The Power of Lightning, Clear Wind Mountain Range!
That night, in the cave abode.
Shi Jian lay on the stone bed, his bear paw holding a dark purple fruit.
The skin of the Thunder Essence Fruit was shriveled and cracked, making it quite unappealing. When Sun Bo'an delivered the fruit, he specifically explained its various miraculous properties...
The only drawback is its extremely low production volume.
Shi Jian paid no attention to any of that. His nostrils flared as he could smell the faint, almost imperceptible, acrid spiritual energy emanating from inside the fruit, which stirred a primal desire within him...
Shi Jian opened his blood-red maw wide, threw the Thunder Essence Fruit into his mouth, and began to chew.
"Crunch."
The fruit peel crumbled instantly.
The next moment, a completely different spiritual power exploded in his abdomen!
Unlike the warm and smooth texture of Spirit Stone, or the mellow richness of elixirs, or the frenzied energy of Blood Qi Blood Bodhi, it is unlike anything else.
This spiritual energy was like a swarm of hornets that had been disturbed, full of frenzy and violence, carrying countless tiny stingers, rampaging through his meridians!
If it were an ordinary cultivator, just managing to quell this chaotic spiritual energy would probably take several days. Even Foundation Establishment cultivator would need a long time to refine it after consuming it...
But Shi Jian is a demon.
The Demon Essence surging within him was inherently the most Savage Wilderness and domineering element.
"Roar--!"
A deep roar rolled from his throat, and the Demon Essence, as thick as Shan Yue, instantly enveloped, suppressed, and crushed the restless spiritual power.
A tingling, numbing sensation emanated from deep within my meridians, like being pricked simultaneously by countless tiny silver needles...
It's very faint, but it's real!
A glint of light flashed in Shi Jian's half-closed bear eyes. He raised his right palm, and a thick, ink-like Yao Qi condensed in his palm.
At this moment, the Yao Qi underwent a slight change.
The originally heavy, mountain-like demonic Yao Qi now contained a few extremely faint silver-white arcs of electricity, which then vanished in a flash!
Electric arcs are like silver threads mixed into ink; though sparse, they are exceptionally conspicuous.
With a thought, Shi Jian hurled the demonic Yao Qi from his palm towards the stone wall. The instant the Yao Qi energy collided with the stone wall...
"Boom!"
A muffled thud followed, then a deafening explosion.
In the blink of an eye, a crater half a meter deep was blasted into the stone wall, and rubble flew everywhere.
It was a bit more powerful, but not noticeably so.
But soon, Shi Jian's attention was drawn to the inner wall of the pit, where a patch of charred remains on the surface of the rock...
Even the air was filled with a faint, strange smell, similar to burning.
Shi Jian stuck out his tongue and licked his nose.
This smell... he had smelled it before on trees that had been chopped down during thunderstorms.
It's the aura of thunder!
Although it was so faint as to be almost negligible, it did exist; the Demon Essence within his body had indeed been tainted with a trace of lightning power.
It's done!
Shi Jian's once calm and unperturbed demonic heart was now stirred into a monstrous storm.
His own bloodline is that of the most ordinary black bear, naturally devoid of any affinity, possessing only this formidable physical strength...
Reaching the Foundation Establishment Late Stage on this path is almost the end; to advance further and condense Demon Core is as difficult as ascending to heaven.
This is the constraint of bloodline, an insurmountable barrier etched into our very bones.
Why did he go to such lengths to seize control of the Sun Clan?
Isn't it all about using the power of Human Race to find fortuitous opportunity to break free from these constraints?!
Blood Bodhi and Blood-Coagulating Lotus can cause his Qi and Blood to surge and his cultivation to advance, but they cannot change the shackles of his bloodline.
But this Thunder Essence Fruit is different!
It was like throwing a spark into a stagnant pool, giving Shi Jian hope for a future breakthrough...
As long as he can consume this substance over a long period of time and in large quantities, his Demon Essence will undergo a qualitative change over time!
Until one transforms their own bloodline and breaks through the shackles.
When the ultimate power combines with the raging force of thunder...
At that time, who knows what kind of terrifying power it will be, as strong as Shan Yue and as fast as thunder. If it succeeds, Shi Jian will lack nothing!
A moment later--
Shi Jian took a deep breath, suppressing his overwhelming joy, and carefully put away the remaining four Thunder Essence Fruit.
Now, he needs to carefully experience the power of this lightning...
Gradually comprehend its True Intention, then consume one pill every year or every six months to gradually increase his ability to utilize the power of lightning and eventually master it.
"Not enough... not nearly enough..."
Shi Jian felt the restlessness within his body, experiencing for the first time the frustration brought by the word "scarcity." A production of only sixty to ten pieces every five years was barely enough to fill a gap between his teeth...
To achieve a qualitative change in Demon Essence using this method would likely require a period of hundreds of years.
He can't wait that long.
We must find more Thunder Essence Fruit, or similar heavenly materials and earthly treasures, to assist our physical body in completing its transformation...
Days passed by.
The news of Shi Jian's departure from the pass spread like a storm throughout the entire White Cloud Commandery.
Business is becoming increasingly easier for the Autumn Cry Merchant Alliance.
The gift lists from various families and clans piled up Xiaoshan in the Sun Household's storeroom. Perhaps these gifts were not valuable, but they were mainly a token of goodwill.
Sending gifts and congratulations might not be remembered by the Sun Clan.
But if you don't send it, then you're being inconsiderate...
Inside and outside Hongtian City, everything was thriving.
But Shi Jian ignored all of this.
He spent most of his time lying on the boulder in front of the cave abode, silently refining the nascent lightning power within his body.
As dusk settled that day.
A gray shadow darted silently out of the bushes, and in a few flashes, appeared in front of Shi Jian...
"Ancestor, news has arrived."
The Lord Rat stood upright, its two front paws arching respectfully, its posture extremely humble, like a meek and submissive servant.
Shi Jian's eyelids twitched, which could be considered a response.
"I have already arranged the task you asked me to do."
The Lord Rat lowered his voice, a hint of excitement in his sharp tone. "I spread the clan out with the intention of secretly monitoring all sides."
"But unintentionally, I actually discovered something!"
"Just three days ago, a little scout tasked with scouting the Clear Wind Mountain Range sent back a message from the border of Qingzhou Commandery."
"That brat said that deep within the Clear Wind Mountain Range, there is a strange stone forest spanning more than ten miles in circumference. The stones there are neither gold nor jade, their color is dark, but their texture is incredibly hard."
"The most peculiar thing is that during thunderstorms, lightning from dozens of miles around is attracted to that stone forest and strikes down upon it."
"Thunder roared like a waterfall, a torrent of force crashing down upon you!"
"According to that brat's description, after Lei Bao, a dense aura of thunder will permeate the stone forest, lingering for a long time. Ordinary Demon Beast dare not approach, and no Human Race cultivators dare to come."
Upon hearing this, Shi Jian suddenly opened his eyes.
Two terrifying bolts of lightning flashed across those once languid giant eyes!
The place where ten thousand thunderbolts strike?
A natural convergence point of lightning!
Could that place nurture a spiritual object of the Dao of Lightning that is of a higher grade than the Thunder Essence Fruit?
Or perhaps, that place itself is an excellent place to cultivate Thunder Method and temper one's demonic body; it might be a good place to go.
The problem that had troubled him for days seemed to have found an answer at this moment.
Shi Jian slowly stood up, his massive body casting a huge shadow. He looked down at the brightly lit Hongtian City below the mountain and remained silent for a moment.
An irrepressible desire, originating from the depths of his blood, was growing wildly.
He turned his head to look at the Lord Rat, his voice deep and authoritative:
"Summon Sun Bo'an here; I have important matters to discuss."