"What do you need right now?"

Heyu pondered for a moment and asked.

From Luo Qingyi's perspective, Heyu's field of vision extended only a few hundred meters around her, meaning his influence was also limited to that range.

Clearly, Heyu couldn't personally step in to eliminate those Half-Demons.

Nor could he allow Luo Qingyi to run to the Half-Demon gathering place. What if he lost sight of her and she died?

At that point, he might not even be able to see this world anymore.

So Heyu decided to leave the choice to Luo Qingyi and the others.

Only they knew what they lacked.

Luo Qingyi heard Heyu's words and turned to look at her master.

"Senior Shrouding the Heavens is asking what we need."

Only after speaking did Luo Qingyi realize the slip-up, inadvertently giving the senior an extraordinary title.

She had been thinking about explaining the matter of covering the sky with one hand, and in the moment, she didn't react.

Would the senior blame her?

Luo Qingyi was a bit worried, but her words instantly excited those around her.

That senior was willing to help them!

This was a tremendous blessing. Even if that senior's strength wasn't that impressive, being able to destroy that Claw Limb meant his power couldn't be underestimated.

Someone had tried during their earlier debate, and only Fairy Bai Ling could cut through the Claw Limb.

Bai Ling's expression grew more solemn, her face full of struggle.

To gain something, one must pay something. The more you gain, the more you pay. This is an unchanging law in the Cultivation Realm.

If they asked that senior to take action personally, the cost would certainly be high.

Earlier, she had tried to cut through the Claw Limb and succeeded, but her sword, the high-grade magic tool Frost-Edge Sword, had shattered internally.

From that moment, she knew Luo Qingyi had encountered a true powerhouse.

Not just any powerhouse!

She now had to consider how to protect Luo Qingyi while asking for as little as possible.

After thinking it over, Bai Ling knelt on one knee, clasped her hands respectfully, and said: "Please, Senior Shrouding the Heavens, grant me Thunder Spirit Stones to power the Sect-Protection Grand Array."

This was the safest and least costly method she could think of.

Without needing the senior to take action, they just needed to maintain the operation of the Sect-Protection Grand Array.

The Great Wildlands were barren. Although they were surrounded by Half-Demons, as long as the Claw Limb remained, they could hold out for decades, or even a century if they were frugal.

The Half-Demons were numerous and consumed resources at an alarming rate, so they would certainly collapse before them.

Past battles had also proven that the Half-Demons couldn't breach the Sect-Protection Formation. They just needed to maintain the formation and continue to wear down the Half-Demons.

In fact, if it weren't for the enormous daily consumption of the Sect-Protection Grand Array after activation, she wouldn't have risked letting Luo Qingyi escape.

That was a Sect-Protection Grand Array that had even drained the Thunder Spirit Vein of Qingyuan Mountain, the strongest formation she brought from the Middle Lands, the Five-Thunder Annihilation Array!

Outside the glass case, Heyu was stunned by Bai Ling's request.

Thunder Spirit Stones? Where was he supposed to find those?

So he directly asked Luo Qingyi, who quickly explained: "Things like Thunder Spirit Stones, Thunder Spirit Veins, or even Thunder-Pulp Heavenly Lightning would work."

Bai Ling clearly regarded Heyu as a powerful thunder cultivator, given Luo Qingyi's previous descriptions of Heyu's profound Thunder Arts.

After hearing this, Heyu had only one thought in his mind. What the heck?

Did he just blow his cover?

This indeed stumped Heyu. He looked around the room, trying to find something related to thunder.

But there was nothing.

Wait, Heyu remembered that things he threw into the Cultivation Realm from outside the glass case seemed to have miraculous effects...

Heyu quickly dismantled an electronic thermometer he bought for nine yuan and ninety cents, retrieving the button cell battery inside.

Electricity counts as thunder, right?

Let's give it a try.

In the Xuanyuan Realm, Bai Ling was extremely nervous, and the surrounding sect masters were all sweating.

After a long time, everyone looked at Luo Qingyi, who simply shook her head.

Bai Ling's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that her request was too high?

Upon reflection, anything related to thunder was several times more valuable. Even the most common Thunder Spirit Stone was extremely rare among all Spirit Stones.

She had been too nervous earlier and forgot about this.

Just as Bai Ling was about to apologize to the senior, the clouds in the sky suddenly parted.

Everyone looked up to see a round metal object descending from the sky, landing directly in the square in front of the grand hall, creating a massive crater with a deafening crash.

It was a round metal disc, its purpose unclear, reflecting a silvery light.

"The senior said, this is a battery."

Luo Qingyi repeated Heyu's words in confusion.

A battery?

A pool of lightning?

Looking at the massive round metal object, everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

They had never seen anything like it.

Bai Ling motioned for everyone to step back and cautiously approached the battery.

The sect masters whispered among themselves:

To read the uncut version, go to [p𝘢wread.com].

"When White Sect Master came to the Great Wildlands, she founded the Azure Thunder Sect with her mastery of Thunder Arts. Her Thunder Arts are formidable."

"Unfortunately, the Great Wildlands have thin Spiritual Qi, and Thunder Arts consume mana excessively, preventing White Sect Master from unleashing her full potential."

Bai Ling ignored the murmurs and placed her hand on the metal.

She slowly extended her spiritual sense, entering the interior through the metal shell.

"Uh..."

Boom!

The previously clear sky was suddenly covered in dark clouds.

Countless buds of lightning surged from Qingyuan Mountain into the sky, enveloping the entire mountain in a glow of lightning, turning the world blindingly white for a moment.

"Poof!"

Bai Ling staggered back, then knelt on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Master!"

Luo Qingyi hurried over to support Bai Ling.

"White Sect Master, what happened?"

The others had only seen a flash of white light and lightning pouring into the sky before everything returned to normal.

"A... a Thunder Pool..."

Bai Ling's eyes trembled, as if she couldn't believe what she had seen.

"What Thunder Pool?"

The surrounding sect masters were puzzled.

Suddenly, someone remembered something and looked at the round metal object with shock, muttering:

"Could it be..."

The Thunder Pool of the Thunder Ridge Sect, one of the righteous Alliance sects in the Middle Lands, was forged with the power of thunder accumulated over millions of years. It opened every thirty years, inviting the prodigies of various sects to undergo body refinement in the Thunder Pool.

Some powerful cultivators could also spend vast resources to exchange for a chance to refine their bodies in the Thunder Pool.

Strengthening the body, absorbing thunderforce, and even reshaping the body had been achieved by some in the Thunder Pool.

Now, a new Thunder Pool lay before them.

Everyone couldn't help but swallow hard.

Bai Ling was more shocked than anyone. Although this Thunder Pool was smaller than the one in the Middle Lands, the thunderforce within was no less potent, perhaps even stronger.

"Wildsand Sect Master, do you want to die?"

Bai Ling suddenly noticed a man trying to approach the battery and immediately shouted angrily: "The thunderforce inside has no gradation. You'll be burned to a crisp!"

Hearing this, the man snapped back to his senses and quickly retreated.

This was the terrifying aspect of this battery: the thunderforce inside was constant, with no gradation.

The Thunder Pool in the Middle Lands tempered the body with varying intensities of thunderforce, but this battery contained only the most powerful thunderforce, and it was always constant.

Attempting to temper the body with this battery would only result in death.

Bai Ling wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked up at the sky, as if trying to see that person through the heavens.

Was such a casual act truly so terrifying? No wonder he dared to call himself Shrouding the Heavens.

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Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan