Chapter 306 - 290: Thunder Skill
"Shenxiao..."
Gazing at the palm-sized, half-piece of a golden Talisman in the Cloud Thunder Silk Box, a rare ripple of solemnity passed through Qi Yun’s profound eyes.
Inside the box, the half-Talisman had a warm, reserved luster. Its texture was neither gold nor jade. It felt warm to the touch, yet also seemed to contain a faint, tingling numbness.
The surface of the Talisman was naturally branded with countless Cloud Thunder Dao Patterns, so fine and intricate they were dizzying to behold.
Thunder Skill!
Of all the Ten Thousand Laws in the heavens, it reigns supreme in attack!
The brilliant whip of the Celestial Dao, the awe-inspiring manifestation of authority!
In all known Daoist traditions, both present and ancient, the Thunder Skill was universally acknowledged as the most venerable of the Ten Thousand Laws!
Its power was immense, its nature pure, and the resonance it evoked with the Great Dao profound. It was far beyond what ordinary Magic could ever compare to.
But precisely because the essence of its power was too close to the authority of Heaven and Earth, the pure Thunder Skill was also the only Dharma Lineage in this vast world, across endless ages, that had never formed a complete Daoist tradition!
Not for lack of trying, but for lack of ability!
This was an ironclad rule, repeatedly proven with the lives of countless peerless geniuses from antiquity to the present who had attempted to glimpse, or even command, the secrets of the Thunder Skill.
The Thunder Skill was the authority of Heaven and Earth!
To wield it recklessly was to invite heavenly retribution!
The will of the heavens is unfathomable; its might is inviolable.
Thunder is the heavens’ instrument of execution, the pivot of Creation.
To attempt to cultivate and control such power, which was akin to being a Celestial Dao Substitute, with a mortal body was in itself a transgression and provocation against the order of Heaven and Earth.
The path of cultivation is fraught with tribulations, but for those who specialized in the Thunder Skill, the calamities they faced were far more cruel, bizarre, and certain to end in death than those on any other path.
Therefore, most of what was called "Thunder Skill" in the current age were merely derivative forms of Magic that channeled a sliver of Thunder Qi or mimicked its form and intent.
While their power could be considerable, they were worlds apart from the "pure Thunder Skill" that truly commanded the origin of thunder and ordered the heavens’ lightning.
And this half-Talisman of "Shenxiao" before him, with the Daoist Intent flowing through its Dao Patterns... Qi Yun was almost certain.
This was no imitation or derivative, but a genuine, authentic Pure Thunder Talisman containing the Daoist Intent of thunder!
’Should I try it...’
Qi Yun’s gaze was locked on the half-piece of golden Talisman in the silk box, a fierce light flickering in the depths of his eyes.
He couldn’t help but recall the time he had secretly learned Nine Kings Mountain’s ultimate secret Talisman, the [Three Rivers Cold God King Talisman].
Back then, he had used his Magic Technique Panel to master this Secret Talisman from Nine Kings Mountain, which led to a True Monarch from the sect trying to seize him from across the void with overwhelming might.
That was also the time the Magic Technique Panel had displayed an unimaginably domineering trait.
As long as something was successfully absorbed and refined by it, causality would be reshaped and a new law established!
Not even a True Monarch could track him down through the threads of fate.
’Then...’
’What if... the target was this [Shenxiao Thunder Talisman] instead?’
Refining a True Monarch Talisman Seed meant fighting against the will and methods of a True Monarch.
But refining this Pure Thunder Talisman meant facing... what was very likely the unseen, Formless, and omnipresent—[Celestial Will]!
’Can the Magic Technique Panel sever the backlash from the [Celestial Will] just like it severed the connection to the True Monarch?’
’What if it can’t?’
Conflict, hesitation, and a rare indecisiveness churned like a cold, viscous tide in Qi Yun’s usually resolute and unwavering Heart Lake.
To say he wasn’t tempted by this incredibly rare and pure Thunder Talisman—an item that would make even a True Monarch take notice—would be lying to himself.
If he could successfully refine it, he would gain an invincible, ultimate weapon out of thin air!
Risk and reward were weighed repeatedly in his mind, like two ends of a scale.
In just a few breaths, countless images flashed through his mind.
The mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the cultivation path, the struggle for survival in desperate situations, the craving for higher Realms, the pursuit of immense power...
And the pride and fearlessness of one who had forged a Venerable Dao Foundation, planted deep in his Dao Heart.
Finally, the churning tide of hesitation began to recede.
’Fortune favors the bold, while the timid starve.’
’Cultivation is inherently an act of defying the heavens, seizing the Creation of Heaven and Earth, and encroaching upon the profound mysteries of the sun and moon.’
’Every step is taken on thorns and cliffs.’
’If I’m always looking over my shoulder, timid and fearful, how can I ever hope to climb to the pinnacle of the Great Dao?’
’If I retreat today out of fear of the "Celestial Will," a flaw will surely form in my Dao Heart.’
’When I face an even more dangerous calamity tomorrow...’
’...this cowardice could become the last straw that breaks my cultivation path!’
’It’s just a Talisman!’
’Even if it holds the authority of thunder, even if it might attract the attention of the Celestial Will... it can’t do anything to me, Grand Master Qi!’
His mind was made up, without a shred of hesitation remaining!
Qi Yun’s eyes suddenly became as sharp as a drawn divine blade. His right hand shot out like lightning, fingers spread, and with an air of unquestionable resolve, he snatched at the half-piece of golden "Shenxiao" Thunder Talisman lying quietly in the silk box!
The instant his fingertips touched the Talisman—
BUZZ...!!!
The half-piece of the Thunder Talisman suddenly trembled violently!
On the Talisman’s surface, the countless, slowly circulating Cloud Thunder Dao Patterns abruptly erupted with brilliant light, their brightness increasing a thousandfold!
An aura of majesty, like the first crack of thunder at the dawn of creation, erupted with a BOOM!
An extremely intense, tingling pain shot through Qi Yun’s palm, as if he weren’t holding Talisman Paper, but a supremely concentrated, tyrannical origin of thunder itself.
His gaze hardened. The [Daluo Realm of Ten Thousand Laws] within him roared to its absolute limit. Boundless Magical Power, mixed with the supreme will of the [Mastering All Skills] Divine Technique, tightly enveloped and suppressed the fiercely struggling, brilliantly glowing Thunder Talisman in his palm.
"Behave yourself!"
Qi Yun barked, his voice like the clang of metal!
He held nothing back. His Magical Power surged like a bursting dam, fearlessly rushing into the violent, golden thunderlight in his palm.
He frantically worked to break through the layer of thunderlight surrounding the [Shenxiao Thunder Talisman].
But this thunderous Daoist Intent was too pure, too tyrannical. It was like billions of red-hot steel needles stabbing violently into his Divine Sense and searing his Dao Foundation.
A tide of agony crashed against his Divine Soul, causing the veins on his temples to bulge and his face to turn ashen in an instant.
Just as he was dismantling the thunderlight layer by layer and was about to touch the half-piece of the [Shenxiao Thunder Talisman]...
Something unexpected happened.
It didn’t come from within the Talisman.
But from... the sky above.
BOOM—!!!
A deep, muffled clap of thunder suddenly rang out.
Atop the Stone Mountain, the sky—which had been clear, cloudless, and stabilized by the Array—suddenly... darkened.
Endless, gloomy dark clouds completely enveloped the land for a thousand miles around.
All daylight was extinguished, turning everything pitch-black.
Then, within this absolute, dark void...
...a single point of "light" slowly began to shine.
It was an extremely ancient, extremely complex... enormous, phantom rune!
This phantom rune was unimaginably vast, occupying almost half the Celestial Vault.
Its form... was about seventy to eighty percent similar to the core Dao Patterns on the half-piece of "Shenxiao" Thunder Talisman in Qi Yun’s palm.
Only it was more complete, more vast, and more... inviolably majestic!
The phantom rune rotated slowly, emanating a terrifying will that was cold, indifferent, supreme, and regarded all creation as nothing but straw dogs.
It "gazed" down at Qi Yun, who was forcefully refining the Thunder Talisman below. Its formless "gaze" landed on him and his Dao Foundation like a crushing weight of ten thousand tons!
The Celestial Will... has manifested?!
The bones throughout Qi Yun’s body emitted a series of groaning CREAKS, unable to bear the load. A trickle of pale golden blood uncontrollably spilled from the corner of his mouth.
He felt as if his [Daluo Heaven] had been thrown into a formless furnace of the Great Dao, where it was being subjected to horrific torment and pressure!
So this was... the backlash from the [Celestial Will], triggered by recklessly tampering with the authority of Heaven and Earth?!
Situ Huaji and the Divine Puppet Man were already frozen in place by the sudden, terrifying celestial phenomenon and pressure, which were far beyond their comprehension.
Qi Yun gritted his teeth, the divine light in his eyes burning wildly.
He pushed his [Daluo Realm of Ten Thousand Laws] to an unprecedented limit. It roared within him like a collapsing star, desperately resisting the immense pressure of the "Celestial Will" that seemed intent on grinding him and his Dao Foundation to dust!
In the Celestial Vault, the giant phantom rune seemed to "sense" the stubborn resistance of the ant below, and its rotation sped up by a fraction.
In an instant!
An even greater, colder will bore down with a deafening crash, like a formless pillar holding up the collapsing heavens!
CRACK...
The light of the [Northern Defense Array] surrounding Qi Yun was the first to give way. It emitted a clear cracking sound, its Array Patterns flickering unstably, on the verge of collapse.
Pale golden blood seeped from all seven of his orifices simultaneously. His body swayed, looking as if he could collapse at any moment.
In this desperate situation, hanging by a thread, where it seemed he would be utterly crushed by the "Celestial Will" in the next moment...
...the utterly obstinate light in Qi Yun’s eyes suddenly bloomed with boundless brilliance!
"So what if it’s the Celestial Will?!"
"I am refining this Thunder Skill today, and that’s final!!"
The instant the words left his mouth, the layer of lightning around the [Shenxiao Thunder Talisman] was completely torn apart.
Amidst the shower of lightning, a long, powerful hand firmly grasped the half-piece of the Thunder Talisman!
In a flash!
Refinement!
...