The Azure Dragon, heedless of all else, plunged into the abyss. The moment it descended, a relentless pull seized it. With a roar that shook the very foundations of the world, it thrashed against the unseen force. Lightning, thick as ancient oaks, crackled from its scales, blasting chunks from the cavern walls with each furious strike.

Deeper it fell, and the pull grew ever stronger. The dragon, in its desperate struggle, momentarily stemmed the tide with its electric aura, poised to break free. But then, with a furious lash of its immense head, it espied Wang Lin below, clinging to the cavern wall, his descent measured and cautious. A monstrous bellow tore from the dragon’s throat, and, abandoning all thoughts of escape, it lunged towards Wang Lin with predatory fury.

Wang Lin’s face darkened. He cursed the dragon’s suicidal rage. Could it not sense the power that held them captive? Instead, consumed by some primeval hatred, it had forsaken its chance at freedom to hunt him down.

“Does your grudge burn so hot?” Wang Lin muttered. He poured forth his inner energy, but the relentless suction seized him, accelerating his fall. The dragon’s attack missed its mark, and with another earth-shattering roar, it renewed its pursuit.

Thus, man and beast were locked in a desperate chase through the deepening chasm. With each passing moment, Wang Lin felt the pull intensifying, as if some primordial vortex was gathering its strength for a cataclysmic surge.

From behind came the thunderous bellow of the dragon. Its jaws opened, unleashing a sphere of raw lightning, hurtling towards Wang Lin with the force of a celestial judgment.

The orb, imbued with unimaginable power, threatened to crush him. Yet, as Wang Lin braced himself to evade the strike, the lightning sphere faltered, veering slightly downwards.

A chill went down Wang Lin’s spine. He sensed it then, the unfathomable power surging from the abyss below, a ravenous force beyond comprehension. Without hesitation, he summoned the Three Talents Sword Array, plunging the blades deep into the cavern wall. Bound together, they offered a tenuous anchor as Wang Lin gripped them with all his strength.

The very instant his hands closed around the hilts, the suction exploded. The lightning orb, the first to succumb, plunged straight down, a roaring, incandescent sacrifice to the darkness.

As the orb descended, its dying light briefly illuminated the depths below. Wang Lin glimpsed an endless precipice, swallowed by shadow. Then, the light faded, and the abyss remained a mystery.

The Ancient Thunder Dragon paused, a flicker of primal fear igniting in its eyes. No longer did it hunger for Wang Lin’s demise. Instead, it thrashed upwards, desperate to escape. A primal terror, buried deep within its ancient lineage, stirred within its heart. With a frantic roar, it unleashed all of its power, momentarily cleaving through the force that held it, rising a mere three fathoms.

“So, you wish to flee?” Wang Lin’s voice was edged with fury. Had the dragon not persisted in its reckless pursuit, he would have already escaped this dreadful trap. Now, at this depth, escape seemed impossible.

“I command you, be still!” Wang Lin roared, channeling his power and unleashing the Stasis Spell.

In other times, such a spell would have been a mere inconvenience to the dragon. But now, it was a death sentence.

The dragon’s immense body froze for a heartbeat, a cry of defiance choked in its throat. The unleashed suction seized it, dragging it down dozens of fathoms in an instant.

“You will not escape,” Wang Lin hissed, his eyes burning with icy determination. He, too, was being dragged into the depths, the Three Talents Swords gouging deep furrows in the rock as they desperately clawed for purchase.

“Be still!” Wang Lin commanded once more, pouring every ounce of his being into the spell.

The dragon thrashed and writhed, its scales crackling with unleashed power. Without Wang Lin’s constant intervention, it might have broken free. But with each surge of power, Wang Lin renewed his hold with the Stasis Spell. The dragon, helpless against the ever-increasing suction, could only stare in despair as it was dragged towards the abyss.

The lightning bolts it hurled towards Wang Lin were instantly devoured by the relentless force, vanishing into the depths before they could reach their target. The dragon, its fate sealed, watched as Wang Lin clung to the rock, descending ever faster towards the unknown.

Suddenly, the suction intensified, amplified tenfold. Wang Lin felt as if his arms would be ripped from their sockets. He held fast to the swords, the metal screaming against the stone as the blades were driven deeper and deeper into the cavern wall.

The Three Talents Swords were no longer enough to slow their descent. In a desperate gambit, Wang Lin ripped a sliver of his soul and used it to access his storage pouch. With a surge of energy, he released the Immortal Sword and the Crescent Blade, plunging them into the wall beneath his feet. He braced himself upon them, his descent still agonizingly fast.

The echoes of ripping stone reverberated as five distinct trails etched themselves into the cavern wall, testament to their relentless fall.

The Thunder Dragon, meanwhile, was now utterly lost. It was no longer a raging beast, but a mere comet plummeting towards the darkness. Its form, distorted by the immense pressure, dissolved into a stream of cerulean mist.

This mist, tinged with the faintest glimmer of light, stretched out behind it like a celestial banner. It offered the only illumination in the abyss, a beacon of fading hope.

“Descend…” the haunting voice of the ancient woman echoed from his storage pouch, chilling Wang Lin’s soul. His face grim, he peered downwards. And in that moment, the fleeting cerulean light revealed a hidden secret.

In the brief illumination, Wang Lin glimpsed a colossal stone jutting from the cavern wall. Upon that stone, barely visible in the darkness, was a Teleportation Array!

Before he could absorb this revelation, the light faded, and the stone once again vanished into the shadows.

“A Teleportation Array…” Wang Lin muttered, his eyes gleaming with renewed hope. If only he could unleash his spirit sense, he could see clearly!

Then, without warning, the Immortal Sword beneath his foot gave way, followed swiftly by the Crescent Blade.

“A fissure!” Wang Lin exclaimed, his eyes wide with exhilaration. Without hesitation, he flung himself towards the wall, seeking a handhold.

His gamble paid off. His body slipped into a narrow fissure, barely a fathom wide. He plunged into the gap, immediately commanding the Three Talents Swords, the Immortal Sword, and the Crescent Blade back into his storage pouch.
From the chasm’s maw, the spirit of the Azure Lightning Dragon, rendered into ethereal vapor, immediately perceived Wang Lin’s descent. It writhed in ethereal agony, cyan clouds billowing as it coalesced above, reforming into the visage of a primordial Thunder Serpent. With a deafening roar, it lunged toward the rift where Wang Lin had vanished.

This time, it sought not to devour the man, but to escape the insatiable pull within the abyss. Unleashing the entirety of its harnessed lightning, it desperately burrowed forward.

Yet, the force was insurmountable, making passage all but impossible. A glint of grim resolve sparked within the Dragon’s eyes. In a moment of desperate sacrifice, its form bifurcated, cleaved in twain. The lower half succumbed to the pit’s voracity, while the upper fragment, seizing the fleeting opportunity, surged into the fissure.

A chill flickered across Wang Lin’s gaze. Scarcely had he found respite within the chasm than he beheld the Dragon’s desperate entry. A single Binding Art would seal the creature’s fate, condemning it to the abyss’s grasp.

The Dragon knew this as well. Charging forward, it prepared to unleash a sphere of raw lightning. Were it to succeed, Wang Lin would find no refuge within the confined space.

It seemed a battle of speed, a contest of whose sorcery would triumph first. But Wang Lin harbored a different plan. He had witnessed the creature’s self-mutilation, its essence now fractured, much of it struggling against the engulfing pull. This was the Dragon at its most vulnerable!

With gritted teeth and resolute eyes, Wang Lin took a gamble. He closed his eyes, and in a surge of incandescent light, his primordial spirit erupted from his brow. As the Dragon lunged within the fissure, poised to unleash its lightning, Wang Lin’s spirit engulfed it in a single, monstrous gulp!

Once the Devourer of Souls, Wang Lin possessed the power to consume any wandering spirit. Though long dormant, he now unleashed this forgotten art. His spirit swelled to an impossible size, and in the Dragon’s startled gaze, it devoured the being whole!

Having consumed the spirit of the Primordial Lightning Dragon, Wang Lin’s spirit retreated back into his flesh. In that instant, a cataclysmic force detonated within his spiritual core.

Even a fraction of the Primordial Lightning Dragon’s spirit held unimaginable power. After consuming it, Wang Lin’s spirit unleashed the arcane art of Soul Devouring, greedily absorbing the celestial energy.

Waves of raw electricity surged within Wang Lin’s spiritual form, radiating a palpable aura of thunderous power, seeping into his flesh and veins. His body now pulsed with brilliant light, as if submerged within a raging storm.

The chasm’s pull weakened within the fissure, but Wang Lin remained oblivious. His entire being was consumed by the swirling chaos within his spirit, locked in a battle for absorption.

His spirit expanded, not merely in size, but in fundamental essence. Enshrouded in celestial energy, the faint outline of a miniature, tormented Dragon could be seen writhing within, like a serpentine artery coursing through his spiritual form.

Countless tendrils of energy branched out from the Dragon’s body, saturating every corner of Wang Lin’s spiritual essence, infusing it with the Dragon’s power in a bizarre and transformative process.

To consume a Primordial Lightning Dragon was a feat even Celestial Sovereign Tian Yun would never dare attempt. Unlike other ancient beasts, the Dragon was said to be born from pure lightning, a favored child of the celestial mandate. In ages past, it was even believed to wield the very power of thunder on behalf of the heavens.

To swallow such a being was akin to swallowing the storms themselves. How could any mortal spirit withstand such celestial wrath?

But fortune favors the bold! Peril and opportunity walked hand in hand. On the far side of danger lay the boundless potential of the cosmos.

Wang Lin’s spirit, wreathed in dragonfire, manifested storms within his body. A spark of lightning even bloomed within his nascent soul!

His spirit underwent a transformation beyond comprehension. The immediate benefits to his cultivation might be subtle, but the long-term implications would open up a vista of unimaginable possibilities.

A spirit that harbors lightning! A concept so alien that even the sagacious Tian Yun had never encountered it.

The captive Dragon thrashed violently, contorting Wang Lin’s spirit, refusing to submit. It unleashed a desperate counterattack!