Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms

Chapter 397 Mysterious Thunder

Blood Demon Island.

Inside the cave.

Now that he has a fourth-grade high-quality spirit island all to himself, Fang Qing feels that his "Sea Devouring Technique" is running every moment, and his magic power is increasing day by day.

He sat cross-legged, slowly sorting through his gains over the past few days.

Numerous spirit stones and herbs—piled up like mountains and seas—along with seven half-damaged fourth-tier mid-grade puppets scavenged like trash, a large quantity of materials for crafting high-grade puppets, and jade slips—

It must be said that the accumulated wealth and profound heritage of Blood Fiend Island and Heavenly Mystery Sect over thousands of years are indeed quite impressive.

In addition, there are the puppets, divine sense techniques, and various demonic arts of Blood Fiend Island—all closely guarded secrets of the Heavenly Mystery Sect.

Even in the most secret herb gardens of these two major forces, ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs are not uncommon, allowing Fang Qing to gather nearly half of the materials for the "Five Sacred Pills of Primordial Essence" and the "Primordial Spirit Pill."

"As expected—we made a killing!"

"Having gained so many benefits, I can probably go into seclusion and cultivate until I reach the peak of the Nascent Soul stage! I'm just waiting to reach the Deity Transformation stage!"

Fang Qing smiled slightly and took out his biggest gain this time—the "Mysterious Thunder Drum"!

The drum is made of bronze, with alternating shimmering ochre and lapis lazuli colors all over its body, and thunder-patterned ribbons hanging on both sides.

Beside it stood a double-headed thunder hammer, divided into yin and yang ends, their auras subtly connected—

"A Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure—the key is a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure with the lightning attribute, which obviously cannot be used in the Qi Cultivation Path—"

He pondered for a moment, then opened his mouth, and a wisp of infant fire appeared, enveloping the Xuanlei Drum and Yin-Yang Thunder Hammer, intending to wash away the imprint of the Heavenly Fiend Old Monster's magic power and replace it with his own.

But at that moment, a strange thing happened!

Stab it!

Above the Thunder Drum, streaks of lightning appeared one after another, and the black animal hide vibrated, emitting a thumping sound.

Amidst the flashes of lightning, Fang Qing seemed to see a mythical beast spirit from ancient times!

Its body is as large as a mountain, shaped like an ox, with a blue body and no horns, one leg, and when it enters or leaves the water, there will be wind and rain; its light is like the sun and moon, and its sound is like thunder.

"A true spirit—the Kui Niu?!"

He murmured to himself, only to feel a surge of thunderous power backlashing him, causing a stinging pain in his meridians!

"Unwilling to be sacrificed?"

"No, is there a requirement for the cultivation method? It must be of the lightning attribute? It is certainly spiritual enough—completely different from ordinary Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasures."

Fang Qing scoffed.

He thought of the Heavenly Fiend Old Monster, who had taken a different approach to refine this Heavenly Treasure, cultivating the Demonic Thunder Technique, and a thought suddenly struck him.

Swish!

The Dao Sheng Pearl spun around, and the original "Swallowing the Sea Technique" nascent soul in the dantian instantly transformed into a Thunder Spirit Nascent Soul!

He had originally cultivated a lightning-attribute technique, which he obtained from the Heavenly Frost Sect's "Thunderclap Technique"!

This time, he destroyed many powerful forces and possessed countless top-level lightning attribute techniques, which he later replaced with the "Great Sage Thunder Technique"!

This lightning-attribute cultivation technique is suspected to have originated from Leiyin Temple, and it is sufficient to enable cultivators with lightning spiritual roots to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage!

Stab it!

Streaks of great holy lightning appeared around Fang Qing, with electric light swirling between his five fingers, carrying a powerful force to ward off evil and demons.

With a wave of his hand, bolts of "Great Saint Thunder" struck the Xuanlei Drum.

This time, the phantom of the True Spirit Kui Ox did not cause any trouble, allowing Fang Qing's lightning-attribute magic power to penetrate deeper and refine this lightning-attribute Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure.

"Thunder is the pivot of Yin and Yang—it is masculine and fierce. That old monster of the Heavenly Fiend mainly cultivates demonic arts, but he only cultivated demonic thunder through secret techniques. His control over this heaven-reaching spiritual treasure is really just average—"

Fang Qing discovered that with just a simple sweep of his divine sense, the Heavenly Fiend Old Monster's magical imprint crumbled completely, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

But at this moment, as the refining process deepened, his expression gradually changed: "No, this Xuanlei Drum" is not an ordinary thunder-attribute Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure—it seems to have been tainted by a trace of the influence of the Gold Rank?

Fang Qing was certain that the "Mysterious Thunder Drum" in his hand was not a true treasure from the Dao of Convincing Qi, and that no golden element had been refined into it.

However, during its forging, it was highly likely that it was tainted by a trace of a "rank," and it was the Thunder Gold Rank that I had always suspected, which was why it possessed such spirituality!

He formed hand seals, and his late-stage Nascent Soul stage lightning-attribute mana flowed endlessly, transforming into a lightning dragon that suddenly broke through numerous restrictions and entered the core of the "Mysterious Thunder Drum"!

Stab it!

A flash of lightning!

Fang Qing's vision blurred for a moment, and it seemed that with the help of the "Mysterious Thunder Drum," he saw a mysterious place in the "Primordial Heaven."

Splash!

Countless bolts of lightning surged forth, and the purple and blue aura churned, transforming into a thundercloud.

Within the thunderclouds, there stands another thunder palace, with three halls!

Above the hall, faint golden inscriptions of ancient characters could be seen, bearing the names "Jade Pivot," "Jade Palace," and "Jade Pillar."

"Jade Pivot Thunder, Jade Palace Thunder, Jade Pillar Thunder?"

"Thirty-six lightning strikes?"

"The Jade Pivot Thunder resides at the head of the Nine Heavens Thunder Palace, overseeing all thunder, presiding over heavenly laws and precepts, and specifically responsible for investigating the sins of mortals—the Jade Palace Thunder belongs to the Divine Firmament Jade Palace—"

Fang Qing was surrounded by lightning, as if he were immersed in a sea of ​​lightning.

He sensed the Thunder Palace as if he were directly gazing upon the True Lord's Dharma form and metallic nature, and entered a state of Dao transformation.

At the same time, he gained a great deal of spiritual cultivation and insights.

Just as he was about to transform into a thunder spirit, the Dao-Born Pearl within his body spun rapidly, causing pure energy to rise and turbid energy to sink, creating a swirling cloud effect—and then everything returned to normal, as if nothing had ever happened!

"Whoosh—"

Fang Qing exhaled a long breath, covering his eyes. Strands of blood trickled from between his fingers, attempting to transform into the extremely rare lightning-attribute spiritual energy of the Qi Cultivation Dao, but inexplicably flowing back—

"As expected—the reason there is a tribulation of lightning in the Primordial Heaven is because there is a Thunder Fruit!"

"It is hidden in the Primordial Heaven and sealed within the Thunder Palace, thus it governs the Thunder Tribulation of the Grotto Heavens —"

"Its name is—Xuan Lei!"

[Mysterious Thunder] Metal Position!

This coincided with Fang Qing's previous guess, which secretly horrified him.

"To be able to seal off a golden abode within the grotto-heaven, preventing even the slightest leakage—what an extraordinary feat!"

"Can a Golden Core True Monarch do that?"

"Or is this—the work of the [Year's Duty]?"

The Primordial Heaven is the first of the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens. It was not created by a Golden Core True Monarch, but is related to the "Yearly Duty," which is a reasonable speculation!

"It is precisely because the cave contains the [Mysterious Thunder] Golden Position that the cultivation world possesses thunder-attribute cultivation techniques and various thunder-attribute treasures—"

Even the "Mysterious Thunder Drum" is imbued with a trace of the "Mysterious Thunder" rank! This item absolutely cannot be taken to the Qi Cultivation Path, otherwise it will be a disaster for me————”

"It is precisely because the Xuanlei Drum is imbued with a trace of the [Xuanlei] rank that I was able to sense that Thunder Palace when I refined this Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure!"

Fang Qing's eyes burned with desire.

An unclaimed, empty gold seat!

In the realm of Qi cultivation, it is enough to leave millions of corpses, causing countless Grand Masters of the Purple Mansion to abandon their lives and forget their own.

But to me, it's a ripe fruit, and I can pick it however I want!

"No—although the Thunder Palace is unattended, it operates according to its own set of thunder laws, using these laws to unleash heavenly tribulations within the grotto-heaven! If I were to force my way in—I fear I would be struck dead by five bolts of lightning!"

"At the very least, we must wait until we reach the Nascent Soul stage—when our strength is sufficient—before we can explore."

"Or perhaps—after transforming into a Nascent Soul, one refines the spirit and merges with the Dao, senses the [Mysterious Thunder] Golden Position, comprehends the Four Divine Powers? And then—directly attain the Golden Realm?"

A thought popped into Fang Qing's mind, causing his heart to flutter.

"【Mysterious Thunder】seems to be a dead end—after all, this golden position is isolated, and once you achieve it, you're stuck at the early stage of the Golden Core realm for life—"

"But it is within the grotto-heaven, not outside of it—"

"I find it difficult to seek gold within the grotto-heaven because seeking gold requires a connection between heaven and earth, resonating with the gold position, and [the Ji River]..."

The attainment of Buddhahood resides in the world of Qi Cultivation—but [Mysterious Thunder] is different! Perhaps—it really can be verified within the Cave Heaven?

"The biggest challenge here is that I don't have much [Mysterious Thunder] cultivation—I can only hope that after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, my aura will be fully developed, and comprehending supernatural powers will be as easy as eating and drinking for ancient cultivators who practice breathing exercises—and then I can add the ascension ritual?"

"The most difficult thing about becoming a Golden Core True Monarch in the Dao of Qi Cultivation is not the process of seeking gold, but the lack of support from above!"

""

"But if one first achieves the [Mysterious Thunder] stage, it's equivalent to having at least one Golden Core True Monarch assisting them?"

"As for whether there is no way forward or something else—we'll have to wait until after the Golden Core stage to see if the Dao-Born Pearl can be transformed."

Fang Qing pondered to himself.

Although his main focus is still on proving the [Ji Shui], he has to admit that the environment in the Daoist school is really harsh, so he still needs to prepare more backup plans and trump cards.

Furthermore, the position of [Mysterious Thunder] is something he needs to consider only after he has cultivated his Qi and reached the Nascent Soul stage.

It has nothing to do with breath control and spiritual practice.

"Hmm—walking on two legs is the safest option. You could try refining your Qi to seek [Mysterious Thunder] and absorbing Qi to seek [Water of the Basket]—"

After thinking for a while, Fang Qing couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Sigh—maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part."

"That powerful being sealed the [Mysterious Thunder] Fruit position here; how could I possibly retrieve it?"

"Even if we can successfully retrieve it from the Thunder Palace using the method of seeking gold, there might still be a huge pitfall hidden within its location!"

"The best course of action for now is to take it one step at a time and see what happens."

He carefully put away the "Mysterious Thunder Drum," then took out a fourth-tier inner core and swallowed it, beginning his silent cultivation.

Cultivation takes time and years pass quickly.

This day.

A streak of light flew in from the outer sea and arrived straight at Blood Fiend Island.

The two guards responsible for protecting the island immediately raised their weapons to intercept them: "Who goes there?"

"Young Master's Servant—Heavenly Fiend!"

The light dissipated, revealing one of the low-grade fourth-order puppets with a blank expression.

The voice of the second Nascent Soul cultivator from the puppet resounded: "Young Master's mission is complete; I have come to report!"

-

"Get down!"

At this moment, Fang Qing's divine sense came from Blood Fiend Island.

Tian Sha landed with A Da and A Er and saw a handsome young man embracing a beautiful woman.

He immediately knelt down and bowed deeply: "Young Master Qi, I have destroyed those two facilities. These are the treasures and elixirs I seized this time—"

As he spoke, he handed over a storage bag containing several defensive treasures and a large quantity of pills to restore cultivation.

"Well, thank you for your hard work. Here, these are yours as a reward."

Fang Qing waved his hand dismissively, though a strange feeling lingered in his heart:

Am I supposed to be using the treasure that Tian Sha prepared for his own family as a reward for himself?