Chapter 154: Three-Phase Thunder Control Art

Just as he was about to turn back to search for cultivation techniques, a corner of a jade slip protruding from the very top of the newly opened wooden shelf caught Liu Junhuai's attention.

Lifting his foot to retrieve it, he infused it with his primordial spirit power. The joy on Liu Junhuai's face grew progressively stronger until it blossomed entirely, blooming across his face like a chrysanthenum in full bloom, while a fierce flame of excitement blazed within his eyes.

The power of his primordial spirit drew out the contents of the jade slip, forming a mirrored illusion suspended in space, where dense rows of golden, fly-headed script were packed tightly together. At the very top, five large golden characters shone with dazzling brilliance: The Three-Phase Thunder Control Art!

The old steward's face was also filled with extraordinary delight. "This Three-Phase Thunder Control Art has already transcended the category of techniques; to call it a Daoist magic is no exaggeration! Because lightning is originally transformed from the Qi of Lesser Wood, infinitely approximating the power of the primordial source. In the Immortal Realm, the Qi of Lesser Wood is an existence equal to the myriad breaths of the earth, the nirvana true fire, and the ancient wind gales."

Liu Junhuai was immensely astonished in his heart. The various terms spilling from the old steward's mouth were ones he had never heard of before. For several forces to dare bear such tyrannical titles, they certainly could not be things of the mortal world; they must be as ancient as the Qi of Chaos and the Qi of Primordial Chaos.

"Steward, can you tell me about these kinds of forces? Why do I feel like a frog at the bottom of a well, and what you describe sounds almost like an Arabian Nights tale to me?" Liu Junhuai's tone carried boundless bewilderment. These existences, akin to shooting stars from the nine heavens, caused a faint sense of discouragement to well up deep inside his heart.

The old steward was well aware of Liu Junhuai's psychological shift. "Master of the Mansion, strictly speaking, it is a bit too early to tell you about these. After all, your realm is somewhat distant from such legendary existences, and understanding them too early will affect your state of mind. But since the old man has already inadvertently spoken of them, I might as well make it completely clear to you.

"These three forces—the myriad breaths of the earth, the nirvana true fire, and the ancient wind gales—belong equally to the power of the primordial source, collectively known as the three supreme magical powers of the God Realm, which cannot be comprehended by anyone below the rank of a Sage Monarch of Proved Dao. The myriad breaths of the earth draw upon the myriad elemental things between heaven and earth, mobilize the power of the cosmos, and blend natural yin and yang into it to control the profound mysteries of a realm.

"The nirvana true fire is based on the convergence of all kinds of merits upon oneself, utilizing the power of the heavenly dao's reincarnation to transform into the fire of the phoenix, also known as the phoenix nirvana; it cannot be possessed by anyone lacking great merit and virtue.

"The ancient wind gales represent the ultimate expression of spatial laws and are the vastest and most boundless form of lawful power among these three magical powers. It is an ancient heritage that relies on absorbing the mysterious vital energy of the void and utilizing spatial laws to manipulate the power of the celestial stars.

"In truth, any force that can be called the power of the primordial source can be called magical power, yet there are differences in the depth of such power among them. The lightning power generated by the Three-Phase Thunder Control Art is merely a sliver of evolution from the power of the primordial source, just as the sliver of time dao patterns you have comprehended is merely a derivative force of the time dao law. Do you understand now, Master of the Mansion?"

Liu Junhuai nodded with a half-understanding look. "The steward means to say that these three magical powers can only be comprehended after proving the Dao. Then, can the lightning power generated by the Three-Phase Thunder Control Art rival my few minor divine abilities?"

The old steward said, "Not right now. As the Three-Phase Thunder Control Art is cultivated to the ultimate level, it shares similarities with minor divine abilities, and the difference in might is not significant. Master of the Mansion, I see that this Three-Phase Thunder Control Art is far more profound than the Thunderous Eight Directions Art. Although it lacks specific grade classifications, it is just like the Seven-Killing Finger and the Nine-Transformations Heart Manual—it belongs to the category of limitless cultivation secret manuals, and its upper bound of realm is boundless! Moreover, by using lightning to temper yourself, you can also infinitely enhance your physical strength. Of course, before practicing this Daoist magic, the practitioner must condense a Thunder-Guiding Pill within their body; otherwise, the lightning summoned down will strike the caster along with everyone else."

Unable to suppress the excitement in his heart, Liu Junhuai was eager to begin practicing immediately. The old steward smiled and said, "Go ahead, Master of the Mansion! You must go into the void of the chaotic space to practice it. Master it as quickly as possible, and you will have something to rely on when facing the heavenly tribulation next time!"

Liu Junhuai quickly entered the chaotic space.

After giving a few soft instructions to A-Jiu, Liu Junhuai leaped into mid-air. He thought to himself that it was a blessing he had entered the Yuanying stage in advance; otherwise, he would still have to rely on the support of a flying sword just to suspend himself in the air.

Suspended in the air, Liu Junhuai held in his chest and straightened his back, took a deep breath, continuously chanted the incantation in his mouth, and rapidly coordinated his hands with the incantation to form hand seals.

An hour later, as the Three-Phase Thunder Control Art was completely comprehended and mastered, a sharp current of Qi surged backward from his elixir field and sea of Qi, rushing straight up to the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head.

As this sharp current of Qi rushed out of his body, it immediately mixed with the turbulent Qi currents in the void, and a tiny Qi vortex gradually formed at their intersection.

As the vortex continued to grow, Liu Junhuai clearly sensed some glittering specks of light at the center of the vortex.

"This is stellar power!" Liu Junhuai was overjoyed, and the power of his primordial spirit swiftly pulled those specks of light into his mouth.

Immediately, a clump of solidified Qi—vastly different from spiritual energy—began to circulate through his meridians, intersecting with the true elemental power within his body along the circulation path of the Three-Phase Thunder Control Art.

Feeling the formation of that power within his body, Liu Junhuai was filled with sighs of amazement. To utilize the movement of the celestial dippers and the utmost extremes of space to extract stellar power and blend it into an alternative force distinct from true elemental power—what manner of existence was the creator of this technique!

At this moment, a feeling of looking up in awe arose deep within his heart. It was as if, at the ultimate pinnacle of martial arts and the summit of the nine heavens, he saw a brightly shining door slowly opening before him.

The vortex in the air grew larger and larger, and the pale-yellow stellar power grew brighter and brighter like a candle flame. From Liu Junhuai's perspective, hidden within the gray and boundless Qi of Chaos seemed to be some kind of rule, and a powerful energy field rippled outward, engendering increasingly dense specks of starlight all around him.

Liu Junhuai uninhibitedly absorbed the stellar power, immensely enjoying the powerful sensation brought by the conversion of this stellar power into the astral essence within his body.

At this time, the astral essence inside his body was stored in his middle elixir field, and it had now condensed into a clump the size of a fingernail.

Not knowing how much time had passed, the vortex in the void had formed a huge whirlpool, and the astral essence stored within his body had grown to the size of a fist.

Suddenly, a beam of powerful starlight pierced through the whirlpool and headed straight for Liu Junhuai. Under this beam of starlight, Liu Junhuai's soul also felt as though it were being illuminated into a trance.

Just as that beam of starlight was about to strike Liu Junhuai's body, it was instantly blocked and intercepted by his protective primordial spirit. The starlight crashed against the protective barrier and burst open, turning the pitch-black night as bright as day and causing a stinging pain in Liu Junhuai's eyes.

At that very moment, the primordial spirit power of Liu Junhuai instantly transformed into two giant hands, distorting and deflecting that powerful starlight force to reduce its impact on his body.

Under the guidance of the rapidly rotating Three-Phase Thunder Control Art, the power of that starlight flowed in like a hundred rivers pouring into the sea, enriching the astral essence circulating everywhere within his meridians.

A strange sensation arose within Liu Junhuai's body, as if the pouring starlight was no longer a form of damage, but rather a supreme tonic. His body surged with a sense of craving, longing to devour that delicious feast.

While the endless starlight power tempered Liu Junhuai's flesh, blood, and meridians, it also incessantly generated new astral essence to join the storage in his middle elixir field.

The astral essence in his middle elixir field gradually grew to the size of a watermelon, and as the starlight power continuously poured in, it continued to expand. Meanwhile, Liu Junhuai's soul was continuously solidifying amidst the tempering.

The whirlpool in the void was still expanding, and an even more powerful beam of starlight pierced through the whirlpool toward him. Liu Junhuai gazed in shock at the endless starlight radiance spilling down, feeling his own extreme insignificance—like a mayfly between heaven and earth, a mere grain in the vast sea!

That beam of greater starlight power was likewise blocked by the power of his primordial spirit, and Liu Junhuai marveled that the might of his primordial spirit was simply incomparable to his former heavenly perception power.

Gazing at the starlight filling the sky with countless specks, Liu Junhuai was crazily delighted and absorbed it even more unbridledly.

As the astral essence in his middle elixir field condensed into an energy sphere the size of an embrace, Liu Junhuai increasingly felt that the astral essence had gradually begun to permeate his skin, flesh, and five viscera and six bowels, and his physical strength had visibly increased.

After the Three-Phase Thunder Control Art had rotated ceaselessly for a long time, a loud, explosive sound echoed within Liu Junhuai's middle elixir field, and the massive astral essence energy sphere shattered into countless tiny particles.

Under the continuous tempering of the Three-Phase Thunder Control Art, these tiny particles gradually fused back together and were continuously compressed and condensed by that hammering force.

After nearly two more hours, the astral essence in the middle elixir field was forged into a cyan-glowing, condensed energy sphere. It suspended itself in the elixir field, spinning at high speed without stopping, while wisps of cyan light flashed across its smooth surface from time to time, emitting a hiss resembling electric current.

"Thunder from a clear sky!" Liu Junhuai attempted to execute the first stance.

Following the condensation of the cyan energy sphere into a pellet, another loud, explosive sound rang out. A beam of cyan light, guided by Liu Junhuai's willpower, shot up into the sky from his middle elixir field and was projected out of his body along with his movement.

That beam of cyan light surged straight up toward the high sky filled with the gray Qi of Chaos, then vanished into the gray cloud layer with flashes of cyan light, entirely lost to sight within the boundless expanse.

Suddenly, the entire space darkened, and rumbling thunder rolled past, becoming incomparably muffled as wisps of cyan Qi began to emerge, transforming into lightning flashes crossing back and forth.

After another rumble of thunder, with a sharp crack, a flash of cyan light plunged straight down from the cloud layer. In the course of its descent, the cyan light burst brilliantly apart, and countless tiny particles of astral essence mixed with the tyrannical power of lightning poured downward toward the ground, surrounded on all sides by cascading shockwaves.

Amidst this shockwave of near-total destruction, the ground was forcefully cleaved into countless cracks more than two zhang deep. Immediately afterward, the cyan light plunged into the cracks and exploded with a deafening roar underground; those countless cracks vanished into thin air, replaced by a massive pit over twenty zhang in diameter on the ground.

The instant that terrifying explosive force was released, the surrounding void was torn and distorted.

Within Liu Junhuai's middle elixir field, peace was quickly restored. Cyan light emerged once more, but without its previous sharpness, taking on a gentle radiance instead.

At this moment, Liu Junhuai did not wear a look of frantic excitement as he usually did; instead, his face revealed a contemplative expression as he fell into a prolonged state of sudden enlightenment.