Chapter 404: The Void Thunder Pool
Elder Zhu Li felt relieved seeing Xiao Ze accept the storage ring. The Void Ancient Dragon clan, with its ancient and powerful lineage, rarely received such significant help from outsiders. More often, it was the subsidiary clans that sought the protection of the Void Ancient Dragons. To Zhu Li's knowledge, this was the first time an outsider had bestowed such a great favor on their clan.
Seeing Xiao Ze's satisfied smile, Zhu Li felt fortunate about the choice of compensation he had made. "Lord Xiao Ze, ladies, please consider staying on Ancient Dragon Island for a while," he suggested.
"The Jiuyou Di Ming Pythons, though their bloodline has thinned significantly, still possess top fighters with Saint-level strength. It would be wise to lay low for now, especially since the Jiuyou Di Ming Pythons would not dare to provoke our clan."
Zhu Li had previously escorted Zi Yan into seclusion in the Dragon Hall. Before entering seclusion, Zi Yan had specifically asked Elder Zhu Li to extend this invitation to Xiao Ze and the others, thus he was quite insistent on them staying.
Xiao Ze hesitated, glancing at the storage ring in his hand. He had no pressing matters to attend to. Staying on Ancient Dragon Island for a while would allow him to digest the Ancient Dragon clan's pill recipes and organize the many items obtained from the Saint's relic. "That sounds good, we might indeed impose on your hospitality here for some time," Xiao Ze agreed with a smile, and Xiao Yi Xian, Medusa, and the others, taking their cue from him, voiced no objections.
As esteemed guests of Ancient Dragon Island, Xiao Ze and his companions were treated with the highest regard. In the endless void, there was no change of day or night, and the silver dome above served as a permanent light source for the island. However, being at the Saint level, Xiao Ze and his companions had extraordinary control over their bodies and could rest peacefully even in harsh environments. Thus, the constant light was of little concern to them.
In an ancient and elegant loft, Xiao Ze first organized the Ancient Dragon pill recipes given by Elder Zhu Li. He was impressed; such a collection was worthy of one of the most ancient races on the Dou Qi continent. Even though it was only a fraction of their total heritage, the array of formulas was still staggering. He found several formulas he had never mastered or even seen before, partly because the Void Ancient Dragons, being magical beasts, had pill formulas tailored for beasts, and partly because of their long, unbroken lineage which accumulated an intimidating array of knowledge.
Among these formulas was an ancient eight-grade pill recipe for Nine-Colored Thunder—information within suggested that the alchemist who created it belonged to a power that had long since perished, possibly making this recipe lost to the rest of the Dou Qi continent, preserved only by the ancient lineage of the Void Ancient Dragons. At least, there was no record of this recipe in the Alchemy Tower's archives.
"I really struck gold..." Xiao Ze absorbed all the information from the recipe into his soul. Shortly after, he opened his eyes and noticed that the spiritual imprint on the recipe had faded significantly. "It can withstand soul-based reading only two more times before the spiritual imprint completely wears off. Restoring the Nine-Colored Thunder from mere written records would then be nearly impossible."
Xiao Ze planned to master these unfamiliar formulas during his stay and then return the collection to Elder Zhu Li, saving the Nine-Colored Thunder as the final piece. "Fortunately, I have two more chances. Typically, a formula can only be read five times by soul power before the imprint fades. It seems even among the Void Ancient Dragons, few alchemists can handle such high-level formulas."
"Elder Zhu Yang is truly exceptional; after all, the Void Ancient Dragons aren't naturally strong in soul power," he thought. Xiao Ze's formidable soul power settled, and he stored the formulas back into the storage ring.
Creak— Xiao Ze opened the window of the loft, gazing out at a lake about a hundred yards across. The gentle flow of water and the fresh, moist air were refreshing. "The most valuable thing from the Saint's relic, the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit, I gave to Zi Yan, and I've mastered the Grand Heaven-Creating Palm..."
"The remaining techniques, heavenly materials, and treasures can go to Xiao Yi Xian and the others. Although they're not as powerful as heaven-level techniques, some reach the high grade of earth level." Xiao Ze looked out over the clear lake, lost in thought. With his current strength, only near-heaven level or true heaven level fighting techniques were of real use, or perhaps those he might develop himself that would better fit his abilities.
"So now, the strength of my Thunderous Body technique also seems lacking," he mused. "When facing that high-level half-Saint from the Jiuyou Di Ming Python clan, I could threaten him, but when it came to clashing techniques, I felt somewhat powerless."
"His techniques are at least high earth level, possibly even quasi-heaven level..." Xiao Ze considered his options. To enhance his Thunderous Body, the best method would be to strengthen his own Thunderous Power.
"It looks like a trip to the Void Thunder Pool is necessary."
The Void Thunder Pool was where Xiao Yan in the original story tempered the Heavenly Demon Puppet and first met the dean of Jia Nan Academy, Mang Tian Chi. However, with the timeline so shifted, he wondered if he would still encounter the half-Saint from the Thunder Clan.
And deep within the Void Thunder Pool lurked vast quantities of Black Demon Thunder and the extremely formidable Nine Mysterious Gold Thunder! As the original story indicated, the strength of the Nine Mysterious Gold Thunder was at least above a Seven-Star Saint!
Considering heading deep into the Void Thunder Pool now seemed premature. Each strand of Black Demon Thunder was equivalent to a Saint's strike, terrifying in power.
Even with his current strength, facing hundreds of thousands of these would be daunting. Xiao Ze shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it, planning instead to ask Elder Zhu Li for the location of the Void Thunder Pool.