At this moment, the Ancestral Master of Longevity was surrounded by Dragon Form Qi Force, empowered by a Dragon Vein, possessing the power to destroy all techniques, and his strength was incredibly formidable.
Seeing the Ancestral Master of Longevity rushing towards him, Zhang Chen's heart was filled with panic. He was certainly no match for the Ancestral Master of Longevity, so Zhang Chen discreetly retreated behind the Innate Peacock, pushing the Innate Peacock forward to block in front of him:
"Old Peacock, you always boast so loudly. Now it's your turn! I want to see what tricks you have, are you really as powerful as you claim? Don't mess up at the critical moment."
The Innate Peacock was pushed out by Zhang Chen to take the brunt. Instantly, his face turned green, his eyes stared intently at the Ancestral Master of Longevity on the opposite side, and he subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Such a powerful Ancestral Master of Longevity, even he couldn't withstand!
Just as a world-shaking battle seemed about to erupt, suddenly the sky unknowingly showed a hint of purple. That purple rapidly expanded and, in a moment, spread over a thousand miles, covering the entire Qingcheng Mountain Range, transforming into purple thunderclouds, hovering above the Qingcheng Mountain Range.
"It's that lightning!" Zhang Chen saw the purple lightning suspended in the sky, and his pupils couldn't help but shrink. This lightning was exactly the one he encountered when he first arrived in this world; he knew all too well its mighty power.
"Purple Cloud Divine Thunder! This is Celestial Punishment!" The color drained from the Innate Peacock's face, his body hair bristling at that moment.
"Run!" The Innate Peacock called to Zhang Chen, turned around carrying the Ascension Pool, and fled directly, with Zhang Chen right behind him, signaling to Xiu Liu to take Xu Erniu and escape.
Over there, the Ancestral Master of Longevity's Dragon Vein Qi suddenly diminished, like a deflated ball, wilting immediately.
At this moment, the Ancestral Master of Longevity raised his head to look at the purple lightning in the void, a trace of unwillingness flashed in his eyes, and he roared to the sky: "Why?!!!"
Meanwhile, Zhang Chen and the Innate Peacock were also in big trouble. With the appearance of the purple lightning, the space between Heaven and Earth seemed to have distorted, and after running ten-odd steps, the two immediately sensed something wrong, discovering they were merely treading in place.
"We're done for! We've also been targeted by Celestial Punishment! Damn it! It's that brat Changsheng who ruined Qingcheng Mountain's Dragon Vein, why should the disaster befall me?" The Innate Peacock cursed at the sky, his voice full of helplessness, feeling purely caught in an innocent mess.
"What should we do?" Zhang Chen looked at the space locked by Celestial Punishment, then at the Innate Peacock beside him, asking him for a way to avoid it, as he definitely didn't want to be struck by Celestial Punishment again.
Hearing this, the Innate Peacock gritted his teeth, a fierce look appeared in his eyes: "Hide under the Ascension Pool, maybe we can withstand the celestial lightning there."
As he spoke, the Innate Peacock infused magical power into the Ascension Pool, enlarging it, then nimbly crawled underneath.
"Why don't we jump into the Ascension Pool?" Zhang Chen asked, while speaking, he also crawled under the Ascension Pool.
The Innate Peacock looked at him as if he were a fool: "Kid, are you stupid? The Ascension Pool is open at the top, what's the use of us jumping in it?"
Thinking of Xu Erniu, Zhang Chen quickly turned his head to look, only to see that where Xu Erniu and Xiu Liu were standing, they had not been affected by the blood-colored Divine Thunder. Only then did Zhang Chen relax, letting out a light sigh of relief.
While speaking, a dozen purple lightning bolts fell mightily towards the Ascension Pool where Zhang Chen was located, seemingly ready to smash the Ascension Pool into powder.
Not only was the Ascension Pool being struck by celestial lightning, but the Ancestral Master of Longevity on the side was also targeted by seven or eight purple lightning bolts. Those purple lightning bolts seemed like ropes, connecting the sky on one end and the earth on the other, heading towards the Ancestral Master of Longevity.
How could the Ancestral Master of Longevity dare to resist the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder head-on? His gaze turned towards the Ascension Pool and moved towards it, wanting to use the Ascension Pool to avoid the disaster of Heaven and Earth.
But the Innate Peacock wasn't easy to deal with. Seeing the Ancestral Master of Longevity crawling over, he slapped directly, smacking the Ancestral Master of Longevity out of the Tripod Cauldron, not giving him a chance to dive in.
"Boom~"
At this moment, the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder crashed down, and there was the sound of the earth shaking and the mountains swaying. Zhang Chen only felt his soul buzzing, blood spurted from his mouth and nose, and although the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder didn't strike him directly, its reverberations left him dizzy and stunned, his mind clouded, his soul floating in a daze.
Outside, the Ancestral Master of Longevity let out a miserable scream, as piercing as a blood-weeping cuckoo, causing Zhang Chen to involuntarily shudder, a trace of fear appearing in his eyes.
At this moment, the Blood Control Technique in Zhang Chen's body was activated, restoring his lost five senses, and as his senses gradually returned, Zhang Chen turned his head to look outside, only to see the Ancestral Master of Longevity with tattered clothes, what was once meticulously managed attire now a disheveled mess, looking like a bird's nest, his whole body charred black.
As Zhang Chen was pondering, a ball of purple light suddenly fell from the Ascension Pool, landing at Zhang Chen's feet, and transformed into a blob of experience points.
"Something finally dropped! Finally, something dropped! Under the effect of the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder, the Ascension Pool finally dropped something." Zhang Chen was overjoyed upon seeing this, a hint of delight appeared in his eyes as he looked at the purple light cluster, which was extremely rare in the past. Especially this cluster of purple experience points, it didn't seem like ordinary experience points, rather it was akin to a skill.
Zhang Chen was very fond of skill-related experience points. At this time, the Golden Finger Interface in front of him flickered:
[A new skill was discovered, would you like to pick it up?]
"Pick it up!" Zhang Chen didn't think twice, and promptly said.
Following Zhang Chen's command, the purple light cluster on the ground vanished, and then the Golden Finger Interface refreshed:
[New Skill: Sacrificial Refining Mantra, Activation Mantra of the Ascension Pool]
[Note 1: Jumping into the Ascension Pool can transform and cleanse the mortal body, evolving it into a higher-level physique.]
The description was simple, leaving Zhang Chen speechless. The main efficacy of the Ascension Pool was to transform and cleanse the mortal physique with the divine liquid; using it as a weapon was just an incidental use.
As Zhang Chen was pondering, he suddenly saw the divine light flickering around the Innate Peacock, striking towards the outside. At this time, the Ancestral Master of Longevity lunged at the Ascension Pool again, trying to dive under it to evade the bombardment of the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder.
If he could dive under the Ascension Pool, he might gain a sliver of vitality.
Yet, the Innate Peacock wouldn't allow it, with divine light swirling around, continuously bombarding the Ancestral Master of Longevity to prevent his approach.
However, as the Ancestral Master of Longevity got closer, the lightning that was supposed to land on him and the one targeted at Zhang Chen's Innate Peacock mingled together, causing the thunder to magnify exponentially. The immense lightning fell overwhelmingly, then Zhang Chen only felt his brain buzzing, losing all awareness of the outside world. Everything within sight was enveloped in purple; the purple lightning erupting fiery sparks.
He saw the Innate Peacock's feathers getting singed, saw the Ancestral Master of Longevity outside with wounds emerging, blood and flesh splattering, emitting a grilled meat scent.
Zhang Chen's ears buzzed, he saw the Innate Peacock nearby roaring silently, not knowing what it was roaring.
Through the thunderlight, he saw Xu Fu and Xiu Liu in the distance. The Body-Stabilizing Rune on Xu Fu had been undone unknowingly, standing anxiously, waving at him as if shouting something.
Upon seeing Xu Fu's worried face, Zhang Chen forced a smile, remotely waving at Xu Fu, signaling him to stay calm and not to fear.
At this time, Zhang Chen's Blood Control Technique was operating frenziedly, constantly mending his injuries. Yet, the lightning was excessively fierce, just as one wave of injuries was healed, the next wave had already struck again.
"Puh~"
Blood spurted from Zhang Chen's mouth, a flicker of horror in his eyes: "So the tribulation of a cultivator is this terrifying, who in the world could survive it? Would it not mean death and the disappearance of the path? No wonder the Ancestral Master of Longevity schemed in numerous ways yet dared not confront the tribulation, it was because of this."
"Bang~"
Another bolt of lightning crashed down, the Ascension Pool beside Zhang Chen flickered, sparks erupted, burning through the defenses of the Innate Peacock, a spark landing on Zhang Chen's arm, then his entire arm instantly vaporized, disappearing without a trace.
"Damn!" The power of the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder made Zhang Chen curse in horror, its power was entirely beyond his ability to resist, with just a stray spark holding such might, should the lightning strike directly on him, he would probably be turned to ash in an instant.
"This Purple Cloud Divine Thunder seems to be several times more potent than what I encountered in the Sea of Thunder before!" Zhang Chen was inwardly shocked, his eyes full of disbelief, he felt that the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder before him was different from the one he encountered in the Sea of Thunder.
"Great Freedom Celestial Demon, do you have any way to deal with this?" At this critical moment, Zhang Chen had no choice but to call out the Great Freedom Celestial Demon, yet, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon had completely fallen silent, as if it didn't exist at all.
"Playing dead, eh!" Zhang Chen mumbled: "If you don't come out now, I'll pull you out myself?"
Upon hearing this, the reluctant voice of the Great Freedom Celestial Demon finally resounded again: "Stop bothering me! This is Celestial Punishment, my number one nemesis. If Celestial Punishment detects my aura, the Celestial Punishment power you'll endure will be terrifyingly amplified by a thousandfold, then we'd undoubtedly die together! The Purple Cloud Divine Thunder we encountered before was merely ordinary Purple Cloud Divine Thunder, whereas today's encounter is imbued with the Power of Celestial Punishment, endowing it with Celestial Punishment attributes, making both powers not comparable on the same day."
After speaking, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon fell silent again, completely hiding its presence, showing how fearful it was of Celestial Punishment, daring not to show its head, losing its former majesty entirely.