Two days later, in the evening.
"Rumble…" The setting sun burned warmly. Clouds dragged up moisture from the mountains, swirling it into the sky where it was swept into the clouds by the warm wind. The already heavy storm clouds finally couldn't hold any longer. Sheets of rain fell like curtains, mingled with rolling thunder.
The rain fell alongside the sunset, creating a picturesque display of nature's power across the mountain range.
The next afternoon.
"Mmm…" Yang Yunhai slowly awakened. "Tap tap…" Even before opening his eyes, the sound of rain tapping down reached his ears, while a cool gust of wind carrying moisture blew against his face.
Perhaps it was because he had slept too long, or because the chilly wind triggered a bodily response, but Yang Yunhai suddenly sat up straight. His eyes widened as he looked around , the ground near the cave entrance was already deeply flooded, just under two meters from where he was sitting.
"Damn, I almost got drowned. Good thing I planned ahead and chose a slightly higher cave. The mountain weather really changes on a whim!"
Muttering to himself, he looked out of the cave.
"Rumble…" Though the rain had lightened, distant thunder still echoed faintly in the air.
"This rain must've been going on for quite a while."
But at least it was still raining , and there was thunder. Thinking of this, he turned to look at a stone wall nearby. A bamboo tube lay slanted in a lead box, and a tiny sprout of bright blue had poked out from one of its holes.
"Hm?" Yang Yunhai's pupils shrank slightly.
"So it really is conscious?" Frowning slightly, he reached out and picked up the bamboo tube, staring at the sprout in deep thought.
To be honest, he had really wanted to crush the Blue Silver Emperor's body into pulp and drink it. Because during that process, its soul might dissipate due to the inability to sustain itself, which would make the whole thing far safer.
But thinking back to how the original Shrek Seven Devils consumed their immortal herbs, it seemed they always swallowed them whole. Crushing them with tools might weaken or destroy their potency.
That clearly wasn't what he wanted. He didn't know much about pharmacology, and he didn't dare to take the risk.
The only thing he was certain of was that Blue Silver Grass, being a plant-type soul beast, wasn't poisonous. Eating it wouldn't cause any problems. He had pulled up a few as a kid in the village and eaten them himself , no issues at all.
Even the pigs, sheep, horses, and cows in the village ate it every day without any problem.
So he figured that eating this young Blue Silver Emperor probably wouldn't poison him either. What he had to worry about was the ten-thousand-year-old soul beast's hidden soul inside it.
What if, after eating it, it launched a spiritual attack?
If that happened, he'd definitely be done for. After all, it was the soul of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, and he… was still just a kid.
So, he needed a way to deal with it.
His solution was to eat it while being struck by lightning.
It's said that lightning is of the yang element and suppresses the yin , he figured it should have some restraining effect on disembodied souls. Moreover, plant-type soul beasts were generally weak to lightning , this was considered common knowledge among soul masters.
He believed heavenly lightning in this world only targeted soul beasts, but still, it seemed to exert pressure on most soul beasts.
Of course, this was just a theory.
However, he had experienced firsthand how lightning tempered the physical body , that part, he could say for sure.
So, bathing in lightning while consuming the Blue Silver Emperor might not only suppress the soul but also help absorb the medicinal power more effectively and even accelerate bloodline evolution. And the soul bone he had just absorbed might also fuse more perfectly under such intense stimuli.
Most importantly, after absorbing the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, his soul power had jumped to level 27 , an increase of over five full levels , and his physical strength had surged as well. He also gained a soul bone skill that he considered key to executing this plan.
Wildfire Never Dies, Spring Wind Revives!
The powerful healing ability of this skill might allow his body to withstand multiple lightning strikes.
If one bolt wasn't enough, then he'd take several! That way, the Blue Silver Emperor's soul would face more suppression or even damage, and his body would gain even more tempering.
As for whether he would live or die afterward, or whether his bloodline would truly evolve , that was up to fate. All he knew was that this was a rare opportunity, and he had waited long enough.
He had to try, no matter what.
At worst, he'd die , not like he hadn't before!
Hide when it's time to hide, but when it's time to fight, you've got to give it your all. Life doesn't hand out many chances like this…
After several rounds of self-encouragement, Yang Yunhai gritted his teeth, stood up sharply, and dashed out of the cave.
He quickly moved to a patch of grass nearby and sat down cross-legged.
After absorbing the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, his state was already at its peak , no need for any more preparation.
He looked up at the sky. Dark clouds still filled the heavens. Without hesitation, he looked down and opened the bamboo tube, revealing the Blue Silver Emperor inside.
Then, he summoned his martial soul and activated his lightning attribute.
After years of training, he had mastered the ability to suppress his martial soul's aura to avoid attracting lightning by accident. In other words, summoning lightning was now one of his active skills.
His split-focus training hadn't been in vain.
"Boom!" As soon as his soul power stirred, a bolt of lightning as thick as an arm shot down from the clouds, striking Yang Yunhai squarely on the back. The surrounding grass stood on end from the static.
Seemingly reacting to the energy, the Blue Silver Emperor nearby began twisting unnaturally, as if startled.
Yang Yunhai turned to look at it, face solemn. "Sorry, I have no choice. To be precise, there are a lot of things in this world we don't get to choose."
"You're a soul beast. I'm human. That's all there is to it."
With that, Yang Yunhai grabbed the bamboo tube, dug out the Blue Silver Emperor by the roots, and carefully rinsed the root ball in a puddle.
Then he bundled the roots together, opened his mouth, and quickly shoved the whole thing inside , chewing and swallowing as a sweet, fresh taste filled his mouth.
At the same time, his soul power began accelerating.
"Boom!" As if sensing the signal, the clouds above surged with lightning. Another bolt , thick as an arm , struck down.
Then came the second… the third… the fourth…
"Ahhh!" Thunder roared in his ears. His head buzzed with pain , he couldn't tell if the cries were his own or someone else's. He thought he heard a faint female voice.
Pain like needles pierced every inch of his body. His meridians felt as if they were about to tear apart. But soon, a cool sensation surged through him, slightly soothing the agony.
Still, the dominant sensation was pain.
Pain that drove out all other thoughts.
All he could do was focus on the changes inside his body while barely managing to activate his soul bone skill: Wildfire Never Dies, Spring Wind Revives.
"Rumble…" By the sixth lightning strike, Yang Yunhai could clearly feel the tearing pain turning into a burning heat , not just in his meridians and muscles, but even his blood vessels, especially around the heart, seemed to be on fire.
"Is it working?" The burning sensation was unlike anything he had felt before. Though it hurt more than ever, it also gave him the courage to endure.
"Rumble!" Another bolt crashed down, hitting his now-bright red skin, causing a faint mist to rise. "Rip!" A second later, his skin split open in countless places, oozing black fluid.
At the same time, the pain in his meridians changed. The piercing pain spread to places it had never reached before.
It felt as if cavalry was storming through his body, breaking through barriers and unlocking a strange sense of flow.
Then , "Boom!" Another bolt hit, and a sharp pain shot from the base of his skull through every limb, accompanied by the crackling sounds of shifting bones.
"Pff!" Blood surged into his mouth , he swallowed it back with clenched teeth.
"I can't hold out much longer!" He could feel his body approaching its limit. The raging lightning energy was racing through his meridians, about to flood his entire body.
He felt like he was about to explode.
If that really happened, not even the strongest healing skill could save him.
But fortunately, the burning sensation seemed to be fading. A mysterious coolness was rising from his heart, barely resisting the lightning energy's invasion.
Then suddenly, an even colder energy shot from his lower abdomen into his right leg,
,And vanished.
"???" A terrible feeling rose in Yang Yunhai's chest. The soul of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast could reside in a soul bone , that was how Da Ming and Er Ming had survived in the original story.
And the soul bone in his body had come from the Blue Silver Emperor… he had just consumed its body too…
"And it still didn't get destroyed by all that?!"
Just as the thought formed , "Boom!" another bolt of lightning struck, this one hitting the base of his thigh.
Yang Yunhai's mind went completely blank.
His body convulsed violently and then collapsed to the side.
The thunderclouds above slowly dispersed. Rain still fell in thin sheets, splashing onto Yang Yunhai's charred body.
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