Battle Through the Heavens: Purple Heaven Thunder Emperor

Chapter 490 Could that rumor be true?

"What is he planning to do?"

On Qixia Peak, Shennong, the old man, frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai, who had been sitting cross-legged in mid-air, had somehow taken out a lot of medicinal herbs and floated them in front of him.

These medicinal herbs are of high quality, including some of the eighth and ninth grades. What puzzled him even more was that there were several medicinal herb seeds of various shapes mixed in with them!

He recognized the seeds; they were the very seeds of several extremely rare medicinal herbs that Xiao Bai had specifically requested to trade with him a few days ago after exchanging mature medicinal herbs with him.

At the time, he thought Xiao Bai wanted to use seeds to cultivate medicinal herbs and enhance the foundation of Zixiao Palace, so he didn't think much of it.

But this is about alchemy, why take out the seeds?

Yao Wanhuo, standing to the side, also looked puzzled. He recognized the several powerful ninth-tier main materials that Xiao Bai had recently taken out as the ones he had sent over.

"What is the meaning of Palace Master Xiao taking out these medicinal herbs and seeds now? The alchemy process has already begun. Does he intend to change the pills he is making midway? This is not something an ordinary alchemist would dare to do. It could easily lead to conflicts in the medicinal properties within the cauldron, causing all previous efforts to be wasted."

Just as their thoughts were racing, what happened next made them widen their eyes instantly, their mouths involuntarily agape, and their faces filled with disbelief.

Shennong the Elder subconsciously looked down at the cane in his hand that contained the flames of life, then suddenly looked up in Xiao Bai's direction.

For the first time, an almost blank expression appeared on his old face, and he even began to doubt the meaning of life!

Not only them, but also Xiao Yixian and Yun Yun, who were standing quietly in front of the Wuliang Palace, stared wide-eyed at Xiao Bai's actions in disbelief.

Before Xiao Bai, several rare medicinal herb seeds that originally required a long period of time or special conditions to germinate floated silently.

With a flick of his finger, a wisp of vibrant green lightning, brimming with boundless life and energy, shot forth from his fingertip and struck precisely the seeds.

"Buzz—"

—

The moment the seed came into contact with the azure lightning, it seemed to be infused with the source of life and trembled violently.

Immediately afterwards, under the watchful eyes of countless people around the square, the seed coat cracked at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A tender green shoot stubbornly pushes out, and then begins to slowly unfold and grow!

The tender buds absorbed the energy from the blue lightning and quickly sprouted branches and leaves.

In the blink of an eye, a dormant seed transformed into several vibrant seedlings, their medicinal fragrance beginning to emerge.

And it continues to grow at a slow but steady pace!

"What...what is this?"

Shennong felt his throat was dry, his voice hoarse and strained. He slowly turned his stiff neck and looked at Yao Wanhu, who was also shocked, with a blank and confused expression on his face.

In this world, there is actually thunder—possessing the same power to bring forth all things as his Flame of Life?

This completely overturned his understanding of the power of thunder!

It took Yao Wanhuo a while to recover from his shock. A complex, bitter smile appeared on his face. He shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of uncertain speculation: "Palace Master Xiao possesses the Five Elements Thunder, which is infinitely profound. This azure thunder, with such boundless vitality, must be—"

"—It should be thunder, which belongs to the wood element in the Five Elements theory, right?"

Although he had seen Xiao Bai use the Five Elements Thunder against his enemies in the Desolate Ancient Domain, the destructive power of that thunder was deeply ingrained in his mind. He never imagined that this violent thunder could have such a magical side.

A knock-off of "Blazing Spirits"?

This is simply the most coveted treasure for every alchemist!

"The Five Elements of Thunder — Wood Attribute —"

Upon hearing this, the old man Shennong shuddered violently, muttering to himself as if thunder had exploded in his mind: "Fire element for alchemy, wood element for growth—"

He felt his mind was going numb.

In the short few days since arriving at Zixiao Palace, he felt that his understanding of the world had been challenged several times.

Such strange lightning actually exists on the mainland?

Amidst the shock, an overwhelming sense of curiosity welled up within me.

He stared intently at Yao Wanhuo, unable to resist asking, "What other wonders do the other lightning bolts controlled by Palace Master Xiao possess?"

"other?"

Medicine turns like fire.

Seeing the mixture of shock and anticipation in the eyes of the old man Shennong, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, and a very strange look flashed in his eyes.

His mind was uncontrollably filled with memories of his time in the desolate ancient realm.

That great seal, formed from the convergence of the five elements of thunder, blotting out the sky and radiating an aura of suppressing the universe—

That feeling of absolute power that seems capable of crushing even the soul.

Even now, thinking back on it still makes him feel terrified and his spine goes cold.

He slowly shook his head and whispered to the old man Shennong, "Believe me, you don't want to know."

On Leifeng Pagoda, in the center of the square.

Xiao Bai gazed at the several medicinal herbs that were gently swaying and growing amidst the azure lightning, a hint of undisguised joy flashing in his eyes.

"I never imagined that, after incorporating a trace of the insights gained from the Life and Death Purple Lightning, the life-giving effect of the Wood Divine Lightning could truly reach such a level!"

He was filled with emotion.

He had already experienced the power of the Yi Wood Divine Thunder to promote plant growth.

Back in the Black Corner Region, to give Xun'er that unique farewell gift—"Three Thousand Lanterns, One City in Bloom"—

He then tried to use the power of "Yi Wood Divine Thunder" to accelerate the growth of ordinary Golden Fire Peach Trees, causing them to bloom instantly.

However, at that time, my abilities were limited, only able to produce a slight acceleration effect on ordinary plants, and it consumed a lot of energy.

But things are different now.

As his cultivation reached the Dou Sheng realm and his soul realm reached the Emperor realm, especially recently, he has devoted most of his energy to refining the "Birth and Death Purple Lightning".

However, the refining of the Life and Death Purple Lightning was very different from what he had imagined.

The process of refining it was exceptionally difficult, far exceeding that of any previous lightning seed.

Unlike other lightning bolts, it cannot be subdued or gradually integrated with by force.

To refine the Life and Death Purple Lightning, one must first comprehend the two diametrically opposed powers of "life" and "death" contained within it!

How much he can refine depends on his progress in comprehending this power of birth and death.

Comprehending the power of birth and death is extremely difficult. The intertwining and collision of these two powers has made it difficult for Xiao Bai to get started recently, and his refining progress has stagnated.

After much deliberation, he decided to take a different approach, no longer forcing himself to comprehend them all at once, but instead choosing to start with one of the powers.

With the earliest acquisition of the Yi Wood Divine Thunder, coupled with the existence of the Bodhi Ancient Tree, choosing which one to comprehend first is naturally not difficult.

Yi Wood and Divine Thunder are inherently associated with vitality and nourishment.

When he tried to integrate a vague understanding of the "life" power in the Life and Death Purple Lightning into the operation of the Wood Divine Lightning, an unexpected change occurred!

That wisp of purple mist originating from the Purple Lightning of Life and Death seemed to be the most primal catalyst for life. After merging with the azure lightning, it caused the life force contained in the Yi Wood Divine Lightning to surge instantly, and its properties underwent a mysterious transformation.

Originally, the Yi Wood Divine Thunder could only slightly accelerate plant growth, but it actually possessed a magical ability similar to the "Flame of Life" to ripen medicinal herbs!

Through these intuitive changes and experiences, his understanding of the power of "life" became clear and profound, like the sun breaking through the clouds.

This gave him a real glimmer of hope in completely refining the Life and Death Purple Lightning!

"It seems I've chosen the right path! Given time, once I gain a deeper understanding of the power of 'life,' I'll then attempt to access the power of 'annihilation'—"

Thinking of this, Xiao Bai felt extremely excited.

Once he successfully refines the Life and Death Purple Lightning, his strength will definitely see a huge improvement.

Whether he can advance to the Nine-Star Dou Sheng realm in a short time may depend on this matter.

However, now is not the time to immerse ourselves in research. The most urgent task is to refine this batch of pills first.

Composing himself, Xiao Bai glanced at the rare medicinal herbs in front of him, which were fully mature and brimming with medicinal power under the nourishment of the azure lightning.

He flicked his sleeve lightly.

The newly ripened medicinal herbs, along with the dozen or so ninth-tier main herbs that were taken out earlier.

And hundreds of auxiliary medicinal herbs of the seventh and eighth tiers instantly transformed into streams of light of various colors.

They orderly disappeared into the hundred-foot-tall glass medicine cauldron.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the thunder inside the medicine cauldron suddenly became violent and intense, and the roaring of the flames also suddenly rose!

The phantom images of thunder dragons and fire phoenixes on the surface of the cauldron moved and flew more and more rapidly.

"Refining a single Grade Nine Precious Pill—wouldn't that require far more medicinal herbs? Especially with so many Grade Nine main ingredients added!"

On Qixia Peak, Yao Wanhuo saw Xiao Bai once again invest an astonishing amount of medicinal herbs, and a look of surprise and uncertainty flashed in his eyes.

He exchanged a glance with the old man Shennong beside him, and they both saw the same shocking thought in each other's eyes. Xiao Bai's posture was not at all like he was refining a ninth-grade treasure pill!

He's going to refine a Grade 9 Profound Pill that's far more difficult to make and has effects than a Precious Pill!

The nine grades of elixirs are divided into three levels, from lowest to highest: Precious Elixir, Profound Elixir, and Golden Elixir.

Above it lies the "Emperor-grade Elixir," a legendary elixir from ancient times!

Although there is only a one-word difference between the Ninth Grade Precious Pill and the Ninth Grade Profound Pill, the gap between the two is as vast as the difference between heaven and earth!

Just as the two were being overwhelmed by this astonishing thought, the world that had been swept by a gentle breeze suddenly began to change.

The wind started to pick up.

At first, it was just a gentle breeze, but in the blink of an eye, it turned into a howling gale, making the trees on the surrounding mountain peaks rustle.

Some disciples with lower cultivation levels even needed to circulate their battle qi to stabilize their bodies.

Before the onlookers could even react to this sudden change in the celestial phenomena...

An indescribable, immense pressure, like an ancient beast awakening from its slumber, spread from the summit of Leishan Peak!

Immediately afterwards, a clear and resounding shout, like a thunderclap from the heavens, suddenly exploded in the sky above the entire Wind and Thunder Mountain Range, clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Power of Heaven and Earth, heed my command, condense!"

The next moment, the world suddenly changed color!

"Boom—!"

The sky within a radius of thousands of miles centered on the summit of Leishan Mountain instantly darkened.

It wasn't that dark clouds were obscuring the sun; rather, all the light, and even the energy flowing between heaven and earth, seemed to be drawn by some invisible force, frantically converging towards that hundred-foot-tall glazed medicine cauldron!

"Drawing upon the power of heaven and earth, infusing it into a pill—this, this is truly refining a ninth-grade profound pill!"

Yao Wanhuo was shocked. As the eldest elder of the Yao clan, he knew better than anyone what this scene meant.

This is something that can only be achieved by gathering the power of heaven and earth into the medicine when refining a ninth-grade elixir.

Such a strange phenomenon immediately caused all the disciples of Zixiao Palace to gape in astonishment.

They watched this scene with fervor; such a sight was truly rare to find anywhere else in the world!

"Palace Master Xiao's actions are perhaps somewhat inappropriate!"

The old man Shennong paused for a moment and then said, "If it were a ninth-grade precious pill, this energy would naturally be more than enough, but a ninth-grade profound pill..."

'

He shook his head slightly. Refining a ninth-grade Xuan Dan requires an extremely terrifying amount of energy.

According to ancient records, in those ancient times, wherever a ninth-grade Xuan Dan was born, it was almost always a desolate wasteland.

All the energy in the entire world will be completely devoured.

That was in ancient times, when energy was abundant. Now, the Central Plains cannot sustain energy even for a region of ten thousand miles, let alone a thousand!

Although the Fenglei Mountain Range, spanning thousands of miles, possessed the most concentrated energy he had ever seen in Zhongzhou, it was still far from sufficient to support the birth of a Grade 9 Profound Pill!

A day later.

This seems to confirm the words of the old man Shennong.

Above Leishan, the tornado storm that had absorbed energy from all directions began to thin out, showing signs of weakening.

However, the nascent pill in the cauldron seemed dissatisfied with the lack of energy, and the suction force emanating from it did not weaken at all, but instead became even stronger.

At this moment, the onlookers suddenly noticed something was wrong. Their fighting spirit seemed to be about to burst out of their bodies in the face of that powerful suction.

A sense of horror welled up in their hearts, and in their panic, they wanted to get away from Leishan as quickly as possible.

"Out of energy!"

The Little Fairy Doctor, who was closest to the scene, had a somewhat dim look in her eyes. She reached out and grasped at the void in front of her, trying to sense it carefully.

The energy that Lei Feng had once possessed, almost solidifying, had now become so diluted as to be nearly nonexistent.

"What should we do then?"

A pang of worry flashed in Yun Yun's eyes. She knew that Xiao Bai had prepared this pill for a long time. If it failed like this, wouldn't all his hard work be in vain?

"Rustling..."

Just as the two women were feeling worried, a rustling sound of branches and leaves rang out.

Then everyone saw a burst of clear light rising from the sky, rolling towards the cauldron in the square.

"Ancient Bodhi Tree..."

, 1

Countless eyes fell on the towering tree with its swaying branches, and their hearts were filled with joy.

Seeing the massive amount of life energy emanating from the ancient Bodhi tree, Shennong was slightly taken aback, and then felt a sense of awe.

With the blessing of this ancient tree with its vast and boundless energy, it might actually be possible to achieve immortality!

"Tsk tsk... What a treasure!"

Yao Wanhuo was about to nod in agreement when he suddenly froze, "What is Palace Master Xiao doing?"

Not only him, but everyone who saw Xiao Bai's actions was stunned.

Xiao Bai, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, raised his hand and waved it. The pure air in the sky swirled back and hovered over the huge canopy of the Bodhi tree.

"He doesn't want this energy? Has he given up?"

Shennong frowned, finding Xiao Bai's actions somewhat difficult to understand.

"No, use your soul to probe all the way to the maximum distance!"

Yao Wanhuo seemed to sense something. After sensing it, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he exclaimed in surprise.

Following instructions, the old man Shennong closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, then murmured, "This...this..."

He suddenly opened his eyes, and exclaimed in shock, "An Emperor-level soul... Could that rumor be true?"

'