Chapter 1157 Thunder Ring Tree
The Neutral Forces consisted of a large number of forces. Besides, there were some sects and clans that used to be in the Cloud Shadow Sky’s alliance and a few other scattered forces. Now all the forces had retreated to their territories, and the Sea Dragon Star Area returned to how it was before.
The major difference was that the Cloud Shadow Sky’s fame soared to the top.
On the contrary, many people still did not know much about Liu Qingfeng and the company he started.
Because of various conflicts of interest, many sects seemed to view each other with subtle enmity.
Most forces had taken a wait-and-see att.i.tude toward the changes in the Sea Dragon Star Area.
They felt that if the Cloud Shadow Sky could not give those in the Chaotic Region a satisfying explanation, things might change again.
This was because the Guang family had sent people to visit the Cloud Shadow Sky. However, no one knew what the representatives of the Guang family had discussed with the Cloud Shadow Sky.
Ever since those people from the Heavenly Dragon Star Province left, the families in the Chaotic Region seemed to be eager to make some moves.
Perhaps they were testing the waters.
After shooting on the planet for two days, the filming of the initial scenes was finally completed.
Just as the group was about to start the return journey, Yue Wuwei looked at Zhang Han and asked, “Boy, have you forgotten something?”
“What is it?”
Zhang Han was stunned for a moment. He then said, “Is it about the Thunder Ring Tree on the Thunder Star?”
“You still remember it!” Yue Wuwei said grumpily, “I thought you had forgotten that. You’ve been cultivating the thunder method. How can you miss out on the Thunder Ring Tree? That Thunder Star is a planet covered by oceans in the Chaotic Region. People below the G.o.d Transformation Realm can’t get near it. But given your strength, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to go there now. How come you’ve paid so little attention to your cultivation?”
“It’s not that I don’t care about my cultivation.” Zhang Han pulled a wry face and replied, “It’s because I didn’t have time to consider it until now. It will be very difficult to absorb the Source of the Thunder Ring Tree. The place where the Thunder Ring Tree grows is integrated with the planet, so I can’t take the Thunder Ring Tree away.”
“Why do you know so much?” Yue Wuwei was stunned again. His eyes registered shock and wonder.
“Isn’t this guy weird?
“How come he even knows about this?”
Yue Wuwei thought of how hard he tried to uproot the Thunder Ring Tree back then. It turned out that he couldn’t get it done no matter what.
If Yue Wuwei used brute force, he could destroy it directly. But after thinking about it, he decided not to do that, so the tree remained there. For this reason, Yue Wuwei had been aware that there was such a place.
But when Yue Wuwei mentioned it to Zhang Han, Zhang Han’s reply showed that he knew that place as well, which shocked Yue Wuwei again.
“Reading is very important,” Zhang Han said with a chuckle.
After doing some thinking, Zhang Han said, “Let’s go there right away.”
Zhang Han would spend some time cultivating the Great Void Thunder Scripture every day. Each session of cultivation would only last for a short time.
His understanding of the thunder method, especially the Thunderbolt Crocodile on the first tier of the Thunder Tower, was almost sophisticated.
Absorbing the energy of the Thunder Ring Tree would definitely make Zhang Han stronger.
However, Zhang Han planned to wait until his comprehension of the Great Void Thunder Scripture reached a certain extent before using the Thunder Ring Tree to trigger the ultimate enlightenment.
That was the ideal scenario. The Great Void Thunder Scripture was still too abstruse. Zhang Han hadn’t grasped its true essence yet. He was also a little astounded by this. After all, he had already reached the Yuan Ying Realm Middle-Stage, yet he had only managed to comprehend a smattering of this method.
“Could this be an advanced method devised for immortals?”
After Zhang Han and Yue Wuwei were done talking, they entered the aircraft.
When the shooting was completed, Mengmeng and the others went to where Li Mu was to take a look by aircraft. Then, they went back to pick up Zhang Han and Yue Wuwei.
“We are going to the Chaotic Region. We’ll come back in about a week. Zhao Feng, tell Uncle Liu that our people should be more heedful recently. If there is anything unexpected, put our people’s safety above all things,” Zhang Han said.
“Yes.”
Zhao Feng went to pa.s.s on the message at once.
“Why are we going to the Chaotic Region?” Zhou Fei inquired.
“Because we need to go get something there,” Zhang Han replied.
“Isn’t the Chaotic Region very dangerous? Are the 11 families living there?” Chen Changqing asked.
“The place we are going to visit is far from the area where those families are.” Yue Wuwei said with a smile on his face. “Horizontally, the area of the Chaotic Region is about half the size of the Sea Dragon Star Area. But not every inch of it is very dangerous. The place where those 11 families live is relatively safe. As for the vertical area, it is even larger.”
“So the place we are going to is in the dangerous area, isn’t it? What are there in the Chaotic Region, Elder Yue?” Ah Hu asked.
“Well, the environment in the Chaotic Region is quite harsh. If we’re lucky, we may come across Starry Sky Beasts,” Yue Wuwei replied.
“The Chaotic Region…”
Li Mu tucked his chin in fear. He knew very well how terrifying that place was.
“If we’re going there, I have to tell my father first.”
As he spoke, Li Mu fetched out the communication device and went to the side to make the call.
Zhao Feng also went to inform Liu Qingfeng of this.
The others started to discuss the trip.
“Can’t believe we’re going to the Chaotic Region so soon!”
“Nina, have you been to the Chaotic Region?” Mengmeng asked.
“No, I haven’t. I heard that s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps are likely to be devoured by that place,” Nina answered, a trace of dolefulness flickering in the depths of her eyes.
“What about Thunder Kings?”
“Even Thunder Kings can be devoured, too.”
The group didn’t go back to the Dragon Base Star.
After they noticed the others, the Thunder King they rode directly jumped into the secondary s.p.a.ce and headed for the Chaotic Region.
Soon, Li Mu told them a message.
“Senior Zhang, the Grand Master in the Tiger Talisman Royal Family is named Hu Xiao. He’s learned about what has happened. He is the Ma family’s Guardian Elder. My father’s friend in the Guang family has told him that the Ma family in the Chaotic Region has already sent people to investigate the situation in the Sea Dragon Star Area. After they learned that Senior Lo and his people had left, they seem to be planning to make some moves. They prepare to discuss this matter with the other families in the Chaotic Region.”
“I see,” Zhang Han responded tersely.
Seeing Zhang Han’s nonchalant att.i.tude, Li Mu admired him even more.
Zhang Han had remained calm in the face of such formidable enemies. This kind of composure was not something that ordinary people could possess.
Two days later, the group arrived in the Chaotic Region.
“Alert. We are about to leave the safe zone of the secondary s.p.a.ce. Should we jump out of the secondary s.p.a.ce now?”
“Yes, go ahead,” Yue Wuwei said flatly.
“Hiss!”
Li Mu and Nina instantly gasped.
“We’re leaving the safe zone and still traveling in the secondary s.p.a.ce?
“If we traveled to a place like the Blue Sand Wind Domain, our s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p would be devoured in an instant.”
But what they didn’t know was that a layer of solid protective energy had already shrouded the Thunder King.
In this way, the Thunder King continued advancing in the secondary s.p.a.ce.
Yet, even Yue Wuwei was surprised that they didn’t come across bad weather or other obstacles along the way.
“We’re jumping out of the secondary s.p.a.ce.”
After traveling for merely five hours in the Chaotic Region, the Thunder King left the secondary s.p.a.ce.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
The moment the Thunder King leaped to the outside, the view ahead gave everyone a fright.
In the void of the universe in front of the Thunder King was a cl.u.s.ter of golden clouds.
Upon a closer look, they found that it was not a cl.u.s.ter of clouds at all. Instead, it was the Cosmos Quicksand.
It was like a sandstorm that had engulfed the void ahead of them, which looked extremely shocking.
Even the secondary s.p.a.ce had been affected by it.
“This is the Cosmos Quicksand. It’s even more horrible than the Blue Sand Wind Domain,” said Yue Wuwei.
The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p kept flying forward.
The Thunder King traveled very fast. When it reached the edge of the Cosmos Quicksand, the people on it heard faint rustling sounds.
No one could tell how deep the Cosmos Quicksand was.
“Alert. Violent energy detected. We’re unable to defend against it.”
The Thunder King’s system raised an alarm in a robotic voice. It sounded rather helpless.
Not all the places in the universe were suitable for s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps to travel in.
When a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p encountered the Cosmos Quicksand, it was like a car on Earth that drove to a very b.u.mpy road.
“Advance,” Yue Wuwei ordered in a cool voice.
The Thunder King continued traveling forward. Soon, it came to the edge of the Cosmos Quicksand.
A beam of golden light covered the Thunder King, which directly plummeted into the Cosmos Quicksand.
The environment became claustrophobic and stifling.
All that one could see was quicksand. It was as if the Thunder King had been swallowed. It made everyone on the Thunder King very uncomfortable.
Fortunately, this didn’t last long. The Thunder King flew at full speed for 10 minutes before pa.s.sing the Cosmos Quicksand.
After that, what they saw ahead was a vast area.
“What a beautiful place!”
There seemed to be a separate world in front of them.
Not far ahead, there were dozens of planets in the middle area. They were at an apt distance from each other.
The group then saw a planet with no dark clouds but was covered with lightning.
“Here we are,” said Yue Wuwei.
“That is the planet we’re heading for?”
“I can’t see it clearly. It’s a little too dazzling because the lightning flashes too frequently there. It seems to be the sun in this galaxy.”
“…”
As everyone was talking about the planet, the Thunder King sped forward.
After flying for more than an hour, they finally approached their destination.
The size of this planet was a little beyond their expectations. No one had thought that it could be so big. It was almost twice as big as the Eagle Wing Star.
In front of this planet, the Thunder King seemed as small as an ant.
“Grrr!”
As the Thunder King continued traveling forward to approach the planet, several wild and cold sound waves abruptly swept over.
It caused the intelligent system on the Thunder King to set off alarms.
“What is howling?”
Everyone was taken aback.
The camera on the Thunder King turned left and right. Finally, everyone saw from the screen that a pack of dozens of black wolves, each of which had two wings on the back, was swiftly approaching from the left rear.
These Starry Sky Beasts had seen the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p as their prey!
“They’re Winged Demonic Wolves.” Yue Wuwei glanced at the wolves and said, “The alpha wolf has the power of the G.o.d Transformation Realm. Once they have set their eyes on their prey, they won’t give up so easily.”
“These are strange beasts that can fly in the void.” Li Mu was somewhat dazed by what he saw.
He had never seen any Starry Sky Beast before.
He had realized that although the Sea Dragon Star Area appeared to be very large, as Senior Zhang had said, it was actually very small.
“There are just dozens of them. How dare these wolves prey on us?”
Zhang Han laughed.
In his eyes, these demonic wolves were just like harmless pets.
The Thunder King continued to move forward.
The Winged Demonic Wolves were getting closer and closer. Some of them even bared their sharp fangs. The alpha wolf had white wings and was staring at the Thunder King with hostility.
These wolves had finally met some foreign creatures. It seemed that they would not let the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p pa.s.s through.
“Coo, coo!”
Tiny Tot suddenly chittered and flew out of Mengmeng’s schoolbag.
Like a child who had just woken up, it could not stay quiet any longer.
Tiny Tot looked around and zoomed to the door near the corridor. It flapped its wings a few times, as though hoping to open the door. But the door did not open. Tiny Tot then looked ahead and fell into deep thought.
It seemed to be wondering how to open the door.
“Does Tiny Tot want to go out?” Mengmeng said in a trance.
“It seems so.” Zi Yan looked at Zhang Han and asked, “Why does it want to go out?”
“It must have sensed the aura of the strange beasts outside, so it wants to go out and stretch itself.” Zhang Han chuckled. A strange look appeared in his eyes. “Just let it go out.”
“Is it okay for Tiny Tot to go out by itself?” Mengmeng was a little worried. “What if it gets lost?”
“It won’t.”
Zhang Han laughed and said, “Tiny Tot has belonged to the cosmos since it was born. You can’t expect it to sleep in your little schoolbag forever.”
“Oh, okay. Tiny Tot, be careful when you go out.” Mengmeng ran over and gently patted Tiny Tot on the head.
“Coo, coo.”
“Buzz!”
As Tiny Tot chittered, the door at the end of the corridor slid open. Tiny Tot then crossed the corridor and came to the door leading to the outside.
“Buzz!”
The moment the door was opened, Tiny Tot seemed to be sucked out.
Tiny Tot was in the form of a penguin. Seeing it being sucked into outer s.p.a.ce without putting up any resistance, everyone found this a little bit strange.
“Grrr!”
Those Winged Demonic Wolves suddenly saw Tiny Tot. In an instant, they turned into jets of light and rushed over at an extremely fast speed.
This was because they had sensed the aura of life. On the way, their craving for blood was revealed in their cold eyes.
From the screen, everyone saw dozens of Winged Demonic Wolves advance on Tiny Tot.
When the pack came closer, they finally saw that each of those Winged Demonic Wolves was over 10 meters tall. The white-winged alpha wolf was more than 20 meters tall.
Tiny Tot seemed too small in front of them.
“Tiny Tot!” Mengmeng cried out in fear.
Zi Yan also clenched her hands nervously and said, “It hasn’t transformed into its true form yet. It’ll be fine.”
“Its true form?”
Li Mu was puzzled.
While he was in a daze—
“Coo.”
Everyone present heard an extremely ethereal cry.
“Swis.h.!.+”
A black mist wafted over.
Under everyone’s gaze, Tiny Tot suddenly began to transform.
In an instant, it turned into a huge creature that was nearly 50 meters long and had slightly short wings.
“Rumble!”
Li Mu felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
“f.u.c.k, what the h.e.l.l is this?”
Tiny Tot’s tail feathers and wings were both blue and sparkling.
It was surrounded by a black mist.
Its eyes were gleaming with wit. When it looked at the Winged Demonic Wolves ahead, it actually showed a look as if it was staring at delicious food.
“Coo!” Tiny Tot opened its mouth and chittered.
Then, it flapped its wings.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
Tiny Tot swooped down rapidly.
Though its body was enormous, it was not c.u.mbersome or slow in the slightest.
The Winged Demonic Wolves were dumbstruck.
Having sensed the terrible aura of the Ancient Cursed Roc, the dozens of Winged Demonic Wolves couldn’t help trembling. They skidded to a halt and wanted to retreat.
But it was too late.
“Sizzle!”
Tiny Tot’s eyes emitted daunting black light.
The mist spread out, quickly enveloping the dozens of Winged Demonic Wolves. Tiny Tot’s aura was not any bit less imposing than that Demonic Ghost King dressed as a clown.
When the black mist faded away, all the Winged Demonic Wolves were gone.
“Gulp.”
Li Mu swallowed hard, feeling that his throat was extremely dry.
He said in surprise, “Is Tiny Tot a spirit beast in the G.o.d Transformation Realm?”
“Spirit beast? Tiny Tot is an Ancient Cursed Roc. Do you understand?” Yue Xiaonao rolled her eyes and corrected.
“An Ancient Cursed Roc?” Li Mu’s pupils contracted.
Li Mu didn’t know the specific meaning of these words. But he knew that the roc was a kind of extremely terrifying creature in the legend.
It was a powerful overlord that could travel across the Cultivation World without scruples.
“Good heavens!”
“How can this powerful behemoth be named Tiny Tot?”
With a deeply astounded look on his face, Li Mu exclaimed, “It’s too scary.”
“Tiny Tot has grown bigger again.” Zi Yan was relieved by now. She locked arms with Zhang Han and said softly, “How come it has already reached the G.o.d Transformation Realm?”
“The strength of strange ancient beasts can’t be measured solely with the system of cultivation realms.” Zhang Han thought for a moment and said, “Tiny Tot has awakened several times by now, and its combat ability should be in the G.o.d Transformation Realm. The key is that it may not be able to control its strength well yet. The awakening of its power at the early stage is intermittent. It has just begun to grow. It will be more powerful in the future.”
“Oh, I see.” Zi Yan nodded slightly. As she looked at the Cursed Roc outside, a smile climbed onto her face.
“I never thought my pet could become so powerful so soon.
“Its way of cultivation is very similar to mine, too. It never intentionally cultivates. Its progress in cultivation solely depends on undergoing awakenings.
“But when can I be more powerful?”
Zi Yan began to ponder.
It seemed that she couldn’t control her progress in cultivation at all.
“It’s about time. Boy, get going. Are you still waiting for me to show you the way?”
Yue Wuwei suddenly threw a hard look at Zhang Han.
“Huh?”
Zhang Han was slightly taken aback.
Noticing Yue Wuwei’s envious look, Zhang Han simmered with laughter.
Even Yue Wuwei was jealous of the Ancient Cursed Roc.
“Okay.”
Zhang Han smiled and said, “Honey, Mengmeng, Mom, Dad, I’ll go out now. This task will take me about four days. The other planets here look nice. If you are bored, go visit those planets.”
“You don’t need a Protector?” Yue Wuwei asked. He was slightly stunned.
“Good question. Look at this planet. It’s covered with thunder and lightning. It’s scary. Why don’t you ask Elder Yue to accompany you?” Rong Jiali said with concern.
“Haha, I’ll be fine. It is no big deal.”
Zhang Han chuckled.
A Protector?
Zhang Han never needed one. During the years he lived in the Cultivation World, he had never had any Protectors. Still, he had been to places a hundred times more dangerous than this one.
Although Zhang Han could handle this on his own, his family could not stop worrying about his safety.
As the saying goes, a mother always worries about her son if he is not around her.
Rong Jiali was not the only one worried. Even Zhang Mu, Zhang Guangyou, Zi Yan, and Mengmeng did not intend to go anywhere else to have fun.
“Daddy, we’ll just wait for you here. Do take care of yourself,” Mengmeng reminded Zhang Han with a worried face.
Zi Yan couldn’t help laughing. Now that Mengmeng had cautioned Zhang Han, Zi Yan felt she didn’t even need to say anything more.
“Okay.”
Zhang Han beamed and stroked Mengmeng’s head. Then, he walked into the corridor leading to the cabin door. After he stepped into the void of the universe, he turned into a ray of light and disappeared into the sea of thunderbolts under everyone’s watch.
This planet was completely covered by oceans.
It could even be said that the surface of this planet was solely const.i.tuted by water. The one thing growing on the surface was the Thunder Ring Tree.
Zhang Han soon arrived above the sea and sensed the aura of thunderbolts around him.
“Rumble!”
Thunderbolts of various sizes appeared out of thin air. Some directly struck Zhang Han.
“Sizzle!”
Instead of feeling uncomfortable, Zhang Han actually enjoyed being struck by thunderbolts.
“I haven’t had this feeling for a long time.”
Zhang Han stretched himself.
When the thunderbolts. .h.i.t him, he felt slightly itchy and numb.
Each thunderbolt carried a small amount of energy, which would be absorbed by Zhang Han’s Thunderbolt Mark.
These days, Zhang Han’s Taiyi Wood Thunder had begun to show its power.
In the Cultivation World, some sects knew the art of controlling thunderbolts, which could be very powerful. The skills they performed looked like fancy thunder methods.
However, there were very few people who cultivated the orthodox thunder methods. And those who did all had gained great opportunities.
When Zhang Han first obtained the Great Void Thunder Scripture, he knew that there might not be another thunder method like this one in the entire Cultivation World.
The cultivation of many secret skills and cultivation methods had an upper limit. After reaching a certain level, cultivators needed to switch to other cultivation methods to make further progress. However, Zhang Han couldn’t even see the upper limit of the two cultivation methods he had been cultivating.
The only person who might know the answer was perhaps Yue Wuwei’s mysterious master.
“Thunderbolts… Thunder Tribulations…”
While stepping forward in the air, Zhang Han slowly looked up at the sky and murmured, “Control is not about controlling power but controlling myself.
“The thunder method is in line with nature.
“The great void is streamlined. The thunderbolts are majestic. They seem to be there but also seem not.
“Combined, they are a complete ent.i.ty. Scattered, they are thunder and lightning. Folded, they are shapeless. Unfolded, there are detailed images inside them behind the fuzziness. The wonders of the Great Void Thunder Scripture lie in the Spiritual Stage. If I learn the thunder method…”
The Great Void Thunder Scripture was a very subtle and mysterious cultivation method.
Even Zhang Han still couldn’t fully understand it.
But when one reached a certain level, one’s comprehension would be enhanced. Then one would achieve personal growth.
Now the time was ripe.
Zhang Han was making gradual progress in comprehending the Great Void Thunder Scripture.
To grasp this cultivation method was kind of similar to learning about writing code. All kinds of code flickering on the computer might make ordinary people dizzy, but a hacker would not feel this way.
The art of thunderbolts was like computer code. Some parts of it had puzzled Zhang Han for a long time.
However, in this world full of thunderbolts, Zhang Han began to shake off the mental shackles.
It was as if light finally shed on him after a storm.