Mysterious mirror hanging high

Chapter 1026 Heavenly Thunder Never Abandons Me, Granting Me a Dao

"What kind of logic is this?" Jing Yu asked in astonishment.

Then the woman in red continued, "The thoughts of people are ever-changing. You mind-reading fellows often kill people based on a few fleeting thoughts of others, and you probably feel that you have a clear conscience... How laughable!"

Guo Tingshu was taken aback upon hearing this, but simply shook his head: "Senior, I, Guo, have never killed anyone on my own initiative just to find out what others are thinking."

"Hahaha!" The woman in red robes seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. Her gaze was cold, and her words were laced with sarcasm:

"Can you honestly say that you've never preemptively struck because of someone else's malicious intent?"

Unexpectedly, Guo Tingshu's gaze was truly frank, and his tone carried a hint of self-righteousness:

"I, Guo Tingshu, hereby swear an oath to my inner demons: if in this life I ever preemptively harm or indiscriminately kill innocent people simply because I have caught a glimpse of someone's evil intentions, without asking why or waiting for them to act... may I be pierced by ten thousand arrows, struck by five thunderbolts, die and have my soul annihilated, never to be reincarnated again!"

After he finished speaking, the square fell silent.

The flames in the red-robed woman's crimson eyes flickered slightly. She stared intently at Guo Tingshu, as if sensing the inner demons stirred by the oath, or perhaps scrutinizing the most subtle fluctuations in his soul.

After a long while, the sharp, cold light in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a complex and unfathomable expression—surprise, scrutiny, and even a hint of...unbelievable wavering.

"You... how dare you make a vow against your inner demons?" The woman in the red robe parted her lips slightly, but was momentarily speechless.

She had seen too many mind readers who either became obsessed and insane after seeing the ugliness in people's hearts, or who became arrogant and indiscriminately killed because they thought they knew people's hearts.

Such a person, possessing such keen mind-reading ability, yet truly adhering to the bottom line of "judging by actions, not by intentions," and even daring to make such a fierce oath against inner demons... This was the first time she had ever seen such a person in her long years of cultivation.

Jing Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but her palms were already sweating.

He knew Guo Tingshu was stubborn, but he never expected that he would actually dare to make such a solemn vow.

But then I thought about it again, and this was indeed Da Sha Shu's consistent style of doing things—he had nothing to be ashamed of, so why should he be afraid of his inner demons?

The woman in red robes remained silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a cold snort. With a flick of her sleeve, the oppressive aura emanating from her, which had been suffocating everyone, subtly diminished.

“My lord, you see…” Jing Yu was about to speak when she was interrupted by the woman in red.

She asked, "Guo Tingshu, who is your teacher? And who taught you this Yin-Yang Thunder Technique?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Tingshu frankly admitted, "I only have one master in the lower realm, but this thunder technique was not taught to me by my master; I figured it out myself."

The woman in the red robe's eyes flickered, clearly disbelieving. She pointed a finger at Guo Tingshu's brow, then withdrew it after a moment, only then showing genuine surprise:

"A three-aperture nascent soul?"

"He's actually a cultivator who has reached the Nascent Soul stage using the [Law of Yin], [Law of Yang], and [Law of Thunder]!"

"Guo Tingshu, you still claim to have no foundation? How can an ordinary cultivator achieve Nascent Soul status with these three laws without advanced techniques and guidance from a renowned master? Besides, the [Yin-Yang Law] has an extremely high threshold..."

"Wait a minute... If you really had a powerful background, with renowned teachers and abundant cultivation techniques, even if you were dull-witted, you would have already reached the five-aperture Nascent Soul stage. How could you have only reached the three-aperture stage?"

The woman in the red robe clicked her tongue in amazement as she looked at Guo Tingshu as if she were examining a freak.

Unexpectedly, Guo Tingshu said, "My aptitude is inherently poor, and my comprehension is also lacking. It is already a stroke of luck that I was able to achieve the Three Aperture Nascent Soul stage. As for these three laws..."

"I don't think there's any threshold to the Yin-Yang Law. It's very simple for me to comprehend these two laws; I just need to refer to the black and white energies within my body."

"These two streams of black and white energy were present since I was born. I've grown tired of seeing them over the years, but by following their example, I've somehow come to understand the mystery of the balance between yin and yang."

"As for the [Thunder Magic]..."

"I really figured this out myself," Guo Tingshu said in a deep voice.

The woman in red robes narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly and shook her head: "Thunder magic is the most lethal of all magics. When sword cultivators don't appear, thunder cultivators take the lead in offensive methods... And the Yin-Yang pivot is even more mysterious and unpredictable. Combining the Yin-Yang laws with the thunder laws? That's even more difficult... Yet you speak of it so easily?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Tingshu's usually honest face showed a rare hint of embarrassment.

He scratched his head, his voice lowering as if lost in some distant memory:

"Speaking of this... it's not something to be proud of."

“I have been a bit duller than others since I was a child. When the teacher tells a story, others can recite it after listening to it three times, but I can only remember a few words after listening to it ten times. The naughty children in the town often make fun of me for this, saying that I have a block of wood in my head.”

He continued:

“They not only laughed at me, but they also often ganged up on me and bullied me.”

"I remember there was a riverbank outside the town, which was a great place to play in the water in the summer. But if I went there, they would pick up pebbles and throw them at me, shouting 'You idiot!' The pebbles would fly over and hit my head and back, and it would hurt a lot."

“I was slow and didn’t know where to hide, so I often got beaten until my head was bleeding. I could only squat on the riverbank with my head in my hands and listen to them laughing and leaving.”

"But it seemed like God took pity on me. Whenever the sky turned overcast, dark clouds piled up, and distant thunder rumbled—those usually arrogant and unruly children would all run home like sparrows seeing a hawk."

"I was all alone on the riverbank, watching the dark clouds loom overhead and listening to the thunder getting closer and closer."

Guo Tingshu's eyes gradually brightened:

“At first, I just felt more at ease because no one would throw stones at me when it thundered. Later, I actually started to look forward to thunder and rain. Whenever there was a thunderstorm, I would run to the highest hill outside the town and stand there staring at it.”

He paused and continued:

"I was wondering, why are these bad kids, who are fearless in all things, afraid of this thunder?"

"It's simply because this thunder is the mighty power of heaven, showing no mercy and showing no distinction between the noble and the lowly; it strikes down whenever it wants."

"When it sounds, all the demons, monsters, and petty villains shrink back and dare not offend it. This is the most just and dignified force in the world."

"As I grew older, practiced spiritual cultivation, and saw more things, this thought became even more deeply rooted."

"The principles of the world are intricate and complex, and people's hearts are full of twists and turns. There are often times when it is difficult to distinguish between good and evil, and justice is not served. But thunder is different. It is devastating, evil spirits fear it, and wicked people avoid it. In my opinion, this is the highest form of justice in the world."

Guo Tingshu lowered his voice at this point:

"After forming the Nascent Soul, one must choose the foundation of the Great Dao... I am not very clever and cannot think about anything too complicated. I just feel that the image of thunder [sweeping away evil and demons, and deterring wickedness] is most in line with my nature."

"With this rudimentary idea, I contemplated the scene of heavenly lightning striking down and cleansing the mountains and rivers every day, trying to understand the impartial and righteous, awe-inspiring and inviolable meaning within it... I don't know how, but somehow, I actually glimpsed a trace of the true meaning of the law of thunder and incorporated it into my nascent soul acupoints."

He raised his head and looked at the woman in red, his gaze clear and open:

"When the senior asked me about my lineage in Thunder Magic, this is it... I learned from Heaven and Earth, and inherited the essence of nature. I admired the thunder and wanted to become a thunder that could illuminate the truth of Heaven. So I abandoned all other great paths and focused solely on this one."

"I am foolish and dull-witted, but fortunately the heavens have not abandoned me and have granted me a way."