Only now did Ye Tian truly realize how powerful the Chaos Thunder Strike was. At the same time, he understood just how difficult it would be to practice—even at his current Three Vein Power Realm, he didn't meet the basic requirements.
The golden script in his mind, though brief, was perfectly clear. The Chaos Thunder Strike could be considered a Cultivation Technique that surpassed the Celestial Tier, and its power was unimaginably vast.
The Chaos Thunder Strike had a total of nine forms, and each form could produce many variations depending on one's comprehension and mastery of the Elements.
To completely master all nine forms, one had to fully master the Nine Great Elements—a feat that was fundamentally impossible. Even the great War Dragon Divine Venerable had failed to cultivate the Chaos Thunder Strike to the Perfect Realm.
Otherwise, he would never have fallen. This just went to show how difficult the Chaos Thunder Strike was to cultivate.
The first five forms were similar in power, but they could be fused together, which was the source of the Chaos Thunder Strike's immense might.
The First Form was named Gold Slash, the Second Form was Wood Slash, the Third was Water Slash, the Fourth was Fire Slash, and the Fifth was Earth Slash.
These were Elemental Attacks used after mastering the five basic Elements. The Five Elements both supported and countered each other, but when in a supportive cycle, two Elements could be fused. When two Martial Skills were merged in this way, their power would be three times greater than the original.
If three Elements could be fused, the Attack Power of any of the corresponding Martial Skills would be stacked. Naturally, if all five Elements were fused, the resulting power would be even more unimaginable.
Beyond the five basic Elements, there were also rare Elements. The Attack Power of any rare Element was greater than that of a basic Element, but mastering them was incredibly difficult.
The rare Elements were the Wind Element, Thunder Element, Light Element, and Dark Element. If one could master and fuse all Nine Great Elements, the single most powerful attack would be the Chaos Thunder Strike itself.
This single strike could shatter the heavens and sunder the earth, capable of obliterating an entire continent without a trace. Of course, to even attempt such a strike, one's power would have to break through to the Nine Veins Realm.
Ye Tian was completely in awe of this terrifying Martial Skill. 'With a goal comes hope.' He knew it would take countless years before he could unleash the final Chaos Thunder Strike, but he believed that one day, he would succeed.
Slowly, Ye Tian reined in his thoughts. Practicing the Chaos Thunder Strike was like any other Martial Skill: he had to cultivate the First Form to the Perfect Realm before he could begin practicing the Second Form.
The only exception was if he completely mastered the Element required for the Second Form, which was practically impossible. For now, Ye Tian had to focus on practicing the Gold Slash.
Gold Slash, as its name suggested, required a thorough mastery of the Gold Element. When executing the Martial Skill, one had to be able to attack the opponent with the Gold Element, which was somewhat difficult for Ye Tian at his current level.
The golden script in his mind stated, "Each of the Nine Great Elements has a corresponding Elemental Pearl. These Elemental Pearls contain immense Elemental Power. If you have already mastered an Element, you only need to absorb the Energy within its Elemental Pearl to successfully learn that form."
In other words, if Ye Tian wanted to master the Chaos Thunder Strike, he had to find every type of Elemental Pearl and absorb it after mastering its corresponding Elemental Attribute.
This was an utterly impossible task. Ye Tian had never even heard of these so-called Elemental Pearls, let alone absorbing one.
Although he currently possessed the potent Power of the Thunder Element, if he tried to absorb a Thunder Elemental Pearl now, he would most likely be obliterated by its immense power.
'Haste makes waste.' For now, he had to master the Gold Element as quickly as possible. As for finding a Gold Elemental Pearl, he would have to rely on luck. However, Ye Tian believed that if he cultivated Gold Slash to the Perfect Realm, the later forms would be much easier.
Moreover, once he learned this slash, his power and Attack Power would certainly rise to a frightening level. While he still wouldn't be strong enough to kill Five Vein Powerhouses, he should at least be able to defend himself against experts at the Four Vein Realm.
However, if he were to use the War Dragon Heavenly Arm, Ye Tian believed he could even put up a fight against a Five Vein Powerhouse. Of course, killing one would be impossible; the gap in their power was simply too vast.
After calming his mind, Ye Tian began to carefully consider how to practice the First Form of the Chaos Thunder Strike. When he thought of the Gold Element, the Golden Bull Demon's Magic Crystal immediately came to mind.
"Snake King, do you have the Golden Bull Demon's Magic Crystal? I want to absorb the Gold Elemental Energy inside it," Ye Tian called out to the Snake King at the mouth of the cave.
Upon hearing Ye Tian call, the Snake King instantly appeared before him. "Sir, I do have the Golden Bull Demon's Magic Crystal. I'll give it to you now, but you cannot directly absorb the Gold Elemental Energy from it yet."
"I can't absorb it? Why not? Is it because my Power Level is too low?" Ye Tian asked the Snake King.
"It's not just a matter of your power," the Snake King explained. "You have to understand, the Gold Element has an all-penetrating quality. The Gold Elemental Energy within the Golden Bull Demon's Magic Crystal is exceptionally potent. If you try to absorb it now, you will certainly be harmed by it."
"Then what should I do? Is there any other way to absorb it?" Ye Tian asked urgently.
"It's actually quite simple," the Snake King told Ye Tian. "You can start by absorbing the Magic Crystals from some weaker Gold-Element Demon Beasts. Once you can fully control the Gold Elemental Energy within your body, you can then move on to absorbing the energy from the Golden Bull Demon's Magic Crystal."
"Oh, so that's how it works," Ye Tian said. "But I don't have any Magic Crystals from Low-Tier Gold-Element Demon Beasts right now. Snake King, do you happen to know where such Demon Beasts might be found?"
"Rest assured, Sir. Leave the matter of the Gold-Element Demon Beasts to me. You need only wait for my return. It is my duty to serve you," the Snake King said with great earnestness.
Ye Tian started to say something but stopped himself. With the Snake King's help, he believed that even without a Gold Elemental Pearl, he could still cultivate the First Form, Gold Slash, to a very high level.
After he spoke, the Snake King left the cave. Ye Tian, meanwhile, began mentally rehearsing the practice method for Gold Slash. It was the first time he had ever encountered a Martial Skill that required Elemental Power, so practicing it was extremely difficult.
As he mentally rehearsed Gold Slash, the Gold Element within Ye Tian's body began to thrum faintly. It was a weak sensation, but he could definitely feel it, which made him even more desperate to absorb the Magic Crystals from Gold-Element Demon Beasts.
「Three days later.」 The Snake King appeared at the mouth of the cave, a satisfied smile on his face. He walked right up to Ye Tian but, seeing he was still cultivating with his eyes closed, did not disturb him.
Another three days passed before Ye Tian finally opened his eyes. He still felt like he hadn't even begun to grasp the method for practicing Gold Slash. However, he was certain of one thing: to practice Gold Slash, he first had to absorb Gold Elemental Energy.
Only when the Gold Element within his body was strong enough could he truly rehearse the technique in his mind. As he opened his eyes and saw the Snake King already standing before him, he felt a surge of gratitude…