56: Chapter 56 The Power of Lightning, Qingfeng Mountains!

That night, in the back mountain Immortal Cave.

Shi Jian lay on the stone bed, his bear paw gripping a dark purple fruit.

The thunder element fruit's skin was shriveled and covered in cracks. Its appearance was truly lackluster; when Sun Boan delivered it, he had gone to great lengths to explain the various wonders of this fruit...

Its only drawback was its extremely low yield.

Shi Jian didn't care about that. His nostrils flared as he inhaled a faint, dry, and intense spiritual energy from within the fruit, making him feel a primal, instinctive longing...

Shi Jian opened his bloody maw, tossed the thunder element fruit inside, and began to chew.

"Crunch."

The skin shattered instantly.

In the next moment, a completely different kind of spiritual energy exploded within his abdomen!

It was unlike the gentleness of Spirit Stones, the richness of Medicinal Pills, or the blood-boiling heat of items like blood bodhis.

This spiritual energy was like a disturbed hornet's nest—frenzied, violent, and filled with countless tiny stingers that rampaged through his Meridians!

If it were an ordinary minor Cultivator, just sorting out this chaotic energy would probably take days. Even if Foundation Establishment Cultivator consumed it, refining it would take a long time...

But Shi Jian was a demon.

The Demon Essence surging within him was inherently the most savage and domineering of things.

"Roar—!"

A low growl rumbled from his throat as the mountain-like Demon Essence instantly enveloped, suppressed, and crushed that restless spiritual energy.

Threads of numbness spread from the depths of his Meridians, as if being pricked by countless tiny silver needles simultaneously...

It was faint, but it truly existed!

A sharp light flashed in Shi Jian's half-closed bear eyes. He raised his right paw, and a clump of Demonic Qi, thick as ink, condensed in his palm.

At this moment, the Demonic Qi showed a slight change.

Within the originally mountain-heavy Demonic Qi, a few extremely faint silver-white electric arcs now appeared, only to vanish in a flash!

The arcs were like silver threads mixed into ink; though few, they were exceptionally striking.

With a thought, Shi Jian slammed the Demonic Qi in his palm against the stone wall. The moment the ball of Demonic Qi collided with the stone...

"Boom!"

A muffled sound echoed as it exploded.

In the blink of an eye, a hole half a zhang deep was blasted into the stone wall, sending debris flying.

The power had increased slightly, but it wasn't obvious.

But soon, Shi Jian's attention focused on the inner wall of the hole; a charred mark remained on the rock surface...

Even in the air, a faint, strange smell like something burnt lingered.

Shi Jian stuck out his tongue and licked his nose.

This smell... he had smelled it before on trees struck by lightning during thunderstorms.

It was the aura of thunder!

Although it was so faint it could almost be ignored, it definitely existed. The Demon Essence in his body had indeed been tainted with a trace of the Power of Lightning.

It worked!

Shi Jian's normally tranquil demon heart was now surging with massive waves.

His own Bloodline was that of the most ordinary Black Bear, naturally lacking any affinities, possessing only a powerful Physical Body...

Following this path to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage was almost the limit. To go any further and condense a Demon Core would be as difficult as reaching the heavens.

This was the shackle of his Bloodline, a chasm etched into his very bones.

Why had he gone to such lengths to take control of the Sun Clan?

Wasn't it precisely to use the power of the Human Race to find an Opportunity to break through this shackle?!

blood bodhis and blood-condensing lotuses could make his blood and Qi surge and his cultivation progress, but they couldn't change the shackles of his Bloodline.

But this thunder element fruit was different!

It was like a spark thrown into a pool of stagnant water, giving Shi Jian hope for a future Breakthrough...

If he could consume this in large quantities over a long period, his Demon Essence would undergo a qualitative change through accumulation!

Until it transformed his Bloodline and broke through the shackles.

When the ultimate strength combined with the violent Power of Lightning...

At that time, who knows what kind of terrifying power it would be? Strength like a mountain, movement like thunder. If he succeeded, Shi Jian would lack for nothing!

A moment later—

Shi Jian took a deep breath, suppressing the wild joy in his heart, and carefully put away the remaining four thunder element fruits.

Now, he needed to carefully experience this Power of Lightning...

He would slowly comprehend its true meaning, then consume one every year or half-year to gradually increase his application of the Power of Lightning and master it step by step.

"Not enough... nowhere near enough..."

Feeling the restlessness within him, Shi Jian felt the irritation brought by the word "rare" for the first time. A yield of only six to ten fruits every five years was not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth...

To rely on this for a qualitative change in his Demon Essence would likely take centuries.

He couldn't wait that long.

He had to find more thunder element fruits, or find similar Heaven And Earth Treasures to help his Physical Body complete its transformation...

...

The days passed one by one.

The news of Shi Jian ending his seclusion spread through the entire Baiyun Prefecture like a storm.

The Mingqiu Merchant Alliance's business became easier and easier.

The gift lists sent by clans of all sizes piled up like a small mountain in the Sun family's storehouse. Perhaps these gifts weren't precious, but they primarily represented their intentions.

If you sent a gift to congratulate them, the Sun Clan might not remember you.

But if you didn't, then you were being tactless...

Inside and outside Hongtian City, everything was flourishing.

But Shi Jian paid no more attention to any of this.

He spent most of his time lying on the huge rock in front of his Immortal Cave, silently refining that new trace of lightning power within him.

One day, as dusk fell.

A gray shadow silently darted out from the grass, and after a few flickers, appeared before Shi Jian...

"Old Ancestor, there is news to report."

Elder Rat stood up on his hind legs and cupped his front paws in a respectful gesture, his posture extremely reverent, like a humble servant.

Shi Jian's eyelids twitched slightly as a response.

"The matter you entrusted to me, I have already arranged."

Elder Rat lowered his voice, a hint of excitement in his shrill tone: "I scattered my tribe members with the original intent of secretly monitoring all parties."

"But unintentionally, I really did discover something!"

"Just three days ago, at the border of Qingzhou County, a little one responsible for scouting the Qingfeng Mountains sent back word."

"That little one said that deep within the Qingfeng Mountains, there is a strange Stone Forest covering an area of over ten li. The stones there are neither metal nor jade, dark in color, yet incredibly hard in texture."

"The most peculiar thing is that whenever there's a thunderstorm, all the lightning within dozens of li is attracted to that Stone Forest, striking down into it."

"Heavenly thunder falls like a waterfall, thousands of tons pouring down from above!"

"According to the little one's description, after a thunderstorm, the Stone Forest is filled with a dense aura of thunder that lingers for a long time. Ordinary Yao Beasts don't dare approach, and no Human Race Cultivators dare to go there."

Hearing this, Shi Jian suddenly opened his eyes.

In those originally lazy, giant eyes, two terrifying flashes of lightning streaked past!

A place where ten thousand bolts of lightning strike?

A natural gathering place for thunder!

Could that place give birth to Way of Thunder spiritual items of an even higher grade than the thunder element fruit?

Or perhaps the place itself is an excellent treasure land for practicing thunder arts and tempering a Demon Body; it might be a good place to go.

The problem that had troubled him for many days seemed to have an answer at this moment.

Shi Jian slowly stood up, his massive body casting a huge shadow. He looked down at the brightly lit Hongtian City at the foot of the mountain and remained silent for a moment.

An uncontrollable longing, originating from the depths of his Bloodline, was growing wildly.

He turned his head toward Elder Rat and spoke in a low, majestic voice:

"Have Sun Boan come here. I have important matters to discuss."