Chapter 55: The Thunder Beast’s Fatal Flaw, Stripping the Dao by a Thousand Cuts

Chapter 55 – The Thunder Beast’s Fatal Flaw, Stripping the Dao by a Thousand Cuts

Chen Changsheng’s cold conviction instantly silenced the Thunder Beast.

Meanwhile, A’Li circled the paralyzed behemoth, his eyes wide with curiosity as he asked.

“Sir, how did you bind a Thunder Beast of the Soul Formation stage so completely?”

Chen Changsheng drew a rusted iron dagger, slowly dragging its edge against the beast’s immense scales.

“The Thunder Beast lineage devours divine metals and deep earth ores. Their armor is virtually indestructible.”

“Their flesh repels a myriad of poisons. Such a creature is undoubtedly a beloved child of the Heavens.”

“I spent a full decade watching this one. Through those ten years, a single thought consumed my mind.”

“When faced with such a peerless lineage, how does one orchestrate their absolute funeral? How does one sever their Dao from this world completely?”

Hearing such insolent words, the paralyzed behemoth let out a rumbling laugh.

“Hahaha!”

“You believe you can bury the Thunder Clan? Utterly delusional!”

“I do not know what vile trick bound my flesh, but my kin will surely tear your soul apart in vengeance.”

Observing the beast’s undying arrogance, Chen Changsheng gave a calm, measured nod.

“You speak truly. Under the standard laws of the world, severing your entire lineage is an impossible task.”

“But I did not let ten years turn to dust for nothing. I uncovered a subtle flaw within the Thunder Clan.”

“A flaw that even your own ancestors failed to comprehend.”

A flicker of doubt passed through the Thunder Beast’s ancient eyes.

“What flaw?”

“Over these ten years, you partook of twenty meals. An average of two banquets per year.”

“During your first six feasts, I observed a profound lethargy taking hold of you after two specific meals.”

“This anomaly planted a seed of doubt in my mind.”

“I wondered what forces could induce such a heavy slumber in a beast of your caliber.”

“I swept the earth where you fed those two times, cataloging every blade of grass and shattered ore, comparing the remnants.”

“Yet each bite you take swallows half a mineral vein. The sheer volume of matter was simply too vast.”

“Thus, I traded another seven years of my life to narrow the profound search.”

“For seven years, I carefully guided your palate, selecting every patch of earth you consumed.”

“Did you truly never realize your lethargy grew far more frequent over these past seven years?”

Gazing at the placid smile of the mortician standing before it, true panic finally bled into the Thunder Beast’s eyes.

“Impossible. My lineage is an absolute ward against poison!”

“The Thunder Beast is indeed impervious to poison. But what if the agent of your demise was never a toxin to begin with?”

From within his robes, Chen Changsheng withdrew a dried wildflower and a simple weed.

“I call them the Crimson Fire Bloom and the Flaxen Stalk.”

“They root themselves along mineral veins. Neither peerlessly rare nor abundantly common.”

“Swallowing them, whether together or apart, brews no lethal Qi.”

“Yet they share a profound resonance—one that entirely seals the flesh and marrow of a Thunder Beast.”

“Naturally, this was merely a theory until this very hour.”

“Those first two instances of heavy slumber occurred because you inadvertently ingested these very herbs alongside your ore.”

“The quantity was merely too meager to achieve total paralysis.”

“Therefore, to perform the final rites on this theory, I anointed that stone with their concentrated essence.”

“How could you be certain I would devour that rubble?!”

The Thunder Beast roared with trembling fury. If the natural laws of these weeds truly countered the Thunder Clan, their entire lineage was staring into the abyss of extinction!

“I possessed no such certainty!”

“Thus, I added an accelerant. It forced the herbal essence to become highly volatile.”

“A beast remains a beast. Primal instincts are carved deeply into your bones.”

“When confronted with the unknown, you draw breath to catch its scent. You extend your tongue to taste its truth.”

“That was all the interaction required for the essence to seep into your blood.”

“However, I never expected you to be foolish enough to swallow the entire stone.”

Crack!

As he spoke, Chen Changsheng’s rusted dagger caught perfectly against the edge of a specific scale.

Feeling the cold iron rest upon that exact scale, genuine, soul-shattering dread erupted in the Thunder Beast’s eyes.

Slowly, the corners of Chen Changsheng’s lips curled into a cold crescent.

“A Thunder Beast’s armor is absolute. Even peerless divine weapons can only scratch its surface.”

“I verified this truth moments ago. Yet, I refuse to believe the Heavens would permit a truly flawless entity to walk this earth.”

“There had to be a gap in your Dao.”

Squelch!

The iron dagger slid effortlessly beneath that singular, fateful scale, plunging deep into the flesh.

A horrific agony bored directly into its marrow. Even completely paralyzed, the Thunder Beast spasmed violently.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Looking down at the quivering behemoth, Chen Changsheng shook his head in solemn pity.

“To think your invulnerable armor truly held a fatal flaw. And how unfortunate for your lineage that I have exhumed it.”

His voice remained as light as drifting dust, yet his hands moved with the terrifying precision of a master artist.

Following the hidden lines of its Dao, Chen Changsheng meticulously stripped away the Thunder Beast’s indestructible scales, one after another.

“Kill me! Shatter my soul if you dare!”

The Thunder Beast roared in absolute despair, its massive form locked to the bloody earth.

Chen Changsheng chuckled softly. “Why the haste? A proper funeral cannot be rushed.”

“I will strip the Dao from your bones, cut by agonizing cut, and you will witness every moment of your own dissection.”

“I will map every secret of your flesh, unearthing every hidden frailty.”

“And those frailties shall serve as the death warrant for your entire race.”

Boundless wails and venomous curses echoed endlessly through the Water-Moon Cave.

Hours bled away. The paralyzing essence faded from the Thunder Beast’s blood, yet its colossal form remained motionless.

For Chen Changsheng had already carved out the root of its Dao—its inner Thunder Core.

Moreover, he had meticulously severed every Meridian binding its flesh together. The fading of the paralysis only unleashed a tidal wave of unadulterated agony.

Schwing!

With a final, clean stroke, the massive heart was excised. The Thunder Beast exhaled its last, ragged breath, completing its burial.

Staring at the massive, pristine jade-like skeleton stripped utterly bare, A’Li swallowed a heavy lump in his throat.

“Sir, was this not… excessively cruel?”

Covered in the beast’s arterial blood, Chen Changsheng wiped his rusted blade and offered a detached smile.

“Cruel?”

“It is merely the business of life and death. The Heavens beyond these mountains are a hundred times more ruthless.”

“Have you not witnessed ferocious beasts feasting upon mortal flesh? Jaws crushing half a man into paste while the remaining half writhes and screams into the dirt.”

“Did the beast consider its meal cruel?”

“Would it spit out its bloody morsel simply because the prey found the act distasteful?”

“You were forged in the brutal heart of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. You should understand the laws of the wild.”

“Mercy and morality are luxuries traded between men. Offering such sentiments to beasts is the height of foolishness.”

Dispelling the final shadows in A’Li’s mind, Chen Changsheng waved a bloody hand toward the exit.

“Return and summon the village. Two men cannot possibly finish this feast.”

“It is time we improved the clan’s mortal sustenance.”