Chapter 473: The Imperial Thunder Serpent

Chapter 473: The Imperial Thunder Serpent

The Star-Butchering Behemoth was equivalent to a Seventh-Order anomaly!

With his current strength, Ji Xinghuo was confident that he could face any Sixth-Order powerhouse without being at a disadvantage, and he could even emerge victorious against a Calamity-level monster.

But a Star-Butchering Behemoth...

The gap between the Sixth and Seventh Orders was greater than the sum of the gaps in the previous six evolutionary stages. Even the weakest Seventh-Order beings could easily crush any opponent below their rank.

Of course, it wasn't an entirely hopeless situation.

There were a few recorded instances in the True Dragon Empire's history where Sixth-Order anomalies had defeated Star Shepherds and Star-Butchering Behemoths.

However, those were extremely low-probability events that occurred due to a combination of coincidences and extreme circumstances.

"I'm just a weak Fifth-Order legend; it's better not to seek death."

Ji Xinghuo was being rational.

The no-go zone marked on the map was enormous, roughly forming an irregular rectangle with a length of nearly 30,000 kilometers, blocking his path ahead, and a width of about 18,000 kilometers.

This distance was slightly beyond his maximum jump range.

He opened the interface of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupils to check his resources.

Spiritual Source Energy: 1,328,045

He had accumulated over 1.32 million units of Spiritual Source Energy from hunting monsters in the abyssal sea during this half Star Realm month.

It was more than enough to upgrade his Electromagnetic Oscillation to the seventh level or enhance the numerous abilities of himself and his three battle pets, further boosting their overall strength.

However, Ji Xinghuo didn't rush to allocate the energy.

His gaze fell on the "Star Realm Jump" ability, which currently read (Level Four: 2460/306311).

If he upgraded Star Realm Jump to the fifth level, not only would each jump cover a greater distance, but the total distance he could traverse would also increase significantly. With consecutive jumps, he could directly bypass the sea area where the Star-Butchering Behemoth lurked.

"I'll keep saving it for now."

"Star Realm Jump isn't an immediate necessity, so I'll lower its priority for the time being." After much consideration, Ji Xinghuo decided against upgrading it.

In fact, if he had wanted to, he could have exhausted his jump distance within each 73-star hour cycle and, coupled with his full-speed travel while accounting for detours to avoid spatial rifts, he could have covered a distance of at least 50,000 kilometers per day.

In just six to seven Star Realm days, he would have reached the location indicated by the arrow.

But Ji Xinghuo chose not to do so.

Firstly, he wanted to conserve his jump distance for emergencies, in case he encountered an insurmountable danger. Secondly, he intended to hunt monsters in the abyssal sea along the way to gather more Spiritual Source Energy.

The fourth-level Star Realm Jump was sufficient for his needs.

"I'll enter from the edge, bypassing the center of the no-go zone."

"I'll jump when I'm close enough."

"This sea area is so vast that it's almost as large as Earth's surface. I shouldn't run into that Star-Butchering Behemoth, right?" Ji Xinghuo didn't think he was that unlucky. But even if he did encounter it, he was confident in his ability to escape.

"Doomsday, come back."

Ji Xinghuo recalled the Annihilation Dragon, which had been roaming freely, and Qinghong also shrunk down and hid in his pocket. He activated the Fraudulent Mask to conceal his aura, minimizing it as much as possible.

The Fraudulent Mask rippled, and he entered stealth mode.

Ji Xinghuo flew high into the sky, staying far away from the sea's surface, and traveled at a slower speed to minimize his presence.

Several hours later, Ji Xinghuo had entered the no-go zone. He constantly scanned the surroundings with his electromagnetic induction, but he didn't detect anything unusual. This area of the abyssal sea seemed no different from others, and there wasn't a noticeable difference in the number of monsters.

Occasional islands dotted the vast sea, most of which were not very large.

The sky was gloomy, and the sea was quiet.

The radiance of the golden glow seemed to have dimmed, creating a depressing atmosphere. The void was unstable, with terrifying rifts flashing by like lightning and emitting dull sounds, but these were common occurrences in the abyssal sea.

Ji Xinghuo dared not let down his guard and maintained a constant speed.

The schools of fish and monsters that he would have hunted before now had to be let go.

While in stealth, he couldn't move too quickly.

Ji Xinghuo remained patient and didn't rest. From day through starlit night to the following night, he stuck to his predetermined route. By midday of the second day, he had ventured over 3,000 kilometers into the no-go zone.

Now, a Star Realm Jump would allow him to cross the entire no-go zone in one go.

"Time to get out of here."

Without hesitation, Ji Xinghuo immediately activated Star Realm Jump.

The maximum distance he could cover with a jump was about 20 seconds away. He remained motionless in the high altitude, and after 20 seconds, a radiance enveloped his body as he entered the jump channel.

The scenery before his eyes changed.

When he emerged from the void, he found himself in an unfamiliar sea area.

The Azure Sky Ring's secondary ability, "Air-Stepping," enhanced the maximum distance of Star Realm Jump, and this time, he traveled 5,000 kilometers in one jump.

Ji Xinghuo immediately activated Star Realm Jump again.

As he waited, he sent out his electromagnetic induction to scan the surroundings.

Everything seemed normal.

After another 20 seconds, Ji Xinghuo jumped another 5,000 kilometers, appearing above the northeastern abyssal sea. He then continued with another jump.

With this final jump, he would leave the no-go zone sea area.

Out of habit, he released his electromagnetic induction, but his eyes widened in surprise as his brain received an abnormal electromagnetic field pattern.

His electromagnetic induction seemed to be interfered with, becoming extremely unstable, like snow on a television screen, filling his mind.

"What's going on?"

Ji Xinghuo was taken aback, but he quickly realized what had happened.

His electromagnetic induction had overlapped with someone else's, resulting in mutual collision and interference.

Moreover, the other party had a far superior grasp of electromagnetic fields, and their range was also much larger.

His electromagnetic induction was completely overwhelmed!

This created an information asymmetry where the opponent could pinpoint his location, but he had no idea where they were.

"Run!"

The next second, Ji Xinghuo's brain felt like it was being pricked by needles, and the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupils issued the highest-level danger warning. Yet, he still hadn't detected the enemy's location or even confirmed if it was the Star-Butchering Behemoth.

Ten seconds remained.

Ji Xinghuo maintained his calm, as the Star Realm Jump release had only reached the halfway point. He activated Electromagnetic Oscillation at full power and scanned the surroundings with his eyes.

Time seemed to slow down.

Ji Xinghuo's vision was filled with streams of light, and he saw a vision of the future. About three seconds later, a bolt of lightning appeared in the western sky, a massive lightning bolt that stretched across the sky for over ten kilometers.

Its speed was unparalleled!

People often use the phrase "quick as lightning" to describe something fast, but in reality, it pales in comparison to the speed of natural lightning by several orders of magnitude.

And this was the speed of true lightning!

In just one second, it could traverse a distance of hundreds of kilometers.

When it first appeared, it was still at the edge of Ji Xinghuo's electromagnetic induction radius, about 200 kilometers away. In the blink of an eye, it entered the halfway point of the radius, and in less than two seconds, it was already dangerously close.

If this had occurred under normal circumstances, Ji Xinghuo wouldn't have even had time to enter his hyper-frequency thinking state before being struck by the lightning.

But within the Myriad Phenomenon, he clearly saw the approaching threat.

"Imperial Thunder Serpent!"

Ji Xinghuo's heart trembled as he recognized the beast.

At the forefront of the blinding lightning, a massive serpent silhouette loomed, measuring over 900 meters in length. Its triangular head was ferocious, with a pair of sharp, gigantic fangs, resembling a dragon. A circle of petal-like fins adorned its neck.

Its snake body had no claws, with a white belly and black scales. Along its back and sides were purple-red fin bands composed of blade-like spines, giving it the appearance of a gigantic thorned vine.

This was the distinctive feature of a Thunder Sea Serpent.

In recent days, Ji Xinghuo had encountered Thunder Sea Serpents multiple times in the abyssal sea, including some that were Calamity-level, which he had easily slain.

When a Thunder Sea Serpent evolves to the Slaughter-star level, it becomes an Imperial Thunder Serpent! Slaughter-star monsters are categorized into three levels: Extinction, World-ending, and Star-ending. This Imperial Thunder Serpent was no ordinary Slaughter-star monster; it was at least World-ending level.

It was on par with the Black Flame Dragon from the Dragon Sacrifice!

"Electric Light Thunder Flash!"

"No wonder its speed is so fast, like true lightning..." Ji Xinghuo's eyes sparkled with understanding, and he remained calm.

Electric Light Thunder Flash was an extremely rare Starfall ability, where the user's body transforms into stellar electrical charges, simulating the propulsion of natural lightning, making it one of the fastest displacement abilities that does not involve spatial teleportation. It also possesses formidable destructive power.

The Myriad Phenomenon continued to evolve.

Five seconds into the future, the Imperial Thunder Serpent arrived in front of Ji Xinghuo, but instead of directly attacking with its lightning form, it released a distorted magnetic field.

It was trying to interrupt Star Realm Jump and restrain him.

Ji Xinghuo guessed that his Electromagnetic Overlord ability had piqued the Imperial Thunder Serpent's interest.

"A World-ending Imperial Thunder Serpent..." His mind raced, and he had no intention of fighting; he only wanted to escape safely. Based on his memory and previous encounters with Thunder Sea Serpents, they didn't possess spatial abilities.

As long as he could successfully complete the Star Realm Jump, he should be safe.

The vision before his eyes froze.

The Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupils could see up to about ten seconds into the future at most, and it had always been this way. The last time he found and fused with the fragments, the duration hadn't increased either.

But this was enough.

Ji Xinghuo could continuously maintain the Myriad Phenomenon, constantly seeing ten seconds into the future, and his current stellar energy cultivation was sufficient to sustain it for a long time.

He immediately thought of a way to escape.

A flash of light appeared on his left wrist.

The Azure Sky Ring appeared in Ji Xinghuo's hand, and he stared at the western horizon. One second, two seconds, three seconds... Just as the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupils had predicted, a massive lightning bolt slashed across the sky.

There was only light, no sound.

Because its speed far exceeded the speed of sound in the Star Realm, it took only two seconds to travel from the edge of his electromagnetic induction radius to his proximity.

Boom!

A gigantic serpentine figure appeared within the lightning, coiling across a large expanse of the sky.

A terrifying aura enveloped the area, causing the entire sea and sky to undergo ionization, with countless sparks of electricity dancing in the air.

Even though Ji Xinghuo was prepared, he still felt his heart and mind tremble.

World-ending level monsters were truly fearsome!

The nearly kilometer-long behemoth, only four to five hundred meters away, could render someone unconscious and paralyzed with just a glance.

There were five seconds left until the Star Realm Jump.

The Imperial Thunder Serpent's eyes fixed on the minuscule human before it, sensing that he was about to initiate the jump. The blade-like pink spines on its back trembled, electricity crackled and howled, and it instantly released a distorted magnetic field several thousand kilometers in diameter.

The massive distorted magnetic field not only enveloped itself but also the human in front of it.

A thousand-fold increase in magnetic field strength could interfere with the void and interrupt the jump.

Buzz!

An invisible magnetic field formed, but just before it fully materialized, a transparent barrier appeared around Ji Xinghuo, with a diameter of 100 meters, centered on himself. Several illusory Void Kun Dragons swam within the barrier, separating the world into two distinct realms.

Void Prison!

This was originally a cage used to trap enemies, but at this moment, it served as a protective fortress.

The movement of objects within the space slowed to their lowest point, and all matter seemed to stagnate, as if frozen in time.

However, Ji Xinghuo himself was unaffected.

The Star Realm Jump continued.

The Imperial Thunder Serpent's distorted magnetic field was also isolated outside the barrier, unable to interfere with Ji Xinghuo within. It immediately realized what had happened and flew into a rage, opening its mouth to spew forth a stream of ionized flames, engulfing the entire barrier.

The ultra-high-temperature breath passed through the barrier unimpeded, but as it entered the inner space, its speed slowed down a thousandfold.

Thin strands of azure, current-like flames appeared, revealing every detail.

Yet, its forward progress was as slow as a tortoise.

Ji Xinghuo hovered at the center of the Void Prison, his face calm as he watched the Imperial Thunder Serpent outside unleash various attacks. Five seconds, four seconds, three seconds... With only one second left before the Void Prison dissipated, the Star Realm Jump finally completed.

After a burst of light, Ji Xinghuo's figure vanished.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end