Chapter 151: Appearance Out of Nowhere

The lake surface gradually formed a vortex, growing larger and spinning rapidly. The massive vortex resembled a black hole, seemingly intent on devouring everything in its path.

This scene shattered the tranquility of the forest. The moment that righteous energy appeared, the old man in Dark Moon City frowned slightly and glanced toward Ming Lake. Yet in an instant, he no longer sensed that energy. Those people thought it was just an illusion, so they didn’t pursue it further.

Once the vortex reached a certain size, the entire forest returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

The night was cool as water. In the latter half of the night, a loud explosion came from the lake, followed by a wave that surged upward, forming a water column shooting into the sky!

Boom… Along with the water column, a figure suddenly broke through the lake’s surface and soared into the clouds before slowly landing by the small lake.

Under the night sky, the man’s silhouette stretched long, seemingly covering the entire lake. Looking back at the scene behind him, he sighed, a bitter smile appearing on his lips, with a hint of shock and relief in his eyes.

“I never thought I could survive such a fierce attack. It’s a blessing in disguise. Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle, should I thank you or hate you?” He lowered his head in contemplation, standing quietly by the lake under the moonlight, murmuring to himself.

Indeed, the person who appeared was Rod. This time, he had narrowly escaped death nine times over. After hovering on the edge of death for a month, he finally managed to dissipate the energy within him. With that energy, he not only repaired his body but also further tempered it, entering the third form of the demonic physique. His physical strength was far beyond what it had been before—ordinary weapons and warriors could no longer harm him at all. Meanwhile, his combat energy also achieved a breakthrough, allowing him to rise from the pre-divine upper stage to the early divine stage.

This was a qualitative leap. From this moment on, Rod could truly be considered a divine-level being, officially stepping into the realm of the divine and becoming a powerful figure.

And it was all thanks to the effects of that terrifying lightning. Thinking about it still filled him with dread—he didn’t want to experience death and despair again. Next time, he might not be so lucky.

If Xuan Yuan hadn’t helped him in that critical moment, he might now be nothing but dust, gone forever like the land around him.

It was the emergence of the Xuanyuan energy, the demonic energy, and that unknown lightning energy, combined with his own peculiar combat energy, that resolved this crisis. Ordinary people could never achieve such results. For this reason, although Rod harbored resentment toward the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan, he didn’t know how to address it.

“I wonder what’s become of those people now!” With a sigh, he turned his gaze toward Dark Moon City, thinking to himself that he had lived in the underwater world for over a month. Aside from the first few days when he was too preoccupied to pay attention to anything else, he had left a portion of his mental energy in the forest, so he was quite aware of what had happened during that month.

Over the past month, at least five groups had come here to investigate, but all returned empty-handed. His own strength and aura were completely concealed by that lightning energy, so naturally, they couldn’t detect him. Not only were there few skilled individuals among them, but even if they were advanced god-level warriors, what could they do? They couldn’t penetrate the cover provided by that lightning energy either.

On the contrary, while others couldn’t see inside, Rod could clearly observe the outside situation.

Now, aside from the energy of the Xuanyuan Sword Spirit being withdrawn, all the other energies had merged together to form a new kind of energy. The core of his combat energy had taken on a strange color—indescribable, seeming dark red as if it might drip blood, but upon closer inspection, a faint blue layer could be seen, with dark mist swirling within it, making it impossible to define its true color.

After this catastrophe, these various energies had fully merged into one new form of energy. Now, Rod’s combat energy possessed three attributes: fire, darkness, and lightning. It was a miracle that these three energies had merged perfectly without any conflicts or issues.

This new energy not only retained each attribute’s characteristics but also amplified them to their extreme. The dominance and ferocity of fire, the gloom and devouring nature of darkness, and the intensity and unpredictability of lightning—all combined to create a terrifying combat energy. Rod believed that although he was only at the early god-level, he now had the strength to fight against those at the mid-god level.

A cool breeze blew, causing the robe he had just put on to flutter in the wind, and his long hair swayed gracefully, giving him an ethereal appearance as he blended into the night.

“Will the trial start tomorrow? Hehe, Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle, it’s time for us to meet!” With a sigh, he turned and headed toward the rocky area where the two lakes met, planning to rest there for the night before entering Dark Moon City to face what was called the final trial the next day.

During the time spent recuperating at the bottom of the lake, Rod had vaguely heard news from the outside world. Such significant news spread like wind throughout the Source of Darkness, so of course he couldn’t remain unaware of it.

Sitting in lotus position, he drew in the three elements of heaven and earth into his body. After they circulated and merged through his meridians, they flowed into his dantian. The core of combat energy suspended within his dantian had now grown to the size of a thumb, much larger than before.

A thick layer of mist surrounded the core, with black, red, and blue colors intertwining like a magnificent rainbow swirling around it—truly breathtaking. Rod wasn’t sure exactly what these things were. There were too many mysteries hidden within his body, too many uncertainties that he couldn’t decipher or analyze.

The core spun rapidly, and the figures of the Heaven-Burning Spirit and the Xuanyuan Sword Spirit became clearer.

After a month of nurturing, Rod could clearly sense the growth of the Xuanyuan Sword Spirit. It had become far stronger than before, and a sense of righteous energy faintly filled his body. Rod knew that the time when the Xuanyuan Sword Spirit would be born was probably near—that day would arrive soon.

As for the Heaven-Burning Spirit, it seemed to have grown significantly thanks to this absorption, along with the magic energy of Lucy’s “Phoenix Dances in the Heavens” absorbed during his last battle against the younger head of the Nash family. After refinement, its soul form had also matured considerably; it should now be at the mid-stage of the Saint level, or perhaps even at the late stage.

……

Time passed, and before long, dawn began to break. A ray of morning sunlight shone down, pulling Rod out of his meditation. His body was filled with combat energy, and he couldn’t help but let out a long roar. This sense of relief, this surge of combat energy—he experienced the beauty of the divine realm. It seemed as though, for a moment, he had entered a state where all things merged into one, heaven and earth becoming one.

He stood up, exhaled a puff of air, took out the human mask given to him by the man in black from his magic bag, and put it on, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

Looking at the two magic scrolls lying quietly in the magic belt, he had originally thought they might be useful for saving his life after purchasing them at the last auction. But after being struck by lightning, he realized that sometimes, even with good intentions, one lacks the strength to use such external items—true power is what matters most.

He took out the magic bags he had seized from the young head of the Nash family and those middle-aged men. When opened, they contained quite a few treasures. Truly befitting a strong person, and indeed the young head of the Nash family.

The magic cores of magical beasts inside the bags were a substantial fortune—three at the early divine level, twenty-seven at the quasi-divine level, and nearly a hundred at the sacred level. It was a hefty income. More importantly, he found some miscellaneous items inside: weapons, armor, and magic scrolls that might come in handy someday.

At that moment, a black fragment caught Rod’s attention. This mysterious black substance contained immense energy. It was clear this was just one fragment of some object. If even one fragment was so powerful, it was hard to imagine what kind of treasure it must be. What’s more, there was a faint sense of familiarity emanating from it—a natural affinity, as if he had known this object since birth.

This was something taken from the young head of the Nash family, and since it was in his possession, it surely wasn’t something bad. He simply put it in his arms—of course, Rod wouldn’t hesitate to keep such a treasure.

After organizing everything, Rod turned and headed toward Dark Moon City. The so-called trial was likely about to begin, and he was quite interested to see what kind of judgment the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles would face.

He wasn’t dead, and his hatred toward the Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles wasn’t strong enough to drive him to exterminate their entire clan. But people like Proud Eagle definitely couldn’t be spared—they kept causing him trouble time and again, almost killing him this time. If not for good luck, he wouldn’t be standing here now. This matter couldn’t be ignored. If the trading guild couldn’t give him a satisfactory answer, then he would ensure a satisfactory outcome himself! Proud Eagle must not be left alive!

As for the Nash family, Rod had no intention of giving up. Failing to deal with them thoroughly would surely bring him great trouble in the future. He had killed their son; if he died, perhaps this matter would be forgotten. Unfortunately, he was still alive. Though they might say nothing on the surface, they would surely take action behind the scenes. Rod didn’t want to face such pursuit again or end up in danger once more.