"Boom!"
Under the bombardment of violet lightning, Xiao Yan, who was already close to his limit, finally buckled and fell hard to the ground. But within moments, he struggled back to his feet—only to be met with another bolt of thunder far more violent than the last. This time, though he remained standing, blood spurted from his mouth.
"So this is also a derivative of the Nine Nether Flame…" Xiao Yan wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, lifting his gaze to the clouds above, face slightly pale. Within the furious lightning, he had sensed a wave strikingly similar to the Nine Nether Flame. It seemed that, like the Nine Nether Ice, this was yet another evolved variant—but instead of transforming into cold, it had become thunder.
This lightning was called Nine Nether Demon Lightning. Its power far exceeded the Nine Profound Gold Lightning Dragon that Xiao Yan had once refined on the Dou Qi Continent. And this was under Tianling's restraint—if she had released it with full power as a Lesser Earth Sovereign, even his soul might have been obliterated.
Even so, Xiao Yan felt intense pain flooding his body, and there were signs that even his bones were starting to crack under the pressure.
Compared to him, Qing Tan was in a much better state. The lightning didn't strike her at all—if even a single bolt had landed, she would've likely been annihilated instantly. Still, watching Xiao Yan suffer under the merciless thunder caused her heart to tighten. She had never seen him look so battered and bloodied before.
Just as Qing Tan instinctively wanted to run to him, Xiao Yan raised his head and shouted, "Don't worry about me! Go climb that mountain first!"
"But you—"
"I'll be fine! This kind of lightning isn't enough to take me down!" Xiao Yan forced a smile, but before he could finish, another bolt of purple lightning struck, making him spew blood once more. Even so, he waved her off, insisting she go ahead. After a moment's hesitation, Qing Tan gritted her teeth, turned away, and pressed forward toward the towering mountain.
Once she was gone, Xiao Yan closed his eyes and began circulating his Void Devil Body technique at full capacity. Although the Nine Nether Demon Lightning was tearing his body apart, he could vaguely sense that something within him was changing—his flesh was becoming stronger, more refined.
The Void Devil Body was a body-tempering technique he had created on the Dou Qi Continent. But after becoming a Dou Di, the technique had hit a bottleneck—no matter how hard he trained, he couldn't manifest a new layer of devil marks on his skin. Yet just now, under the bombardment of the Nine Nether Demon Lightning, his body had once again begun evolving.
This told him something important: the Void Devil Body still had untapped potential—and this terrifying lightning was the perfect fuel to draw it out.
And more than that—the lightning's essence was also slowly merging into his Spiritual Energy. Xiao Yan's current spiritual power already contained the Black Demon Lightning and the Nine Profound Gold Lightning. If he could fuse the Nine Nether Demon Lightning as well, then his thunder-based attacks would become even more terrifying.
With that realization, Xiao Yan stopped passively enduring the attacks and instead activated his Void Flame and Devouring Ancestral Symbol, actively absorbing the lightning around him. This proactive approach increased his training speed immensely, though it also magnified the pain he had to endure by several times.
He didn't stop there—he even summoned his Black Dragon Devouring Hand to further boost the absorption effect. With three devouring forces in play, the lightning poured into his body like a flood, breaking him down from the inside out. But in the chaos, a tiny thunder bead began to form—just like the ones he had refined from tribulation lightning back on the Dou Qi Continent.
"Now this is interesting…" Tianling, who had been watching silently from above, finally raised an eyebrow.
Her goal had never been to kill Xiao Yan. The Nine Nether Demon Lightning was intended to forge his body, to prepare him for the path ahead. She hadn't expected Xiao Yan to catch on so quickly—much less take it a step further and start actively devouring the lightning. His reaction was beyond her expectations.
Others had tried similar things before. Some had even survived by sheer grit. But never had someone taken such initiative in refining the lightning's power into their body. Xiao Yan's willpower and monstrous talent were now laid bare for her to see.
"With this kind of potential… reaching the Heavenly Sovereign stage is just a matter of time," Tianling murmured to herself. She stretched out her finger and gently tapped the sky. In that moment, the dark clouds compressed, forming into the shape of a massive, violet-black bird high above.
It was a Nine Nether Thunder Sparrow.
The avian silhouette let out a sharp cry before streaking downward like a meteor, striking directly toward Xiao Yan. From a distance, Qing Tan, who had been climbing with great effort, turned around in alarm as thunderbolts exploded across the ground. Purple lightning snaked along the mountain, and pitch-black cracks radiated outward from Xiao Yan's position, swallowing everything in their path.
The earth had become a sea of lightning.
Qing Tan could no longer see Xiao Yan clearly. The entire landscape had been drowned in purple storm clouds. Her heart clenched tightly, but she gritted her teeth, remembered Xiao Yan's words, and continued her ascent without turning back again.
Down in the lightning sea, Xiao Yan's body was a bloody mess. His flesh was charred, and his skin cracked and smoking—but he was smiling.
His three devouring powers—Void Flame, Devouring Ancestral Symbol, and Black Dragon Devouring Hand—operated at maximum output, crazily absorbing the surrounding energy. As the refined lightning merged into his flesh and Spiritual Energy, the core of it—the essence of the Nine Nether Demon Lightning—condensed into a pearl-like orb at his heart.
If he could absorb it completely, his strength would leap forward drastically.
Of course… that was only if he could survive this.
Even Tianling hadn't anticipated such a reckless move. She'd simply intended to temper his body, but Xiao Yan had pushed the idea to the extreme, turning what should've been a trial into an opportunity for profound advancement. Had she known, she might have dialed it back—not out of pity, but because this level of risk was staggering.
But Xiao Yan didn't care.
With every moment that passed, he absorbed more lightning, refining it into his flesh, his soul, and his power. His eyes were bloodshot, but filled with unyielding determination. He hadn't felt this alive in a long time.
"If you want to strike me down—then bring it on!" he roared into the sky, arms wide. "Let the lightning rain harder!"
(End of Chapter)
---
This Fanfiction Has Been Completed on Patreon, There is 2 Chapters Ahead of Release for Free Members on my Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.