41: Chapter 41 The Potential of the Thunder-Patterned Pangolin

A hidden creek valley behind the mountain became Lin Xuan's private Cultivation ground.

Every morning, he first Cultivated the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art.

With the assistance of the "Thunder Gathering" talent, the sparse Thunder Spiritual Energy in the surroundings gathered in wisps, and the refining efficiency far exceeded the past.

The Spiritual Qi vortex within his Dantian was growing slowly but steadily.

For the remainder of the morning, he practiced the Thunder Flash Step.

The initial attempts were nothing short of a disaster.

The first time he circulated the Spell, the Thunder Spiritual Energy erupted violently in his leg Meridians—and then he was like a kicked stone, crashing diagonally into a bowl-thick bamboo, snapping it with a "crack", while he himself was left dizzy and disoriented, his right leg muscle strained, grimacing in pain.

The second time, he controlled the Spiritual Qi output to be smaller, but ended up only darting out one step, without even leaving an afterimage, no different from an ordinary person jumping.

The third time, the Spiritual Qi control was unstable, the explosive force in his left leg was stronger than his right, and his whole body spun into the creek, becoming a drowned rat.

But he did not give up.

The Thunder Body Tempering from the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art made his Meridians and Physical Body much tougher than Cultivators of the same Realm.

Strains? Apply ointment, circulate Spiritual Qi to nourish, and it would be better in half a day. Bruises? Thick-skinned and fleshy, at most a bruise.

He tried again and again, carefully feeling every detail of the Spiritual Qi flowing through his leg Meridians, adjusting the output intensity, the timing of the explosion, and the coordination of his legs.

Five days later, he was finally able to barely complete a short, directionally controllable dash within a range of about a zhang!

Although his movements were still a bit stiff, and only an extremely faint, fleeting electrical afterimage appeared behind him, but... he had succeeded!

"It's done!" Lin Xuan stood by the creek, looking at the shallow pit stepped out by the explosive force under his feet, a smile appearing on his face.

This was just the entrance, still far from the Realm described in the Thunder Flash Step as "moving like thunder, afterimages confusing the enemy", but at least he had taken the first step.

In the afternoon, he practiced the Palm Thunder.

This Spell had higher requirements for control precision.

When the Thunder Spiritual Energy was compressed in his palm, that violent power felt as if it would break free from its restraints at any moment.

The first few times, the thunder ball either exploded in his palm prematurely, numbing his hand, or shot out crookedly, its power dissipated.

He had to slow down his rhythm, adjusting the compression force bit by bit, feeling the subtle balance of the Thunder Spiritual Energy rotating and condensing in his palm.

Seven days later, he could stably condense an egg-sized, constantly rotating pale purple thunder ball in his palm, and barely control it to shoot toward a target ten steps away.

"Boom!"

The thunder ball hit a blue stone, blasting out a pit the size of a rice bowl, with gravel flying everywhere.

The power was indeed a large chunk stronger than the Lightning Strike Technique, and the Spiritual Qi consumption was more concentrated, with stronger sustained combat capability.

"The penetrating power is still insufficient, the compression could be tighter..." Lin Xuan observed the traces on the blue stone, summarizing his experience.

In the evening, he returned to his small courtyard.

First, he fed the Pangolin in the Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

The "Spirit-Life Powder" had significant effects. Combined with the increasingly dense, gentle Thunder Spiritual Energy in the space, and the vitality emitted by the thunder-attracting vine, the Pangolin's injuries were recovering quickly.

Those wounds that were deep enough to see bone had already closed and scabbed over, and the places where the scales were shattered had also begun to slowly regenerate.

Its aura was stable at the Medium Grade of the First Order, and although it was still some distance from its prime, its life was no longer in danger.

The Pangolin showed obvious dependence on and closeness to the Thunder-Light Bug.

It always liked to lie under the roots of the thunder-attracting vine, directly below the Thunder-Light Bug, as if that were its most comfortable nest.

The pure Thunder Spiritual Energy gathered by the Thunder-Light Bug was very beneficial to its Cultivation and the repair of the thunder patterns on its scales.

Lin Xuan, through the contract, began to consciously train its Earth Perception talent.

"Perceive under the courtyard." He transmitted his intention, while pointing at the ground with his finger.

The Pangolin let out a low roar, lay prone on the ground, and closed its eyes.

Lin Xuan also closed his eyes to sense.

At first, it was still blurry vibration ripples. But as time passed, and with the recovery of the Pangolin's state and the improvement of its cooperation, those ripples gradually became clear—

About three feet below the courtyard was a compacted soil layer;

There were several large stones five feet deep;

Seven feet below the corner of the wall on the left, there was a fist-sized hole, inside which there were no signs of life, it seemed to be a root hole left after some old tree died; directly below the center of the courtyard, the soil quality was relatively uniform...

"I can 'see' clearly!" Lin Xuan opened his eyes, surprised in his heart.

He continued to train, taking out several different stones—ordinary mountain stone, fragments of lightning-struck stone, a piece of iron Ore, letting the Pangolin perceive them one by one, and transmitting the intention of "remember this vibration difference" through the contract.

The Pangolin's learning ability was acceptable, but it needed repeated reinforcement.

Lin Xuan was extremely patient, spending half an hour every day on this training.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse seemed a bit "out of favor", often squatting in the corner, watching Lin Xuan and the Pangolin "communicate", its black bean eyes looking a bit aggrieved.

Lin Xuan noticed it, and specially fed it a few crumbs of Medicinal Pill, stroking its head: "Your skills are also very important, finding spiritual plants still relies on you."

The Herb-Seeking Mouse then became happy again, rubbing against his palm.

On the tenth day after returning from the valley, Lin Xuan went to work in the Qinglin Valley medicine garden as usual.

During this period, he maintained a regular work routine, maintaining his relationship with Deacon Wu.

In the medicine garden, he was still that steady and careful Disciple with solid knowledge of spiritual plants, getting along with Zhao Ming, Qian Xiaohu, and Sun Yun as usual.

After finishing work on this day, Deacon Wu rarely called him to stay.

"Lin Xuan, stay a moment."

The other three walked away tactfully. Lin Xuan followed Deacon Wu into his simple bamboo house.

Deacon Wu signaled him to sit down, while he leisurely brewed a pot of coarse tea and poured two cups.

"How was the harvest from the valley trip?" Deacon Wu sipped his tea, his tone flat, as if chatting casually.

Lin Xuan felt a chill in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged: "Returning to Deacon, this Disciple was lucky to come out alive, had some small gains, exchanged for some contribution points, and also saw a lot."

"Hmm." Deacon Wu put down the teacup, his gaze falling on him, "I observe your aura is steady, much more solid than before entering the valley, it seems the harvest was more than just 'small gains'? But this is your Opportunity, this old man won't ask more."

He paused, then said: "In the valley, did you see any special scenes? For example... mist with strange colors, or unusual traces of Yao Beast?"

Lin Xuan's thoughts raced, hiding key things like the Thunder-Light Bug and the Pangolin, and deliberated: "This Disciple did see mist that was grayish-purple near a Stone Forest, different from other places. Also discovered some huge claw prints there, like a cat or a dog, the soil at the edges of the claw prints had scorch marks, as if caused by lightning strikes. This Disciple's strength was low, so I did not dare to investigate deeply."

"Grayish-purple mist... Thunder-attribute claw prints..." Deacon Wu muttered repeatedly, a trace of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.

For a long time, he spoke slowly: "West of Emerald Bamboo Peak, past our medicine garden, walking deeper, and then west of the boundary with Fire Cloud Valley, there is a ruin that is covered by thunderclouds all year round, recorded in the Sect scrolls as 'Thunderfall Ravine'."

Lin Xuan held his breath and listened.

"That place was an important Thunder-attribute resource point for the Sect in the early years, producing lightning-struck stone, Thunder-Patterned Iron, and even small amounts of more precious 'Thunder Crystals'."

"Later... it was abandoned for some reason, it is said that the earth veins shifted, the thunderstorms went out of control, and it became a dangerous place. Nowadays, the thunderstorms there are erratic, and there are powerful Thunder-attribute Yao Beasts spawned by the environment."

"The Sect has an order, without reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, one must never go deep into the bottom of the ravine."

Deacon Wu looked at Lin Xuan, meaningfully: "If you have the intention to explore Thunder-attribute resources, when your strength is sufficient in the future, you may go to the periphery to take a look. But remember, act according to your ability."

Lin Xuan respectfully said: "This Disciple will keep it in mind."

Deacon Wu nodded, and said again: "As for Fire Cloud Valley and Emerald Bamboo Peak... Do you know, thousands of years ago, these two areas were one?"

Lin Xuan was shocked in his heart: "This Disciple does not know."

"At that time, this place was not called Emerald Bamboo Peak, nor was it called Fire Cloud Valley, but a huge peak named 'Thunder-Fire Mountain'."

Deacon Wu's tone was distant, "Later, a great battle occurred, Cultivators above the Nascent Soul Stage fought here, shattering the earth veins and splitting the spiritual energy."

"Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi gathered in the east, forming the current Fire Cloud Valley; Thunder-attribute Spiritual Qi gathered in the west, which is our Emerald Bamboo Peak and the surrounding area, and Thunderfall Ravine was one of the cores at that time."

"The Thunder-attribute traces you discovered were perhaps left over from the great battle that year, and over time, the earth Qi surged up to form them."

This confirmed Lin Xuan's previous speculation! No wonder Fire Cloud Valley had flame traces, Emerald Bamboo Peak had lightning-struck stone fragments, and Cloud Mist Valley had a Purple Lightning Sable... It turns out the root cause was here!

"Many thanks to Deacon for clearing up my confusion!" Lin Xuan bowed sincerely.

Deacon Wu waved his hand: "These old stories are also sporadically recorded in the Sect's classics, not considered a secret."

"Just a reminder to you, when exploring Thunder-attribute resources, do not just stare at what is in front of you. Some things are connected to a whole earth vein, a segment of ancient history."

He thought for a moment, then said: "Since you are interested in minerals, this old man will give you a few more pointers."

"To explore mineral veins, besides looking at surface vegetation anomalies, one must pay more attention to 'earth Qi'."

"Near Thunder-attribute mineral veins, there are often extremely subtle, continuous static electricity phenomena, and the growth of plants may be skewed; the soil may also have a trace of burnt smell."

"If there are holes or dangers underground, sometimes abnormal odors will seep out from the rock crevices, or attract specific insects that like shade and fear light..."

Deacon Wu spoke of several simple and practical local methods, and mentioned several indicator plants that might accompany Thunder-attribute mineral veins, all of which were empirical knowledge, much more precious than the generalized talk in books.

Lin Xuan felt as if he had obtained a treasure, remembering them one by one in his heart.

Before leaving, Deacon Wu looked at him, and said lightly: "Cultivate well. The Thunder Dao is difficult, but if you can walk down it, the future is limitless."

Lin Xuan bowed and exited the bamboo house, a deep gratitude surging in his heart for this seemingly serious and rigid old Deacon.

His background is definitely not simple. This knowledge is definitely not something an ordinary medicine garden Deacon could have.

"Thunderfall Ravine... Thunder-Fire Mountain..." Lin Xuan walked on the road back to the small courtyard, his thoughts churning in his heart.