Chapter Five: Preparation

Three months later, the underground courtyard where Li Yang resided had undergone a remarkable transformation.

At the center of the courtyard stood a colossal alchemical furnace. Beside it was an enormous electrical apparatus, with a dense network of cables as thick as wrists, all connected to a metal platform not far from the furnace.

Li Yang sat cross-legged atop the platform, his entire body crackling with fine blue arcs of electricity, filling the air with a heavy scent of ozone.

In a corner of the courtyard, a makeshift laboratory and control room had been hastily constructed. A dozen or so researchers in white lab coats bustled about ceaselessly.

Inside the control room, a tall and slender young Caucasian man in his twenties stared in shock and disbelief at the wildly fluctuating power data displayed before him.

“Brown, how’s it looking?”

At that moment, an elderly man with graying hair and thick black-rimmed glasses entered the room. He glanced at the young man in front of the instruments and quietly inquired.

“Oh... my God, I honestly don’t know how to describe it. It’s truly astonishing, Dr. Yorkson. His Majesty’s body resembles a gigantic energy battery. His demand for electricity is simply staggering.”

“What’s more, this demand increases daily. The amount of electricity he absorbs each day is nearly equivalent to a typical power plant’s entire daily output. It won’t be long before even 150,000 volts won’t satisfy his needs.”

The young man handed the recorded data to Dr. Yorkson, his face full of amazement.

Though he had been working in this control room for over two months, Li Yang’s existence still seemed utterly unbelievable to him.

With the rise of scientific thought, these scientists had gradually learned to explain the world through science. Though not outright atheists, they were close to it. Yet Li Yang’s arrival shattered their understanding of the world.

He could not imagine that such a super-being, far beyond his imagination, could exist.

“That’s not surprising. His Majesty’s life magnetic field has transcended biological boundaries. If an ordinary life form’s magnetic field measures as one, His Majesty’s counts in the tens of thousands. At our current scientific level, it is simply impossible to directly measure such an entity surpassing biological limits. He has already gone beyond humanity’s definition of life. Perhaps he truly is a deity.”

Looking out the window at Li Yang, whose body was enveloped in pale blue electric arcs, Dr. Yorkson’s eyes were filled with a complex expression.

Since being transformed by Lucien three months ago, they had been confined here to serve Li Yang exclusively.

Li Yang’s task for them was to study the cellular structure of werewolves and vampires, to uncover their commonalities.

In addition, he gave them data on serums designed to enhance human cells and several samples of extraordinary biological cells to research. The price they paid was their freedom.

Without Li Yang’s permission, they could not leave the courtyard; otherwise, they would face merciless slaughter.

Yorkson was a typical science fanatic, an expert in genetics and chemistry. On one hand, he was exhilarated to encounter such an incredible and mysterious being as Li Yang. On the other, he felt deeply frustrated by his loss of freedom.

Thus, his feelings toward Li Yang were conflicted.

Fortunately, after months of interaction, he realized that Li Yang was not difficult to get along with. As long as they completed the tasks assigned promptly, he was quite approachable. That was perhaps the only good news.

...

“Sizzle... crackle...”

At this moment, Lucien entered the courtyard with two subordinates, their bodies immediately surrounded by fine electric sparks. Though it was not the first time he had witnessed this, every time he saw it, he was amazed anew.

What kind of tremendous power could create such a perfect life form? The longer he spent with Li Yang, the more he marveled at His Majesty’s wonders.

If he had once doubted Li Yang’s divine status, now those doubts had vanished completely.

In his worldview, any life capable of manipulating natural energy was a god.

He also felt grateful for his choice. Over the past three months, he had led his men on multiple sorties, encountering the Dark Walkers several times.

In the past, the Dark Walkers, armed and well-trained, inflicted heavy losses on them in nearly every encounter, forcing them to flee. Even Lucien himself would avoid the silver bullets of the Dark Walkers.

But these recent battles, aided by the three-legged golden toads bestowed by Li Yang, turned the tide. Though they paid a heavy price, they had unprecedentedly repelled the Dark Walkers.

For centuries, the Likans had been routed by the Dark Walkers without exception. Now, they could fend off their sieges. This greatly elevated Li Yang’s prestige among the Likans, almost surpassing Lucien himself.

The Likans believed that with such a divine protector, they would surely defeat the vampires and emerge from the underground sewers.

“Phew... crackle, crackle...”

After a full hour, Li Yang finally emerged from his cultivation, exhaling a breath of turbid air charged with electric light. The surrounding air flickered with dense electric sparks.

“Speak. What is it?”

Only then did Li Yang open his eyes, a blue-purple spiritual rune flashing briefly within them.

“Your Majesty, during this time, I have led the tribe to gather many of the items you required from the city and the black market.”

Seeing the ancient symbol flicker in Li Yang’s eyes, Lucien felt as if struck by lightning, bowing his head respectfully. He gestured to his men to bring the collected items inside.

“Is that so?”

Hearing this, Li Yang’s figure rose into the air. With a wave of his hand, several boxes on the ground sprang open.

“Mu Qingcao, Snake Bone Flower, Earth Spirit Vine, Black Mysterious Stone, Red Pulp Berry...”

“Excellent. It seems you didn’t spare any effort.”

Li Yang nodded in satisfaction as he gazed at the medicinal herbs and spirit minerals inside the boxes. He had not expected Lucien to be so capable. Perhaps the resources of this wild land were indeed abundant; many of these were rare treasures even in the inland regions, and some were essential for refining the Nirvana Golden Pill.

His body was currently damaged, and completely refining the energy of the Six-Winged Golden Scorpion would not be accomplished overnight or even in a few years. Even though he had now found a shortcut to cultivating the “Chaos Heavenly Divine Thunder,” which greatly increased the speed of refining the Scorpion’s energy, it would still take at least three to five years to fully assimilate it.

What Li Yang lacked most now was time. Honestly, his damaged body caused him great discomfort. On one hand, he worried about the safety of the Ren family elders; on the other, the weakness filled him with intense unease. He did not even dare to hatch the Angry Clear Chicken.

In fact, his divinity was already within reach. If he wished, he could hatch the Angry Clear Chicken at any moment.

However, the Angry Clear Chicken was a divine beast of heaven and earth, and hatching it would produce celestial phenomena. Dragon essence and phoenix blood—these were divine treasures of the world. A single dragon essence had already transformed him into his current state. If he recklessly hatched the Angry Clear Chicken in his weakest condition, the resulting phenomena might alarm the ancient beings with dwindling lifespans, leading to yet another brutal conflict.

Furthermore, given Li Yang’s current condition, escaping might be nothing but a luxury.

After the incident with the dragon essence, he realized this world was far more complicated than he had imagined. He had originally thought it was merely a degenerate world on the brink of spiritual energy depletion.

Yet the Ancestors of the Demons and the Ancestors of the Ghost Springs had given him a harsh lesson, making him aware of his naivety. Though this world was approaching the End Era, those ancient monsters—each living for centuries—could not be without reserves.

The current celestial environment was unsuitable for cultivation, but some ancient beings from centuries ago still survived.

Perhaps, as time passed, they would perish in great calamities or from exhausted lifespans, gradually dying out. Without new cultivators reaching their heights and with spiritual energy fading, the world would finally enter its true End Era.

...

To solve his physical weakness, the only way was to first refine the Golden Scorpion’s energy and undergo the Three Calamities’ trial. Once he passed the trial, Li Yang was confident he could handle those ancient beings who dared to threaten him.

For rapid refinement of the Scorpion’s energy, the Nirvana Golden Pill was undoubtedly the best choice.

Hence, during this period, Li Yang had prioritized the collection of auxiliary medicines for the Nirvana Golden Pill through Lucien.

“Hmm... very good. As for the other dozens of medicinal materials, you must also hurry to find them. Also, the voltage of this electrical apparatus is becoming insufficient. Increase its power output by double!”

After packing away the boxes on the ground, Li Yang nodded with satisfaction.

“Your Majesty, rest assured about the medicinal materials. I have dispatched people to the black market, and most have been obtained. They will be delivered soon. However, regarding the electrical apparatus…”

“Currently, the largest power plant in London only generates 230,000 volts…”

Hearing Lucien’s explanation, Li Yang came to realize that this was not the modern era. Science was still in its infancy, and the utilization of electricity had only emerged in recent decades. Demanding a voltage output of 300,000 volts was indeed difficult for Lucien.

“In that case, call Brown over. He is an expert in electrical engineering. Ask if he has any good solutions.”

Li Yang frowned slightly as he looked at the electrical apparatus behind him.

In these three months, using electricity to cultivate had propelled his cultivation to astonishing new heights. The “Chaos Heavenly Divine Thunder” was indeed the core technique of the Purple Dawn Thunder Path, and its power was truly incredible.

It could refine lightning to substitute for spiritual energy, altering one’s constitution. It should be noted that any form of energy radiation is lethal to the human body, and electricity is no exception. Besides radiation-free spiritual energy, humans theoretically cannot absorb any natural energy.

Some special immortal bodies could absorb certain corresponding energies, but only in extremely limited amounts. Even celestial beasts could only absorb alien energies aligned with their own nature and not in large amounts at once, as alien energies were hard to refine.

However, the opening principle of the “Chaos Divine Thunder” was to forge the human body into a special immortal form that, through innate thunder patterns, could perfectly harmonize with electrical energy.

Combined with Li Yang’s refinement of the Six-Winged Golden Scorpion, which endowed him with some resistance to alien energies, and guided by the innate thunder patterns in the “Thunder Technique Manual,” these factors together enabled him to successfully cultivate using electrical energy.