Chapter 259: Cultivating Immortals? No, This Is Cthulhu!

‘I can’t get pure Yin qi and Yang qi, but there is something that contains both Yin qi and Yang qi!’

Needless to say, it was naturally the thunderbolt that Lin Yao had always relied on!

Thanks to the Light-Bulb Moment, Lin Yao had a lot of ideas. In order to best utilize this effect, he even lifted the brain domain limiter. This was so that he could sort out his thoughts even if he could not undergo brain development today.

‘Thunder was very special in ancient times. It was not the five elements of heaven and earth. According to the legends, thunderbolts were formed from the confluence of Yin and Yang of heaven and earth and the collision of positive and negative energy. According to these legends, thunderbolts originally contained Yin qi and Yang qi… No, this is the product of the confluence of Yin qi and Yang qi.

‘Furthermore, in ancient times, thunder not only represented the confluence of Yin and Yang of heaven and earth but also contained the meaning of creation and good fortune. When spring thunder suddenly echoed, there was renewal and rejuvenation everywhere. This represented an aspect of creation. Monsters transformed into a different form by going through tribulation of thunder. This is another aspect of creation. The primordial spirits of mortals went through tribulation of thunder to turn into the Yang form. Ghost immortals went through nine rounds of tribulation of thunder to become true immortals. All this shows that thunderbolts contain the power of creation.

‘The Heaven and Earth Furnace is an ancient technique, while thunder was also called heaven punishment in ancient times and is the embodiment of the will of heaven. Could the Heaven and Earth Furnace technique also use thunderbolt to temper the body?’

As the thunderbolt and the Heaven and Earth Furnace were too compatible, Lin Yao even speculated that the Heaven and Earth Furnace used thunderbolt to temper the body.

However, after thinking about it for a while, he shook his head and vetoed this option. The world was vast if the Heaven and Earth Furnace and Heaven and Earth Manifestation techniques existed, so there had to be more than one matter that contained the creation power of Yin and Yang. Heaven and earth encompassed everything. It was too narrow-minded to think that the Heaven and Earth Furnace technique used thunderbolt to temper the body.

However, there was one thing that Lin Yao was certain of. The confluence of Yin and Yang in heaven and earth represented the resurrection of the universe and could be used as fuel to cultivate the Heaven and Earth Furnace!

As he thought about this, his eyes lit up, and he began to experiment without any hesitation.

‘Heaven and Earth Furnace, let’s build a furnace first!’

As his mind jolted, Lin Yao controlled an electric current and made it flow out of the cable, creating a semicircular thunderbolt furnace.

Lin Yao frowned, as the swift characteristic of the thunderbolt had now become a hindrance. It was too difficult to manipulate the flashing thunder and lightning, and the thunderbolt furnace that was formed was crooked and flickered from time to time. It was as if the current was interrupted.

‘This can’t work.’

Lin Yao frowned and the Thunderbolt Mark on his forehead kept flashing. With the help of the Thunderbolt Mark, which contained the power of law, the tamed electric current finally formed the shape of a furnace. After completing this step, Lin Yao did not know what he should do next.

He was really clueless. If it had any other attributes, such as flame or water, after creating the furnace, Lin Yao would temper, burn, or wash himself with it to strengthen his body. However, he was constantly undergoing electric current stimulation. There was no need for him to strengthen the body any further.

Although the thunderbolt furnace appeared around him, it had no effect on him. Obviously, it was useless to simply create a furnace.

‘What should I do next? Will I be practicing the Heaven and Earth Furnace technique when I undergo electric current stimulation?’

Lin Yao was confused. Right now, he could empathize with the higher management of the Heaven and Earth Dojo. They read about the techniques and were delighted to know they were powerful. However, they had no idea which specific steps were needed. They could only explore and experiment. It was really exasperating.

As he frowned and thought hard, a frightened voice spoke beside him.

“Furnace!”

While Lin Yao was building the thunderbolt furnace, many people saw what he was doing. Those who did not know about the Heaven and Earth Furnace noticed that Lin Yao did not scream while he underwent electric current development. Instead, he created a lightning furnace. They were left speechless by what they saw. As for the geniuses with the thunder talents that were undergoing development, they were envious of Lin Yao, who was still in the mood to do this while undergoing development.

However, this was the University of Monster Science and Technology, and there were many well-informed people around. Some of them thought of something after seeing Lin Yao’s furnace, and a familiar voice among them had a particularly strong reaction to it.

“Lin Yao, tell me, who gave you permission to join the Heaven and Earth Dojo?”

“This voice…” Upon turning his head to look, Lin Yao was surprised to see that the senior sister from Ninghai City was actually there. “Senior Sister Jiang Rong, what are you doing here?”

“This is my alma mater. This research institute is the institute where I work. Why can’t I be here… Now is not the time to talk about this. Tell me, who allowed you to practice the Heaven and Earth Furnace technique?”

Senior Sister Jiang Rong looked angry and anxious. Lin Yao’s brain, which had been enlightened by the Bodhi Tree, understood her concern, and his heart felt warm when he saw that she was worried about him. He quickly said, “No one is tempting me. I’m learning this of my own accord.”

“Replace it with another technique now!” Seeing that Lin Yao was not affected by her, she felt even more anxious. “Ah Yao, listen to me. The descriptions of these techniques might be powerful, but no one has managed to practice them. Too many geniuses have suffered from practicing these techniques. My third uncle was a super-genius king back then, but he did not succeed. Once you fail to practice the incomplete technique, you will be finished!”

Senior Sister Jiang Rong’s concern was very reasonable, but Lin Yao would not change technique. He was attracted to the Heaven and Earth Manifestation. This was one of the most powerful techniques in the world. With this technique, he would be able to find a foothold and stand strong when he faced dangers.

In fact, if no loud bang had caused a change in the world, Lin Yao would not have been so radical and he might have practiced step by step.

However, this world was not peaceful. There were gates to strange worlds everywhere, and mysterious lands would constantly appear. More importantly, the fifth spirit energy tide was underway.

The last factor was the main reason Lin Yao made up his mind.

Sometimes Lin Yao thought that if he had not been enlightened, at least he would not have so much on his mind. However, with agility in mind, he realized that he could no longer behave like an ostrich.

‘It has been 50 years since the Spirit Energy Revival. However, the dangers in the last 50 years are not as great as I imagined. It can even be said that the last 50 years have been controlled by strong human countries.’

In the past, the Spirit Energy Revival had little effect on the world, and the change was only taking place right now. This might seem unbelievable, but if one thought carefully about it, what Lin Yao said was true.

‘Technological weapons did not fail due to the Spirit Energy Revival. With the help of technological weapons, neither the awakened geniuses nor the beasts from other worlds could pose a major threat to the human government in the first three Spirit Energy Revivals. Against the threat of nuclear bombs, all beings were equal. The developed technological weapons could overwhelm all monsters, and technological weapons were controlled by the government. With the powerful military force, it was guaranteed that there would be no major disturbances to the social order (especially in large countries). The freaks were the only ones who posed a threat to humans.

‘The fourth spirit energy tide brought the emergence of the kings, and extraordinary power was as strong as technological power. However, nuclear bombs could still threaten a king. At the same time, during the 30 years of Spirit Energy Revivals, the major governments of mankind had come up with various ways to build their own martial artist forces that were loyal to them. They also built space-based weapon stations. Due to the martial artist forces, nuclear bombs, and space-based weapons, some kings who wanted to revolt did not dare to be reckless.

‘This is the fifth spirit energy tide. People who are more powerful than kings could emerge, which also means that supernatural power has overwhelmed the power of science and technology, which implies that powerful individuals and organizations can make their move. Once the kings who want to revolt advance to a higher level—even if there is only a small number of them—the world will be divided.’

If one still could not understand, one could look at it from another perspective. In the world of X-Men, would a few more Firemen, Icemen, or even Wolverines have a great influence?

Not really. It was Magneto and Professor X that could really affect the world. The world that Lin Yao was in was in the same situation. The difference was that the place where China was located had more Professor-X-like existences, and the places in turmoil had more Magneto-like existences.

With the fifth spirit energy tide, mutants who had awakened the power of the phoenix would emerge, and they’d have the power to change the situation in the world.

Powerful martial artists were not necessarily good-natured. Although all the major countries had taken precautions in this regard, mighty powerhouses would naturally be unwilling to abide by the same laws and regulations as ordinary people.

He was in a world where the future was filled with dangers. Besides, the freaks aside, there were also the threats posed by the strange world, as well as hundreds of species and various beasts.

In the past, due to the Skynet, the nuclear bombs, and the space-based weapons, the beasts and the army of the strange world had not been considered serious threats. However, if people who were stronger than kings could enter the Blue Planet, there would be a fatal crisis.

Knowing this, Elder Wei was not the least bit happy when the fifth tide arrived, and the concentration of spirit energy increased.

Although he said that the country had a plan and the leaders of China would indeed think of various ways to stabilize the world, Lin Yao was not very optimistic. Besides, even if the government’s plan was successful, there would be a disaster before that.

Lin Yao, who did not want to leave his destiny in the hands of others, naturally wanted to try to improve himself. Heaven and Earth Manifestation was his way of preparing for this disaster. As long as he learned it, he would not fear anyone of the same rank and he would be confident about fighting beyond his rank.

Of course, it was the Bodhi Tree that gave him the confidence to master it, and this was why he decided to learn it.

Since he had the confidence and he needed to learn it, he would naturally not listen to Senior Sister Jiang Rong.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why won’t you listen to me? Too many people have failed to practice this technique. They were all super-geniuses. They were as confident as you before learning it, but they failed. You aren’t special!”

“No, I am special.”

Lin Yao looked at the Bodhi Tree in his body and thought about the three gifts that it provided him with, as well as the 2.8 billion yuan that was used to build the schools, while he was lost in his thoughts.

‘I am different from others. The bottleneck of practicing the Heaven and Earth Furnace and Heaven and Earth Manifestation is at the king level, not the gold level. By then, my Bodhi Tree would at least have advanced to the king level. With these two advancements, I will have two talents that could enhance my comprehension ability. My original talents will also be strengthened. With these improvements, I can definitely comprehend the Heaven and Earth Manifestation.’

If he did not dare learn powerful techniques even with the Tree of Enlightenment, there was no way he could become a powerhouse.

Senior Sister Jiang Rong felt exhausted upon seeing Lin Yao’s determined look.

She realized that there was no way to persuade Lin Yao. Out of desperation, she called Professor Li to update him about Lin Yao’s situation, hoping that he would persuade Lin Yao.

However, something she had not expected happened. Professor Li, who was on the other end of the phone, looked at Lin Yao with a strange expression on his face. He did not stop him right away. Instead, he asked about something else. “Did you take the initiative to use Heaven-and-Human Oneness during the battle yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“Someone called me just now. Did you have another epiphany in the Heaven and Earth Dojo?”

“Yes.”

“Two consecutive epiphanies in two days… I see. You can go ahead and learn the technique. We won’t stop you.”

“Professor…”

Jiang Rong was anxious when she realized that the professor was not stopping Lin Yao from learning the technique. Before she could finish her words, Professor Li’s solemn voice rang out. “Jiang Rong, Lin Yao is different.”

“No matter how different he is, there might be hitches. Isn’t it safer to learn other combat skills?”

“There is no time!”

As soon as the professor said these words, Jiang Rong understood without further explanation. After all, she was also a genius and she had a high IQ. She could vaguely feel the upcoming turmoil herself.

Not waiting for her to think it through, Professor Li gave his orders from the other end of the phone. “Jiang Rong, I will call your principal later. Take Lin Yao to Room 13 on my behalf.”

After speaking, Professor Li laughed when he saw the irregular thunder and lightning furnace next to Lin Yao. “Next time, you can discuss with me any research related to the thunder ability. I can still provide some valuable insight.”

Lin Yao did not understand what was in Room 13 at first, but as Professor Li continued, his eyes lit up. “Have you also studied the Heaven and Earth Furnace?”

“Of course. I remember telling you that back then, the entire country was involved in researching and developing Project Thunder God. There were countless scientists and medical experts on the team. We have also studied the martial arts of various sects, and the Heaven and Earth Furnace is no exception. We had some results as well.”

“Why weren’t they made public?”

Professor Li did not answer. Instead, he smiled. “You’ll know later.”

While he was talking with Professor Li, Jiang Rong followed Professor Li’s instructions and brought Lin Yao, who had stopped his physical development, to a special room that was heavily enclosed.

Upon entering the room, Lin Yao saw a hollow spherical steel frame in the center of the room.

Just seeing the spherical steel frame was enough. Thanks to his Agile Mind, Lin Yao knew what it was.

‘The thunder and lightning furnace was made with technology. Ah, I am so stupid that I’m limited by the ancient training methods. There is no need for me to control the thunder and lightning to form the furnace by myself. All I need is to turn some conductive steel into a ball and I can supply electricity.’

In fact, technology was more convenient than Lin Yao had thought. When he patted his head in annoyance, Senior Sister Jiang Rong led Lin Yao into the spherical steel frame according to Professor Li’s instructions. Then, a cable was connected to the spherical device. Lin Yao did not even need to send the electricity by himself. He could just sit down and enjoy this.

The spherical device had been set up properly, and an energy shield had been placed outside. Jiang Rong then disappeared out of sight. Soon, her figure appeared in an observation room nearby, and Professor Li’s voice was heard again.

“This is the furnace that we have created. Now, we must be careful. We studied the Heaven and Earth Furnace, and it crossed our minds that thunder and lightning belonged to the power of Yin and Yang, which contained the energy of creation. However, it was useless to simply create a thunder and lightning sphere and place people inside it. Later, we speculated that electromagnetic waves could strengthen the human body and conducted experiments. After our research, we realized that the combination of electromagnetic waves with special frequencies and spirit energy can really stimulate the human body and make it mutate.”

At this point, Professor Li’s voice didn’t sound happy. Instead, it turned solemn. “However, not all mutations are beneficial. The electromagnetic waves of special frequencies have electromagnetic radiation. If we want to strengthen the human body, the intensity of electromagnetic waves will be very strong, and there will be a high amount of radiation. You have heard of wasteland science fiction. There are many humans who have been deformed by radiation. If your mutation is not beneficial…”

Professor Li did not continue his sentence, but Lin Yao already understood what he meant. If the mutation was not beneficial, Lin Yao would be affected by the radiation, and his body would be deformed.

‘This is why this research result has not been made public.’

While Lin Yao was thinking to himself, a layer of the wall in front of him faded and a screen appeared. Then, a large number of photos that could cause one discomfort was displayed on the screen.

In the photos were humanoid monsters with bodies like toads, lumps, and pus all over them, monsters with bent arms and swollen thighs like big trees, and even weird creatures with lots of eyes and tentacles on their bodies… There were all types of distortions and mutations, and the very sight of them was daunting.

However, after thinking for a while, Lin Yao still did not give up.

‘Distortion is not that terrible. I have the advanced Light Healing ability. Even if my body is really deformed, I can heal it. I might not be able to do it now, but I can wait for the Celestial Tree to advance yet again, and my healing ability will be enhanced as well. Plus, I still have the Light Adjustment ability, which will lead to positive changes in my body.’

The distortions during the wasteland era had been hopeless, but this was an extraordinary era, and Lin Yao was willing to give it a try.

Seeing Lin Yao’s steadfast gaze, Professor Li said no more and ordered Jiang Rong to tie Lin Yao to the center of the spherical device.

While she was busy, Lin Yao looked at Professor Li’s figure, which was projected in the observation room. “Professor, did you calculate the probability of success and failure during your research?”

“The most important thing in scientific research is finding the way to success through a large amount of data comparison. Do you think we’d record this or not?”

“Uh… What is the probability of beneficial mutation and harmful mutation after the radiation of high-intensity electromagnetic waves?”

With a sigh, Professor Li said sadly, “For those without thunder talents, the probability of harmful distortion is 99.9%.”

Lin Yao, who was tied to the chair, suddenly trembled upon hearing that the probability of harmful distortion was 99.9%. He soon remembered something and asked nervously, “What about people who have thunder talents?”

“The possibility of harmful distortion for people with thunder talents is 95%, and the possibility of beneficial mutation is 5%.”

Lin Yao was left completely speechless when he heard his words. A probability of one in twenty was really scary.

“Now, are you still going to go ahead with it?”

“Professor, given that there is a 95% chance of harmful distortion, it is impossible to succeed!”

It was Jiang Rong who screamed. She did not want Lin Yao to continue when there was such a shocking failure rate. Unfortunately, Professor Li ignored her. He simply stared at Lin Yao and waited for him to make a decision.

Without hesitating much, Lin Yao nodded. “Let’s get started.”

Professor Li smiled at his determination. “Very well. We must always be this courageous. Don’t be afraid. We will be careful at first. That way, even if there is harmful distortion, it will not be serious, and we will have a way to cure it.”

Jiang Rong breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his words. Lin Yao also smiled.

“Were you scaring me just now?”

“No, it was a test. Harmful distortions are mutations that occur at the genetic level. The cost of curing such a distortion is very high, and not everyone has the privilege to do it.”

After he exchanged a few more words with Lin Yao, Professor Li’s expression became serious. Upon confirming that Lin Yao was ready, he remotely controlled the device in the room and started the experiment of the scientific version of the Heaven and Earth Furnace.

Buzz…

As the power switch was turned on, an electric current flowed into the spherical magnetic field ring that enveloped Lin Yao, making the magnetic field ring light up. Then, the electromagnetic-wave-emitting device that was tied to the floor began to buzz.

When he heard the buzzing sound, Lin Yao also felt a special wave sweeping over him.

Then, Lin Yao’s scalp turned numb, and he felt as if all the cells in his body were alive.

This was not merely a way of describing his feelings. He really felt that the cells in his body had thoughts. One by one, they seemed like chicks waiting to be fed, longing for energy to strengthen themselves.

This crazy feeling of hunger was not only felt in his stomach. It spread all over his body. Fortunately, there was heaven and earth energy around him, so Lin Yao’s cells did not swallow each other and absorbed energy.

However, the heaven and earth energy around him was limited and was quickly swallowed by Lin Yao’s 60 trillion cells, which were all active. Fortunately, autophagy did not occur. Lin Yao’s cells had also stored a large amount of light energy, and these cells were consuming this gentle energy.

At the same time, what Lin Yao did was not a mere experiment. It was technology with some results.

When all the energy in the surrounding heaven and earth had been consumed, an electric current flowed into his body from the electrode patch on his body. This electric current was much stronger than the electric current that had been used to strengthen Lin Yao’s physical body. Before it was able to cause any damage to Lin Yao’s body, the cells waiting to be fed swallowed it frantically.

In a very short time, that huge current was swallowed up.

There was current constantly flowing into his body, and his body also got stronger at an alarming speed due to the 60 trillion cells that were crazily absorbing energy.

However, he was not the least bit happy. Instead, he trembled out of fear.

‘Damn it! This is definitely not a Taoist Heaven and Earth Furnace. It stimulates the activation of body cells so that they have the desire to devour energy. This is Cthulhu’s enhanced style!’

[0] Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft, first introduced in his short story “The Call of Cthulhu”