Taming the Lightning Serpent

Once again, the void vessel came to a halt at the edge of the lightning sea. Another Primaltwin flew directly into the endless lightning, beginning the gradual process of transforming its divine body… Ji Ning could have simply stopped once a Primaltwin’s body was tough enough to withstand the gray lightning, then used that twin to restore the others. That way, all his Primaltwins would have lightning-attuned bodies, allowing them to attempt the black ‘Lightning-Serpent’ transformation directly, saving time. But Ji Ning didn’t do this. He continued to transform each Primaltwin step by step.

Because the transformation process was also a chance for Ji Ning to accumulate experience.

Being able to endure the ‘gray lightning’ wasn’t due to his vast experience; it was because his divine body was at the ninth cycle of the Arcane Art, giving him extraordinary resilience. As he transformed himself again and again, he built up experience. He would rather waste two or three extra months than squander his precious Chaos Nectar.

…

“Hmph.” On the void vessel, Ji Ning frowned. The agonizing pain of true soul annihilation was something he also felt.

Another failure.

“Go again.”

Whoosh. A streak of light shot out, plunging into the lightning sea.

One after another, Ji Ning’s Primaltwins charged forward, falling again and again before the ‘Lightning-Serpents of the Sea’. Clearly, using the Lightning-Serpents to transform the divine body was far too difficult. But as his experience improved, each time he lasted a little longer against the serpents.

“That’s nine dead.”

“That’s ten dead.”

Ji Ning felt the sting. Every Primaltwin represented Chaos Nectar.

“Just hold on a little longer. If I’d been luckier just now, I might have succeeded.” Ji Ning forced himself to stay absolutely calm, trying again and again.

…

Deep in the gray lightning zone, a black cocoon of lightning had formed. Inside, Ji Ning’s body flickered with faint black electric light. His skin and flesh would occasionally annihilate in tiny patches, only to regenerate instantly. His eyes were closed, his entire will focused on guiding the power. The force of the Lightning-Serpents was too terrifying; even a wisp could not be forcibly controlled—only guided.

At the cost of life after life, his experience grew richer.

The transformation began with his hand, then spread gradually through his entire body: torso, limbs, head…

“Whoosh.”

Ji Ning’s eyes suddenly opened.

Swish, swish.

Black lightning bolts shot out from his eyes, yet they did not harm his vision.

“Finally succeeded.” With a thought, Ji Ning dismissed the golden runic barrier. The black lightning cocoon collapsed. The black Lightning-Serpents of the Sea rampaged freely, naturally sweeping over Ji Ning who was right there. But the black lightning passed through his body, and he stood there completely unharmed. Some black sparks even lingered inside him for a moment before dissipating.

“I actually made it!” Ji Ning clenched his fists in excitement. His earlier failure with the Lord of Thunder had forced him to take this risk into the lightning sea, and he had even started with consecutive failures. There had been a moment of worry… if he died dozens of times without success, would he have to drain all his Chaos Nectar on this?

Thankfully, with each attempt he lasted longer against the Lightning-Serpents. Seeing that progress, Ji Ning’s confidence grew, until now—success.

“The danger is over now.” He smiled easily. “Step two is to tame a Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent. I don’t have any Thousand-Rot Fruit or Thunder-Alloy Godcrystal, but I do have Chaos Nectar. The only real trouble is finding a Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent.”

“Let’s go.”

Without any fear, Ji Ning flew straight into the endless black lightning zone ahead. All the black lightning was serpent-shaped, rampaging wildly with earth-shaking, world-destroying power. But just as a vast ocean cannot drown a fish, this deadly ‘Lightning-Serpent Zone’ was now no threat to him at all. Still, he slowed down as he entered, moving cautiously.

Lightning-Serpents streaked past him, brushing his body.

Ji Ning only felt a warm, comfortable sensation.

“Ha.” He smiled, then flew fully into the black lightning zone.

“Find a Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent.”

He flew through the black lightning, releasing his heartforce to probe. Heartforce was ethereal; the Lightning-Serpents did not harm it. With Ji Ning’s vast heartforce range, he soon detected a Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent deep within the lightning sea. Without hesitation, he dove straight down into the depths.

When he first entered, he could still see the chaos above. Now, deep inside, everything his eyes beheld was black lightning.

After flying for more than half an hour, a Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent happened to be moving toward Ji Ning’s direction.

“Perfect.” Ji Ning had already condensed the ‘Lightning-Serpent Egg’ runic pattern within his divine body. As long as the Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent touched his body, it would be drawn inside.

“Whoosh.” Ji Ning strained to get closer to that serpent.

Swoosh!

The massive black serpent with nine horns was lively, swimming joyfully. Sometimes it moved slowly, sometimes quickly. The most frustrating part was… it was swimming in the opposite direction. At the Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent’s speed, Ji Ning couldn’t even catch a glimpse of it, let alone chase it.

“Ugh, failure.”

Once the serpent began moving away, Ji Ning had no hope of catching it. Finding one would require luck—especially having it run into him.

“Keep diving deeper.” Ji Ning continued flying deeper into the lightning sea. Every lightning sea has a core. In an extremely large one, the core might even condense into a Thunder-Alloy Godcrystal. But this lightning sea had already been discovered by the Three Realms ages ago. If there were such a crystal, beings like Suiren, Daoist Three Purities, and especially Mother Nuwa would have been able to reach the core at great cost if they were determined. So Ji Ning didn’t believe there was any Thunder-Alloy Godcrystal at the core.

He kept flying toward the core…

His speed was slow inside the lightning sea, and the sea itself was truly vast. It took over two months of flight. During that time, he encountered Nine-Horned Lightning Serpents over a hundred times, but not one touched his body. Once, he even saw one with his naked eyes as it passed nearby, but it flashed past before he could react. He tried expanding his body to ten thousand li in size, but still couldn’t make contact.

They were too fast.

…

After more than two months, Ji Ning finally reached the core of the lightning sea.

With his heartforce, he could ‘see’ terrifying waves of power at the very center—the source of the lightning sea. Around it were countless Nine-Horned Lightning Serpents. Here, they were most numerous; elsewhere, one was a rare sight. This was why he had come.

“There really is no Thunder-Alloy Godcrystal.” Ji Ning’s eyes burned with excitement. “But I’ve made it here at last. With so many Nine-Horned Lightning Serpents, I should be able to run into one.”

Slap.

A massive serpent tail swept past Ji Ning, brushing against the ‘Lightning-Serpent Egg’ runic pattern inside his body. Immediately, the enormous Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent was drawn in. Its innate spiritual nature made it instinctively dive straight into Ji Ning’s body, into that runic pattern. The pattern was like a home to it.

Through his heartforce, Ji Ning could sense the serpent coiling comfortably into layers, falling into slumber within the pattern.

“I wonder what great power created this technique. How did he devise the ‘Lightning-Serpent Egg’ runic pattern—making the Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent behave as docilely as a baby snake in its egg?” Ji Ning felt joy. His goal was achieved. He had finally captured a Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent. But he knew it was only drawn into the pattern by its instinct; he couldn’t truly control it.

To truly master it, he would have to tame it, causing a qualitative change. Only then could it become a true teleportation technique.

“Let’s go.” Ji Ning slowly began flying outward.

It took three full months to fly from the deepest core back to the boundary. He arrived at the void vessel.

Inside the aquatic palace.

Ji Ning sat cross-legged in the main hall. Before him were seven black bottles. According to the Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent teleportation technique manual, taming a single serpent required six bottles. But Ji Ning, worried about running short, had prepared one extra.

“It hurts to lose so much.”

“But this divine ability is something even the greatest powers of the Three Realms crave. Six bottles of Chaos Nectar for this technique—worth it.” Ji Ning closed his eyes and began the taming process as described in the manual.

Whoosh.

Drops of Chaos Nectar flew out, each containing extraordinary power. One by one, they drilled into his divine body. With his guidance, they entered the ‘Lightning-Serpent Egg’ runic pattern inside him and dripped directly onto the Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent. As the nectar entered its body, the serpent felt immense comfort.

At the same time, a golden runic pattern materialized—conjured by Ji Ning—and imprinted itself onto the serpent’s body.

One golden rune after another appeared, stamping onto the serpent. Drops of Chaos Nectar continued to enter its body. It was only because of the Chaos Nectar that the serpent felt comfort and did not resist. Otherwise, it would have awakened long ago and fled the egg, leaving Ji Ning dumbfounded.

Time passed.

Chaos Nectar was consumed steadily. The Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent received more and more golden runes, gradually undergoing a transformation. It grew closer to Ji Ning. Ji Ning could even faintly sense its existence with his soul, like sensing a spirit-beast. But the connection was still weak.

Bottle after bottle of Chaos Nectar was consumed…

The serpent grew gentler and gentler. Its original aggressive power began to fade.

“Huff.” Ji Ning opened his eyes, a smile on his face.

He could sense the connection between his soul and the coiled Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent within the ‘Lightning-Serpent Egg’. The serpent’s spiritual nature was low, but it understood that Ji Ning was the most important being to it.

“It really took six full bottles of Chaos Nectar.” Ji Ning looked down. “Only a tiny bit left in the sixth bottle.”

…

In the void outside the lightning sea, Ji Ning stood. With a thought, a black lightning serpent coiled around his body, even rubbing its horned head against his cheek affectionately.

“Go.”

With a thought.

Swish. A flash of black lightning, and Ji Ning was already far away. Another flash, and he was back.

“With this divine ability…” Ji Ning’s eyes burned with determination. “Senior apprentice-sister, I will make the Seamless Gate release you.” Before, he had always felt that forcing the Seamless Gate to submit was a near-impossible hope—he was just fighting for her sake. But now, Ji Ning truly had confidence.

It’s Monday, and I’m asking for your free recommendation votes. Tomato thanks you all~~