Chapter 146: Dancing with Thunder

At this moment, Lao He sighed in the Immortal Prison, “It’s a pity. I still lack a Heavenly Demon at the Foundation Establishment stage; otherwise, I could undergo a second fusion. That way, I could transform into the Rat King of the Barren God Rats, just like in the Yin Wind Gorge, and command them to collect treasures for me.”
Su Che shook his head. “I don’t think it would be very effective. Different regions have different conditions. Treasures like the Black Region Immortal Lotus have remained untouched by the Barren God Rats despite growing here for countless years, which proves that even they dare not approach the Eye of Wind and Thunder casually.”
“Moreover, the Barren God Rats lack wisdom and don’t know advanced collection techniques. Using them to gather truly precious treasures would be a waste. Unlike those low-grade spiritual herbs in the Yin Wind Gorge, the minor losses from improper collection are negligible.”
“Besides, if this method were feasible, cultivators would have long tamed the Barren God Rats as spiritual beasts to help them collect treasures…”
Su Che thought to himself as he kept walking, though still not daring to go too fast.
The Barren God Rat followed closely behind him, puzzled. “What’s going on? Why does this human’s aura resemble that of my king so much?”
At that moment, the fluctuations of Su Che’s spiritual energy were indeed mimicked after that Rat King imprisoned in the Immortal Prison. People like Gui Ji couldn’t tell the difference, but the Barren God Rats could discern it clearly.
It was similar to how humans perceive rats of the same breed as looking similar, with only differences in fur color and size; but rats themselves could never mistake one for another.
Thus, Su Che walked back and forth. Whenever he encountered something of value along the way, he would mentally command it to be sent to the Immortal Prison, without even needing to bend down to pick it up.
These items might not be valuable, but storing them in the Immortal Prison and giving them to the prisoners skilled in crafting could help improve their skills. The resulting magical artifacts could later be sold in Fei Yun’s shop…
The more they went inward, the more frequent the thunderstorms and howling winds became. Su Che remained constantly anxious. Yet, the Barren God Rat following him paid no attention to these, its interest entirely focused on itself.
As a demonic beast at the Mid-Qi stage, it couldn’t have parasites, and its fur was shiny and clean. Su Che allowed it to rub against his pants. Over time, he even found the fat rat’s simple, honest appearance somewhat endearing.

So, Su Che crouched down, patted its back a few times, and asked in a low voice, “Aren’t you afraid of these thunderbolts and fierce winds?”
“Not afraid!”
It wasn’t the Wild God Rat that answered Su Che, but Lao Hei from the Immortal Prison.
While Su Che was asking the Wild God Rat, Lao Hei was also asking the Rat King the exact same question in the Immortal Prison.
“Why not afraid?” Su Che continued, stroking the Wild God Rat.
Lao Hei replied, “Over countless years, not a single Wild God Rat has ever been killed by thunderbolts or fierce winds. This is their home, and they believe that the great ‘Wild God’ is actually a rat.”
“The Wild God?”
Su Che shook his head silently. There were eighty different theories about the origin of the Wild God Valley. Who could tell what was true after millions of years?
But Su Che believed that nine out of ten major events that had occurred millions of years ago were related to the Witch Clan. Back then, the Witch Clan was truly terrifying.
According to ancient legends, since the creation of the world, the Witch Clan had caused chaos countless times…
A race extremely good at causing trouble!
After continuing on for nearly half an hour, they finally arrived at the location mentioned by Ghost Princess.
Crack! Boom…
Somewhere ahead, thunderbolts rained down, and fierce winds howled. The various forces of heaven’s wrath bloomed in colorful hues, dazzling Su Che and shaking his mind. Even with the spiritual energy fluctuations from the Wild God Rat, he couldn’t move forward and dared not get any closer.
The Eye of Wind and Thunder!
Although this place wasn’t the center of the entire Wind and Thunder Desolate Land, it was still a true death zone—a divine punishment eye that could even defeat an Origin Soul Ancestor.
At this moment, even the Wild God Rat was hesitating, circling in place, and even biting Su Che’s pants several times. Its intention was clear: there was danger ahead, they shouldn’t go through, and they should leave quickly.
Su Che calmed his mind, patted its back a few times, and said in a low voice, “Little guy, since we’ve come here, I have to give it a try to be satisfied. That Immortal Lotus is extremely important to me.”
Su Che wasn’t reckless or greedy for profit. It was truly because the Black Domain Immortal Lotus had an extraordinary effect in enhancing innate aptitude that made him so eager for it.
Although his current progress in cultivation was quite promising, the path of cultivation became more difficult with each step. The more he advanced, the more crucial innate aptitude became.
Golden Core, Origin Soul, Divine Transformation…

Without any exceptional aptitude, even with ten times or a hundred times more effort and ten times or a hundred times more fortune, it’s extremely difficult to keep up with those who possess innate spiritual roots. The further forward one goes, the harder it becomes to catch up; one may be trapped in a certain cultivation barrier for life, unable to make any progress, and in the end, can only pass away in regret… Therefore, faced with such a rare opportunity, Su Che must surely strive to seize it—provided he doesn’t lose his life in the process. Throughout this desolate land, there are many such Eye of Wind and Thunder. They’re called “eyes” because countless thunderbolts and fierce winds rage within a circular area, yet the very center remains calm and peaceful. This is somewhat similar to a typhoon eye in the mortal world, where the weather is actually more stable in the eye itself. In other words, as long as one can break through this outer zone of death and enter the central area, temporary safety can be achieved. Inside this desolate land, the earth’s energy is in chaotic turmoil, making it impossible to use earth-burrowing techniques. Digging tunnels would only lead to a worse fate, as the fierce winds and thunderbolts would also enter through those holes, leaving no escape… Moreover, the greater the movements made within this Eye of Wind and Thunder, the more thunderbolts and winds are attracted, rendering most techniques unusable. Before entering, Ghost Princess told Su Che that the only way was to use the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Wild God Rat to avoid the fierce winds and follow the path of the thunderbolts, moving inward bit by bit. “The path of the thunderbolts” means that no second thunderbolt will strike the same spot within a few breaths, allowing one to take advantage of the time gap. Mastering this time gap indeed offers hope of finding a loophole in this web of wind and thunder and gradually making one’s way in—provided one has the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Wild God Rat, so that the fierce winds won’t target them. Otherwise, even a single gust of wind could disrupt the rhythm established by following the thunderbolts. Of course, this process is extremely dangerous; one misstep could be fatal… Su Che sat cross-legged on the ground, staring at this Eye of Wind and Thunder for three full days. He indeed began to grasp the rhythm and pattern of the “path of the thunderbolts.” Through three days of careful observation and meticulous calculation, he also gained much insight into controlling, coordinating, and planning his own strength. In other words, driven by the power of heaven, Su Che seemed to have an epiphany, self-teaching himself a great deal—what was truly a valuable lesson from nature.

By Su Che’s side, that Wild God Rat refused to leave, staying there and feasting for three days—eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating again. It had almost tasted all the delicious foods in the Immortal Prison.
Lao He even said, “Master, since it clings to you so much, why not capture it and raise it in the Immortal Prison?”
But Su Che replied, “I really like it. I don’t want to take away its freedom.”
It was time. Today, Su Che planned to make his first attempt.
Boom! Thunder flashed, and fierce gales howled. Su Che stepped forward one by one toward that direction. At first, the Wild God Rat squeaked in panic, but later, it wisely kept quiet, not daring to disturb Su Che anymore.
Even a mid-stage Qi-cultivating beast, no matter how dull its intelligence, was far smarter than the best hunting dogs.
Crack! A bolt of lightning struck right in front of Su Che. Once it vanished, Su Che quickly stepped forward to the spot where it had landed.
Crack! Another bolt came, so he stepped forward again.
Crack! Another step forward.
A gust of fierce golden wind blew by, but it ignored Su Che and continued swirling along its original path.
Crack! Another bolt of lightning struck, but this time, Su Che seized the opportunity to retreat quickly. After just three steps, his rhythm became disrupted.
Once the rhythm was disrupted, he had to retreat immediately; otherwise, if he went any further, he wouldn’t be able to turn back.
“It’s different, completely different!”
Su Che shook his head repeatedly, thinking to himself, “There’s a huge difference between wanting to do something and actually doing it!”
He returned to his original position, sat in seclusion, observed carefully, and calculated silently. Another full three days passed.
On the second attempt, he took five steps before retreating in time, and spent another whole day pondering…
The third attempt was even worse—he only took one step before feeling his focus wane, so he rushed back.
Then the fourth attempt…
By the end, Su Che was fully immersed in it, even forgetting about the Black Domain Immortal Lotus. In his mind, there was only the pure desire to complete this challenge—a challenge to himself, and also a challenge in life.
Crack! It was unclear which attempt this was, but this time, Su Che had taken sixteen steps. He felt great, entering a wonderful state where it seemed as though the world was in his hands.
Crack! Dancing with the lightning, surrounded by gusts of wind.
Whoosh! A light gray gust of wind swept past Su Che’s nose, turning a corner of his robe to nothingness. But Su Che remained unfazed, following a subtle rhythm as he took more graceful steps.

Following in the footsteps of the thunderous lightning…
At this moment, Su Che forgot everything, even ignoring life and death, purely enjoying this very instant…
Yes, this state of unity between man and nature had become the highest spiritual pleasure, one that was extremely rare.
One step, another step, and yet another step…