributes; refining the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder would be like suicide.

The destructive power of this Nine Mystery Golden Thunder rivals that of Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame; without the Burning Art and the multitude of Strange Fire resistances, Xiao Yan would have died instantly had he tried to refine the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame back then.

Not long after Xiao Yan quietly approached, deep within the Thunder Pool, the coiled golden thunder dragon slowly opened its tightly shut eyes—within its pupils, lightning flashed and thunder roared, as if the entire heavens and earth had been reflected into those colossal dragon eyes.

Suddenly, the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's dragon pupils glanced toward Xiao Yan's direction—it had discovered Xiao Yan, hidden from view!

"Hm? It actually noticed me!" Xiao Yan's heart jolted; he barely turned to flee when, deep within the Thunder Pool, the golden dragon's pupils flashed with lightning and thunder, as if the entire heavens and earth had been reflected into those colossal dragon eyes.

Instantly, a thick golden lightning bolt lashed out from its body, piercing through the Void like a Spiritual Energy Sealing Chain, targeting Xiao Yan directly.

Boom—!!! The Golden Thunder moved with astonishing speed, striking Xiao Yan instantly. In an instant, golden lightning exploded like fireworks and a thunderstorm, forming a vast golden electric field.

"You don't think you can do the same thing as last time, do you?"

Xiao Yan's calm voice echoed from within the golden lightning field, and then the golden lightning visibly began to contract, as if being drawn in by some force. Countless golden Heavenly Thunders rapidly drilled into Xing Tian's body.

At this moment, Xing Tian resembled a lightning rod, his Dragon Phoenix pattern flickering with bursts of lightning.

Even the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's casual strike could not harm Xing Tian, who had fused with Huang Tian and the North Dragon King!

Xiao Yan gently brushed a trace of lightning arc from his Soul Robe, casually lifted his Hood, revealing his true face—his black pearl eyes fixed directly on the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder.

"Last time you blasted me out of this Thunder Pool, you don't think after all this time you can still send me flying like before, do you? If I had no confidence, I wouldn't have come." Xiao Yan kept his hands in his pockets, utterly unafraid of the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder.

Though the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder was immensely powerful, rivaling a Seven Star Dou Sheng, Xiao Yan had his own confidence—he now possessed Xing Tian, a puppet with the special ability to absorb lightning to refine his body, its strength surpassing the North Dragon King and reaching the early stage of Six Star Dou Sheng.

If the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder fully evolved and successfully gathered Spirit, Xiao Yan might not be able to defeat it—but since it has not yet succeeded in gathering Spirit, Xiao Yan need not fear it excessively.

Seeing Xiao Yan reveal his true face, the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's golden lightning-lit dragon pupils narrowed slightly—it recognized Xiao Yan. Long ago, a petty thief had stealthily approached it and devoured many Black Demon Thunders.

But that petty thief, whom it had once blasted a million li away with a single strike, now possessed strength capable of challenging it!

Zzzz— the golden lightning on the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder grew increasingly agitated. It was the sovereign of lightning; even without having formed a Spirit, it carried a trace of pride and instinctively resisted outsiders—its instinct was to exterminate them.

"If you want to fight me, go ahead. Your internal energy has already reached its peak—if you don't gather Spirit now, it will overflow. Even if you win this battle, how much confidence do you have left to gather Spirit?"

"Of course, you can rest easy—I, Xiao Yan, have no intention of becoming your enemy. If you succeed in gathering Spirit, I'll turn and leave. If you fail, the energy that explodes from your body—I won't be polite. I need precisely this energy to break through."

Xiao Yan was direct—he stated his purpose outright. He simply didn't believe this Nine Mystery Golden Thunder would succeed.

Xiao Yan slowly retreated one kilometer, signaling he would not interfere with the Spirit gathering.

Soon after seeing Xiao Yan depart, the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder knew it could delay no longer—a deafening Dragon Roar erupted from the depths of the Void Thunder Pool.

Wuuuuu!!!!!!!!! Deep within the Void Thunder Pool, the golden dragon's massive body suddenly exploded with colossal lightning arcs, accompanied by a piercing Dragon Roar that shook the heavens and earth—surrounding Black Demon Thunders were terrified into retreating far away.

In an instant, all lightning within the vast Void Thunder Pool fled, revealing a colossal golden dragon.

"Spirit Qi is converging—it seems the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder is truly beginning to gather Spirit!"

This sight caused Xiao Yan's eyes to flash rapidly—the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder, though terrifying, still lacked sentience; if it failed to gather Spirit, most of its energy would dissipate, leaving it extremely weak.

At this thought, even Xiao Yan's composure could not suppress the sudden, pounding thud of his heart.

If Xiao Yan could claim this Nine Mystery Golden Thunder, not even mentioning refining it to instantly break through to Six Star Dou Sheng or higher, simply keeping it in his possession would make it a powerful trump card against any opponent—even one reaching Seven Star Dou Sheng.

Seven Star Dou Sheng! On the entire Dou Qi Continent, the number of people who could reach this level could be counted on two hands!

Xiao Yan's inner shock gradually settled into calm patience; his gaze, flickering with intent, fixed on the depths of the Lei Hai, his mind already made up—he stilled his spirit, eyes locked on the golden dragon whose body continuously erupted with lightning storms.

As the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder emitted low, piercing roars, the surrounding Black Demon Thunders retreated far away—this was a critical moment for the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder.

"Crack!"

A golden lightning storm, one-fifth the size of the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's body, exploded violently across its surface—golden lightning arcs surged wildly with annihilation power. Even for the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder, this internal backlash was overwhelming; it could only struggle desperately. Yet, amid its frantic thrashing, a faint glimmer of Spirit Qi slowly emerged in its cold, emotionless dragon eyes, giving it a touch of life, no longer as lifeless as a statue.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but lick his lips—he hadn't expected the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder to endure such violent backlash to gather sentience. But if it survived, it would become an immensely terrifying being.

The heavens and earth held wonders beyond count—just like the Bodhi Ancient Tree. Though merely an ancient tree, in its prime it had once battled legendary Dou Di powerhouses. Likewise, the Bodhi Ancient Tree lacked strong sentience. The stronger a Heavenly Earth Spirit Entity, the harder it is to gather sentience—the Bodhi Ancient Tree was like this, and so too was the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder.

"Boom! Boom!"

As Spirit Qi began to surface in the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's eyes, its internal backlash intensified—deep, rumbling thunder explosions echoed continuously from within its body. Each terrifying blast made Xiao Yan's scalp tingle. Under this ferocious explosion, the Spirit Qi in the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's eyes was violently shattered and scattered.

"Such terrifying backlash—no wonder the Bodhi Ancient Tree couldn't gather sentience. If it had endured this, the backlash must have been unimaginably horrific." Seeing the Spirit Qi in the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's eyes being blasted away again, Xiao Yan gasped—this way, the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's success in gathering sentience was far from certain.

"Wuuu!"

As Xiao Yan pondered this, the countless Black Demon Thunders surrounding him seemed to sense something by instinct—the entire Lei Hai emitted a strange, mournful sound. Then, countless Black Demon Thunders surged forward in a relentless wave toward the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder.

Upon contact with the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's body, each Black Demon Thunder dissolved into a thin black current, penetrating its body. As they entered, the violent explosions within the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder gradually lessened, as if these Black Demon Thunders were using their own bodies to shield it from internal backlash.

Amid this suicidal charge of countless Black Demon Thunders, the Spirit Qi within the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's eyes grew denser, yet simultaneously, its once brilliant golden body grew dimmer—the backlash was weakening it further.

"Roar!"

Amid the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's piercing, agonized roars, the Black Demon Thunders deep within the Lei Hai went mad, charging fearlessly into its body. Yet as the Spirit Qi in its eyes grew denser, the explosions within its golden body became even more violent—the waves of annihilation, even from afar, sent chills through Xiao Yan.

"It seems Strange Fires truly are unique—refining Three Thousand Yan Flame, Falling Heart Flame, and others probably isn't this dangerous."

Strange Fires are indeed unique.

Watching the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder's apocalyptic Spirit gathering, the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire that had emerged from Xiao Yan's body stared in shock—this Spirit gathering was insane!

Xiao Yan could feel Spiritual Energy and Heavenly Energy converging into the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder—this was similar to how he gathered Heavenly Earth Spirit Qi when refining Eight Grade Pills.

But unlike an Eight Grade Pill, the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder didn't need ordinary Spirit—it was more like the Dan Tower's Elder Ancestor, aiming to become a being like him.

Unfortunately, the Dan Tower's Elder Ancestor reached his current state only because the Alchemist who forged him sacrificed his life, merging a strand of his Spiritual Soul into the Elixir—otherwise, the Dan Tower's Elder Ancestor could never have gained such power and sentience.

Xiao Yan could now refine Nine-Treasure Pills. Though the Nine-Treasure Pills he forged possessed Spirit, their initial Spirit was closer to instinct—nothing compared to Tuan Tuan and the Rabbit, the Dan Beasts.

After all, Tuan Tuan was born from a Dan Beast nurtured for a thousand years by the Sage Emperor.

"Looks like it's going to fail." Xiao Yan's voice was utterly calm; as an observer, he felt little emotion.

The backlash within the Nine Mystical Golden Thunder was nearly doubling in intensity; according to this trend, no matter how many Black Demon Thunders rushed forward in endless waves, they could not suppress the backlash's thunderous explosion—and once they failed to contain it, the hard-won spirit of the Nine Mystical Golden Thunder would be shattered once more.

When that happened, the energy within the Nine Mystical Golden Thunder would burst free along with its spirit, and naturally, that energy would fall into Xiao Yan's hands.

Seeing the outcome, Xiao Yan let out a soft sigh. The Nine Mystical Golden Thunder had taken countless years to take form; now, if its spirit gathering failed, it was indeed regrettable. Heaven had granted it great power, but had also stripped away another right.

Deep within the Lei Hai, the Nine Mystical Golden Thunder lay dimly coiled, its golden-hued body now far more ethereal, powerless to resist the terrifying backlash.

As the Nine Mystical Golden Thunder seemed to accept its fate, lying still in the depths of the Lei Hai, the surrounding Black Demon Thunders ceased their assaults, gathering around it and emitting low, mournful wails, filled with sorrow.

"Ah…"

Seeing the now-feeble Nine Mystical Golden Thunder, Xiao Yan sighed. The latter could no longer instill in him the danger he had felt before.

"Spirit gathering failed." Xiao Yan shook his head, stepped through Space, and in a flash appeared deep within the Lei Hai, gazing up close at the golden thunder dragon, thousands of zhang in size. Its eyes, now extremely dim, glanced at him—but made no further attack.

Wuuu wuuu wuuu.

At this moment, the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire protecting Xiao Yan transformed into nine dragons, gazing sorrowfully at the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder before them. Though a Spirit Flame, it also possessed lightning attributes, and felt pity for the Nine Mystery Golden Thunder, the sovereign of lightning.

(End of Chapter)