Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 1176: Can Split the Golden Core

Chapter 1176: Chapter 1176: Can Split the Golden Core

The group had just commented on how decent the weather was, but not twenty minutes later, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and torrential rain poured down.

Everyone was flying close to the ground when Luo Lieyang shouted, "Speed up! Head for those scattered rocks over there!"

Fortunately, everyone present could fly. Even Jing Qingyang, who had achieved Martial Enlightenment, and Chen Junwei, who hadn’t yet started on the Dao, were Innate Experts capable of flight.

The scattered rocks were only three or four leagues away, a distance they could cover in the blink of an eye. Yet when they arrived, the area not far ahead had already erupted into a frenzy of lightning and thunder.

Luo Lieyang drew a massive umbrella with a canopy diameter of four meters and drove it forcefully into the pile of rocks. Then he removed several silver-colored wires, as thick as a pinky finger, from the canopy and tossed them into the distance.

Feng Jun found this odd and couldn’t help but ask, "Are those wires made of silver?"

Kong Ziyi was the one to answer him, "Not silver. They should be fine silver. Fellow Daoist Luo, is this a Lightning Avoiding Umbrella?"

Luo Lieyang glanced at her with surprise but quickly understood when he remembered she was a disciple of Taiqing. He smiled and said, "Indeed, it is a Lightning Avoiding Umbrella. My craftsmanship is crude; I hope you won’t laugh."

The umbrella’s central stem was made of non-conductive material, while the fine silver wires were thrown far away to conduct the electricity.

Should lightning strike the canopy, the energy would be redirected far off, making the area beneath it relatively safe.

However, if the canopy were smaller and couldn’t create enough distance, the area under the umbrella wouldn’t necessarily be safe.

So, really, a four-meter canopy size was not an exaggeration at all.

But Luo Lieyang wasn’t finished yet. He pulled out several wooden boards, saying, "These boards are treated with oil. Stand on them, or the heavy rain and wind could cause lightning to travel through the ground and strike you from below."

As soon as he said this, pea-sized raindrops began pelting down. In an instant, the world was engulfed in a sheet of cascading white water, interspersed with flashes of lightning and deafening thunder. Violent winds howled, making it feel like the apocalypse had arrived.

The four-meter canopy, while sizable, was utterly ineffective against the fierce downpour and gale-force winds. Luckily, everyone present could channel their Qi to protect themselves, so their clothing remained dry.

Kong Ziyi even found the time to inspect the Lightning Avoiding Umbrella. Watching the swaying canopy, she couldn’t help but ask, "The wind’s too strong, Fellow Daoist Luo. Could this umbrella... break under the pressure?"

"It has Wind-Proof Talismans," Luo Lieyang replied dismissively. "You get used to these things. But if a particularly massive bolt of lightning strikes, no amount of preparation will help. Over the past century, six cultivators at the Primordial Soul Stage have been struck dead in the Thunder Plains."

Jing Qingyang, who had thought highly of his Martial Enlightenment achievements, couldn’t help but exclaim, "Six cultivators at the Primordial Soul Stage... Dead? That dangerous?"

"Part of it is the magnitude of the lightning, and part of it is arrogance," Luo Lieyang said nonchalantly. "Thinking the lightning won’t hit you. When a lightning storm comes, just return to a settlement, and nothing will happen. But no, people insist on staying out in the open..."

According to him, the twelve settlements were well-equipped with lightning protection measures. Feng Jun could sense that while the technological level of this realm was subpar, the lightning cultivators’ understanding of electricity was not lacking.

Just their Lightning Avoiding Umbrella alone was quite impressive. And they even knew that rainwater conducts electricity, so laying down wooden boards—oiled ones, no less—was crucial for insulation.

Luo Lieyang went on to say that while the Thunder Plains were dangerous, efforts had been made to create safer conditions for cultivators. Besides the several hundred temporary shelters, building the twelve settlements alone had consumed enormous manpower and resources.

In the end, he sighed and said, "No wonder lightning cultivation is so difficult. If it were other cultivators, who would even come here to the Thunder Plains to cultivate?"

Just as he finished, a blinding bolt of lightning exploded directly in front of them. The dazzling flash made everything white, and for a moment, they could see nothing but stark brightness. The deafening thunder that followed left their ears ringing.

Huang Fu Wuxia let out an involuntary scream and instinctively leaned into Feng Jun’s arms.

Kong Ziyi was no better off. Despite them both being cultivators, many women had a natural fear of thunder, unrelated to whether they cultivated or not.

As the ringing in their ears subsided, Luo Lieyang gave a small grunt and then shouted, "That bolt of lightning is a prime example! It was less than thirty zhang away from us. If you try to withstand it with just your cultivation, it might not kill you, but you’ll certainly shed a layer of skin. If you can shield yourself properly, however, it’s not a big deal."

Feng Jun chuckled and idly asked, "Would a bolt like that kill a late-stage Lightning Cultivator?"

"Even a Qi Refinement Realm Lightning Cultivator might be able to handle it," Luo Lieyang replied with pride. "Lightning Cultivators are tougher than regular cultivators. However... there are plenty of places in the central areas of the Thunder Plains where lightning is strong enough to kill cultivators at the Primordial Soul Stage."

"Oh?" Feng Jun raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Then I suppose you wouldn’t dare venture there without a pressing reason?"

Luo Lieyang shot him a look and chuckled. At that moment, another bolt of lightning struck nearby, no farther than the previous one.

He couldn’t help but raise his voice, exclaiming, "Mountain Master Feng, don’t try to bait me. Unless it’s something absolutely critical, who would go looking for that kind of trouble? Some lightning bolts can even destroy Golden Core Stage cultivators!"

"Destroy Golden Cores?" Feng Jun asked, visibly stunned. "There’s lightning that powerful?"

"According to legend, yes," Luo Lieyang replied casually. "Don’t you know? Golden Core cultivators generally avoid delving deep into the Thunder Plains."

Still reeling, Feng Jun remained silent. Huang Fu Wuxia added, "That’s true. The central areas of the Thunder Plains have many valuable treasures. Twenty years ago, a Golden Core cultivator thought the weather looked decent and entered to search for treasures. But no sooner had he gone in than he came out charred black, saying nothing and immediately fleeing."

Luo Lieyang glanced at her curiously. "You know that story too?"

Huang Fu Wuxia responded with a wry smile, "Of course I do. That Golden Core cultivator had been specially commissioned by Tiantong to find treasures. In the end, he compensated double the deposit and gave no explanation."

At this point, Feng Jun asked, "To charge Yunlei Stones in the Thunder Plains, do you have to go to the central area?"

"No, not necessarily," Luo Lieyang replied with a grin. "Some spots are more prone to lightning strikes. You just place the stones there... but that’s a Lightning Cultivator’s secret, so I won’t tell you the exact locations."

"Fair enough," Feng Jun nodded with a smile, then asked, "When you charge them, do you use lightning... attractors?"

He had intended to say "lightning rods," a term from the Earth Realm, but realized that Yunlei Stones functioned like grounds, paired with lightning rods, to draw strikes. In this context, it was more appropriate to call them "lightning attractors."

Luo Lieyang wasn’t familiar with the term "lightning rod," but after Feng Jun explained, he immediately understood.

"Ah, you mean Lightning Attracting Towers," Luo Lieyang said. "We’ve tried that before, but the unpredictability of the lightning’s power makes it impractical. A single massive bolt could obliterate the entire tower, making it a waste of effort. It’s better to just leave Yunlei Stones exposed to charge."

Feng Jun nodded thoughtfully, somewhat understanding. After all, wasn’t his miraculous encounter also the result of a gargantuan lightning strike that even a lightning rod couldn’t handle?

However, Luo Lieyang gave him a curious look and said, "Mountain Master Feng, you seem to know a lot. You even know about Lightning Attracting Towers... Do you have any relatives who are Lightning Cultivators?"

"None," Feng Jun replied with a laugh. "I’m just curious to know—can the lightning here deal with Nascent Soul Stage Yin Spirits? Does the Thunder Plains have any records in this regard?"

The two women immediately realized his purpose. So that was why Mountain Master Feng had been probing about the Thunder Plains.

"Nascent Soul Stage Yin Spirits... That would be tricky," Luo Lieyang mused. "The Yinsha Sect once produced a Nascent Soul True Immortal who sought to cleanse the Thunder Plains but ended up retreating after a fierce battle with the Crimson Phoenix Sect."

Hearing this, Kong Ziyi remarked, "But that was before the Yinsha Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivator entered the Thunder Plains. It doesn’t prove the Thunder Plains doesn’t have the means."

"You have a point, fellow Daoist," Luo Lieyang nodded before letting out a bitter laugh and spreading his hands. "But come now, that was a Nascent Soul True Immortal. Unless they had ninety-nine percent certainty, do you think they’d casually venture into the Thunder Plains?"

As they spoke, the rain began to lighten, and the distant horizon cleared. Sunshine broke through the clouds.

"No rush, let’s wait a bit more," Luo Lieyang said calmly. "It looks like it’s clearing up now, but you never know what might happen next. In the Thunder Plains, a bit of caution goes a long way."

Sure enough, ten minutes later, the rain stopped completely, but ominous clouds began rolling in from the distance once more.

Luo Lieyang suggested they wait further.

Feng Jun remarked that he had truly been enlightened. "To witness such a spectacle makes the trip to the Thunder Plains worthwhile."

By the time the group finally made their way into a settlement, it was already dark. At night, the lightning in the Thunder Plains lessened slightly—but only just slightly.

The settlement was a simple dome-shaped building, not particularly tall—about ten zhang—but impressively large, with a diameter of roughly two leagues. Inside, it bustled with activity. At a glance, there were four or five thousand cultivators.

The settlement’s overseer was an early-stage Dust Cleansing cultivator. Upon hearing that Luo Lieyang had brought guests, he hurried over with two Qi Refinement practitioners to warmly welcome them.

Seeing that the guests included three Dust Cleansing Stage cultivators, he became even more enthusiastic.

When Luo Lieyang made it clear that one of the guests was Mount Zhige’s Feng Jun, the overseer—a cultivator surnamed Meng—did not hesitate to present three Yunlei Stones as a gift. "A small local specialty; it’s not much, but I hope it will suffice. Mountain Master Feng, your reputation precedes you."

Feng Jun thanked him and accepted the "local specialty," all the while mulling things over—If he was this famous in the Thunder Plains, surely the Yinsha Sect must also have him on its blacklist by now?

The three Yunlei Stones were not just meant for him; each of the three Dust Cleansing cultivators received one. Even Chen Junwei and Jing Qingyang were gifted small trinkets like Lightning Pearls.

At that moment, Kong Ziyi sent a message to Feng Jun through Divine Sense, "Are we planning to use the Thunder Plains to eradicate that remnant soul?"