Li Yundong felt a ripple stir in his heart after hearing Zi Yuan’s words, but he suppressed his excitement and asked, "Your cultivation is about the same as mine, so why can't you practice the Five Thunders Art?"

Zi Yuan smiled faintly and replied, "Because I possess the body of the 'Five Leaks of Women' and the 'Body of Profound Yin Virgin'!"

Li Yundong asked in confusion, "What does that have to do with learning the Thunder Magic? Isn't Ao Wushuang also a woman with an 'Unleaking Body'? Why did Su Chan tell me she knows the Five Thunders Art?"

Zi Yuan laughed and explained, "It’s actually very simple. As the ancients often said, 'Thunder Duke and Lightning Mother'—from this phrase alone, you can tell that only men can wield thunder; what we can command is lightning."

Li Yundong queried, "Is there a difference between thunder and lightning?"

Zi Yuan chuckled, "Of course there’s a difference! Lightning is a derivative of thunder, but thunder itself not only possesses the properties of electricity but also carries an extremely powerful destructive and explosive capability. Above the Five Thunders, there are the Nine Thunders and the Heavenly Thunder. When the Heavenly Thunder rages, great rivers and mountains can be shattered into dust. Lightning lacks that might. In other words, to command thunder, one must possess an exceedingly strong Yang energy as a foundation and support. I have the Body of Profound Yin Virgin; the original Yang power within me is barely enough for my own cultivation of the Yang Spirit and is insufficient to drive the Five Thunders."

"As for Ao Wushuang, she once had intimate contact with my master, and they exchanged Yin and Yang dual energies. Therefore, Ao Wushuang possesses extremely potent Original Yang energy within her body, which is why she can use the Five Thunders Art, but I cannot."

Li Yundong suddenly understood and blurted out, "Then if you found a man, wouldn't you also be able to..."

Only after speaking did Li Yundong realize how inappropriate his words were. By then, Zi Yuan’s face was flushed crimson, and she glared at him, a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance: "I was kindly teaching you magical cultivation, and you dare to mock me?"

Li Yundong, accustomed to Zi Yuan’s usual detached demeanor, had grown somewhat immune to her beauty. Seeing her flustered now only amplified her allure, especially viewing a beauty under the moonlight, which added an ethereal haziness. For a moment, Li Yundong's heart skipped a beat. He coughed awkwardly, offering a sheepish smile, "I was just speaking offhand, don't, don't overthink it."

Zi Yuan felt her cheeks and the tips of her ears burning hot. She shot Li Yundong a fierce look and commanded, "Hurry up and memorize everything above. You can study it slowly later!"

Li Yundong let out a dry laugh and quickly lowered his head to look at the Jade Book of the Five Thunders in his hands. However, after reading for a while, his mind was a tangled mess, and he could almost feel Zi Yuan's sharp, annoyed gaze fixed upon him.

Li Yundong decided to simply read the characters aloud from the Jade Book of the Five Thunders to steady his mind. Holding the book, he recited clearly, "...The primordial energy is harmonious, returning to the root and recovering its destiny. In movement or repose, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, it must be preserved continuously. Therefore, to nourish that vastness, when applied to the Law, it is to unite my true Qi with the Creation of Heaven and Earth, thus enabling the breath to become clouds and rain, and the exhalation to become thunder and lightning!"

After reading for a while, Li Yundong’s spirit gradually calmed, his mind and energy slowly merged, entering a state of transcendent oneness where the external world faded. Every word he uttered was clearly imprinted on his mind. Once he finished reading the entire passage, he settled cross-legged on the ground, sinking into deep thought and meditation.

Seeing him begin to achieve enlightenment right there, clearly having gained some insight from reciting the text, Zi Yuan naturally took up a position nearby to protect his meditation.

After reviewing these texts, Li Yundong had gained a preliminary understanding of the path of lightning and thunder.

This Jade Book of the Five Thunders contained not only the original text but also extremely tiny annotations tucked between the lines. Li Yundong remembered one particular annotation with striking clarity.

It read: The cultivation of Thunder Magic also places special emphasis on the cultivation of the Inner Elixir, advocating for the principle of "Dao Body, Dharma Application"—meaning that cultivating the Inner Elixir and achieving unity with the Dao is the foundation, which is then expressed outwardly, manifesting various supernatural transformations and profound magical techniques. Once the Inner Elixir is achieved, the Innate Primordial Qi becomes abundant. This Innate Primordial Qi is also called Innate Ancestral Qi or Primordial Chaos One Qi. Our Daoism speaks of 'One Qi Transforming into the Three Pure Ones'; this 'One Qi' is precisely the Primordial Chaos One Qi, which is the Dao. The Eight Sections of Brocade for Petitioning by Wang Shichen explains Thunder Magic very clearly: 'Heaven and Earth obtain this One Qi, leading to a myriad of transformations. Man, being the spirit of all things, obtains this One Qi and can affect Heaven and Earth, move ghosts and spirits, breathing forth wind, cloud, thunder, and rain, reaching everywhere without exception.'"

Below this small annotation, there was another line: "If a person can gather the Qi of the Five Elements to form the Five Thunders, then Thunder Magic is the innate Dao, and the Thunder God resides within one’s own spirit." From this, it can be seen that humans can actually create thunder and lightning by relying on the Qi of the Five Elements, without having to borrow entirely from the Primordial Chaos One Qi between Heaven and Earth!

With this thought, Li Yundong gathered the Qi from his Five Viscera first, channeling it toward his Dantian, intending to test the thunder and lightning summoned by the Qi of the Five Elements.

With a flicker of thought, the energy from his Five Viscera surged out, like countless wild horses escaping their stables, thundering toward the lower Dantian beneath his navel.

Ordinary cultivators often allow the Qi of one of their viscera to pass through the Inner Elixir and quickly flow away, forming a continuous, stream-like flow of sustained energy. But Li Yundong instantly pulled the Qi from all Five Viscera into his lower Dantian. Now, the Five Element Qi from the Five Viscera had nowhere to go; they all converged, the five types of energy—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—roiling back and forth, vibrating against each other.

Li Yundong immediately felt as if his lower Dantian had become a great drum, rumbling loudly within, seemingly brewing thunder and lightning. An incredibly powerful force surged and churned uncontrollably in his abdomen, having nowhere to vent.

After brewing for only a short while, Li Yundong felt this power growing stronger and stronger, gradually reaching a point where he could barely control it. A faint, sharp pain began to emanate from his lower abdomen.

Li Yundong was secretly horrified. He knew that ever since he achieved Foundation Establishment, his physical body had been tempered to be extraordinarily tough, especially his internal organs, which were as hard as iron. Gathering all his vital energy to impact any single internal organ or cavity had never caused such pain. Yet, after circulating his energy for barely a minute, his lower Dantian could no longer withstand the strain, showing signs of possibly exploding.

Li Yundong quickly directed this gathered energy upward towards the upper Dantian on the crown of his head. Simultaneously, the Baihui point on his scalp opened wide, and an immensely powerful force instantly burst forth from it, accompanied by a tremendous booming sound, like a sudden peal of thunder.

Since they were inside a cave, this massive sound was deafening. Even Zi Yuan, with her profound cultivation, felt a sharp pain in her eardrums and could not help but frown.

Li Yundong awoke from his meditative trance, stating with lingering fear, "That was intense. My lower Dantian almost blew apart just now!"

Zi Yuan looked at Li Yundong with some exasperation and said, "You haven't learned to walk yet, and you're trying to run! Master this power slowly first, and then gradually deepen and increase its intensity step by step. Don't think about achieving success overnight; it will lead to problems. If anything goes wrong while cultivating Thunder Magic, never mind me—even the Jade Emperor himself couldn't save you!"

Li Yundong laughed heartily, "It's fine, I just wanted to try what Thunder Magic driven by the Qi of the Five Elements feels like. Next, I’ll try the kind driven by the Primordial Chaos One Qi to see how that works."

Before Zi Yuan could respond, Li Yundong had already entered meditation. Not long after, his Nascent Soul left his body and shot straight up into the air; Zi Yuan couldn't stop him.

Zi Yuan sighed and murmured inwardly, Li Yundong, oh Li Yundong, you must not act rashly. This is Mount Longhu! This is the place with the strongest Daoist influence in the world. If you stir up any trouble here, it will be difficult to resolve!

Just as Li Yundong and Zi Yuan were cultivating Thunder Magic on a subsidiary peak, on the main peak of Mount Longhu, within the Shangqing Palace, the Earth Fire True Person, Zhang Ling, was refining the flower souls of Deng Yu and Deng Jiao she had brought back in a side chamber.

In this chamber, Earth Fire True Person Zhang Ling stood before a massive formation array.

The perimeter of the array was defined by the Eight Trigrams of Qian and Kun, and the center held the Yin-Yang Taiji symbol. On the two points of the Taiji—one Yin and one Yang—were placed two water altars filled with black and white talismans and intricate patterns. Floating within the array were two lotus buds, identical in color and shape. Within the buds, two small figures emitting a faint glow could vaguely be discerned.

These two tiny figures were curled up like infants, but they were only the size of a thumb. Even through the pink lotus leaves, their four limbs were clearly visible, even down to the tiny toes.

Earth Fire True Person Zhang Ling gazed intently at the scene, her eyes brimming with intense tenderness and joy. Standing next to her was her disciple, Zou Ping.

Zou Ping looked at her, perplexed, and asked, "Master, there is something I wish to ask, though I am unsure if I should."

Zhang Ling did not look at her, keeping her gaze focused on the center of the array, and replied, "Say it. Is there anything between us master and disciple that cannot be spoken?"

Zou Ping bowed respectfully and asked with confusion, "Master, I can understand why you would use this pair of twin souls to forge Sword Spirits, but why go to the trouble of setting up this specific array?"

Zhang Ling smiled faintly and countered with a question, "Do you know what array this is?"

Zou Ping nodded, "I do. It is the Grand Array of the Five Elements Reincarnation!"

Zhang Ling turned her head and cast an approving glance at her, "Oh? Then do you know how this array is used?"

Zou Ping smiled, "Of course, Master. This array is mainly used to help people transcend the memories of their past and present lives, allowing them to achieve rebirth."

Zhang Ling let out a soft laugh, "Since you know the purpose of this formation, why ask me that question?"

Zou Ping replied, puzzled, "But what use is it to them?"

Zhang Ling snorted, "You only know one side of the story! This pair of twin souls was seized from the Spirit Palace Sect's cave dwelling; their origins are unclear. Do you know who these two were originally? Do you know their background? If these two become the two great Sword Spirits of the Three Ultimate Array, then the full power of the Three Ultimate Array will be entirely in their hands. If they still retain memories of their past lives, and if they encounter former acquaintances and hold back, the Three Ultimate Array will completely fail! At that point, will you take responsibility, or will I?"

Zou Ping finally understood, "Master's planning is indeed thorough; it was my oversight. However, these twins seem ready to manifest at any moment."

As if to confirm her words, the two identical flower buds suddenly burst forth with vibrant, multicolored light. Immediately after, petal by petal, they slowly opened, revealing two identical, delicate, lovely figures.

Seeing this, Zhang Ling's expression sharpened. She swiftly formed a hand seal and shouted, "Ping’er, guard me! I am going to perform the rite to erase their past life memories!"

At that precise moment, outside the side chamber of the Shangqing Palace, a deep and resonant thunderclap echoed across the sky.