Chapter 657 Thunder and Lightning
The midday banquet was extremely grand, with many renowned experts from the Thundercloud Sect making an appearance.
Seafood from the East China Sea, fine wine from Qixia Lake, and the meat of monsters from the Northern Territory are all served on the table.
During the gathering, Li Wei saw more than a dozen martial artists at the Longevity Realm, ranging in age from a hundred to several hundred years old. This was just the tip of the iceberg, but it was clear that the Thunder Cloud Sect was far stronger than the Nine Li Clan.
The group discussed the "Longevity Land Ranking" to be released at the end of the year, analyzing who from the Lingxiao Realm could be included on the list this year and become the ninth generation of immortals.
“Each edition of the ‘Land of Immortality’ list selects 30 people for the first tier, 200 people for the second tier, and 1,000 people for the third tier, for a total of 1,230 people.”
"Only those who reach the peak of the second stage of the Longevity Realm within the age of one hundred have a slim chance. Reaching the third stage is much safer."
“In previous years, the number of Lingxiao Habitat members who made it onto the list could be counted on one hand.”
"This year might be a little different. First, more than a decade of war has honed many formidable figures. Second, the Battle of Lingxiao City resulted in the deaths of countless transcendent beings, but the power contained in their corpses, the Heavenly Pill of the Other Shore, and the Nine Springs of the Transcendent Realm alone has allowed many to make rapid progress in their cultivation. Third, the excavation of the Ancient Immortal Dragon's remains has yielded great gains for many Longevity Realm martial artists."
Li Weiyi was secretly surprised. He hadn't expected that Lingxiao Realm, far from the Hundred Realms Realm and located in the far south, would also have a pursuit of the "Longevity Land Ranking" and be so knowledgeable about it.
Little did he know that in the past, for each edition of the "Land of Immortality Ranking," the Lingxiao Palace would offer a generous reward to those who made the list.
Outside, martial artists who make it onto the list in the Lingxiao Realm are immediately courted by various parties, including the Ancient Sect, the Rice Palace, and the Imperial Court, who offer them endless benefits.
After all, there are more than a hundred habitats, and only a little over a thousand are born in a sixty-year cycle, each one a transcendent seed.
For example, the Demon Kingdom's Chaoran, who died at the hands of Chanhai Guanwu, was born in Lizhou, the southern border of Lingxiao Shengjing. He joined the Demon Kingdom many years ago as an immortal.
In the last millennium, the brain drain from the Lingxiao habitat has become even more severe.
Qin Feng sighed softly, "It's a pity I was born at the wrong time. If I had another thirty years, before I turned a hundred, I could still try to break through to the third realm."
With the help of the Dragon Soul Source Light, he has reached the peak of the first realm.
"This year, Li Shenyin and Tang Wanzhou will definitely be included in the 'Longevity Land Ranking' of the Lingxiao Realm. It's a pity that you two are too young and suffered a great loss. Otherwise, you would definitely be able to enter the first tier after entering the fourth realm. If two people from the Lingxiao Realm enter the first tier, it will be too prestigious, and all the martial artists in the entire realm will benefit from it."
Li Weiyi secretly pondered whether he should return to the Jiuli tribe and bring the Hidden Lord into the Ancient Kingdom of Time Ruins. With the help of the Netherworld, he might be able to raise his cultivation level and compete for the position of an immortal.
In the future, people's status and the resources they can access will be completely different.
"Li Shenyin may not know, but Elder Qin was also an immortal in his day," a white-bearded old man in purple robes, who was over three hundred years old, said with a smile.
Qin Tiansong waved his hand and smiled bitterly, looking very ashamed: "If you count it, I am already a third-generation immortal. My contemporaries have either died a violent death or have already broken through to transcendence. Those who are still stuck in the seventh realm are just incompetent fools like me."
"Looking back, in our youth, there were dozens of incredibly talented individuals in our time. Now, the world has become polarized. Some have soared to the heavens to transcend to the other side, traveling to the Central Plains and the Western Buddhist kingdoms. Others have turned into skeletons, and disciples of emperors have had their cultivation destroyed, which is truly lamentable."
"This year, besides Li Shenyin and Tang Wanzhou, several other people from the hidden sects of various powerful forces and the imperial court should emerge."
After the banquet, Qin Feng and Li Weiyi had a brief sparring match, which ended in a draw.
After the elders of the Thunderclap Sect who had attained the Longevity Realm bid farewell and left, Li Weiyi humbly sought instruction in thunder techniques from Qin Tiansong, with Qin Feng following behind them.
"Whoosh!"
The array of light within the eight-hundred-mile-long sea of thunder opened a gap.
"Boom!"
Without the array's obstruction, a dense, thunderous roar erupted, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing. It sounded like the cries of millions of thunderbirds, the reverberation of ancient war drums, and the crisp sound of a collapsing glacier.
There was not a moment of peace.
As Li Weiyi stepped into the formation, he looked up. The sky wasn't blue, but a deep purple, like flowing ink.
The lightning kept flashing.
The air was filled with the scorching smell of melting rocks, and the chill of the Lei Hai Glacier.
Looking at the boundless sea of thunder and glaciers before him, Qin Tiansong began to explain: "Thunder and lightning share the same origin, both stemming from an ancient law, and are manifestations of the power of that law."
"Thunder belongs to Yang, lightning belongs to Yin."
"Electricity is the substance, thunder is the form."
"Lightning is divine punishment, thunder is life."
"Electricity is similar to light but not light; it is like an unparalleled sword, extremely sharp and unpredictable. Thunder, on the other hand, is dominated by sound waves and vibrations, like a warhammer, with immense power."
"Lightning and thunder must be cultivated together, otherwise yin cannot produce, and yang cannot grow alone."
...
Li Weiyi nodded slightly. His understanding of lightning was far inferior to Qin Tiansong's centuries of comprehension, and he occasionally gained some insights.
The sixth level of the Imperial Technique "Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Sword" involves sound waves and vibrational power, according to the records in the scroll.
Qin Tiansong suddenly said, "Li Shenyin should have comprehended the 'Nine Heavens Secret Treasury,' right?"
Li Weiyi did not deny it: "The Nine Heavens Secret Treasury is too profound. I can only understand some of the scriptures and cannot understand the text on the stele at all."
The Nine Heavens Secret Treasure is the supreme chapter of the Thunderclap Sect. After being seized by Zen Sea Observation Mist, it has been stored in the Divine Martial Pagoda.
This is the greatest pain for the Thundercloud Sect.
Qin Tiansong revealed a pained expression: "If I could comprehend the 'Nine Heavens Secret Treasury,' I would most likely have already entered the realm of transcendence. I did not mean to embarrass Li Shenyin. The grudges from thousands of years ago have nothing to do with you or me. What I want to say is that the nine true scriptures of the Thunder Cloud Sect, including the 'Nine Heavens Secret Treasury,' were all found at the bottom of this Thunder Sea. The founder used them to establish the sect."
The hair of the three people was drawn up by the lightning and floated up.
Li Weiyi looked at the icy plains ahead.
Lightning surges ceaselessly within the ice; it seems the "Thunder Magic Ice" was collected from here.
The once destructive ice block, after reaching the Longevity Realm, no longer showed any fear.
"Legend has it that this is the burial place of the Thunder God, the immortal tombstone of an unparalleled powerhouse, formed from his great laws and power."
"Be careful when you go in to cultivate, the deeper you go, the more dangerous it becomes. Not to mention us Longevity Realm martial cultivators, even the sect leader wouldn't dare to go into the deepest part."
"Qin Feng, take Li Shenyin inside!"
After saying this, Qin Tiansong took his leave.
Li Weiyi bowed and saw the old man off. Watching the old man's departing figure, he could truly feel his profound and unfathomable cultivation, giving him a sense of awe and reverence.
This feeling, beyond all else, I've only ever experienced with An Xianjing.
The rest, even Yang Shenjing, who is said to be the closest to transcendence in the Lingxiao realm, seem to fall short.
Li Weiyi and Qin Feng walked on the vast blue ice surface, where lightning occasionally flashed, originating from the air or ice crystals, stinging their skin.
They walked for dozens of miles.
Ahead, the lightning transformed into a purple, mysterious purple lightning bolt, intertwining like electric pythons and thunder snakes. Then, lightning condensed into a ball of light, resembling a rising purple sun, extremely dazzling.
"Boom!"
The purple sun shattered, transforming into plasma and thunderstorms.
Qin Feng looked ahead cautiously, not daring to go any further, and stopped in his tracks: "The power of the Xuanming Purple Lightning is violent, and even martial cultivators in the Longevity Realm would find it difficult to withstand. With Li Shenyin's cultivation, he should be able to resist it."
"Then Brother Qin, you should go back first!" Li Weiyi said.
Qin Feng said, "I'll wait for you here. The sea of lightning is vast and the energy is chaotic. Any senses will be scattered, and it's easy to get lost."
Li Weiyi turned around and glanced back.
The land shore was no longer visible, and the senses that had been released were dispersed after extending for several dozen feet.
After expressing his gratitude once again, Li Weiyi stepped into the area where the Xuanming Purple Lightning was located.
"boom!"
A bolt of purple lightning descended from the sky like a tree branch.
Li Weiyi spread his arms and immediately erected a 108-strike lightning array, using the array's power to absorb the purple lightning and convert it into part of the lightning array.
Within his body, the Divine Palace and the Golden Elixir of Immortality began to circulate, and one after another, lightning scriptures appeared.
"Splash!"
One hundred and eight lightning strikes rotated, forming a thundercloud vortex that pulled wisps of purple lightning into the ancestral field and rushed towards the Divine Palace.
Then, the magical energy within his body seemed to be ignited, instantly becoming violent.
Originally, Li Weiyi had no interest in the Xuanming Purple Lightning, since this lightning was only at the fifth level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Sword.
He came here to collect an even more powerful Azure Thunder.
It is used to cultivate the sixth level of the "Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Sword" and to refine the "Wind, Fire, Thunder and Lightning Array".
Just like back then, in order to kill Qin Zhengyang, Tang Wanzhou kept getting closer to the Fusang Divine Tree and collecting even more powerful Golden Crow Flames, even though he was seriously injured as a result.
Only when you yourself cannot withstand the force can the enemy withstand it even less.
But at this moment, simply absorbing the Xuanming Purple Lightning into his body caused him unbearable pain, as if his body was being cooked in a lightning furnace.
All the trace veins and string veins in the body transformed into electric shuttles.
"My physical body and internal energy are being tempered, which should allow me to further improve my cultivation and combat strength."
“Every few dozen breaths, another crack will appear on the Azure Dragon Lock.”
Li Weiyi did not suppress the operation of the Longevity Golden Pill, and continued to absorb and transform the Xuanming Purple Lightning.
He had never systematically practiced thunder magic, and at this moment he could only recall the chapters in "Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Sword" to control the magic with his own techniques.
"Sizzle!"
Before him, a giant purple lightning sword, ten feet long, materialized and flew through the lightning array, taming the power from the outside world.
This move was not only effective, but the lightning giant sword was also becoming more solid.
"As expected, even after reaching the peak of the second realm, my cultivation can still be refined. I can temper my magical energy, increase the number of longevity scriptures, and enhance my understanding of them."
"Even if one has mastered the fifth level of imperial techniques, one can continue to refine them."
In the distance, Qin Feng never expected Li Weiyi to be so powerful.
The fact that one can cultivate a 108-strike lightning array is already quite astonishing.
Looking closer, the figure enveloped in thunderclouds and lightning seemed to be constantly absorbing the lightning into its body. And what exactly was that giant lightning sword in the Thunderstrike Array that flickered intermittently?
The Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Sword had been lost for 20,000 years, so how could Qin Feng possibly know it?
"His aura is too strong, completely at the Great Longevity level. Even if all the senior giants of the Thundercloud Sect were included, how many of them could be his match?"
Qin Feng knew very well that Li Weiyi hadn't used her full strength in the previous sparring session to save face for Lei Xiaozong and himself.
But just two or three years ago, Li Weiyi was still a martial artist at the Dao Seed Realm, this...
This is completely mind-blowing!
Even the most outstanding geniuses, once they enter the fourth realm, are no match for Li Weiyi.
However, it's hard to say who has the advantage when facing Li Weiyi, a peak fourth-realm cultivator who only uses martial arts power and his own strength.
(End of this chapter)
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