Chapter 1169: Battle the Divine Damnation
Ye Mo, seeking to undergo his divine damnation, noted the unusually dense spirit chi in this location. Perhaps due to the Blue Bead, it was less frigid than other areas. His previous lightning storage formation had exploded at the Hollow Spirit state, but this time, having learned from that experience, he had set up seven lightning storage formations and one lightning direction formation. He doubted seven wouldn't suffice to contain the divine damnation's power.
After establishing a spirit gathering formation with spirit crystals, the area was immediately shrouded in a thick spirit chi mist. He knew this wasn't solely from the formation; a spirit range must be present. This discovery delighted Ye Mo, as he was in need of spirit ranges. The abundance of spirit marrow ponds and spirit chi now made sense. However, the divine damnation took precedence; he'd excavate the spirit range afterward. He left the “female bathing pond” undisturbed but had no such qualms about the spirit range.
Consuming a Break Spirit Pill, Ye Mo spun his octagonal cauldron above his head while chanting the Three Birth Chant. Half a day later, his cultivation essence surged, nearing its breaking point. Suddenly, darkness descended, and dozens of lightning arcs, thick as a man's arm, rained down.
Ye Mo remained unfazed, attacking with Zi Xu. The initial barrage of thirty-six arcs, however, were effortlessly blocked by the octagonal cauldron; Zi Xu proved unnecessary. Ye Mo felt a pang of dissatisfaction; his power had grown too swiftly, and this powerful divine damnation offered no immediate benefit. He stowed the cauldron. It wouldn't do to have it completely negate the divine tribulation.
As soon as the cauldron was removed, another rumble announced the arrival of thirty-six even thicker arcs. This time, Zi Xu was unleashed, its countless purple sword rays clashing vibrantly with the lightning, producing a dazzling spectacle.
The remaining twenty or so arcs struck Ye Mo directly. His clothes and armor were instantly destroyed, but he felt no shock. While the difference between peak Hollow Spirit state and peak Nascent Soul state was tenfold, the divine damnation's intensity had only increased a few times. His power was growing far faster.
Crack! Lightning arcs struck Ye Mo's body, fracturing his bones, searing his flesh, and releasing a burning odor. Yet, he felt exhilarated. He was finally reaping the benefits of directly confronting the divine damnation, refining lightning and increasing his power at an accelerated rate. Though his skin, flesh, and bones were ravaged, they recovered astonishingly fast as his power surged.
The second wave concluded with the shattering of Ye Mo's meridians and the influx of immensely powerful energy. His cultivation essence nearly solidified, his essence spirit far denser. He had broken through to the Body Condensation state—a breakthrough achieved before the divine damnation had even fully completed, a first for him.
Thrilled by this drastic increase in power, unperturbed by the cold, he dismissed Zi Xu, eagerly awaiting the next wave. He wanted to test his limits; after two waves, he was already in Body Condensation state. How far could his power reach if he absorbed the entire divine damnation?
Any observer would have deemed him a madman: naked in the icy wilderness, inviting the lightning's fury.
Rumble! Eighteen arcs, fewer but twice as thick, descended. Undeterred, Ye Mo countered with eleven Lightning Swords, directly engaging the divine lightning.
Crack! The black lightning arcs clashed with the blue, creating a spectacular display of explosive energy that tore through the surroundings. While his Lightning Swords paled in comparison to the divine damnation's power, three or four could cripple a single arc.
His excitement mounted, he absorbed the lightning even faster, enhancing the power of his eleven Lightning Swords. Before the divine damnation's end, he reached the peak of Body Condensation state, level one.
The divine damnation, seemingly angered by his defiance, continued relentlessly. The arcs thickened, becoming as thick as a man's legs, while his eleven Lightning Swords improved; two were now needed to disable a single arc.
The spectacle was extraordinary. A cultivator witnessing this would mistake it for an illusion, not a struggle for survival but a reckless challenge to the divine damnation itself.
Cultivators typically strive for peace and tranquility at higher cultivation levels to lessen the impact of divine damnation and reduce heart demon pressure. No one had ever fought it like Ye Mo. The divine damnation, it seemed, possessed a spirit, and Ye Mo's audacity had provoked it. A Body Condensation state divine damnation would usually have ended by now.
But Ye Mo's continued, the arcs growing denser and thicker. He reveled in the feeling, his power expanding, the divine damnation proving far from ineffective. He devoured the lightning power at an increasingly rapid rate, strengthening his eleven Lightning Swords until a single sword could cripple a single arc. Any Lightning Cloud Sect cultivator would recognize this was far beyond the standard eleven Lightning Swords; none had ever been this powerful.
Crack! With another lightning sword crippling an arc, Ye Mo's heart swelled. He addressed the sword, “From now on, you shall be called Lightning Sword.”
He now had an attack comparable to the Illusion Cloud Hua Mountain Strike. The bottleneck in his power shattered; he was at Body Condensation state, level two. A heart demon appeared, but Ye Mo was unmoved, dispelling it with a few swings of his Lightning Sword.
The Bitter Bamboo's influence was undeniable. Having cultivated beside it for so long, heart demon tribulations were a thing of the past. This time, forgoing the Bitter Bamboo leaf, he faced no threat.
He looked to the heavens, expecting another wave, but instead, a white rainbow spirit chi cloud descended. He absorbed it to consolidate his power, but was disappointed—he hadn’t even used one of his seven lightning storage formations.
Ye Mo realized a fundamental truth: fear often magnifies the very thing one fears. The divine damnation, like many things, preyed on the weak and recoiled from the strong. At his current strength, it retreated.
Body Condensation state, level two, and mastery of the Lightning Sword—Ye Mo rejoiced. This had been a profoundly rewarding experience, leaving him supremely confident in his ability to kill any Body Condensation state cultivator.