Chapter 52: Nine Heavens Thunderstrike Sword, Ice Extreme Divine Crystal
"Boom!"
When the seventh Tribulation Lightning fell, even the surrounding space developed fine black cracks that could not be mended for a long time.
A seven-colored radiance swirled around Lei Chen as he steadily received this violent thunder. The purple-gold lightning mark on his forehead blazed as bright as a miniature sun, and the humming sound emanating from within became increasingly clear and majestic.
He could clearly feel that the growing Thunder God Origin within his body was undergoing a qualitative transformation; its total volume had finally broken through a certain critical point!
"Buzz!"
A roar that only Lei Chen himself could perceive echoed from the depths of his soul.
At this moment, the Thunder God Position, which had been shattered for countless tens of thousands of years, finally completed its initial reconstruction by relying on the majestic power of thunder accumulated from the three heavenly tribulations of the Xue Di and Ice Empress!
Although it was still far from the First-level God that wielded the Authority of the Thunder God at its peak, its status was established and its origin was solidified, meaning he would eventually be able to bring it to its zenith!
Simultaneously, under Lei Chen's exquisite control, this solid Thunder God Origin, which had reached the god-level, also began to condense and take shape into its final form.
The power of the origin was like being hammered by an invisible divine smith, removing the last traces of impurities and outlining a clear silhouette.
When the final purple-gold thunder dragon, possessing world-destroying power, was completely absorbed into Lei Chen's body with an unwilling roar and transformed into pure origin power—merging into that embryonic divine artifact—the entire shaping process was finally successfully completed.
The tribulation clouds high in the sky seemed to have exhausted all their power and began to slowly dissipate. The Far North Land once again revealed its grayish-white sky, but the pervasive heavenly pressure did not vanish for a long time, bearing witness to the soul-stirring scene that had just occurred.
Lei Chen slowly opened his eyes, and within them, thousands of lightning bolts seemed to flicker into existence and vanish before finally returning to tranquility.
He lightly parted his lips and uttered a single, clear word:
"Come forth!"
As his voice fell, the purple-gold lightning mark on his forehead suddenly erupted with a blinding light, as if opening a door to the world of the Thunder God Origin.
In the next instant, a condensed streak of purple-gold lightning shot out, hovering before Lei Chen.
The lightning expanded rapidly upon meeting the wind, transforming in the blink of an eye into a heavy sword with an ancient, broad-bladed design.
The sword was about five feet long with a wide blade. Its entire body was a deep purple-gold, as if condensed from the purest essence of thunder.
Countless fine and complex lightning patterns were naturally engraved upon the blade. These patterns were not static but flowed slowly like living things, constantly drawing in and releasing the surrounding thunder elements, emitting a faint yet heart-palpitating "crackling" sound.
A sharp and peerless aura, filled with the meaning of destruction and judgment, naturally spread from the blade, causing the recently calmed space to ripple once again.
Looking at the lightning-flickering heavy sword before him, a satisfied smile curled at the corners of Lei Chen's mouth.
"Using the Thunder God Origin of a newly entered god-level as a foundation, the base is ultimately a bit thin." He murmured softly, his fingertips brushing across the cold blade as he felt the power contained within. "Compared to you, it is indeed far inferior."
The "you" he spoke of naturally referred to the Life Guardian Divine Armor, which had been refined from the life essence of an entire plane and had reached the level of a Super Divine Artifact.
Compared to the vast, sea-like power of the Life Guardian Divine Armor, which contained the Law of Life and the power of creation, the thunder sword before him—in terms of energy level and the completeness of its laws—could only be considered an ordinary divine artifact, with power roughly equivalent to the artifacts used by Third-Rank Deitys.
"However..." Lei Chen's tone shifted, and a look of expectation appeared in his eyes. "Your potential is beyond what those fixed-rank divine artifacts can compare to."
This sword was entirely condensed from his most fundamental thunder god power, sharing the same origin as him. It could be said to be an extension of his Authority of the Thunder God. Its greatest feature was its infinite growth potential!
From now on, as long as this sword continued to devour high-quality thunder power, it could continuously grow. One day, it was not impossible for it to surpass the level of a divine artifact and advance to the realm of a Super Divine Artifact.
Lei Chen placed high hopes on this second exclusive divine artifact he had refined; it would be the sharp blade he would use to confront powerful enemies and wield thunder in the future.
"I shall call you... Nine Heavens Thunderstrike Sword."
Lei Chen bestowed a name upon it, implying that its power could reach the Nine Heavens, summon heavenly thunder, and strike down all things.
The thunder heavy sword seemed to sense this, its blade trembling slightly as it emitted a clear sword hum, and the lightning upon it seemed to brighten a few shades.
At this time, a graceful figure flew up from the Ice Palace below; it was the Xue Di, who had just stabilized her 800,000-year cultivation.
She first looked curiously at the purple-gold heavy sword in Lei Chen's hand, which was surrounded by lightning and possessed a terrifying aura. Feeling that pure intent of destruction, her heart couldn't help but shudder. She then bowed respectfully: "Once again, I thank Senior for the grace of protecting me, helping Xue Di safely pass through this tribulation."
With a flick of his wrist, the Nine Heavens Thunderstrike Sword turned into a streak of purple-gold light and vanished back into the lightning mark on his forehead. He looked at the Xue Di and said indifferently:
"There is no need for such courtesy. I have said before that helping you through the tribulation is also beneficial to me. If not for the power of these three heavenly tribulations from you and the Ice Empress, the sword in my hand would not have taken shape so smoothly."
He paused and encouraged her: "I look forward to your next breakthrough. At that time, the lightning quality of the 900,000-year heavenly tribulation will surely be on a higher level, which will be of great benefit to the growth of my sword."
Hearing this, a flash of determination appeared in the Xue Di's ice-blue eyes, and she nodded solemnly: "Senior, please rest assured. Xue Di will certainly practice diligently without pause. With the help of the Ten Thousand Years of Mysterious Ice Marrow, I am confident I can raise my cultivation to 900,000 years within a year!"
"Very good." Lei Chen nodded slightly in approval.
He pondered for a moment, as if thinking of something, and then reached out to grab at the void.
In an instant, dozens of strange crystals of various sizes, entirely a deep ice-blue with liquid-like cold light flowing inside, abruptly appeared before Lei Chen.
"This is Ice Extreme Divine Crystal; you should recognize it." Lei Chen said, "This is the top-tier ice-attribute metal of this plane. Its texture is indestructible, and it can perfectly carry the power of ice-attribute laws. It is an excellent material for refining ice-attribute divine artifacts."
With a wave of his sleeve, these dozens of incredibly precious Ice Extreme Divine Crystals slowly floated toward the Xue Di.
"Your cultivation has now reached 800,000 years; it is time to start considering refining your own divine artifact. These Ice Extreme Divine Crystals are a gift to you."
"You can try to use them as a foundation to nurture and construct the prototype of your divine artifact in advance. When you break through to a million-year cultivation and reclaim the position of the ice god, a natal divine artifact that perfectly fits you will be like adding wings to a tiger."
Looking at the Ice Extreme Divine Crystals floating before her, which emitted an alluring ice-blue glow, and feeling the majestic ice-attribute energy and sturdy characteristics within, a look of surprise and gratitude once again appeared on the Xue Di's beautiful face.
Knowing the preciousness of these materials, she quickly gave a deep bow: "Xue Di thanks Senior for the generous gift! I will not fail Senior's expectations!"