Lightning condor was a species of lightning-loving beast, and was one of the rulers of the sky. Capable of attacking with lightning, their attacks were extremely destructive. The lightning condors immediately detected Xiang Shaoyun’s group upon their arrival. A group of lightning condors dove at them, including a Great Demon condor.
"All humans who dare encroach on our territory shall die," shouted the Great Demon condor.
"This is not looking good. We need to retreat for now. Otherwise, the number of lightning condors will only grow," Zi Changhe said.
"No. Old Peng, kill them as quickly as possible," Xiang Shaoyun said with a ruthless glint in his eyes. Hearing that, Elder Zhen Peng stopped trying to keep a low profile. He flew up into the sky and sent several flaming palms toward the condors.
Bang! Bang!
A mere Great Demon was naturally incapable of resisting the strength of a King Realm cultivator. Elder Zhen Peng had already reached the second stage of the Skysoar Realm, and he was not far from the third stage. His attacks landed, causing the condors to all combust and die midair.
"Use the corpse decomposing liquid on them. We can't allow the smell of blood to leak," Xiang Shaoyun said.
At that command, a bottle appeared in Elder Zhen Peng's hand. He immediately poured the liquid in the bottle on the dead condors.
"Alright, let's retreat in the woods for now. We will decide what to do when a thunderstorm arrives," Xiang Shaoyun said.
They were currently gathered in a rather empty area. Here, the lightning condors could easily discover them. In any case, there was no thunderstorm right now. Going further would be pointless.
Zi Changhe clenched his teeth and said, "That is a Great Demon lightning condor! If we bring it back, we can exchange it for a large number of spirit crystals!"
"So long as you have the strength, you can kill as many Great Demons as you want. At that time, you will no longer care about these profits," Xiang Shaoyun said.
"That's true, I guess. I have been too shortsighted," Zi Changhe said and laughed dryly.
The three retreated into the woods, ate some dried meats, and settled down to wait for the thunderstorm. This was a place where lightning congregated. The moment it started raining, lightning would gather.
Generally speaking, cultivators wouldn't be able to directly absorb the entirety of the lightning bolt. Not even King Realm cultivators could do it. At most, they could only absorb a small portion of the lightning energy to increase their own strength.
For normal people, just absorbing a small amount of lightning energy was a great harvest. Lightning bolts originated directly from the heavens, with each bolt containing an unimaginable amount of energy. It was not something a normal person could absorb.
However, Xiang Shaoyun had a lightning bone within him. The lightning bone was a bone that had been passed down in the Xiang Clan since ancient times, and it gave him an ability a normal person wouldn't even dream of having.
Xiang Shaoyun was in a rush to grow, and thus, he could not afford to ignore the power of his lightning bone, regardless of his hate toward the bone. He was unsure of whether the lightning bone would be able to resist the power of lightning. For now, he would be satisfied with absorbing the energy from the remnant of some exhausted lightning bolt. With his current strength, a single bolt of lighting would probably suffice to turn his entire body into ash.
The wait was a long one. Weather was unpredictable, after all. Therefore, patience was necessary. As they had nothing to do, all three of them meditated in the lotus position. As for Little White and the elder wolf, they also rested silently instead of roaming around.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed. The sky finally started darkening. It would seem a thunderstorm would come in a day or two. Up in the sky not far from them, numerous lightning condors grew excited. They clamored repeatedly as they celebrated in excitement. This was a sign that the condors were already anticipating the arrival of lightning.
"Something is weird. More and more lightning condors are gathering. What's going on?" Zi Changhe whispered.
"How is this weird? They have always loved thunderstorms since that is how they grow stronger," Elder Zhen Peng said.
"Yes, but the previous time I was here, a thunderstorm had also occurred, but there were not so many lightning condors at all," Zi Changhe said.
Xiang Shaoyun scowled. "I'm afraid a new King is going to appear among them." He paused and pointed in a certain direction before continuing, "See that? They are all flying in tempo, as if they are forming an impenetrable defensive network. Anyone who approaches will be attacked."
Hearing that, Elder Zhen Peng and Zi Changhe immediately noticed that he was right. Inwardly, they felt ashamed for not noticing it themselves. Xiang Shaoyun was younger than them and weaker too. But his observational skill was something neither of them could compare to.
"What should we do then? If a lightning condor king appears, it will be impossible for us to approach," Zi Changhe asked gloomily.
"Yeah, if a lightning condor king appears, I won't be able to keep you two safe anymore," Elder Zhen Peng said.
Generally, demonic beasts would have stronger combat prowess than humans of the same cultivation level. And in this case, a Demon King of the lightning condor, which specialized in destructiveness and speed, would be an even thornier opponent.
"This might be a rare chance for us as well," Xiang Shaoyun said, eyes narrowed into a slit.
"Young master, y-you aren't thinking of taking advantage of this Demon King, right?" Elder Zhen Peng guessed. Zi Changhe was overwhelmed with shock. That idea was too crazy.
"We'll see," Xiang Shaoyun suppressed the urge he had to make a move on the Demon King. Half a day later, dark clouds covered the sky. The face of a devil seemed to have formed in the sky, giving off an extremely oppressive feeling.
"Young master, should we take out the lightning strike wood? With the wood, we can attract lightning bolts of our own as well," Elder Zhen Peng suggested.
"No, we wait," Xiang Shaoyun said calmly.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning tore through the sky and dove down like a dragon gliding across the sky.
Rumble! Rumble!
More and more lighting bolts appeared, and in the blink of an eye, numerous explosions erupted midair, tearing even space apart. The lightning condors clamored as they all scattered and surrounded the area.
Suddenly, a black figure appeared out of nowhere and flew up into the sky. When unfurled, its wings had a length of about three or four meters, making it look extremely majestic gliding through the air. That was a lightning condor at the peak of the Great Demon realm, and it was flying straight toward the spot where the lightning bolts gathered.
Rumble! Rumble!
A lightning bolt that seemed boundlessly powerful snaked through the air and struck the lightning condor. The lightning condor shrieked as it struggled strenuously to resist the lightning. Its demonic aura surged as it fought on with all its strength. Only by surviving this calamity would it become a Demon King, achieving the great dao.
"Young master, what should we do?" Elder Zhen Peng was growing anxious.
They needed to either make a move on the condors now or take out their lightning strike wood to gather their own lightning bolts. Staring at the numerous lightning condors in the air, Xiang Shaoyun hesitated. He had an urge to rush out there. The more concentrated the lightning bolts were, the better it would be for him.
But it seemed too risky. Right as he was about to make a decision, he saw a figure rushing toward the lightning condor in the midst of breakthrough.
"A King Realm cultivator is attacking!" Elder Zhen Peng cried out in alarm.