Chapter 341: Absorbing the Thunder Pool

The vast bizarre mist stretched endlessly.

Pang Jian frowned as he gazed at the Thunder Pool within the spacious cave beneath a glacier in Frozen Thunder.

The silvery-white pool radiated a faint glow as if made of crystalline jade or a mysterious metal akin to white silver.

The pool was filled with Lightning Dao Seals, each represented by a cluster of writhing lightning.

These were the profound insights of the Duke of Thunder.

As the first ever Thunder God in existence, he had once sought to rule over all those cultivating the Dao of Lightning through the divine authority of the Divine Court of Thunder.

Beings like the Thunderveil Godbeast, the lion-tiger-hybrid creature drifting in the bizarre mist, and even the ancient Thunder Dragon in the Abyss could be enslaved to the Duke of Thunder's will had he not perished and the Divine Court of Thunder destroyed.

Though the Duke of Thunder had passed away, his reputation still echoed across the heavens, reverberating through the endless starry skies.

The Duke of Thunder's ranking among the Outer Gods likely far exceeded that of the Ice Demon,

Pang Jian thought, eyes gleaming with determination.

Pang Jian was at his peak. His spiritual sea brimmed with spiritual power, and the energy in his ice pool and fiery pool was abundant. The sun, stars, and two moons in his dantian shone brilliantly.

It's time.

Approaching the Thunder Pool, he activated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art.

Pang Jian visualized a colossal cauldron rising from the depths of his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea.

The cauldron's upper rim seemed connected with his sea of consciousness, while its body stood anchored within the vast expanse of Pang Jian's boundless spiritual sea. Its base, on the other hand, appeared to extend into the depths of the unknown.

Absorb!

Pang Jian's golden divine soul appeared in his spiritual sea and descended toward the cauldron. It swelled in size, as though transforming into a primordial deity with the power to cleave heaven and earth.

As his golden divine soul expanded to fill his spiritual sea, it gripped the cauldron with both hands and exerted tremendous force!

Whoosh!

An overwhelming suction came from the mouth of the cauldron like a vortex capable of devouring the sky, drawing in the Thunder Pool.

Pang Jian's spiritual power started to drain at a speed visible to the naked eye. The radiance of the stars, moon, and sun abruptly dimmed, and even the roaring flames within the fiery pool quietly extinguished.

Only the incomprehensibly vast ice pool remained brimming with boundless cold energy.

After being absorbed, the Thunder Pool expanded to several times its original size within the cauldron.

Pang Jian pulled the Thunder Pool toward his spiritual sea and settled it above the swirling lightning vortex.

The tiny lightning vortex, no larger than a palm-sized cluster of clouds, was forced to bear the weight of a Thunder Pool dozens of times its size.

Its immense weight pressed the lightning vortex down, sending it plummeting to the floor of Pang Jian's spiritual sea.

Boom!

A third massive pool lay alongside the fiery pool and ice pool in Pang Jian's expansive spiritual sea.

Whoosh!

The lightning vortex expanded outward, weakening as it grew.

It no longer spun, simply shrouding the Thunder Pool and separating it from the rest of Pang Jian's spiritual sea.

With a thought, Pang Jian's divine soul tried to sit cross-legged within the Thunder Pool.

When his divine soul touched the Lightning Dao Seals in the Thunder Pool, images flashed through his mind like streaks of lightning coursing through the boundless void.

The eternal spectacles imprinted within the Lightning Dao Seal were revealed to his divine soul.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lightning radiated an apocalyptic aura, enveloping vibrant celestial bodies one after another.

The celestial bodies were charred and blackened when the lightning finally twisted away.

All the life on them had been eradicated.

This appeared to be the apocalyptic Heavenly Dao the Duke of Thunder had once comprehended or even a scene he had personally witnessed.

It had been eternally preserved within the Dao Seals, waiting for a divine soul to unravel its mysteries.

The celestial bodies resemble Winter and are vastly different from the continental masses of the Abyss.

These celestial bodies are home to foreign races and exist in the universe much like the suns and moons.

One fateful day, the roaming apocalyptic lightning in the vast starry skies targeted these celestial bodies, turning them into scorched wastelands and wiping out billions of living beings in the blink of an eye.

Could there truly be such terrifying lightning beyond the Abyss?

Did the Duke of Thunder become the first Thunder God by comprehending the apocalyptic Heavenly Dao within that lightning?

Pang Jian was shaken to his core.

That one scene imprinted within the Lightning Dao Seals was just the tip of the iceberg.

A deep reverence for the vast starry skies beyond the Abyss filled him.

Celestial bodies floated in the starry skies like continents in the Abyss.

Even if the billions of lives living on them saw the twisting bolts of lightning coming, they had no way to resist or escape their inevitable demise.

There are even more terrifying and perilous beings beyond the Abyss. That twisting apocalyptic lightning could be nothing more than a manifestation of a celestial being's divine might.

Weaker beings or those with insufficiently powerful bloodlines could not possibly withstand—wait, that's not right!

Even True Gods and Outer Gods from the outer worlds may not emerge unscathed under such divine might!

How terrifying!

Cold sweat crystallized into ice on Pang Jian's forehead.

Pang Jian suddenly felt weakness in his divine soul and an overwhelming hunger gnawed at him.

Hunger...

Pang Jian's golden divine soul darted out of the Thunder Pool and into his sea of consciousness, then unexpectedly drew nourishment from Pang Jian's entire body to restore itself.

Pang Jian carefully observed his divine soul.

His divine soul primarily drew on his body's vitality, which included his blood essence and the life energy stored within the eight leaves.

Oddly enough, it did not absorb much spiritual power, as it appeared to do little for the recovery of his divine soul.

One's vitality and blood essence...

Pang Jian fell into deep thought.

His divine soul seemed different from other human cultivators and functioned similarly to the Outer Gods.

The true bodies of the Outer Gods were powerful and capable of moving mountains. The driving force behind these colossal bodies was the immense and boundless vitality of the Outer Gods' flesh and blood.

The Outer Gods lacked a dantian and spiritual sea like the human race and instead drew power directly from their physical bodies to restore the strength of their soul.

Those with divine essence in their divine souls need to prioritize strengthening their bodies. We cannot neglect the refinement of our physical bodies!"

He communicated this revelation to the others.

A bee landed in the city ruins where the rest of the group resided and conveyed Pang Jian's discovery.

"I feel it too!" Zhou Qingchen agreed. "Every time my divine soul becomes weak and drained of power, my body gradually loses strength.

"It seems our divine souls are replenished through extracting the vitality of our flesh and blood.

"This is vastly different from the methods recorded from the past." Zhou Qingchen pulled out a Mind Soothing Pill. "This thing doesn't work anymore, though Dong Tianze's Soul Nourishing Pills still had some effect."

"Only a strong body and robust vitality can fortify the mind and benefit the divine soul." Qi Qingsong nodded. "I'll start studying and practicing body refinement techniques from today onward."

Wu Yuan and Zhao Yuanqi also wore thoughtful expressions, wondering whether their sects had any techniques related to body refinement.

Dong Tianze remained silent. He had long been using the power of the Celestial Phoenix Imprint to temper his muscles and bones.

"The opening of the Abyss, the Outer Gods' attention, and the appearance of their puppet bodies have placed us in a unique era," Zhuang Yuyan said thoughtfully. "The creators of the human cultivation system and the techniques for refining the divine soul may have originally intended to harvest the divine essence of the Outer Gods.

"The Abyss is not usually open and cultivators throughout the ages could not always obtain divine essence. This led to the simplification of the cultivation system.

"Divine souls refined without divine essence can gradually recover through spiritual power, pills, and even sleep, without placing much demand on the physical body.

"That's why the once widespread body refinement techniques have gradually faded from mainstream practice.

"I think..." Zhuang Yuyan's eyes lit up with a thought. "Every time body refinement techniques flourish in the Abyss, it's likely because the Abyss has opened, and the Outer Gods have descended in their puppet bodies."

"You may be right." Wu Yuan nodded.

"Indeed. Our Sword Pavilion and your Demon Sect have always preserved secret techniques for body refinement," Qi Qingsong agreed. "Although the body refinement techniques of long gone sects have been fully preserved, they were never passed down."

"Because the time wasn't right?" Zhou Qingchen asked.

"With the opening of the Abyss, cultivators who refine their divine souls with divine essence will likely be required to practice body refinement techniques!"

"The creators of the human cultivation system have established that hunting down Outer God Puppets and obtaining their divine essence was the way to go when refining one's divine soul."

"This unique cultivation system is designed for us to rise by stepping on the Outer Gods, pursuing the path of ultimate power through the hunt and slaughter of divine beings."

"No wonder the Outer Gods view the human race in the Abyss as an aberration and a target to be eradicated."

The group continued their heated discussion.

Meanwhile, inside the cave, Pang Jian first replenished his blood essence with the meat and blood of exotic beasts from the outer worlds before attempting to break through to the third realm of the Grand Providence Sacred Body—the Vital Blood Realm.

Rich essence blood essence gathered in Pang Jian's Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint, enveloping a drop of Pang Jian's blood.

The drop of blood was repeatedly cleansed and refined, purging all impurities before being infused with a hundredfold increase in vital blood essence.

It felt as though Pang Jian was refining a star made of blood.