Chapter 311 Three Thousand Thunder Phantoms
Seeing that the old demon had already taken care of the target, Xiao Ling did not plan to stay here any longer. His figure moved in the air several times and soon moved away from here.
The Hong family's yard gradually calmed down from the chaos, leaving only the mess on the ground. The Hong family members were still in shock, looking at each other, not knowing what to say.
They never imagined that the Hong family would encounter such an unexpected disaster in such a short period of time.
Fortunately, Xiao Ling did not order a massacre of the rest of the Hong family, so the Hong family's losses were not too great. Although they lost the young patriarch Hong Chen and the head of the family Hong Li, the ancestor Hong Tianxiao was seriously injured, but at least he saved his life.
"What's the big deal?" a member of the Hong family murmured to himself, with a hint of helplessness and fear in his voice.
"Yes, it's really a disaster that came from the sky," another tribesman echoed, his eyes full of confusion.
Although the ancestor of the Hong family, Hong Tianxiao, was seriously injured, he was still alive, which comforted the members of the Hong family. They knew that as long as Hong Tianxiao was still alive, the Hong family still had hope of making a comeback.
"What should we do now? Should we go find ancestor Hong Tianxiao and discuss countermeasures?" suggested an older member of the tribe.
"Yes, yes," the others nodded, "but now that the ancestor has left, we should clean up this place and wait for the ancestor to return."
Although the Hong family's courtyard was still shrouded in an atmosphere of uneasiness, the clansmen had already begun to slowly clean up the mess. After all, for them, life had to go on.
But the elders of the Hong family knew clearly that the Hong family would not have an easy time in the future. Fei Tian, the leader of Fenglei North Pavilion, had an accident on the Hong family's territory. Even if the Hong family did not do it themselves, they still had to bear part of the blame and would inevitably be used to make a fuss in the future.
However, Xiao Ling had no intention of taking responsibility for these messes. If the Hong family had not yet had any bad intentions towards the Han family like they did two years later in the original novel, wanting Hong Chen to marry the sisters Han Yue and Han Xue, Xiao Ling would have wiped out the Hong family without even blinking an eye.
But right now, Xiao Ling has already gotten what he wanted, and the remaining mess will be left to the Hong family to clean up.
……
After taking back the old demon and the souls they had captured into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Xiao Ling did not stay outside for long and returned to the Han family's courtyard without stopping.
Seeing Xiao Ling coming back so soon, Han Yue came forward curiously and asked, "Xiao Ling, did something happen outside?"
"It's nothing serious. There were just a few uninvited guests in Tianbei City who seemed to be looking for trouble with someone. Coincidentally, that person happened to be in the Hong family." Xiao Ling made up an excuse and said lightly, "I took a look and saw that the head of the Hong family and the young master Hong Chen were both in trouble. Even the ancestor of the Hong family suffered a great loss and fled in panic. It seems that he was seriously injured. I guess he will have a hard time in the future."
When Han Yue heard Xiao Ling's words, a look of surprise appeared on her face.
She narrowed her eyes and looked Xiao Ling up and down with some suspicion: "Xiao Ling, what happened to the Hong family, you are not the one behind it, right?"
She knew very well that Xiao Ling was not the kind of person who would just laugh it off after suffering a loss. The Han family and the Hong family had been in constant conflict recently. It was possible that Xiao Ling might dislike the Hong family for his own reasons and secretly make some moves.
Xiao Ling heard this and a playful smile appeared on his lips. He pretended to be mysterious and lowered his voice: "What do you think?"
Seeing Xiao Ling's innocent expression, Han Yue couldn't help but roll her eyes and decided not to continue asking about this matter. She shrugged and said, "Well, even if you didn't do anything, the Hong family has suffered a great disaster this time."
"Haha, isn't this better?" Xiao Ling smiled easily, "Anyway, your two families have never been on good terms. Now that they are no longer causing trouble, your family will definitely be able to live a more comfortable life."
As he spoke, Xiao Ling took out an exquisite jade bottle from his arms and handed it to Han Yue: "This contains the sixth-grade high-level elixir Pozong Dan that I personally refined. I have stayed at your house for so long, so this should be my boarding fee. Your father is now a half-step Dou Zong, so this should be of some help to him."
When Han Yue saw Xiao Ling handing over the jade bottle, she took it without hesitation and put it into her storage ring.
She smiled and said, "Then I'll thank you on behalf of my father. He will definitely be very happy to receive this gift."
Although Han Yue became Xiao Ling's partner not in order to use Xiao Ling to gain benefits for the family, since Xiao Ling took the initiative to express his intention, she naturally would not be pretentious and refuse.
Moreover, as an eighth-grade alchemist, it was no big deal for Xiao Ling to take out a bottle of sixth-grade elixir. Moreover, this Po Zong Dan was no longer useful to Xiao Ling, as he had already broken through to the Dou Zong realm and no longer needed this kind of elixir.
Xiao Ling glanced casually at the yard, where Zi Yan was playing with the little Sky-Swallowing Python. He smiled helplessly, then turned to Han Yue and said, "Yue'er, I'm going to practice first, and I'll come to see you in the evening."
Hearing this, Han Yue couldn't help but think of some charming scenes, and her face flushed. But she still nodded obediently and said softly: "Go, practice is more important."
Xiao Ling kissed Han Yue lightly on the cheek, then turned and went into the room, leaving Han Yue standing there with the blush on her face that took a long time to fade away.
……
As soon as he entered the room, Xiao Ling couldn't wait to take out the storage ring he got from Fei Tian.
He probed his soul perception into the ring. Although the ring was of good quality and had a soul barrier, Fei Tian had been killed by Xiao Ling, so the barrier was naturally much less effective. Even if Fei Tian was still alive, with Xiao Ling's mental strength, breaking the barrier would be a piece of cake.
He took a quick look and found a few bottles of healing pills, some gold coins, and a few scrolls that looked very important in the ring, and the rest were some miscellaneous items.
Xiao Ling casually took out the scrolls and began to check them one by one. These were all high-level skills in Fenglei Pavilion.
The first thing that caught my eye was the Earth-level intermediate fighting skill "Wind and Thunder Soul-breaking Spear", followed by the Earth-level low-level fighting skill "Wind and Thunder Sky-Slashing Blade", and so on...
There is also the secret method "Thunder God's Descent" that Hong Chen used to improve his combat power, as well as the original version of "Three Thousand Thunders". Fei Tian's storage ring has a rich collection, with all kinds of Fenglei Pavilion's originals.
However, although Xiao Ling had refined a trace of wind and thunder power in his body, he was not proficient in this aspect. He did not intend to waste time learning these fighting skills. The moves he had were enough. If he learned more, he would be biting off more than he could chew.
Only those powerful earth-level advanced fighting skills, heaven-level fighting skills, or fighting skills that are extremely suitable for his practice, as well as some special secret methods, can arouse Xiao Ling's interest.
He pursued quality, not quantity. After all, mastering a few top-level fighting skills was much more practical than simply learning a bunch of ordinary skills.
Finally, Xiao Ling's eyes were fixed on the last particularly conspicuous silver scroll.
This scroll is a circle larger than the ordinary one, and it is shining with dazzling silver light. If you look closely, you can find that it is covered with tiny red lines, which are like blood vessels in every corner of the scroll.
Xiao Ling gently suspended the scroll in the air, and then slowly unfolded it. As the scroll was opened, lightning flashed faintly, wandering on the scroll like a silver snake, appearing particularly mysterious.
When his eyes fell on the scroll, several large characters that seemed to be formed by lightning suddenly came into view, dazzling and brilliant.
"The Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Body, the Fenglei Pavilion's treasure, is derived from an ancient fighting skill, and its level is as high as the advanced earth rank!"
"Practicing this method can condense a lightning phantom body, whose power is comparable to that of the practitioner's original body. As long as the original body is still alive, the lightning phantom body will be immortal. Its magical nature is praised by the world as 'comparable to the heavenly level'."
After reading this, Xiao Ling couldn't help but shook his head and laughed secretly in his heart, "This Fei Tian is really good at deceiving people. He clearly said that he didn't have the cultivation method of "Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Body" on him, but the elders of the Fenglei North Pavilion all had fragments of the scroll. As the leader of a pavilion, how could he not have a complete scroll?"
Originally, Xiao Ling planned to control Fei Tian's soul body and let him reveal the method of cultivation in person, but now with this scroll, the effect is naturally better. Through the soul mark on the scroll, he can directly engrave the method of cultivation in his mind, which makes it more convenient to practice. When Xiao Ling finished reading the contents of the scroll carefully, his heart was filled with joy.
The "Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Bodies" described on this scroll is really a treasure. It allows him to condense an avatar with the same strength as himself, and unless the original body dies, this avatar can be resurrected infinitely. This ability is so powerful that it is outrageous.
Just imagine, if you master this skill and fight against monks of the same level, it would be like two against one, and the opponent would definitely be in trouble.
Generally speaking, only those cultivators who have reached the Great Perfection of Heavenly Stage can condense a clone of comparable strength. However, this "Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Bodies" can allow cultivators whose souls are not that high to condense a clone that is not as perfect as that of a cultivator who has reached the Great Perfection of Heavenly Stage, but at least they can enjoy this magical ability in advance.
Xiao Ling closed his eyes, and his soul power immediately surged out and merged into the silver scroll that was flashing with lightning.
He seemed to be in a world of thunder and lightning. Countless thunders fell from the sky like waterfalls, accompanied by deafening roars, bringing an awe-inspiring divine power.
As soon as Xiao Ling's soul appeared, the lightning that was slanting down seemed to be aware of it, and it cut through the sky, bursting out with dazzling light, almost illuminating the entire sky.
Facing the overwhelming thunder and lightning, Xiao Ling frowned slightly. He understood that these were not real thunder and lightning, but some remaining soul power in the scroll.
"Disperse!" He shouted softly, and lightly tapped his fingers. A powerful soul force spread out like a wave.
Wherever it went, the violent lightning immediately dissipated, turning into countless silver spots of light, and finally into nothingness.
Xiao Ling easily dispelled the soul power in the scroll, and his eyes swept across the space. Below, he saw a huge silver lake, with lightning moving like a silver snake on the lake, like a pool where lightning gathered.
His sight scanned every inch of space carefully, and finally stopped at the thunder pool. He lightly tapped, and the powerful soul power swept down, the lightning on the thunder pool quickly dissipated, and the lake became as clear as a mirror.
Xiao Ling stared at the thunder pool that had become clear. After a moment, ripples appeared on the surface of the lake. In the ripples, lines of words that seemed to be condensed from lightning slowly emerged.
Xiao Ling stood high in the sky, taking in all the lightning words at a glance. As expected, this should be the practice method of "Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Bodies". A touch of joy flashed in his eyes. Xiao Ling concentrated and read these words carefully, remembering them deeply in his mind.
After a moment, Xiao Ling slowly opened his half-closed eyes.
He noticed that the scroll in front of him, which had originally shone with brilliant silver light, was still emitting light, but it was dimmer than before. It seemed that the number of times this scroll could be practiced was limited.
Xiao Ling glanced at the scroll again and put it away.
Then, he closed his eyes again and began to carefully review the information he had just memorized in his mind.
However, even though he had memorized all the lightning characters, he found that he could not practice them directly.
In order to protect the Fenglei Pavilion's treasure from being leaked, all of the cultivation methods are engraved in secret code.
Without the special key, even if an outsider stole the scroll, it would be useless.
Thinking of this, Xiao Ling took out the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, summoned out Fei Tian's soul, and asked him to tell him how to decipher these secret codes.
After cracking the cultivation method of "Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Body", Xiao Ling's mind gradually immersed in this mysterious technique.
This technique is indeed profound and mysterious, and its requirements on the soul are extremely harsh. No wonder there are only a few people who can successfully practice it in Fenglei Pavilion, and this is the reason.
Its demand for soul power almost reached the level of a pharmacist of the same level, that is, it was a whole level higher than the ordinary strong men of the same level. Except for those gifted geniuses, ordinary people could not reach such a realm.
Moreover, even if the soul power reaches the standard, it is not easy to condense a clone. First of all, the practitioner must practice the "Three Thousand Thunders" earth-level body movement to the "Three Thousand Thunders" realm, and only then can there be hope of condensing a clone.
Moreover, even if one successfully condenses an avatar, the avatar is divided into three levels: subtle, advanced, and complete.
These three levels are directly related to the strength of the clone. The ability of the clone at the subtle level is only about one-third of the original body; the ability of the clone at the advanced level is close to two-thirds of the original body; and the clone at the great level is comparable to the original body.
The clone that Fei Tian used before was at the entry-level level, which was probably a realm that he had spent many years of hard practice to reach. This shows that the difficulty of practicing "Three Thousand Thunder Illusionary Bodies" is extraordinary.
Fortunately, Xiao Ling has already practiced "Three Thousand Thunders" to the peak state, and his soul power is also extremely strong. Moreover, with the guidance of Fei Tian, a "senior" who has already mastered "Three Thousand Thunders Illusion Body", Xiao Ling should not encounter too many difficulties in practicing.
Xiao Ling slowly opened his eyes and stood up straight. A dazzling silver light flashed under his feet, and then his eyes tightened, and the whole person shot out like lightning.
As soon as he moved, several afterimages appeared behind him. Xiao Ling stopped and turned back quickly, only to find that those afterimages were slowly disappearing, and they were not as long-lasting as the cultivation techniques said.
"Condensing a clone is indeed not an easy task..." Xiao Ling whispered to himself, frowning slightly, and silently recited the formula in the cultivation method: "Control the form with the mind, and leave the soul in the shadow..."
He repeated it over and over again until he understood something in his heart. Then, he slowly closed his eyes and took a light step forward. With this step, his figure appeared dozens of meters away like lightning, leaving four afterimages along the way.
Xiao Ling knew that the key to condensing the clone was to perfectly integrate the soul power and the afterimage. He took a deep breath, concentrated again, and continued to try.
Of the five afterimages, four quickly dissipated, while the last one dissipated much more slowly. After about forty seconds, the afterimage gradually disappeared. During the dissipation process, Xiao Ling vaguely felt a faint soul fluctuation.
Fei Tian's soul was watching quietly from the side. Although he had lost his physical body, his rich experience was still there.
Seeing that Xiao Ling encountered difficulties when trying to condense the clone, he couldn't help but open his mouth to make a suggestion: "Master, at the moment when the afterimage appears, you must leave a trace of your soul in it, so that you can condense the clone. You can try to focus your soul power on a afterimage instead of distracting it."
Xiao Ling nodded, approving Fei Tian's suggestion. Then, he left the room and found a secluded hilltop to continue practicing.
……
A few days later, deep in the Han family courtyard, inside a room.
Xiao Ling sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
In his soul space, two images of Xiao Ling were sitting face to face, one with a serious expression and the other surrounded by an invisible flame.
The clone wrapped in flames trembled slightly. As the flames continued to burn, a little bit of very faint flames slowly merged into the clone, making its illusory body gradually covered with a layer of invisible flames.
After a while, Xiao Ling slowly opened his eyes. An invisible energy burst out from between his eyebrows, then quickly moved around him, and finally turned into a figure that looked exactly like Xiao Ling.
"After several days of cultivation, the strength of the clone has reached the Douhuang level. It seems that more efforts are needed to reach the subtle realm." Xiao Ling muttered to himself, and he had a deeper understanding of the difficulty of practicing "Three Thousand Thunder Illusion Body".
He was very glad that he had the Fallen Heart Flame to temper his clone, which undoubtedly saved a lot of time in cultivation. Otherwise, it would not be an easy task to achieve such an effect.
(End of this chapter)