11: Chapter 11 Purple Lightning Sable

Days passed one by one, and the Emerald Bamboo outside the window quietly changed colors in the morning mist and evening haze.

Lin Xuan's life gradually settled into a monotonous yet resilient rhythm.

Every day, without fail, he would Cultivate the "Qi Guiding Art," placing those few newly acquired, pitifully weak-in-Spiritual Qi lightning-struck stone fragments in his palm, and with the aid of dew-condensing grass leaves, bit by bit, he would grind and absorb the violent Thunder Spiritual Qi within them.

The process remained painful and slow, but the fifteen wisps of Thunder Spiritual Energy within his Dantian were indeed condensing and growing, albeit at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

Over five days, he organized and bundled the nearly one thousand wind-bell bamboo leaves he had collected and submitted them to the General Affairs Hall.

That rigid Deacon Disciple inspected them very carefully, even using a small magical mirror to check the integrity of the leaves, and finally approved nine and a half bundles—nine hundred and fifty leaves—exchanging them for nine contribution points, while returning the fifty unqualified leaves.

Holding his identity jade token and watching the faint Spiritual Qi light display the number change from "Zero" to "Nine," Lin Xuan felt a little more at ease.

Nine contribution points couldn't even buy a corner of the worst Low Grade Magical Artifact in the market, but at least it was a start.

He used four of them at the General Affairs Hall to exchange for a bottle of the most ordinary "Qi Gathering Powder" (the effect is far inferior to the qi gathering pill, but it can slightly accelerate Cultivation), and saved the remaining five points.

The desolation of Emerald Bamboo Peak became increasingly apparent during these days.

The Disciples living in Zone C, apart from nodding in greeting when occasionally meeting, mostly hurried by, their faces bearing the same anxiety and numbness born from the lack of resources and slow Cultivation.

Lin Xuan had once seen an old Disciple whose Cultivation had been stuck at Qi Refining Level 2 for many years; gritting his teeth, he took on a mission to clear a "Bone-Eroding Bee" nest, only to be carried back swollen all over and unconscious. It was said that he spent all his savings to exchange for Medicinal Pill to save his life, yet his Cultivation receded.

In such an atmosphere, Lin Xuan's low profile and persistence appeared unremarkable, even carrying a hint of "resignation to fate."

No one knew that those seemingly useless stone fragments in his bosom and the Herb-Seeking Mouse inside the Spirit-Taming Tower Space were outlining a completely different, secret path for him.

This afternoon, after Lin Xuan finished his Cultivation, he felt his Meridians aching slightly from the continuous absorption of Thunder Spiritual Energy, knowing he needed to slow down.

Recalling his discovery last time in the Listen-Wind Bamboo Grove, his heart stirred, and he got up and walked towards the small Library of Emerald Bamboo Peak.

While called a Library, it was actually just a two-story bamboo building located on a relatively flat gentle slope at the peak, guarded by an elderly Disciple who was said to have fallen to Qi Refining Level 3 due to injury and made no further progress since.

The books inside were few, mostly copies of basic Cultivation Technique, Sect regulations, geographical records, low-level Pill Formula and artifact manuals, and other miscellaneous books; true Spell Secret Manuals and Advanced Legacies would never be placed here.

The guarding old Disciple was curled up in a bamboo chair at the entrance, dozing off, ignoring the Disciples coming and going. Lin Xuan lightened his footsteps and walked in.

The first floor space was not large, with a few rows of bookshelves standing sparsely, covered in thin dust.

A few Disciples were browsing, their expressions either focused or irritable.

Lin Xuan's goal was clear; he walked directly to the bookshelf labeled "Mountains and Rivers Geography · Yun Kingdom and Vicinity."

The books here were older, some even being ancient manuscripts recorded on animal hide or special paper.

He patiently flipped through them one by one.

Most recorded information about the main spiritual peaks, mineral veins, and herb gardens of the Sanyang Sect, or the human geography of the Yun Kingdom and surrounding secular nations.

Records about Emerald Bamboo Peak were extremely scarce; occasionally mentioned, it was just a few words: "Spiritual Qi is thin, abounds in ordinary spiritual bamboo."

Just when he was about to give up, a thin booklet stuffed in the corner of the bottom shelf, wrapped in some kind of dark brown animal hide, caught his attention.

The booklet had no name, and its edges were severely worn. He pulled it out and carefully opened it.

Inside was messy handwriting, the ink depth inconsistent, seemingly not recorded by one person at one time, but more like miscellaneous observations and thoughts recorded casually by a Disciple stationed at Emerald Bamboo Peak for a long time. The front part was mostly trivial matters and complaints:

"...The third day of the seventh month of the Bingshen year, rain. Three more spiritual fish are missing from the 'Moon-Watching Pool' in the back mountain; it must be that damn 'fish-stealing cat' visiting again. The Formation needs to be reinforced..."

"...Winter of the Wuxu year, heavy snow sealed the mountains. Spiritual Qi on Emerald Bamboo Peak is becoming increasingly insufficient; among the newly promoted Disciples, not one has reached Medium Grade Spiritual Root. I fear the Legacy of this peak will be broken after a hundred years..."

Flipping to the back, some sporadic records about Yao Beasts caught Lin Xuan's eyes:

"...Summer of the Gengzi year, night of thundering. A Disciple saw purple light soaring into the sky in the direction of 'Thunderfall Ravine' in the back mountain, with faint, clear beast cries; suspected that a Thunder-attribute exotic beast had appeared. The next day, after searching, only scorched wood and broken stones were found, with no traces left. Suspected to be a 'Purple Lightning Sable'; this beast is as fast as lightning, proud and aloof, likes to inhabit places with abundant Thunder Spiritual Energy, but has not been seen in the Tianzhu Mountain Range for nearly a hundred years, perhaps already extinct..."

Purple Lightning Sable! A second-rank Thunder-attribute Yao Beast!

Lin Xuan's heart jumped violently. He immediately associated it with the lightning-struck stone fragments in his bosom, the faint tingling sensation in the soil of the Listen-Wind Bamboo Grove, and the rumors of "early years thunderstorms" mentioned by Chen Hao.

All these fragments seemed to be connected by the words "Purple Lightning Sable" and "Thunder-attribute exotic beast"!

He suppressed his excitement and continued to flip forward, but the subsequent records were mostly irrelevant trivialities, with no more information about the Purple Lightning Sable or Thunder-attribute exotic beasts. The records in this booklet also stopped about a hundred years ago.

Closing the booklet, Lin Xuan closed his eyes for a moment, firmly imprinting the keywords "Thunderfall Ravine," "Purple Lightning Sable," "A hundred years ago," and "Abundant Thunder Spiritual Energy" in his mind.

He carefully placed the booklet back to its original spot and left the Library without drawing attention.

Returning to the small courtyard, Lin Xuan's mind was unsettled. That booklet was like opening a window, allowing him to see a corner of the dusty past of Emerald Bamboo Peak.

Did the Purple Lightning Sable really exist? Was it related to the source of those lightning-struck stones? And where was Thunderfall Ravine in the back mountain?

He looked at the sky; it was still early. A thought could no longer be suppressed.

Bringing necessary tools and some dry rations, he summoned the Herb-Seeking Mouse out from the Spirit-Taming Tower Space. Lin Xuan once again stepped into the rarely visited back mountain of Emerald Bamboo Peak.

This time, he had a clearer goal—to find traces possibly related to the "Purple Lightning Sable" or Thunder Spiritual Energy, to see if there were any residual Thunder-attribute items.

Based on the location name "Thunderfall Ravine" in the booklet and the vague direction of "deep in the back mountain," combined with the Herb-Seeking Mouse's sensing of Thunder-attribute residues—which was weaker and more elusive than its sense of Spiritual Qi—Lin Xuan did not blindly rush in, but carefully identified the terrain.

Following the lay of the land, he explored towards the deeper, more chaotic Spiritual Qi direction.

The journey was more difficult than last time. Ancient trees towered, vines were tangled, and beneath the thick rotting leaves lay hidden slippery mossy stones and invisible pits.

Occasionally, a startled small beast would dart past, causing a rustling sound.

Lin Xuan walked cautiously, his spirit highly focused, both vigilant against potential dangers and constantly paying attention to the Herb-Seeking Mouse's reactions.