Chapter 494: The Heavenly Thunder Six Arts - Shadow in the Clouds

When she woke up again, she found herself lying on the back of a spirit beast, with two female disciples from the Nine Sects tending to her.

She bolted upright, like a tiger ready to pounce, and demanded, “Where’s Jiang Fan? Where is Jiang Fan?”

One disciple, startled by her appearance, timidly replied, “Junior Brother Jiang is on Boundary Mountain, preparing to face the army of corpses.”

She made to get up, but then realized her hands and feet were bound by chains to the spirit beast’s back.

“What is the meaning of this?” Wu Manyue exclaimed in surprise. “Am I a prisoner?”

The other female disciple said hesitantly, “Senior Sister Wu, Junior Brother Jiang is doing this for your own good. He said you’ve been repeatedly chased by the demon priests and injured while searching for war supplies, which has been incredibly difficult for you. You must return to Sunset City to recuperate. We can’t let you continue to risk yourself on Boundary Mountain.”

“Send me back to Sunset City? He’s afraid I’ll come after him, isn’t he?” Wu Manyue gnashed her teeth in anger, rattling the chains. “Binding me like this is also for my own good?”

The two female disciples nodded. “Yes, Junior Brother Jiang said you’re prone to impulsiveness and would surely ignore warnings and return to Boundary Mountain. So, we had no choice but to tie you up and send you back.”

“For my own good?” Wu Manyue wished she could slap Jiang Fan to death!

She laughed furiously, “If he doesn’t want me to go back, I’ll insist on it! These mere chains think they can trap me? Dream on!”

When had Wu Manyue ever suffered such a great humiliation? And repeatedly, at that! Unless she avenged this, she wouldn’t be human!

But as soon as she struggled, a wisp of poisonous smoke drifted towards her. She inhaled just a breath, and her eyes rolled back as she instantly fainted. Through her fading consciousness, she heard a disciple’s apologetic voice.

“We’re sorry, Miss Wu. Junior Brother Jiang said if you were disobedient, we should just drug you unconscious. We’re truly sorry, truly sorry.”

As Wu Manyue lost consciousness, she clenched her fists tightly.

Jiang Fan! You’ve got some nerve!

On Boundary Mountain, Jiang Fan gazed at the departing spirit beast. Those two disciples were sent by Lei Zhenhai to return to Sunset City for reinforcements. They were also instructed to take Wu Manyue back with them.

If she stayed, Jiang Fan would constantly have to guard against her seeking revenge. Lei Zhenhai and the elders also worried she might perish there, which would be difficult to explain to the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. Therefore, when Jiang Fan suggested sending her to Sunset City, Lei Zhenhai and the elders readily agreed.

“Sect Master Lei, may I consider the bounty fulfilled?” Jiang Fan asked Lei Zhenhai.

Lei Zhenhai glanced at the mountain of timber piled up. He wanted to refuse, but couldn’t find an excuse. He reluctantly pulled out the Thunder Origin Token and instructed, “You can only study it for a maximum of one month. Not a day more!”

Jiang Fan bowed and said, “Thank you, Sect Master Lei.” With that, he took the Thunder Origin Token and went to a quiet spot to examine it.

Lei Zhenhai secretly scoffed, “Does he really think the Thunder Origin Token of our sect is so easy to comprehend? To comprehend the Thunder Origin Token, one first needs to cultivate lightning-based martial arts. For an outsider like him, it’s nothing but a useless jade token! Besides, I’ve studied it for so many years and only managed to grasp a superficial understanding of transforming into lightning for instant movement. In just one month, what could a junior disciple like him possibly comprehend?”

He appeared generous. In reality, he wasn't worried at all that anyone could comprehend the cultivation method within the Thunder Origin Token.

Jiang Fan found a quiet corner. He carefully observed the strange token, which was broken at one end and had lightning flickering within it. The Evil Spirit also extended its spiritual sense, full of curiosity, to examine the token with him.

However, the moment its spiritual sense probed inside, a bolt of lightning from the token shot out and struck the mirror.

“Hiss!” The Evil Spirit gasped in pain and said, “That’s outrageous! I can’t even look at it?”

It was then that Jiang Fan remembered. The Evil Spirit was a malevolent entity, while this token contained lightning-based cultivation methods. How could it possibly spy on it?

“You can’t blame me for this, can you?” Jiang Fan said, amused.

The Evil Spirit, having been rebuffed, grumbled, “What a pathetic token! I don’t even care for it! And don’t you get too cocky, kid. I wasted my time, and you might not fare much better. Without my help to analyze it, you won’t be able to comprehend the cultivation method within the Thunder Origin Token.” With that, it angrily retracted its spiritual sense.

Jiang Fan chuckled. So far, he hadn't encountered a cultivation method he couldn't comprehend.

He immediately looked at the Thunder Origin Token. There were no words or text within the token. So where did the so-called cultivation method come from? Observing the flickering lightning within it, Jiang Fan pondered for a moment, then sent a wisp of lightning from his palm into the token.

Instantly, the quiescent lightning inside the token burst into a crackling, dazzling display, like beans popping in a hot pot. It intertwined into an undulating, flickering cultivation method.

“A high-grade Earth-tier cultivation method, ‘Six Parts of Heavenly Thunder – Cloud Shadow’!”

Jiang Fan’s pupils constricted. This… this was actually a high-grade Earth-tier cultivation method!

As he read further, Jiang Fan was even more astonished. “When all six parts are combined, its power rivals a Heaven-tier cultivation method!”

Jiang Fan didn’t even possess a Heaven-tier cultivation method yet. The only one he knew of was on the Primordial Void Ancient Tree, which he could only obtain after breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm. Yet, this ‘Six Parts of Heavenly Thunder’ before him was so astonishing. Separately, each part was high-grade Earth-tier. Combined, they were Heaven-tier!

Was this a cultivation method from the Temple of Ten Thousand Calamities? He had only intended to learn another lightning-based movement technique. But inadvertently, he had stumbled upon such a terrifying and remarkable skill!

He devoured the information, reading hungrily. He was somewhat regretful to find that ‘Six Parts of Heavenly Thunder – Cloud Shadow’ was an incomplete technique. Perhaps it was related to the token’s shattered state. Currently, only two levels were available. Mastering the first level allowed one to transform into a blue-white lightning shadow, instantly covering a hundred *zhang*. Mastering the second level allowed one to ride the purple lightning, swiftly arriving within a thousand *zhang*. The missing third level was even more astounding: it allowed one to summon heavenly thunder as a dragon and instantly teleport to anywhere within sight.

Jiang Fan was secretly amazed. What did it mean to instantly teleport to the very limit of one’s vision? Even a Grand Cultivator of the Nascent Soul realm, flying through the air, would take a considerable amount of time to reach the edge of their vision!

Unfortunately, the third level was incomplete! Even so, the first and second levels were still extremely impressive. If he had cultivated the first level when he was previously pursued by the demon priests, how could they have possibly caught up to him? A few flashes and he could have left her in the dust.

After memorizing the cultivation method’s content, Jiang Fan sat cross-legged and began to comprehend it.

An hour later, he had a sudden realization and immediately began to cultivate. At this moment, the army of corpses was rapidly approaching. On Boundary Mountain, the increasing tremors could already be felt. Time was running out. He would cultivate as far as he could.

Another hour later, Boundary Mountain began to shake violently, as if an earthquake had struck. The ice and snow on the slopes, unable to bear the strain, collapsed in a massive avalanche. Jiang Fan was forced to interrupt his cultivation. In just a short hour, he had only managed to grasp a superficial understanding. He could roughly transform into lightning and instantly travel fifty *zhang* away, taking enemies by surprise.

However, he couldn’t use it multiple times. Activating this technique consumed an immense amount of lightning power. The lightning power stored in Jiang Fan’s meridians was only enough for one activation. Unless he could cultivate another part of the ‘Six Parts of Heavenly Thunder,’ ‘Heavenly Abyss Heart.’ That was a cultivation method specifically for absorbing heavenly lightning. After cultivating it, one could store boundless lightning within their body for regular use. For now, that was out of the question.

Booming – A series of violent, muffled thuds echoed. Jiang Fan’s expression changed as he looked into the distance. The dense, surging tide was already crashing before Boundary Mountain!

He took a deep breath. The great battle was finally about to begin!