31: Chapter 31 Thunder Attribute Monsters

The next day, Lin Xuan continued his observation.

At noon, the sunlight barely pierced through the thick, gray-purple mist, casting mottled patches of light at the entrance of the mountain col.

The pattern repeated: the snoring stopped for a hundred breaths, the rustling and crackling sounds of electricity increased, and the sweet fragrance grew stronger.

"Twice a day, at noon and midnight." Lin Xuan had a preliminary judgment in his mind, "It seems like… this Yao Beast is 'exchanging Qi' or 'expelling impurities' at fixed times?"

He needed a clearer view.

The angle of the rock crevice was limited; he could only see about ten zhang into the entrance of the mountain col, and anything deeper was blocked by rocks and thick fog. He had to find a way to see inside.

Lin Xuan took out a spare, flexible bamboo pole from his Beast Taming Space—this was something he had prepared before entering the canyon, originally intended for scouting or support, about two zhang long.

His Beast Taming Space spanned several miles, and Lin Xuan had stored no shortage of strange and curious items in it.

He also dug out a small, palm-sized bronze mirror; it was an ordinary item for grooming, with wear along the edges.

He tied the bronze mirror firmly to the tip of the bamboo pole with a thin string, adjusting the angle so that the mirror surface slanted forward and downward.

Then, holding his breath, he extended the bamboo pole out from the rock crevice extremely slowly.

The bamboo pole inched out, extending towards the space above the entrance of the mountain col.

This process took him nearly half a quarter of an hour; his arm was as steady as a rock, and the bamboo pole barely wobbled.

When the bamboo pole reached the intended position, Lin Xuan stopped.

He carefully adjusted the angle of the bamboo pole, allowing the reflecting surface of the bronze mirror to face roughly toward the depths of the mountain col.

However, the light was dim and the fog was thick; there was only a blur of gray-purple in the mirror.

"I need light." Lin Xuan frowned. At noon, sunlight should have been the best illumination, but the fog was too thick.

He pondered for a moment and took out a lowest-grade "Illumination Talisman" from his Storage Pouch.

Once activated, this type of Talisman could emit a steady, soft light that lasted for a hundred breaths; it was usually used in dark environments, but it would also expose one's position.

"I have to take the risk and use it when the noon pattern appears. The Yao Beast might have a brief 'sluggish period' then."

He stuck the Illumination Talisman onto the middle section of the bamboo pole and temporarily wrapped the Talisman with a piece of black cloth to prevent it from glowing prematurely.

He waited.

The sun gradually moved to the zenith.

The snoring in the depths of the mountain col stopped as expected. Rustling and crackling sounds of electricity emerged, and a sweet fragrance drifted over.

Now!

Lin Xuan emitted a slight trace of spiritual power, activating the Illumination Talisman. The Talisman beneath the black cloth lit up with a steady, soft white light, seeping out a little through the gaps in the fabric, but most of the light was blocked by the black cloth, with only a small amount leaking out.

He controlled the bamboo pole, directing that tiny bit of leaking light toward the bronze mirror.

The mirror surface reflected the light, casting it into the depths of the mountain col.

It worked!

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes, leaned close to the edge of the rock crevice, and stared fixedly at that small bronze mirror.

The image in the mirror was still blurry, as if seen through a layer of frosted glass. But compared to the Chaos from before, he could now see a rough outline.

In the gray-purple fog, one could vaguely see a small pool at the bottom of the mountain col; the pool water was dark blue, and the surface was calm and ripple-free. Beside the pool, a massive, dark purple shadow was lying prone.

That was the source of the snoring.

Lin Xuan's heart rate accelerated as he adjusted the angle of the bamboo pole to shine more light onto that shadow.

The image in the mirror became a bit clearer.

He could clearly see the outline of that Yao Beast: its size was comparable to a water buffalo, but it was more slender.

Its body was covered in dark purple fur, which seemed to shimmer with a luster under the weak light.

Its head resembled that of a sable, with a slightly pointed snout and large, erect ears.

Its limbs were thick and sturdy, and even when curled up, one could see the astonishing size of its claws.

The most eye-catching part was its back—along the spine, there was a faint, deep purple, mane-like ridge.

It was currently rising and falling slightly with its breathing, and with every rise and fall, extremely faint purple electric sparks would jump and vanish on the surface of its fur.

"Purple Lightning Sable!" This name popped into Lin Xuan's mind instantly, matching the description he had seen in that animal-skin notebook in the Library of Emerald Bamboo Peak perfectly!

A High Grade Tier 1 Yao Beast, which could reach Tier 2 in its mature stage, lightning-attributed, as swift as lightning, arrogant and solitary, and fond of dwelling in places rich with lightning Spiritual Qi.

"This one… seems to still be a sub-adult." Lin Xuan's judgment was based on its size and aura—the notebook recorded that an adult Purple Lightning Sable was the size of an elephant, with an oppressive aura.

While this one was huge, it had not reached that level. The aura, vaguely sensed through the bronze mirror, was around the Peak of High Grade Tier 1, equivalent to a human Cultivator at Qi Refining Level 9.

It was simply not something he could deal with.

Just as a trace of regret rose in Lin Xuan's heart, his attention was drawn to something else.

Near the head of the Purple Lightning Sable—specifically, around its snout and ear canals—there were a few extremely tiny, yet exceptionally eye-catching points of light.

Pale purple, crystal clear, like tiny flying gems.

They fluttered lightly around the Purple Lightning Sable's snout, moving in mysterious trajectories.

Whenever the Purple Lightning Sable breathed, extremely thin, pale purple Qi would escape from its snout, and those little points of light would scramble to crowd around it, as if feeding on some delicacy.

The Purple Lightning Sable was completely indifferent to this, even occasionally opening its mouth slightly to let more Qi escape, its snoring filled with a sense of contentment.

"This is…" Lin Xuan widened his eyes, mobilizing all his memories.

The appendix of the introduction to hundreds of herbs, the obscure records regarding symbiotic relationships of Yao Beasts… found it!

"Purple Lightning Glow Insect, a rare Medium Grade Tier 1 Yao Insect, likes to live symbiotically beside powerful lightning-type beasts, surviving by feeding on the essence of the lightning Spiritual Qi they emit.

This insect possesses the 'Thunder Gathering' talent, can self-gather and purify the surrounding lightning Spiritual Qi, and in the places where it dwells, the lightning-type environment is gentle and abundant. If tamed, it is a great tonic for a Thunder Cultivator."

This passage exploded in Lin Xuan's mind like a thunderclap!

Thunder Gathering talent! Purifying lightning Spiritual Qi! A great tonic for a Thunder Cultivator!

Every word hit his needs precisely!

The shared talent slots of the spirit control tower only had two for the Qi Refinement Stage.

He had kept them, waiting for a talent that could fundamentally improve his Cultivation speed and was perfectly compatible.

This 'Thunder Gathering' talent of the Purple Lightning Glow Insect was simply tailor-made!

The grade was Medium Grade Tier 1, equivalent to Qi Refining Level 4 to 6, which was not too high and just right for him to obtain at his current stage.

Combat power? Looking at them begging for food around the Purple Lightning Sable, they were clearly not good at fighting and relied more on the host for survival.

Perfect! It was simply the perfect first shared target!

Lin Xuan forcefully suppressed the ecstasy and excitement in his heart. The more it was such a moment, the more he needed to be calm.

He carefully observed the number of those Purple Lightning Glow Insects. One, two, three… there were six in total.

Their size was only that of a thumb, resembling fireflies, but their entire bodies were crystal-clear like purple crystals, their wings were as thin as cicada wings, and they had natural, intricate silver lightning patterns on them; when they flew, they trailed faint purple light, beautiful and mysterious.

They seemed to feed on the essence of the lightning Spiritual Qi emitted by the Purple Lightning Sable, but at the same time, the faint aura they themselves emitted made the lightning Spiritual Qi around the Purple Lightning Sable become more gentle and orderly, forming a symbiotic cycle beneficial to both sides.

"No wonder the mist outside this mountain col was gray-purple, mixed with lightning Spiritual Qi. No wonder there was a sweet fragrance—it could be the pheromones emitted by the Thunder-Light Bug, or secretions from the Purple Lightning Sable in a certain state."

Lin Xuan quickly analyzed in his mind: "At noon and midnight, when the Purple Lightning Sable 'exchanges Qi', the emitted essence is the most abundant, and the Thunder-Light Bug is the most active, so the fragrance is strongest and the crackling sounds are most dense. This is the time they 'feed'."

"Then, to capture the Thunder-Light Bug, the best time is at noon or midnight, when the Purple Lightning Sable is in that half-awake, half-asleep state, relaxing and 'releasing food'."

"But I must avoid the Purple Lightning Sable's alert range and succeed quickly, otherwise, once this big guy is startled…"

He looked at that sleeping, dark purple giant beast; even through the mirror and fog, he could feel that heart-palpitating sense of oppression.

Peak of High Grade Tier 1, definitely not something he could contend with now.

Even with the stone golem puppet (combat power of Qi Refining Level 4), it probably wouldn't last a single breath in the face of the Purple Lightning Sable's speed and lightning attacks.

He had to win by wit, must be precise, must strike and succeed in one go, then flee far away.

Lin Xuan slowly retracted the bamboo pole and extinguished the Illumination Talisman. The image in the bronze mirror disappeared, and the depths of the mountain col were once again shrouded in gray-purple fog.

He curled back into the depths of the rock crevice, closed his eyes, and began to simulate various plans in his mind.

Rush in and grab them directly? That's suicide.

Use Talismans or Spells to attack the Thunder-Light Bug from a distance? That might injure the insect's body and would definitely startle the Purple Lightning Sable.

Set a trap? The flight path of the Thunder-Light Bug was difficult to predict, and the mountain col was the territory of the Purple Lightning Sable, so setting a trap itself carried risks.

"I need a… bait that makes the Thunder-Light Bug voluntarily leave the side of the Purple Lightning Sable without causing too much alarm." Lin Xuan pondered, "They feed on pure lightning Spiritual Qi essence, so then…"

He thought about how, after he Cultivated the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art, his spiritual power purity had increased and carried a trace of the lingering charm of heavenly thunder.

Although it was far inferior to the essence of the Purple Lightning Sable, would it be attractive to the Thunder-Light Bug?

It was worth a try.

But it needed verification, required a closer distance, and required knowing the sensitivity range and flight habits of the Thunder-Light Bug.

"Continue observing, at least for two more cycles. Figure out the maximum distance of their activity and what kind of lightning Spiritual Qi they are most sensitive to."

Lin Xuan made his decision. He adjusted his body to a more comfortable position, took out some dried meat to chew slowly, his eyes as calm as an ancient well.

Below, the snoring continued.

Outside the rock crevice, the gray-purple fog surged, filtering the daylight after noon into a chaotic twilight color.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse seemed to sense its master's state of mind, gently rubbing against his calf, the purple fur at the tip of its tail glowing slightly, as if saying: With me here, I can help you find them.

Lin Xuan stroked its head, the corner of his mouth curling into a very faint, yet determined arc.

Target, locked.

Next, it was time to formulate a foolproof plan, and then… strike.