Chapter 1337: Money's Eruption
Money had kept a low profile for quite a while and had spent most of his time absorbing the lightning origin energy in Xiang Shaoyun's astral cosmos sea. Just recently had he finished refining the power of his celestial horn. Even so, he had suppressed his breakthrough. Even Xiang Shaoyun started wondering why. Money replied that as a high and mighty celestial horned dragonsnake, each time he broke through, he aimed to break through several stages at once. Otherwise, he wouldn't bother.
In fact, Money was different from most other demonic beasts. Regular demonic beasts would automatically break through the moment they accumulated enough cultivation. As for Money, he could suppress his breakthrough until he thought the time was right.
Facing their current enemies, Xiang Shaoyun couldn't even be bothered to make a move himself. He wanted to see just how far Money could go. Money stopped holding himself back and unleashed all his strength, summoning numerous starfall and silver lightning bolts. The people around Xiang Shaoyun were greatly shocked. They had never expected Money to be so powerful, as he had kept a low profile.
"Little ancestor, is your mount trying to break through?" asked Xiang Feidian.
"Yes," answered Xiang Shaoyun.
"But this level of strength is a tad bit too terrifying, right?" asked Xiang Feidian.
"This is nothing. You'll see something even more terrifying in a bit," said Xiang Shaoyun confidently.
Money was still a third-stage Demon Sovereign. One could say that his cultivation level had remained the same for several years. Now that he had finally stopped suppressing himself, his new cultivation level would be no lower than fifth-stage Demon Sovereign after his breakthrough.
The power of lightning was the most destructive of the nine major powers. The moment Money entered the midst of the ice wolves, the lightning bombardment caused the wolves to start escaping in chaos.
Of course, there were some powerful wolves who did not fear the lightning bolts. These wolves tried to approach Money to tear him apart. Unfortunately for them, Money could move freely amid the rain of lightning. His celestial horn granted him an indescribable power that multiplied his offensive strength, allowing his attacks to tear through the wolves like a hot knife through butter. Even the wolf leader was bombarded to death.
Money seemed to have transformed into a dragon that moved freely amid the ice wolves, killing them with the endless rain of lightning he had summoned. The imposing army of ice wolves was no longer as imposing.
After all, Money could smite any wolf he wanted with a bolt of lightning. Because of that, the stronger wolves didn't dare to attack, and the smarter ones took a detour around Money to attack Xiang Shaoyun's group instead.
"It has been a while since I fought. This will be a warm-up," said Xiang Feidian. He had always had a warlike personality. With a roar, he transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot toward the approaching ice wolves.
Xiang Chenxi did not slack around and advanced with his purple lightning horse. Meanwhile, Xiang Keren stood silently beside Xiang Shaoyun. Xiang Shaoyun could see that Xiang Keren was the calmest among the three Xiang Clan members and also stronger than Xiang Feidian. In this group, he had the highest chance of entering the Heaven Battling Realm during this trip to the Saintforce Realm.
As for Xiang Feidian, he still needed more tempering, while Xiang Chenxi was still too young. Like Xiang Shaoyun, Xiang Chenxi needed more time to accumulate more strength. Before long, Money broke through into fourth-stage Demon Sovereign Realm. However, his breakthrough did not end. Instead, it was just starting. A new round of lightning tribulation appeared.
"Is he going to break through two stages in a row?" exclaimed Xiang Keren in astonishment.
"This fellow has always enjoyed pretending to be weak to trick his opponents," said Xiang Shaoyun with a laugh.
Money was aiming to break through more than two stages. He wanted to soar like a rocket and reach the seventh-stage. After four rounds of terrifying lightning tribulations, about two-thirds of the ice wolves had been slaughtered. As for the rest of the wolves, they had either escaped or been killed by Xiang Feidian and Xiang Chenxi.
Money's breakthrough was simply terrifying. He seemed to have set a new record for all demonic beasts. Xiang Keren, Xiang Feidian, and Xiang Chenxi were completely stunned. They had not imagined that Xiang Shaoyun's mount would be such a freak. Money was so powerful it wasn't even fair.
Xiang Shaoyun naturally did not explain that Money had suppressed his cultivation for years and had even consumed the celestial horn of his ancestors. He also didn't tell them that Money had also been absorbing his lightning origin energy and that this breakthrough was merely an accumulation of many years.
In fact, if Xiang Shaoyun only cultivated the power of lightning, his growth would be even faster. His cultivation speed was only limited by the fact that he cultivated multiple powers. Only after fully fusing all nine of his powers would he be able to advance rapidly. As of now, he had comprehended nine profundities, reaching a level few could reach, but fusing them all would be an extremely difficult feat. Fortunately, the Brightflower Land had helped increase his confidence in accomplishing that feat.
Far away, some people had noticed the ongoing battle. Those people were none other than Xiang Shaoyun's enemies, Di Mie and Di Lin.
Di Lin still had the same mask on his face. His pair of cold eyes emanated a terrifying aura. He had surprisingly advanced rapidly, reaching peak eighth-stage Soul Foundation Realm—all thanks to his fusion with the soul of Situ Mingyu's son. His enhanced soul had helped him grow speedily. With Situ Mingyu's full support, it wasn't surprising that he had grown so much.
Originally, Di Lin and Di Mie did not operate together. But since they were from the same clan and shared the same enemy, they had subsequently come together. Di Lin wanted to borrow Di Mie's strength. Thus, he willingly became Di Mie's attendant, waiting for the time when he finally surpassed Di Mie as well. He naturally wasn't willing to stay an attendant forever. In any case, this wasn't the first time he had betrayed his master.
"Xiang Shaoyun is actually still alive. The Rat Assassins are truly a pile of trash," said Di Mie resentfully.
"This isn't the first time he has escaped death. Unless you can kill him instantly, he will survive like a tenacious cockroach," said Di Lin.
"In the Saintforce Realm, I'll personally end him," said Di Mie with a ruthless glint in his eyes.
"There's no need to trouble yourself. It isn't hard to turn him into a stray dog," said Di Lin.
"What do you have in mind?" asked Di Mie.
"Force him to reveal his devil blood and expose him as a spy from the devil side. Naturally, at that time, there will be others who will deal with him for us," said Di Lin with a cold smile.
"That's a bad idea. He's the Devil Hunting Expedition's champion," said Di Mie.
"Don't worry, prince. I already have enough evidence to prove that he's a devil. Just wait for the show to start," said Di Lin confidently.