The demon was ten thousand meters long, its body crackling with blue-white lightning as it moved through the underground tunnels.
Its target was the other ley lines beneath the Thunder Pool.
Xu Mu sidestepped, looking at Zuo Mingqiu and sighing, "It seems you don't know what's going on either."
Zuo Mingqiu's expression was grave:
"I truly don't know."
"The Thunder Pool is a vital area, thirteen million li wide and long, filled with ley lines, which is why it's called the Thunder Pool."
"But now, a demon has appeared that can devour ley lines to grow?"
Zuo Mingqiu looked extremely serious. If that were the case, wouldn't this terrifyingly powerful demon be able to devour the entire Thunder Pool in time?
Xu Mu sighed:
"This must be intentional."
"This demonic beast was raised here, and I suspect its purpose is related to the competition for the position of Celestial Master."
"Those scoundrels!" Zuo Mingqiu gritted his teeth and cursed.
The Thunder Pool was a unique cultivation treasure land belonging to their Celestial Master Mountain, where cultivators below the Fourth Stage could freely practice lightning arts. Outsiders would break their heads trying to get in.
But now, someone had secretly raised a demonic beast here, allowing it to grow by devouring ley lines. Wasn't this going to destroy the Thunder Pool? Where would the disciples of Celestial Master Mountain cultivate lightning arts in the future?
"It has stopped," Xu Mu said vigilantly, looking at the great demon before them.
The two of them had descended holding the "Gen" trigram without making a sound, so the great demon had not discovered them. This had given Xu Mu an opportunity to observe it.
Xu Mu noticed that the python-like thunder demon, after devouring one ley line, slowly stopped moving. The lightning on its body gradually dimmed, eventually returning to a state like an ordinary ley line, lying dormant.
The only difference was that other ley lines emitted a majestic thunder element for the Thunder Pool's earth to absorb, condensing into thunderclouds.
This ley line, however, was continuously drawing thunder elements from heaven and earth for its own use.
It was indeed a demon.
Xu Mu said with a solemn expression:
"From my perception, its current realm should be around the peak of the Fourth Stage, not yet breaking through to the Fifth Stage."
"And if it materialized from a ley line as its body, its intelligence should still be in its infancy, not very bright."
"But it won't be easy to kill, after all, it's at the peak of the Fourth Stage, a whole realm above us," Zuo Mingqiu said in a low voice, holding his Dao sword. After thinking for a long time, he spoke.
"I've seen earth veins become demons before. Since it's in its infancy, it should fall into hibernation after devouring another earth vein to grow."
"We can't kill it anyway. At the east and west ends, I have a formation called 'Lightning Evasion.' Let's each set up a formation to prevent it from absorbing thunder elements from the Thunder Pool, and then report to the elder in charge of the Thunder Pool."
Xu Mu nodded, "As you say."
With that, the two of them turned into streaks of light and headed towards the east and west. Then, after a burst of thunder and lightning, small lightning evasion formations were set up. The thunder elements converging on the thunder demon between heaven and earth gradually decreased.
"If only Qiongqi were here."
Xu Mu looked at the massive, sleeping head of the thunder snake before him, his heart stirring slightly.
Compared to tempering the body with heavenly tribulations or absorbing thunder ore to increase thunder element storage, wouldn't directly absorbing the energy from this thunder demon be twice as effective?
If Qiongqi were here, he could directly ride on its head and absorb its energy. He was sure the latter wouldn't dare to make a peep. But if he did it himself, he would definitely be electrocuted into charcoal…
"Just secretly absorb a little, it should be fine, right?"
Xu Mu's eyes darted around, and he quietly crept to the middle section of the thunder snake. He extended a hand and gently placed it on the snake's body.
Instantly, he trembled violently as if electrocuted, but soon, Xu Mu calmed down.
Gently, very softly, he began to absorb the vast and purest thunder element stored within the thunder snake's body, as engrossed as a hungry infant sucking on its mother's milk.
The immense thunder element expanded Xu Mu's meridians, rushing into his dantian like a torrent. Every two seconds, it was equivalent to Xu Mu absorbing a blue-grained thunder ore.
Time ticked by.
Zuo Mingqiu, who had been waiting for a long time on the other side, even taking time to meditate and recover, came over out of curiosity when Xu Mu hadn't returned.
Upon seeing Xu Mu with his hand on the thunder snake's body, seemingly absorbing its thunder elements, Zuo Mingqiu's eyebrows rose again.
"This guy never misses an opportunity."
Zuo Mingqiu shook his head helplessly. In the end, Xu Mu was still absorbing the resources of their Celestial Master Mountain. However, he had no reason to stop him. After all, this snake was now a demon, not a pure earth vein.
Still, he could absorb as much as he wanted, as long as he didn't wake up this thunder snake, otherwise, it would be difficult for them to escape.
The moment this thought arose, the scales of the ten-thousand-meter-long coiled thunder snake suddenly trembled in unison.
"Crack!"
The thunder generated by the agitation of its scales enveloped Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu, and then violently blasted them away.
The thunder snake retracted its scales, but its body slowly began to writhe. From the direction of its head, the sound of its forked tongue flicking could be heard.
"Busted, I absorbed too much!"
Xu Mu said, clutching his chest, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. He had unintentionally absorbed too much thunder element, causing all his acupoints to be filled with it. His entire body felt numb, and he had trouble walking.
"You scoundrel!"
Seeing that the great snake had awakened and seemed about to turn its head towards them, Zuo Mingqiu's expression stiffened. He stomped on the "Gen" trigram and grabbed Xu Mu, quickly fleeing towards the surface of the earth.
But this very action had completely awakened the thunder snake.
"Hiss!!"
The thunder snake flicked its tongue, seemingly sensing the reason for its inexplicable weakness. It slammed its enormous snake head towards Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu.
"Hurry up and accelerate!!!"
Xu Mu, held by Zuo Mingqiu, looked extremely terrified because the thunder snake's speed was too fast. Its thick scales seemed specifically designed for burrowing through rock layers, offering no resistance whatsoever.
Therefore, the thunder snake was instantly beneath him. Xu Mu could even sense its breath!
"I'm already going as fast as I can. Why don't you do it yourself!" Zuo Mingqiu retorted impatiently, simultaneously unleashing a lightning art from his left palm, attempting to block the thunder snake's advance.
But the result was the opposite. The lightning art not only had no effect but also replenished the thunder snake's energy, like a drop of water falling into the ocean, causing no damage.
Seeing this, Xu Mu's scalp tingled. He shouted with a mix of tears and laughter:
"Zuo Mingqiu, are you an idiot!"
"Hitting thunder with thunder."
"Like throwing a meat bun at a dog, there's no return!"