Chapter 357 (2/2)

In the spatial ring, he found a lot of old texts. There were various lightning techniques that were of a higher grade and belonged to this empire. One, in particular, seemed interesting but it was not complete.

'If someone used this thing they would suffer a large cultivation backlash, it's easy to fix though.'

With a quick scan, he had taken in all of the cultivation knowledge that was inside this ring. It didn't say much about the original owner though.

”Good sword.”

After going through everything there was one weapon of note. A white sword, it was radiating lightning energy and was actually a heaven graded item. With it being far above his current cultivation level he couldn't really use it but when he recovered it would be a nice replacement for his old one.

”This robe isn't bad either…”

Zhang Dong changed into his original appearance. The dark hair of Dai Rong that he used changed into snow-white as his body expanded into a more handsome and muscular man.

The robe that he found had the colors that he liked to use, it was mostly white. On the back of it, there were some characters that translated into 'Lightning Lord'. It was not quite the Lightning Emperor or Monarch title but would do nicely for now.

The robe was very similar to his old one as it was not one of the flowy ones, clearly more meant for hand-to-hand combat. There were even leg guards and armguards on it that were made from a shiny white spirit metal.

”Finally some luck, now it's time to cultivate.”

The only thing that was missing from this spatial ring was a flying sword on which he could escape after he reached the core formation level.

With some muscle strength, he removed the coffin from the middle of the chamber. He also needed to alter the formation in this room. With a few alterations, he was now making it focus all of the energy into one point. That point was him.

While already dressed in his new robe he sat down. He was now in the traditional lotus position with his palms open. It didn't take long for the crystal above him to charge up and fire a concentrated lightning bolt towards Zhang Dong's forehead.

The moment the lightning bolt connected with his body he could feel the energies seeping into his foundation pillars. It was working, he could feel himself advancing further. The lightning strikes continued to descend and each time they hit they were swiftly absorbed.

One, two, three, ten, twenty, and then thirty. He took on all of the powerful lightning bolts before being able to fashion another perfect golden foundation pillar. His power churned and he could feel the electrical energy rising.

”Not enough, I need more!”

He looked up towards the lightning crystal above him. This treasure was somehow storing the lightning bolts but also hindering them from descending. It was like a small dam that only let a certain amount of energy through. For him to advance faster, it needed to go away.

From his eyes, a golden beam of light escaped and connected with this lightning crystal. The crystal unable to contend with this might soon burst into many tiny particles. The light from Zhang Dong's eyes didn't vanish but instead of the light being exuded it was now drawn in.

A giant suction force was created that was now continuously s.u.c.k.i.n.g all of the lightning energies from outside. Zhang Dong could feel the process being sped up tenfold and it was speeding up.

More and more foundation pillars were created. Five, six, seven, eight… and they continued with no end in sight. After he went through the fifteenth he realized that something was wrong.

'I just reached the late stage and I already have this much… how many will I get?'

His cultivation was reaching new before seen heights. The foundation pillars kept being created as he absorbed a massive amount of energy from outside. The whole room began to rumble as the walls were being strained by all of this might.

With this amount of noise, he also believed that he would be found out soon. This is also why he could not stop. Along with his opened eyes, he also opened his mouth and started to absorb everything.

He was not sure what was happening outside but he would not be surprised if the whole lightning storm wasn't being forced into this room. With another resounding boom, he reached the great circle stage of foundation establishment.

His whole body was now surrounded by a giant golden pillar of light. This pillar shot up and drilled through the ceiling. If they didn't spot him before, they would certainly be aware that he was here now. The pillar of light reached all up to the sky and he could feel all of the lightning energy being s.u.c.k.e.d in by him.

'Hey Bob what's happening, I should have broken through already...'

There were already over sixty foundation pillars and he had reached the great circle realm but it was still continuing. Without knowing what to do he finally asked his AI companion for some help.

”User's increased soul capacity has caused a unique cultivation variation… warning… user will die if he doesn't break through…”

'Well, thanks a lot…”

Finally, as that seventieth pillar was formed he felt a jolt in his very being. He could feel something changing in his dantian and also in his soul. This was also followed by a bout of pain, pain that he had never felt before. It felt like his insides were being ripped apart by these energies.

He screamed out in pain as everything started collapsing around him. The whole place exploded and he shot up into the sky as a rocket. But even while in pain, he could feel it. He could feel his core being created and it looked like there was more than one…