327: The ancient ferocious beast, Taotie

He repeated the process, enduring the throbbing pain in his Meridians and the rapid consumption of his spiritual power, gritting his teeth to collect three more strands of the Pure Yang Thunder Gang.

When the fourth strand of Thunder Gang was finally sealed into the Thunder-Containing Gourd, Wang Xiaopang was almost completely drained. He collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, his face as pale as paper, his clothes drenched in sweat.

"No, no, I can't do it anymore. This thing consumes too much spiritual power. One more strand and Fat Master here will be sucked dry..."

He dared not stay long in the valley. He struggled to his feet, stumbled out of Wind and Thunder Valley, found a secluded mountain cave, set up several concealment Formations, and then immediately sat down cross-legged, swallowed a handful of Medicinal Pills, and began to recover with all his might.

Several hours later, once his condition had somewhat recovered, Wang Xiaopang eagerly took out the refining Materials.

He took a deep breath and carefully guided a wisp of the Pure Yang Thunder Gang, preparing to draw the long-desired nine heavens thunder control talisman.

However, this Pure Yang Thunder Gang was far more violent and untamable than he had imagined!

Just as he was fully concentrated, attempting to integrate the Thunder Gang into the Talisman paper— "Boom!!!"

A muffled sound! The Talisman paper couldn't withstand the power and instantly exploded! The violent Thunder Gang, freed from its restraints, raged through the mountain cave like an unbridled wild horse!

Wang Xiaopang bore the brunt of it, getting caught in the explosion!

"Ouch!" He cried out, flung backward, hitting the stone wall heavily, and then bouncing back to the ground.

His once neat Daoist robe was now tattered, his short hair stood on end, smoking, and his originally fair and plump face was scorched black, with only the whites of his eyes and his teeth retaining their original color.

"Pah! Pah! Pah!"

He lay on the ground, coughing violently, spitting out a puff of black smoke, feeling as if his internal organs were churning.

"Cough cough... This thing is harder to deal with than I imagined..."

After resting for a while, Wang Xiaopang grimaced as he got up.

He looked at the messy mountain cave and his scorched hands, but instead of being discouraged, a fiercer fighting spirit ignited in his small eyes!

"Fat Master here refuses to believe it!" He carefully recalled every detail of his failure, summarizing his experiences and lessons learned.

"Is the Talisman paper not strong enough? Or was I too eager in guiding it? Yes, I need to be slow, like coaxing an ancestor..."

He calmed his mind again, cleared the area, and prepared anew.

This time, he was even more cautious, slowing his movements by several times, his Divine Sense highly concentrated, like dancing on a knife's edge, guiding that unruly Thunder Gang bit by bit, outlining profound trajectories on the specially made Talisman paper.

Time passed, and his forehead was once again covered in fine sweat, but his eyes grew brighter.

Finally, as the last stroke fell, the entire Talisman suddenly erupted with a brilliant yet not dazzling purple-gold light! The thunder patterns on the Talisman surface seemed to come alive, slowly flowing, exuding a restrained yet heart-pounding destructive fluctuation!

A powerful Spiritual Pressure emanated from the Talisman! Success!

Wang Xiaopang carefully held the still-warm Spirit Talisman, feeling the terrifying power it contained, a look of extreme excitement and satisfaction on his plump face.

"Hehehe, it's done! It's finally done! The power is even stronger than expected! Hahaha! Fat Master here is truly a Genius!"

With the experience of the first success, Wang Xiaopang's confidence greatly increased, but he didn't get carried away. The previous success had a hint of luck, and any slight oversight could lead to all efforts being in vain.

He sat down cross-legged, not acting immediately, but closed his eyes to concentrate, repeatedly rehearsing every detail of the successful attempt, every flow of spiritual power, in his mind several times.

Only when he felt both his body and mind were adjusted to their optimal state did he slowly open his eyes, which were clear and bright.

"Second one, begin!" He let out a low cry, his expression focused, his movements becoming even more steady.

"Phew, that was close!" Wang Xiaopang wiped away a bead of sweat, looking at the second Spirit Talisman with purple lightning flowing through it, letting out a long sigh.

Striking while the iron was hot, he immediately began refining the third strand of Thunder Gang.

This time, his movements were noticeably more skillful, and his technique was bolder and more exquisite.

When the Talisman was formed, its light was contained, and subtle thunder patterns naturally formed on the Talisman, its quality seemingly surpassing the previous two!

Wang Xiaopang looked at the three nine heavens thunder control talismans, wreathed in purple lightning and exuding astonishing Spiritual Pressure, and his heart bloomed with joy. He carefully put them away close to his body, his plump face filled with intoxication and pride.

His gaze involuntarily turned once again to the depths of Wind and Thunder Valley.

There, thunder roared, electric snakes danced wildly, and destructive Qi permeated the heavens and earth.

But at this moment, in Wang Xiaopang's eyes, it was no longer a terrifying forbidden land, but a treasure mountain containing infinite Treasure Troves!

The joy of his recent successful refining was like a fire, completely igniting the spark of greed deep within his heart.

"Are three enough?"

Wang Xiaopang licked his somewhat dry lips, a shrewd and dangerous glint flickering in his small eyes.

"For such life-saving and enemy-slaying treasures, the more the merrier! What if I encounter a powerful enemy and three aren't enough to deal with them? Wouldn't Fat Master be in a pickle then?"

He no longer hesitated, once again wrapping himself up like a 'glowing zongzi,' his eyes burning as he looked at the center of the Thunder Valley again. In his eyes, the violent thunder there seemed to have transformed into countless powerful Spirit Talismans for the future.

"Treasures, Fat Master is back!"

With that, he took a deep breath and stealthily made his way back towards that destructive thunder domain.

While Wang Xiaopang was tirelessly 'stocking up' outside Wind and Thunder Valley, tens of thousands of miles away, Ling Xi had followed the faint sensation and arrived in a desolate mountain range.

This place seemed unremarkable, with rugged rocks and sparse vegetation, no different from an ordinary wilderness.

However, the ethereal Grand Yin Qi around Ling Xi subtly fluctuated here, faintly resonating with something deep underground.

She stood still in the Void Realm, her clear, cold gaze sweeping over the land below, then closed her eyes. Her vast, ocean-like Emperor's Divine Sense, like an invisible tide, silently permeated deep into the earth.

Rocks, soil layers, underground rivers... all matter was as if nonexistent before her Divine Sense.

Her Divine Sense continued downwards, penetrating a thousand zhang deep, finally touching a tough, invisible barrier.

"A Formation?"

Ling Xi's heart stirred slightly.

This Formation was extremely ancient and profound, but it was already covered with countless tiny cracks. Evidently, its power had diminished to less than one-tenth under the erosion of long years.

It was through these cracks that a faint, yet essentially high-grade, peculiar power emanated.

This power carried an aura of devouring all things and returning everything to the Void Realm!

Ling Xi's delicate brows furrowed slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her clear, cold eyes.

"Why is there such pure devouring Origin Qi here?"

This was definitely not a power that ordinary Cultivators could possess. Her vast Divine Sense condensed like a needle, aimed at a larger crack in the Formation, and suddenly exerted force!

"Buzz!"

The ancient Formation let out a groan of unbearable strain, and the crack was forcibly widened.

Ling Xi's Divine Sense, like the finest tendril, instantly penetrated the Formation barrier and entered the core space it protected.

The next moment, even with Ling Xi's state of mind, the sight her Divine Sense 'saw' caused ripples in her normally unperturbed heart!

Within the Formation was an independently opened space, vast beyond measure.

In the center of the space, lay a colossal body that was difficult to describe with words!

Its form resembled a giant beast, yet it carried a certain ancient and sacred majesty, its entire body covered in scales as dark as the depths of the Universe.

Even though it had long lost all signs of life, the immense pressure naturally emanating from its colossal body was still palpable, filling the entire space and causing one's Divine Soul to tremble!

And the source of that pure devouring power was precisely this giant beast—the Taotie!

The ancient Vicious Beast, Taotie, only found in ancient texts!