147: Awakening, True Essence Tenth Level

"Wuji... it's Wuji's talisman!" She recognized this amulet!

This was the amulet she personally sought from the temple and watched him put on for his tenth birthday! The character "Ji" on it was carved by her, stroke by stroke!

This amulet had always been worn close to her brother's neck, never leaving him! Yet now it appeared on the body of a Zhou Family pursuer, severely damaged and stained with foul blood... An indescribable chill and terror instantly seized her heart, more biting than the cold winds of Ghost Cry Ridge.

Her brother was really captured! And he suffered unimaginable torture! If the amulet was damaged to this extent, what about him? What happened to him?!

Boundless rage, worry, and fear crashed against her spirit like a tidal wave. Just at that moment—

"Rumble—!!"

An unprecedentedly massive purple bolt of lightning, like the wrathful whip of a Heavenly God, tore through the heavy leaden clouds above the rift valley without warning. Carrying the might to destroy everything, it struck precisely above the hidden stone cave deep within the rift valley!

The terrifying power of the lightning instantly pierced through the simple defensive Formation Feng Linger had hastily set up! Violent lightning arcs poured down like a waterfall, illuminating the entire cave entrance with a stark white light!

Inside the cave, Di Jingzhe's aura suddenly erupted like a volcano suppressed for hundreds of millions of years!

Inside the stone cave.

Di Jingzhe's consciousness completely awakened amid the earth-shattering roar of the Kui Niu imprint.

This was not a simple awakening, but an unprecedented realization regarding himself, the lightning, and the Awakening Thunder Sword!

"Thunder... is not destruction... it is the command of Heaven and Earth, the Opportunity for creation after ruin! Awakening of Insects... all things emerge from shock, which is growth! Kui Niu... one foot treads the earth, ten thousand thunders follow, charging forward relentlessly!"

All the power accumulated during his coma, the thunder yuan legacy of the roaring Kui Niu within him, the massive amount of Thunder Prison Spiritual Qi drawn in from outside, and the unparalleled true meaning of the Kui Thunder Shakes the World Art, perfectly merged at this moment, reaching an unprecedented Peak!

"Break!"

Di Jingzhe did not open his eyes, but a silent roar originating from the Origin of life erupted in his Sea of Consciousness!

"Boom—!"

In the Dantian Qi Sea, the sea of True Essence, which was already filled to the limit with golden thunder yuan and resembled boiling magma, suddenly collapsed and compressed inward!

The next moment, a torrent of pale golden True Essence, purer, more condensed, and containing the dual true meanings of destruction and rebirth, erupted like an Ancient Thunder Dragon breaking free from all restraints! It instantly smashed through the invisible barrier that had troubled him for so long!

True Essence Realm Tenth Level! The Breakthrough was natural!

The instant he achieved the Breakthrough, as if to respond to the nascent aura within him that was more attuned to the Thunder Dao, and as if the Kui Niu Legacy had triggered a hidden Heavenly Might, a purple Heavenly Punishment Thunder, far surpassing the ordinary and containing the purest intent of destruction, was drawn by this Opportunity for Breakthrough. It tore through the sky and struck precisely above the stone cave!

The simple Formation instantly turned to ash.

The violent lightning power poured down like the Heavenly River reversing its course, carrying the might of world destruction, aimed directly at Di Jingzhe, who had just achieved a Breakthrough on the stone bed and whose aura was not yet fully stabilized!

This was no longer an Opportunity, but Heavenly Punishment! It was the rejection by Heaven and Earth of him, an anomaly, and the Kui Niu Legacy!

Di Jingzhe abruptly opened his eyes!

In that split second, there was no fear or panic in his pupils, only a calm, flickering, purplish-gold light that seemed to reflect the endless Thunder Prison!

That was the sign that his Thunder Spirit Body had been completely activated!

"Good timing!"

A low shout, hoarse from his recent awakening, yet containing resolute determination.

He didn't even have time to think; his body's instinctual reaction surpassed his consciousness! In his Dantian Qi Sea, the floating phantom of the Awakening Thunder Sword burst forth with unprecedented light, emitting an excited, clear sword cry!

"Clang!"

A golden sword shadow shot directly out from the Ancestral Aperture between his brows!

The sword shadow was ancient and simple—it was the Awakening Thunder Sword—but the lightning flowing over it was more than ten times purer than before!

It carried a nascent, yet overbearing true meaning originating from the Primordial Great Desolation!

The sword shot out like a Dragon! Piercing straight toward the sky! It was not a defense, but a counter-attack! Charging forward relentlessly! This was the initial might of the Kui Thunder Shakes the World Art—Thunder Shakes the Nine Heavens!

"Boom—!!!!"

The pale golden sword shadow and the world-destroying purple lightning violently collided at the narrow entrance of the stone cave!

An indescribable roar and flash of light instantly swallowed everything!

The entire stone cave shook violently, and countless broken stones rattled down, as if it could collapse at any moment!

The blinding light made Feng Linger, who had just rushed back to the entrance, instinctively close her eyes, her heart filled with shock: "Heavenly Thunder?!"

A destructive energy shockwave swept out, but most of it was forcibly blocked by Feng Linger's Protective Aura, which was at the Purple Mansion Realm Tenth Level.

As the light subsided slightly, she anxiously looked into the cave.

She saw that the stone bed area was covered by rampant lightning and filled with smoke and dust. However, a figure stood stubbornly in the center of the devastation!

Di Jingzhe's gray cloth robe was charred and shredded in many places, revealing the new skin underneath, which shimmered with a pale gold and purple luster.

He panted slightly, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, but his posture was straight as a spear!

The Awakening Thunder Sword, formed from lightning-struck wood, had manifested in his hand. Pale golden thunder patterns moved ceaselessly like living things across the body of the simple wooden sword, emitting a low hum. The tip of the sword pointed directly at the large hole opened by the lightning above, and threads of violent purple electrical arcs, not yet fully dissipated, still coiled around the sword body!

A stable and powerful aura of the True Essence Realm Tenth Level radiated from his entire body. That aura was no longer merely sharp; it also carried a profound, overbearing will to destroy everything, originating from the Origin of Thunder!

It was as if the destructive Heavenly Thunder just now had not only failed to destroy him but had been forcibly shattered and devoured by the sword in his hand, transforming into a part of his own power!

The daylight from outside the cave shone through the blasted hole, falling upon his young face, which was stained with blood and smoke yet exceptionally resolute.

He slowly turned his head, and his newly opened eyes, which still held the residual might of the lightning, accurately fixed upon Feng Linger, who stood at the entrance, filled with astonishment and worry.

Their eyes met.

Feng Linger saw the weakness in the young man's eyes, but even more so, the resolve of survival after catastrophe, the sharp brilliance following his Breakthrough, and... a hint of inquiry and understanding.

Di Jingzhe saw the urgency and concern in the woman's eyes, as well as... the bronze talisman, tightly clenched in her hand, its edges scorched and broken.

No words were needed; the residual Killing Intent and corpses outside the cave, the glaring talisman in Feng Linger's hand, and the surging power within him coupled with the residual Heavenly Thunder might, all clearly told him what had happened.

"The person behind the Black Stone Thunder Prison Mining Area?" Di Jingzhe's voice was slightly hoarse, but exceptionally steady.

The Awakening Thunder Sword in his hand trembled slightly, letting out a low hum of eagerness for battle. The purple electrical arcs coiling around the sword body crackled, illuminating the cold Killing Intent in his eyes.

Feng Linger took a deep breath, suppressing the intense worry churning in her heart regarding her brother's whereabouts. She nodded forcefully, clutching the bronze talisman tightly in her hand until her knuckles turned white.

She looked at the young man before her, who had achieved a Breakthrough in desperation and stood firm after directly confronting Heavenly Thunder. Her clear, cold voice carried an unprecedented solemnity:

"Yes, and this is just the beginning. The Zhou Family is enraged and has issued a 'Kill Order' against you. The hyenas of the entire Thunder Prison Prefecture are smelling the blood and coming. We must leave here immediately!"

She paused, locking her gaze onto Di Jingzhe's eyes, and asked, word by word: "In the Ninth Mining Area... did you see a young man named Feng Wuji? He... is my brother!"

Above the rift valley, the sound of rushing air faintly returned, and several powerful auras were rapidly approaching from farther away.

A new round of pursuit, having smelled the scent of thunder and blood, was already following close behind.