We bear people have power

Guan Bo was unaware that he had been tricked by Xian Tongying again, and continued to wait outside the gate of the Three Star Cave.

After waiting for a long time, there was still no movement. He wanted to go and discuss it with Gongsun Jing and the others, but he was afraid that the first test would be patience, so he simply sat down and started cultivating.

Generally, demons need to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and refine their demon core day and night until they remove the impurities and refine it to perfection before undergoing the heavenly tribulation to break through the core and become an infant.

However, Guan Bo's demon core is a bit special; it has already fused with the robe, and his physical body is no different from that of an ordinary person.

In reality, in his mortal state, he was just a minor cultivator who had just entered the Qi Refining stage, and had not even completed the Foundation Establishment stage.

What frustrated Guan Bo even more was that the Buddhist secret techniques that the Black Bear Spirit passed on to him were completely tailor-made for his innate supernatural powers.

Therefore, drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth only nourishes the rune in his head, but does not greatly help his cultivation.

The demon core has mutated, so it's estimated that the process of transforming the core into an infant is not going to work. Planting things with innate supernatural abilities seems like a slow and gradual process, and we won't see any changes in a short period of time.

For all these reasons, Guan Bo had little motivation to cultivate.

However, he still had another spell he could cultivate, which was the incomplete Five Thunder Orthodox Method he had forced out of Master Liaoyi.

Although it is incomplete, Master Liaoyi managed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage using this material, which shows that the most basic things were not a problem; what was lacking was the method for subsequent cultivation.

Guan Bo then began to cultivate this first Taoist thunder technique according to his memory.

The Five Thunder Orthodox Method practices thunder magic, but it doesn't refer to the chaotic lightning, but rather to the roaring thunder.

Modern people often refer to thunder and lightning as the same thing.

However, in the monks' terminology, "thunder" generally refers to the sound of thunder, while "electricity" refers to the visible current.

Therefore, the Five Thunder Orthodox Method is not about cultivating something that turns a person's head into a hedgehog's head with electricity, but rather about cultivating the sound of thunder that can shake all realms, with lightning being just one of its secondary effects.

The first step in mastering the Five Thunder Orthodox Method is to cultivate one's aura.

Guan Bo inhaled a breath of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, and his tongue and vocal cords produced a series of slight vibrating sounds, as described in the secret manual. These vibrating sounds, combined with the spiritual energy in his mouth, caused a miraculous change.

The originally invisible spiritual energy of heaven and earth also vibrated continuously with Guan Bo's voice.

Some useless energy was dissipated by the sound waves, leaving only the purest breath, which seemed to have a spirit of its own, vibrating along with the incantation.

After eighty-one shocks, until all the clutter was cleared away, Guan Bo also left his mark on this breath.

Then Guan Bo swallowed this breath and let it settle in his dantian.

This process was repeated until Guan Bo had stored up five strands of energy before he temporarily stopped cultivating.

The five auras intertwined and circulated within Guan Bo's body. The slight vibrations made Guan Bo feel a tingling sensation throughout his meridians. If it weren't for the fact that all his meridians had been opened up after his transformation, these five auras would have given him a taste of opening up his Ren and Du meridians.

With the five breaths combined, the first step of cultivating the Five Thunder Orthodox Method was completed.

In the future, cultivation will involve continuously strengthening these five auras, and then using this vibration to strengthen the physical body to complete the foundation building.

As for the true cultivation of thunder magic, specific methods of application can only be learned after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

The ability of Master Liaoyi to perform rituals and open altars can only be considered "magical arts," not the fundamental principles of Taoism.

If one has a profound foundation in Tao and condenses these five auras into something powerful, one can emit pure thunderous sounds to awe the mountain gods and local deities without needing to set up an altar or perform rituals, thus commanding them to serve one's own purposes.

However, the requirements for the pure thunderclap are too high. Master Liaoyi, being a rogue cultivator, can only rely on unorthodox methods to assist him. He had to rely on the power of the local earth gods and mountain gods to unleash that thunderclap, and it didn't have much effect on Baiwa'er.

Guan Bo is different; his talent and aptitude far surpass those of ordinary people. It only took him two days to cultivate these five auras.

"Unfortunately, this Five Thunder Orthodox Technique can only be practiced up to the Foundation Establishment stage." Guan Bo opened his eyes helplessly. The more powerful the divine skill, the more heartbroken he felt, after all, this was only an incomplete version.

As Guan Bo was pondering this, he heard someone say to him, "You've already mastered the superior Taoist techniques, so why are you still here at Fangcun Mountain seeking the Tao?"

Guan Bo turned around and saw an elderly man who looked to be almost eighty years old looking at him.

Remembering what the fairy boy had said before, that there were at least several thousand, if not tens of thousands, who had failed to come to Fangcun Mountain to seek the Dao, Guan Bo realized that this person had the same plan as him.

Guan Bo then explained, "Old man, although I have a rudimentary understanding of cultivation methods, I am a jack of all trades and master of none. If I continue like this, I probably won't achieve anything significant, which is why I came to seek guidance from Patriarch Bodhi."

"Why should those seeking the Way wait outside the door?" the old man asked again.

"Isn't that the fairy boy guarding the gate who said I had to undergo a test and told me to wait here?"

"Oh, what kind of test is it? Tell me," the old man asked curiously.

Guan Bo quickly confirmed that the other party was a seeker of immortality, but could only helplessly say, "I didn't know either, I'm just waiting here."

"But I see you've been waiting in front of the door for two days already."

"Two days is nothing to an immortal who has lived for a lifetime. Maybe this test is just to test my patience. Let me tell you, the tests of the immortal sects are cunning. If I turn around and run away, I might miss the opportunity." Guan Bo saw someone chatting with him, so he decided to chat with the old man.

Then he found that once he started talking, he couldn't stop.

"There's such a saying? Then tell me, what kind of tests do immortal sects test?" the old man pressed.

"There are many tricks involved. Let me tell you, some sects are quite cunning. On the surface, they recruit members, but in reality, they're just lining their pockets. They can sell a single exam spot for an astronomical price. And that's not all; the so-called test requires these people to go to dangerous places to find some rare and precious treasures. If they find them, they're considered to have made a contribution to the sect and are reluctantly accepted as members. If they die there, they're considered to have no chance with the sect and don't even receive any compensation."

"Such a thing is true? Aren't gods all compassionate?" The old man seemed a little shocked.

"Human hearts are unpredictable; even immortals are people who cultivated themselves to become immortals."

"That makes some sense. Are there any other tests?" the old man asked again.

"Of course, there are even more bizarre ones. Immortals love to test people's hearts. They might set up a scenario where your mother and wife fall into the water together, to test who you will save."

"If you say they can swim, we'll give you some more water monsters, but you only have one magic weapon to save people. We'll force you to choose one of them."

"Then after you make your choice, they might say that you are not free from worldly desires and cannot cultivate immortality, or that a cultivator should not care about either of them."

"Isn't this a scam? How could Fangcun Mountain do such a thing?" the old man exclaimed in surprise.

"They're just ripping people off, otherwise why would they keep people at arm's length? Look at that arrogant gatekeeper, he clearly needs to be taught a lesson."

"But if this immortal sect is so deceitful, how does it recruit disciples?"

"Immortals are all talk. If they say someone has the right opportunity and deep fortune, they'll take them into their sect. If someone really has exceptional talent, why bother with any tests? They'll just take them in first, otherwise all the geniuses will be snatched up by others."

Guan Bo is spouting nonsense and talking a load of rubbish.

Fangcun Mountain is a place that wouldn't produce such nonsense. Guan Bo was just sabotaging the entrance exam because of the gatekeeper's attitude. Of course, Guan Bo isn't usually a chatterbox, but for some reason, after mastering the Five Thunder Orthodox Method, he's become particularly talkative. Guan Bo thought to himself: Is this how one cultivates the ability to make words become law?

"By the way, sir, I haven't asked your name yet?" Guan Bo realized after talking for a while that he hadn't even asked the other person's name, which made him feel quite impolite.

The old man stroked his beard and smiled, replying, "My Taoist name is Bodhi."