Chapter 436: Lightning Sacrifice

"Controlling lightning is only the beginning! What I must do next is learn to perform the Lightning Sacrifice! Only by mastering the Lightning Sacrifice Art can the true power of the 'Purple Lightning Wild Thunder' be unleashed!"

Zhang Nuo's words were spoken quite lightly, but to Su Haizhen, they were like a basin of cold water poured over her burning heart! She had thought that learning to control lightning would provide a chance to escape, but she hadn't expected that there was still something called 'Lightning Sacrifice' ahead!

Watching the pretty face of his beloved turn gloomy and despondent, Zhang Nuo gave a helpless, bitter smile; this 'Lightning Sacrifice Art' was something Chunyangzi had only told him about recently!

According to Chunyangzi's explanation, even if the 'Four Spirits Square Cauldron' were filled with 'Purple Lightning Wild Thunder', if one did not know the correct method to use it, it would only be used like ordinary lightning! And while trapped within the Cold Pool, relying solely on controlling lightning would absolutely not be enough to escape! One must learn the 'Lightning Sacrifice'; the so-called Lightning Sacrifice is simply a method for utilizing lightning.

As it happened, Chunyangzi possessed a type of 'Lightning Sacrifice Art'. This Lightning Sacrifice Art had no name and was evolved entirely from Chunyangzi's Pure Yang Divine Art. The Pure Yang Divine Art that Chunyangzi practiced back in the day was a technique for comprehending fire; although it was somewhat improper to apply it to the 'Purple Lightning Wild Thunder' in this manner, Zhang Nuo had no other choice at the moment!

"I have already learned to control lightning, so I believe I will learn the Lightning Sacrifice Art quickly as well!"

After comforting Su Haizhen with a few words, Zhang Nuo's hand gently brushed across her cheek, and a sense of affection welled up in his heart!

"It's not that I want to get out of here as quickly as possible, but this 'Purple Lightning Wild Thunder' is no ordinary object; how could it be so easy? If something were to happen to you, what would I do alone?"

Burying her pretty face slowly into Zhang Nuo's chest, Su Haizhen's voice became choked with sobs!

"Don't worry! We've made it through great winds and waves; these minor difficulties won't defeat me!"

A warmth rose in Zhang Nuo's heart. In the hundred years they had spent together, they had come to view each other as the most important existence! Perhaps only in adversity can true feelings be seen!

Three days later, with Su Haizhen feeling reluctant to let him go, Zhang Nuo finally began to practice the 'Lightning Sacrifice Art' evolved from the Pure Yang Divine Art!

Given the vast and profound nature of the Pure Yang Divine Art, Zhang Nuo could not fully understand it all at once, but if he only used it to perform the Lightning Sacrifice, it was more than enough!

With a sudden flip of his hand, a cluster of purple electric arcs the size of a fist appeared in Zhang Nuo's palm. Then, he closed his eyes slightly, raised his hand above his head, and began to chant under his breath! Before long, from all around the Small Tripod, streaks of purple electric arcs converged toward the cluster of arcs in Zhang Nuo's hand!

These electric arcs were like a vast ocean, and in the blink of an eye, they were raging within the small space of the Small Tripod. Seeing the 'Purple Lightning Wild Thunder' driven to its full potential by Zhang Nuo for the first time, Su Haizhen was already terrified to the extreme! She hid in a relatively safe corner; although it was colder there, there were far fewer electric arcs!

Do not be fooled by the plain appearance of the arcs emitting purple light; Su Haizhen knew clearly that if she were hit by one, it would absolutely be more than she could bear!

As countless electric arcs from around the Small Tripod converged into Zhang Nuo's hand, the arc cluster, originally the size of a fist, had now become a foot square! If such a massive ball of electric arcs were to accidentally burst, this safest space within the Small Tripod would also turn into a living hell!

An hour later, the output of electric arcs from the walls of the tripod ceased, though residual arcs continued to dance upon them! Meanwhile, the arc ball in Zhang Nuo's hand emitted a terrifying power! The constant 'Zhi-zhi' sounds made one's scalp feel numb!

Su Haizhen, in the corner, did not even dare to breathe loudly, fearing she might disturb Zhang Nuo's cultivation! Time passed bit by bit, and the arc ball in Zhang Nuo's hand was slowly shrinking, eventually becoming only the size of half a fist!

Compressing the 'Purple Lightning Wild Thunder' to such a high density was undoubtedly a huge risk. If he were to be backlashed by the electric arcs, let alone the Lightning Sacrifice, even Zhang Nuo's own life would be lost!

For three hours, Zhang Nuo maintained this posture, still struggling to compress the electric arcs! Suddenly, his expression changed, a trace of pain appeared at the corners of his mouth, and the 'Purple Lightning Wild Thunder' on his palm rushed toward the surrounding tripod walls like a swarm of wasps!

In the blink of an eye, the highly compressed electric arcs vanished from Zhang Nuo's palm! With a twitch of his mouth, Zhang Nuo opened his eyes, looked at the charred patch on his palm, and thought to himself that it had been a close call!

Just as he was pushing the Lightning Sacrifice Art to its limit, he suddenly felt a surge of restlessness from the compressed Purple Lightning Wild Thunder. If he hadn't dispersed the lightning power in time, it likely would have exploded in an instant!

Su Haizhen ran to Zhang Nuo's side in a few steps, looked at the blackness on his palm, and asked anxiously:

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine! It seems this Lightning Sacrifice Art requires long-term practice to master!"

Standing up, Zhang Nuo raised his eyes to look at the surrounding walls of the tripod! The electric arcs that had just flown from his hands were crawling all over the walls again, and the 'Zhi-zhi' sounds were incessant! It seemed they were very dissatisfied with what Zhang Nuo had just done to them!

With his brows tightly furrowed, Zhang Nuo realized he had thought too simply of this Lightning Sacrifice Art before! These unruly electric arcs were like wild beasts, not easily tamed by anyone!

The more difficult the task, the more motivated Zhang Nuo felt. He took a deep breath, sat cross-legged on the ground again, and with a lift of his hands, gathered a large amount of Purple Lightning Wild Thunder once more!

Su Haizhen watched him silently, a crystalline glimmer appearing in her eyes. For some reason, she did not want to see Zhang Nuo suffer like this; she endured and endured in her heart, but in the end, she could not hold back!

Having been trapped in desperate situations with Zhang Nuo twice, she knew him quite well! For this guy without any family background to make it to where he was today was no easy feat! Especially toward her, he was extremely caring! To let her get out a day earlier, he hadn't even rested and had already started practicing the Lightning Sacrifice Art again!

The Four Spirits Square Cauldron was wrapped in a layer of thick, solid ice, resting quietly at the bottom of the Nine Nether Cold Pool, while an ice pillar as thick as an arm shot up from the ground beneath the Small Tripod, connecting tightly to it. Streaks of purple-glowing electric arcs constantly surged from the ground and were injected into the Small Tripod!

This ice pillar was the 'bridge' set up by Xuan Jin between the Cold Vein and the Four Spirits Square Cauldron! And the endless 'Purple Lightning Wild Thunder' was reaching the ground through this bridge! Upon closer inspection, one would find a metal wire as thick as a finger in the middle of the ice pillar; this metal wire was formed by Xuan Jin using the metal within his own body!

Two years later, a burst of purple electric arcs suddenly erupted from the surface of the Four Spirits Square Cauldron, containing immense power! With a thunderous boom, the solid ice wrapping the Small Tripod was completely shattered, turning into shards of ice crystals suspended in the pool water!

At the same time, at the mouth of the Four Spirits Square Cauldron, a mass of purple light surged out, rapidly enveloping the entire Small Tripod. These rays began to gather in large quantities at the bottom of the tripod, finally condensing into a light cluster the size of a fist!

Do not underestimate the power of this light cluster; it made the surrounding pool water restless. Just at this moment, inside the Four Spirits Square Cauldron, Zhang Nuo held one hand out flat, and in that palm, a purple light spot the size of a soybean grain was emitting an overbearing, powerful energy!

The blinding purple light made it almost impossible for anyone to open their eyes! Under the illumination of this purple light, Zhang Nuo's face looked somewhat ferocious. He had spent over two years finally completing the cultivation of the Lightning Sacrifice Art, but the fact that the fully refined Purple Lightning Wild Thunder would appear in this form was truly far beyond his expectations!

"Haizhen! Find a place to steady yourself! We are leaving the 'Nine Nether Cold Pool' now!"

Turning his head to look at Su Haizhen behind him, Zhang Nuo said with some excitement! At this moment, a pale cyan light shield was released from Su Haizhen's body, protecting her completely! Watching the dazzling purple rays bursting incessantly from Zhang Nuo's hand, she nodded vigorously!

This was a day they had both waited for too long! The hundred-plus years of seeing no daylight were finally going to pass after this day!

Seeing that Su Haizhen was ready, Zhang Nuo held the fully refined thunder ball and pressed it fiercely toward his feet! As the purple light vanished, there was no loud sound; the purple thunder ball simply disappeared without a trace!

Just as Su Haizhen felt a bit puzzled, at the same time, at the bottom of the Four Spirits Square Cauldron, the fist-sized light cluster previously condensed by the purple light trembled violently, and then a thunder ball the size of a soybean grain flew out from the bottom of the tripod—it was exactly the fully refined thunder ball that Zhang Nuo had just pressed to his feet!

The moment the purple light cluster and the purple thunder ball made contact, an earth-shattering roar erupted! Once the highly compressed thunder ball released all its power, even at the bottom of the Cold Pool, it could not be suppressed by the countless cold energies!

Borrowing this massive impact, the Four Spirits Square Cauldron was lifted straight upward at high speed, its velocity like an arrow released from a bow, rushing toward the surface through the resistance of the water flow!

Zhang Nuo and Su Haizhen felt the Small Tripod shake violently, and through the mouth of the tripod, they saw bursts of water spray! The two of them involuntarily grabbed each other's hands tightly! Because this was their last chance; if they could not escape the Nine Nether Cold Pool, they would likely never have another opportunity in this lifetime!

The Small Tripod flew upward rapidly, when suddenly, from all around the exterior of the Small Tripod, a series of faint sounds came. Zhang Nuo's wide eyes narrowed sharply; although those sounds were not loud, to his ears, they were like the devil's music calling for his life!

Because those tiny sounds were exactly the sounds of the cold energy in the pool condensing into solid ice on the outer walls of the tripod! If it were frozen again, the force of the Small Tripod rushing upward would inevitably be reduced!