Female Protagonist Assistance System

Chapter 36 : . Mysterious Lightning Cluster

What... is this?

Xiao Han was somewhat astonished. Usually vigilant, she couldn't muster any aversion towards this lightning cluster. It was as if she intrinsically knew this lightning cluster wouldn't harm her.

Or rather, it was as if this belonged to her.

The Tribulation Lightning in her dantian was eager to act. She hesitated, then carefully stepped towards the stone platform. Here, her Dou Qi was severely suppressed. If something unexpected were to happen, she wasn't confident she could escape unscathed.

So Xiao Han had to be extremely cautious and careful.

[Host, for some reason, I feel the aura of that lightning cluster is very similar to yours, as if... it originated from the same source as you.] The system hesitated but shared its discovery.

Xiao Han found this incredible. In her previous life, she hadn't obtained any special natural energy or treasure, nor had she refined any innate spiritual tool. How could there be something... originating from the same source as her?

But Xiao Han didn't voice her objection, because she too sensed a familiar aura from that lightning cluster.

It was her own aura.

[Could it be your innate energy source from your previous life?] The system speculated.

Xiao Han thought this unrealistic: "In my previous life, I was only a Formless realm expert. My innate energy source couldn't possibly have been so rich in natural power."

But the system said: [That's not necessarily true. After all, there's a time difference between the two worlds. Perhaps thousands or tens of thousands of years passed between your previous life's death and this life's transmigration.]

Xiao Han pressed her lips slightly. She hadn't considered this possibility.

But if this truly was her innate energy source, why would it have such a strong attraction to the Tribulation Lightning?

The short distance took Xiao Han several minutes to traverse. No unexpected incidents occurred during this time, which made Xiao Han sigh in relief.

Arriving at the stone platform, Xiao Han saw the situation in the depression more clearly. The swirling mist rose from the milky-white liquid, surrounding the lightning cluster. Xiao Han's sharp eyes noticed the wisps of mist were slowly fusing into the lightning cluster at an extremely slow rate.

As she approached the stone platform, that fluctuation strangely disappeared, but was replaced by a strong attraction.

Xiao Han circled the stone platform, examining it carefully, but found nothing special about it except for the depression.

"What exactly is this?" Xiao Han hesitated. She looked back again, seeing points of silver light that couldn't illuminate the distant darkness.

Xiao Han licked her lips. The attraction of this object was too great; if asked to leave now, she certainly wouldn't be willing. But the problem now was that she didn't know what the object before her was, or what to do next after finding it.

After pondering at the stone platform for a moment, Xiao Han's gaze towards it carried some hesitation.

Should she try?

She could feel the Tribulation Lightning within her being attracted by this object. If she released the Tribulation Lightning to probe, would something happen?

Thinking this, Xiao Han tentatively summoned the Tribulation Lightning. As she wasn't very certain what would happen next, when releasing the Tribulation Lightning, her whole body was tense, in an extremely defensive posture.

When a cluster of blood-red lightning appeared in her palm, a strong fluctuation instantly spread from the depression. The milky-white liquid, previously quietly coiled in the depression, suddenly surged towards Xiao Han with an overwhelming momentum.

Xiao Han's pupils contracted sharply. She reflexively retreated rapidly but didn't escape.

The liquid instantly penetrated Xiao Han's body. Then, accompanied by a low rumble, powerful and terrifying lightning arcs suddenly exploded outwards with Xiao Han at the center.

"Mmph!" Intense pain instantly swept through her entire body. Xiao Han's body trembled, her legs weakened, and she fell to her knees, her whole body convulsing, veins bulging on her hands and forehead.

The spirit liquid that entered Xiao Han's body wreaked havoc internally with overwhelming force. Her originally strong and robust meridians were annihilated in the blink of an eye, and even her bones began to shatter under the strain.

It's worth noting that Xiao Han's meridian strength could rival that of a Dou Sheng. For meridians of this strength to be destroyed in an instant, one can imagine the incredible power contained in this milky-white spirit liquid.

If the pain from absorbing and refining Tribulation Lightning was like being pricked by a needle, the pain brought by this spirit liquid now was like being dismembered alive.

When in pain, people often can't help but cry out, but that's not true, extreme pain. True, extreme pain is the most suppressed kind, where one has no strength left to cry out.

Because all your strength is used to resist the pain.

Xiao Han felt her head was in a fog. She bit her tongue hard, blood instantly filling her mouth. This sharp pain brought her back to clarity for a moment.

Xiao Han wasn't the type to cry out in pain; she preferred to endure silently.

The spirit liquid was like an insatiable behemoth, greedily devouring Xiao Han's meridians and bones, inch by inch, slowly to the point of despair. Xiao Han's face was completely bloodless, as pale as a corpse.

The system reacted the instant the spirit liquid invaded, but it could do nothing, only watch helplessly as Xiao Han knelt on the ground in extreme agony.

[Host! Host! Please hold on!!]

The system was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, but apart from shouting loudly in Xiao Han's head to keep her conscious, it could do nothing else.

"Mmph—" Xiao Han's fingers curled into claws, digging into the ground with such force that her fingertips turned white. The already uneven, hard rocky ground was forcibly clawed with several deep furrows, with glaring fresh blood spreading in the furrows!

Xiao Han didn't know how long it lasted, perhaps only an instant, perhaps several years. Her mind was extremely foggy; she could no longer hear clearly what the system was shouting.

After an unknown period, just as Xiao Han was about to give in to despair, she was shocked to discover that meridians were slowly growing within her body, appearing even more robust and broad.

"Ah—" Xiao Han suddenly threw her head back and let out a long howl, her whole body convulsing. She was simultaneously enduring the dual pain of meridians being devoured and new ones growing, a suffering that made her wish for death.

The process of meridian growth was slow. Xiao Han gritted her teeth tightly, her face pale and bloodless, yet without a trace of sweat. All sweat was instantly vaporized by the lightning as soon as it seeped through her skin, leaving no trace.

When the last section of meridians was rebuilt, the violent lightning arcs around slowly converged towards Xiao Han, gradually enveloping her body. Xiao Han's body slowly levitated, supported by an invisible force. The lightning arcs drew closer, forming a sphere. From afar, it looked like a huge silver-gray cocoon suspended in mid-air.

As she completely lost consciousness, Xiao Han vaguely heard a familiar female voice.

"At the beginning of heaven and earth's creation, chaotic qi dispersed. First, yin and yang were divided, establishing rules. Then, the three paths were condensed, establishing myriad realms. Thus, the embryonic form of the world appeared."

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

In the silent cave, a sudden faint sound emerged, as if something was slowly breaking apart.

In the center of the cave, a huge cocoon suspended in mid-air was slowly trembling. Soon, the cocoon split open, and then the two sides of the cocoon skin transformed into a pair of silver giant wings, fully spreading out to reveal a curled-up, completely naked young woman.

The silver giant wings slowly fluttered twice, then visibly shrank at a rate visible to the naked eye, finally completely merging into the young woman's body.

The young woman slowly descended. As her toes touched the ground, a huge air wave suddenly spread out with her at the center, causing sand and stones to fly!

She slowly opened her eyes. Her originally jet-black pupils were tinged with silver, but this silver hue didn't last long, quickly receding like the tide.

Xiao Han stretched her body. With just one movement, she felt the powerful force contained within her body.

Six-star Dou Venerate, Transformation realm!

Even someone as composed as Xiao Han couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. She had directly jumped from eight-star Dou Ancestor to six-star Dou Venerate, even breaking through to the Transformation realm. Even the Nine Heavens Thunder Technique had broken through to the sixth level.

In that instant, Xiao Han felt that all the pain she had endured was entirely worth it.

Moreover, her meridian strength had reached an extremely terrifying level. Even when she broke through to the Formless realm in her previous life, her meridian strength was far inferior to now.

The level of power contained within her body was also incredibly frightening. Each drop of Dou Qi liquid was condensed with extremely powerful force. Xiao Han was certain that the Dou Qi storage in her body far exceeded that of all other Dou Venerate of the same level, perhaps even comparable to the tenth revolution of peak Dou Venerate.

Peak Dou Venerate is divided into one to ten revolutions, with each revolution requiring as much Dou Qi as the sum of a Dou Venerate from one to nine stars.

This illustrates how terrifyingly vast Xiao Han's internal Dou Qi reserves were.

Even without doing anything, Xiao Han could feel the seemingly inexhaustible power within her body.

She exhaled, taking out a new set of black clothes from her system space to wear.

It seemed that every time she encountered an opportunity, she would lose a set of clothes.

[Host, Host, are you alright??]

At this moment, the system's anxious voice sounded in her mind. Hearing the concern and worry in the system's voice, Xiao Han's cold, hard expression softened slightly as she said calmly, "I'm fine."

The system finally breathed a sigh of relief. It then noticed the changes in its host. It puzzledly scanned Xiao Han's physical condition and was instantly shocked: [What's going on?? Host, you've broken through to six-star Dou Venerate?? Transformation realm??]

Xiao Han nodded, her joy evident.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she abruptly asked: "By the way, did you hear any sound just now?"

System: [Hm? Sound? What sound?]

Xiao Han's brow furrowed slightly. She had no memory of that female voice, yet it felt very familiar. And the words spoken, she seemed to have heard them somewhere before.

"At the beginning of heaven and earth's creation, chaotic qi dispersed. First, yin and yang were divided, establishing rules. Then, the three paths were condensed, establishing myriad realms. Thus, the embryonic form of the world appeared." Xiao Han's memory was astonishing; even words heard while semi-conscious were recited without error.

As soon as Xiao Han finished speaking, she heard the system emit a sound of surprise: [This... I'm sorry, Host, but this is a secret of the heavenly laws. With your current clearance level, you're not allowed to know.]

Xiao Han keenly grasped the key point in the system's words: "With my current clearance level, I can't know... which means I'll be able to know in the future?"

[Yes, Host.]

"Why? I'm just an ordinary cultivator. Even ascended cultivators shouldn't have the right to know such secrets of the heavenly laws, right?" Xiao Han pursued.

[I'm sorry, Host, your clearance level is insufficient.]

Xiao Han: "......"

Well then.

It seemed she wouldn't be able to get any answers. Besides, Xiao Han wasn't particularly concerned with such abstract questions. She raised her head to look at the stone platform and found that the milky-white spirit liquid in the depression had disappeared, with only that lightning cluster still gently flickering.

Xiao Han hesitated for a moment but still raised her hand, wanting to touch the lightning cluster. However, she was stopped by a gentle, invisible force.

Her fingers curled slightly, then relaxed. Xiao Han silently looked at the lightning cluster, remaining silent for a long while before withdrawing her hand and turning to walk back the way she came.

She had a feeling that all the answers to her puzzling questions could be found here, but she was still too weak now, not yet qualified to take away that lightning.

But she also had another feeling: that only she could take this lightning cluster. Anyone else, even a Dou Di, wouldn't be able to approach it in the slightest.

"System, how long have I been here?"

[Half a year.]

Xiao Han was slightly shocked, not expecting to have been unconscious for a full half year.

"It's time to go back. If I don't return soon, that little girl will probably be anxious."

Xiao Han raised her head to look at the stalactites overhead, her calm voice slowly dissipating in the air.