Ancestor's Enlightenment

Inside the Ancestor's Cave, it wasn't a deep cavern as imagined, but an boundless void of chaos.

There was no sense of up or down, left or right, nor the passage of time. Only countless light spots, some bright, some dim, some large, some small, floated and flowed like stars.

Each light spot contained the Dao charm, insights, obsessions, and even the epitome of a lifetime's cultivation left by a Mount Mao ancestor.

Mo Yuan floated amidst this sea of Dao charm, his mind instantly submerged by a vast and powerful torrent of information.

Some ancestors demonstrated thunder techniques, where lightning and thunder contained the profound principles of creation and destruction.

Some sages sketched talismans, communicating with the laws of heaven and earth with every stroke.

Some patriarchs meditated on the Dao, merging with the Dao and expounding on the mysteries of nature.

There was also the righteous spirit of slaying Yaos and Mo, and the compassionate vow to protect all living beings...

Various insights poured in, impacting his sea of consciousness.

He firmly held onto a single point of clarity in his spiritual platform. The Soul Cleansing Banner floated in the center of his sea of consciousness, its clear radiance flowing, protecting his mind from being overwhelmed by these complex intentions.

He didn't greedily try to absorb everything. Instead, he followed his heart, focusing his main energy on the Heavenly Thunder Dao that best suited his own path.

He "walked" through the sea of stars, actively approaching those light spots radiating intense thunder intent and talisman Dao charm.

A light spot, blazing like the sun, merged with him. He seemed to transform into an ancient thunder cultivator, summoning myriad thunders from the highest heavens, experiencing the supreme majesty of wielding punishment and acting on behalf of heaven—this was the insight of a grandmaster of the Nine Heavens Thunder Talisman Grand Codex.

A deep, restrained light spot approached. He felt a sharp intent that condensed thunder power into the sword Dao to the extreme, capable of a single, fatal strike—this greatly benefited him in perfecting the combination of his Geng Metal Sword Qi and thunder techniques.

Another agile and ethereal light spot swept past, demonstrating the profound mystery of integrating thunder into movement techniques, transforming into electricity, leaving no trace—this confirmed his self-created "Swift Lightning Step" and sparked inspiration.

The Thunder True Essence within his body involuntarily circulated, simulating and transforming.

That wisp of inextinguishable Thunder Emperor's Will, in such a rich Dao charm environment.

It was as if it had returned home, becoming exceptionally active, autonomously absorbing the scattered fragments of insight on the Heavenly Thunder Dao in the sea of stars. It also became more solid and clear.

And the newly acquired introductory incantation of the Five Thunder Divine Method·Heavenly Heart Scroll, under this unique environment, was understood and digested at an unprecedented speed.

"The Five Thunders are not the thunders of the five elements, but the five uses of the Dao. Slaying evil, dispelling illusion, creation and destruction, punishment, and creation..."

The grand Dao resonance seemed to echo directly in the depths of his soul.

He discarded the relatively complex talisman drawing and spiritual power circulation from the Nine Heavens Thunder Talisman Grand Codex.

He began to directly use his own Dao Foundation, with the Thunder Emperor's Will as the core, to comprehend and summon the five kinds of thunder Dao intents that existed in the unseen.

His mind was completely immersed. He forgot time, forgot himself, only exploring the essence of thunder.

After an unknown amount of time, perhaps an instant, perhaps eternity.

The aura around Mo Yuan began to undergo a wondrous change.

At times, it was sharp and unparalleled, carrying the resolve to cleanse all malevolent spirits in the world (slaying evil);

At times, it was clear and bright, as if it could see through the essence of all things and dispel all illusory phantoms (dispelling illusion);

At times, it was as silent as the abyss of death, and at times, it burst forth like the first lightning strike of creation (creation and destruction);

At times, it was majestic like heavenly decrees, punishing on behalf of heaven, admitting no doubt (punishment);

It even occasionally revealed a hint of infinite vitality, promoting the growth of all things (nascent creation)...

The five intents were not separate but began to initially merge and flow under the command of the Thunder Emperor's Will, forming a subtle cycle.

The purple-gold True Essence lake in his Dantian became deeper in color.

Above the lake, the nascent Purple Mansion, nurtured by the mist of divine sense, also became more stable, with faint thunder runes flickering within.

His cultivation, through natural comprehension, quietly broke through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

His True Essence became more abundant and pure, his divine sense range expanded again, and his control over power reached a new height.

"System, sign in!"

[Ding! Sign-in successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Top-Grade Spirit Stone x8, Thunder Source Dao Seed (Nascent) x1, Shrinking the Earth to an Inch (Fragment) Insight x1, Remnant Aura of the Primordial World: A trace of spacetime ripple imprint!]

[Thunder Source Dao Seed (Nascent)]: A seed containing a trace of the fundamental laws of thunder. After implanting it into the Dao Foundation, it can grow slowly on its own, continuously enhancing the host's thunder technique talent and power, and has a certain chance to nurture thunder-elemental Spiritual Powers.

[Shrinking the Earth to an Inch (Fragment) Insight]: Incomplete insight into the spatial Spiritual Power "Shrinking the Earth to an Inch" from a certain ancestor, which can greatly increase short-distance movement speed and flexibility.

[A trace of spacetime ripple imprint]: Contains extremely faint traces of spacetime laws, which can aid in comprehending space-elemental spells and enhance sensitivity to the flow of time.

"Thunder Source Dao Seed! Shrinking the Earth to an Inch!"

Mo Yuan was overjoyed. This time, the rewards directly touched upon the realms of laws and Spiritual Powers.

Without hesitation, he guided the Thunder Source Dao Seed, which flickered with countless fine thunder patterns, into his Dantian, and carefully implanted it into his thunder Dao Foundation.

The moment the Dao Seed merged, his entire Dao Foundation trembled slightly, as if injected with new vitality.

It established a closer connection with the Heavenly Thunder Dao in the world, and the efficiency of absorbing and converting thunder spiritual energy significantly increased.

He could even vaguely feel that in the distant future, this seed might truly be able to nurture his own innate thunder Spiritual Power.

As for the Shrinking the Earth to an Inch insight, it elevated his understanding of movement techniques to a new level.

Although the Swift Lightning Step was fast, it mostly manifested in short-distance bursts and unpredictable changes. Shrinking the Earth to an Inch involved spatial folding, a true nascent great Spiritual Power.

Although it was only a fragment of insight, insufficient to truly achieve Shrinking the Earth to an Inch, it was enough to elevate the speed of his Swift Lightning Step to another level, even imbuing it with a hint of the profound mystery of spatial shifts.

Just as he was digesting these gains, an extremely faint, yet ancient and weathered, dim point of light silently drifted before him.

This point of light was different from the brilliant insights left by other predecessors; it was older, more obscure, and even carried a trace of... demonic struggle?

Mo Yuan felt a premonition and cautiously touched it with his divine sense.

In an instant, he seemed to see a shattered scene: a predecessor wearing ancient Mount Mao Daoist robes, with a blurred face, was fiercely battling a dark demonic shadow that was indescribable, composed of countless twisted faces and chaotic wills.

The Daoist magic reached the heavens, and lightning illuminated the world, yet it was difficult to completely destroy the demonic shadow.

In the end, that predecessor, using his own Dao Foundation and soul as a guide, laid down a world-shattering seal, suppressing the demonic shadow deep within the earth.

He himself perished, his soul scattered, leaving behind only a remnant of consciousness filled with warning and unwillingness...

"...Nine Nether... Gate... Key... must not appear in the world... beware... Yellow Springs..."

A fragmented, pain-filled, and resolute spiritual imprint entered Mo Yuan's mind, and then the dim point of light completely dissipated.

Mo Yuan's mind was greatly shaken!

Nine Nether Gate? Yellow Springs?

This subtly corresponded with the information about "seal," "key," and "return" that he had deciphered from the black stone tablet.

Could it be that the "ancient demon" that the Black Fiend Sect and the Netherworld were now trying to release was the one sealed by that predecessor?

And what did "Yellow Springs" refer to? Was it another key, or the ancient demon's title?

This unexpected gain gave him a more direct and profound understanding of the crisis surrounding the ancient demon's ruins.

It was by no means an ordinary demon, but a terrifying existence that had cost a Mount Mao predecessor his life to seal.

The three-day period passed in the blink of an eye.

When the exit of the Ancestor's Cave reappeared in his perception, Mo Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

His pupils no longer merely flickered with lightning, but seemed to contain five different lightning intents flowing, arising, and perishing within them, finally settling into an unfathomable calm.

His aura was harmonious and contained, yet it gave people a sense of being like an abyss or a sea, unfathomable.

Foundation Establishment mid-stage, initial mastery of the Five Thunders, the Thunder Source Dao Seed had taken root, and he had also received a warning concerning ancient secrets.

His strength and vision had undergone a sea change.

He took one step out of the Ancestor's Cave, returning to Stone Bamboo Shoot Mountain.

The outside world was bright and filled with spiritual energy, but compared to the enlightenment of facing the origin of the Great Dao within the cave, it felt like a veil separated them.

Uncle Nine had already been waiting outside. The moment he saw Mo Yuan, his eyes erupted with disbelief: "Foundation Establishment mid-stage?! Five Thunders intent?! Good! Good! Good!"

He uttered the word "good" three times, his excitement evident.

He could feel that his disciple now possessed a hint of a master's demeanor, and his future achievements were likely beyond even his own estimation.

"Master."

Mo Yuan bowed respectfully and briefly recounted his gains in the cave, excluding system-related information, especially the spiritual imprint of the predecessor who perished along with the demonic shadow.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Nine's expression immediately became extremely grave: "This matter is too significant. We must immediately report it to the Sect Master!"

Just then, a communication talisman flew through the air and landed in Uncle Nine's hand.

He scanned it with his divine sense, his expression changing again: "The Sect Master is urgently summoning me! It seems something has happened in the outside world!"

A sharp glint flashed in Mo Yuan's eyes.

He had just emerged from seclusion, his strength greatly increased, and he was eager for tempering. New troubles arising was exactly what he wanted.

"Let's go, Master. Let's go and see what kind of insignificant pests dare to cause trouble!"