Chapter 167: Body Refining

Amidst flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, the Tianhe Sect disciple's immortal sword transformed into a rainbow of light, slashing down at Chen Ting's head.

This move caught everyone completely off guard.

Chen Ting's body shot backward, and above his head appeared a round mirror, emitting a gray mystic light that surged toward the broadsword of the Tianhe Sect disciple.

The several Dazizai Demon Cult disciples nearby glanced between them, hesitating uncertainly, unsure whom to attack.

The auspicious clouds above their heads slowly dissipated, as if they wished to observe the battle's outcome first.

At that very moment!

A bolt of lightning, as thick as a water barrel, struck out of nowhere.

It ignited behind them!

The one on the edge of the group was engulfed by the lightning, letting out a piercing scream.

Everything happened so fast that by the time the lightning faded, the others only then reacted.

Within the lightning, a figure emerged.

It was none other than the Tianhe Sect disciple.

He had seized the moment of their distraction to directly assassinate one of the Dazizai Demon Cult disciples.

Zheng Fa twitched his lips—this man had absolutely no sense of martial honor.

"You… how dare you be so arrogant!"

With one dead, only four Dazizai Demon Cult disciples remained; they scattered quickly, casting incredulous glances at the Tianhe Sect disciple.

Zheng Fa understood why they called him arrogant.

Couldn't you fight us one by one?

Why provoke us all at once?

Clearly, this man possessed absolute confidence.

"Demon cultivators—even if there are more of you, what does it matter?"

The Tianhe Sect disciple sneered, leaping forward to engage them all in close combat.

This Tianhe Sect disciple was strong.

It was Zheng Fa's most direct impression watching the battle.

This strength did not stem from cultivation base.

In the Lei Chi, none of them dared reveal their true power; most fought at Foundation Establishment level.

Yet at equal cultivation, this Tianhe Sect disciple displayed comprehensive mastery—

His broadsword seemed extraordinarily mystical, holding its own against Chen Ting alone.

Meanwhile, barehanded, he held his ground against the four Dazizai Demon Cult disciples without losing advantage.

He too cultivated Thunder Art, moving through the Lei Chi like a fish in water, occasionally hurling spirit talismans that left his opponents flustered.

He demonstrated exceptional proficiency in magic treasures, spells, and spirit talismans.

In contrast, Chen Ting and the others seemed constrained in the Lei Chi; their spells and magic treasures were significantly weaker than his.

Zheng Fa, watching from the side, began to understand.

This was due to the Lei Chi itself—

In the Xuanwei Realm, demon sect techniques were mostly yin and sinister, while Thunder Art was supremely yang and rigid, inherently antagonistic to them.

In the Lei Chi, their combat effectiveness was weakened far more severely than others'.

As the battle dragged on, the Tianhe Sect disciple, fighting alone against many, began to gain the upper hand.

Chen Ting and the four Dazizai Demon Cult disciples also realized this was unsustainable; they exchanged glances and, with unspoken agreement, drew closer together.

Standing side by side, they showed clear signs of forming a united front.

Zheng Fa, watching from the side, couldn't help but sigh—

Wasn't Chen Ting being hunted by these people?

Now they're allying?

Clearly, the Tianhe Sect disciple had put immense pressure on them.

He looked toward the Tianhe Sect disciple, only to find the man not angry but delighted, laughing heartily: "I've been waiting for you to unite!"

Everyone froze as they saw his crane-feather cloak billow upward, revealing beneath it a body of bulging, immensely muscular bulk.

Zheng Fa sensed something was deeply wrong and immediately steered the Du'e Boat away at full speed.

But Chen Ting and the others were too late to flee.

The Tianhe Sect disciple raised his hand, and his broadsword landed atop his head, plunging straight into the thunderclouds above.

The spiritual energy radiating from the sword far exceeded the Foundation Establishment range.

"!"

Zheng Fa suddenly understood what this man intended to do!

The Lei Chi, of course, would not tolerate this. Above, thunderclouds rapidly gathered, layer upon layer, piling like mountains of cotton quilts.

The clouds directly above his head hung terrifyingly low, as if one could reach up and touch them.

The next instant, ten thousand thunderbolts surged downward!

Each lightning bolt resembled a forest of thunder serpents.

The Tianhe Sect disciple, who had dared provoke the Lei Chi, was naturally the primary target.

But Chen Ting and the others suffered terribly too.

They stood too close—one bolt could strike three at once, and they never expected this man to be so reckless.

They were simply caught in the crossfire.

Zheng Fa saw that among the four Dazizai Demon Cult disciples, roughly two lacked sufficient strength and were instantly reduced to ash.

The other two were in dire straits, scrambling in all directions.

Chen Ting, protected by his mirror, fared slightly better—but he was also rapidly fleeing the thunder forest, clearly unwilling to stay.

Yet the one struck most was still the Tianhe Sect disciple.

He acted like a lightning rod, drawing at least half the bolts.

But the man seemed utterly unconcerned; lightning crackled over his body as he continued chasing them.

Soon, the two remaining Dazizai Demon Cult disciples were overtaken; he didn't even need to strike—they perished under the heavenly thunder.

What a suicide attack!

Having killed those two, the Tianhe Sect disciple turned toward Chen Ting.

Chen Ting, barely escaping under the protection of his mirror, turned back to see the man grinning savagely, descending upon him with the heavy black clouds above his head.

He shuddered violently and sped up even more.

Zheng Fa watched the two racing toward him, turned the Du'e Boat around, and hid to the side, intending to let them pass.

Unexpectedly, Chen Ting veered sharply and charged straight toward him.

"Brother Zheng!" he cried out: "For the sake of our past fellow-disciple bond, lend me your aid!"

Zheng Fa said nothing, and drove the Du'e Boat to full speed.

The Du'e Boat was naturally suited for the Lei Chi.

Added to that, the Tianhe Sect disciple behind Chen Ting occasionally slashed at him with his sword, hindering his escape.

The distance between Zheng Fa and Chen Ting did not close—it widened further.

Watching Chen Ting's stunned expression, Zheng Fa internally scoffed:

Are we that close?

He's bringing down rolling heavenly thunder!

You want me to block it for you?

"I have news about Sister Zhang!"

Seeing Zheng Fa speed away, Chen Ting shouted again.

Zheng Fa paused, glanced at him closely, and slowed the Du'e Boat slightly.

Chen Ting's expression seemed sincere—as if he spoke the truth.

"I've been hunted by the Dazizai Demon Cult, killed many of them, and obtained some information about Sister Zhang!"

Chen Ting pleaded urgently.

Logically, this was plausible.

Chen Ting had sacrificed his old grandfather, and even offered up a portion of the Dazizai Demon Ancestor's divine power.

If the Dazizai Demon Cult didn't know, fine.

But judging by the current situation, they clearly did.

And Sister Zhang had indeed vanished during her conflict with the Dazizai Demon Cult.

"I know you and Sister Zhang are deeply fond of each other—if you help me escape, I will surely…"

Before Chen Ting could finish speaking,

Zheng Fa's Du'e Boat accelerated again.

"Brother Zheng, don't you care about Sister Zhang anymore?"

He cried out in desperation.

"Before I entered the Lei Chi, Master Pang gave me many warnings. The most frequent was: never trust others, especially those who are two-faced, treacherous, and insincere." Zheng Fa's voice echoed from afar.

"I'm not like that! I was once Master's disciple—he knows me best!"

"He certainly does." Zheng Fa's tone carried a touch of sigh: "Those warnings… every scroll mentioned your name."

「……」

……

Zheng Fa wasn't unwilling to learn about Zhang Shijie's whereabouts—otherwise he wouldn't have gone against his nature to watch the fight.

But Chen Ting was the very man who had killed his own grandfather.

Zheng Fa didn't particularly dislike him, but he trusted him absolutely not.

He even suspected that even if he helped this Chen Ting, the man would still have another demand…

The information he offered might not be false, but the price Zheng Fa would pay was high—at the very least, he'd have to face off against that Tianhe Sect disciple, and perhaps even be forced to block the Grand Zizai Demon Sect's disciples.

That disciple looked like a madman…

When others took one thunder strike, this man took at least ten.

If Zheng Fa got dragged into this conflict, it wasn't clear what would happen to him.

Even Jiushan Sect would be troubled.

But one detail in Chen Ting's words caught Zheng Fa's attention… the Grand Zizai Demon Sect knew where Zhang Shijie was.

Huang Shu's jade pendant still glowed faintly—meaning the Grand Zizai Demon Sect still couldn't get to Zhang Shijie.

Zheng Fa thought it over: to find Zhang Shijie, Chen Ting might indeed have clues—but this man's mind was too deep.

The most direct path was still to find someone from the Grand Zizai Demon Sect.

……

Zheng Fa still followed the map Zhang Shijie had given him, searching for a suitable location for heavenly thunder body refinement.

Zhang Shijie's map marked five possible locations.

He didn't rush to choose one; instead, he spent over half a month visiting each one.

After inspecting them all, he felt a hint of disappointment…

It wasn't that these places were unsuitable for heavenly thunder body refinement.

It was… he had secretly hoped Zhang Shijie might have left some clue at one of these spots, to help him find her.

But he found nothing.

In the end, he chose the most secluded, least frequented spot and stopped his Du'e Boat.

Zheng Fa sat cross-legged on the boat's bow, his spirit leaving his body and surging straight toward the thunderclouds above.

BOOM!

A bolt of heavenly thunder struck him directly.

His whole body trembled.

Compared to the thunder's intensity during his blood-replacement, this heavenly thunder was far stronger.

But unlike the agony of blood-replacement, he now felt comfort—this heavenly thunder carried within it a vital energy.

While destroying Zheng Fa's body, it also reshaped it, subtly causing his body to slowly change—no, evolve!

He now understood the logic behind the Five Thunder Body Art: the so-called four stages had merely prepared him to withstand the thunder's destructive force, so he could endure its vital nourishment.

Zheng Fa could feel something growing inside his body.

Before he could figure out what it was, suddenly—the Qingyang Qi given to him by Jiushan's Patriarch exploded inside his dantian!

Since entering his dantian, that Qingyang Qi had never moved.

It had simply waited—for today, when Zheng Fa's Five Thunder Body Art would reach completion.

Part of the Qingyang Qi dispersed into Zheng Fa's body.

The rest surged skyward, piercing through the thunderclouds above his head and rising into boundless heights.

In the sky, a colossal tree appeared.

It had a trunk but no branches; its crimson broad leaves grew around the trunk like twilight clouds.

The tree was so vast it seemed to reach the azure heavens above and descend into the yellow springs below.

In the Lei Chi, the clouds scattered, the thunder ceased—as if paying homage to the giant tree.

The ceaseless fighting everywhere fell silent.

Everyone looked up, gazing at the sky.

Zheng Fa felt the Qingyang Qi spreading through his body, shaping countless tiny meridians within him.

The patterns of these meridians seemed to echo the vein patterns of the giant tree's leaves in the sky.

The words Jiushan's Patriarch had once spoken to him rose in his mind—when his pure yang body refinement reached completion, the Qingyang Dao Body would be achieved.

Were these newly formed tiny meridians now the mark of the Qingyang Dao Body?

But Zheng Fa had no time to ponder this—he activated his Du'e Boat, eager to leave this place; the commotion had been too great.

He feared someone would come.

"You like getting struck by lightning too?"

Suddenly, a voice came from far behind him.

Zheng Fa turned—Tianhe Sect's disciple stared at him, eyes bright, as if with some familiarity?

No.

What do you mean, "too"?