Chapter 308: Setting Out, Part II

The heavy rain poured down as if the cracks in the sky had never healed, continuously spilling endless sorrow and power.

Thunder roared, each vibration accompanied by the trembling of the ground, shrouding every inch of Linshi Canyon in an uneasy shadow.

That Strange Beast, the black snake, was draped in the night, its eyes flashing with a ghostly red light; its roar pierced through the rain curtain, striking directly at the deepest fears in one's heart.

Amidst this despair and chaos, a change, unnoticed by anyone, was quietly brewing.

Among the distant mountain ranges, a faint yet firm light pierced through the thick clouds, like the brightest star in the night sky, guiding the lost traveler forward.

The black snake Strange Beast looked up to face the raging lightning strikes; every bolt of lightning that crashed down made its massive body tremble, yet those ghostly red eyes burned with an unyielding flame, its roar filled with unwillingness and pain, and even more so with a craving for power.

Ancient memories in its bloodline surged like a tide, clearly telling it that this Thunder Tribulation was the necessary path for its Transformation and rebirth to obtain supreme power.

After a day and a night of baptism, the black snake Strange Beast had gathered astonishing lightning energy within its body; this energy churned inside it, nearly bursting it apart.

But it knew this was far from enough; it needed more, enough to shed its old form and become a true flood dragon.

"Almost, almost, just a little more!" the black snake Strange Beast roared wildly in its heart; it no longer passively endured, but actively borrowed lightning from the heavens.

It opened its giant maw and let out a deafening roar, a sound containing endless will and desire, as if even heaven and earth changed color because of it.

The lightning in the sky seemed to be summoned by this will and began to undergo subtle changes. The originally chaotic lightning gradually converged into thick pillars of thunder.

They spiraled and intertwined in the air, finally, as if guided by an invisible hand, striking together toward the location of the black snake Strange Beast.

At this moment, the entire Linshi Canyon seemed to be submerged in a sea of thunder, each bolt of lightning containing world-destroying power. Yet the black snake Strange Beast seemed to be enjoying these lightning strikes.

Its body continuously expanded and deformed under the baptism of the lightning, with electric light faintly flowing beneath its skin; this was the ultimate manifestation of the Thunder-Born Power.

"Roar!" With a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar, the black snake Strange Beast finally completed its Transformation. Its body became even more massive, its scales shimmering with a metallic luster, each one appearing as if it could slice through space.

And its eyes turned completely into a deep black, as if they had gained wisdom and begun to think and contemplate.

After completing the Transformation, the black snake Strange Beast let out a long howl to the sky, declaring its rebirth and power.

Although the Transformation was complete, the ensuing sense of weakness could not be ignored.

The black snake Strange Beast slowly crawled down from the top of the canyon rocks, aiming straight for the winding river flowing below the canyon.

The river water had become even more turbulent due to the lightning strikes, but for the black snake Strange Beast, this was the best place to recover. Its massive body swam slowly in the water, like a moving small mountain, causing the river to churn incessantly.

After the lightning strikes, if someone were to look closely, they would find that two large bumps on the top of the black snake Strange Beast's head and four large bumps under its snake belly were all bulging forcefully.

Those large bumps that had swelled on its head and under its snake belly due to the lightning strikes,

rose and fell like a heartbeat, absorbing and digesting the lightning power within the black snake Strange Beast's body.

They continuously merged and transformed within the black snake Strange Beast's body, replenishing its lost power.

The black snake Strange Beast was immersed in the miracle of its own Transformation; that newfound power made it feel unprecedentedly strong and free.

This power was also surging within its body, gradually becoming uncontrollable.

This caused the black snake extreme pain; these absorbed Thunder-Born Powers were like rioting soldiers, rampaging through its body.

Regardless of its own state, which had not yet fully recovered, the black snake Strange Beast struggled to swing its massive body, stirring up an unprecedented wave in the canyon river.

Only in this way could it alleviate its pain.

Under its agitation, the river began to churn violently, and the originally calm surface instantly became turbulent. Giant waves rolled, carrying an unstoppable momentum, and began to spread along the canyon riverbed.

The surrounding trees and rocks appeared so fragile under the impact of the flood, and were one after another swept into this force of nature, disappearing into the vast mist of water.

As the flood raged, the lightning power within the black snake Strange Beast also seemed to grow slightly weak along with the consumption of its physical energy.

The black snake Strange Beast did not realize that its actions had already triggered such a huge change; it was only instinctively releasing the power within its body to alleviate its own pain.

Five miles away, Cheng Feng, Wei Zhuang, and Su Qiang stopped, panting, and looked back at the gradually out-of-control canyon, their hearts filled with unprecedented fear and unease.

Especially when the flood began to spread out of the riverbed and diffuse in all directions, their faces turned pale, as if they had foreseen an unavoidable catastrophe.

Su Qiang, as a descendant from a family in the Prefecture City, was well-read and quite knowledgeable about ancient myths and strange tales. He stared at the surging flood and the figure of the Strange Beast looming in the canyon,

and an astonishing guess surged in his heart: "This... this isn't a flood dragon setting out, is it?!" His voice carried a trace of trembling, clearly also shocked by the scene before him.

"A flood dragon setting out?" Cheng Feng and Wei Zhuang were both stunned upon hearing this, then quickly recalled those legends about flood dragons undergoing tribulations and ascending to become dragons.

Although they were not from prominent families, they had heard these ancient myths and knew the heart-pounding and incredible things contained within them.

"If it really is a flood dragon setting out..." Cheng Feng's voice was low and grave, "then aren't we right in the middle of a once-in-a-millennium disaster?"

Wei Zhuang clenched his fists, his gaze firm: "Whether it is or not, we cannot just sit and wait for death. We must find a safe place as soon as possible; if we can survive, then we can talk about the rest!"

Cheng Feng was more open-minded: "Looking at it like this, it probably isn't over yet. It's just a bit unfair to you two; if I had known, I wouldn't have come out. This trip yielded nothing at all."

Su Qiang joked: "It's good enough that we're alive. I really thought just now that the giant snake saw us and was going to pounce over and eat the three of us!"

The three did not stop their pace, one saying a word and the other a sentence, dispelling the fear they had just faced from the giant snake.

The horses were nowhere to be found where they had been, so the three had to walk back to the village.

Cheng Feng also understood the severity of it in his heart; his own bit of strength was far from reaching the threshold of the upper world.

Better to cultivate well and add points before talking about the path ahead!

As for the Talent Stone, Cheng Feng no longer dared to hope for the black snake; this damn thing was about to become a flood dragon.

Could this still be a snake?