Chapter 858: Chapter 858
Zhang Shanlian, though not acquainted with Ding Fan for long, could tell that once the latter had made up his mind, it would be extremely difficult to persuade him to turn back.
Now, all Zhang Shanlian could do was wait here, ready to rescue Ding Fan at the fastest speed possible should anything happen to him.
In Zhang Shanlian's view, sometimes young people need to suffer a bit to learn what self-awareness means.
Boom... Just at this moment, a thunderous blast struck down from the sky, hitting hard on the other side of the hillside.
The villagers of Hundred Flowers Village were all aghast; they knew that the Mysterious Thunder had become a natural disaster for their village, already claiming five lives, not to mention the dozens more seriously injured by it.
Hua Baili watched the Mysterious Thunder striking down from the sky with a solemn expression and glanced at Zhang Shanlian beside him.
Zhang Shanlian clearly understood that the other was inquiring about Ding Fan's situation, so he extended the Jade Plate in his hand for Hua Baili to see.
"He is unharmed; the Mysterious Thunder did nothing to him," Zhang Shanlian said.
The Jade Pendant in Zhang Shanlian's hand matched the one Ding Fan held; should Ding Fan get injured, Zhang Shanlian's Jade Pendant would sense it, turning from its white purity to a deep red.
And presently, the color of the Jade Pendant in Zhang Shanlian's hand was still pure white, meaning Ding Fan was indeed uninjured.
Boom, boom... Just at that moment, two more Mysterious Thunders struck down directly.
The thunder of these strikes was immensely formidable, causing everyone present to feel a sharp pain in their eardrums, as the ground began to tremble.
Zhang Shanlian looked at the Jade Pendant in his hand; its color remained pure white.
"Not good, look at the thunderclouds in the sky!" someone shouted at this moment.
People turned to look and saw above the hillside, a massive thundercloud flashing with lightning had accumulated. Orıginal content can be found at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽
The cloud covered a vast expanse of the sky, with the lightning crackling nonstop, and under the thundercloud, fierce winds whipped about, creating an apocalyptic scene.
Hua Baili now had a look of horror in his eyes. "Honored guest, such a thundercloud will surely unleash devastating lightning. I have never seen thunder with such ferocity. Please, call your friend back quickly."
Zhang Shanlian's brow was also tightly furrowed; the thundercloud was causing celestial phenomena, signifying that its power would undoubtedly be immense.
If such a Thunderbolt were to strike, what chance would Ding Fan survive?
"Ding Fan, come back quickly." Zhang Shanlian hurriedly transmitted his words through the Jade Pendant.
The situation was perilous, and it was no longer possible for Zhang Shanlian to save Ding Fan; if he attempted to go there, he wouldn't make it out either.
However, there was no response to the message Zhang Shanlian sent through the Jade Pendant, causing his expression to grow increasingly grave.
"Ding Fan, if you don't come out now, it will be too late..."
Before Zhang Shanlian could finish speaking, from within the laden thunderclouds, a bolt of lightning struck down from the horizon.
The previously dim sky was instantly illuminated by the Mysterious Thunder, the light was so evil and enchanting it made one doubt whether this world was akin to the Asura hell.
The tremendous roar of the Mysterious Thunder made the ground shake violently, and boulders began cascading down the hillside. The villagers of Hundred Flowers Village fainted outright from the overwhelming ferocity of the lightning.
"How is the young friend?" Hua Baili asked Zhang Shanlian with deep concern.
The villagers of Hundred Flowers Village all turned their gazes towards Zhang Shanlian, but by now they had all but given up hope for Ding Fan.
With such overwhelming thunderous roars, such as never been seen before, how could anyone possibly survive amidst such lightning?
Zhang Shanlian looked at the Jade Pendant in his hand, and to his surprise, a faint red blush had spread across its pure white surface.
"He is still alive, but probably has suffered significant injuries..." Zhang Shanlian's expression turned solemn.
"Quickly rescue him, if you wait any longer, he will definitely not survive," a villager spoke up at that moment.
At this time, the thunderclouds in the sky had not dissipated, still crackling with lightning, foreshadowing more terrifying strikes to come.
"I am afraid it is too late to save him," Zhang Shanlian shook his head slightly.
Boom... boom... boom...
At that moment, one lightning bolt after another rained down incessantly from the sky. Those around witnessed this with astonishment.
The villagers of Hundred Flowers Village had never seen such a powerful and continuous onslaught of Thunderbolts. The unrelenting strikes seemed as if they would flatten the entire mountain.
One, two… nine, ten...
A full ten Mysterious Thunders had struck down, and by now, the villagers had stopped considering whether Ding Fan was alive; under such thunder, who in the world could survive...
Zhang Shanlian was now filled with deep regret. Initially, he wanted Ding Fan to learn a tough lesson, but he did not expect the Mysterious Thunder in the sky to strike so relentlessly.
Zhang Shanlian questioned himself. Although he possesses Profound Level cultivation, he too would be unable to insure his own safety amidst such Thunderbolts, let alone save someone else...
After ten Thunderbolts, the thunderclouds above finally began to disperse slowly, and a ray of sunlight shone through.
The crowd at the scene was now very subdued...
"What? How is this possible?" Just when everyone had assumed Ding Fan was certainly dead, Zhang Shanlian looked at the Jade Pendant in his hand, and to his shock, he discovered that it hadn't turned deep red; it was only faintly blushing.
Could it be... Could it be...
Zhang Shanlian was temporarily unable to believe as he looked towards the mountain peak.
"What's wrong?" Hua Baili asked beside him.
"He... He didn't die!" Zhang Shanlian said.
How is that possible! Hua Baili, out of surprise, also widened his eyes. Just how formidable was that thunderbolt, how could anyone possibly survive under such thunderbolts?
Hundred Flowers Village, in order to clear that giant stone, even Heavenly Level Martial Artists fell under those thunderbolts, how could Ding Fan possibly manage it?
Hua Baili looked up at the sky, by now the thunderclouds had completely dissipated. You should know, over these years, as long as someone approached that giant stone, Mysterious Thunder would descend from the sky.
And now, the sky did not show the slightest intention of dropping Mysterious Thunder...
Could it be? Could it be Ding Fan really helped the people in the village clear away that Mysterious Thunder.
"Village Chief, let's go up and take a look..." Some villagers said at this time.
The Village Chief pondered for a moment and then he slightly shook his head. He didn't know the situation on the mountain peak yet; if people were rashly sent up, they'd probably be of no help, and might even disrupt Ding Fan.
Zhang Shanlian tried to contact Ding Fan using the Jade Pendant, but no matter how he tried to connect, there was no response from Ding Fan's side.
At the foot of the mountain, everyone anxiously waited for about ten or more minutes before a figure reappeared on the mountainside.
Zhang Shanlian was the first to recognize Ding Fan.
The people of Hundred Flowers Village looked and indeed, who else could it be on the mountain but Ding Fan?
Yet, after such a thunderbolt assault, Ding Fan was still safe and sound, which really shocked everyone.
"How is that possible, how is that possible!"
At this time, Hua Baili also wore a face of disbelief, he also found it hard to comprehend, how Ding Fan survived under that thunderbolt.
By now, Ding Fan had already run down from the hillside.
When Ding Fan reached the crowd, Zhang Shanlian checked his condition. Aside from a few minor injuries, there was nothing else wrong with him.
What Zhang Shanlian found somewhat incomprehensible was that at this moment, Ding Fan felt different from before, the feeling was indescribable, but Zhang Shanlian could feel that Ding Fan seemed to have been reborn.
"That giant stone on the mountain has already been taken by me." Ding Fan said to Hua Baili as casually as if chatting about the weather.
Although Hua Baili had already guessed this, hearing it from Ding Fan himself was still hard to believe.
"Young friend, you are the benefactor of our Hundred Flowers Village..." Hua Baili genuinely said.
That giant stone caused great harm to Hundred Flowers Village, whenever people approached that stone, Mysterious Thunder would descend from the sky. Aside from this, every once in a while, Mysterious Thunder would suddenly drop from the sky without warning.
There were quite a few children in Hundred Flowers Village who would mistakenly wander onto the hillside and get injured by the thunderbolts.
Quite a number of people in Hundred Flowers Village had suffered from the Mysterious Thunder. Now, Ding Fan had taken it away, which undoubtedly meant helping the people of Hundred Flowers Village with a huge favor.
"This giant stone is of great use to me, and frankly, it's also my fortune. Gratitude is really not necessary," Ding Fan honestly said.
That Thunderstone is a priceless treasure, the ore can greatly expand the meridians inside a Cultivator's body, simply put, it can rapidly improve a Cultivator's cultivation.
Just as Ding Fan said, being able to obtain such a treasure was definitely his fortune, and helping Hundred Flowers Village was simply something done along the way.
Although that was the case, the villagers of Hundred Flowers Village didn't see it that way. If it wasn't for Ding Fan, they would still be threatened by those thunderbolts, so Hua Baili arranged for the people to prepare dishes, insisting they must properly thank Ding Fan.
The villagers were enthusiastic, and Ding Fan felt it wouldn't be right to refuse their kindness, so surrounded by the people, he and Zhang Shanlian went back to the grand hall in the village.
"How did you avoid those thunderbolts?" On the way back, Zhang Shanlian finally asked his question.
You see, with thunderbolts like the ones before, not to mention others, even a Profound Level expert like himself, Zhang Shanlian, would not have been able to avoid them, yet Ding Fan only suffered some minor injuries.
Ding Fan merely smiled lightly and did not answer.
Seeing Ding Fan's reaction, Zhang Shanlian knew that the other party did not wish to answer. However, he didn't mind; after all, every Martial Artist had their Trump Cards and specialty Martial Skills, which are indeed not easy to share with others casually.
Why was Ding Fan completely unharmed by those thunderbolts?
That was because as soon as Ding Fan reached the hillside, he set up a Lightning Drawing Formation from quite a distance away.
The so-called Lightning Drawing Formation involves directing the striking thunderbolts to one side, or sharing a large part of the striking thunderbolts' Power.
This Lightning Drawing Formation is quite commonly used in the Cultivation World. The most common use is during the Tribulation stage, helping to attract the power of heavenly tribulation.
Thus, although the subsequent thunderbolts hit with seemingly terrifying force, the true brunt Ding Fan had to endure was not much.
And it was because of the Lightning Drawing Formation that Ding Fan only suffered some minor injuries.
If it wasn't for that Lightning Drawing Formation, with Ding Fan's cultivation, he wouldn't have been able to survive under those thunderbolts.
This also owed to Ding Fan's rich experience in Array Refining from his previous life...