Before Xiao Yan stood a world of thunder and lightning, countless bolts cascading down from the void above like a waterfall, each crashing with thunderous roars and radiating a dense aura of divine thunderous power. As Xiao Yan's soul energy first manifested within this realm of lightning, the numerous slanting bolts seemed to sense his presence, crackling with a sudden sound, then erupting into brilliant light that nearly obscured the entire sky. Faced with the overwhelming surge of lightning rushing toward him, Xiao Yan furrowed his brows, knowing these were not true lightning, but rather residual soul energies preserved within the scroll. "Disperse!" With a gentle tap of his finger into the air, a powerful surge of soul energy rippled outward like ripples on water, flowing continuously from the point of contact. As this soul energy passed, the surging lightning instantly collapsed, dissolving into countless silver sparks, which then gradually faded into nothingness. With one finger breaking through the soul power left within the scroll, Xiao Yan's gaze slowly swept across the space. Everywhere he looked, the glaring silver dominated. Below lay an immense silver lake, upon which lightning surged like silver serpents, forming the appearance of a thunder pool. Beyond this lake, the space contained nothing else. As for the so-called Three Thousand Thunder Phantoms, there was not a single clue linking them to this scene. As his eyes scanned the space, inch by inch, finally settling on the lake below, Xiao Yan furrowed his brows, paused thoughtfully, and then lightly touched the lake once more. A powerful surge of soul energy poured forth, sweeping across the entire lake. Immediately, the swirling lightning above rapidly dissipated, and as the light faded, the lake gradually became as clear and mirror-like as still water. Xiao Yan's gaze was firmly fixed upon the gradually clearing thunder pool. After a moment, a subtle ripple stirred gently across the lake's surface, and at the points where the ripples spread, characters formed slowly, as if condensed from streaks of lightning. From the lofty vantage point, Xiao Yan could clearly see these lightning-formed characters. A sense of delight welled up in his eyes. He focused his mind and carefully scanned each character, committing them firmly to memory. The number of such characters was not many—within about ten minutes, Xiao Yan had memorized all of them. Yet, upon mentally arranging and studying them, his brows furrowed once again. According to his judgment, these details were indeed the cultivation techniques of the Three Thousand Thunder Phantoms. However, the sequence appeared utterly disordered, offering no clear pattern or coherence. "Shen Yun holds a high position at Fenglei Pavilion—he shouldn't have presented a fake Douji technique. Yet, here, there's simply no trace of any cultivation method at all. Upon closer inspection, there's even a sense of numerous flaws." Xiao Yan murmured softly. After a moment's pause, he closed his eyes again, slowly organizing the scattered information swirling in his mind. This process continued for nearly an hour. When Xiao Yan opened his eyes once more, the lingering doubt had vanished. Through this prolonged, meticulous study, he had indeed uncovered several issues. The information was genuine—definitely the cultivation method of the Three-Thousand-Thunder-Phantom Body—but incomplete, representing only a partial aspect of the whole. This explained the earlier sense of deficiency he had perceived. "The Three-Thousand-Thunder Phantom Body has been divided into several parts, and the one held by Shen Yun is merely one of them—what a pity," Xiao Yan sighed with a touch of regret. Yet it made sense—after all, as the flagship treasure of the Wind-Thunder Pavilion, it would hardly be entrusted directly to a senior elder. Dividing it and storing the fragments separately was far more secure. "I wonder how many parts remain. If given the chance, I'll surely gather them all. Should I succeed in mastering this Three-Thousand-Thunder Phantom Body, it will undoubtedly become a tremendous asset for me in the future." Xiao Yan took a deep breath, glanced once more at the realm of thunder and lightning, shook his head, and his form gradually faded. A moment later, he was completely gone. … Inside the cave, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the brilliant silver scroll in his hands, and couldn't help but chuckle. Indeed, a high-tier earth-level technique wasn't easy to obtain—yet fortunately, he hadn't come away completely empty-handed. At least he had acquired part of the cultivation method for the Three-Thousand-Thunder-Phantom Body. As he suspected, the rest might be preserved within the senior elders of the Wind-Thunder Pavilion; should the opportunity arise, he might be able to secure them later. With a light laugh, Xiao Yan stored the silver scroll within his Youhai Storage Amulet and then shifted his focus inward. Right now, the most pressing matter was to eliminate the so-called Blood-Thunder Imprint within his body. Otherwise, as Shen Yun had mentioned, once this imprint was active, no matter where he went, it would continuously sense him. Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan quickly entered a state of cultivation, drawing his consciousness deep into his body, scanning each part of his being one inch at a time. Yet as the scanning continued, and eventually came to an end, Xiao Yan was suddenly struck by astonishment—there was not a single anomaly within his body at all. As for that supposed Blood-Thunder Seal, not a trace of it could be found. "It's impossible," Xiao Yan murmured, recalling having seen it enter his body firsthand. Suddenly, an idea struck him. The Lüli Lotus Heart Fire began to circulate slowly through his meridians and then surged forth powerfully, spreading throughout every part of his body. Inside, the flames burned fiercely. After a while, Xiao Yan finally sensed a subtle anomaly, and with a shift in his mind, he instantly materialized at the point where the disturbance originated. That location, though remote, had been uncovered thanks to the thorough search conducted by the Lüli Lotus Heart Fire. At present, along one of the meridians in this place, a faint silver mark, slightly tinged with a deep red, shimmered weakly, appearing and fading in the heat of the flames. "Indeed, quite well hidden. Without the power of the Strange Fire, it would have been truly difficult to locate." Gazing at this crimson-silver mark, Xiao Yan couldn't help but chuckle. He sensed a peculiar energy within the mark—one he was familiar with. Back when he was cultivating the Three Thousand Thunder Strikes, he had absorbed a similar wind-and-thunder energy from the roaring gusts and thunderclaps. This energy was stronger and more potent than ordinary aura. If a common person were marked with it, they would naturally hesitate to forcibly remove it, as the unleashed wind-and-thunder energy would inflict significant internal damage. However, while the wind-and-thunder energy was troublesome, the power of the Strange Fire was even more so—more entwined and elusive! With a mere mental effort, a cluster of emerald flames surged forth, swiftly enveloping the mark and the surrounding meridians. The intense heat then spread out, filling the area. Since the Luo Li Lian Xin fire had already been completely refined by Xiao Yan, this high temperature not only did not harm it but instead brought a warm, soothing sensation throughout his meridians. In contrast, the Blood Thunder imprint, however, began to distort under the intense heat, and gradually, as the heat seeped through, threads of blood-energy faded into nothingness. "This Blood Thunder imprint indeed possesses a certain strangeness—even the unusual fire takes such a long time to eliminate it. Still, in the end, it seems my own strength is still lacking. I should expedite my progression in rank. Perhaps it's time I took a dose of the Huang Ji Dan after all..." gazing at the imprint slowly fading within the unusual fire, Xiao Yan murmured to himself. The Huangji Dan is a high-level pill beneficial only to powerful Dou Huang cultivators. When consumed, Dou Huang cultivators have a chance to gain one or even two stars in strength. However, each cultivator can only take one pill, after which the pill becomes ineffective. Fortunately, until now, Xiao Yan had never used it. But now, circumstances may compel him to rely on it. "Once I resolve the Blood Thunder Seal, I'll move to a safer location, take the pill to enhance my strength, and swiftly advance to Dou Zong level. With Dou Huang strength, traveling throughout the Zhongzhou region simply isn't sufficient!" Resolving this in his mind, Xiao Yan quickly focused his spirit, channeling the Qi of the Strange Fire to rapidly dissolve the Blood Thunder Seal... This process lasted nearly two hours. Eventually, under the intense heat of the Strange Fire, the Blood Thunder Seal transformed into a blood-colored mist, and then evaporated into nothingness. When the blood-thunder seal finally vanished, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, exhaled in relief, and said, "Finally settled... Now, it's time to move and leave!" Standing up from the ground, he made a few adjustments, stored the Earth Spirit Puppet in his storage relic, and then hurried toward the entrance. Just as he was about to lift the massive stone blocking the entrance, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from outside, causing the mountain cave to tremble violently. "Xiao Yan! Get out of there!" A furious roar, like thunder, boomed across the mountain range. "Shen Yun?" He actually came all the way over here...” Hearing the roar coming from outside, Xiao Yan’s face instantly grew grim. He hadn’t expected the old man to be so furious with him—just in such a short time, he’d come all the way to track him down. If Shen Yun had come, then Hong Tianxiao must have too. Facing two Douzong-level masters, if he didn’t pull out his true strength, he’d surely have a hard time making it through the day. Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan’s eyes flashed with determination. These two old men were pressing him relentlessly. When a rabbit is frightened, it bites back—let alone Xiao Yan, a fierce wolf with sharp teeth. Hearing that familiar laugh, Xiao Yan gasped in surprise, his eyes brimming with难以掩饰的 delight.