On the mountainside of this desolate peak, there was a massive protruding boulder.
At this moment, Xiao Bai sat cross-legged atop the boulder, shaking his sleeves to release the small golden dragon.
"I'm about to break through. Guard me!"
"Rest assured, Master! With this dragon here, I guarantee that no one will disturb you!" The small golden dragon patted its belly with its claws, making a solemn promise.
Xiao Bai smiled and nodded before closing his eyes, his breathing becoming deep and steady.
As time passed, the surrounding energy of heaven and earth began to surge. A powerful suction force emanated from Xiao Bai's body, drawing these energies toward him in a frenzy.
Xiao Bai directed Xiao Bing and Xiao Wu to envelop his dantian, preventing the impure energies from entering it. Instead, he allowed these energies to rampage through his meridians, breaking through them violently, while Xiao Yi took care of the repairs afterward.
Each major realm breakthrough subjected one's meridians to a baptism of heaven and earth energy, making them more resilient and broader.
Others had to carefully guide this impact according to their cultivation techniques, cautiously refining the energy within their meridians. But Xiao Bai didn't need to do that.
With the thunder seeds protecting him, he had no fear of the impact. He could push forward recklessly, as long as the damage didn't outpace Xiao Yi's repair speed. This approach had a significant benefit—his meridians would become far wider and tougher than those of others at the same level.
The width and toughness of meridians affected not only cultivation speed but also the power of Dou Techniques.
If two people cultivated the same technique and were at the same level, the one with broader and tougher meridians would undoubtedly unleash more powerful Dou Techniques.
Time passed from morning until dusk. The energy around Xiao Bai had grown to an astonishing density, yet he had not absorbed a single wisp—only allowing the energy to continuously accumulate around him.
"It's about time."
Xiao Bai could sense the surging energy within a thousand-meter radius, swirling around him like a vortex—with him at its very center.
As his cultivation level increased, each breakthrough required a greater amount of energy. Since there were no naturally rich energy sources nearby, he had to use this method to gather the energy from heaven and earth in one place, preparing for a single, decisive breakthrough.
Forming hand seals, he entered a cultivation state.
His mind guided the energy within his meridians along the paths outlined in his cultivation technique. After three circulations, the refined energy surged toward his dantian.
Xiao Bai quickly instructed Xiao Bing and Xiao Wu to release their restrictions, allowing the purified energy to flood into the Dou Crystal within his dantian's energy cyclone.
As the internal energy continued to refine itself, the surrounding energy, as if finding an outlet, rushed wildly into his body.
Vast streams of energy seeped in through his skin and pores, fully activating his cultivation technique as they merged into his dantian, surging into his Dou Crystal.
With the continuous influx of energy, Xiao Bai watched as his Dou Crystal, initially the size of a duck egg, abruptly swelled to the size of an adult's fist.
A brilliant silver lightning glow erupted from within his dantian, illuminating the entire energy cyclone as if it were daylight.
As time passed and he absorbed more energy, the surrounding energy field thinned, nearly depleting.
Xiao Bai sensed the diminishing external energy and glanced at his dantian. His Dou Crystal had grown even larger and was still voraciously absorbing energy. He frowned slightly—was the energy still not enough?
The external energy was nearly exhausted, yet the suction force inside him remained.
Just as Xiao Bai was considering activating Plan B—the Magic Core—his rhombus-shaped Dou Crystal suddenly trembled slightly. A faint humming sound echoed within his dantian.
"Boom… Boom…"
A peculiar rhythmic sound, like a heartbeat, subtly resonated within the hum.
The suction force emanating from the Dou Crystal abruptly vanished, and its radiance flickered between intense and dim. Under Xiao Bai's gaze, the rhombus-shaped Dou Crystal gradually became rounder and more lustrous.
As this transformation took place, the previously sharp edges of the rhombus shape began to protrude strangely—forming sharp spikes.
Finally, the rhombus-shaped Dou Crystal transformed into something resembling a sea urchin. Upon closer inspection, exactly nine long, sharp spikes had grown from its surface, with arcs of lightning flickering between them.
At that moment, the transformation was complete. The sea-urchin-like Dou Crystal trembled suddenly, releasing an immensely powerful energy ripple.
"I've finally become a Sea Urchin Warrior—cough—a Dou Ling!" Xiao Bai watched the scene with delight.
Feeling the vast energy surging within him, Xiao Bai knew that he had taken another step forward in his dream of becoming a Dou Di.
After a brief moment of joy, his expression gradually grew serious. With his breakthrough, the sense of impending crisis became even clearer.
He secretly transmitted a message to the small golden dragon, instructing it to remain on high alert. Then, he closed his eyes once more, sending his consciousness into his Spiritual Sea to observe the floating Talisman, awaiting the arrival of the Thunder Seed.
As expected, the Talisman never disappointed him. Before long, one of its corners lit up with a faint yet dazzling golden glow. Seeing this light, Xiao Bai immediately recognized it—it was his most vigilant Metal-Type Thunder.
As the golden light appeared, the sense of crisis in his spiritual perception intensified. At last, he understood where the danger was coming from.
His expression grew more and more solemn. None of the previous Thunder Seeds had ever given him this kind of feeling—not even the explosively violent Yang Thunder of Bing Fire.
Recalling his experience with Yang Thunder of Bing Fire, Xiao Bai's expression darkened. That time, he had genuinely thought he was going to die.
And this time, it seemed even worse than before!
The golden glow on the Talisman condensed for a moment, then a thunderous roar rang out. A streak of golden lightning shot out from the decree, and the information of the Thunder Seed immediately appeared in his mind.
Geng Metal Tribulation Thunder: Formed from the fusion of Calamity Qi and Geng Metal Qi, this Thunder Seed is golden in color and embodies slaughter and destruction. Among the Five Elemental Divine Thunders, it ranks first in destructive power. It is highly sensitive to calamity energy and is one of the Heavenly Punishment Thunder Seeds.
Xiao Bai was momentarily stunned as he processed this information. The only thing he grasped was that the Geng Metal Tribulation Thunder was the most powerful among the Five Elemental Divine Thunders. As for this so-called Calamity Qi, he didn't quite understand what it meant.
Just as he expected the Thunder Seed to follow the usual pattern and integrate into one of his five internal organs, something unexpected happened.
After shooting out, the Geng Metal Tribulation Thunder suddenly halted within his Spiritual Sea instead.
It floated there quietly, its golden radiance shimmering, as if searching for something.
Xiao Bai's heart nearly skipped a beat. This is my Spiritual Sea! If this thing wreaks havoc here, and the Talisman remains unresponsive after bestowing the Thunder Seed like before, I'm doomed! Not to mention, I already know how terrifying its power is!
Unfortunately, the very thing he feared most was exactly what happened.
As if sensing something within his soul, the Geng Metal Tribulation Thunder suddenly unleashed golden lightning in all directions, illuminating his entire Spiritual Sea.
A wave of intense soul-wrenching pain forced Xiao Bai's consciousness to retreat from his Spiritual Sea.
As his awareness returned to his body, he caught a glimpse of golden lightning wreaking havoc in his Spiritual Sea. Wherever the lightning touched, wisps of black mist rose from his soul power.
That black mist gave him a strangely familiar feeling, but he couldn't recall where he had seen it before.
Before he could ponder further, the unbearable agony overwhelmed him, leaving his mind blank as he lost consciousness.
-----------------------
If you like this novel and want to support me, visit my Patreon to read 50 advanced chapters.
p@treon.com/AllenTL
(Replace @ with a)
------------------------