The Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion was an ancient beast long extinct in the outside world. In its prime, it had devoured countless Ancient Void Dragons and Ancient Demon Phoenixes. With its fearsome Lightning Poison—known as the Thousand Lightning Death Poison—it once plunged the world of Magical Beasts into chaos.
It was only when the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon tribe and the Empress of the Ancient Heaven Phoenix joined forces at the peak of their strength that the beast was finally slain. Under their united leadership, their tribes launched a sweeping campaign, hunting down the remaining scorpions and driving them to extinction.
However, the victory came at a heavy cost. A few years after the battle, both the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress succumbed to the terrifying poison the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion had managed to inject into them before its death.
Roar—!
The Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion glared at Xiao Hua with fury burning in its eyes and released an enraged roar, causing the air thick with lightning to tremble violently.
Xiao Hua, meanwhile, lowered his gaze to the snow-white gauntlet on his fist. His eyes narrowed in solemn silence. Though the damage was shallow, a puncture could be seen—precisely where the stinger had struck.
Shockingly, the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion had managed to pierce through Xiao Hua's snow-white gauntlet. Though the gauntlet was incomplete due to certain circumstances, it remained a tremendously powerful artifact—capable of withstanding even the full-force strike of an elite Dou Zun.
What was even more alarming was the white-colored, lightning beast-like pattern now spreading across the damaged area. The flowing mark rapidly morphed into various forms of ferocious beasts, flickering in and out like living phantoms. The moment Xiao Hua saw this, his eyes narrowed, and his expression turned faintly grim.
'Thousand Lightning Death Poison… So this creature is more cunning than it appears,' Xiao Hua thought darkly, as five different flames surged forth within his body to swiftly refine the terrifying poison.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion had not yet reached full maturity, and the potency of its poison was still limited. Had it been a fully matured beast, even with Heavenly Lightning, Primordial Heavenly Flames, and Celestial Ancient Frost sealed within his body, refining the poison would have come at a heavy price.
"Xiao Hua, are you alright?" Little Fairy Doctor asked, her voice filled with concern the moment she saw the change in his expression.
Just as she was about to step beyond the protective barrier, Xiao Hua spoke calmly, "I'm fine. The poison isn't too overwhelming thanks to its current strength. Stay inside the barrier for now."
Although worry still lingered in her beautiful eyes, Little Fairy Doctor obeyed his words. Nonetheless, the Dou Qi within her quietly circulated—ready to act the moment he needed her.
Naturally, Tian Huo Zun-zhe and Zi Yan did the same, silently gathering their strength, prepared to intervene at a moment's notice.
His gaze shifted, locking onto the eight-dragon pattern etched across the scorpion's scales. His eyes narrowed sharply, and a soft murmur escaped his lips. "A rank 8 Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion… Its strength is at least comparable to a five-star or six-star Dou Zun. With its poison added into the mix, even a peak Dou Zun could fall under its might…"
The strength of a Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion could be gauged by the number of dragon patterns on its back. However, such a number also meant it had devoured a large number of powerful magical beasts to reach this stage.
"Old Yao," Xiao Hua said, turning slightly toward Tian Huo Zun-zhe, "if the scorpion focuses its attention on Zi Yan, take her and retreat immediately."
Both Tian Huo Zun-zhe and Zi Yan were taken aback by his words. But a flash of understanding soon flickered in Tian Huo Zun-zhe's eyes. He gave a firm nod. "Don't worry. I won't let that beast lay a single pincer on her."
Xiao Hua gave a slight nod and stepped forward. A solemn expression settled on his face, and his narrowed eyes never left the looming beast. Against an opponent like this, the slightest lapse in focus could result in a grievous loss.
His hands swiftly formed a series of intricate seals, and two sharp cries echoed from his lips as his aura surged in response.
"Heavenly Tribulation Body: Embryonic Form! Azure Tribulation!"
In the blink of an eye, a brilliant light erupted from his body, and under the cold glare of the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion, Xiao Hua's cultivation burst forth—rising directly to the level of a One-Star Dou Zun.
Screech—!
With a low, piercing screech, the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion's massive body erupted in a burst of azure lightning as it charged straight toward Xiao Hua. In the blink of an eye, the colossal beast appeared before him, one of its enormous pincers lashing out in an attempt to trap him and cleave his body in two.
Naturally, Xiao Hua did not remain idle. With a sharp movement, his foot shot out and struck the incoming pincer with immense force, sending it reeling back. The unexpected counter startled the scorpion—it had clearly underestimated the sheer physical strength contained within the slender figure before it.
Not giving the beast a moment to recover, Xiao Hua spun with lightning speed. Dou Qi surged violently into his leg, causing it to enlarge as arcs of lightning and tongues of flame danced across it. With pinpoint precision, he brought down a powerful axe kick upon the scorpion's face. A thunderous boom followed as the strike landed, forcing a pained screech from the beast and slamming its massive form into the ground.
Shaaa—!
Yet just before it could be knocked further back, the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion retaliated with frightening reflexes. Its other pincer swept through the air and ruthlessly slammed into Xiao Hua's side. The impact sent him flying, his body crashing through several trees before finally skidding to a stop two meters away.
"Bastard... this thing's toughness and strength truly can't be underestimated," Xiao Hua muttered under his breath as he regained his footing, still slightly shaken by the sheer hardness of the creature's dragon-scaled body.
Lifting his head, he saw that the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion had already recovered. But instead of charging at him again, the beast suddenly turned its gaze toward Zi Yan—who was closer—and lunged forward with murderous intent, aiming to devour her.
Shaa—!
Zi Yan's eyes widened in alarm, startled by the creature's sudden fixation. But in that instant, she understood the reason behind Xiao Hua's earlier warning. Whatever the cause, this creature had sensed something within her—and now it was desperate to consume her.
Just as the beast closed in, a spatial ripple twisted the air beside it—Xiao Hua emerged in a flash.
Lightning surged violently around his fist, crackling with terrifying brilliance. The energy radiating from it caused even the natural flow of heaven and earth to tremble slightly. Without hesitation, Xiao Hua hurled his fist, striking the scorpion's side with immense force.
Shaaa—!
But the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion's resilience and reflexes proved once more to be overwhelmingly fierce. Even as it reeled from the blow, its thick tail shot outward, the sharp tip of its stinger piercing through the air and viciously striking Xiao Hua's abdomen.
The attack came too suddenly, catching Xiao Hua off guard. He couldn't dodge in time—but he wasn't without means to defend himself.
"Four Illusionary Phoenix!"
In an instant, four identical figures of Xiao Hua burst into existence. One swiftly moved his true body out of the stinger's deadly path, while the remaining three struck the stinger in unison, slowing its momentum just enough to divert its trajectory.
Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Xiao Hua lifted his gaze—only to notice a deep gouge carved into the ground by the scorpion's stinger. Astonishingly, the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion had used its missed strike not in vain, but as a means to halt its momentum, dragging its tail like a brake to keep itself from being flung too far and to reduce the force of Xiao Hua's blow.
"That damn scorpion… it actually used its tail to stabilize itself mid-retreat…!" Xiao Hua muttered, a trace of admiration in his voice. The beast's battle instincts were clearly honed through countless life-and-death struggles.
As the scorpion regained its balance, it drew its massive pincers together. The moment they neared each other, the natural energy of heaven and earth trembled. Threads of azure lightning seeped from the empty air, coiling and gathering between the pincers like serpents of light.
Xiao Hua clicked his tongue, readying himself to act—when, without warning, a burst of azure lightning exploded from the scorpion's body. Then, like a shadowed blur, it leapt backward, bounding from tree to tree with shocking agility, moving like a phantom beast—almost monkey-like in its nimble retreat.
"Bastard…!" Xiao Hua cursed, eyes narrowing as he unfurled three pairs of wings from his back. One pair shimmered with vibrant beauty, the second burned with majestic crimson-gold, and the last radiated an ethereal blend of blue, silver, and lavender.
Five different lightning—each a distinct color—erupted around his body, surging in harmony with his fighting spirit.
With a single stomp, the ground beneath him cracked, and his figure transformed into a brilliant streak of radiant light, tearing through the air as he gave chase after the fleeing Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion.
Xiao Hua instantly realized what the beast was attempting—it was preparing to unleash one of its innate trump cards.
The Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion was not solely reliant on its Thousand Lightning Death Poison. Among its arsenal of terrifying abilities was one known as Thunder Devastation—a technique that condensed the natural lightning energy between heaven and earth into a single, catastrophic blast capable of devastating everything within hundreds of meters.
Naturally, such a technique came with steep drawbacks. The Dou Qi consumption was immense, and the casting time was considerably long. However, both limitations could be reduced depending on the density of natural lightning energy in the heaven and earth.
And in this place—where even the forest itself was formed under by lightning—the conditions were almost ideal. The lightning in the heaven and earth was so dense that both the energy cost and the charge time were drastically shortened.
Xiao Hua's eyes narrowed. He surged forward at a blinding speed, appearing directly before the scorpion in a flash of light. Without hesitation, he swung his fist, aiming to violently disrupt the creature before it could complete the technique.
But just as his blow was about to land, the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion raised its eyes—gleaming with a flicker of mocking light. In a startling display of agility, it lashed its stinger around a nearby tree and used the momentum to swing its massive body aside, narrowly avoiding Xiao Hua's strike.
In the blink of an eye, the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion had already moved far out of Xiao Hua's reach.
"This bastard…!"
Xiao Hua gave chase at once, letting out a frustrated curse. Yet no matter how quickly he closed the distance, the dragon scorpion always managed to slip away with strange, unpredictable movements—clearly intent on preventing him from getting close unnoticed.
Despite his overwhelming speed, the scorpion's erratic, lightning-like reflexes made it nearly impossible to intercept. Its movement was irregular, chaotic—like a bolt of lightning dancing between storm clouds, never striking the same place twice.
'And that's not all…' Xiao Hua's expression darkened. 'If my guess is correct, this dragon scorpion still holds one more terrifying ability…'
He couldn't afford to give it more time. He had to end this—before the beast unleashed the full extent of its most dangerous power.
No matter how much ground Xiao Hua gained, the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion refused to relent. Its movements remained erratic and unpredictable, making it nearly impossible for him to catch or strike it cleanly.
'Is this damn scorpion the main character or something?!' Xiao Hua thought bitterly, his eyes fixed on the creature's evasive pattern.
It was truly unfortunate that his Four Illusionary Phoenixes had been destroyed earlier. Had they still been active, he could have layered his own movements, creating feints and unpredictability that might have allowed him to close in undetected.
But the truth was clear—the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion held the advantage in this terrain. It moved through the dense forest as though it were open ground, weaving between trees with ease, even using them to enhance its evasive maneuvers.
Even if he were to create a spatial cage to trap it, the scorpion's strength as a Dou Zun would likely allow it to break free in an instant.
Worse still, Xiao Hua's sharp perception had picked up on something far more alarming—the scorpion's Thunder Devastation was nearing completion. The energy gathering between heaven and earth had reached a dangerous threshold.
The chase continued for several intense moments.
But in the end, he had failed to disrupt the technique in time.
A few breaths later, Thunder Devastation was fully formed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Muffled thunder rumbled through the forest as the destructive energy between the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion's massive pincers surged outward. The space itself seemed to tremble beneath the might of the power it was preparing to unleash.
A wave of oppressive force swept over the area, and the expressions of Little Fairy Doctor, Tian Huo Zun-zhe, and Zi Yan turned pale. Even without the strike having fallen, they could already sense the devastation it would bring. If they tried to withstand it head-on, even going all out, they would suffer grave injuries—at best.
Naturally, their concern shifted to Xiao Hua. They tried to locate him through the dense arcs of lightning, but the storm of energy obscured his figure. Yet, if they had managed to see his face, they would have seen not fear—but fury.
Unlike them, Xiao Hua's extraordinary perception had caught a subtle movement in the scorpion's eyes—a nearly imperceptible shift in its gaze.
The Thunder Devastation was not aimed at him.
Its true target… was them.
"This bastard...!" Xiao Hua growled inwardly.
Just as the thought flashed across his mind, the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion's thick tail coiled around a nearby tree. With a sharp pull, its massive body twisted, repositioning itself directly toward Little Fairy Doctor and the others.
Xiao Hua's expression darkened as he swiftly moved to intercept. He hadn't allowed them to assist not out of pride, but because he understood the nature of this verdant forest—one brimming with an overwhelming concentration of lightning essence.
Once they stepped beyond the protective barrier he had formed, their Dou Qi would circulate as though trudging through a mire of thick, viscous sludge. Their strength would be severely suppressed, and under such conditions, even attempting to block the Thunder Devastation would come at a devastating cost.
"Xiao Hua, be careful!" Little Fairy Doctor's eyes widened in alarm, her voice ringing out in warning.
Xiao Hua turned sharply. What he saw caused his heart to tremble violently.
The scorpion's body had twisted once more, its position abruptly shifting. Now, its aim was fixed squarely upon him. At that moment, Xiao Hua finally realized—this beast wasn't just powerful, it was cunning. Incredibly cunning.
"It even used that subtle shift in its gaze to deceive me…!" Xiao Hua bit his lip, a trace of frustration flickering in his eyes. Never had he imagined that the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion possessed such a level of cunning.
Just as one would expect from a beast that once slew both a Dragon Emperor and a Phoenix Empress at the height of its power!
Boom!
Without warning, the scorpion unleashed its feared Thunder Devastation. Torrents of lightning surged forth like a raging tide, crashing toward Xiao Hua—catching him completely off guard by the sudden shift in its target.
BOOM—!!
In the blink of an eye, the space between the scorpion's colossal pincers quivered violently before a blinding pillar of azure lightning erupted outward. It tore through the air like a furious dragon descending from the heavens, its roar shaking the skies.
The intensity was overwhelming. Space twisted under its might, and everything in its path was reduced to ruin. Towering trees were turned to ash, the ground split open with thunderous cracks, and the forest trembled under the divine wrath of lightning incarnate.
The Thunder Devastation had been unleashed.
The terrifying blast surged toward Xiao Hua with overwhelming speed. In the blink of an eye, it had already arrived before him.
In that moment, the world within Xiao Hua's eyes seemed to lose all color—everything was drowned beneath the blinding brilliance of azure lightning.
His hands moved in a blur, forming countless seals, each motion leaving behind afterimages that layered atop one another. In but a breath, the hand seal was completed, and his aura exploded forth, rapidly soaring to the peak of the Dou Zun realm.
With a deep roar, Xiao Hua bellowed:
"Amethyst Velvet Change!"
At once, his body erupted in a radiant fusion of amethyst and sky-blue light. When the glow faded, his figure was encased in a crystalline armor of sapphire and violet shards, each one shimmering with profound energy. Behind him, a majestic halo took form—an intertwining dance of crackling lightning and blazing flame, exuding an awe-inspiring presence.
His gaze sharpened, fierce and unyielding.
Then, a thunderous roar burst from deep within his chest as he shouted:
"Blazing Thunder Mountain!"
Instantly, five infernal flames ignited, and five bolts of divine lightning roared to life. They surged toward his body, fusing together in a brilliant explosion of elemental might—forming a colossal mountain of fire and thunder that enshrouded him completely.
The mountain pulsed with five radiant colors—each representing a unique flame and lightning essence. Its presence exuded an aura of immovable might and indestructibility, as though not even a calamity from the heavens could leave a scratch upon it.
Even in the face of the devastating thunderous blast, the Blazing Thunder Mountain stood firm—unyielding.
Boom!
A moment later, an earth-shattering explosion tore through the forest. The very air trembled violently, and the ground quaked as if unable to withstand the force. Countless cracks, each over ten feet wide, split across the hardened earth and continued to spread without end.
At the epicenter of the collision, space itself began to collapse—crumbling into a web of spatial fractures that birthed numerous terrifying maws of the void.
From that shattered point, a chaotic storm of energy erupted—suffused with destructive might and crushing pressure. An overwhelming radiance burst forth, so blinding that it forced all who looked to avert their gaze.
Like a monstrous tidal wave, it surged outward from the point where the indestructible Blazing Thunder Mountain clashed with the wrathful thunderbeam—a confrontation between immovable fortitude and overwhelming ferocity.
"This is bad." Tian Huo Zun-zhe's expression turned grave as he sensed the incoming energy storm racing toward them.
"Quickly, reinforce the barrier!" he shouted urgently, his voice tense as he swiftly circulated the Dou Qi within his body.
Without hesitation, Little Fairy Doctor and Zi Yan nodded, channeling their Dou Qi in unison. Majestic energy poured into the protective barrier Xiao Hua had created. Only then did the trembling barrier, on the verge of collapse, regain its stability—its flickering light steadying under the renewed power.
Zi Yan let out a soft sigh of relief. Lifting her head, her wide eyes fixed on the immovable mountain and the devastating beam of lightning. A dense astonishment filled her gaze as she murmured in awe,
"They've actually fought to such an extent…"
Even Tian Huo Zun-zhe found it hard to believe. This battle had far surpassed the limits of an ordinary Peak Dou Zun confrontation. Not even he could unleash a strike of such terrifying magnitude, nor formed a defense so indestructible as those displayed by Xiao Hua and the Heavenly Lightning Dragon Scorpion.
'I wonder if he even needed my protection…' Tian Huo Zun-zhe chuckled to himself, a touch of self-mockery in his heart as he watched the violent clash unfold.
"Even so, to stand on equal footing with Xiao Hua… As expected of a magical beast capable of slaying both a Dragon Emperor and a Phoenix Empress. Truly… a fearsome creature," he muttered, his gaze fixed solemnly on the scorpion.
Meanwhile, Little Fairy Doctor remained silent, yet the worry in her heart only deepened. Still, beneath that concern lay a quiet yet unshakable trust.
She knew Xiao Hua's path—filled with tribulation, pain, and perseverance. He had overcome far too much to fall here.
And so, despite the storm that raged ahead, she believed.
He would not be defeated in this place.
At that moment, the three of them stood still, their gazes firmly fixed on the sky above, where the colossal, awe-inspiring storm of energy raged on. The devastating pressure had silenced every living creature within the verdant forest, as though nature itself dared not breathe.
Each harbored different thoughts in their hearts, but all were equally overwhelmed by the scene—and all silently prayed for Xiao Hua's safe return.
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