Rumble—
The world around them was pitch black, with only flashes of lightning tearing through the sky to illuminate the path ahead.
Sparse weeds clung to the rocky ground, jagged boulders rising in clusters. Every so often, a blinding bolt would strike, forcing both Dugu Bo and Yang Yunhai to reflexively hunch their necks.
Looking ahead, the terrain was no different anywhere they turned. Rain and wind whipped across the land, making it impossible to tell direction.
"Stay clear of those lightning-attracting rocks." Dugu Bo's voice was steady, though his steps betrayed the drain on his soul power. Carrying Yang Yunhai on his back and running through the storm had consumed more energy than he cared to admit. Channeling the earth beneath his feet, he drew power to replenish himself as he moved.
"Understood." Yang Yunhai nodded. As long as his feet touched the ground, he wasn't too worried about being struck.
Even if they failed to find the Thunder Hell Prison Vine, he needed to draw lightning at least once. It had been too long since his last session of lightning cultivation.
Without further words, the two pressed forward.
Time trickled by. After an hour, they still hadn't seen a single plant taller than their knees—let alone any soul beasts.
"Could it be this island doesn't have it?" Dugu Bo finally muttered.
"Either way, let's finish crossing this one first." Yang Yunhai suggested.
"Alright." Dugu Bo agreed, lengthening his stride.
At last, they reached the far side of the island. Across a thousand-meter-wide trench of churning sea, a far larger island loomed. Peaks jutted skyward like blades, jagged and sharp. Lightning lashed against their spires, casting the swirling clouds in stark illumination.
Yang Yunhai's eyes suddenly fixed on one patch of cloud. Dugu Bo noticed as well.
"The lightning strikes are much denser over there," Dugu Bo remarked.
"Let's go take a look, Grandfather Dugu." Yang Yunhai's tone sharpened.
With a grunt of assent, Dugu Bo crouched, leapt from the cliffside, and carried him straight across the gulf.
Waves churned violently below. Halfway across, the sea split with a surge, and a massive blue-green serpent head broke the surface.
"A 50,000-year Sea Demon Serpent King!" Dugu Bo's expression darkened.
"Medusa's Gaze!" His eyes flashed with pale light, twin beams lancing into the serpent's yawning maw.
The petrification spread in an instant. The colossal serpent spasmed, its half-stone head crashing back into the waves as it disappeared beneath the surface.
"Seems Yan Yan's serpent ring will have to wait a while longer," Dugu Bo muttered.
"She has already absorbed a 30,000-year soul bone and taken the Nine-Grade Dragon Ganoderma," Yang Yunhai reasoned. "Her breakthrough to rank 60 is still a ways off. Using this creature as her sixth ring won't be a problem when the time comes."
Dugu Bo nodded. "True enough. Sea Demon Serpents never stray far from their territory. It'll still be here next time—though after today's beating, it may not be so easy to draw out again."
With that, he dismissed the thought and pushed onward.
Soon they landed on the new island and made their way into its depths.
At a narrow gorge flanked by towering black cliffs, the storm above intensified. Thunder growled, lightning danced wildly.
"Grandfather Dugu, watch out!" Yang Yunhai cried.
They both leapt aside just as a bolt the size of a tree trunk slammed into where they had been standing.
More lightning surged in the clouds above, focusing.
"Run forward!" Yang Yunhai shouted, sprinting.
Thunder cracked behind them, each strike blasting into their footprints as they fled.
"Something's guiding the lightning at us," Dugu Bo growled, dashing at his side. "But there's a lag—it needs time to lock on."
"Grandfather Dugu, the strikes are ahead!" Yang Yunhai's sharp gaze tracked the storm's pattern.
A deafening blast tore into the ground before them, shaking the gorge.
"It must be there. Could be the Thunder Hell Prison Vine we're looking for." Dugu Bo's voice hardened. He surged ahead without hesitation.
They sprinted through, dodging bolt after bolt, until the gorge opened into a valley.
There, coiled around a jagged stone spire, a massive vine glowed dark violet. Lightning crackled over its surface. Then, with a violent shudder, arcs exploded outward in all directions, filling the valley with a storm of destruction.
"Martial Soul True Body!" Dugu Bo roared, his body swelling into a forty-meter-long dark brown dragon that shielded Yang Yunhai.
"Medusa's Gaze!" Beams of pale light shot from his eyes, but the storm of lightning shredded them before they reached the vine.
"So strong!" Dugu Bo's heart pounded.
Bolts rained down upon his draconic body, explosions booming one after another.
"Fortunately, it's a skill attack—not natural lightning." Feeling the difference, Dugu Bo breathed easier.
But then, he looked up. Above the valley, the storm clouds twisted tighter and tighter, lightning converging until the sky itself blazed.
"Hell no!" He cursed loudly.
"Eighth soul skill—Time Freeze!" He unleashed his most powerful control ability.
A ripple of power spread out, and in an instant, the lightning arcs froze mid-air. Even the vine's body stiffened, halted mid-lash. Above, the storm clouds stopped gathering—but the thunder still rumbled ominously.
Dugu Bo shivered at the sight. If that entire storm had fallen, even he wouldn't have survived.
"This… this must be the Thunder Hell Prison Vine. To alter the heavens itself with just 20,000 years of cultivation—terrifying." His voice shook with awe.
He turned to Yang Yunhai. "But Yunhai, this one might be beyond you."
Yang Yunhai's eyes burned with determination. "I can take it. This is the one."
He knew his body better than anyone. He had absorbed rings far beyond his level, endured the Ice and Fire Alchemic Body tempering, drawn lightning upon himself countless times, fused with a 100,000-year soul bone. His body was forged to withstand. His mental strength, tempered since early on and nourished with rare treasures, would hold.
"Grandfather Dugu, I can handle it," he said firmly. "Even that Sea Demon Serpent's soul attack barely touched me. This vine is no spirit beast—it's only the residual will within a ring. It won't break me."
Dugu Bo stared hard at him, then finally gave a sharp nod. "Alright, I'll believe you this time."
Without hesitation, he charged. His massive dragon form slammed down before the vine, eyes blazing with Medusa's Gaze once more. The Thunder Hell Prison Vine stiffened, its body locking into stone.
(End of Chapter)
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