Chapter 112

Bai Lao might have laughed off the First Law of the Bai Clan's Talisman Dao today, but the Five Thunder Body Scripture made him grin from ear to ear.

Zheng Fa's family.

Bai Lao had long dreamed of electromagnetic rotation, a single punch shattering a star; hearing Zheng Fa planned to train the Five Thunder Body at home, he came over out of curiosity.

Tang Lingwu came along too.

Bai Lao looked left and right, then asked with a hint of confusion: "You train at home?"

"What else?"

"Where I come from, we rely on celestial treasures—least of all, we find a waterfall to train under…"

"I do have a treasure," Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then nodded.

"What?" Bai Lao's face lit up with excitement.

Zheng Fa pointed to the corner.

Bai Lao stared at the plain, unadorned transformer on the floor, its label still brand-new, his eyes glazed over.

"Cultivation… is this… down-to-earth?"

Bai Lao clicked his tongue, a look of disappointment crossing his face.

Zheng Fa thought he was blind to true treasure.

His own transformer had been upgraded into a Thunder-elemental treasure!

He added two metal-stripped straps over the exposed copper wires; when fastened around his wrists, the metal plates pressed against his skin, appearing from outside like simple wrist guards.

Previously, he had to grip the wires by hand while training, trembling as he worked.

If outsiders saw, they'd think he was an electrician electrocuted by a mishap.

Now it looked far more respectable.

Zheng Fa plugged in the transformer, set the dial to 90V, sat back on the chair, strapped on the bands, and crossed his legs.

Bai Lao and Tang Lingwu watched his arm muscles twitch and spasm, their expressions filled with concern.

But since Zheng Fa was cultivating, neither dared speak—they even softened their breathing, watching him closely.

"Tang Lingwu, help me."

Zheng Fa suddenly opened his eyes and spoke to Tang Lingwu.

"Got it! I'll turn it off!" Tang Lingwu thought Zheng Fa couldn't take it anymore; she rushed to the transformer, ready to cut the power.

"No, raise the dial one more setting."

"Higher?"

"Yes. My Five Thunder Body is about to reach the next level," Zheng Fa's eyes gleamed with delight: "The voltage isn't enough."

Tang Lingwu pursed her lips, carefully turning the voltage knob one notch to the right—the needle now pointed at 120V.

Zheng Fa's brow furrowed slightly, veins on his forearms pulsing.

Clearly, the increased current was causing him physical discomfort.

Bai Lao and Tang Lingwu held their breath, observing Zheng Fa's condition.

After a while, Zheng Fa opened his eyes again.

"Turn it off?"

Tang Lingwu asked again.

"Higher still!"

This time Tang Lingwu hesitated more—her hand on the knob, she turned back to Zheng Fa, as if seeking confirmation.

Zheng Fa gave a slight nod.

Click.

"Higher!"

…Click.

"Higher!"

The knob was turned to the 210V setting.

Zheng Fa's face showed clear signs of pain.

Especially his muscles—abnormal contractions rippled from his arms to his shoulders, even across his chest, back, and thighs, swelling and receding in waves.

To Bai Lao and Tang Lingwu, it looked like dozens of tiny mice scurrying beneath his skin.

What eased them slightly was that Zheng Fa's pain seemed temporary.

After ten or so minutes, he appeared to adapt—though the mice still darted beneath his skin, his brow gradually relaxed.

After about forty minutes of cultivation, Zheng Fa opened his eyes, unable to speak, only gesturing with his gaze for Tang Lingwu to turn off the transformer.

He felt his cheeks slightly numb, yet still managed to pull a smile for the worried pair.

He was not only reassuring them—he truly had reason to rejoice: his Five Thunder Body had indeed reached the realm of flesh refinement.

…

Xuanwei Realm.

Zheng Fa opened his eyes, gently clenched his fist, and faintly felt his strength had increased.

He stood, walked to the desk, picked up an iron paperweight, applied slight pressure—and the iron paperweight softened like modeling clay, reshaping itself to any form he desired, utterly obedient.

He set down the deformed paperweight, sat back on the cushion, and turned his gaze inward toward his dantian.

The advancement of the Five Thunder Body was natural, but the discovery of the Five Element Sub-Talismans was a pleasant surprise.

He had previously entertained an idea—to adjust his already-formed Upright Shadowless Talisman and Frost Blade Talisman.

After discovering the Five Element Sub-Talismans were originally one, he re-examined these two Yuanfu within his body and noticed minor flaws.

Though they lay side by side, they had not truly merged into one.

To fully merge them into a single whole, a topological transformation is still needed—just like what he did on his computer, not just adjusting direction and size, but also stretching and twisting.

For those in the Xuanwei Realm, whether they can detect the Five Elements sub-charms is one issue; the harder part is actually this transformation.

He controlled his spiritual awareness, slowly adjusting the orientation and shape of the two spirit charms.

……

On the pavilion where Sun Daoyu and the other man were.

Zhou Qianyuan, watching Sun Daoyu stare persistently toward Zheng Fa's courtyard, asked curiously: "Senior brother, how long are you going to keep looking like that?"

"Just a few nights will do," Sun Daoyu turned and smiled. "Actually, I can't see him personally—I can only see the Five Elements spiritual energy in his courtyard."

"Five Elements spiritual energy?"

"Master's Void-Sight has three realms; right now I'm in the first—Observing Qi," Sun Daoyu explained, knowing his junior brother would also train the Void-Sight: "Do you know why Master said Zhang Shijie's Foundation Establishment method for talisman arts has a flaw but he can fix it?"

"Why?"

"Because of the Void-Sight," Sun Daoyu said with a hint of pride. "You know this is the foundational cultivation technique of our lineage."

"Master told me," Zhou Qianyuan nodded.

"You probably don't understand why," Sun Daoyu smiled. "The Void-Sight's greatest ability is its microscopic perception—it can observe the nature and flow of spiritual energy far more clearly than spiritual awareness, so Master saw at a glance the flaw in Zhang Shijie's talisman foundation method."

"What flaw?"

"Imbalance of the Five Elements."

"?"

"Zhang Shijie proposed dividing talisman arts into Yin-Yang and Five Elements; Master also discovered this," Sun Daoyu said softly. "But Zhang Shijie possesses the Yuan Ling Dao Body, which allows her to test such a foundation method."

"Can't Master do it?"

"Can you casually alter a Dao foundation? Who besides Zhang Shijie would dare try?" Sun Daoyu's tone was hard to read—was it envy or something else?

"Then… imbalance of the Five Elements?"

"I don't know exactly, but Master once said Zhang Shijie's Yuan Fu foundation wasn't perfectly harmonious—he used the Void-Sight to observe her cultivation, and noticed slight disharmony in the Five Elements spiritual energy within her courtyard."

Zhou Qianyuan looked at Sun Daoyu before him and suddenly felt a toothache: "Master… observed… Zhang Shijie? Like you're doing now?"

"Not at all—how could Master squat here like me? He just sits at home and uses the Void-Sight," Sun Daoyu said with a touch of envy. "When my Void-Sight improves, I'll have to try it too!"

"…You really don't need to learn that."

Zhou Qianyuan felt his sect's tradition was strange.

Too easily misunderstood.

"Actually, it's thanks to the Void-Sight that Master had the confidence to improve this technique," Sun Daoyu brought up another matter. "But it's not simple—Master was probably just experimenting. He said if the talisman foundation method could be perfected, it might become the foremost talisman cultivation method for Jin Dan."

"Jin Dan?"

"Of course!" Sun Daoyu's face flickered with longing. "Don't you wonder why everyone only calls it a Foundation Establishment method?"

"Why?"

"Because Zhang Shijie's Jin Dan has problems—if it didn't, with her ability to draw Heaven-grade talismans while already at Jin Dan stage, calling the talisman foundation method the foremost method for talisman Jin Dan would be perfectly justified!"

Watching Sun Daoyu's expression.

Zhou Qianyuan understood: if the "Talisman Foundation Method" could be perfected, this senior brother would undoubtedly choose it without hesitation—his current reluctance was only because the method truly had flaws.

"Unfortunately, repairing this method isn't simple… I heard Zhang Shijie's own master, True Person Huang, also tried, but apparently had no breakthrough," Sun Daoyu sighed lightly, as if lacking confidence even in his own master.

"…Huh?"

Sun Daoyu stared at the sky above Zheng Fa's courtyard, his face puzzled.

"What's wrong, senior brother?"

"The spiritual energy above Zheng Fa's courtyard—it changed!"

Sun Daoyu frowned, as if deeply confused.

"Changed?"

Zhou Qianyuan didn't understand what Sun Daoyu meant.

But Sun Daoyu's expression shifted rapidly—shock, then gravity—as if he'd discovered something monumental.

After a moment, Sun Daoyu suddenly stood up.

"Senior brother?"

"Zhang Shijie truly deserves to be Jiushan Sect's first genius—she's solved the hidden flaw in the Talisman Foundation Method!"

"Huh?"

"The Earth and Metal spiritual energy above Zheng Fa's rooftop are now perfectly harmonized—there's none of the disharmony Master described!" Sun Daoyu's face was complex, tinged with worry, longing, and joy.

He paced twice around the pavilion, then turned to Zhou Qianyuan: "Junior brother, I must hurry and report this to Master… the 'Talisman Foundation Method' must be replaced!"

Sun Daoyu's face glowed with excitement: "If Zhang Shijie truly resolved this flaw, then one day we too can cultivate the 'Talisman Foundation Method' and have a chance at Jin Dan!"

"But this… thousand-year purple bamboo tear…"

Zhou Qianyuan hadn't forgotten: replacing the "Talisman Foundation Method" required using his own share of the thousand-year purple bamboo tear.

"Junior brother, we cultivators—we live in the blink of a decade!"

Sun Daoyu patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"…Senior brother, you just told me that no matter how fast Zheng Fa progresses…" Zhou Qianyuan still couldn't let go.

"Junior brother, I truly regard you as a pure fellow disciple," Sun Daoyu suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"You're not my cultivation partner—when the chance for Jin Dan lies before me… I simply can't let it go."

"…"

"Even if you were my partner, I still couldn't!"

Seeing Zhou Qianyuan silent, Sun Daoyu quickly added.