Five Thunder Talisman

The night was as black as ink, and all was silent.

After dinner, Ning Chuan returned to his room. The moment his head touched the pillow, his consciousness, like a weary bird returning to its nest, swiftly sank into his mind and connected to that vast, dangerous Junk Ocean of the heavens.

"Enter Station. Spiritual Body Entry."

Light and shadows shifted, and the cold yet safe metal platform appeared before his eyes once more.

After several days of rushing about, planning, refining pills, and teaching boxing, his mental exhaustion far exceeded his physical fatigue.

Only now, standing in this territory that belonged absolutely to him, did Ning Chuan feel truly relaxed and safe.

He first pulled up the status panel and gave it a quick glance.

"Points: 10"

His points had already hit rock bottom, like a dried-up pond.

"Looks like it's Scavenger time again." Ning Chuan chuckled at himself, hoisted the Four-Meter Long Rake over his shoulder, and walked toward the platform's edge.

His gaze swept across the bizarre, mountain-like piles of discarded debris outside, but his heart remained calm.

Harvests required luck, while clearing junk and accumulating points were steady, essential foundational work.

He swung the rake and began the tedious yet necessary labor once more.

Crack! Clang!

Shattered metal, charred circuit boards, dull gemstone fragments, shells from unknown creatures...

All kinds of strange junk were raked out and sent into the Decomposition Beam, where they turned into negligible points and basic materials.

His points slowly ticked upward: 11... 13... 15...

The process was uneventful. Most of the junk was worthless.

Just as Ning Chuan mechanically raked apart a pile of trash mixed with dirt and torn cloth, the rake's teeth suddenly caught on something heavy and surprisingly resilient.

He pulled hard, but the object was half-buried beneath the debris and seemed to be connected to something else.

Ning Chuan increased his strength and finally dragged it free, sending it rolling to the edge of the platform.

The instant he saw what it was, Ning Chuan's breath caught!

It was... a hand!

A human hand severed cleanly at the wrist!

Its skin was an unnatural grayish white, as though all life had been drained from it. Yet strangely, it showed no signs of decay. It was merely shriveled and stiff, like a specimen dried for a thousand years.

Its fingers were long and its joints distinct. It had likely belonged, in life, to someone who had lived in luxury.

What drew the eye most was the ring on the severed hand's index finger!

The ring had an ancient design and was dark silver throughout. Its material was neither metal nor jade. No gorgeous gemstone adorned its face; instead, it bore only a tiny, intricate formation pattern that seemed to contain the principles of heaven and earth. At that moment, it emitted a faint yet incomparably pure spiritual energy fluctuation!

A Storage Ring! And one in perfect condition, with its spiritual energy still intact!

Ning Chuan could practically feel his real heart pounding out of control! His blood rushed nearly to his head!

Forcing down his excitement, Ning Chuan did not recklessly touch the eerie severed hand. Instead, he raked it onto the platform and said to the Station, "Station! Conduct a full scan of this severed hand and ring! Assess the risk!"

"Scanning..."

"Target 1: Severed palm. Status: Instantly cut and sealed by an extremely high-level force. All vitality extinguished. Inactive. No contamination risk."

"Target 2: Intact large Storage Ring. Grade: High-grade Spirit Artifact."

"Ring status: Core restrictions intact. Energy abundant. In a semi-activated state. The former owner's soul imprint naturally dissipated upon the host's death. It is currently ownerless."

"Risk assessment: Low. The severed hand poses no threat. The ring can be safely opened."

"Value assessment: Extremely high!"

Safe! Ownerless! A High-grade Spirit Artifact!

Ning Chuan let out a long breath, trembling with excitement!

Using the tip of the rake, Ning Chuan slipped the ring off the severed hand's finger.

The ring felt slightly cool in his hand, yet smooth and warm to the touch. Its faint spiritual energy fluctuation quivered gently as though it were alive.

"Station, safely open this Storage Ring and inventory its contents!"

"Command confirmed. Beginning to break the outer restrictions..."

A gentle silver light shot out from the platform and enveloped the ring.

The miniature formation pattern on its face slowly lit up, flowed for a moment, then dimmed again.

"Restrictions broken. Beginning transfer of internal items to the platform's secure storage area."

The next instant, a small pile of items appeared in the storage area at the center of the platform as if by magic!

Ning Chuan looked over eagerly. Even though he had prepared himself mentally, the sight before him left him utterly dumbfounded!

The first things he saw were Spirit Stones piled into a small mountain, each radiating a soft glow of different colors!

At a rough estimate, there were at least a thousand of them!

Most were milky-white Low-grade Spirit Stones, but there were also nearly a hundred darker Mid-grade Spirit Stones rich with spiritual energy, along with more than a dozen High-grade Spirit Stones that resembled glazed crystal, their brilliance contained within!

The dense spiritual energy instantly spread through the area, making even Ning Chuan's spiritual body feel refreshed!

This was simply an astronomical fortune!

Beside the Spirit Stones lay several neatly arranged stacks of jade slips.

The jade slips came in different colors, with ancient words carved into their surfaces.

"Station, appraise these jade slips!"

"Appraising..."

"Initial Insights into Formation Dao (Author: Xuan Jizi)"

"Essentials of Artifact Refining (Author: Master Fire Refiner)"

"Miscellaneous Notes on Pill Dao (Author: Hermit Green Wood)"

"Commentary on the True Explanation of Talismans (Author: Cloud Talisman Rogue)"

Jade slips containing the insights of the four major auxiliary professions! And judging from the names, their original authors were definitely no ordinary figures! These were practically keys to a treasury of the hundred arts of cultivation!

Besides that, several magical artifacts floated nearby: a flying sword wreathed in flowing azure light, a shield engraved with tortoiseshell patterns, a jade-green hairpin, and a palm-sized, exquisitely crafted model of a tower ship.

Though their spiritual light was somewhat dim, they were clearly all extraordinary items.

Finally, Ning Chuan's attention was drawn to a small stack of talismans.

The talismans were made from some kind of dark golden talisman paper, their profoundly mysterious runes drawn in cinnabar mixed with unknown spiritual blood.

The talisman paper itself brimmed with spiritual energy, but the runes written upon it gave off threads of destructive aura!

The top few in particular bore lightning-shaped runes. Faint thunderlight flowed across them, and their pressure was astonishing!

"Station! Appraise these talismans as a priority!" Ning Chuan's voice trembled slightly.

"Appraising..."

"Target: Five Thunder Talisman. Grade: Fifth-rank high-grade."

"Quantity: 12."

"Effect: Draws upon the Five-Element Divine Thunder of heaven and earth to deliver a devastating strike against the target area. Extremely effective against yin-evil entities, demonic creatures, and soul-type targets."

"Activation method: Requires spiritual energy or a high-purity energy source, such as Spirit Stones."

"Power assessment, preliminary calculation based on the current world's rules: When a single Five Thunder Talisman is fully activated, its effective killing range has a diameter of one hundred meters. Core power... sufficient to threaten entities in this world assessed at the energy level of a Title Douluo. Note: This is a theoretical calculation. Actual effects are influenced by numerous factors, including the environment, target condition, and activation method."

Enough to threaten a Title Douluo!

Ning Chuan sucked in a cold breath, and every hair on his body stood on end!

Although the Station had added a note, the assessment still exploded in his mind like a thunderclap!

Title Douluo! The beings at the apex of Douluo Continent's pyramid! Every one of them was a giant capable of influencing the continent's balance!

Yet this seemingly weightless piece of talisman paper possessed the terrifying power to threaten their lives!

Twelve Five Thunder Talismans! That was equivalent to twelve strategic deterrents at the Title Douluo level!

This was a true trump card! An ultimate method capable of turning the tide at a crucial moment—or even taking everyone down with him!