In the blink of an eye, another half month went by quickly.
Winter had now fully covered the Heaven and Earth as the Tianyu Empire’s treasure ship crossed two more empires. Now, it was just a week away from reaching the Dynasty.
During this period, even though Eris didn’t achieve another breakthrough, Iris managed to advance to the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm successfully.
Moreover, throughout this journey, Lucian’s relationship with Sylvia had improved a lot.
The fear and obedient behavior that Lucian first noticed in her had almost disappeared like morning mist under the sun.
Though there were still times when she returned to her old ways, he didn’t try to change her forcefully. He felt that this behavior was deep in her consciousness. Forcing her to change quickly might cause problems.
So, not only him and Iris, but also Eris, had been treating her well.
Also, so far, Lucian hadn’t told Sylvia the true plans of the Crown Prince.
Though he had a feeling that someone stronger might be controlling things from behind because, according to Eris, Scholar Zhu was not a cultivator of the Tianyu Empire; he came from the same sect that Weishang had joined.
…
“I can feel a powerful aura ahead,” Lucian said to Eris through his Soul Sense.
At this moment, they were deep within the expansive mountain range known as the Thousand Peak Mountain Range. These towering peaks, reaching toward the heavens, formed the natural boundary between the Empires and the Hanxu Dynasty.
“There is a Fifth Rank Thundercloud Serpent. Its cultivation level has reached the early stage of Divinity Transformation,” Eris replied as they stood on a high cliff, overlooking a vast, mist-shrouded valley below.
Lucian’s eyes shone with excitement.
“It has already detected our presence… Are you sure you want to face it alone?” Eris asked while her Soul Sense enveloped the entire area.
“Yeah! I want to try out my Domain,” Lucian replied, and before Eris could further warn him about the dangers of facing a Divinity Transformation beast alone as a Nascent Soul stage Cultivator, Lucian suddenly leaped down into the mist, his body disappearing within moments.
Bang!
“Damm! It’s a fucking swamp!” Lucian cursed aloud as he fell into the murky water below, his body sinking ankle-deep into putrid, bubbling mud.
This place reeked of decay and death, the rotting stench invading his nostrils with each breath.
The swamp stretched in all direction, filled with big dead trees and bits of gray plants.
He swiftly enveloped his body with Spiritual Energy to prevent himself from sinking into the stench-filled swamp.
Also, he sensed that the acidic mist in this place had a corrosive effect on his flesh. Although his physique was robust enough to protect him, he wanted to avoid unnecessary damage to his robes.
“Human, you dare enter this king’s territory,” Suddenly a cold voice, filled with arrogance and disdain, echoed through the mist, seemingly coming from all directions at once.
Immediately he felt a stronger Spiritual Pressure bearing down on him from above, crushing the air around his body, causing the swamp water to swirl chaotically.
The mist above also roiled fiercely, with black lightning crackling through its depths, revealing a serpentine silhouette nearly ten meters long in the deep of the swamp.
“No surprise, it has a Thunder related Domain,” Lucian smirked as his own Soul Sense spread across the swamp.
After reaching the Late Nascent Soul stage, his Soul Sense had already reached a 100km in range, allowing him easily to cover the entire valley.
He didn’t immediately activate his Domain, but waited for the beast to reveal itself.
As the mist dispersed, an enormous serpentine body appeared completely. It had blue scales, each one crackling with the power of Thunder.
The beast’s body, as robust as an ancient tree trunk, coiled menacingly within the swamp waters.
A long horn protruded from its forehead, emitting concentrated Thunder essence and causing the air around it to warp and distort!
“Die, insignificant human!”
The serpent hissed fiercely, its voice echoing like thunder across the swamp.
In the blink of an eye, black thunder coiled around its massive, scale-clad tail.
At the next moment, with a swift and powerful movement, it lashed out, intending to kill Lucian with one devastating strike!
Lucian’s smile widened as he immediately removed the Spiritual Energy covering his body!
“HAHA… COME!”
BOOM! Bang!
The collision sent shockwaves rippling through the swamp, the uprooting dead trees and causing the ground to tremble, obscuring the battlefield momentarily.
Lucian’s body flew out of the mist, crashing through the putrid swamp waters, and slammed into the rocky wall of the valley!
The wall cracked under the force of his collision, spider-web fractures spreading outward as dust and stone fragments rained down.
Although it took a long time to explain, everything happened within two breaths of time!
“Foolish human cultivator! You dare challenge this king with your pitiful Nascent Soul cultivation?” The serpent hissed, its eyes gleaming arrogance.
At the next moment, black thunder immediately descended from the mist above, converging into a thick bolt that struck Lucian directly!
Bazzz! Bang!
Smoke and debris filled the air as the serpent’s laughter echoed throughout the valley, “Now it’s time for the other human to die! It’s a long time since this king has tasted the soft flesh of a female huma–!”
However, it turned its head abruptly, its slit pupils narrowing, “Oh?! You’re still alive! You must be like those humans who cultivate their bodies.. Let’s see if you survive this…”
The next moment,
The mist quickly gathered around the beast, and thunder crackled within!
As the mist dissipated, a burly human-shaped figure appeared where the serpent had been moments before.
It was… the Thundercloud Serpent, now in human form!
It was nearly 2 meters tall with dark skin and long blue hair. Its burly humanoid body was covered with blue-black scales.
The horn remained on its forehead, now shorter than before, and arcs of black lightning danced around it like a crown.
“I see! So a Spiritual Beast can transform into a human form after breaking through to Divinity Transformation stage!” Lucian’s calm voice echoed across the swamp as he emerged from the crater, his clothes tattered but his body completely unharmed,
“But it’s a pity… your comprehension ability is low that you didn’t even fully comprehend the Thunder Law to completion…”