Seeing the black shadow attacking him, Evan Chu spun around and struck out with a palm, using the rebound force to launch himself quickly into the Thunder Pool. The black shadow could only watch helplessly as Evan entered, so furious that he howled on the spot.
“You’re courting death! How could anyone be so stupid? What a waste of such a powerful body. No, I have to go in and drag him back out. I’ve waited ten thousand years for a human to appear—I can’t miss this chance. Even if it kills me, I have to try!” the black shadow muttered, unwilling to give up.
He immediately entered the Thunder Pool as well. The moment Evan Chu got inside, he was wracked by intense pain—his body went numb again, throwing him into a state of panic.
“The thunder power inside the Thunder Pool really is terrifying. No wonder that old guy won’t come in. But how big is this place? And where exactly is the Thunder Spirit Pearl?” Evan muttered to himself.
“Kid, did you really think that just by entering the Thunder Pool I can’t do anything to you? You’d better get out here, now!” The black shadow’s voice suddenly rang out behind Evan, startling him into a desperate sprint forward.
His body had been numb, but now—strangely—it wasn’t anymore. Evan dashed out dozens of meters in an instant, leaving the black shadow shocked and anxious at how far Evan had suddenly managed to run.
Moving inside the Thunder Pool was incredibly difficult. Even though the black shadow’s soul body had refined itself into a thunder spirit body, it still couldn’t withstand the terrifying lightning here and could only move slowly. If Evan ran any farther, finding him would be even harder.
This soul-body powerhouse was probably the one Evan feared most, forcing him to flee and leaving him feeling deeply frustrated. If he could get the Thunder Spirit Pearl, he’d really want to fight this guy head-on and show his true strength—but right now, he couldn’t afford to take that risk.
Evan Chu pressed onward through the Thunder Pool, the numbness returning again. Even the defense of his Sixth-Layer Starforge Body couldn’t withstand the thunder power here—his skin had started to split, and pale-gold blood was slowly oozing out.
"This can't go on. I have to find the Thunder Spirit Pearl as soon as possible, or I really might die here," Evan thought to himself.
His undying body was clearly useless here. Even if he managed to restore himself, the thunder power would just tear him apart again. The Timewheel Bracelet could only be used one more time, but the backlash from using it before—suddenly aging into an old man—made Evan too afraid to risk it. For now, he really didn’t know what to do.
“Kid, you can’t run! I can see you now!” The black shadow’s voice echoed from behind, but Evan knew this guy had no idea where he actually was—otherwise he wouldn’t be shouting such nonsense.
Inside the Thunder Pool, all Evan could see was flickering thunder light—and even that, only within three meters. The black shadow was obviously probing for his position. Evan couldn’t believe a soul-body could survive under this thunder power; it was almost a miracle.
“Big brother, the thunder here is really scary. I don’t even dare to scan around with my divine sense. You’d better be careful!” the Wind-Binding Pearl’s artifact spirit suddenly said.
“Little sis, there’s thunder everywhere in here, and it’s insanely powerful. I’m looking for a pearl—like the Wind Spirit Pearl you helped me find before—but my divine sense won’t work. Do you have any ideas?” Evan asked. He doubted the artifact spirit could help, but figured it was worth a try.
He already had a plan for dealing with that soul-body powerhouse: once he got out of the Thunder Pool, he’d have the Wind-Binding Pearl’s artifact spirit immobilize him—then Evan could do whatever he wanted. But now wasn’t the time.
“The thunder power here is fierce, but my divine sense can still probe inside. The range is just short—at most, I can scan about a hundred meters. Why don’t I help you look for that pearl?” the artifact spirit offered.
“A hundred meters? You can scan a hundred meters? That’s amazing! Sis, help me check right away—but be careful!” Evan was overjoyed; it was like a timely rain in a drought.
“Don’t worry, big brother. My divine sense is really strong. If it weren’t for one kind of thunder here that’s way too terrifying, I could cover this whole Thunder Pool,” the artifact spirit said.
The artifact spirit mentioned a kind of extremely powerful thunder—Evan guessed it was probably the Nine-Heaven Divine Thunder Luna had warned him about. If that thunder really was so monstrous, he just hoped he wouldn’t run into it.
Evan Chu kept moving forward, even though the numbness and pain nearly overwhelmed him. He could still hold on, and there was no way he’d let that soul-body powerhouse catch up—things would get much worse if he did.
After a long time, most of Evan’s muscles had been split open by thunder power—his pale-gold bones were clearly visible, the pain twisting his face into a grimace.
“Big brother, I found the pearl you wanted. But getting it won’t be easy—there’s a ring of multicolored thunder around it, and it’s incredibly dangerous. My soul was almost injured just by brushing against it,” the artifact spirit said.
“Where is the pearl exactly? Tell me!” Evan asked excitedly. He knew the multicolored thunder was probably the Five-Element God Thunder. Since he’d already comprehended the five elements, maybe it wouldn’t hurt him—or maybe it would bring an unexpected surprise.
“It’s a hundred meters to your left. My divine sense can only scan a hundred meters, so it took me a while to find it. Big brother, be really careful—the thunder there is way scarier than Glasswind,” the artifact spirit warned.
Evan immediately headed left, not even worrying about the soul-body powerhouse behind him. "Luna, do you think the Five-Element God Thunder could hurt me? I’ve already comprehended the five elements—maybe it’ll give me some unexpected benefit."
Evan thought this was likely. He didn’t know why, but the idea felt almost instinctive—still, he needed Luna’s experienced advice before acting.
"I’m not sure either. Just be careful. The closer you get to the Thunder Spirit Pearl, the more terrifying the thunder power will be—be mentally prepared," Luna said.
"I know. With my body as it is now, I should be able to reach the Thunder Spirit Pearl!" Evan said, moving forward once again...