Battle Through the Heaven: Purple Heaven

Halfway up the barren mountain, a massive boulder jutted out from the slope.

Xiao Bai sat cross-legged on the stone, shaking his sleeve to release the tiny golden dragon.

"I'm about to break through. Guard me."

"Rest assured, My Lord! With this dragon here, no one will disturb you!" The dragon patted its belly with its claw, brimming with confidence.

Xiao Bai smiled and nodded, then closed his eyes. His breathing grew steady and deep.

As time passed, the surrounding heaven-and-earth energy began to churn. A powerful suction emanated from Xiao Bai, drawing the energy toward him in a frenzied rush.

Xiao Bai directed Xiao Bing and Xiao Wu to shield his dantian, preventing the chaotic energy from entering. He allowed it to flood his body, rampaging through his meridians, while Xiao Yi repaired the damage in its wake.

Each major breakthrough subjected the meridians to a baptism of heaven-and-earth energy, making them tougher and wider. Most cultivators guided this process cautiously with their mind, channeling the energy through their cultivation technique. Xiao Bai didn't need to.

With his thunder seeds, he feared no such impact. He let the energy surge recklessly, as long as it didn't overwhelm Xiao Yi's healing speed. This approach widened and strengthened his meridians far beyond his peers, boosting both his cultivation speed and the potency of his Dou Techniques. If two people share the same technique and realm, the one with broader, tougher meridians will always unleash greater power.

From morning to dusk, the energy around Xiao Bai thickened to an astonishing degree. He hadn't absorbed a single wisp, letting it amass around him in a swirling vortex, with him at its core.

Almost there.

He sensed the energy within a kilometer roiling, spiraling around him like a storm. As cultivation advanced, breakthroughs demanded ever-greater energy. With no naturally dense energy source nearby, he had to gather it this way to breach the barrier in one decisive push.

Forming hand seals, he entered a cultivation state.

His mind guided the energy in his meridians along the paths of his technique. After three cycles, the refined energy surged into his dantian, flooding the Dou Crystal within.

Xiao Bai signaled Xiao Bing and Xiao Wu to lift their restrictions, allowing the purified energy to pour into the crystal. As his body refined the internal energy, the gathered external energy found an outlet, rushing into him like water through a broken dam.

Vast streams of energy seeped through his pores, his technique churning at full force, channeling it into the dantian and the Dou Crystal. Under this relentless infusion, the crystal, once the size of a duck egg, swelled to larger than a grown man's fist, radiating brilliant silver thunderlight that illuminated his dantian like daylight.

As time wore on, the surrounding energy thinned, nearly depleted.

Xiao Bai assessed the situation, eyeing the now-larger Dou Crystal, still greedily absorbing energy. Is it still not enough? The external energy was fading, yet the suction within him persisted.

Just as he considered his backup plan—using a magic core—the rhomboid Dou Crystal quivered. A low, buzzing hum echoed, reverberating through his dantian.

Thump, thump!

A rhythmic, almost heartbeat-like sound pulsed within. The crystal's suction vanished, its glow flickering erratically. Before Xiao Bai's eyes, the rhomboid shape began to round, its sharp edges morphing into smooth curves.

As the transformation continued, the crystal's corners protruded, sprouting into sharp spikes. In the end, the rhomboid crystal resembled a sea urchin, adorned with exactly nine long spines, crackling with thunder arcs.

The transformed crystal shuddered, unleashing a powerful ripple of energy.

"Finally, a sea urchin warrior—pfft, I mean Dou Ling!" Xiao Bai chuckled, elated.

Feeling the surging energy within, he knew his dream of becoming a Dou Di had taken another step forward.

His joy was short-lived. As the breakthrough settled, the sense of crisis sharpened, now crystal-clear.

He sent a silent message to the golden dragon to stay vigilant, then closed his eyes, his mind diving into his sea of consciousness. There, he gazed at the quietly floating talisman, awaiting the thunder seed's arrival.

As expected, the talisman didn't disappoint. A corner soon glowed with radiant golden light. Seeing it, Xiao Bai knew this was the metal thunder he'd feared most.

With the light's emergence, the crisis in his spiritual intuition intensified. He finally understood its source.

His expression grew grave. None of the previous thunder seeds—not even the volatile Bing Fire Yang Thunder—had evoked such dread. The Bing Fire Yang Thunder nearly killed me. This feels even worse.

The golden light on the talisman coalesced, and a resonant thunderclap rang out. A streak of golden lightning shot forth, its information flooding his mind.

Geng Metal Calamity Thunder: Formed from the fusion of calamity qi and geng metal qi, this golden thunder seed reigns supreme in destructive power among the Five Elements Divine Thunders. It excels in slaughter, acutely sensitive to calamity qi, and is one of the heavenly punishment thunders.

Xiao Bai paused, processing. The Geng Metal Calamity Thunder was the most destructive of the five, but terms like "calamity qi" eluded him.

Expecting the thunder to seek his organs as the others had, he was stunned when it halted abruptly in his sea of consciousness, hovering silently, its golden glow pulsing as if searching.

His heart skipped a beat. This is my sea of consciousness! If it wreaks havoc here and the talisman stays dormant like before, I'm done for—especially knowing its power!

His fears came true. The thunder seemed to sense something in his soul. Golden lightning erupted, bathing his sea of consciousness in blinding light.

A searing pain stabbed through his soul, forcing his mind to retreat. In the fleeting moment before he withdrew, he glimpsed the golden thunder rampaging, evaporating wisps of black qi from his soul force.

The black qi felt oddly familiar, yet he couldn't place it.

Before he could dwell on it, an overwhelming agony blanked his mind, threatening to drag him into unconsciousness.