Chapter 57: Thunder-Drawing Method

"My Longhu Mountain's Great Art has no use for Essence Refining items as supplements; even if this old Daoist has made some gains, don't I still have to trade them for resources I can actually use?"

Ge Laodao gave a dark chuckle and asked leisurely: "If you want them, Daoist, it's not impossible to negotiate, but as for the price..."

Heh, this fellow is actually quite sensible.

Chen Ci inadvertently took two more steps, leaving the range of the spiritual energy shroud, and coughed lightly: "The Essence Refining in this medicine cauldron is quite mottled, and it will take some effort to extract. How about this, I won't let you suffer a loss, Daoist—eight hundred taels of silver for a hundred drops of Essence Refining, I'll take it all."

"The price is a bit low, but since this old Daoist and Daoist Chen have some affinity, I won't haggle over it."

Ge Laodao chuckled: "The amount of this Essence Refining is estimated to be several thousand drops; can you really cough up tens of thousands of taels of silver in cash? I do not allow credit."

"A mere few tens of thousands of taels... *cough*, two or three tens of thousands is something I can scrape together by smashing the pots and selling the iron, but any more would be a bit precarious."

Chen Ci's face was full of sighs: "You know the situation of the He Mountain Sect, Daoist; the pay is low, the work is hard, and it's far from home. The quota for Essence Refining offerings has almost made me lose my own coffin money. It's too miserable; I don't know when such days will ever end."

"Daoist Chen, what happened to the corner of your mouth?"

Ge Laodao examined Chen Ci and asked curiously.

"The corner of my mouth? Nothing happened."

Chen Ci was somewhat puzzled and smoothed the corner of his mouth with his hand: "Oh, this is sorrow rising from my heart, thinking that my life's savings must all be exchanged for Essence Refining to offer to the Fuhu Altar. My heart, oh—hee, ouch—grief and indignation, heartbreak!"

"Oh, perhaps this old Daoist saw wrong."

"However, it is also possible that you were happy too soon, Daoist."

Ge Laodao stared at the talisman gradually burning to ash in his hand and sighed helplessly: "After tossing and turning in ideological struggle, I can only make a decision that goes against my ancestors and temporarily put integrity aside."

Chen Ci was shocked; are you going to announce some secret recipe too?

"Daoist Chen, look."

"This Essence Refining is worth tens of thousands of taels of silver."

"The medicinal mushroom that could make you give up the Essence Refining so readily should also be worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, right?"

"You still have two or three tens of thousands of taels of silver in cash, Daoist."

"If it were just a few tens of thousands of taels, since we are both from famous immortal sects, there would be no need for two tigers to fight."

"If you had agreed earlier to give your family assets to me, we could have kept to our own affairs."

"But these three things put together... it really is too much, so much that you, Daoist, are so close to me—nine times out of ten you want to sneak attack me after I cast my spell. If I hadn't been on guard at every moment, I fear I would have been harmed by you, this He Mountain Sect Apprentice!"

Chen Ci: "???"

Looking at the distance of at least eight or nine zhang between the two, Chen Ci subconsciously said: "Daoist, you misunderstand..."

"In this world, when this old Daoist treats others with integrity, they return malice; I can only use thunderous means to advance one step further on the Dao."

"Thunder, come!"

Ge Laodao's expression gradually became resolute: "The He Mountain Sect has no good people, not a single one, correct!"

Only a "Boom—" was heard, just like the sky collapsing; the spiritual energy that had been gathering slowly suddenly accelerated, shrouding everyone on the field.

In an instant, streaks of thunderous sound flashed through the thick clouds.

First was the Blood Soul Motou, which vanished into smoke in an instant.

Then the three members of the Wang Family, who instantly turned into charred remains.

Finally, Chen Ci; his whole body went numb, and the True Qi in his body was already uncontrollable, either collapsing or returning to his acupoints.

Couldn't react, simply couldn't react.

When Chen Ci heard the thunder, his body was already flying backward; time was so slow that he could see a mass of thunder-light and electric snakes with his own eyes, but even his consciousness couldn't react in the slightest.

Of all the myriad methods in the world, the Thunder Technique is supreme.

Must learn it!

Chen Ci lay on the ground, and this thought inexplicably flashed through his mind.

If it weren't for the Three Yin True Qi covering his whole body blocking it, he would have already died from this single strike.

But there would be no second time.

"Thunder, come!"

Ge Laodao pointed with one hand; he had thought this strike would settle the overall situation and that all that remained was to clean up the battlefield, but Chen Ci, lying on the ground, suddenly did a donkey-roll, as if to escape.

Ge Laodao sneered; once the Thunder Technique is formed, there is no avoiding it.

Unless one can dodge the spiritual energy lock before the spell is cast.

But Chen Ci merely stuck an Iron Spear, left behind by someone who had died in battle, into the ground, then gasped for breath, struggling to restrain his Three Yin True Qi.

From head to toe, there wasn't a single place that wasn't numb.

It seemed there was even a faint smell of cooked meat drifting out.

"Daoist Chen actually knows this kind of simple thunder-avoidance method; it makes this old Daoist somewhat surprised."

Ge Laodao's eyes narrowed slightly; this was not a true Thunder Technique, but a method of drawing thunder using a spiritual guide. Although the power was sufficient, the drawbacks were also many.

For example, this Thunder Technique was almost no different from natural lightning; he could only draw it, not control it. When encountering a thunder-avoidance method, he could only stare blankly and waste his Dharma Power in vain.

However, there are not many sects in the cultivation world with Thunder Technique inheritances. This kind of simple thunder-avoidance method cannot avoid a proper Thunder Technique, and not many people know it; he wondered where this man surnamed Chen learned such a little trick.

"Daoist Ge, you have really given me a small shock."

Chen Ci spat out a puff of black smoke and slowly smoothed his somewhat bristling hair, his expression calm and unruffled.

Struck by lightning and not dead, what else is there to be shocked about?

The Three Yin True Qi resumed its circulation, slowly nourishing his flesh; fortunately, the injuries were not serious, merely some skin and fur damage, which did not hinder the overall situation.

"Want to try coming with two more Thunder Techniques?"

Chen Ci pondered for a few breaths and asked slowly: "Not much True Qi left, right? No strength left in your body, right? This thundercloud is about to disperse, right? You say, at your age, with half a foot in the grave, why not quit while you're ahead instead of risking your life?"

In just this moment, the True Qi aura on Ge Zhou's body had dropped by more than fifty percent; clearly, the consumption was immense.

But the thundercloud had not dispersed, and the Thunder Technique had not been withdrawn; Chen Ci did not dare to take any action. If he were hit by a direct thunder strike again, he would truly be finished.

Never expected that the first life-and-death crisis upon arriving in the cultivation world would actually come from a high-merit Daoist of Longhu Mountain, but with the situation reversed, it had a flavor of irony.

Chen Ci's expression was calm: "There is not much time left for you, Daoist. Use whatever methods you have quickly, or if you have any last words, you may speak them for me to hear."

The old Daoist Ge Zhou opened his palm slightly, looking at the thunderclouds in the sky with some regret, as if wanting to draw lightning to fight again, but in the end, he shook his head: "Things have reached this point, what else is there to say? It is nothing more than fighting one more round, a matter of life and death. With your cultivation, Daoist, it is hard to say who will emerge victorious."

"Heh, hehe."

If he did not beat this old Daoist until he was covered in blood later, he would not know why He Mountain Sect Apprentices were capable of fighting.

"However, if you were to ask me why I took this move, Daoist, I could chat with you for a few moments. After all, these thunderclouds can still persist for a short while, and waiting here idly is, after all, somewhat boring."

The old Daoist Ge Zhou simply sat cross-legged, likewise recovering his True Qi, though the lightning seal in his hand did not loosen, and he asked curiously: "Daoist Chen, you should also have no family background, clan, elders, or famous teachers to rely on, right? You don't think that relying solely on the title of an Outer Sect Disciple of a major sect is enough to build a Dao Foundation and attain Longevity, do you?"

(End of chapter)