Chapter Twenty-Four: Lightning Takes Shape

It was the following morning when Lei Yan returned to the inn. A few scattered travelers were sitting in the lobby enjoying their breakfast. The young attendant, Xiao San, was leaning against the counter, dozing off. Only the innkeeper seemed exceptionally busy, his fingers dancing rapidly over a small, gleaming golden abacus. His small eyes were crinkled into slits, as if he were calculating something highly profitable.

Lei Yan walked past the counter and headed straight for Qing Ling’s room on the second floor. Qing Ling was still lying on the bed, unconscious, while the Flower Sprite sat cross-legged beside her with her eyes closed. Suddenly, the Flower Sprite opened her eyes, her face lighting up with joy as she ran toward the door, calling out, "Daddy! Daddy!"

"Creak—"

Lei Yan pushed the door open, and seeing the Flower Sprite rushing toward him, he opened his arms to catch her. "Xiao Lan, how is your mother?" he asked with a chuckle.

Having practiced, the Flower Sprite spoke quite fluently now. She tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "Xiao Lan has been working hard to protect Mother. Mother is fine, but she still hasn't woken up."

Lei Yan had examined Qing Ling’s injuries; after his treatment, they were no longer life-threatening. By all accounts, she should have regained consciousness by now, but the fact that she remained in a coma made Lei Yan frown. Setting the Flower Sprite down, he slowly walked to the bedside and sat down, placing three fingers of his right hand on Qing Ling’s pulse.

"Strange, truly strange. Is she perhaps too weak? Hmm… that must be it. I shall try to nourish her further and see," Lei Yan muttered to himself. He gently tucked her arm back under the quilt and pulled it up. "Xiao Lan, stay here and keep protecting your mother. I am going to get her some medicine."

The Flower Sprite nodded. "Then Daddy must be quick. It has been a long time since Xiao Lan saw Daddy," she said, gesturing with her hands to emphasize the point.

Seeing her adorable manner, Lei Yan smiled and exited the room. He retrieved several packets of medicinal herbs from his demon vessel and knocked on Ding Wei’s door. Upon hearing a "Come in," he entered to find Ding Wei sitting at the table reading a thread-bound book.

Seeing that it was Lei Yan, Ding Wei immediately stood up. "Master, you have returned."

Lei Yan looked at him; Ding Wei’s complexion was rosy and his breathing steady. "Are your injuries fully healed?" After Ding Wei nodded, Lei Yan placed the herbs on the table. "Brew this. Four bowls of water boiled down to one. Call me when it is ready. Hmm, *Dragon Controlling Art*..." As he set the herbs down, Lei Yan’s gaze caught the three large characters on the blue cover.

Having witnessed the extraordinary techniques of Lei Yan and his companions, Ding Wei laughed. "Since I have decided to follow you, Master, I cannot afford to be a burden. So, I dug out this book passed down by my ancestors to study it. In truth, I had looked at it before, but the contents were far too abstruse, and it did not seem like a standard martial arts manual."

"Is that so? Let me see," Lei Yan said, picking up the *Dragon Controlling Art*. He had barely turned a page when the smile on his face froze. He thought to himself, *This... this is a cultivation manual. And a profound fist technique at that! To think Ding Wei’s ancestors were cultivators.*

Seeing Lei Yan’s expression, Ding Wei asked immediately, "Master, is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing at all," Lei Yan replied, waving his hand. "Ding Wei, may I borrow this book to look over?"

"Of course, Master. Take it if you wish; I cannot make heads or tails of it anyway," Ding Wei replied generously before picking up the herbs. "I shall go brew the medicine."

After placing the *Dragon Controlling Art* into his demon vessel, Lei Yan returned to his own room. He did not rush to study the manual but instead sat down cross-legged. Although he had lost a top-tier demon vessel during the ordeal of witnessing the tribulation, he had gained much. Firstly, he had gained insight into the formation of lightning, and secondly, he had collected several technique records. While these techniques were of no immediate use, reading more would help him understand the Dao. However, the insight into the formation of lightning was his greatest gain. He wanted to restore his true essence and test his new understanding.

Focusing his intent on his entire body, using his whole frame as a dantian, Lei Yan’s body became like a black hole, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. This energy seeped through his skin into his meridians, muscles, and bones, slowly strengthening them. The spiritual energy that entered his meridians moved in circulation, guided by his true essence.

Half an hour passed. The mist-like true essence within Lei Yan continued to grow until it reached a limit and could expand no further. Lei Yan slowly opened his eyes. Having reached his peak state, he was ready to try creating lightning.

"Red light and blue light are the foundations of electricity," Lei Yan stood up. Based on his previous perception, he had to fuse the two to create lightning. With a thought, he moved the red light into his body, then focused his intent to move the blue light toward it.

*Crackle!*

The moment they touched, sparks of electricity flared at the point of contact. Lei Yan’s internal organs felt instantly numb. He quickly pulled the lights back into his mind. "Haa... huff..." He breathed heavily, cold sweat dripping down his back. It was exactly like being electrocuted; his body could not withstand it if it continued, let alone use it for combat.

*It causes destruction within the body... within...* Lei Yan suddenly realized something. To use red light for an attack, he had to convert his true essence into fire-attribute essence to resonate with the world. He had never tried to see what the blue light could convert his essence into. With that thought, he moved the blue light into his body and spread the essence across his right palm.

*Boom!*

A flame ignited—it was a deep, ghostly blue. If the red flame felt explosive, this blue flame felt cold and yielding.

Seeing this, everything became clear to Lei Yan: the fusion should not happen inside the body, but outside. The current task was to make the two lights coexist within his body. After thinking for a moment, he had a wild idea. He would integrate the lights into his body according to the Five Elements: the heart belongs to fire, so he moved the red light to the heart; the kidneys belong to water, so he moved the black light there; the lungs belong to metal, so he moved the white light there; the spleen belongs to earth, so he moved the yellow light there; and the liver belongs to wood, so he moved the green light there.

Lei Yan believed these five colors represented the Five Elements, and since they could coexist in his mind, they should be able to coexist in his body. He moved the red light to his heart, and to his surprise, it merged instantly. He followed the same method for the others, moving them in the order of the generation cycle of the Five Elements. He did not realize that this accidental sequence was exactly why he succeeded.

Once successful, Lei Yan moved the blue light into his body, spreading the essence to his right hand, then activated the red light in his heart, spreading fire essence to his left hand.

*Boom! Boom!*

Two flames instantly ignited on his hands—blue on the right, red on the left. Seeing them both, Lei Yan smiled and slammed his hands together. A crackling sound erupted between them, and white, lightning-like serpents appeared simultaneously.

Lei Yan let out a low shout and thrust his hands forward like a dragon emerging from the sea. A bolt of lightning shot toward the wall.

The wall crumbled instantly, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

With a thought, Lei Yan coated a single hand with both red and blue essence. The crackling electric serpents appeared in his palm. Looking at them, Lei Yan laughed aloud. "Hahaha! Finally, I have succeeded!"