Five Thunder Divine Power

Back at Listening Thunder Abode on Stone Bamboo Shoot Mountain, Mo Yuan did not immediately begin his seclusion.

He first carefully nurtured the Thunder Dragon Evil-Slaying Spear and Soul Cleansing Banner with True Essence. During the journey to Yellow Springs, both magic items had endured tremendous strain. The Soul Cleansing Banner in particular had dimmed slightly and needed proper restoration.

At the same time, he separated a thread of the primordial spiritual essence obtained from the sign-in reward and slowly infused it into the two magic items.

Primordial spiritual essence was the source energy of all things, and its effects were immediate.

The thunder patterns on the Thunder Dragon Evil-Slaying Spear grew deeper and more agile. The phantom of the Thunder Dragon Soul Essence became several degrees more solid, faintly showing signs of advancing into a Mid-Grade Magic Item.

Clear radiance flowed across the Soul Cleansing Banner. Its damaged spirituality rapidly recovered and became even purer and more condensed than before. The ring of golden merit along its edge also brightened slightly.

Only after dealing with the magic items did Mo Yuan formally begin his seclusion.

Inside the quiet chamber, the formation activated, sealing off the interior from the outside world.

He first sank his consciousness into his sea of consciousness.

The phantom seed of the Reincarnation Purple Lotus floated quietly beside the Soul Cleansing Banner, emanating a hazy yet noble violet glow as wisps of reincarnation Dao intent spread through the space.

It made his sea of consciousness more stable and vast, cleansing away the lingering distracting thoughts and spiritual fatigue accumulated from past cultivation.

He attempted visualization according to the introductory method of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Contemplation Method. Though he was still far from visualizing a complete scene of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Even a vague outline improved his control over his soul by several degrees and gave him a deeper understanding of the True Meaning of Reincarnation he had initially fused.

With this lotus and the contemplation method aiding me, even if I encounter a soul attack like that Yellow Springs Skeleton again, I will have a better chance of withstanding it. Mo Yuan's heart settled.

Afterward, he focused most of his attention on cultivating the Five Thunder Righteous Method - Heavenly Heart Scroll.

At Ancestor Cave and the edge of Yellow Springs, he had already gained an initial comprehension of the Five Thunder intent, especially its three aspects: "evil-slaying," "illusion-breaking," and "creation-annihilation."

Now that he possessed such a cultivation treasure as primordial spiritual essence, he naturally would not waste it.

He took out a Top-Grade Spirit Stone and held it in his hand, while also guiding that thread of primordial spiritual essence into his cultivation.

In an instant, he felt as if his comprehension had increased severalfold.

Many obscure and difficult passages within the Five Thunder Divine Method became clear. The circulation of his True Essence accelerated greatly, and his ability to sense and absorb the lightning spiritual energy between heaven and earth soared.

He no longer limited himself to mere comprehension and began attempting to transform the Five Thunder intent into tangible divine powers.

Using the "evil-slaying" thunder intent as a foundation and fusing it with the sharpness of Geng Metal Thunderous Evil, he condensed a platinum streak at his fingertips, as thin as a strand of hair yet capable of piercing anything: the Evil-Slaying Thunderous Astral Force.

This astral force specifically countered sinister yin and demonic energy, inflicting immense harm upon soul bodies.

Guided by the "illusion-breaking" thunder intent and combined with his powerful divine sense, faint lightning flickered within Mo Yuan's eyes whenever they opened and closed.

It could see through most illusions and concealment, directly reaching the source—this was the embryonic form of the Illusion-Breaking Thunder Eyes.

The most difficult aspect was the application of the "creation-annihilation" intent.

He tried compressing the two forces of vitality and destruction into a single point, creating an extremely unstable thunderball—the Creation-Annihilation Thunder Pellet.

After this thunder pellet struck a target, it would first unleash destructive lightning to obliterate everything.

Then, amid the ruins of destruction, it would give rise to a thread of faint vitality... or rather, a form of forced "purification" and "remolding." Its power was immense and its nature unpredictable.

However, he still could not control it perfectly, and his success rate remained low.

As for the two aspects of "punishment" and "creation," they were far too profound. He could only gain a superficial understanding of them and was still nowhere near condensing them into divine powers.

Even so, gaining an initial grasp of three Five Thunder Divine Powers brought a qualitative leap to his combat ability.

These were no longer simple spells, but killing moves containing the intent of the Great Dao!

During the intervals between cultivating the Five Thunder Divine Powers, he did not neglect improvements in other areas.

The Divine Dragon Body Refining Art steadily advanced toward the second level under the tempering of primordial spiritual essence, repeated lightning strikes, and the energies of life and death. The strength and toughness of his physical body increased by the day.

The Gengjin Sword Qi Secret Arts mutually confirmed and complemented the Evil-Slaying Thunderous Astral Force, making his finger-sword and spear radiance even sharper and more unstoppable.

He had also completely mastered the knowledge from Ancient Demonic Script Analysis obtained from the black stone slab.

Now, when he looked upon the patterns on that stone slab or the Nine Nether Demonic Formation, he could interpret much more information, though it was still incomplete.

Yet combined with what he had obtained from Ancestor Cave, he now had a clearer understanding of the origins and sealing of the Yellow Springs Demon God.

He even began attempting to formulate the basic concept behind the Life-Death Talisman rewarded by the system.

Using his initially fused True Meaning of Reincarnation and the yin-yang energies as ink, and divine sense as a brush, he sketched runes in an attempt to create a unique talisman capable of controlling vitality and commanding deathly energy.

Though he failed repeatedly, with the talisman paper often turning to ash the instant it took shape due to the clash between life and death energies, he still accumulated valuable experience.

Time passed swiftly amid his devoted cultivation.

One day, while Mo Yuan was trying to incorporate a faint thread of Yellow Springs death energy—after harmonizing and taming it with the True Meaning of Reincarnation and yin-yang energies—into the Creation-Annihilation Thunder Pellet to increase its power and unpredictability, the warning formation outside the quiet chamber was triggered.

It was a message from Uncle Nine.

Mo Yuan awakened from his deep cultivation. The lightning around him and the phenomenon of intertwined life and death slowly receded.

He felt better than ever before, his Five Thunder Divine Powers having just taken shape.

His cultivation had also completely stabilized at the peak of mid-stage Foundation Establishment, only a hair's breadth away from the late stage.

He opened the quiet chamber. Uncle Nine stood outside, his face carrying a trace of solemnity, though his eyes held even more satisfaction.

"Yuan'er, you have emerged from seclusion at exactly the right time."

Uncle Nine said, "The sect has uncovered some important clues about the 'key.'"

Mo Yuan's gaze sharpened. "Oh?"

"Based on intelligence gathered from multiple sources, as well as soul searches conducted on several captured mid-level leaders of the Netherworld,"

Uncle Nine said gravely, "that so-called 'key' is not a physical object. It is more like... a special fate, or rather, a certain soul trait.

"The Black Fiend Sect and the Netherworld have been secretly searching for people who possess this fate."

"A special fate?"

Mo Yuan frowned slightly. This was more troublesome than he had expected. A physical object could be seized or sealed away, but how could one guard against a person with such a fate?

"That's right."

Uncle Nine nodded. "Based on fragmented information, this fate appears to be connected to 'the balance of yin and yang' and 'the intertwining of life and death.' To a certain extent, it can ignore or neutralize the rejection caused by Yellow Springs death energy and the Nine Nether Demonic Formation. It is the key to opening the seal or activating the skeleton.

"They call such a person—the Yellow Springs Guide!"

Yellow Springs Guide!

Mo Yuan's heart jolted, and he immediately thought of the True Meaning of Reincarnation and life-death aura he had initially fused. Could it be...

No, probably not.

He had forcibly comprehended and fused those powers through his heaven-defying comprehension and system rewards. It was an acquired achievement.

That "Yellow Springs Guide," on the other hand, seemed more like a special existence destined from birth.

"The sect is doing everything it can to investigate those who may possess this fate, but the scope is too broad. It is like searching for a needle in the sea."

Uncle Nine sighed. "Moreover, we suspect that the Netherworld organization may have already found its target, or at least obtained a clear direction for locating one."

Mo Yuan pondered for a moment. "Master, since the key is a 'person,' can we turn this around?

"If we can find this person, we could either protect them or... make use of them somehow?"

A sharp gleam flashed through Uncle Nine's eyes. "Senior Brother Sect Master and several elders share the same thought.

"But the prerequisite is that we find this person before the evil sect does. This matter requires long-term planning. Now that you have emerged from seclusion, come with me to meet Senior Brother Sect Master and discuss it in detail."

"Yes, Master."

Mo Yuan followed Uncle Nine out of Listening Thunder Abode. Sunlight spilled over him, and the aura of his peak mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation was smooth and natural.

Yet it also concealed heart-palpitating thunderous majesty and an indescribable intent of life, death, and reincarnation.