Xiang Shaoyun was already at the peak of the Transformation Realm. With so much energy pouring into his body, his instinctive reaction was to break through right then and there, and it took him a great amount of effort to suppress his desire.
"Still not enough," Xiang Shaoyun muttered as his gaze landed on the silver lightning stone.
The energy emanating from it was extremely overbearing and was comparable to the prowess of natural lightning. Whoever dared to approach it would be burned crisp immediately, yet Xiang Shaoyun had actually sat down cross-legged beside the stone, looking like he was going to start cultivating.
The silver-winged lightning wolf king was extremely anxious seeing this, but he did not dare to say anything. On the other hand, the lightning condor king was filled with envy. However, the only thing he could do was watch on.
"Alright. You may leave. Don't stay here and disturb his highness's cultivation." Jin Wo eventually chased away the two.
They were unwilling to leave but were left with no other option. After all, Jin Wo was the Demon Emperor. He was much stronger than them, and if they provoked him, he could easily turn them into food.
After the two Demon Kings left, both Jin Wo and Devouring Ghost stood guard at different positions, not allowing any beasts to disturb Xiang Shaoyun. Becoming a King was akin to stepping through a natural barrier. No mistakes could be allowed, or there would be terrible consequences. A mistake could cause something as minor as a drop in strength or something as bad as dying instantly from bodily implosion. Therefore, this cultivation session was extremely important, and they could not afford to be sloppy.
"With the silver lightning stone's assistance, it won't be a problem for the young master to break through. After the breakthrough, I can finally bring him to experience a place that is truly hellish. There, I can also completely switch this body's astral energy and make a push toward the Soul Foundation Realm," muttered Devouring Ghost as he looked at Xiang Shaoyun.
Xiang Shaoyun had all his focus on cultivating with the help of the silver lightning stone. The energy converging on his body grew without stop as the speed at which he absorbed the energy increased unceasingly, helping him grow furiously.
As his strength grew, he suppressed and compressed it, stabilizing and thickening his foundations. Building a sufficiently solid foundation would only bring him more benefits when it was time to reap the result of his hard work.
Dots of silvery light were all over his lightning bone, each dot as majestic as a star. As they spread, his innate purple lightning grew in power. The current innate purple lightning was already strong enough to pose a threat to tier-4—or even tier-5—Skysoar Realm experts.
At the same time, Xiang Shaoyun's flesh was also being tempered by the silver lightning energy, causing his body to improve and grow without stop. However, he was clear this growth was nothing as his body was still nowhere strong enough to withstand being struck by silver lightning bolts.
This cultivation session lasted seven days and nights. Xiang Shaoyun had absorbed more than half of the energy within the silver lightning stone, and by this point, the speed at which his lightning bone absorbed the lightning energy was starting to slow. The astral energy within his body had also reached a point of saturation, and his body was barely absorbing any energy anymore.
All that only proved that the lightning energy here was no longer enough for him. He needed a stronger source of lightning energy to help his lightning bone grow more.
Should I break through now? Xiang Shaoyun asked inwardly.
With his accumulation thus far, he would be able to easily enter the Skysoar Realm. However, Devouring Ghost had suggested that he draw silver lightning bolts into him and cleanse his bones beforehand. In the long run, doing so would benefit him more.
But he did not know if his body could even withstand being struck by a silver lightning bolt. What if the lightning bolt was too much for him? But that thought had only remained for a split second before he regained his confidence.
If he had to hesitate for a trial this minor, how could he be an Emperor or Sovereign in the future? Finally, he opened his eyes, which were glowing with a silver radiance, looking sharp enough to pierce the heavens above them.
He stood up, turned around, and wrapped his arms around the silver lightning stone. He then fully activated his lightning bone and the lightning energy within his first star. The terrifying lightning energy within the silver lightning stone was forcefully drawn out before it collided with the lightning bone.
"Come, silver lightning," roared Xiang Shaoyun as he faced the sky.
Along with the roar, a purple dragon rushed out of his body, charging straight to the nine skies above, displaying an overbearing might. Abruptly, the sky above them changed.
Rumble!
A loud thunderclap sounded, followed by a silver lightning bolt shooting down from the sky toward Xiang Shaoyun's purple dragon.
"Come, devour it!" shouted Xiang Shaoyun with a fanatical look in his eyes as he circulated the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual, fully unleashing the power of his lightning bone and first star.
He was going to forcefully devour the silver lightning bolt. The purple dragon opened its mouth wide and swallowed it entirely then returned to Xiang Shaoyun, bringing with it the silver lightning bolt.
"AHHH!"
The silver lightning energy was extremely overbearing. The instant it entered Xiang Shaoyun's body, a pain assailed him that made him feel like his body was going to explode.
Natural lightning bolts had always been terrifyingly destructive, and the silver lightning was a unique mutated lightning that was far stronger than regular lightning. The strength of the silver lightning bolt was about tenfold that of the lightning energy within the silver lightning stone, or even more.
Even though Xiang Shaoyun's body had already been tempered by silver lightning energy, he still felt like his body was about to be ripped apart. He nearly lost his consciousness then and there. The main target of the silver lightning's assault was his lightning bone, which was currently on the brink of destruction.
Crack!
Xiang Shaoyun had a feeling his spine was about to disintegrate into nothingness. A mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth, and he collapsed in a puddle of his own blood.
On the verge of rushing to his side, both Du Xuanhao and Jin Wo cried out in alarm, "Young Master Xiang (your highness)!"
"Don't worry. He will be fine. Just watch on silently," said Devouring Ghost.
"Will he really be fine?" asked Du Xuanhao anxiously.
"I won't do anything to harm the young master," said Devouring Ghost.
Several silver lightning bolts then shot down from the sky. Each bolt was terrifyingly powerful, filled with a dreadful destructive force that seemed capable of reducing the entire area into ruins.
"Shit! There are too many of them!" Devouring Ghost cried out in alarm.
Rumble! Rumble!
Fortunately, not all the bolts were targeting Xiang Shaoyun. Some of them were also targeting the silver lightning stone by Xiang Shaoyun's side. Even late-stage Skysoar Realm experts would find it hard to survive the bombardment of such silver lightning bolts. With Xiang Shaoyun's current condition, it did not seem likely that he would survive.
Even so, as the silver lightning bolts rained down, the purple dragon roared resolutely and continued swallowing the lightning energy tenaciously, displaying an intense unwillingness to fall.