Whoosh!
The purple lightning bolts spun a spider's web as they hammered the skies, it was as if the heavens were becoming fragmented. Then, a lightning bolt fell before Gu Santong.
Zhuo Fan saw the shivering child among the lightning and cried, "Gu Santong, stop daydreaming and run! Don't you want to live?"
"S-save…" Gu Santong shook his head and stuttered.
"What?" Zhuo Fan shouted.
"Save… me!" Gu Santong showed his pitiful face, his eyes filled with tears.
Zhuo Fan was shocked. Never would've thought it possible that the great Gu Santong's nightmare was purple lightning. He truly became a child gripped by fear.
Frowning, Zhuo Fan showed a particular grin. Then he grabbed the kid and flew away!
Wasn't it obvious he should fulfill his request?
Zhuo Fan had been going all this time about having the kid under him, but since the kid was a tough nut to crack, how could he succeed?
Only now. at the kid's weakest, the best chance presented itself. This was the sole reason why Zhuo Fan braved the danger of rescuing him.
Otherwise, with his rotten character, he wouldn't be caught dead saving anyone!
This was the opportunity of a lifetime, to have the strongest in Tianyu at his behest.
When the stakes were high, so was the return. And only through this grave risk might he be able to gain an invincible subordinate!
Zhuo Fan laughed coldly inside, [Gu Santong has been keeping a promise for three hundred years after losing one lousy bet. Now that I save him, won't he give his all in repaying me?]
[He-he-he, with Gu Santong behind me, let's see how those Regent Estate bastards dare lift even a finger against me!]
Zhuo Fan could already see the future, one in which the seven houses were at his feet!
Too bad though, what man proposes god disposes. This time, his risk may very well be fatal!
With a shocking boom, the fragmented sky was now thoroughly wrecked, revealing a huge black hole in the sky.
Purple lightning fell by the thousand, pulverizing anything it touched. And the storm kicked up by the lightning sent everything in that black abyss.
Zhuo Fan was flying with all his power when a sudden power gripped him, slowly sucking him into the black hole. Like an invisible hand, it wanted to throw him into that endless abyss.
Heart in a vise, Zhuo Fan picked up more speed with his wings.
But he didn't gain one bit of ground, falling ever deeper among the purple lightning storm.
Zhuo Fan's anxiety grew and grew and his brow was soaked. The situation took a dire turn for the worst. Thus he turned to the scared Gu Santong, "Gu Santong, we are about to be sucked in. Is there anything you can do?"
Gu Santong had been shivering all this time, with fear robbing him even of his voice.
But even if this was his normal state, his first reaction was to roll his eyes. [Oh please, you're the one doing the rescuing, remember? Now you're asking me for help? You'd think I'd be shivering here doing nothing if I had a way out?]
Sighing, Zhuo Fan knew the kid was out for the count, scared witless by the purple lightning. He only had himself to rely on.
But everywhere he looked was purple lightning. Besides lightning, there was only more lightning. And all while the sucking abyss was doing its best to devour them among the tight curtain of lighting. The lightest touch would stop their hearts.
[Is this how I'll lose the gamble and my life? In the Lightning Canyon?]
Zhuo Fan gnashed his teeth, unwilling to give up for a second. He was still working his damndest in getting out of there.
Boom!
Suddenly, a purple bolt smashed into his back, forcing him to spit blood. Losing his balance, he drifted deeper into the bottomless pit.
Wiping his blood, Zhuo Fan rejoiced, "Thankfully, it's only a 3rd Heaven purple lightning, just like brother Jiu's, or I'd be a goner!"
But he didn't finish his words as a second lightning fell. This time his whole body shivered. His Diamond Sand and unbreakable body was sporting cracks, and blood spilled from the force of the lightning!
"What? A 4th Heaven purple lightning?"
Gasping, Zhuo Fan looked up to see the big hole was getting increasingly closer. And the closer it got, the stronger the lightning.
If a 6th Heaven lightning struck him, he would be pulverized in body and soul!
Zhuo Fan was out of his depth this time. He was about to die a second time at a moment's notice if he didn't come up with something, and fast.
It was time to exert the power he gathered all these years!
But the crucial thing was, Nine Serenities Secret Records' secret technique could not be used so frequently. Each subsequent use would break the tie between the soul and his consciousness. After all, he was making use of another's soul.
There may very well not be a next rebirth. Afterall the type of grievance he needed may have vanished from the world.
Zhuo Fan was reborn this time, but regarded his life with utmost seriousness. It may very well be his last!
Taking a deep breath to cool down. Zhuo Fan started thinking about a plan of action. He gnashed his teeth and settled on taking out the Thunder Skylark's egg.
His original plan was to use the newborn Thunder Skylark to control the lightning's power, and let it absorb it. Even if it could only absorb the 6th Heaven it would buy him enough time to get inside this place.
But now, he only had an egg, that may very well be unable to take a single lightning before crack open like a melon.
But desperate times called for desperate measures!
Zhuo Fan held the egg in one hand and Gu Santong in the other, flung straight for the Lightning Canyon's black hole. He was carefully controlling his flight as he looked for the right approach.
Boom!
With a thunderclap, a purple lightning shot straight for Zhuo Fan. His eyes squinted and shouted, "4th Heaven purple lighting!"
He lifted the egg to let it take the brunt.
Perhaps it was their connection, or it was just plain first in its path, but the purple lightning struck the Thunder Skylark's egg. It was as if it acted as a beacon.
But the enormous power having slammed into the egg made it shudder, on the verge of breaking. Zhuo Fan used Demon Transformation Art post haste, taking the rest of the lightning power into him and refined it!
Perhaps the egg still had some magic left in it as by some miracle, it cushioned the lightning's power. Zhuo Fan shuddered but he was otherwise unaffected.
This worked to lift his mood, [This could work!] But what worried him most was the power of the purple lightning. Even with the Demon Transformation Art, he couldn't refine all of it. Some of its power wasn't much of a threat to him, but if he let that power roam around his body, it would only get worse!
[I have to find the right path inside. If lightning doesn't strike me down first, I'll die from overexposure!]
Zhuo Fan felt numb. He sensed the places where the purple lightning traveled inside him and his face grew grave.
Boom~
The closer he got to the black hole, the purple lightning struck with greater intensity and frequency. Zhuo Fan pushed through the pain and lasted so far, but more and more unrefined lightning power gathered inside him, wreaking havoc. As the damage on his organs intensified, blood started leaking from his mouth!
Boom!
Another purple flash signaled a fast approaching lightning, "5th Heaven purple lightning!"
This was one power that could crush even a Radiant Stage expert!
Zhuo Fan operated the Demon Transformation Art to the max. Black energy covered the egg, waiting for the moment the lightning struck it to refine it.
But, the lightning scattered the black energy in an instant. Its power flew unencumbered through the egg and into his body.
Pff!
Blood and gore spewed out of his mouth, Zhuo Fan having suffered a heavy blow. He was incapable of refining such powerful lightning in time and was taking its toll on him.
He was now on the brink of collapse. So weak he couldn't handle another.
But when it rained, it poured.
As if that strike was the curtain's call, another lightning slammed down. Zhuo Fan was now pale, looking at the incoming attack bitterly. His eyes having lost its last thread of hope, "Blast it, another 5th Heaven purple lightning! I'm finished!"
He looked at the shivering Gu Santong, and patted his head, "Who'd ever knew this would happen, that I would ultimately die saving a kid? I mean, I wouldn't be suffering so much if I haven't saved you. Is this my fate, all because of greed?"
Zhuo Fan shook his head and sighed, "But I do not regret it. Few are the chances a man gets at life! I have failed this time, but even if it will be the next time, I'd still choose this path. I only hope… there will be a next time!"
Clenching his eyes shut, Zhuo Fan held Gu Santong close, yet he looked quite at peace.
He was a man of ambition, but even in the face of death, he would welcome it with open arms!
Pff!
Suddenly, an azure flame flitted from his forehead, covering the two of them in its glow. It was then when the purple lightning struck.
The oddest thing happened. When the lightning touched the flame, it was melted down in a flash. One could see with the naked eye how the purple lightning was rendered useless..