He forcibly halted the original flow of his qi and blood.
The martial essence driven by Thunderbolt Fist was cut off just as it was about to break through the meridian threshold.
Forcing it onto a new path would affect every one of his meridians.
The Resilient Meridians talent dispersed the backlash into the surrounding bones.
At the same time, the Spirit Aperture inside him began to tremble.
Through the Synesthesia talent, he absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from the void, drawing it into his body.
Two forces collided at his qi sea.
Guided by the Nine Heavens Thunder-Controlling Art, the pure-yang nature of his martial qi and blood merged with the thunderous intent in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
In his qi sea, the crimson qi and blood gradually paled, turning purple.
This was real lightning, not the thunderclap simulated by martial arts.
The newly formed Nine Heavens Thunder coursed through his body, surging along his limbs and bones.
His right arm was the first to suffer damage.
Li Pingsheng had used Resilient Meridians to confine the Demon-Transformation Gu Poison and Cold Poison to his right arm.
Now, the lightning struck and stripped away the blue-black poison blotches.
Thunderfire coursed through his meridians, eliminating the Gu Insect's venomous particles in his flesh and blood.
Black smoke seeped from the skin of his right arm and was ignited by lightning in the air.
Once the poison had been expelled, his swollen, purplish arm began to go down.
Thunder was a force of destruction and creation alike.
After being tempered by thunderfire, his Tiger Bone and Resilient Meridians abilities awakened.
Li Pingsheng felt something changing inside his bones.
Under the lightning's influence, his bones grew harder and more difficult to break.
The meridians that had been severed were drawn together by the lightning, reconnecting and widening.
A jade-like sheen showed beneath his skin. It was the sign of physical strength reaching a certain level.
After eliminating the hidden dangers within his body, Li Ping turned his attention to the Well-Guarding Bronze Talisman on his chest.
He let the talisman cling to his skin and draw his blood.
Li Pingsheng remained perfectly calm. He didn't try to pull it off. Instead, he pressed his left hand against the black stele and sent his Divine Sense surging back through the channel the talisman used to absorb it.
Under the influence of Enhanced Cognition, the talisman's array patterns and structure unfolded in his mind.
A little-known Blood Sacrifice Array was drawn inside the talisman.
The spiritual imprint Old Qi had left behind guided his qi and blood toward the seal at the bottom of the well.
Without hesitation, Li Pingsheng summoned the lightning within his body and sent his Divine Sense crashing into the spiritual imprint like a hammer.
The traces Old Qi had left behind vanished at once.
Li Pingsheng stamped his own Divine Sense into the talisman, wresting control of it for himself.
Once the talisman changed hands, the flow of qi and blood from his body stopped.
Some of the energy stored inside the talisman also flowed back through the channel and into him, helping him grow stronger.
With the talisman in hand, Li Ping followed the array's pathways, extending his Divine Sense through the entire sealing array of the Dragon Locking Well.
The Well-Guardian's life force was used as firewood, while the foul qi of the earth veins served as fuel.
Li Ping believed this balance had been built on the Well-Guardian's sacrifice.
If you want to burn me for firewood, then I'll tear down your furnace.
Li Pingsheng's expression was icy, his killing intent surging.
Using the Thunder Stele Origin as a conduit, he poured lightning into the talisman and from there into the array.
The blood-red runes writhing across the stone walls began to reverse as the lightning coursed through them.
Dark-red light gave way to purple, and the array's pathways changed as well.
After a while, he had transformed the Qi-Extraction Array into a Thunder-Controlling Grand Array.
The air in the underground cavern was bone-dry, and countless purple lightning serpents leaped across the stone walls.
Once the array was reversed, the foul qi of the earth veins at the bottom of the well reacted.
The filth that had accumulated for a hundred years sensed that danger was closing in.
The dark-red mire churned. Countless tentacles formed from black mist crawled out of the bog and lunged at Li Pingsheng.
Wherever the tentacles reached, rock melted into black water, and poisonous mist filled the air.
Li Ping stood beside the Thunder Stele, but didn't move.
The Thunder-Controlling Grand Array activated.
A web of purple lightning formed in the air, then crashed downward.
The lightning net collided with the tentacles of black mist.
The power of thunder was the bane of these filthy things. They were severed and evaporated in the lightning, turning to wisps of smoke that dispersed.
A few dozen breaths later, the rampaging foul qi had been cleared away, and the bottom of the well returned to calm.
Li Pingsheng had not only eliminated the hidden danger at the bottom of the well but also used lightning to purify some of the impurities deep within the earth veins.
This would make the Dragon Locking Well's seal even more secure, and there would be no need to worry about foul qi leaking out in the near future.
By then, the battle above the mouth of the Dragon Locking Well had reached its climax.
Old Qi's face was deathly pale, blood streaked his chin, and he clutched an Azure Light Shield.
Facing him was a Gu Master in a black robe. Blood qi surrounded the Black-Robed Gu Master, who sent blood-colored Gu Insects crashing against the shield.
The Black-Robed Gu Master said, "Old ghost, give it up. Your qi and blood are spent, and this sealing array won't hold for much longer. Just accept your death and spare yourself the pain."
Old Qi said nothing.
He might have been old, but he was still powerful.
He had been waiting all along—waiting for Li Pingsheng at the bottom of the well to be refined away, waiting for the thunderous qi and blood to merge with the array and strengthen its seal.
Just as he held out, his body shuddered, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood.
He had shared a spiritual connection with the Dragon Locking Well's array for decades, but at that moment, a force shattered it.
How could this be?
Old Qi sat on the ground, his eyes wide, his face filled with terror and disbelief.
That was an array passed down exclusively through the Well-Guardian lineage. How had control suddenly changed hands?
Had something happened at the bottom of the well?
Was the plan he'd spent so many years laying about to be ruined today?
Seeing Old Qi fall after vomiting bright-red blood, the Black-Robed Gu Master assumed the seal at the bottom of the well had broken and the earth veins had turned on him.
Delighted, he laughed and said, "Hahaha, this is fate! Old man, you can die now."
With a flick of all ten fingers, the blood mist overhead gathered into a blood-red claw several zhang long, which swooped down at Old Qi.
This time, he put all his strength into it.
Just as the blood claw was about to touch Old Qi, something happened.
The previously quiet mouth of the Dragon Locking Well suddenly erupted with a thunderous roar.
A bolt of purple lightning, as thick as a barrel, shot out of the well.
The blood-red demonic claw began to rot away the instant it touched the lightning bolt.
The shockwave from the bolt spread into purple ripples, shattering the Blood-Transforming Dragon-Imprisoning Array wrapped around the area.
The wave of air flung Old Qi and the Black-Robed Gu Master away at the same time. They hit the ground and rolled twice.
As the lightning faded, a figure rose from the well amid the crackling bolts, cradling the phantom image of a small black stele.
Li Pingsheng's face was expressionless. Purple lightning danced across his clothes, radiating an overwhelming presence.
Old Qi stared at Li Pingsheng, his mind blank.
He was no longer the martial arts disciple Old Qi had sent away as a sacrifice. He was a man who could command lightning.
"Li Pingsheng... are you all right?" Old Qi's face was filled with terror.
He had never imagined that the pawn he thought he could discard would turn the tables at the bottom of the well and seize control of the array.
Li Pingsheng landed on the ground. The bluestone slabs beneath his feet turned to powder as soon as the lightning radiating from his body touched them.
He looked at Old Qi and said without emotion, "Old Qi, when you sent me down there, did you ever think I'd come back alive?"
Old Qi's face went ashen. He couldn't speak.
The Black-Robed Gu Master narrowed his eyes as he stared at the phantom Thunder Stele in Li Pingsheng's hand.
"What's so special about the Thunder Stele Origin? If the Thunder Stele has recognized you, then fine. Kid, hand it over, and I'll spare your life."
Li Pingsheng sneered. "If you want it, come and take it yourself."
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