Chapter 631: Chapter 362: The Transformation into a Flood Dragon
The Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake’s body kept swelling, as if inflated by Spiritual Energy.
In this process, its aura continued to rise rapidly, soon reaching the level of a Great Demon.
Yet it continued to absorb Spiritual Energy, making Li Shiming doubt whether a single Golden Core Level Spiritual Vein could sustain the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake’s breakthrough if he didn’t have a Nascent Soul Level Spirit Vein.
Li Shiming was unclear how spirit beasts, especially top-tier ones like the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake, managed to break through in the wild, how they found such an abundance of Spiritual Energy, and without such veins, how they supported their breakthroughs.
Even his own advancement to Golden Core hadn’t consumed this much Spiritual Energy, and it’s worth noting he had formed five Golden Cores.
However, for a top-tier spirit beast like the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake, which was nearly extinct, it was normal to have some peculiarities.
The length of the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake fixed at six meters and ceased growing, but Spiritual Energy continued to surge into its body relentlessly.
One hour, two hours, and approaching three hours, the flow of Spiritual Energy finally ceased.
The sky was covered with a vast expanse of dark clouds, completely enveloping the top of Sword Holding Peak.
Li Shiming was slightly startled; the size of the clouds far exceeded those he had seen during his own advancement.
Just by the size of the clouds, he inferred that the incoming Heavenly Thunder was bound to be stronger than any he had ever seen.
The commotion at Sword Holding Peak grew large enough to draw the attention of Golden Core cultivators from various parts of the sect, who flew out from their dwellings to watch from the outskirts of the peak.
Since Li Shiming had made prior arrangements and Elder Su had explained the situation of the Heavenly Thunder to the sect, the Golden Core cultivators understood that it was Li Shiming’s Spiritual Pet undergoing a breakthrough.
In most of their eyes was a gaze that watched the extravagance of a wealthy individual.
It was not so long ago that Li Shiming had experienced multiple Corpse Refining breakthroughs to Silver Corpse. Although it was not mentioned if the Silver Corpse successfully advanced, it was evident how lavish Li Shiming was.
Still, they felt no envy, as Li Shiming relied on nobody but his own Alchemy skills to accumulate such wealth.
This time, even Li Shiming’s Spiritual Pet was breaking through to the third rank, a feat only an Alchemy Master could achieve through using resources.
Many Cultivators have Spiritual Pets, but actually nurturing them requires time, resources, and effort that could impact the Cultivator’s own progress.
Therefore, even if a Cultivator acquires a Spiritual Pet, they usually only treat it as a pet, investing resources to develop it up to a certain realm and no further.
“What kind of Spiritual Pet is this, to cause such a commotion?” a Golden Core Cultivator asked aloud.
“If you want to know, go ask Master Li!” a fellow Golden Core Cultivator replied with a laugh.
Naturally, none of the cultivators would really ask Li Shiming about this. If Li Shiming didn’t voluntarily share details about his Spiritual Pet, it was considered his secret, and prying into another Cultivator’s secrets was a big taboo in the Cultivation World.
Elder Su, as Li Shiming’s master, was also very curious.
With such a grand scene, that Spiritual Pet must be extremely extraordinary.
Elder Su couldn’t help but smile wryly; he realized his mentorship to Li Shiming was quite limited, as Li Shiming’s Cultivation Method and Alchemy skills were not taught by him.
Elder Su had provided some guidance only in the beginning stages of Shiming’s entrance, but thereafter Li Shiming soared like a rocket, nearly catching up to him.
What he didn’t know was that Li Shiming’s actual combat strength had already surpassed him.
If he were aware of this, his feelings would be even more complex.
With a “boom,” a thick bolt of Heavenly Thunder struck the top of Sword Holding Peak.
This bolt of thunder reached the mountaintop from the high heavens, forming a long vertical streak of lightning.
The crowd observing Sword Peak simultaneously felt a chill, as they could all gauge the strength of this thunderbolt.
Among them, even Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivators could not survive under this strike of Heavenly Thunder.
“What a pity!” was the collective sentiment of the onlookers.
Watching the thunderbolt strike the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake from the sky, Li Shiming was also stunned by its terrifying power.
He somewhat regretted not having fortified the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake with a “Heavenly Thunder Essence,” which would have increased its resistance to thunder and lightning.
While empowering it with “Heavenly Thunder Essence” could have made the breakthrough much easier, he wondered if it might provoke punishment under the Heaven and Earth Rules, considering it relied on an external force.
His spirit linked with the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake, and he sensed its life force was incredibly weak.
This bolt of Heavenly Thunder had reduced the six-meter-long body of the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake to charred remains.
However, Li Shiming didn’t remain worried for long as he heard slow yet powerful heartbeats coming from within the charred carcass.
The heartbeats grew louder and more forceful, echoing like beats on a cowhide drum.
With a series of cracking sounds, the charred shell split open to reveal the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake inside.
First, bluish scales gleaming with a strange light surfaced, adorned with flickering patterns.
Next, the whole snake emerged from the char, its entire body transformed and almost unrecognizable from before.
If not for witnessing the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake’s breakthrough himself, and his Blood Covenant with the creature, he might have doubted that the snake before him was the same one from before.
A white pattern now adorned the back of the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake’s head, and four limbs had developed on its belly, its entire form encased in blue scales.
“Has it evolved into a Jiao?” Based on the current form of the Absolute Spirit Illusion Snake, his IBMz15 lifebound artifact suggested the closest answer, prompting an exclamation from Li Shiming.