Chapter 1054: Black Annihilation Dust

"To refine this thing, you first need to warm it with true qi..."

After reading the library's introduction, he now knew the Thunder Yuan Pearl in great detail, understanding its strengths and weaknesses.

Forcibly touching it was definitely impossible; it required gradual warming, just like Shi Yewang had done earlier.

Raising both hands, he sent forth a surge of profound true qi from his palms, gently settling onto the Thunder Yuan Pearl.

Hum!

As if sensing the incoming true qi, the orb lightly spun, releasing a sapphire-blue light, and countless crackling bolts of lightning immediately fell from the sky.

Zhang Xuan hurriedly threw out Shi Yewang's corpse to shield himself from above, but Feng Xun, lying not far away, was not so lucky. Two lightning bolts shattered the seal left by Jade Yewang, leaving his body stiff and upright, trembling even more violently than before.

Fortunately, the seal had blocked most of the force; otherwise, that single strike would have electrocuted him on the spot.

"I need to be more careful..." Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched as he quickly steadied his mind, gathering his true qi and letting it flow gently.

This time, he acted cautiously and no longer provoked the Thunder Yuan Pearl's resistance. After about twenty minutes, his body shook, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

With a light hook of his palm, the Thunder Yuan Pearl not far away slowly flew over. After this half-day of stalemate, it had been completely refined.

"Truly a fine treasure..." Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up involuntarily as he held the orb in his palm and carefully sensed it.

As he had speculated earlier, this Thunder Yuan Pearl indeed controlled the external Thunderous Grand Formation. His strength was still insufficient to drive the formation, but he could at least collect it.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his brows and lifted the Thunder Yuan Pearl, his true qi churning and circulating within him.

"Collect!" he whispered.

Rustle!

Countless bolts of lightning in the sky fell straight toward the orb in his hand, like a hundred rivers converging into the sea, or iron filings meeting a magnet.

"Hmm!"

Feng Xun, not far away, slowly woke again. Seeing this scene, his eyes widened, and he trembled uncontrollably in fear.

The sight before him was too horrifying: a man, charred beyond recognition by lightning, raised his palm, and countless bolts of lightning rolled down from the sky as if to tear him apart.

"Am I dead, or dreaming? That is... Master Zhang?"

After a few careful glances, he finally recognized him.

The man not far away, struck by lightning, was indeed Zhang Xuan.

He quickly turned his head and saw Shi Yewang's corpse lying nearby, his breath already gone.

"He killed Shi Yewang?" Feng Xun couldn't believe it.

Only then did he finally confirm that he was not dead.

When he was unconscious, Shi Yewang had been attacking them, overwhelmingly powerful, and no one could withstand him.

But now that he was awake, the body of that alien tribesman lay on the ground... What had happened? What had Master Zhang sacrificed to save him and kill the enemy?

And most importantly... though he hadn't died, why was he... involuntarily twitching? And why did the back of his head hurt so much? Who had knocked him unconscious repeatedly?

After puzzling for a while without understanding, he looked again at the figure being wildly struck by lightning not far away, filled with deep gratitude: He had always wanted to teach the other a lesson, yet in the critical moment, he was saved by him...

Thinking back to before, he felt utterly ashamed and wished he could crawl into a crack.

No wonder Luo Ruoxi didn't like him; anyone would probably choose the man before them!

Whoosh!

After a short time, Zhang Xuan collected all the lightning from the sky, then sighed in relief and placed the Thunder Yuan Pearl into his storage ring.

Stretching his somewhat stiff body, he was about to circulate his true qi to relieve the pressure when he saw Feng Xun approaching.

"Thank you, Master Zhang, for saving my life..." Feng Xun bowed with clasped hands.

"No need to be so polite..."

Zhang Xuan quickly waved his hand, feeling quite embarrassed.

Though circumstances had forced his hand, he had still knocked him unconscious three times in a row and electrocuted him once. Even now, Feng Xun was still trembling—probably a lingering effect of that brick strike... If he learned this detail, would he no longer be grateful and instead come after him?

Forget it, better not to mention it. Causing internal discord wouldn't be good.

He didn't say it, but that didn't mean the other wouldn't. Soon, he heard Feng Xun's puzzled voice: "Master Zhang, may I ask, was it Shi Yewang who kept attacking me earlier? I want to go mutilate his corpse..."

"This... it's not important!" Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched as he quickly shook his head. "Let's go back. Master Wu and the others should have recovered by now..."

With the lightning gone from the sky, it gradually cleared. Before long, they returned to where Master Wu and the others were hiding, and found that they had already emerged from the Gold Origin Cauldron.

With a sigh, Zhang Xuan placed the sleeping cauldron into his ring.

He had awakened Lu Chong and Wei Ruyan before, but this cauldron, being a sacred artifact, was different from humans. His previous experience was completely useless; he could only seek a solution at a higher-level artificer academy.

"Master Zhang killed Shi Yewang..."

Back with the group, Feng Xun shared the news he knew, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

Shi Yewang's strength was such that even Master Wu couldn't withstand him, yet this young man had successfully killed him and even broken the Thunderous Grand Formation... It was hard to believe, and looking at him again, they were filled with admiration.

Zhang Xuan initially wanted to explain but ultimately stopped.

The fact that he had tricked Jade Yewang and Shi Yewang into killing each other was already hard to explain. The more he said, the more trouble it would cause. It was better to keep silent.

"Your injuries are not yet fully healed, and the road ahead is surely more dangerous. Why don't we rest here today and only move on after everyone has fully recovered?"

Seeing that the others had not yet fully recovered from their injuries, Zhang Xuan suggested.

Having experienced what happened before, everyone understood the danger and all nodded in agreement, closing their eyes to cultivate.

Seeing that everyone was regaining their strength, Zhang Xuan took the opportunity to release Luo Ruoxi and then entered the Thousand Ant Beehive himself.

Whoosh!

The Thunder Yuan Pearl appeared in his palm.

"Soul Departure!"

With a flicker of his mind, the witch soul flew out and gently picked up the Thunder Origin Pearl.

Previously, tempering the soul with the aid of the Thunder Sea had yielded excellent results. Now that he had refined the Thunder Origin Pearl and was in no hurry to advance, it was the perfect opportunity to train and accelerate the growth of his soul power.

Inside the orb, thunderbolts densely packed. The witch soul stretched out both hands, clasped it in its palms, and began to circulate the cultivation technique of the Heavenly Dao Witch Soul.

Sizzle, sizzle!

Bolts of lightning spread from the Thunder Origin Pearl, entering his soul body and ceaselessly tempering it.

After half an hour, the witch soul shrank from seven meters to six meters in size, and its strength reached the mid-stage of the Saint Ascendant realm.

After one hour, it was five meters, late-stage Saint Ascendant.

After two hours, it was four meters, peak Saint Ascendant!

Although the soul's size had diminished, its power had become purer. Especially in every movement, it carried the might of thunder and lightning, giving an impression of overwhelming strength.

With his current strength, relying solely on the witch soul, he could probably surpass a peak Saint Domain Second Layer powerhouse.

"Soul, body, and true energy have all reached peak Saint Ascendant..."

After cultivating a while longer, realizing that without the subsequent techniques, continued tempering might cause problems, Zhang Xuan's witch soul returned to his body, and he smiled faintly.

In less than a day since entering the relic, he had forcibly elevated both his physical body and soul to peak Saint Ascendant, matching his true energy—a tremendous gain.

If he were outside, achieving this might have taken an unknown amount of time.

"This Thunder Origin Pearl is extremely beneficial for cultivating the soul. You should train with it too!"

Having strengthened his soul power, he tossed the Thunder Origin Pearl to his clone. Zhang Xuan then left the beehive and returned to the group.

After this period of adjustment, everyone's strength had fully recovered, each exuding a dragon-like aura.

"Let's go!"

With a call, the group marched forward in unison.

The Thunder Sea had vanished, and ahead lay a flat plain. After walking for a while, Master Wu stopped.

"Master Zhang, see if you recognize this?"

As he spoke, he handed over an object.

It was a long sword, broken by something, leaving only half. It was stuck in the soil not far away.

The ground bore traces of battle, which, though long buried by wind and sand, were still discernible.

"I don't recognize it..."

After a glance, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

This sword, similar to the Ice Rain Sword, had reached the level of a semi-saint artifact. However, neither its appearance nor its aura was familiar, let alone recognizable.

"It's Zhang Yinqiu's weapon... I've fought him and seen him use it..."

Wu Tianqiong stepped forward.

As the dean of Yunxu Academy and the former dean of Hongyuan Academy, he had met him many times and knew what his weapon was.

"The old dean's?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

"It's his!" Wu Ran and others also came forward.

"Since his longsword fell here, he must have passed this way. Let's continue forward!"

Everyone's eyes lit up.

Having faced so many dangers since entering the relic, they were now thrilled to finally discover traces left by their predecessors.

The group quickened their pace and soon stopped.

Ahead, a massive storm loomed, pitch-black and ominous, instilling a sense of dread even before they approached.

"What is this?"

"I don't know..."

Though they didn't recognize it, they could clearly feel the terrifying power emanating from it.

"This is Black Annihilation Dust Sand!"

After identifying it for a moment, Wu Tianqiong spoke with a grim expression.

"Black Annihilation Dust Sand?" The others were puzzled.

"Yes, it's an extremely bizarre dust storm with strong corrosive properties. Whether human or object, once inside, it will be easily corroded and reduced to ashes."

Hesitating, Wu Tianqiong said, "If you don't believe me, look..."

With that, he took out a top-grade spiritual artifact and tossed it into the wind and sand.

Sizzle, sizzle!

As soon as the artifact entered, it immediately emitted a creaking sound, and countless spots appeared on it, like ironware soaked in rain for days, covered in rust.

With a grasp of his hand, he retrieved the artifact and lightly flicked it with his finger.

Crack!

The indestructible top-grade spiritual artifact instantly shattered like melted ice, crumbling to the ground.

"This..."

Everyone's expressions changed simultaneously.

A top-grade spiritual artifact, rare even in a first-rate empire, couldn't withstand even a few breaths before being blown to pieces. This Black Annihilation Dust Sand was too terrifying!

"Can we... go around this place?"

One of the battle masters couldn't help asking.

"Probably not..."

President Han looked for a while, then shook his head with a bitter smile.