Chapter 138: Thunderstruck Spirit Wood

After bidding farewell to Senior Brother Gong, Qin Sang visited the Spirit Beast Hall again. The Spirit Beast Hall housed many tamed demonic beasts, each with its own unique uses, serving as excellent tools for cultivators to easily resolve various problems.

As soon as Qin Sang landed, a Qi Refining disciple came forward to greet him, "This disciple greets Martial Uncle."

Qin Sang nodded, handed him his waist token, and explained his purpose.

The disciple returned the waist token with both hands and asked, "Martial Uncle Qin, where would you like to open a cave dwelling? On land, or in the Cloudmist Great Marsh?"

Qin Sang understood that different demonic beasts were suited to different environments, so he replied, "In the Cloudmist Great Marsh."

The disciple nodded and said, "For the Cloudmist Great Marsh, a Spirit-Grasping Bird or a Golden-Eyed Snake would be best, as both are extremely sensitive to changes in spiritual energy. Among them, the Golden-Eyed Snake is most adept at locating underwater spirit veins. However, the Golden-Eyed Snake needs to dive underwater but isn't proficient in water evasion techniques, and its strength is only slightly greater than that of common beasts. It might encounter unforeseen dangers. Therefore, when it goes into the water, please provide extra protection, Martial Uncle."

Taming demonic beasts required considerable human and material resources, and each spirit beast was very valuable. Qin Sang readily agreed and followed the disciple, flying away from Pagoda Peak to the mountain where the spirit beasts were kept. He took a Spirit-Grasping Bird and a Golden-Eyed Snake.

Although the jade box had a restriction that sealed spiritual essence, several years had passed since the Nine-Illusion Sky Orchid was picked, and the orchid now showed signs of wilting.

To replant it, it needed to absorb sufficient spiritual energy to regain its vitality.

This process would be very lengthy, requiring at least a year even in a spiritual spring. Even the best spiritual eye wouldn't be enough, only slowing down its wilting.

Once its life force was cut off, there would be no remedy. If the Nine-Illusion Sky Orchid lacked sufficient medicinal properties, the Calamity-Crossing Pill certainly couldn't be refined, which would be a great pity.

Although the white cat's cave dwelling was concealed enough, the white cat and the bamboo demon knew about it. Qin Sang was uneasy about leaving the Nine-Illusion Sky Orchid there alone. Unfortunately, the spiritual spring had not yet fully formed and could not be moved.

Qin Sang planned to first use the two spirit beasts to search for a cave dwelling. If he could find another spiritual spring, that would be ideal; otherwise, he would have to temporarily plant it in the white cat's cave.

After acquiring the spirit beasts, Qin Sang slowly flew towards Sword Gate Pass. Along the way, he reviewed his plans, confident that there were no oversights.

Upon returning to his cave dwelling, Qin Sang prepared to immediately enter seclusion for strenuous cultivation. The cultivation of the 'Soul Nurturing Sword Chapter' was extremely difficult and couldn't be mastered in just a year or two; it might require a long period without distraction.

The address he left with Master Yu was Gu Tiannan's Dragon-Returning Temple. He only needed to check there for any important matters during his leisure time.

As he passed Sword Gate Pass, Qin Sang saw vast stretches of peach trees on the mountain. He sighed inwardly, wondering about his future destiny and if he could follow in the footsteps of Senior Azure Bamboo.

After flying out of Sword Gate Pass, Qin Sang activated his Flying Shuttle to reach the Moon-Asking Market. To avoid trouble, he concealed his cultivation with the Spirit Evasion Art and found the refining shop he had visited before.

The shop owner recognized Qin Sang at a glance and enthusiastically offered him tea, saying, "Fellow Daoist Qin, please come in quickly."

Qin Sang sipped his tea and glanced at the Li Manor across the street. Since Song Ying was willing to give up her ancestral residence, he wouldn't interfere further. His purpose this time was to ask the shop owner to repair the Five-Element Spellbreaking Sword.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, can you tell if this sword can still be repaired?"

Qin Sang took out Gu Tiannan's Five-Element Spellbreaking Sword. One of the swords had been damaged by the Ebony Sword during a confrontation, leaving its blade covered in cracks and rendering it unusable.

The greatest challenge with the Five-Element Spellbreaking Sword technique was assembling five suitable Five-Element Spirit Swords. Once the spirit swords were acquired, cultivating the technique only required some time.

Qin Sang had been planning to cultivate several spell arts as combat methods after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Since he already had these five swords, when he chose the 'Soul Nurturing Sword Chapter', he also acquired the jade slip for the 'Five-Element Spellbreaking Sword'.

Even if it couldn't be repaired, finding another one wouldn't be difficult.

As Qin Sang extended his spiritual consciousness into his mustard seed bag to retrieve the spirit sword, he suddenly paused, his expression subtly shifting before quickly returning to normal. He then handed the spirit sword to the shop owner.

The shop owner took it, glanced at it, and smiled, "Ah, the 'Five-Element Spellbreaking Sword'. Excellent quality, it seems Fellow Daoist Qin has put in considerable effort. Let me see... Hmm! The spirit sword's core hasn't been damaged. It just needs to be re-refined, which should take about two hours to restore it to its original state. Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist Qin."

It seemed he had come to the right person.

Qin Sang nodded, indicating for the shop owner to proceed.

Once the shop owner entered the back room, Qin Sang closed the shop door and took another item from his mustard seed bag. He placed it in his palm: a dried root section.

This root section, like the Five-Element Spellbreaking Sword, was also among the items plundered from Gu Tiannan. Qin Sang recalled that during Gu Tiannan's fight with Hei Wa, he had used this root to unleash a bolt of lightning, which directly shattered half the face of Hei Wa's ox-head skeleton, terrifying the ox-head skeleton into not daring to emerge. Its power was considerable, and it might even have the ability to suppress demonic creatures.

However, when Qin Sang later trapped Gu Tiannan with the Ten Directions Yama Array, Gu Tiannan did not use this item again.

After acquiring the root, Qin Sang had examined it carefully but didn't sense any lightning power within it. Believing it to be just an ordinary root, perhaps a single-use item, he had casually put it aside.

It was only just now, when he took out the Five-Element Spellbreaking Sword, that Qin Sang noticed a subtle change in the root.

The root lay in his palm, appearing unremarkable. However, when Qin Sang touched it with his spiritual consciousness or spiritual energy, an electric arc immediately flashed out. Though as thin as a strand of hair, the arc's power was extremely violent and not to be underestimated.

"Could this be lightning-struck spiritual wood?"

Qin Sang stroked his chin and murmured, a hint of delight in his expression.

Some spiritual wood grows in lightning marshes, constantly bathed in thunder without dying. Over a long period, the spiritual wood itself merges with the power of lightning, transforming into lightning-struck spiritual wood.

Lightning-struck spiritual wood contains the ultimate Yang and most potent lightning power, making it not only a bane for evil creatures but also a rare and precious material. For Qin Sang, it had an even more suitable use.

Qin Sang's 'Gui Water Yin Lightning Spell' was effective for defeating enemies during the Qi Refining stage, but its power seemed somewhat weak when battling Foundation Establishment cultivators. Since it was a spell art he had spent a long time cultivating, abandoning it would be a pity.

Fortunately, the power of the 'Gui Water Yin Lightning Spell' could be enhanced. If he could find a spiritual item imbued with lightning power, he could use it to unleash even more terrifying Yin Lightning. Lightning-struck spiritual wood would be perfectly suited for this.

With this thought, Qin Sang immediately gripped the root and attempted to activate the Gui Water Yin Lightning Spell.

The next moment, a flash of lightning flickered in Qin Sang's palm, which he then actively dispersed.

This lightning was no longer mere Yin Lightning; its power was incomparably greater than before, causing Qin Sang's heart to subtly palpitate. The combination of a spell art and a spiritual item evidently resulted in far more than just doubled power.

Looking at the root again, it had returned to its normal appearance, its recently recovered lightning power completely depleted.

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