After taking his leave, Li Guanqi wandered aimlessly between heaven and earth.
Ever since absorbing the Demon King Physique, he had gained a deeper understanding of his Spirit-Devouring Dao Physique.
Even the sword spirit knew precious little about it, only that such a unique constitution was exceptionally rare even in the Immortal Realm.
Yet within his own perception, he could clearly sense something deeper.
It seemed...
His unique constitution was not merely about absorbing others' physiques to claim them as his own.
Absorbing another person's physique, such as the Demon King Physique, was merely the first step!
The Spirit-Devouring Dao Physique was slowly refining and assimilating it. Perhaps in the near future, he would no longer exhibit any of the Demon King Physique's demonic qi characteristics at all, but rather convert its strength entirely for his own use!
Thinking about it this way, much became clear to Li Guanqi.
If he had opportunities to absorb other unique constitutions in the future, he could hardly control multiple disparate physiques simultaneously, could he?
If the abilities of those physiques could all be assimilated and made his own, then all that power would ultimately serve as fuel to sustain the Spirit-Devouring Dao Physique.
His Spirit-Devouring Dao Physique was like the trunk of a towering tree, and the leaves upon it were traits like the Demon King Physique!
A subtle smile touched the corners of Li Guanqi's lips. He knew this would be his greatest asset in conquering the Immortal Realm!
Suddenly!
Li Guanqi sensed a mysterious, profound aura floating within the void.
His eyes flickered with thought. Before he knew how much time had passed, he found himself back in the Great Xia Domain.
Yet to his pleasant surprise, he discovered a natural thunder pool spanning ten thousand zhang across within the void!
Silver light flickered around the perimeter of the thunder pool, a clear sign that it had previously been hidden inside a domain fragment. Now that the domain fragment had crumbled, the thunder pool stood revealed.
Not only did it contain exceptionally pure thunder spiritual power, but it also held extraordinarily rare thunder origin!
Standing at the edge of the pool, Li Guanqi saw radiant purple spiritual liquid surging incessantly in its center!
Without another word, he stepped straight into the thunder pool.
The moment he entered, the pool boiled violently, furiously lashing out at him as an intruder.
Thunder roared. If an ordinary cultivator newly arrived in the Mahayana realm were to stumble into power of this caliber, their only fate would likely be death and the destruction of their Dao.
Yet to Li Guanqi, such attacks were mere child's play, not even worth worrying about.
Without even resorting to his Dragon Transformation, he used his bare flesh to withstand the surrounding thunderbolts.
Gradually, a numb tingling spread through his flesh and blood. Li Guanqi circulated the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art with all his might, beginning to refine this raw power.
As the refinement progressed, his physical body grew noticeably tougher and sturdier!
Without a second thought, Li Guanqi tossed Jiuxiao straight across to the other side of the thunder pool!
*Roar!*
Forcibly awakened, Jiuxiao let out an aggrieved draconic roar.
Yet right afterward, the dragon's roars turned thoroughly delighted.
Manifesting his true form, Jiuxiao encircled the thunder pool with his massive body.
Thunder flickered across his dragon scales as he opened his maw wide, swallowing the surrounding lightning like a great whale gulping down the sea.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and paid him no more heed.
This thunder pool had likely been nurtured inside that domain fragment for roughly ten thousand years to have grown to such an immense scale.
With a pool this vast, there was more than enough power even with Jiuxiao gorging himself.
At that moment, Pengluo popped out as well.
Staring at the thunder jade marrow in the heart of the pool, its eyes practically gleamed green.
"Master, can you hook me up with some of that stuff? I feel like it'd do wonders for me!"
Li Guanqi paused, looking amused. "Are you sure you're not just trying to grab whatever looks good?"
A fluster flashed across Pengluo's face. Planting its hands on its hips, it stood on his shoulder and puffed out its chest self-righteously.
"How could that be?! *Ahem*... It really is useful to me!"
Li Guanqi gave a soft chuckle and did not press the matter, making a mental note to save some for Pengluo later.
As Li Guanqi tempered his physical body, he drew closer and closer to the center of the thunder pool.
The thunder spiritual liquid at the center spanned ten zhang across, holding an astonishing reserve.
Taking a deep breath and enduring the sharp ache of lightning piercing through his body, Li Guanqi stepped into the center of the pool.
Suddenly!
A bucket-sized purple thunder spirit darted out of the spiritual liquid.
Shifting its form ceaselessly like a ball of cotton, the shimmering purple spirit noticed the intruders. Its body fluctuated violently, darkening into a deep, ominous violet!
An immense, overwhelming pressure blanketed the entire area.
This aura was not the least bit inferior to that of a late Mahayana realm cultivator!
Provoked by the aura, Jiuxiao reared up and unleashed continuous dragon roars!
Yet immediately after, the thunder pool churned, and under the thunder spirit's command, countless bolts of lightning condensed into chains that bound Jiuxiao securely in place!
Seeing this, Li Guanqi did not panic in the slightest. Crossing his arms, an amused smirk appeared on his face.
His eyes gleamed as he prepared to verify the theory in his heart.
The instant Li Guanqi closed his eyes, everything around him fell dead silent.
*Buzz!*
A mysterious, silvery-white mark materialized on his glabella.
*Boom!*
Tens of thousands of silver threads burst from Li Guanqi's body, instantly ensnaring the thunder spirit midair.
Li Guanqi snapped his eyes open and muttered softly under his breath, "Devour Spirit!"
*Buzz!*
An irresistible power erupted in an instant. This power bore some resemblance to the sword spirit's Spirit Absolution, yet compared to her methods, the might unleashed by Li Guanqi's Spirit Devouring Dao Physique was far more overbearing.
Forcible plundering!
It was just like the sword spirit's ability to plunder the Sword Ruins of others.
The thunder spirit turned into a beam of spiritual light and plunged straight into Li Guanqi's dantian.
As it darted around wildly inside, the origin spirit within his body raised a hand and suppressed it.
In the end, it condensed into a thunder bead that floated beside Li Guanqi's origin spirit, circling it smoothly.
Only after a long while did Li Guanqi open his eyes, looking somewhat stunned.
The thunder bead formed by this thunder spirit...
It could actually help him accelerate the circulation of primal energy within his body, and it significantly enhanced the speed at which he refined spiritual qi!
With his origin spirit controlling the bead formed from the thunder spirit, his cultivation and refinement speed was at least ten percent faster than before!
Though a ten percent boost might seem modest, Li Guanqi was already a powerhouse exceedingly close to the half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm.
A ten percent increase was a permanent advantage; he had never heard of any natural treasure capable of achieving such an effect.
Around Li Guanqi's wrist rested a strand of purple beads—a bracelet forged by Su Xuan using supreme might to refine and merge celestial spiritual energy, which likewise accelerated his cultivation.
Dragon scales manifested across Li Guanqi's skin, twin horns sprouted from his head, and divine patterns spread across him!
Sitting cross-legged in the heart of the thunder pool's spiritual liquid, he drifted into a profound, wondrous state of meditative enlightenment.
The surrounding spiritual liquid churned vigorously around him as waves of mysterious Great Dao power rippled outward into the void!
In the distance, the sword spirit's figure slowly emerged. Gazing at the youth immersed in enlightenment, she murmured softly, "Is he finally going to touch the laws of the Tribulation Transcendence realm...?"
Chapter 1273