133: eerie wood

Amidst boundless agony, Di Jingzhe's blurred consciousness sensed that destructive aura locking onto him.

He wanted to struggle, to resist, but his body felt as if it were suppressed by countless icebergs; he couldn't even move a single finger!

He could only despairingly feel the terrifying pressure of that silver-white lightning orb drawing closer and closer!

Right at that moment—

"Rumble—!!!"

The entire Mine No. 9—no, the entire Black Stone Thunder Prison Mining Area—began to vibrate violently without warning! It was as if a prehistoric behemoth sleeping for eternity deep underground had been disturbed and let out an angry roar!

The rock walls shook violently, and large chunks of debris smashed down like a torrential rain!

A heart-palpitating, dull rumble, like the throbbing of a giant heart, echoed from deep within the mine shafts!

A desolate, ancient, primitive, and extremely overbearing terrifying aura, mixed with unimaginably pure and violent lightning essence fluctuations, suddenly erupted from the deepest, darkest depths of the mine like a dormant volcano!

This aura was so powerful and pure, carrying a supreme majesty that stood far above mundane lightning!

As it swept past, the silver-white lightning orb gathered in the Thunder Envoy's palm flickered violently like a candle in the wind, nearly dissipating directly!

His expression changed drastically, and he snapped his head toward the direction of the vibration, his gaze beneath the silver mask filled with horror and disbelief!

"This... what is... this aura?! There's something... deep within the ore vein?!"

This sudden prehistoric lightning pressure originating from the depths of the earth's Meridians acted like the final straw, ruthlessly crushing the violent, conflicting, and nearly out-of-control Yin Lightning power within Di Jingzhe's body!

"Pfft—!" Di Jingzhe suddenly spat out a large mouthful of pitch-black congested blood containing ice crystals!

Under the invisible deterrence and impact of this ancient prehistoric lightning pressure, the rampaging torrent of Yin Lightning within his body was actually forcibly suppressed and partially tamed!

The blue lightning patterns on his skin, which had been flickering wildly and were on the verge of collapse, suddenly retracted their light inward as if being forcibly smoothed out by an invisible giant hand!

The balance that had been on the brink of collapse was forcibly reversed under the impact of this prehistoric aura!

The instinct to devour and refine finally overwhelmed the destruction of the Yin Lightning!

A surge of pure, heavy lightning True Qi carrying a trace of ancient aura surged through his Meridians—which had been repeatedly tempered and widened several times by the Yin Lightning—like a flood breaking through a dam!

The Bottleneck of the tenth level of the Spirit Origin Realm was pierced through like thin paper!

First level of the True Origin Realm! His aura instantly skyrocketed!

However, the sense of power brought by this Breakthrough was still like that of an ant before the Thunder Envoy!

The Thunder Envoy was only briefly deterred by that prehistoric aura; he regained his senses in an instant, the killing intent in his eyes growing even stronger!

He no longer hesitated. The suppressed silver-white lightning orb in his palm lit up again, and with a lethal decisiveness, he prepared to ruthlessly slam it down toward the unstable Di Jingzhe!

At this critical juncture—

"Crack... Snap..."

An extremely faint crisp sound, like a dry branch snapping, rang in Di Jingzhe's ears.

His blurred vision subconsciously swept to his side, toward a section of the rock wall that had been cracked by a falling boulder when he had lunged to protect Old Shi earlier.

At the edge of the crack, buried under fallen rocks and mud, half a piece of charred, twisted, and unremarkable... wood was revealed?

The wood was pitch black all over, as if it had been burned by heavenly fire for ten thousand years. Its surface was covered in fine, web-like cracks, looking as if it might turn into a handful of black ash at any moment.

However, the moment Di Jingzhe's gaze touched it, his newly broken-through and still wildly surging lightning True Qi, along with the Thunder Spirit Origin in his Bloodline that had just been stirred by the prehistoric aura, actually gave a violent shudder!

An indescribable palpitation and longing originating from the depths of his Soul erupted like a volcano!

His body's instinct was almost faster than his collapsing consciousness!

Di Jingzhe's left hand, which was not completely paralyzed, used the last trace of his remaining strength to suddenly reach forward, his fingers tightly grasping that half-piece of charred wood!

It was ice-cold to the touch! Rough! It felt like holding a piece of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice!

However, the instant his fingers touched the wood—

"Hum—!"

A weak yet incredibly resilient, desolate will—as if it had pierced through time and space from the ancient prehistoric era—carrying the purest lightning Origin aura, suddenly erupted from within the wood!

In an instant, it surged up Di Jingzhe's arm, into his body, and directly reached his Sea of Consciousness!

This will was weak yet unyielding, like a solitary peak standing firm amidst an endless thunderstorm!

It had no concrete form, only a pure Concept of protection and of destruction followed by rebirth!

It instantly created a strange resonance with the newly broken-through and still chaotic lightning True Qi in Di Jingzhe's body, as well as the Thunder Spirit Origin in his Bloodline!

"Sizzle!"

The blue lightning patterns that had dimmed on Di Jingzhe's skin lit up once more under the guidance of this ancient will!

This time, the light was no longer violent; instead, it carried an introverted steadiness, like a deep-sea undercurrent!

Under the organization of this will, his newly broken-through and somewhat unstable first-level True Origin Realm True Qi actually stabilized at an alarming speed!

A weak yet incredibly pure lightning power, carrying the intent of destruction and rebirth, flowed continuously from that charred piece of wood into his body like a trickling stream, nourishing his nearly exhausted Meridians and smoothing over the wounds left by the rampaging Yin Lightning!

This piece of lightning-struck wood, which looked like it could crumble at any moment, actually became his life-saving straw in this critical moment, stabilizing his Foundation and restoring his vitality!

The Thunder Envoy's silver lightning orb had already formed, its destructive light poised to strike!

He naturally saw Di Jingzhe's action of grabbing the charred wood. Although he didn't understand why, the weak yet resilient prehistoric aura that suddenly erupted from the wood caused his brow beneath the mask to furrow deeply!

"A deathbed struggle! Be annihilated!" The Thunder Envoy no longer hesitated. The lightning orb in his palm, accompanied by a piercing whistle, tore through the air and slammed down toward Di Jingzhe's head!

"Boom—!!!"

The silver-white lightning orb in the Thunder Envoy's palm, condensed with the lethal will of a Divine Mansion Realm expert, let out a piercing whistle that tore through the air. Like a falling meteor, it slammed down toward Di Jingzhe's head!

The destructive aura instantly locked down all space for him to dodge!

Di Jingzhe's pupils shrank to the size of needlepoints!

The cold touch of death already had him by the throat!

Under this absolute pressure of death, the lightning True Qi in his body—which had barely stabilized thanks to the prehistoric will injected by the charred wood—surged and roared like a raging tide!

The blue-purple lightning patterns on his skin, which were branded with the Thunder Spirit Body Origin, erupted with an unprecedentedly dazzling light, like countless enraged thunder snakes dancing wildly beneath his skin!

He couldn't dodge! He couldn't block! His only choice was to fight for his life!

"Argh—!!!" Di Jingzhe let out a roar like a cornered beast at death's door!

His survival instinct squeezed out the last trace of potential from his body!

His left hand, which was death-gripping the charred lightning-struck wood, acted like a red-hot branding iron as he slammed the wood ruthlessly against the ground!

At the same time, he threw his right fist upward with everything he had!

Upon his fist, the newly broken-through and not yet fully controlled first-level True Origin Realm lightning True Qi—mixed with the Bloodline Power stirred by that prehistoric will—condensed into an extremely unstable, wildly flickering blue-purple lightning fist seal!

There was no form! No technique! Only the unyielding struggle originating from the deepest part of his life!

"Sizzle—Bang!!!"

The silver-white destructive lightning orb and the blue-purple life-risking fist seal collided violently in the narrow, dim mine shaft!

Dazzling light instantly swallowed everything!

The violent energy shockwave acted like an invisible giant hammer, ruthlessly smashing in all directions!

The hard rock walls, saturated with lightning-patterned black stone, let out an overburdened groan. Large chunks of debris flew and splattered like cannonballs!

The viscous toxic mud on the ground was instantly evaporated and blasted away! A pungent burnt smell and a strong scent of ozone instantly filled the entire space!

"Pfft!" Di Jingzhe felt as if he had been hit head-on by a stampeding behemoth. A clear sound of bone cracking came from his right arm, and he was sent flying backward like a broken kite, slamming heavily into the rock wall behind him that was covered in sharp edges!