Chapter 6

Yao Mountain Stone Cave.

For Ling Chengye, the maze-like stone paths, intricate and bizarre like a labyrinth, were filled with mystery and danger. Yesterday's exploration not only failed to allow him to penetrate deep into the mountain's core but also left him dizzy and almost mentally injured.

However, when Qin Lie entered, he was like a fish in water, effortlessly weaving through the stone paths and directly heading towards the deepest part of the mountain's core.

Throughout this process, his steps never paused, clearly unaffected by the maze and strange formations within the cave.

Soon, he delved into the center of the mountain, and the originally dark stone paths suddenly became bright.

This was a large cave, about the size of a soccer field, with the stone ceiling about ten meters above the ground. Eight stone pillars, each as thick as a person's waist, stood tall at the eight corners of the cave.

The eight stone pillars were conical, with their tips embedded in the cracks of the stone ceiling. The stone pillars, like eight giant hands, held up the cave, creating a grand and magnificent sight within the cave.

The eight stone pillars were entwined with silver metal wires as thick as fingers, which connected to other stone pillars.

In the spacious cave, the silver wires crisscrossed in the middle of the eight stone pillars, forming a vast web of silver threads.

"Boom! Sizzle!"

Accompanied by the sound of thunder, astonishing electric currents surged from the cracks in the cave ceiling, flowing into the eight conical stone pillars, and then through the silver wires wrapped around the pillars, creating a complex web of electricity. This made the cave glow with electric light, illuminating it brightly.

At the same time, outside the Yao Mountain, lightning crisscrossed the sky, deafeningly loud, with electric dragons ravaging the heavens.

Dense lightning bolts rained down, as if attracted by some mysterious force, piercing the protruding rocks at the mountain's peak and vanishing in an instant.

"Come on, be even more fierce and violent!"

In the spacious cave, Qin Lie's still somewhat youthful face was filled with excitement and agitation as he plunged into the dense web of electricity formed by the eight stone pillars.

"Sizzle!"

The electric currents in the interwoven silver wires, like splashing cold light and sharp blades, surged towards his seemingly frail body!

"Roar!"

Countless fine lightning bolts shot towards him. Qin Lie, who had not yet entered the state of no mind, felt as if his soul was pierced by ten thousand steel needles, and he could not help but let out a piercing scream.

In the unbearable pain, Qin Lie's body convulsed, but his eyes showed a wild and fierce look, like a ferocious beast on the brink of death.

Enduring the pain that no ordinary person could bear, Qin Lie gritted his teeth and activated the Heavenly Thunder Punishment technique. The fine lightning bolts that entered his body, which had been moving chaotically, were suddenly controlled by an invisible hand, flowing rapidly through his tough tendons and muscles, and penetrating his flesh and bones.

For ordinary martial artists, even if they were at the Kaiyuan realm, being hit by such fierce lightning would likely result in a quick and violent death, let alone guiding the lightning into their tendons and muscles.

The threads of lightning power shot rapidly through his tendons, guided by him, gradually moving towards his chest and abdomen.

Wherever the lightning passed, his tendons, bones, and flesh ached to the point of almost losing sensation. However, he was very clear that amidst the pain, the lightning was gradually tempering and forging his bones and flesh, making his body gradually adapt to the more intense Heavenly Thunder Punishment cultivation.

Over the past five years, using the power of the Nine Heavens' lightning, he had gradually tempered his tendons, skin, limbs, and bones, slowly shifting his cultivation focus to the more important internal organs.

In recent years, his tendons, muscles, arms, and legs had gradually adapted to the lightning entering his body. As long as he could also temper his internal organs, the solid foundation of the Heavenly Thunder Punishment would truly be established, and his entire body would be able to fully withstand the tempering and impact of the Heavenly Thunder.

At that time, the cultivation of the Heavenly Thunder Punishment would also reach a new height and intensity!

"Ah!"

The fine lightning finally followed the tendons of his limbs and entered his internal organs. Qin Lie's body instantly convulsed, curling up like a shrimp hit by electricity, and he let out a series of piercing screams.

The rain poured down, and the power of the lightning on Yao Mountain became even more fierce. Lightning bolts, like giant dragons, plunged down, violently striking the cave.

The eight stone pillars suddenly became dazzling, and the electric currents on the silver wires became even more terrifying. In the giant web formed by the silver wires, Qin Lie's body was scorched black, and he trembled and roared wildly.

The roars, which started as high and fierce, gradually became low and weak, and finally, the sound gradually faded away. His body, covered in electric currents, also stopped convulsing.

After the lightning passed, the rain did not stop but became even heavier.

The heavens calmed down, and no more lightning entered the cave. The stone pillars in the cave became dim, and the silver wires no longer glowed.

After an unknown amount of time, Qin Lie, whose body was scorched black, slowly regained consciousness. He lay on the silver web, motionless, silently sensing the condition of his body.

His mind sank into his body, and he seemed to see the weak electric currents still lingering in his chest. These currents were stubbornly active in his organs and flesh, continuously tempering his internal organs, making them gradually adapt to the future ravages of lightning.

"Without being in the state of no mind, the suffering I need to endure is indeed beyond what ordinary people can imagine. Fortunately, I have been cultivating this way for five years, and my body and soul have adapted for a long time. Otherwise, even if my body could adapt, my soul would not be able to withstand such intense pain and would collapse, turning me into a fool."

"Only the tempering of the internal organs is left. At this rate, in at most two to three months, the most difficult foundation of the early stage of the Heavenly Thunder Punishment will be firmly established."

After resting for a while and recovering some strength, Qin Lie got out of the web of silver wires and staggered to the back of one of the stone pillars.

"Two years ago, Grandfather said before he left that when I wake up next time, I should look at what he left for me..."

Behind the stone pillar, there was a square wooden box. The box was not locked, and Qin Lie easily opened it.

Inside the wooden box, there was a letter, several beautifully drawn maps, and a lifelike wooden statue, which was clearly the image of his grandfather.

"Lei, I will try to come back to find you before you turn seventeen. If I haven't returned by then, I might have run into trouble. In that case, you must not come looking for me. Just focus on your cultivation and live your life well."

"When you reach a high enough realm and can break the memory seal of the Soul Suppressing Pearl, you will naturally know what happened ten years ago."

"These maps are of the unique places within the Extreme Cold Mountains, with detailed locations of spirit herbs and spirit stones, and the activity ranges of various spirit beasts. I have marked the locations of spirit herbs and spirit beasts that will be useful for your cultivation. You can go and gather or hunt them when you wake up, depending on your strength."

"Over the years, I have moved frequently within the Extreme Cold Mountains and have some connections with some spirit beasts. If you ever need to enter or cross the Extreme Cold Mountains, remember to bring the statue. Some spirit beasts recognize the statue, and they will not make things difficult for you if you show it to them."

"I have also specially marked the territories of spirit beasts that definitely recognize the statue. Pay attention to them."

"The spirit herbs and medicines on the Ling family's Yao Mountain cannot withstand the overflow of lightning. When I was there, I directed the lightning overflow from your cultivation to other places, so it did not affect the spirit herbs. Before I left, I rearranged things, but because I left in a hurry, I couldn't cover everything. Over time, the lightning overflow from your cultivation will still damage the growth of the spirit herbs, which may eventually attract the attention of the Ling family. Pay attention to this."

"The Soul Suppressing Pearl is a precious treasure, the only spiritual artifact left to you by your parents. It is not just a simple memory seal. There are many mysterious aspects that even I cannot fully understand. You must keep it safe and never let anyone else see it, to avoid attracting major trouble! Remember this!"

"..."

The content of the letter was not much, and Qin Lie quickly finished reading it. After pondering for a while, he took out the stack of maps and focused on them.

The top map was only thirty miles away from Yao Mountain. It marked several prominent locations with circles, one of which was the location of the Shadow Lightning Carvings.

Spirit beasts are classified into different levels based on their strength. The weakest is level one, equivalent to the strength of a martial artist at the Body Tempering realm, and the strongest is level ten, rumored to be as terrifying as a martial artist at the Domain Origin realm.

The Shadow Lightning Carvings are only level one, preferring to live in groups. They have low defensive capabilities but are skilled in attack. When they appear, they often do so in groups, moving quickly and attacking by first shooting lightning to paralyze their enemies before closing in to tear them apart with their sharp claws and teeth.

Qin Shan specifically marked the Shadow Lightning Carvings because the lightning spirit power stored in their cores, while far from the power of the Nine Heavens' lightning and unable to help Qin Lie temper his flesh, still had some uses. The lightning power in the cores could be easily converted into spirit power by Qin Lie after absorption.

Spirit power is the most core source of strength for martial artists and is also the most basic standard for measuring their strength and realm.

Generally, the more profound and refined a martial artist's spirit power, the more powerful and advanced their realm.

This is why Qin Shan specifically marked the Shadow Lightning Carvings—because their cores could help Qin Lie quickly accumulate a significant amount of spirit power.

"Shadow Lightning Carvings..."

After putting the letter, maps, and wooden statue close to his body, Qin Lie pondered for a while. Since he had already woken up, and the days of lightning and thunder would not continue every day, he decided to venture into the Extreme Cold Mountains to try his luck, hoping to hunt some Shadow Lightning Carvings to accumulate some spirit power and determine his true realm.

In the torrential rain, Qin Lie left the Yao Mountain stone cave and headed deeper into the Extreme Cold Mountains alone.

...

At the mountain peak.

After the lightning stopped, Ling Chengye and Ling Chengzhi, brothers, stood in the pouring rain, holding umbrellas, and looked at