Chapter 298: Chapter 285: Qianyang Divine Thunder (Additional Chapter for the book’s operation officer Lingtiao Pavilion Qingyuanzi)
Boom!
The sound of thunder suddenly exploded, and in the cloudless sky, a bolt of golden lightning as thick as an adult’s arm struck down towards a small hill below.
Instantly, after a tremor of earth and mountain shakes, the small hill, which stood four to five tens of feet tall, collapsed over two to three tens of feet, and the flowers, grass, and trees on the hilltop turned to powder, drifting away with the wind.
"What a dominant Qian Metal Thunder!"
"It was worth the years of painstaking cultivation for this divine technique!"
The instigator, Zhouyang, stood on the ground several miles away, looking at the collapsed hill, his face full of amazement.
The golden lightning just now was precisely the Thunder Technique Divine Techniques, "Qianyang Divine Thunder," that he had diligently studied for nearly ten years.
This "Qianyang Divine Thunder" is truly difficult to learn. He had started comprehending this divine technique while cultivating the "Qianyang Golden Body," but only succeeded in demonstrating it today.
Fortunately, the greater the effort, the greater the rewards. The power displayed when this divine technique was cast exceeded his expectations by quite a bit.
The strike just now, judging by surface power, seemed not much different than when he first saw the Chen Family Ancestor, a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, attack at the Golden Dawn Mountain Marketplace in Baisha River Oasis—possibly even inferior!
But in reality, the true ferocity of this strike far exceeded the mountain-shattering blow by the Chen Family Ancestor back then.
The flowers, grass, and trees shocked into powder by the thunder’s force are undeniable proof!
In terms of Thunder Techniques, "Qianyang Divine Thunder" belongs to the "Geng Metal Divine Thunder" variant of the Five Elements Divine Thunder. Its characteristics are sharp and ruthless; once hitting the target, it doesn’t create explosive scenes like Fire Element Divine Thunder or Celestial Thunder but directly breaches the target’s defenses with sharp strength, unleashing the gold attribute’s lethal sharpness from within, obliterating the target’s life force.
Among the Five Elements, the Gold Element naturally restrains the Wood Element. The flowers, grass, and trees on the hill ended up turning completely to powder instantly because the gold’s lethal sharpness within the "Qianyang Divine Thunder" spread out, directly eradicating their life force and shattering their bodies.
If this divine thunder strikes humans or demon beasts, the gold’s lethal sharpness within would cause great harm throughout the body’s organs, potentially even reducing the body to powder as it did with plants.
Estimating himself, Zhouyang reckons his "Qianyang Divine Thunder" is probably equivalent to a standard Tier Four High-grade Spell in terms of power.
However, when applied to cultivators and demon beasts, the ultimate destructive capacity would definitely exceed most standard Tier Four High-grade Spells.
"Having mastered Qianyang Divine Thunder, and having cultivated ’Great Derivation Sword Technique’ to the second level, now just waiting for Ying’Er to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill, then I can set off with her for the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm!"
Zhouyang murmured to himself, his gaze inevitably turning towards the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, a hint of longing flashing in his eyes.
It’s been twenty-one years since he successfully broke through to the Purple Mansion, during which he perfected all the divine techniques and spells that a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator should master, despite making no breakthroughs in cultivation.
Therefore, even not considering his actual battle prowess vastly exceeding his cultivation, speaking in terms of normal conditions in the Cultivation Realm, he could embark on a journey now.
However, as he himself mentioned, to truly embark on a journey, he must wait until his Dao companion Xiao Ying refines the Foundation Establishment Pill.
They possess all the main and auxiliary materials for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill within the Zhou Family, so everything is just waiting for Xiao Ying’s alchemy to reach Tier Three Top Grade.
Zhouyang knows this day is not far off.
Because over the years, to quickly boost Xiao Ying’s alchemy to Tier Three Top Grade to achieve self-produced Foundation Establishment Pills.
The Zhou Family has been tirelessly acquiring Tier Three Spirit Elixirs across the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, with Zhouyang personally visiting the Yellow Sand Sect to meet Zhang Yunpeng, painstakingly obtaining a batch of Tier Three Spirit Elixirs from the Yellow Sand Sect’s Spirit Medicine Garden.
Since establishing seven halls, there is a dedicated ledger in the Finance Hall recording spirit stone expenses for buying spirit elixirs, and now the figures have exceeded 200,000 low-grade spirit stones!
Two-thirds of these costs are spent on Tier Three Spirit Elixirs!
It can be said, the rapid advancement in Xiao Ying’s alchemy is not only due to her innate high talent but also connected to her frequent practice in refining Tier Three Spirit Pills.
Whereas the Zhou Family’s other Tier Three Alchemist, Zhou Xuanhao, hasn’t initiated refining a single Tier Three Spirit Pill since being promoted to Tier Three Alchemist!
"It’s time to prepare for the journey indeed!"
Setting out means considering not only personal safety but also making plans for the clan.
Since Zhouyang successfully established the Purple Mansion, the Zhou Family’s population and economy have entered a period of rapid growth, improving year after year.
As of now, the Zhou Family cultivators number over three hundred people, and the mortal population in the Red Tiger Mountain Oasis has surged to over four hundred thousand.
With such a large base of mortals, the Zhou Family receives a few children with Spiritual Roots each year, accumulating to quite a considerable number.
However, Zhouyang knows that the Zhou Family’s booming development over the years is entirely due to having him, a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator, stationed in the family.
If he doesn’t stay stationed within the family for a long time, the Red Tiger Mountain Oasis cultivation realm might not remain as peaceful and harmonious as it is now.
Moreover, Zhouyang has another concern: the Red Tiger Mountain Oasis is not far from the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, less than seven thousand miles in a straight line. There has been a precedent of Tier Four High-Grade Demon Beast, the Golden-winged Thunder Roc, attacking, and he has encountered the Tier Three High-Grade Demon Beast "Earth Dragon Worm" underground before.
If he leaves and Tier Four Demon Beasts attack, how will the Zhou Family respond?
Therefore, before he departs, he must leave behind some trump cards capable of dealing with such sudden crises for the Zhou Family.
"Ninth Uncle, what urgent matter would you have me attend to by summoning your nephew?"
Within the Zhou Family’s Spirit Beast Garden on Red Tiger Mountain, Zhou Guangxiang received Zhouyang’s Flying Sword communication and rushed over from the "Liuyun Square." He saw Zhouyang watching the Zhou Family’s guardian spirit beast "Flying Divine Leopard" and a Tier Two High-Grade Puppet Leopard battling in the garden.
The "Flying Divine Leopard" has grown quickly; in just over thirty years, it has become a Tier Two High-Grade Demon Beast. Continuing at this rate, it is estimated to ascend to a Tier Three Demon Beast in another two or three decades.
However, with Zhouyang’s successful establishment of the Purple Mansion, he no longer treasures this guardian spirit beast as much as before, because if nothing unexpected happens, his remaining lifespan could be longer than that of a normal Tier Three Demon Beast.
Therefore, many years ago, Zhouyang had Zhou Guangxiang’s sister, Zhou Guangxiang, also train as a Beast Tamer, handing over the "Flying Divine Leopard" to her care to cultivate her relationship with the beast.
Now, so many years have passed that the "Flying Divine Leopard" essentially regards Zhou Guangxiang as its second master, waiting only until it ascends to Tier Three Demon Beast to begin fulfilling its duties as a guardian spirit beast.
"Guangxiang, you’re here."
Zhouyang glanced at Zhou Guangxiang, then waved his hand lightly and said, "Sit down, sit and listen to me."
With that, he immediately sat cross-legged on the ground.
Zhou Guangxiang hastily replied, "Nephew obeys."
Then followed suit, sitting cross-legged to await his words.
"Ninth Uncle has long prepared to explore the Liuyun Continent cultivation realm. If everything goes smoothly, once your Aunt Nine has refined the Foundation Establishment Pills, we will set off officially."
"This departure to the Liuyun Continent cultivation realm could be as short as ten to eight years or as long as twenty to thirty."
"For such a long time without me sitting in the family, you and the elders will have to make all the decisions, so the burden on your shoulders will be heavy."
"Now I ask you, if Tier Four Demon Beasts attack the Red Tiger Mountain Oasis after I leave, what will you do? If loose cultivation Foundation Establishment cultivators combine forces to raid the marketplace, what will you do?"
Zhouyang gazed sharply at Zhou Guangxiang, evaluating the nephew’s emergency management capabilities.
Zhou Guangxiang, seemingly prepared, listened and calmly answered after slight contemplation, "If Tier Four Lower Grade Demon Beasts attack, nephew would first use the Communication Array to send a distress signal to the Yellow Sand Sect, then gather all family cultivators to Red Tiger Mountain to lead the beast to invade the mountain and use the Heaven Wind Cloud Thunder Array and Tier Four Spirit Talismans to severely wound it, at worst to trap it and prevent it from ravaging the entire Oasis."
"If Tier Four Middle Grade or Tier Four High-Grade Demon Beasts attack, nephew could only, in conjunction with the distress signal, gather all family cultivators, summon Ma Shaoyang and other vassal clan cultivators to Red Tiger Mountain to fortify with the array’s power, and send messages for cultivators in the Oasis’s various mortal towns to disperse into underground passageways for refuge."
"And if loose cultivation Foundation Establishment cultivators unite to loot the marketplace, and the enemy’s numbers exceed ten, nephew would summon the clan to guard the marketplace and Red Tiger Mountain, while ordering Ma Shaoyang and other vassal clan cultivators to repel the enemy, and seize opportunities to leave objects that could help track the enemy, then invite the Yellow Sand Sect elders to spell-track the enemy’s location for thunderous retaliation!"
"Very standard response strategies," Zhouyang commented after hearing Zhou Guangxiang’s replies.
Then he waved his hand lightly, tossing a Storage Bag into Zhou Guangxiang’s hand and asking, "If you add the items inside plus my Eagle Lion Beast, can you ensure the family’s smooth development in my absence, barring interference from Tier Four Demon Beasts and Purple Mansion Stage Cultivators?"
Upon opening the Storage Bag, Zhou Guangxiang saw two Tier Three High-Grade Puppet Flying Eagles, two Tier Four "Beast Soul Talismans," over ten Tier Three High-Grade Spirit Talismans, and more than thirty Tier Three Middle-Grade Spirit Talismans inside.
"Enough, more than enough! With these things and your Eagle Lion Beast remaining with the family, as long as no Tier Four High-Grade Demon Beasts attack, nephew can guarantee to you that the Zhou Family will operate without any issues!"