Chapter 452: Silver Hook Spirit Thunder

Li Xijun settled the family affairs and reviewed everything that had happened during his seclusion. There seemed to be no major problems. The family's income had slightly decreased due to the increase in cultivators, but it was only by one or two spirit stones, which was not an issue.

"Not bad... Brother Xicheng is managing the family more steadily now."

Li Xijun praised him. Chen Donghe, clad in jade armor with a full head of white hair, stood by the side of the hall. He had remained at the ninth level of Qi Condensation for many years, and his swordsmanship had also gradually become more profound. However, he had no confidence in breaking through to Foundation Establishment, so he spent more time on clan affairs.

Chen Mufeng, the former head of the Jade Court Guards, had been demoted, and the elder Chen Donghe had taken over. Currently, throughout the entire clan, only he possessed such prestige and capability. Li Xijun reviewed everything and suddenly asked:

"Are there any new female companions at Wutu Mountain?"

Li Xijun had been in seclusion for some time and didn't know how Li Ximing was progressing. As he couldn't find any relevant news, he asked, and Chen Donghe replied:

"Wutu Mountain has sent all the former female companions down the mountain. These past few years, no one else has been allowed up the mountain; even the An clan members haven't visited Wutu Mountain more than a few times."

Li Xijun was surprised. He thought to himself:

"This Ming'er! How did he change his ways?!"

He dismissed the elder, then flew on the wind towards Wutu Mountain.

The fiery ley line of Wutu Mountain had been active for over ten years. It had gradually stabilized, continuously spewing forth earth fire and baleful qi day and night. As a result, the entire Wutu Mountain had changed: vegetation had become sparse, birds circled, strange rocks jutted out, and the climate was stiflingly hot.

Li Xijun broke through the formation and landed on the mountaintop. At the summit, a magnificent palace shimmered with golden light, resplendent and opulent. In front of the white jade steps stood two guards, quietly at attention.

"Greetings, Clan Uncle."

Both were junior members of collateral branches. They had grown up in the cave dwelling since childhood, but their talent was not exceptional. So they had started cultivating the "Knocking Court Guard Technique" early, quickly breaking through to Qi Condensation, but had then stagnated.

The two respectfully asked a question, and Li Xijun then asked:

"Is Ximing currently refining pills?"

One of them responded and went down to ask. He quickly returned and respectfully said:

"Elder is already waiting in the main hall."

Li Xijun nodded. He stepped inside, walked through several corridors, and entered the main hall.

Compared to the gilded and jade-carved grandeur outside the hall, the interior was decorated with simple elegance, with only a few potted orchids as decoration. Li Ximing, whose face was even younger than Li Xijun's, sat in the hall, clad in golden robes, holding a small jade furnace in his hands.

Li Xijun sat down in front of him. Li Ximing smiled and said:

"Xijun, you're here. I'm just contemplating the medicinal properties."

Li Xijun looked closely and saw that the jade furnace in his hand was actually a magic artifact. Inside, a spiritual herb was being baked, seemingly in preparation for pill refinement.

"I see."

As Li Xijun came up, he felt the entire place was rather deserted. He hadn't seen any pavilions or towers, mostly storage areas for various spiritual herbs. He nodded slightly and praised:

"I thought this place would be filled with beautiful women and merriment. I never imagined it would be such a good place for cultivation."

At Li Xijun's words, Li Ximing looked even more helpless and said softly:

"Ever since I broke through to Foundation Establishment, such matters have become useless. Unless the other party also has Foundation Establishment cultivation... otherwise, it's pointless. Since it's useless... I'm too lazy to spend time on it."

"No wonder."

Li Xijun suddenly understood. He glanced at the decorations in the hall, wiped his hands with the white cloth on the table, and asked:

"How are the pills coming along?"

Li Ximing was already prepared. He took out a small white jade bottle from his embrace, placed it on the table, and said softly:

"These are Three-Complete Breakthrough Spirit Pills, which can assist Qi Condensation cultivators in breaking through. I specifically refined this bottle first; you can take it and use it."

"There are six pills in this bottle. If you don't use them all, you can distribute the rest to family members."

The elixirs Li Xizhi sent back to the family years ago were the Three-Complete Breakthrough Pill and the Revival Spirit Elixir, Second Solution. Both were extremely difficult to refine and very valuable. The Three-Complete Breakthrough Pill even had two levels: Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment.

Li Xijun nodded and accepted them. Li Ximing then took out a green jade bottle and said:

"This is the Three-Complete Breakthrough Profound Pill, which can assist Foundation Establishment cultivators in breaking through. I only just managed to refine this one."

Li Xijun paused, then said softly:

"Keep it for yourself. What was the cost?"

Li Ximing replied with a hint of embarrassment:

"The spiritual ingredients required for these pills are very precious. The Qi Condensation level spirit pills cost nineteen spirit stones in total. As for this Foundation Establishment Profound Pill, I was lucky; I succeeded on the first attempt... it cost nearly thirty spirit stones..."

"As for the Revival Spirit Elixir, Second Solution, the difficulty is even higher. I wasted over a dozen spirit stones on it. Even simpler ones are not necessarily easy to refine, let alone..."

The path of pill refinement was exactly like this: the initial investment for each type of elixir was very significant. In the past, Xiao Yuansi had provided selfless guidance, making it very easy, but now, researching it himself, the costs were naturally higher.

Li Xijun felt a pang of pain over the cost, yet he still nodded encouragingly:

"To successfully refine pills on your first attempt isn't bad at all. There will be more opportunities later."

Remembering this, Li Xijun reminded him:

"Senior Xiao Yuansi was very kind to you, selflessly teaching you many years ago. Do you remember that? Now that you've broken through to Foundation Establishment, both by sentiment and reason, you should pay him a visit..."

Li Ximing was still thinking about the solution for that elixir. Hearing this, he was startled and nodded repeatedly:

"You're right, you're right! I completely forgot about this and almost acted ungratefully! I'll prepare myself and go to the Xiao family right away."

Li Xijun nodded. He recounted the news of the past few years, then took out two jade bottles, one large and one small, and said:

"While you were in seclusion, Aunt returned from overseas. She brought back a portion of Feathered Wa Stone Liquid and three Profound Min Pills. These are all excellent treasures that only direct descendants of immortal sects can afford."

He said with some joy:

"I don't know why, but after breaking through to Foundation Establishment, my cultivation speed has been increasing. With these items, and then taking the Profound Pill... my speed became even faster."

Li Xijun smiled and congratulated him. Feeling much better, he chatted for a few more moments before taking his leave.

Li Ximing, holding the jade furnace, looked at it. Calculating the time, he dared not delay, and immediately rode the wind out of Wutu Mountain and flew towards the Xiao family.

The East Sea, Qunyi Strait.

The dark clouds over the East Sea had persisted for several years but finally began to dissipate slowly. Aside from thunderstorms and dark clouds being more frequent between the various seas, most of the sea areas were finally clear and bright after the clouds and rain had dispersed.

The Qunyi Strait meandered continuously, forming a connected expanse. Apart from Lizhou in the deep sea, this was the only relatively densely populated area. Several long, narrow islands were connected end-to-end, stretching endlessly, and the sea currents were rapid.

The bright sky was slowly dimming. Dark clouds enveloped it as two beams of light arrived from the north, landing on a small island.

The leading golden light revealed a middle-aged man in armor and a robe, standing with his hands behind his back. The purple light slowly settled, revealing a female cultivator in jade armor, wielding a spear. She stood on crackling lightning, waited for a moment in the air, and looked towards the dark clouds.

"Uncle, there are indeed dark clouds. Perhaps this time we'll find what we're looking for!"

This female cultivator was Li Qinghong, holding the Duoruo Spear. Her aura was already at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. Beneath her feet, purple lightning surged continuously, illuminating the mountaintop below with brilliant purple light.

In the East Sea, water descended while thunder ascended, a phenomenon that had been particularly intense in recent years. Most lightning cultivators had made progress. Li Qinghong took the opportunity to go into seclusion to break through, successfully reaching the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, significantly increasing her strength.

Several years had passed in the blink of an eye during her seclusion. Her elder brother, Li Yuanjiao, had not yet emerged from his seclusion. Li Xuanfeng was patrolling various parts of the East Sea. Li Qinghong returned home to inquire about lightning, and after getting information, she also toured various parts of the East Sea to search for spiritual lightning.

Li Xuanfeng stared at the lightning in the dark clouds for a few moments, then nodded slightly:

"In the East Sea, water descends and thunder ascends, with various thunderbolts falling. It's said that several types of spiritual lightning have appeared in the market, perfect for your cultivation technique."

"Indeed."

Black clouds rolled and gathered over the island, and thunder roared. The natives of the small island looked up one after another, kowtowing ceaselessly. Li Qinghong glanced at them briefly but paid them no mind.

This place was remote, already at the edge of the East Sea. The natives spoke in gibberish, not the language of the inner seas, and knelt in a large group. One or two, holding staffs, seemed to be priests with some cultivation. They understood the aura of Foundation Establishment even more clearly, trembling with fear and cowering.

Li Qinghong waited for a moment. From within the clouds, a bright white, snake-like bolt of lightning slowly formed. It coiled once, restless, slowly pulsing within the dark clouds.

"It is indeed the Silver Hook Profound Lightning."

Li Qinghong had obtained much information about lightning through secret methods. Not to mention what she missed during her seclusion, she had made five or six trips before and after, but always came up empty-handed.

"Fortunately, the island is isolated from the world and hasn't changed much for thousands of years. Its name has also been preserved quite intact."

The information Li Qinghong received was that this Silver Hook Profound Lightning fell on Lvlei Island in Qunyi Sea. After searching around Qunyi Strait, she estimated that this Luklai Island was quite similar.

Seeing the dark clouds gather and the silvery-white lightning rising and falling within them, Li Qinghong's heart filled with joy. She rose on the wind, waited for a few breaths, and then hooked her slender finger in the air.

"Boom!"

The silvery-white lightning, which had been fluctuating within the clouds, as if drawn by something, plunged down and crashed with a thunderous sound onto her fingertip, transforming into a violent, flashing white bolt of lightning.

Some fragmented lightning remained in the clouds. Like young swallows returning to their nests, they fell like rain, compressing and gathering at her fingertip, forming a small silvery-white pearl.

Li Qinghong clapped her hands together, slowly exhaled for a moment in the air, and collected it into her lightning pool. Without this lightning, the dark clouds in the sky instantly vanished. Li Qinghong was in high spirits. She nodded to Li Xuanfeng and flew away on the wind.

After leaving the strait, Li Xuanfeng paused and said softly:

"Don't rush yet. Let me search around here for a bit."

Li Qinghong understood and nodded. The two flew on the wind and searched for a while. Li Xuanfeng casually swept his gaze around, and the golden bow on his back suddenly lit up. Li Xuanfeng showed some joy and sneered:

"Indeed... this beast is still hiding in the sea."

Li Xuanfeng had accompanied her several times to search for lightning. Wherever they went, they would meticulously search, precisely to find that Ewou. Li Qinghong's spirits lifted upon hearing this. She then saw Li Xuanfeng hold his bow, nock an arrow, and a spiral-like light rose from the longbow in his hand.

"Go!"

The profound arrow in his hand vanished. A violent roar suddenly erupted from a nearby island. Li Xuanfeng put away his longbow with a backhand motion and descended on his golden shuttle.

Changzhou Island.

Changzhou Island was long and narrow, with numerous rivers and densely packed houses. Many monks were directing mortals to transport various stone and timber materials to the highest part of the mountain.

Over a dozen temples, large and small, had been built on the mountaintop. The largest one was resplendent with gold and jade, with interconnected corridors. A few lotus flowers floated in the clear lake water.

The main hall was eerie and pitch black. Behind it were carved hundreds of stone statues of various forms. In the center stood a jade platform. Beneath the jade platform, blood water boiled, and on top rested only half a body. Its skin constantly ruptured and re-stitched, absorbing the blood water below, appearing hideous and terrifying.

Ewou sat motionless on the high jade platform, cultivating cross-legged. Beneath the jade platform was a blood pool several zhang wide, bubbling and sending up streams of colorful light that transformed into various illusory scenes in the air.

These transformed into beautiful women and fine wines, or pavilions and towers, swirling around him. Monks in black robes stood in two neat, respectful rows beside him.

Ewou exhaled, appearing somewhat agitated:

"This place truly isn't good... far from Jiangnan... Not only is the population sparse and slow to grow, but there are also many 'earth-nurtured children,' a complete waste..."

Years ago, he had desperately flown across the sea for a while until he finally found this place to settle. He then massacred extensively on the island to stabilize his cultivation and quickly established temples.

Ewou's current strength truly did not allow him to continue fighting. The 'earth-nurtured children' were tasteless to him, so he propagated that 'earth-nurtured children' were the true Dao bodies and mortal flesh was sinful. He quickly took control of the island and fabricated a group of 'earth-nurtured child' monks to provide him with blood sacrifices.

He had spent a considerable amount of time overseas, becoming very skilled at this method. He quickly established a complete system locally, drinking the blood and eating the flesh of mortals.

What made him quite miserable was that the island was desolate and remote, with shallow spiritual energy. Most inhabitants were mortals, and the blood sacrifices provided were barely enough to sustain his life. It was almost impossible for him to heal his injuries or fly from this place to the West Sea.

"I can only slowly accumulate it. I'll enlighten a few subordinates to go to the surrounding islands and collect blood sacrifices for me..."

Ewou had quickly recovered from his initial despair. As long as there were people on this island, he had hope of recovering his strength. After all, mortals were easier to sustain than any spiritual object, quite effective, and practically a business with no capital.

He was secretly pondering this when he suddenly felt a chill throughout his body. A buzzing sound, as if capable of scattering his soul, seemed to reach his ears:

"Buzz... buzz..."

'How is this possible!'

Ewou froze. The terrifying roaring sound that had dominated him day and night resurfaced in his mind. The monk's body bounced twice on the jade platform. Blood streamed from his ears, and he muttered:

"He's here!"

The blood water beneath his body suddenly boiled, surging up along the jade platform, but it was too late. A tremendous roar erupted; the jade platform was violently blasted into two pieces, sending up bursts of colorful light.

"Master!"

The monks on both sides simultaneously spat out blood. All the sculptures in the main hall shattered at the same time, and stone dust flowed down with a rustling sound. The grand hall slowly let out a mournful cry and then collapsed with a crash.

Almost simultaneously, numerous stone statues in various parts of Qinling Commandery in the north also exploded. In Heshui Sea and Zhulu Sea, monks looked up with faces full of terror:

"Second Senior Brother has also fallen!"