Chapter 227: A Battle of Attrition

Crackle!

The white crane abruptly returned, unleashing lightning bolts from its wings. Pang Jian was caught off guard as the lightning enveloped him.

Pang Jian's expression changed drastically.

Sensing the lightning the white crane was unleashing this time was far more terrifying than the naturally occurring ones, he hastily summoned his green protective shield, making sure to infuse it with stellar, lunar, and cold energy as well.

Whoosh!

The newly formed protective shield was far more robust than the flimsy one Pang Jian had summoned earlier.

The heaven-shaking power of the lightning made it evident that the white crane was attacking to kill him and Pang Jian dared not let the lightning enter his body.

Thick bolts of explosive lightning cascaded down like dazzling waterfalls.

Boom!

The stars on Pang Jian's protective shield flickered and the ice shattered as beams of green light shot out.

Pang Jian grunted and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"He's still not dead?" the sinister white crane said in a sharp, piercing voice.

Pang Jian was taken aback.

"It can talk in human tongue?" he muttered in bewilderment.

He did not even have time to wipe the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth before more bolts of blinding, explosive lightning violently shot out from the crane's blade-like wings.

A violent lightning storm formed in the sky above Pang Jian.

"I've had enough of you!" the white crane cried, its voice piercing through the silent night sky.

It stirred up a tidal wave of lightning, drawing in lightning bolts from its surroundings to target Pang Jian.

Crack!

The ground beneath Pang Jian fractured under the immense pressure.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lightning flashed and thunder roared within a hundred-zhang radius of Pang Jian, charring the ground around him

The relentless lightning strikes caused the ground to give way, and Pang Jian sank further and further down as he could do nothing but endure the onslaught with his green protective shield.

Soon, the stellar, lunar, and cold energy in his spiritual sea had all been completely depleted!

Even so, he did not dare to withstand the lightning with only his Illusory Bone Realm body.

This white crane was determined to kill him, and he knew his body could not endure such a violent onslaught.

He even suspected that the white crane had carefully chosen to wait for him to stand in a specific spot that could better concentrate the surrounding lightning.

Boom!

More bolts of lightning tore toward him, and he swiftly channeled whatever energies remained in his spiritual sea.

"Earthflame energy, solar energy!"

He summoned a new crimson protective shield before his green protective shield could shatter. The crimson shield radiated intense light and heat.

"Ah! Why isn't he dead yet?!"

The sinister white crane furiously flapped its wings as it soared through the storm, cursing Pang Jian and his entire family the whole time.

It did not expect Pang Jian to summon a new protective shield just as the old one was about to shatter.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian then tossed out the Meteorite Pearl he had obtained from Liang Ying and used its radiance to defend himself.

In mere moments, the lightning had reduced the intermediate-grade spirit artifact to dust.

Gritting his teeth, Pang Jian took out the Star Crushing Umbrella and threw it into the air.

He could not afford to care about concealing his identity when life and death hung in the balance. Determined to survive the white crane's onslaught, he decisively used whatever he had to defend himself.

"Ah! Damn you! An advanced-grade spirit artifact—I'm going to kill you!"

The white crane was so enraged it coughed up blood.

This blood transformed into tiny lightning beads that intensified the ferocity of the lightning.

The canopy of the Star Crushing Umbrella shone blindingly.

"I can't kill him! Damn it, I can't kill him!" cursed the white crane. "This wretched scoundrel has so many treasures. He even has two protective shields and mastered a body-tempering technique.

"Damn you! Why are you chasing me? Every time I conjure a bit of lightning, you recklessly dive right in—are you mocking me?

"I've killed so many people. Why won't you die?!"

Pang Jian and the white crane were locked in a fierce battle, with one attacking and the other defending.

The white crane unleashed all its secret techniques, intent on killing its foe.

Meanwhile, Pang Jian stubbornly held his ground with his endless supply of life-saving treasures and protective shields.

No one knew how long the battle lasted.

Eventually, the white crane fell from the sky, frothing at the mouth.

It weakly raised a wing to point at Pang Jian, eyes filled with sorrow and hatred. "You despicable human brat, I swear I'll kill you. Cloud Lightning is my treasure trove, my blessed land—no one will ever lay a hand on my fortune!"

Ten zhang away, Pang Jian sat on the ground, panting heavily.

The Star Crushing Umbrella had fallen from the air and lay not far from him, now devoid of its former brilliance.

His silver-glowing skin crackled with tiny lightning bolts, and blood mixed with traces of lightning oozed from his mouth, nose, and ears.

This was the first time Pang Jian had expended all his strength in such a way since leaving the Solitary Mountain Range.

His stellar, lunar, solar, earthflame, and cold energies had all been completely drained. Even the blood essence from his Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint had been depleted.

Even his vast spiritual sea, which had been fully replenished in the Resolute Expanse with the spiritual power had also run dry!

Now that the white crane had finally stopped its attack, Pang Jian's spiritual sea could gradually fill with spiritual power once more.

The battle had forced the black turtle out of its slumber to provide him a steady stream of spiritual qi, allowing him to withstand the onslaught.

The World Eater Vine in Misty Swamp had also assisted him by continuously infusing the five green leaves with life energy to heal his injuries.

The white crane was at the end of its rope, and Pang Jian was on the verge of collapse.

Both Pang Jian and the white crane were exhausted.

After the white crane fell from the sky, Pang Jian rose unsteadily to his feet to retrieve the Star Crushing Umbrella and took out the Startling Slaughter Spear.

His spiritual sea was refilling with spiritual power with the black turtle's help, giving him some confidence.

"Is that all you've got?" Pang Jian coldly taunted.

He planned to accumulate more spiritual power before channeling it into the Startling Slaughter Spear to strike down the vicious white crane from a distance.

"I can still fight, but you appear to be on your last legs."

The tip of the Startling Slaughter Spear glowed a cold green.

"Luo Yuan, you bastard son of a bitch!" The white crane desperately flapped its wings, wobbling unsteadily as it lifted into the air. Its eyes were filled with a mix of false bravado and malice. "I've got other matters to attend to—I'll come back for you later!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The white crane flapped its tattered wings, gathering the surrounding lightning to increase its speed.

“Luo Yuan, you'd better not run! I'll definitely kill you here in my territory, Cloud Lightning!

“I'll remember you, Luo Yuan!

"Luo Yuan, damn you, you despicable bastard!"

The white crane's cursing gradually faded as it flew into the distance.

Pang Jian slumped back down to the ground in frustration. "It claims that this restricted area is its territory. It even knows my fake name and can control the lighting in Cloud Lightning at will..."

Pang Jian's expression flickered with uncertainty.

Could this strange white crane harmonize with the land in Cloud Lightning? Did it have the same kind of authority I myself have on the Resolute Expanse?

Pang Jian wondered.

Even though the white crane had not been present when he had introduced himself to Lu Xiangyi and the others, it still knew his fake name.

That implied the white crane could hear things happening miles away, just as Pang Jian could on the Resolute Expanse.

The white crane had likely been aware of him from the very beginning!

"And it calls me despicable?" Pang Jian sneered.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian stowed away the Startling Slaughter Spear, pulled out a spirit jade, and moved to a different spot to meditate and recover.

He also gulped down a barrel of Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf blood, replenishing both the blood essence in his Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint and the earthflame energy in his fiery pool.

Using the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, Pang Jian refined the spiritual qi brimming his dantian into potent spiritual power, which cascaded gently down to gather in his spiritual sea.

At this moment, Pang Jian noticed a small lightning vortex, only about the size of a baby's fist, quietly floating above his spiritual sea.

Scattered and fragmented lightning coalesced into a swirling vortex that resembled a bird's nest, creating a magnetic field that drew in the lightning still coursing through his body.

It's formed!

Pang Jian was ecstatic.

Unexpectedly, the life-or-death struggle with the sinister white crane had led to a lightning vortex forming, giving birth to a new, extraordinary phenomenon within his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea.

Sea of consciousness, divine sense!

Pang Jian probed his sea of consciousness.

Strands of divine sense drifted in his sea of consciousness. The ones most attuned to him were successfully nudged into movement and he found he could now direct them to specific locations according to his will!

The middle stage of the Profound Abode Realm!

An overwhelming sense of relief and joy filled Pang Jian, as though he had just emerged from a long, grueling ordeal. Even the brutal defensive battle he had just fought against the white crane seemed insignificant in comparison.

Let's forget about the potential uses of divine sense for now. There's no rush to explore further. I need to focus on restoring my strength as quickly as possible!

Pang Jian thought determinedly.

A few hours later, Pang Jian had half-replenished his spiritual sea with spiritual power.

He then switched to drinking the blood of Rank Six Vicious Beasts with ice attributes, which had previously belonged to Jiu Yuan.

His ice pool filled with bone-chilling cold energy.

Now for stellar, lunar, and solar energy.

Pang Jian used the Startling Slaughter Spear to dig a hole several zhang deep into the ground.

After retrieving the copper chest from his spatial bracelet, he used dry grass to partially cover the hole, then laid down in the copper chest to absorb the energies of the sun, moon, and stars.

Barely a day had passed before the fierce white crane returned to face Pang Jian with another overwhelming lightning storm.

With a single flap of its powerful wings, Pang Jian's hiding spot was revealed. "You damn rascal, Luo Yuan! Did you think I wouldn't find you if you hid in a hole?!"

Pang Jian's spiritual power had been replenished and his injuries completely healed thanks to the help of the black turtle and the World Eater Vine,

Pushing open the copper chest, he leaped out. "Enough with the nonsense—let's fight!"

After yet another grueling battle, the white crane flapped his bloodied wings while cursing, "Luo Yuan, you actually recovered in just one day—damn you!

"This is my Cloud Lightning, how could you recover faster than me?!

"Heaven is unfair! I can't take this anymore!"

With that, the white crane fled the scene for the second time.

It glanced back at Pang Jian with eyes filled with hatred and fear.

The white crane had been confident its second attack would secure it a decisive victory, especially after the stalemate in their first encounter.

It thought Pang Jian was doomed to die.

However, Pang Jian had not only withstood its lightning storm for a second time but also did so with even greater ease than before!