94: Chapter 94 Peak of Mid-Grade First Order

Late at night, Lin Xuan moved his mind and entered the Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

A warm, rich, and slightly tingling Thunder Spiritual Energy rushed towards him.

Unlike the freezing winter outside, the space always maintained a comfortable temperature and humidity.

Under the gray sky, the spirit fields were lush and green, forming a stark contrast to the icy, snow-covered world outside.

Lin Xuan first went to look at the thunder essence fruit tree.

The tree had grown to nine feet tall, its main trunk as thick as a bowl, and the natural thunder patterns on its bark moved like a Dragon or snake.

What was most eye-catching was that the light purple flower bud at the tip of the side branch had finally bloomed its first petal!

The petal was as thin as a cicada's wing, light purple in color, with fine silver patterns along the edges, glowing with a dreamlike luster under the reflection of the thunder light in the space.

The flower had bloomed.

Although it was only the first petal, this was a clear signal—the thunder essence fruit tree was about to enter its flowering period.

Once it bloomed, it would not be long before it bore fruit.

Lin Xuan gently stroked the petal, feeling the pure thunder vitality contained within.

He carefully injected a trace of Thunder Spiritual Energy to nourish it, and the petal trembled slightly, as if responding.

The fruit on the thunder-attracting vine was fully ripe.

It was a mix of blue and purple, the size of a fist, with dense thunder patterns on the surface, and electric sparks crackling and jumping.

Lin Xuan could feel that the power of thunder contained within the fruit had reached saturation and could be picked at any time.

But he was not in a hurry to pick it.

Letting it stay on the vine for a few more days to absorb more Spiritual Qi would improve its quality.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

The Herb-Seeking Mouse darted out from the thunder-pattern grass and hopped onto Lin Xuan's shoulder in a few movements.

Months had passed, and the little guy hadn't grown much in size, but its fur was even glossier, with a metallic sheen faintly visible within the dark purple.

Its pair of small eyes were lively and spirited, and its "Spirit Energy Tracking" talent had become increasingly keen under the long-term nourishment of Thunder Spiritual Energy.

Now, it could not only track spirit plants and minerals, but it also had a vague sense of hidden spiritual power fluctuations and Formation traces. Its range had expanded to sixty zhang, and its precision had improved by thirty percent.

Lin Xuan took out a small piece of soul-calming flower root.

The little guy hugged the root and began to gnaw on it with a "crunch-crunch" sound, squinting its eyes in satisfaction.

A vibration came from underground.

The Pangolin crawled out from the burrow.

Now, the Pangolin was nearly the size of an adult water buffalo, crouching there like a small hill.

Its dark gray scales were thick and solid, and the natural thunder patterns on the surface had turned from dark gold to purple-gold, flowing with a metallic luster under the thunder light.

The most obvious change was its aura—thick, steady, carrying both the heaviness of the earth and the violence of thunder.

It had broken through to the Medium Grade Peak of the first rank.

This was equivalent to a human Cultivator at Qi Refining Level 6.

Lin Xuan looked at this partner, whom he had rescued with his own hands and cultivated bit by bit, feeling moved.

The Thunder-Patterned Pangolin had good talent, and with the resources he provided, its cultivation speed was faintly even faster than his own.

"Your cultivation speed is even faster than mine now." Lin Xuan squatted down and patted the Pangolin's thick back armor.

The Pangolin let out a low growl, conveying feelings of intimacy and gratitude.

Through the contract, Lin Xuan could clearly perceive its current abilities—

"Earth Perception" range expanded to one hundred and fifty zhang, not only able to perceive underground structures and mineral vein distributions, but also vaguely sensing life auras and spiritual power fluctuations on the ground.

Its ability to manipulate earth and stone had greatly increased. Now, it could dig a fifty-zhang-long tunnel underground within thirty breaths, with minimal movement.

If it exerted its full strength, it could even briefly alter local geological structures, causing collapses and ground fissures.

Its defense was terrifying. Lin Xuan had once used the startling thunder whip to strike it with full force, only to leave a white mark on its back armor that disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Come, let's try coordinating." Lin Xuan stood up.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse jumped off his shoulder and darted to the edge of the spirit field, its little nose twitching, fully activating "Spirit Energy Tracking."

The Pangolin gave a low growl, inserting its front claws into the ground.

The ground vibrated slightly.

Thirty zhang away, a patch of open ground suddenly collapsed, revealing a pit five feet in diameter and one zhang deep.

The walls of the pit were smooth, clearly shaped instantly by the Pangolin's innate ability.

Almost simultaneously, the Herb-Seeking Mouse let out a "squeak" and darted in another direction—that was the location of the "imaginary enemy" it had "sensed."

Lin Xuan moved, activating "Thunder Flash Step," and turned into an afterimage as he dashed out.

The Thunder-Striking Thorn was already in his hand.

Three points of cold light gathered at the tip of the thorn. As he flicked his wrist, three purple thunder beams shot out, accurately sinking into the position indicated by the Herb-Seeking Mouse—where a trial bluestone had been deliberately placed.

"Puff! Puff! Puff!"

Three soft sounds.

Three deep holes, a foot long, appeared on the surface of the bluestone, the edges of the holes charred and cracked, with fine electric sparks jumping within.

The Pangolin created a pit to trap the enemy, the Herb-Seeking Mouse tracked and guided, and Lin Xuan delivered the fatal blow.

It was a simple coordination, but their proficiency improved with daily training.

"Still not enough." Lin Xuan withdrew the thorn, pondering, "If I am really sent to the front line, the terrain will be complex and the enemies cunning. The pit is too obvious; I need more covert interference methods."

He looked at the Pangolin: "Can you create small-scale vibrations underground to interfere with the enemy's perception?"

The Pangolin let out a low growl, conveying an affirmative thought.

It tapped its front claws lightly on the ground.

Fifty zhang away, the ground rippled slightly, like water waves. The vibration was very slight, but if a Cultivator used Divine Sense to probe the ground, they would be interfered with by this chaotic fluctuation, making it difficult to distinguish real movement.

"Good!" Lin Xuan's eyes lit up, "Again, Herb-Seeking Mouse, try distinguishing spiritual power fluctuations of different attributes in a complex environment..."

The training lasted for half an hour.

After finishing, Lin Xuan fed the two Spirit Beasts and went to check on the other spirit plants.

The thunder spirit flower had bloomed its second round, with twelve flowers blooming across five plants, the silver-purple petals looking unrealistically beautiful.

The seedlings of the shocking thunder flower had grown half a foot taller, and the golden spots were even brighter.

Everything was growing steadily.

When he exited the space, it was already midnight outside.

The snow had stopped, and moonlight leaked through the cracks in the clouds, illuminating the snow-covered ground in a ghastly white.

Lin Xuan lay on the bed, listening to the wailing of the cold wind sweeping through the bamboo forest.

It had been four months.

The war had not ended; instead, it dragged on, getting longer and longer like this cold winter.

The atmosphere in the Hundred Talisman Hall grew more oppressive with each passing day, the price of supplies at the exchange grew higher each month, and the news from the front line grew heavier with each report.

But life had to go on.

Cultivating, crafting Talismans, training Spirit Beasts, caring for the space... these things became his only anchor in the turmoil.

One day, while taking a break from crafting Talismans in the Hundred Talisman Hall, Lin Xuan heard two patrolling Foundation Establishment Talisman Masters whispering outside his cubicle.

"... Elder Chiyan is urging us, wanting us to come up with a stable drawing plan for the 'Thunder-Fire Evil-Breaking Talisman' as soon as possible."

"Easier said than done. Thunder and fire are mutually exclusive. Making the two attributes coexist in balance within a Talisman is ten times harder than a single-attribute Talisman. We've practiced over three hundred times, and the success rate is less than one in ten."

"But the front line is in urgent need. The Wraith army of the Xuanyin Sect is becoming harder to deal with. Ordinary thunder Talismans and fire Talismans have limited effects; we must fuse thunder and fire to thoroughly purify those ghost things."

"I know... Give me another month."

"Half a month at most. The war department has suffered heavy losses and can't wait."

The voices faded away.

Lin Xuan didn't stop his brush, but he noted down the name "Thunder-Fire Evil-Breaking Talisman" in his heart.

A high-level war Talisman that even Foundation Establishment Talisman Masters found headache-inducing—it seemed the situation on the front line was indeed not optimistic.

But this was not something he should worry about right now.

All he could do was hide himself well, steadily improve, stockpile resources, train his Spirit Beasts, and prepare for the variables that might come.

Outside the window, the cold wind rose again.

The bamboo shadows swayed on the snow, like countless struggling arms.

Lin Xuan closed his eyes, his breathing gradually slowing down.

Tomorrow would be a new day.

And under that gray sky, in his Spirit-Taming Tower Space, the flower bud of the thunder essence fruit tree was quietly blooming its second petal.