Hua Zhi looked toward the distant Overseas World, the tumultuous waves there had also calmed significantly, most of the dark clouds in the sky had dispersed, and thunder and lightning were almost nowhere to be seen.

"Sigh, this foolish bird, when will it finish cultivating!" Hua Zhi stared at a certain spot in the sky and muttered to herself.

The dark clouds there were much denser than elsewhere, and a strong demon energy resided there, which was precisely Lei Yu.

The Soul Destroying Sword was advancing to a Nine Rune Magical Treasure, a process more difficult than imagined. Yuan Ming had summoned back his first soul to assist, and when Hua Zhi was out hunting, she had been instructed to watch over Lei Yu and prevent other demon beasts from disturbing it.

"How's Lei Yu doing?" Just then, the shadow behind Hua Zhi jumped, and Yuan Ming's figure appeared out of thin air.

"Master, why didn't you give a heads up before you come out!" Hua Zhi was startled.

Yuan Ming smiled without saying a word, quite satisfied with Hua Zhi's reaction.

The Soul Destroying Sword was his Lifebound Magical Treasure, and thanks to the Shadow Transformation Rune on the sword, he could now travel through shadows and appear suddenly, making it impossible for Hua Zhi to detect any traces.

Yuan Ming looked up toward the sky, letting out his Divine Sense.

By this time, Lei Yu's demon energy had greatly increased compared to before, reaching the Third-level Peak, and it was now absorbing the thunder and lightning from the dark clouds in an attempt to breakthrough to Level 4, albeit not smoothly.

"This stupid bird, reaching Level 4 isn't so easy to breakthrough. Even I took a long time to barely complete it, and it has just reached the Third-level Peak, a long way to go," Hua Zhi huffed.

Yuan Ming remained silent, having a deep understanding of Beast Taming and mastering the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique, his grasp over demon beast cultivation had already far exceeded that of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.

Demon beasts cultivated both demonic power and their physique, essentially being a combination of Magic Practitioners and Body Cultivators, complementing each other, their combat power thus exceeding that of Human Clan's cultivators at the same level.

However, because of this hybrid mode of cultivation, advancing in realm is much more difficult for the Demon Clan than it is for Human Clan's cultivators, and Level 4 is a watershed-like existence for demon beasts. They need to temper their demon body first, accumulate enough demonic power, and then make a concerted effort to break through.

The Three-eyed Crow had reached the Third-level Peak long ago, but still had not managed to breakthrough, which was precisely because of this reason.

Having just reached the Third-level Peak, Lei Yu, without the ability like Hua Zhi to devour other demon beasts' demonic power, was attempting to breakthrough prematurely, which indeed was too soon and could risk being backlashed and severely injured.

Thinking of this, Yuan Ming transmitted a message to Lei Yu, telling it to give up on the breakthrough attempt and wait until there was a better chance in the future.

"Master, let me try once, I know my limits," Lei Yu insisted, its tone determined.

In its view, Yuan Ming had already broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage, and Hua Zhi had also made a smooth breakthrough. If it could not break through, it would gradually become worthless, something it refused to allow.

Yuan Ming sensed Lei Yu's firm belief and, with a thought, decided not to persuade further.

Feeling Yuan Ming's tacit approval, Lei Yu continued its assault. The clouds around it rapidly expanded, absorbing the thunder and lightning from within the dark clouds with all its might.

Strands of thunder and lightning converged upon it, almost forming a suit of Thunder Armor.

Unfortunately, the weather was calm today, and the thunder and lightning within the clouds were sparse, making the Thunder Armor seem somewhat thin.

"Has this foolish bird's brain gone bad? Today, with few clouds and little rain, and sparse thunder and lightning, it's hardly conducive for a breakthrough, yet it insists on forcing it!" Hua Zhi said, shaking her head.

Yuan Ming began casting the rain praying technique to help Lei Yu.

He had just finished chanting the spell when, boom! A vast expanse of Water attribute spiritual power gathered from the boundless sky and the ocean below, the dense enough to be almost tangible spiritual power formed a blue-colored Light Domain about a dozen miles in size.

The blue spirit light was ten times heavier than the seawater, making it difficult to breathe for anyone nearby, and all other attributes of spiritual energy were thoroughly repelled.

The blue Light Domain immediately shot into the sky, even more fiercely devouring the Water attribute spiritual energy, turning into a heavily darkened cloud.

Boom, boom, boom!

This voracious force was so astonishing that the nearby sea water was sucked up into the clouds, merging with them, and the sea level kept dropping.

In the sky, the dense dark clouds quickly spread out, covering a range of hundreds of miles in just a few breaths, and thick bolts of thunder and lightning moved across the clouds, filling most of the sky, more than during the storm in the Overseas World earlier.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming showed no sign on his face, but was greatly surprised in his heart.

Had the power of his rain praying technique increased to such an extent after his advancement to the Nascent Soul Stage?

He had a feeling that something wasn't quite right. He quickly tuned in to his Dantian within his body and, after some thought, he understood what had happened.

Inside the Dantian, black Undying Tree Branches spread and waved, and roots pierced into the Void, drawing in the Water attribute spiritual energy to assist him in casting.

Yuan Ming had long known that the Lifebound Spirit Plant cultivated by the Ju Mang Spirit Technique could assist the master in combat, yet he did not expect the help from the Undying Tree to be so significant.

"Thank you for the assistance, Master!" Lei Yu cheered, sending a grateful message before spitting out something.

A purple Round Orb flew out, seemingly Lei Yu's Demon Core, rapidly absorbing the nearby power of thunder and lightning.

The thunder and lightning covering much of the sky converged frantically and was absorbed by the purple Demon Core in just a few breaths.

With the power of thunder and lightning depleted, the cloud from the rain praying technique also quickly thinned out.

Yuan Ming raised his eyebrows, quickened his spell, and cast the rain praying technique again, creating new waves of thunder and lightning.

However, the purple demon core seemed like a bottomless pit, continuing to devour these thunderbolts, swallowing them all in just a few breaths' time.

"I want to see how many times you can absorb," Yuan Ming's eyes flickered slightly, and his spellcasting was unceasing as he continued to cast the rain praying technique.

Lei Yu's demon core truly possessed some unimaginable power; Yuan Ming cast the rain praying technique three more times, but the thunder and lightning produced from the clouds were absorbed by the orb every time.

Hua Zhi watched, dumbstruck, unable to believe that Lei Yu was capable of such a feat.

The purple demon core was enveloped in dazzling thunder, crackling like a miniature thunder sun.

"Master, enough..." Lei Yu said with a hint of pain.

At those words, Yuan Ming dispersed the spell in his hands and stopped casting the rain praying technique.

Lei Yu opened its mouth to inhale, and the purple demon core flew back towards it, effortlessly tearing through the layers of flickering dark clouds and heading straight into Lei Yu's mouth.

"Master, stop Lei Yu! With such an amount of the power of thunder and lightning, not to mention it's still third-level, even a Level 4 demon beast would struggle to endure it!" Hua Zhi said urgently, her face changing dramatically.

On hearing this, Yuan Ming merely smiled slightly, seeing that Hua Zhi, despite her sharp tongue, was still worried about Lei Yu.

However, he did not speak or take action to stop Lei Yu.

The Thunder Peng is an ancient Thunder Spirit Bird that can control the All Heavens Divine Thunder. With Lei Yu carrying the Thunder Peng bloodline, it should be able to neutralize the power of thunder and lightning.

The purple Thunder Ball had now flown back in front of Lei Yu, which opened its mouth and swallowed it.

Boom!

The Thunder Armor surrounding Lei Yu instantly deformed, shooting out thick strands of lightning, like roaring Thunder Dragons tumbling through the sky, tearing apart the dark clouds, while the sea below churned ominously, lit up with flickering thunder.

Yuan Ming and Hua Zhi quickly flew backwards, retreating to about ten miles away before stopping. Hua Zhi, reacting slightly slower, took a hit from a bolt of lightning on her arm, which immediately bore a charred scar.

"To condense the thunder and lightning to this extent, Lei Yu, that fool—it's as if it wishes to die quicker," Hua Zhi huffed, her arm shining with a purple glow as the charred wound rapidly healed.

Yuan Ming activated his Divine Sense and extended it toward Lei Yu.

At that moment, an unexpected change occurred!

The rampaging, thick thunder and lightning suddenly contracted, wrapping around Lei Yu and forming a giant Thunder Ball with a diameter of dozens of yards, its blinding electric lights flashing and emitting a terrifying sizzling noise, leaving one to wonder what was happening inside.

The surrounding spiritual energy was also drawn in, converging into the Thunder Ball.

Inside the Thunder Ball, Lei Yu's demon energy, far from weakening, was rapidly growing stronger.

Yuan Ming's eyes gleamed with clarity, and he realized that Lei Yu truly was not to be underestimated. Judging by the current situation, Lei Yu might indeed succeed in its breakthrough.

Hua Zhi sensed Lei Yu's condition and, while surprised, also relaxed her gaze.

Just as Lei Yu's demon energy continued to climb, nearly stepping over into the Level 4 Realm, with success close at hand, Yuan Ming's brows furrowed.

Although Lei Yu's demonic energy was advancing smoothly, its body was in terrible shape.

The Demon Clan practices dual cultivation of body and magic, and the immense power of thunder and lightning within the giant Thunder Ball was now forging Lei Yu's body to match the increased demonic power.

Lei Yu's strength was growing too fast, and its fleshly body was clearly insufficiently tempered and not strong enough. The Thunder and Lightning Body Refining exceeded its capacity to endure, tearing flesh in many places across Lei Yu's body, revealing stark white bone, and even the bones themselves were cracked.

"Master…" Lei Yu started in terror, communicating with Yuan Ming through spirit, its tone filled with urgency.

"Didn't you say you had a sense of measure? Now you're afraid!" Yuan Ming scolded through spirit, not kindly, but he didn't leave Lei Yu to die, and he made a hand gesture.

The roots of the Undying Tree in his Dantian shot out, appearing inside the giant Thunder Ball the next moment, piercing into Lei Yu's body, injecting strands of Undying Tree Demon Power into it.

The Undying Tree Demon Power, teeming with life, excelled in healing physical wounds. Although Lei Yu's demonic power did not match the Undying Tree, the effect was still good. Lei Yu's near-collapse body swiftly devoured this Demon Power, wounds quickly healing, and the bone cracks began to disappear.

"Thank you, Master!" Lei Yu exclaimed joyfully.

"Now is not the time to relax. Focus," Yuan Ming admonished with a serious tone through spirit voice, then he extracted the Blood Origin Power from within the Shura Blood Devouring Map and infused it into Lei Yu through the Undying Tree Roots.

The process of Thunder and Lightning Body Refining was still ongoing, and without enhancing the physical strength of Lei Yu's body, the situation would quickly recur.

Yuan Ming cast the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique, lending his Demon Image Prison Suppression Divine Skill temporarily to Lei Yu. Lei Yu operated this skill, refining and absorbing the Blood Origin Power.

But Lei Yu's body structure differed too much from that of Human Clan cultivators. Its muscles, bones, and even the most basic meridians, as well as the Dantian structures, were very different, making the operation of the Demon Image Prison Suppression Skill extremely difficult.

Yet, in this critical situation, Yuan Ming had no time to consider other options. He was fully focused on operating the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique, coordinating the discrepancies involved.

Inside his Sea of Consciousness, the Soul Power spun rapidly, activating every thought, his whole being engrossed in the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique, cycling through the secret technique dozens of times with each breath.

Yuan Ming had never operated the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique with such complete dedication. In a trance, he morphed into Lei Yu, his hands turning into wings, his feet into sharp claws, and his internal meridians and Dantian dramatically transformed but felt oddly familiar, with no discomfort—as if he were born in this body.

The content of the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique flowed through his mind, clearer than ever before, revelations of many mysteries he had yet to grasp dawning upon him in this moment.

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