29: Chapter 29 The Medicine-Seeking Rat's Breakthrough

On the fifth day in the Cloud Mist Valley, the morning mist was thicker than usual.

Lin Xuan crawled out from a gap in the naturally formed rocks, stretching his somewhat stiff limbs.

The soil under his feet was damp, clinging to a few blades of grass covered in dew—he had rested here last night, and the night had passed without incident.

Over the past four days, his harvest had been quite substantial.

In his Beast Taming Space, there were now twelve well-preserved stalks of cloud mist grass, seven fist-sized water-condensing stones, several types of Yao Beast Materials, as well as the twelve mature wind bell flowers he had outsmarted others to obtain; additionally, over a dozen immature wind bell flowers were being cultivated in his Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

The most unexpected harvest was the two stalks of "mist heart orchid" that the Herb-Seeking Mouse had discovered yesterday while venturing deep into a Stone Forest.

They were hidden deep within the damp crevices of the rocks, their milky-white flowers almost blending in with the mist.

Lin Xuan held his breath and stopped breathing, following the method taught by Deacon Wu, carefully extracting the entire plant wrapped in Spiritual Qi. Sure enough, at the roots were "mist orchid seeds" the size of rice grains, crystal clear and translucent.

These two stalks of mist heart orchid were worth at least two hundred contribution points.

"It is time to go out," Lin Xuan calculated in his heart.

The five-day rental period for the stone golem puppet was about to expire today, and it needed to be renewed.

More importantly, the Herb-Seeking Mouse had been in an odd state these past few days—ever since it had come into contact with a large amount of Spirit Medicine in the valley, the Spiritual Qi within its body had become restless, showing faint signs of a Breakthrough.

Yesterday afternoon, the Herb-Seeking Mouse had even frantically inhaled a trace of faint Thunder Spiritual Energy in the air, its grayish-purple fur standing on end as it emitted painful "squeak" sounds.

Lin Xuan immediately decided to leave the valley today.

He identified the direction and walked toward the entrance. He activated the Breath Concealment Technique, his figure appearing and disappearing within the mist, his footsteps landing on the soft humus soil with almost no sound.

On the way, he encountered three groups of other Disciples.

A team of Qingmu Peak Disciples was surrounding and killing an injured Mist-Hiding Leopard; the scene was chaotic.

Two solo Sharp Metal Peak Disciples passed by, exchanging wary glances.

Another time, he saw Chen Hao's team from afar—Chen Hao was excitedly waving his Fireball Technique, Zhang Meng's broadsword split through the mist, and Li Ming's bell sound was crisp; the three of them were clearly working with much more tacit understanding.

Lin Xuan did not reveal himself and took a detour to avoid them.

Two miles from the entrance, he encountered a lone "Iron-Toothed Wild Boar".

This Yao Beast was Low Grade, First Stage; it had thick skin and dense flesh, and its two tusks gleamed with an iron-gray luster as it buried its head, rooting for tubers underground.

Lin Xuan originally intended to avoid it, but the wild boar sensed movement, its small scarlet eyes locked onto him, and it came charging over with a low roar.

"Just right to test the effectiveness of the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art." Lin Xuan's gaze sharpened; he did not retreat but advanced instead.

The Spiritual Qi within his Dantian accelerated instantly, becoming more condensed and surging than before. He formed a hand seal with his left hand; the speed at which the lightning gathered at his fingertips was nearly thirty percent faster!

"Lightning Strike Technique!"

A pale purple bolt of lightning, slightly thicker than a thumb and a shade darker in color, shot out, accurately hitting the wild boar's forehead.

"Crackle!"

The lightning exploded, the wild boar let out a miserable wail, its forward momentum stopping instantly, the top of its head charred black, emitting blue smoke.

But with its thick skin and flesh, it did not fall; instead, it was enraged, and an earthy yellow shimmer appeared on its tusks—it had triggered some kind of earth-attribute talent.

Lin Xuan shifted his feet, activating the Wind Control Technique; his figure nimbly moved to the side by three feet, avoiding the charge while his qingyun sword was already unsheathed.

Lightning flowed across the sword blade—not clinging to the surface, but a halo emanating from within to the outside.

He had been bitterly cultivating the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art for these past few months; his Spiritual Qi purity had improved, and consequently, the enhancement effect on his Magical Artifact had also significantly increased.

"Sshh!"

The sword edge sliced across the wild boar's side neck, actually much smoother than when he had killed the Mist-Hiding Python earlier; it cut two inches into the flesh, bringing out a spray of hot blood.

The wild boar felt the pain and shook its head frantically. Lin Xuan remained calm and unhurried, his footwork changing, always keeping to the wild boar's side or rear.

Another improved Lightning Strike Technique was shot out, this time aiming for the wild boar's hind leg joint.

"Bang!"

The lightning exploded at the joint, and the wild boar stumbled. Lin Xuan seized the opportunity, the lightning on the qingyun sword flared brilliantly, and he thrust the sword into the weak spot behind its ear, the Thunder Spiritual Energy piercing through the skull.

The wild boar twitched a few times and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The battle ended in less than twenty breaths.

Lin Xuan panted slightly, his forehead covered in light sweat, but his eyes were bright. "The improvement in Spiritual Qi condensation from the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art is indeed significant. The power of the Lightning Strike Technique has increased by about thirty percent, and the casting speed is faster. The power of the qingyun sword... has increased by about fifty percent."

He processed the wild boar's carcass, keeping the tusks and heart; the fur was severely damaged, so he had to abandon it.

Before noon, Lin Xuan walked out of the Cloud Mist Valley Restriction light curtain.

The sunlight outside was blinding, and the air was crisp, giving him a feeling of being in another world.

Disciples were still gathered outside the entrance, mostly those who had just arrived or were preparing to enter. He scanned the area and, seeing no familiar faces, walked straight toward the marketplace, where he sold some Spirit Medicine and Yao Beast Materials.

Lin Xuan first went to the Tiangong Pavilion.

The round-faced Deacon Disciple still remembered him: "Junior Brother Lin? Here to renew the rental?"

"Yes, renew for fifteen days." Lin Xuan handed over his identity jade token.

"Fifteen days... the daily rent is thirty, totaling four hundred and fifty contribution points. The deposit has been paid, so we will deduct the rent directly." The deacon operated on the Formation Plate, the jade token flashed with spiritual light, and the contribution point number plummeted.

Lin Xuan's heart tightened—the points he had worked so hard to earn were suddenly reduced by more than half. But his expression remained calm, and he took the shrunken stone golem puppet, carefully storing it in his Storage Pouch.

"By the way," the deacon said casually, "quite a few Disciples have been renting Puppets recently; it seems the harvest in the valley is good. However, I heard that an area to the northeast is not peaceful; it seems some teams encountered powerful Yao Beasts and several were injured. Junior Brother, if you are heading that way, be careful."

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother." Lin Xuan's heart stirred; the northeast direction... was exactly the general location of the claw mark area on the map.

Leaving the Tiangong Pavilion, he went to the Medicinal Pill shop in the marketplace.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse's Breakthrough required external assistance. At a stall run by a Qingmu Peak Disciple, Lin Xuan set his eyes on an "Enlightenment Pill"—a Medicinal Pill specifically designed to help unranked or newly ranked Yao Beasts stabilize their Realm and stimulate their potential. It was Low Grade, First Stage, and priced at eighty contribution points.

The price was high, but Lin Xuan did not hesitate.

"I will take this one."

After paying eighty points, only a little over one hundred contribution points remained in his jade token. Finally, he bought some Talismans, Yao Beast jerky, and fresh water, completely emptying it.

When he returned to the small courtyard on Emerald Bamboo Peak, it was already afternoon.

Lin Xuan first settled the stone golem puppet, then took out the pale golden Enlightenment Pill.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse came out of the Spirit-Taming Tower Space. As soon as it saw the Medicinal Pill, its black bean-like eyes went straight, and it squeaked anxiously.

"Don't be impatient." Lin Xuan placed the Medicinal Pill in his palm.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse impatiently swallowed it in one gulp. Once the Medicinal Pill entered its stomach, its whole body trembled, and it immediately curled up.

Underneath its grayish-purple fur, the Spiritual Qi began to fluctuate violently, and a faint purple shimmer faintly emanated from it.

Lin Xuan put it back into the Spirit-Taming Tower Space—that was where the Thunder Spiritual Energy was densest, which was conducive to its Breakthrough.

He stood guard by the side, paying attention with his mind.

He saw the Herb-Seeking Mouse curled into a ball in the center of the space, beside the thunder-attracting vine, with the Spiritual Qi around its body gathering like a vortex.

Its original size, similar to a domestic cat, was actually shrinking slowly, and its fur color was becoming deeper and deeper, transforming into a pure dark purple.

The most obvious change was the tail—the originally short mouse tail had actually grown longer, and a cluster of fine, dense purple fluff grew on the tip, with faint lightning sparks jumping within it.

This process lasted for a full two hours.

When the Herb-Seeking Mouse opened its eyes again, Lin Xuan could clearly feel that it was different from before.

Its size had shrunk by a circle, but it was more lean and capable.

Its fur had become dark purple, oily and smooth. Its tail was like a whip, and that cluster of purple fur at the tip flashed with tiny sparks of lightning from time to time.

Its aura stabilized at the Early Stage of the First Stage, equivalent to a human Level 1 Qi Refining Cultivator.

More importantly, through the contract connection of the spirit control tower, Lin Xuan could clearly perceive the information of its newly awakened talent:

[Weak Spirit Energy Sense] evolved into [Spirit Energy Tracking (Elementary)]—the sensing range for Spiritual Qi fluctuations expanded to thirty zhang, accuracy improved, and it could initially distinguish Spiritual Qi attributes.

New talent [Lightning Affinity (Weak)]—the absorption efficiency for Thunder-attribute Spiritual Qi slightly increased, and it could withstand a small amount of Thunder Spiritual Energy infusion without damage.

"Good!" Lin Xuan was exhilarated.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse's Breakthrough meant that its exploration ability was stronger, and its adaptability to Thunder-attribute environments was higher.

This was undoubtedly a huge boost for exploring the claw mark area.