Thunder Source

Ning Fa slapped his thigh, overjoyed.

He had guessed right—the Mysterious Scroll had truly traced the Primordial Thunder Art back to another cultivation technique!

From the look of it, the Primordial Thunder Art had evolved from this Ancient Source Thunder Scripture. Just the name alone sounded far grander than that lousy Primordial Thunder Art.

Just as Ning Fa was brimming with excitement, the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture on the scroll transformed into a stream of white light and flew into his forehead.

Ning Fa could not help closing his eyes.

A full hour later, Ning Fa finally opened his eyes, excitement and shock still lingering within them.

This cultivation technique contained only the general outline and the first six layers. It could be cultivated up to Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and only cultivators with Lightning Spiritual Roots could cultivate it.

It seemed that the Mysterious Scroll lacked sufficient energy, which was why it could not trace the later portions of the cultivation technique back to their source.

Still, being able to cultivate to Foundation Establishment Late Stage was enough for Ning Fa for the time being.

After briefly looking through the general outline, Ning Fa was basically certain that the Primordial Thunder Art he had cultivated before had been simplified from the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture, for the two shared quite a few similarities.

For example, every meridian and acupoint involved in the Primordial Thunder Art was present in the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture. However, the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture required several times as many meridians and acupoints to circulate.

Judging solely from the description in the general outline, this cultivation technique was terrifyingly powerful. Ning Fa even suspected that it might be exaggerating too much.

Although the technique did not clearly state its grade, Ning Fa felt that it was at least a mid-to-high Earth-grade technique.

Perhaps even Earth-grade was too low. There was a strong chance that this technique had reached Heaven-grade.

First of all, it was actually a rare Dual Cultivation of Body and Law technique. It cultivated not only Mana, but also the power of the physical body.

The technique explained that this was because it was too overbearing and placed extremely high demands on the cultivator's body. Without a corresponding level of physical strength, it would be difficult to employ the technique. Many of the secret arts and moves within required a formidable physique to be unleashed.

Ning Fa had heard a little about the path of Dual Cultivation of Body and Law.

In the current cultivation world, the mainstream path was Law Cultivation. There were also a very small number of body cultivators, as well as cultivators who walked the even more arduous path of Dual Cultivation of Body and Law.

Cultivators who followed the path of Dual Cultivation of Body and Law were generally far stronger than cultivators of the same realm. Even fighting opponents across realms was no great difficulty for them.

However, their cultivation advancement was correspondingly far more difficult, especially since body tempering demanded even more cultivation resources than Law Cultivation.

In ancient times, many cultivators had chosen the path of Dual Cultivation of Body and Law, coveting its tremendous power.

But as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth waned and heavenly treasures and earthly materials grew scarce, body cultivation gradually declined, while cultivators of Dual Cultivation of Body and Law became even rarer.

Yet from the second layer, corresponding to Qi Condensation Mid-stage, the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture required the cultivation of the physical body. If the body did not improve, the meridians and acupoints would be difficult to expand, and Mana would likewise struggle to advance even an inch.

Thus, every layer of the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture came with a corresponding body-tempering section.

Another point was that the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture contained the concept of Thunder Sources.

According to Ning Fa's own understanding, a Thunder Source was a storehouse for Mana, serving the same purpose as the Dantian's sea of qi.

However, the special aspect of the Thunder Sources described in the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture was that there could be more than one.

Apart from the Main Thunder Source in the Dantian, which was essential, Lesser Thunder Sources could also be opened in other parts of the body.

Every Lesser Thunder Source opened could increase a cultivator's total Mana by several tenths.

In this way, if a cultivator of the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture opened multiple Lesser Thunder Sources, the total Mana within their body could very well exceed that of cultivators at the same realm by several times.

Moreover, because Lesser Thunder Sources were generally opened at vital acupoint nodes within the circulation of the meridians, cultivators would not need to draw Mana from the Dantian when circulating their techniques. The nearby Lesser Thunder Sources could directly supply Mana.

As a result, a cultivator's spellcasting speed could naturally rise dramatically. This was extremely crucial in the ever-changing, split-second battles between cultivators.

However, opening Lesser Thunder Sources was far from simple.

The technique stated that most cultivators of this technique could be considered quite good if they managed to open three or four Lesser Thunder Sources before Foundation Establishment.

Furthermore, Lesser Thunder Sources were best opened during the Qi Condensation Stage. Once one reached Foundation Establishment, opening even one more Lesser Thunder Source would become harder than climbing to the heavens.

This was because every Lesser Thunder Source needed to form a close connection with the other Thunder Sources, and this was easiest to accomplish only during the Qi Condensation Stage.

Therefore, if a cultivator with a Lightning Spiritual Root cultivated the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture, their potential could be seen from how many Lesser Thunder Sources they cultivated during the Qi Condensation Stage.

In ancient times, some cultivators with Lightning Spiritual Roots had even deliberately delayed their Foundation Establishment in order to open more Lesser Thunder Sources.

The more Lesser Thunder Sources one had, the more it was like laying an unshakable foundation. Not only would one possess a greater total amount of Mana, but breaking through to realms beyond Foundation Establishment would also become considerably easier.

The Ancient Source Thunder Scripture was so powerful. It was both a formidable Dual Cultivation of Body and Law technique and possessed the peculiar cultivation method of Lesser Thunder Sources, allowing those who cultivated it to greatly surpass cultivators of the same realm.

Naturally, this did not come without a price.

Cultivators of this technique advanced in cultivation realms far more slowly than other cultivators.

It placed extremely high demands on cultivation resources, such as the concentration of spirit veins. Even a Third-Grade Spirit Vein could only barely meet its requirements.

The First-grade High-grade Spirit Vein where Ning Fa currently resided was naturally nowhere near enough.

Even though his sensitivity to Thunder Spiritual Power now far surpassed what it had been before, the thin concentration of the spirit vein severely constrained him. Even Ningchang Island, with the concentration of a Second-grade High-grade spirit vein, appeared insufficient.

Ning Fa gradually calmed down, a flicker of hesitation passing through his eyes.

Although this Ancient Source Thunder Scripture seemed extraordinarily powerful, it also appeared extremely difficult to cultivate, especially since it followed the arduous path of Dual Cultivation of Body and Law.

Moreover, the Mysterious Scroll currently seemed to have traced back only the first six layers of the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture due to insufficient energy. He did not know whether the later portions could ever be traced back to their source.

This left Ning Fa somewhat hesitant.

But after only a brief consideration, he made up his mind.

He had no other choice now. This Ancient Source Thunder Scripture was likely the highest-grade lightning-element cultivation technique he could ever come into contact with.

In particular, the existence of the Lesser Thunder Sources should be able to resolve the issue of his Great Five Elements Thunder Body demanding a high total amount of Mana.

With the tremendous boost his Great Five Elements Thunder Body granted to cultivating Lightning Attribute techniques, cultivating this technique should not be a problem.

As for the technique containing only the first six layers and allowing cultivation only to Foundation Establishment Late Stage, that was not too serious for him at present.

So long as he could advance into the Foundation Establishment Realm, then with his mysterious thunder body and the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture, he believed he could wreak havoc among Foundation Establishment Cultivators. That was enough.

The only possible restriction was the body-tempering portion.

However, the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture also included a matching Body Tempering Potion. Using the potion as an aid could accelerate the progress of body tempering.

Although the spiritual materials required for this Body Tempering Potion all appeared exceptionally rare, once he grew stronger, he should have a chance of obtaining them.

Leaving everything else aside, as long as he could advance to Qi Condensation Mid-stage, he was confident that, with the Mysterious Scroll, he could swiftly become a First-grade Mid-rank Pill Master.

At that time, his authority and status within the family would surely rise greatly. Finding a way to acquire those resources should not be much of a problem.

Having thought this through, Ning Fa could not help smiling.

Today's gains had truly been immense. Not only had he uncovered the secret of his body, but he had also obtained this ancient lightning-element cultivation technique.

It gave Ning Fa the feeling that heaven's will had been guiding him all along.

Ning Fa did not hurry to begin cultivating. The shock he had received tonight was too great, and his mind was in violent turmoil, making it unsuitable for cultivation.

He lay directly on the meditation cushion, thinking of the Heavenly Mechanism Scroll's description of the Great Five Elements Thunder Body as he gradually drifted into sleep.