Chapter 272: Divine Transformation
Laws
A special form, inferior to the Dao, but superior to the classic attributes embedded in the spiritual root from birth.
The Law of Fire, the Law of Ice, the Law of Darkness… in the classical sense, there can be many such laws, but the main ones still have similarities with the basic attributes of nature and Qi.
At the threshold of Divine Transformation, a cultivator must determine which law they can best align with. And often, the most suitable law will be the one that corresponds to their most developed attribute.
Xie Qing did not have any attributes as such – his spiritual root was nothing special, which is why the classic style of Qi did not suit him well.
Therefore, he needed a long time to think and find the most suitable one.
Thunder, thunder.
Choosing the right location, devoid of any life, he began to prepare for the Heavenly Punishment.
“Damn. Can’t they cut off this annoying thing? From Spiritual Ascension onwards, every breakthrough will be accompanied by Heavenly Sorrow. Another problem on my exhausted ass,” Xie Qing thought, aggressively scratching the back of his head.
His mood had been spoiled since the morning, but the fact remained – overcoming Heavenly Sorrow was the first step to becoming a cultivator of Divine Transformation.
The main reason for his delay was that he had previously hit a wall because he had little understanding of how the laws worked. But, whether it was due to the environment or something else, he managed to gain a slight enlightenment.
“There were hints that I would be able to understand the essence of my law during Heavenly Sorrow. What a fortune teller…”
***
Closing his eyes and calming down, Xie Qing waited for an hour. During this time, the sky thundered, and dark clouds began to gather over his head. Any cultivator passing by would immediately flee upon realizing that someone was trying to overcome Heavenly Sorrow.
And then, when the heavens turned darker than night, lightning struck.
“Now!”
Xie Qing’s eyes shone, and a golden dome appeared around his body, serving as the first defense.
Thunder. THUNDER!
And the Heavens, as if seeing this act as disrespectful, thundered with renewed force, and then lightning, colored in sky-blue, descended from the Heavens, its brilliance literally blinding the onlookers.
And, with a loud thunder and the shaking of the earth, as if a titan had jumped, Xie Qing met his first lightning strike.
The golden dome lasted a maximum of five minutes, which was not enough for full preparation, but it was enough to at least mentally prepare.
With a delayed thunder, the lightning struck directly into Xie Qing’s crown, as if there was an antenna there, and then penetrated his body, causing chaos inside.
“Ugh!”
Xie Qing’s face contorted in pain – but the expression was not so harsh, rather just annoyed. He gritted his teeth so hard that there was a familiar crunch.
“Damn!”
At the moment when Qi rebels against its master, it causes serious injuries, as in this situation. Blood began to flow from Xie Qing’s nose, which he successfully ignored.
Then, something deep in his blood began to awaken, and all the lightning that entered his body began to flow into the circulatory system and suddenly be consumed by something.
Xie Qing could only sigh in relief. He opened his eyes and wiped the cold sweat.
“This is really tough. With each new level, Heavenly Sorrow becomes harder and harder to overcome. Ugh…”
And then, politely interrupting his complaints, the familiar sound of a system notification rang out – ding!
[Golden Dragon Bloodline: 8%]
“E-eight?!”
Xie Qing’s eyes widened in shock. He had, of course, assumed that dragons could absorb Heavenly Lightning, but he never thought it could help his bloodline.
A smile involuntarily appeared on his face…
Thunder… thunder… BOOM!
…which disappeared immediately after the second strike.
“Ugh!”
Groaning like some old man, Xie Qing resentfully pursed his lips when his hour of fun was interrupted by lightning that struck his body again. The pain was such that it felt like every particle of his skin was being slowly but surely torn off.
And the scene repeated itself. Although the Qi in the spiritual channels initially became tangled to such an extent that it began to involuntarily leak out of the body of its user, that is, Xie Qing…
Further, things went much smoother. The lightning was again captured in the circulatory system, the golden red blood cells began to absorb the Essence of Lightning, and then with lightning speed began to “multiply”.
Ding…
Another notification came, but Xie Qing could not concentrate. He was tormented by severe pain, which seemed to come from the depths of his soul.
The only thing that helped in this situation was his self-control, which had been honed over so many years.
And so…
Two days passed.
The eighth lightning strike, which Xie Qing managed to absorb with difficulty, struck. From the side, all his clothes now looked like the rags of a beggar, and his own exhausted appearance and blood-soaked eyes, lips, and nose were definitely not the most pleasant sight.
Moreover, his body had significantly thinned, which was associated with numerous exhaustion of Qi that leaked out of his body under the influence of the chaos within the spiritual channels.
Thunder… thunder…
“Son of a bitch…”
Xie Qing wearily groaned, even his voice became much quieter and hoarser, as if he had been suffering from thirst for hundreds and hundreds of years.
However, the Heavens seemed to mock him, sending another lightning strike that hit his poor crown, once again causing chaos inside his body.
***
“Hey…”
Xu Mei trembled, and her hands clenched into fists as a furious gaze filled with hostility turned to the beautiful silver-haired woman in front of her.
“What the hell are you doing?” Xu Mei almost growled.
“What am I doing? That’s my question, stupid bitch. Where are you going?!” Zhang Mei replied with obvious irritation.
“I. Am. Going. To. Help. My. Disciple!”
Xu Mei, in response, hissed each word through her teeth, as if resolutely explaining her position, and with furious steps approached Zhang Mei almost face to face.
Zhang Mei, not at all taken aback, just snorted, looking at the woman with contempt.
“It seems you don’t trust him very much? What the hell. You’re acting like you’re his mother. Remember, bitch, he’s already in his twenties! He’s an adult! Growing a flower in a greenhouse, he won’t survive in the outside world!”
“You…”
Xu Mei frowned, but after Zhang Mei’s words, her aggression decreased somewhat. After all, the woman was not entirely wrong. Her attitude towards Xie Qing was indeed somewhat overprotective, as she did not want to see even minor wounds on him.
However, by doing so, she did not realize that she was simply depriving him of the most important quality for a cultivator – experience!
“Do you think you’re the only one who finds it unpleasant to see him suffer?” Zhang Mei continued, her eyes narrowing, which made her look very piercing in this situation. “I also care, because this brat’s Heavenly Sorrow has always been abnormal. However, I won’t do anything until he faces REAL danger. Do you understand?”
“Hmph. What do you understand?” Xu Mei dismissively waved her hand, truly looking angry. “I can’t just sit and watch him suffer. I…”
“We suffered too!” Zhang Mei roared in anger, making Xu Mei jump in surprise. Seeing the shock on her friend’s face, Zhang Mei clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Of course, we are inferior to him in talent, even you, Xu Mei. However! We have endured many hardships! We have suffered worse injuries, been on the brink of death, while our peers enjoyed life. But look at us now! Those who squandered money and did nothing are now six feet under with their families, while we are still alive and have every chance to become Immortals!”
“…”
“You’re trying to help, but no! You’re hindering! Hindering his development. If he remains at the same level, whose fault is it? Whose, if not yours, Xu Mei?!”
It seemed that the sudden outburst of anger and raised voice from the usually calm Zhang Mei was so confusing that Xu Mei froze and simply listened to everything she was being told.
Liu Yang silently hovered in the sky, watching the quarrel between the two. At first, she wanted to intervene, but it seemed there was no need.
She turned her gaze to Xie Qing and smiled bitterly.
“One young man, so many problems. And who would have thought that Zhang Mei… sigh…”
The old woman could only sigh and shake her head. Her friends had long grown up and started to become independent. And most importantly…
A new light had appeared in their lives. Liu Yang blinked her eyes and, seeing the quarrel of the two women, thought.
“I should make my disciple show more persistence.”
Liu Yang’s head began to ache with pain. On one side were mature women, as old as the world, and on the other, her disciple, an absolute sweetheart, but very young.”
