Primordial Thunder Art and the Mysterious Pattern

Thinking of this, Ning Fa could not help feeling somewhat discouraged. Frowning, he began sorting through the cultivation experiences of his predecessor.

After his predecessor confirmed that he possessed a Lightning Spiritual Root, the Ning Clan had paid a great price to obtain a lightning-element cultivation technique.

Yet afterward, his predecessor's cultivation progress had been abnormally slow. Even cultivating on Ningchang Island, the clan grounds with a Second-grade High-grade spirit vein, and consuming countless precious pills had produced little effect.

At first, the Ning Clan's higher-ups suspected that the cultivation technique they had found for Ning Fa was unsuitable, so they went to great trouble to find another lightning-element technique. Yet it was still the same, with no improvement whatsoever.

Later, the Ning Clan's First Elder, Ning Zhongyuan, personally traveled to Black Marsh Immortal City, ten thousand li away, and spent a fortune at an auction to acquire yet another lightning-element cultivation technique.

This technique was called the Primordial Thunder Art. It was a Mystic Grade High Rank technique, considered a lightning-element cultivation technique of quite a high grade.

The cultivation world had a customary classification system for cultivation techniques, broadly divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. Each grade was further divided into low, middle, and high ranks.

Most cultivation techniques commonly found in the cultivation world were Yellow Grade. Even Mystic Grade techniques were exceedingly rare.

As for Earth Grade and even Heaven Grade techniques, they were not things ordinary cultivators could hope for. Only major cultivation sects might possess such inherited treasures; they would never circulate outside.

Thus, this Mystic Grade High Rank Primordial Thunder Art was extremely precious. It was said to have been derived from an ancient lightning-element cultivation technique.

The Ning Clan's First Elder had spent the staggering sum of over ten thousand spirit stones to acquire it.

That was only because this technique could be cultivated only to Foundation Establishment Late Stage. The portions for after Core Formation had long vanished into the river of history; otherwise, its price would likely have multiplied several times over.

But for the Ning Clan, being able to cultivate to Foundation Establishment Late Stage was enough.

A Lightning Spiritual Root cultivator at Foundation Establishment Late Stage could basically slaughter other Foundation Establishment Cultivators with impunity. Even upon encountering ordinary Core Formation Cultivators, they would have a great chance of escaping with their life.

Yet even after Ning Fa's predecessor switched to cultivating the renowned Primordial Thunder Art, there was still no effect. His cultivation progress had even become slower.

The Ning Clan's higher-ups were dumbfounded. Only then did they realize that the issue was probably not the cultivation technique, but Ning Fa himself.

That was why they had sought out an expert to examine Ning Fa's body, reaching the conclusion that he possessed an Incomplete Lightning Spiritual Root.

Later, seeing that Ning Fa could never break through to Qi Condensation Mid-stage, the clan finally abandoned him and left him to fend for himself.

Ning Fa shook his head, a self-mocking smile rising to his face. But then determination appeared in his eyes. No matter how difficult it was, he had to give it a try.

With that thought, Ning Fa closed his eyes and sat cross-legged. Forming hand seals, he began circulating his cultivation technique according to the cycle described in the Primordial Thunder Art.

Blue-white light began flickering from his body. Strands of blue-white electric arcs appeared across him from time to time, crackling sharply with a series of "pop-pop" explosions, making Ning Fa look exceedingly mysterious.

Inside Ning Fa's body, a stream of pure Thunder Spiritual Power traveled along fixed pathways.

At the same time, spirit qi, nearly imperceptible to the naked eye within his room, seemed drawn in and began pouring into his body. Part of it dissipated, while another part merged into the spiritual power traveling through his pathways, becoming a part of it.

After Ning Fa completed seven times seven, forty-nine cycles, this stream of spiritual power had grown slightly stronger than before.

Ning Fa's brows lifted as he began controlling this spiritual power toward his Dantian.

He intended to attempt a breakthrough through the Qi Condensation Mid-stage bottleneck.

The spiritual power surged into his Dantian, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier.

Ning Fa knew this was likely the Qi Condensation Mid-stage bottleneck—the very thing that had driven his predecessor to despair.

Ning Fa carefully controlled that Mana and sent it crashing against the bottleneck.

A sound like raging waves smashing against the shore seemed to echo through the void, low and yet deafening.

Every impact brought Ning Fa immense pain. Every inch of his skin seemed to be tearing apart, but the ruthless resolve in his heart made him grit his teeth and endure.

After striking the barrier ten times in succession, Ning Fa was drenched in cold sweat. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Yet the invisible barrier in his Dantian remained as solid as a rock, showing no sign of being broken.

"Hmph! I refuse to believe it!"

A fierce glint flashed through Ning Fa's eyes. He stopped attacking the bottleneck and instead controlled that Mana to continue circulating through its cycles, while desperately absorbing the surrounding spirit qi.

He attempted to increase the total amount of Mana used to strike the bottleneck, thereby increasing his chance of breaking through.

But the price of doing so was that, at his current realm, overloading the circulation cycles would place an enormous burden on his body.

Blood began seeping from his skin, soaking his robes a dark red.

Yet Ning Fa was like a mad demon. Enduring the agonizing pain, he gritted his teeth and completed another twenty circulation cycles, reaching the limit of what he could control.

Ning Fa guided the slightly strengthened Mana to his Dantian and attempted another assault.

"Break for me!"

Ning Fa roared hoarsely!

This time, a change finally occurred.

It was as though a soundless explosion rang out. Immediately afterward, an eerie circular pattern appeared out of thin air within Ning Fa's Dantian.

This circular pattern seemed to be formed from countless tiny runes. Upon closer inspection, these tiny runes were actually threads of lightning of countless different shapes, flashing in five colors—white, blue, black, red, and yellow. They endlessly appeared and vanished, intertwining and tangling along profoundly mysterious trajectories to form this Mysterious Pattern, gleaming with five-colored radiance and carrying an indescribable sense of flawless perfection.

But regrettably, more than half of this mysterious circular pattern seemed to be missing. Only a small portion was clear; most of the rest was faint and illusory, as though it might vanish at any moment.

Ning Fa, who discovered this Mysterious Pattern through inner sight, wore a face full of shock. This unfathomably mysterious pattern had never appeared in his predecessor's memories.

Ning Fa instinctively felt that this Mysterious Pattern might be the reason his predecessor had never been able to break through.

Just as Ning Fa was filled with uncertainty, he suddenly felt his right arm grow hot. Before he could react, white light flashed before his eyes, and the Mysterious Scroll appeared.

The scroll unfolded on its own. Countless White Runes appeared upon it once more, flickering without pause. This time, their flickering was far more intense than before, and the blinding white radiance nearly made Ning Fa unable to open his eyes.

Gradually, amid the flickering White Runes, a circular pattern slowly appeared on the scroll. It looked exactly the same as the pattern in Ning Fa's Dantian.

Moreover, as the mysterious runes on the scroll flickered madly, the missing majority of the circular pattern began filling in bit by bit.

Ning Fa stared at the Mysterious Scroll in utter shock. This mysterious scene before him made it difficult for him to think for a moment.

At this time, however, the Mana he had used to attack the barrier in his Dantian was already running out of strength and finally dispersed. The Mana, far exceeding anything from before, immediately scattered through his limbs and bones. The backlash made Ning Fa grunt, and he could not help spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Then, the mysterious circular pattern within his Dantian vanished.

The White Runes on the Mysterious Scroll gradually ceased flickering as well, and the circular pattern that had been evolving upon the scroll disappeared along with them.