Chapter 857: Capture, Anomaly

A top-grade Lightning-Avoiding Elixir can reduce the attack power of an opponent's thunder-based spiritual art by thirty percent!

An ultra-grade Lightning-Avoiding Elixir can weaken such lightning attacks by fifty to sixty percent.

Of course, this applies only to attacks within the same realm.

If the attack comes from a higher realm, such effects are impossible.

Seeing He Pingsheng swallow an ultra-grade Lightning-Avoiding Elixir, the Skyward Daoist nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Damn it, so this bastard actually refined an ultra-grade one?

And I was stupid enough to settle for just two top-grade ones?

"Young brother… give me one of those ultra-grade ones, please?" the Skyward Daoist pleaded with a desperate expression: "I beg you!"

"Get lost!" He Pingsheng ignored him—he wanted to vomit at the words "I beg you!"

Give you an ultra-grade one?

So you can compete with me?

He Pingsheng smiled and said, "Skyward Daoist, I have only one ultra-grade Elixir—I can't give it to you!"

"But don't worry—if I truly capture this Capital Heavenly Thunder, I'll repay your guidance by teaching you the technique that tears through space!"

"Fine!" the Skyward Daoist forced a bitter smile.

If he couldn't get the divine thunder, at least he could gain a powerful spiritual art—this was still a gain.

After swallowing the Lightning-Avoiding Elixir, the next problem was how to capture the Capital Heavenly Thunder.

Capturing it was the second step; the first was to find it.

He Pingsheng took a deep breath, then stepped forward and landed directly atop the massive Divine Pine, pressing his palm against its trunk.

Crackling…

Sizzling…

Countless thin strands of silver-white lightning energy flowed from the Divine Pine's bark into He Pingsheng's body.

The lightning energy writhed like spiritual serpents along his skin.

A wave of numbness and tingling surged through him.

But He Pingsheng paid it no mind—his internal magic power suddenly shifted, activating the Five Elements Unified Force, transforming all five elements into Wood energy.

The Wood energy then transformed into lightning energy.

Boom…

At that moment, the lightning energy within He Pingsheng surged violently into the Divine Pine.

Spiritual Art: Shattered Thunder Gathering Sun!

The Capital Heavenly Thunder, lurking underground and greedily feeding on the subterranean lightning energy, sensed a powerful, dense surge of lightning above—it shot up instantly from the depths, racing along the pine's vast root system until it reached He Pingsheng's position.

"Come out…"

He Pingsheng suddenly raised his hand, blasting backward into empty air, yet a flickering thread of lightning still connected him to the Divine Pine.

The next instant, as if pulling the divine thunder from the tree, the Capital Heavenly Thunder detached from the pine and appeared in midair.

Whoosh… Hoo…

Amidst crackling flashes of lightning, silver energy coalesced into a massive lightning sphere, then slammed toward He Pingsheng's head.

He even sensed the Capital Heavenly Thunder's fury.

"Yellow Turban Giant!"

Before the lightning struck his head, He Pingsheng roared, unleashing a torrent of metal-type spiritual power that instantly condensed into a colossal golden giant three zhang before him.

The giant stood a hundred zhang tall, solid and unyielding.

At that moment, all of He Pingsheng's magic power transformed into metal-type magic power.

Metal overcomes Wood!

Naturally, metal could also suppress lightning.

"Roar…" Under He Pingsheng's control, the hundred-zhang-tall Yellow Turban Giant swung its golden fist, crashing into the lightning with a thunderous boom.

Thanks to metal's dominance over wood and the fact that He Pingsheng had swallowed an ultra-grade Lightning-Avoiding Elixir, his suppression of lightning energy reached its peak.

Yet it was still insufficient.

The instant the lightning struck, the golden form of the giant began to crack.

Boom… boom… boom… boom…

Within a few breaths, the Yellow Turban Giant dissolved entirely into spiritual energy and vanished into the heavens.

"Golden Bell… Shield…"

At that moment, the Cultivation Base: Body Integration Level 11 cultivator, the Skyward Daoist—who had remained motionless until now—acted. He shot into the sky, waving his hand to summon a hundred-zhang-wide golden dome that descended over the lightning.

Thud.

The Capital Heavenly Thunder was now trapped inside.

"Hahaha…" the Skyward Daoist laughed triumphantly: "Daoist Tai Xu, this lightning is mine…"

But no sooner had the words left his mouth than a silver lightning pattern appeared on the golden dome.

The lightning pattern ignited, spreading rapidly across the entire surface.

Then!

Crack…

A thunderclap rang out—a silver lightning dragon whipped its tail, bursting from the dome's surface and striking the Skyward Daoist square on the head.

"What the—!" The Skyward Daoist was blasted backward, his hair burned away, his face branded with a black lightning pattern.

Puff… puff… puff…

He lay on the ground, spitting blood.

He Pingsheng saw the lightning dragon formed by the Capital Heavenly Thunder preparing to fly back toward the Divine Pine.

If it re-entered the pine and plunged underground, capturing it would be impossible.

Whoosh…

A purple light shot out.

The Primordial Purple Gold Rod transformed into light, slamming into the Capital Heavenly Thunder and blasting it a hundred zhang away into empty air, farther and farther from the Divine Pine.

Sizzling…

Crackling…

The little thing suddenly took the form of a silver lightning humanoid, glaring at He Pingsheng with furious rage, then instantly reverted into a lightning serpent and shot straight toward He Pingsheng's body.

It was too fast—he had no time to react.

He couldn't even summon any magic treasure for defense—the lightning had already wrapped around him.

Sizzling… sizzling…

An unprecedented sensation struck his crown.

He Pingsheng shuddered three times before flicking his hand to fling the lightning away.

"Trap it…"

With a thought, the Primordial Purple Gold Rod transformed into a vast purple-gold net that suddenly descended from the sky, snaring the lightning.

Since fusing with that special material, the Primordial Purple Gold Rod could change shape at He Pingsheng's spiritual command.

Using a net to capture lightning was the same method he'd used to capture the Nine Heavens Mystic Fire.

Soon, the purple-gold net curved into a spherical shape.

The Capital Heavenly Thunder was now trapped inside.

"Contract…"

At He Pingsheng's thought, the net began shrinking inward.

The space within grew smaller and smaller.

Soon, it was only several zhang across.

Just as the Capital Heavenly Thunder was about to be drawn into the Primordial Purple Gold Rod's innate treasure space, an anomaly erupted.

A disturbance arose in the air above He Pingsheng's head—he saw a green lightning sphere plummet from the sky.

The sphere was small, no larger than a fist, yet its lightning energy was potent—when it struck the purple-gold net, the net shuddered violently.

Seizing this moment of energy disruption, the Capital Heavenly Thunder inside the net shot away and plunged swiftly into the Divine Pine.