Chapter 172: Lei Ming's Metamorphosis

The process of merging Blood Thunder went relatively smoothly. His True Essence already contained lightning power.

The moment Blood Thunder merged into the True Essence, it directly absorbed and assimilated the previously weaker Purple Lightning.

Moreover, after Blood Thunder merged into the True Essence, it combined more tightly with Golden Crow Holy Fire, further enhancing the quality of the True Essence to some degree.

When Ye Liuyun finished merging the True Essence and opened his eyes to look at Lei Ming, he was startled.

Lei Ming's body had swollen to twice its original size, her entire form covered in purple scale armor that crackled with electric sparks, even her face was replaced by scales instead of fur.

From the back of her neck all the way to her tail, a row of bone spines with hooked ends grew along her spine.

On her head, two dragon‑like horns had sprouted, blood‑red and shining with a crimson lightning glow.

Her four claws became even more robust and powerful, resembling dragon claws. She already had some draconic bloodline, but her shape was not the serpentine form typical of dragons.

Although her original body was not small, it always felt like flabby flesh; now it has turned into muscle, brimming with strength.

At this moment, Lei Ming looks even more like a ferocious beast, far fiercer than before!

Her cultivation realm hasn't changed much these past two days, only breaking through to the Sixth Sea Transformation. It seems the transition from mid to late Sea Transformation still requires some time.

"Ferocious beasts are the best! Sleeping, eating—that's cultivation." Ye Liuyun envied these beasts, not having to cultivate as tediously as humans.

After his envy, he still had things to do. He aimed to double the source power of Blood Thunder before leaving this place.

Another day later, Lei Ming broke through to the Seventh Sea Transformation. The aura she radiated forced Ye Liuyun to keep an even greater distance from her.

Her scale armor turned a vivid, pure purple, and the ferocious aura around her grew even more pronounced.

Ye Liuyun himself had nearly finished forging two hundred soul swords in his Sea of Consciousness. Forging soul swords at the core of Blood Thunder was much faster.

Seizing the rare chance, he transformed another two hundred soul swords and kept forging.

He could have reached Divine Soul transformation to thousand, but he chose not to chase quantity, focusing more on quality.

The Blood Thunder source power within his Qi Sea also grew considerably, soon able to reach twice the size of a fist. The might of this source power had already become quite terrifying.

Next, he replaced the Purple Lightning Prison, Purple Lightning Whip, and Thunder‑Fire Annihilation in the Illusion Eye Technique with blood electricity.

There were three days left before leaving the Secret Realm, and Lei Ming suddenly woke up.

Her realm had just broken through to the Eighth Sea Transformation. When she awoke, Ye Liuyun also stopped cultivating, observing her from a distance.

At this moment, Lei Ming's eyes glowed with the light of Blood Thunder, a crimson radiance. The red horns on her head also shimmered with lightning.

Her whole body was covered in purple scales, muscles solid and powerful, her size nearly twice her former self. She stood and stamped a foot, causing the ground to tremble. With a forceful swipe of her front claws, she dug into the stone beneath, crushing it into powder.

She rose and let out a delighted roar, the sound like thunder, making Ye Liuyun's eardrums buzz.

"No wonder her name is Lei Ming; it truly fits!" Ye Liuyun thought to himself.

Lei Ming sensed her own realm, then sensed her own transformation.

She immediately shrank herself, but found that her appearance changed little. She realized she couldn't revert to her original form, and her fur was gone, so she began to whimper.

Ye Liuyun ran over and communicated with her via Divine Sense.

"My fur is gone, big brother, you won't despise me because of that, will you?" Lei Ming said in a sobbing voice.

"So that's the reason! You've become stronger; I'm still too early to be happy for you, how could I despise you?" Ye Liuyun hugged her and comforted her.

However, the scale armor wasn't as comfortable to the touch as fur, and her appearance had become much fiercer, no longer looking so cute. Still, Ye Liuyun truly didn't care; after all, strength was what mattered most.

"But without fur, big brother, it's uncomfortable to touch!" Lei Ming whined in Ye Liuyun's arms.

"No, no, I don't despise it at all; it's slick, and touching it is quite fun!" Ye Liuyun reassured her.

Lei Ming broke free from his arms and instantly transformed into a human shape. This time it was fine; she only looked slightly more mature, as if a year older, with no real change. Her skin and figure remained the same.

Ye Liuyun looked at her naked form and couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

Seeing that she didn't become ugly after turning human, Lei Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

She immediately leapt into Ye Liuyun's arms, then began worrying about how to stay by his side thereafter. Many times she had to appear before others in her pet‑beast form; otherwise, she would have to stay inside a Storage Ring.

She didn't want to remain forever in the Storage Ring or the Grand Hall, yet feared Ye Liuyun would dislike her pet‑beast appearance, and also worried he might find her touch uncomfortable now that she lacked fur.

Ye Liuyun could only repeatedly tell her he didn't mind, soothing her until she calmed down.

Then Ye Liuyun changed the subject. "You still have two days left; why aren't you cultivating?"

"I'm afraid you won't reach the central area, and when the time comes I'll be left here, so I set my wake‑up time in advance," she replied.

"Silly girl, I've been waiting outside all along and will never leave you here! Keep cultivating; you still have two days, see if you can break through to the Yuan Dan Realm," Ye Liuyun urged her.

"No need, the Thunder Source Pearl is already fully absorbed. Once I'm outside, I'll gradually digest the power inside the Thunder Source Pearl; it won't take long before I breakthrough. Let's go out; I want to find a ferocious beast here and test my strength," Lei Ming suggested.

"Alright, let's go. I'll accompany you!" Ye Liuyun thought, noting that the little girl rarely got combat chances, so she probably wanted to spar with the local ferocious beasts.

So, Lei Ming collected the Thunder Source Pearl, and Ye Liuyun strapped his sword to his back. Lei Ming then reverted to her massive original form, carrying Ye Liuyun, and the two left the Blood Thunder zone to hunt ferocious beasts.

After Lei Ming went out, she let out a great roar, causing nearby low‑realm ferocious beasts to scatter in avoidance, while higher‑realm ones issued warnings, proclaiming their territorial rights.

Just by listening, Lei Ming could gauge an opponent's strength and then directly seek a comparable foe to fight.

Now Lei Ming's changes aren't only physical; Ye Liuyun sensed that her blood‑line power in battle had risen considerably, so she had learned many more techniques.

Not only can the horns on her head directly strike with Blood Thunder, she can also spew Blood Thunder from her mouth. Her roar now carries a sound‑wave attack, and she has also mastered a wide‑area combat skill.

Her agility and speed have greatly increased, and her tail can now swing to strike enemies.

Moreover, her full set of scales is virtually invincible defensively. Her combat power has received a comprehensive upgrade.

Ye Liuyun estimates that her strength now qualifies for the Ninth Sea Transformation.

After Lei Ming mastered all her skills, she lost interest in fighting, so Ye Liuyun let her carry him back slowly.

In this way, he could still cultivate while on Lei Ming's back.