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Chapter 83: Further Optimization of the Five Thunder Talismans (Part 5)
Chapter 83: Further Optimization of the Five Thunder Talismans (Part 5)
"This inkstone seems different from the ones we usually use for talisman-making." Lei Jun held the inkstone and examined it briefly.
Wang Guiyuan nodded, "Chu Shidi comes from the Chu clan in Suzhou, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families. The Chu clan is renowned for their literary accomplishments in Jiangnan, and their fame reaches even the Great Tang Dynasty. This inkstone, I've heard, was crafted by a senior member of the Chu clan."
"However, after it came into Chu Shidi's possession, it underwent further nurturing and modification by our sect's elders, and thus it differs from the original Confucian inkstone." Wang Guiyuan explained.
Lei Jun nodded slightly, his interest piqued. If this inkstone was crafted by a senior member of Chu Andong's clan, then it originated from a Confucian scholarly cultivator. And now, after being in the hands of Chu Andong, a Taoist talisman-user from Longhu Mountain, and further nurtured by the elders of the Celestial Master's Mansion, it had taken on a unique blend of both Confucian and Taoist characteristics.
In a sense, one could say that this inkstone embodied the essence of both scholarly and Taoist cultivation paths. Lei Jun had not yet had the opportunity to interact directly with Confucian scholarly cultivators, so he found this inkstone particularly intriguing. One could say that he had an academic interest in the various cultivation paths of this world.
"Later, I'll give it a try and see how it differs from our usual Taoist inkstones." Lei Jun smiled as he carefully put away the inkstone. Then he turned to Wang Guiyuan and asked, "Has Master returned to the mountain?"
Wang Guiyuan shook his head. "Master hasn't returned yet, but he sent a message saying that he went south to support Tang Shimai."
Lei Jun's eyebrows twitched slightly as he listened intently to the underlying meaning, "So, the movement of the Southern Wilderness Witchcraft Sect is not small. Apart from the gu worm user who caused trouble for Little Sister before, there are other witch experts heading north towards us?"
Wang Guiyan nodded, "In addition to the people from Yinshan Cave, the Holy Land of Witchcraft and Gu Worm Techniques, there are also experts from the Blood River Sect."
The Blood River Sect was the holy land of the Blood River lineage in the Southern Wilderness Witchcraft Sect. They were known for their cruelty and bloodthirstiness, and among the cultivation sects in the Southern Wilderness, they were the most notorious for their slaughter and bloodshed. In the Great Tang Dynasty, they were regarded as a demonic path, and everyone was on high alert against them.
"The Blood River Sect..." Lei Jun suddenly recalled the unique techniques of another sect that Chen Yixiu had practiced. He wondered if there was any connection between the two and what the nature of their relationship might be.
"Although the two generations of the Yellow Heaven's Sect's leaders have joined forces, our sect has managed to temporarily suppress their two waves of offensives." Wang Guiyuan continued, "However, we must not be complacent. As for the Blood River Sect, it's not entirely unexpected. Recently, there have been successive battles inside and outside Dragon Tiger Mountain, with casualties on both sides..."
Lei Jun understood. The Blood River Sect thrived on the tears and blood of the common people. Cultivators had far greater vitality than ordinary people. With the recent successive battles around Dragon Tiger Mountain resulting in numerous casualties, the air was filled with death and blood qi, creating an environment that the Blood River Sect cultivators relished.
Even if they didn't actively stir up trouble, simply coming here quietly to collect the blood qi would greatly benefit their cultivation. And given the reputation of the Blood River Sect cultivators for their cruelty and bloodlust, expecting them not to take advantage of the situation to unleash slaughter was like expecting a fish not to get wet.
Therefore, despite suppressing the Yellow Heaven's Sect, the Celestial Master's Mansion remained vigilant and continued to patrol both inside and outside the mountain, wary of any interference from the Blood River Sect.
As expected, they soon discovered the atrocities committed by the Blood River Sect cultivators, and the experts from the Celestial Master's Mansion immediately launched a counterattack.
After chatting with Wang Guiyuan for a while, Lei Jun bid him farewell and went to visit Chu Andong and Li Zhenchang.
Chu Andong's injuries were severe, and he would likely need patience and time to recover fully.
Although Li Zhenchang's condition was not as severe as Lei Jun's, after a few days of rest, he had regained his spirit and spiritual power, and the remaining traces of gu worm poison in his body had been cleansed.
During this period, Xia Qing also returned from Tianxu Mountain and rejoined the main headquarters of Dragon Tiger Mountain.
After this period of recuperation, she had mostly recovered her health and was back to her spirited self.
With the current shortage of manpower on the mountain, Lei Jun, Li Zhenchang, and Xia Qing had all taken on assignments from their sect after their recuperation, patrolling the mountains and even descending to face off against disciples of the Yellow Heaven's Sect and the Southern Wilderness Witchcraft Sect.
Lei Jun had more opportunities to test his skills and knowledge.
Up to this point, the old Gu master was the most formidable opponent he had directly faced in terms of cultivation prowess.
Although, for one reason or another, it was hard to say if the opponent was still a pure quadruple heaven realm cultivator, their mastery of Gu worms and techniques was indeed unique.
Fighting them had also been Lei Jun's most rewarding battle.
For example, during that battle, Lei Jun felt that there was still room to further optimize his Five Thunder Talismans.
The initial considerations were not without reason.
If something was too intricate, it might become overly complex.
The strength of the Five Thunder Talismans lay in their ability to derive five different thunder techniques, allowing him to adapt to various enemies and situations.
However, the transformation process from the time Lei Jun invoked the spirit talismans to when the thunder technique took effect seemed a bit slow.
Using Lei Jun's gaming terminology from his past life, the casting animation was a bit too long.
It wasn't a problem when facing opponents of the same realm.
But against opponents like the old Gu master, it was easy to be caught in a vulnerable position.
Therefore, regarding the Five Thunder Talismans, Lei Jun's next direction for improvement was not to increase the power of the spirit talismans but to make them take effect faster.
Speaking of which, the gift that Li Zhenchang had given him as a token of gratitude was quite thoughtful.
Theoretically, the Nine Returning Stones were used to help cultivators restore their spiritual energy.
This was of limited help to Lei Jun, as he already possessed the Soil of Vitality Banner, which served the same function but with better effects.
So, Lei Jun had another idea.
He smashed the Nine Returning Stone into pieces.
Then, he slowly refined it into stone powder and incorporated it into his plan to improve the Five Thunder Talismans.
With the insight he had gained from the Tongming level, Lei Jun devised some unconventional methods: speeding up the circulation of spiritual energy within the spirit talismans, rather than focusing on the cultivator's recovery of spiritual energy.
The difference between the two was undoubtedly significant.
Relying solely on the Nine Returning Stone wouldn't be enough to succeed.
Lei Jun combined it with other spiritual objects and, after repeated experiments, finally made some progress.
The battles against the Yellow Heaven's Sect and Blood River Sect disciples down the mountain served as practical training, allowing Lei Jun to continuously test and validate his ideas.
And so...
In the mountain forest, a blood-red blade of light swept through, felling numerous trees.
As branches and leaves flew everywhere, Lei Jun's figure nimbly dodged the blood-red blade of light and appeared before the Blood River Sect disciple in the blink of an eye.
The opponent let out a sinister smile, and the initially wide-open and seemingly fierce blood-red blade of light suddenly transformed. It went from resembling a broad, surging river to a winding, twisting stream, changing from aggressive and unconstrained to light and agile.
The twisting blood-red blade of light instantly closed in from a distance, like a trap set up long ago, intertwining before Lei Jun.
What remained unchanged was the bloody, murderous aura that drove people to madness as they approached, fully displaying the essence of the fierce and mysterious legacy of the Blood River lineage, a holy land of the Witchcraft and Gu Worm Techniques.
But even in this split-second moment, the light on Lei Jun's Five Thunder Talisman shone brightly.
The gold, black, red, and brown colors disappeared, leaving only the green light flashing, deriving a large number of thunderbolts with extreme speed.
Amid the buzzing sounds, fine green thunderbolts wove around Lei Jun's body.
It resembled a bamboo forest derived from thunderbolts, or a net woven from bamboo branches.
Enveloped by the net, the originally agile and lively blood-red blade of light was instantly bound by the dense green and blue thunderbolts, unable to move.
It was the Wood-Vacancy Thunder of the Five Thunder Talismans.
"Hmm, the speed at which the spirit talisman's spiritual energy transforms into thunder has increased by more than 10% compared to before."
Lei Jun nodded slightly. "But I feel it can be even faster..."
(End of Chapter)
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