Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

I really should figure out a way to make the Illusory Light Steps a bit more subtle in the future…

Thinking this to himself as he made his way deeper inside the sea of lightning, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit regretful that he hadn't modified the Illusory Light Steps and made it less flashy before the celestial trial.

It was not that he wanted to stand out, it was just that he had never really seen a reason to try and subdue the light emitted when using the Illusory Light Steps. After all, it didn't really matter under normal circumstances, as he would be using the movement technique to fight or escape from a situation where he couldn't use the Dao of Space. None of which required him to work on stealth, as he would have already been noticed in either situation.

However, now that he was moving through the sea of lightning, he truly became aware of just how much he stood out after using the Illusory Light Steps.

Not only did it allow the ferocious beasts behind him to chase after him, but it also gave the ferocious beasts up ahead an opportunity to notice him before he passed them. Turning into no small headache, as he had to constantly dodge out of the way as ferocious beasts in front of him launched themselves forward to attack him every few seconds.

Ultimately, it was the delay caused by the ferocious beasts in front that made him unable to shake off the ferocious beasts chasing him from behind. After all, under normal circumstances, the speed of the Illusory Light Steps far surpassed that of the ferocious beasts chasing after him.

The only ferocious beasts that could realistically keep up with his current speed were special ferocious beasts like the winged lightning serpent that was already far faster than other ferocious beasts, while at the same time being at the Late Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm.

In the end, other than the winged lightning serpent that managed to get close enough to attack every now and then, there were only two other ferocious beasts, both at the Late Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm, who managed to keep up with him and continuously launch attacks of their own.

Although it was a rather stressful situation with his current strength, it was still manageable, as he continued moving deeper into the sea of lightning with each passing second, the ferocious beasts unable to stop him.

Of course, this was only how the situation was after him having been chased for a few minutes through the sea of lightning and the situation would undoubtedly grow worse with time. Especially so as the strength of the ferocious beasts chasing after him continued to increase.

The only thing that left him somewhat reassured about his current situation was the fact that the overall number of ferocious beasts that he encountered the closer he got to the core of the sea of lightning was visibly decreasing.

Even if their strength was stronger, it didn't matter much to him as only the ferocious beasts capable of moving at a similar speed to the winged lightning serpent posed any real threat to him.

On the other hand, with the decrease in the number of ferocious beasts he had to face, it became easier for him to dodge out of the way. Putting greater distance between himself and the ferocious beasts chasing after him. Allowing him to essentially get rid of all the ferocious beasts in the Early Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm, leaving only those at the Middle Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm to chase after him.

But… I can't continue keeping this up forever…

Glancing back at the ferocious beasts at the Late Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm chasing after him that had now grown from three to seven in a little over ten minutes, Xuan Hao understood that he was running out of time.

As the ferocious beasts capable of keeping up with him and continuously launch attacks increased, it also became more difficult for him to continue travelling closer to the core of the sea of lightning, as he had to dedicate more time and effort to fending off the attacks of the ferocious beasts from behind.

Even if the situation was fine for now, he guessed that when the number of ferocious beasts reached ten, he would be forced to put his full effort towards defending himself. Essentially preventing him from continuing his search for the core of the sea of lightning, while at the same time also dooming him.

After all, no matter how strong he was after breaking through to the Early Stage of the Sea Formation Realm, he understood full well that there was no way for him to face off against ten Late Stage Celestial Immortal Realm ferocious beasts in a straight up battle. Only by limiting their confrontations and clashes like he was doing now could he somewhat keep up, but the moment they all managed to surround and attack him was the time he would die.

Not to mention, following close behind those seven ferocious beasts were over a dozen other Late Stage Celestial Immortal Realm ferocious beasts and what should be close to a hundred Middle Stage Celestial Immortal Realm ferocious beasts by now.

He doubted that he would be able to survive such a massive number of Celestial Immortal Realm ferocious beasts even if he reached the Peak of the Sea Formation Realm. Maybe even reaching the Land Creation Realm wouldn't be enough to keep himself alive in the face of so many ferocious beasts. Especially so given how they would only keep growing stronger…

ROOOOOAR-!

Just as he was lost in his own thoughts thinking about how bad the situation would become if he was caught and surrounded by the ferocious beasts chasing after him, a loud roar echoed out across the sea of lightning followed by a terrifying presence that rapidly began closing in on his current location.

"That- A ferocious beast broke through to the Peak of the Celestial Immortal Realm!" Almost instantly realizing that the origin of the terrifying presence was none other than a ferocious beast that broke through to the Peak of the Celestial Immortal Realm, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver running down his spine as he put all his strength into escaping.

The only fortunate thing was that the ferocious beast that had just broken through wasn't blocking his path to the core of the sea of lightning but had instead emerged somewhere behind him.

On a not so fortunate note, the ferocious beast was still close enough for it to have noticed his presence and was currently rushing over at a terrifying speed that would have matched his Illusory Light Steps had he not been forced to fend against constant attacks from ferocious beasts emerging in his path and from behind.

"One minute- Maybe two…" Muttering this to himself as he roughly calculated how long it would take for the Peak Celestial Immortal Realm ferocious beast to catch up with him, Xuan Hao understood that he would have to find the core of the sea of lightning before it caught up with him.

After all, while he could keep moving with a few Late Stage Celestial Immortal Realm ferocious beasts attacking him every now and then, a Peak Stage Celestial Immortal Realm ferocious beast was completely different.

Even from a distance, he could clearly sense that the strength of the ferocious beast exceeded his own. Meaning that even in a one-on-one fight, he wouldn't be certain about his own victory.

If anything, he would be lucky to escape in an environment like the sea of lightning where he couldn't properly make use of the Dao of Space. Not to mention, it wasn't alone and there were still more than a hundred Celestial Immortal Realm ferocious beasts chasing after him-

"Hm? That is…!"

However, just as he was about to steel himself for the inevitable deadly clash with the Peak Celestial Immortal Realm ferocious beast, he noticed a massive stone platform emerging amidst the dense clouds of the sea of lightning.

And in the middle of the platform, a miniature version of the celestial gate he had entered earlier could be seen amidst sparks of lightning.

"The core of the sea of lightning…"

Even without having any idea about what the core of the sea of lightning looked like, he was certain that the miniature gate in the middle of the massive floating stone platform was the core of the sea of lightning that he had been searching for.

Not just because of what it looked like, but because he could also clearly sense that the endless lightning qi that seemed ever-present inside the sea of lightning seemed to stem from the miniature celestial gate in front of him.

From a single look, it was clear that the miniature celestial gate was the origin of the sea of lightning...