With a loud bang, in the center of the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain, the Five-Colored Lightning chains binding Ying Xiao shattered, and his figure reappeared.
He opened his blood-red eyes, his expression ferocious. His entire body was even emitting a faint blood-red light, and his aura was stronger than before.
In his sea of consciousness, the spirit bird phantom formed by his Divine Soul had turned completely blood-red, its power greatly increasing, extinguishing all the Moon-Slaying Divine Lights.
However, Ying Xiao's forced enhancement came at a price, as he had used a drop of his origin Essence Blood.
He only possessed a dozen drops of origin Essence Blood in total, and exceeding a certain limit would cause irreversible damage.
Over the years, he had only consumed two drops of origin Essence Blood when being pursued by Lord Xuanyi.
It had taken him two hundred years and countless resources to barely recover those two drops.
Now, he had to use another drop.
There was no other way; his Divine Soul was his weakness, and Ning Fa's Divine Soul Attacks were extremely potent.
Especially sensing the terrifying killing intent rising around him, if he allowed Ning Fa to continue, he would be in danger of perishing. Thus, he had no choice but to use a drop of his origin Essence Blood.
Being pushed to such a state by a Nascent Soul Cultivator, even with the latter possessing the Five Elements Thunder Body, filled him with immense humiliation.
He had no time to be angry. The surging Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy around him made him feel as if his back was covered in thorns. A flicker of fear flashed in his eyes, and he shouted sternly:
"Are you insane! To use your Innate Divine Ability so recklessly, you are still only at the Nascent Soul realm. You haven't even done anything to me, and you're already going to die here!"
Before his words could even finish, his figure vanished instantly. However, dozens of feet away, a wave-like display of Five-Colored Lightning appeared, forcing Ying Xiao to reveal himself.
Initially, his speed was extremely fast, breaking through layers of lightning.
But the Five-Colored Lightning surging around him grew more intense, fiercely striking his protective spiritual light, greatly reducing his speed.
At this moment, Ning Fa, whose face had become pale, let out a loud laugh and clenched his right fist.
Instantly, the runes on the surface of the thunder pillars in the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain lit up. Dozens of feet long streaks of Five-Colored Lightning emerged from the surfaces of these pillars, bombarding the trapped Ying Xiao in an instant.
Sensing the terrifying power contained within this Five-Colored Lightning, Ying Xiao's expression changed drastically.
At this moment, his outer clothes instantly shattered. His spiritual light flashed wildly as he transformed into a spirit bird dozens of feet tall.
Its entire body was a deep azure, like an artwork crafted from azure gemstones. Each feather emitted a cold, faint glow, surrounded by fierce arcs of electricity and swirling winds.
Although its size was not immense, it gave off a feeling of obscuring the sky and sun, with its demonic aura soaring to the heavens.
This was Ying Xiao, who, seeing the unfavorable situation, had directly activated his Sky-Splitting Thunder Owl true form.
With a sonic boom, Ying Xiao shot towards the edge of the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain like an arrow from a bow. The obstructing Five-Colored Lightning around him had greatly weakened.
But at this moment, the Lesser Chaos Divine Thunder activated by the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain surged towards him.
Seeing this, Ying Xiao flapped his wings, and thunder roared. Streaks of deep azure arcs of electricity surged from his body, transforming into ferocious azure thunder pythons that lunged towards the surrounding Lesser Chaos Divine Thunder.
However, the moment they made contact, these seemingly menacing azure thunder pythons disintegrated under the Lesser Chaos Divine Thunder. They were even absorbed by the Lesser Chaos Divine Thunder, which then surged towards Ying Xiao with even greater momentum.
"Damn it!" Ying Xiao cursed. In his desperation, he used his Thunder Power again. The outcome before him made him completely despair, and he resolved not to use his Thunder Attribute Divine Abilities anymore.
He fiercely clawed forward with both his claws. The spiritual treasures on his ten claws flashed with spiritual light.
Amidst the howling wind, countless azure wind blades shot out and immediately condensed into extremely fine deep azure threads. The cutting action even caused the space to make popping sounds. This was a clear indication that his Wind Spiritual Power had been condensed to its absolute limit.
These wind blade threads crisscrossed, instantly forming a giant azure net that protected Ying Xiao within it.
With a deafening roar, the Lesser Chaos Divine Thunder activated by the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain struck this azure net. The fine threads condensed from the wind blades instantly vibrated intensely, desperately cutting at this Divine Thunder.
These Lesser Chaos Divine Thunders exploded one after another, transforming into masses of dense Five-Colored Lightning magma, emitting an incredibly violent destructive power.
The wind blade net immediately succumbed. In the midst of the violent Thunder Power, the threads were annihilated one after another, leaving only a thin layer in an instant.
"Damn it!" Ying Xiao's face contorted in ferocity.
What Ning Fa had unleashed was not only the Lesser Chaos Divine Thunder but also absorbed the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Each bolt of Lesser Chaos Divine Thunder now posed a considerable threat to a Spirit Transformation Cultivator.
Ying Xiao knew he could no longer hesitate. While his claws shot out azure wind blades, he spread his wings wide and let out a sharp, piercing cry.
The surge of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy in this space immediately doubled. Half of this Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy surged towards Ying Xiao, causing the demon's body to be enveloped in a dense mass of azure energy.
At this moment, the wind blades shot from his claws turned azure-white, and their power surged. The net formed by the wind blades immediately blocked the surging Lesser Chaos Divine Thunder around him.
A fierce glint flashed in Ying Xiao's eyes. He opened his beak, as hard as refined iron, and an azure-white light flashed and disappeared, directly piercing through the surging Five-Colored Lightning that flowed like water, as well as the blockade of the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain. It was about to strike Ning Fa.
But at this moment, a ripple appeared in the air. A sword light, as fine as a hair, abruptly materialized and precisely blocked this azure-white light.
Although the sword light was cut off almost instantly, like ripples on water, more sword light emerged from the surrounding void. Amidst a series of roaring sounds, the azure-white light's speed slowed down, and it was finally annihilated by the numerous sword lights.
Ning Fa's expression turned solemn as he pointed remotely.
With a clear and resonant sword cry, outside the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain, at regular intervals, clusters of surging sword light converged like tides. In an instant, five colossal thunder swords, dozens of feet in size, were formed.
These five giant swords trembled simultaneously, their surfaces flashing with dazzling thunderous light. They simultaneously slashed towards the center, and five terrifying sword lights of different colors shot out, creating deafening roars.
"Not good!" Ying Xiao's expression changed drastically. He flapped his wings, and like teleportation, he moved dozens of feet away.
Almost simultaneously, the five condensed thunderous sword lights struck the position where he had been.
Before Ying Xiao could breathe a sigh of relief, his expression changed wildly. He immediately closed his wings, shielding himself within.
With a series of explosive sounds, the five thunderous sword lights, almost as if teleporting through space, struck his wings, creating bursts of dazzling thunderous light.
This was not the end. The five colossal swords, activated by the Calamity Heaven Sword Array, slashed remotely once more, and another five terrifying thunderous sword lights shot out in an instant.
The surrounding thunder pillars also instantly surged with minor Chaos Divine Thunder, overwhelming Ying Xiao with a torrent of lightning.
After a long while, the terrifying commotion finally subsided. The thunder pillars activated by the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain had dimmed, and the five colossal swords summoned by the Calamity Heaven Sword Array had once again vanished.
At this moment, Ning Fa's complexion was extremely pale, unable to even maintain the Divine Firmament Manifestation state.
His mana, spiritual sense, Bloodline Power, and Divine Thunder of the Five Elements were all nearly depleted.
However, his expression remained unchanged as he stared intently at the center of the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain, where a swirling mass of lightning still lingered.
With a loud explosion, the swirling lightning burst apart and dissipated.
A figure appeared within, it was Ying Xiao.
He looked extremely miserable, his entire body scorched black, with at least a hundred gaping wounds visible at a glance.
The most severe was his left wing, a sharp sword mark slicing through more than half of it, exposing bone.
His aura had also plummeted, now less than thirty percent of its peak.
His massive demonic head slowly tilted upwards, blood still flowing from his right eye. Hatred etched into his very soul, he spoke in an extremely ferocious and hoarse voice:
"Kid, you're the only one who's ever injured me this badly. Don't worry, I will definitely make you suffer the most severe punishments in the world as repayment!"
Although Ning Fa's body swayed precariously, he still smiled faintly, "Oh? Is that so?"
Seeing Ning Fa show no fear, Ying Xiao first revealed surprise, then burst into wild laughter, "I don't believe it. With your current state, you can still turn the tables!"
But his laughter soon came to an abrupt halt.
A hazy purple figure, similar in size to Ning Fa, suddenly appeared before him and vanished into Ning Fa's body in an instant.
Immediately, Ning Fa's body was enveloped in a blinding flash of lightning, his aura rapidly climbing from rock bottom.
A moment later, the purple light dissipated, and Ning Fa reappeared.
He was now wreathed in purple lightning, his eyes filled with divine light, exuding a powerful aura like mountains and oceans, as if capable of splitting mountains and calming seas.
Amidst a rumble of thunder, he re-activated the Divine Firmament Manifestation.
Ying Xiao, who had been laughing maniacally, stared blankly, dumbfounded, "How is this possible! How can there be such a powerful recovery method in this world!?"
Ning Fa flicked his fingers, casually looking at Ying Xiao, and smiled faintly, "Daoist friend Ying, what did you just say? I didn't quite catch that.
However, I do know that if you have no other means, you might meet your end here today."
As he spoke, Ning Fa abruptly pressed his right hand downwards.
The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy that had calmed down began to churn again. The thunder pillars of the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain, replenished by Ning Fa's mana, Divine Thunder of the Five Elements, and the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, solidified once more, emitting blinding lightning.
Outside the thunder domain, sword light surged like a tide, emitting clear sword cries. The five colossal thunder swords reappeared, their bodies entwined with a faint glow, their terrifying aura re-condensed.
Ying Xiao's expression turned extremely grim, then instantly contorted into ferocity.
He gritted his teeth, and five drops of Essence Blood appeared within his body. They resembled him, like Spirit Birds shrunk countless times, these were his five drops of Origin Essence Blood.
With Ying Xiao's desperate move, these five drops of Origin Essence Blood all exploded.
Coupled with the one drop of Origin Essence Blood he had already used, this exchange had cost him a total of six drops of Origin Essence Blood, reaching the dangerous limit of Origin Essence Blood depletion.
The catastrophic price was indescribable; it would take him at least a thousand years to recover.
If he were to fight a powerful enemy during this period and use his Origin Essence Blood again, he might even fall in his cultivation realm.
The thought of this instantly filled Ying Xiao with overwhelming killing intent.
A blinding blood-red light surged around him, and the gaping wounds on his body rapidly healed and recovered. His aura also surged, even surpassing his peak state.
He spread his wings and instantly transformed into a streak of bloody light, slicing through the dense lightning of the Zhou Tian Thunder Domain.
With a deafening roar, two thunder pillars at the edge of the thunder domain were directly severed by his wings.
At this moment, the five colossal thunder swords formed by the Calamity Heaven Sword Array moved again. Five terrifying sword lights merged into one and slashed forward at extreme speed.
Ying Xiao let out a piercing cry, spat out a blood-green light pillar, and collided with the formidable sword light.
After a few seconds of stalemate, the thunderous sword light exploded.
With a flash of bloody light, Ying Xiao disappeared.
Ning Fa's heart was immediately filled with a sense of grave danger. A flash of lightning appeared around him, and he immediately activated his Lightning Escape technique to vanish.
But as soon as his figure appeared a hundred feet away, Ying Xiao was already upon him like a persistent shadow.
For a time, Ning Fa was back to being passively beaten, and even in a worse situation.
After Ning Fa used Lightning Escape for the third time, he could no longer evade.
He clasped his hands together, and a vortex of Five-Colored Lightning spun rapidly before him, shooting out a spiral of lightning that fiercely struck the charging Ying Xiao.
It was his Thunder Vortex Divine Light.
Yet, even so, before the desperate Ying Xiao, the Thunder Vortex Divine Light only lasted a few seconds before shattering with a series of explosions.
Ying Xiao's blood-red eyes were filled with a sinister grin as he extended his claws, intending to tear Ning Fa to shreds.
Ning Fa's expression was solemn, but he didn't show much panic.
He was now certain that if he used his strongest Innate Divine Ability, Chaos Divine Thunder, he would have at least a seventy to eighty percent chance of killing this demon in one fell swoop.
However, he naturally wouldn't use it lightly, as he might be staying in the late Nascent Soul stage for a long time.
But he had another trump card.
Ning Fa flipped his right hand, and a white bead the size of a baby's fist appeared in his palm. Runes flashed across the surface of the bead, emitting a terrifying aura of world-ending destruction—it was the Great Immortal Extermination Bead.
At the same time, on the surface of the Source-Crossing Heavenly Book, one of the two True Form Imprint runes had already imprinted the true form of this Immortal Extermination Bead.
But just then, purple-gold lightning flashed wildly behind Ning Fa, and a towering Thunderwood instantly appeared. It was entirely deep green, covered with mysterious purple-gold patterns.
As the Thunderwood swayed, it seemed to block out the sky and the sun.
The next moment, the purple-gold patterns on the Thunderwood's surface flew off its body, instantly transforming into a purple-gold lightning rune chain. With a flash, it bound the charging Ying Xiao directly.
As the lightning chain runes flashed wildly, Ying Xiao, who had been exuding immense demonic energy just moments before, was completely immobilized.
Even though he roared repeatedly, his body surging with rings of sharp blood-red wind blades, he couldn't break free from the restraint of this rune chain.
Seeing this, Ning Fa was dumbfounded.
This Thunderwood was the symbol of his Innate Supreme Wood Divine Thunder; why had it activated on its own?
And why did these purple-gold runes on its surface possess such immense power?
The next moment, something even more astonishing happened.
Above Ying Xiao's head, a purple wood phantom suddenly appeared, about ten feet tall. The body of the wood was covered with mysterious, deep black runes.
The purple wood phantom swayed gently, and a ring of purple-black light surged out, enveloping Ying Xiao from head to toe.
Immediately after, the blood essence on Ying Xiao's body began to flow along the lightning chain towards the Thunderwood behind Ning Fa.
At the same time, Ning Fa also felt an extremely potent Bloodline Power surge into his body, making him feel as if he had consumed a great tonic. His blood essence began to boil, and his aura grew stronger and stronger.
Meanwhile, Ying Xiao's aura rapidly declined, his expression one of utter horror.