Chapter 69: Lightning Art Lingxiu, Spell Breakthrough!

After seizing three treasures from the cave, Zhao Xing immediately retreated.

Because the three treasures resonated too strongly together and couldn't be absorbed in a short time, he chose the Altar Square.

The Altar Square is the outer area of the temple, where fighting is prohibited at certain times; entering during such a period guarantees absolute safety.

Otherwise, the clerks would have to compete with each other while also facing the dangers on the mountain, making the difficulty far too great.

After Zhao Xing entered the square, although watchful gazes remained, no one dared to act, nor could they act, and straw figures continued to file in one after another.

"Only thirty-four straw figures remain."

"But the Mighty Vajras still make up half of them."

Exploring the mountain cat's cave cost the most losses.

Some had their spell effects expire, or suffered damage, and Zhao Xing did not reapply them.

"Originally there were thirty-nine; upon entering the temple's range, another five were lost, including three Mighty Vajras." Zhao Xing's gaze turned cold as he looked in several directions.

Standing on the large tree was an archer martial artist, holding a silver bow, with arrows beside him gleaming with splendid light.

His clothing was also extraordinary—it could change with the environment, easy to overlook if not looked at carefully. It was this man who caused him to lose three Mighty Vajras.

"I'll remember you." Zhao Xing looked at the archer.

"Oh? Then I'll wait for you to come find me." The archer snorted coldly in response, then vanished into the jungle.

Although failing to fully pierce the Mighty Vajras surprised him somewhat, this man was merely a Si Nong and posed no threat to him at all.

In another direction stood a middle-aged scholar, wearing a ceremonial cap and sash, holding a feather fan. When Zhao Xing looked over, he was not annoyed in the slightest, but instead smiled slightly and cupped his hands in greeting, as if he were not the one who had just burned the straw figures.

"This is a Ritual Cultivator." Zhao Xing thought to himself. In the Zhou Dynasty's ritual and music system, music refers to cultivators like Lu Qian.

Among them, ritual likewise possesses tremendous power; they can also be called 'Scholar Cultivators'—the techniques mastered by civil officials are ritual spells.

When that man earlier told him to put down the Lingxiu, a impulse to obey the other's words was born in Zhao Xing's heart. Fortunately, he used Yin Wind to shake the other's soul, causing the flames from the latter half of the attack to miss him.

In the other directions, there were also people who had actually made moves, but Zhao Xing's actions were swift and his timing precise—some missed him, while others had already passed the point where they could act and had no time to strike.

"This brother, I..." Someone, seeing Zhao Xing was young, wanted to come over and chat, hoping for a chance to swindle some benefit.

"Scram!" Zhao Xing cut him off without the slightest courtesy.

He controlled the straw figures to form an encirclement before him, preventing those with ulterior motives from approaching, while also forming a wind wall to avoid being disturbed by sound.

Because right now, the discussions about him were not quiet.

"Who is that person? His straw figures seem different from the ones I've seen—they appear very powerful."

"He actually blocked Gu Feng's three Meteor Arrows? Can straw figures really have such high defense?"

"I recognize him—Zhao Xing of Gucheng, a clerk of the Si Nong Bureau."

"I've heard of Gucheng's Li Chengfeng, who bears the reputation of a gentleman; this man seems to have had a fortuitous encounter, having seized the thirteenth incense last night."

"My friend, if you know him, could you introduce us? I'd like to make his acquaintance."

"Make his acquaintance? Looking at the way you eye him, brother, it's his Lingxiu you're after, isn't it?"

"I advise you not to approach—this one is not someone easy to provoke. When he roared earlier, my scalp went numb, as if someone had doused me with a basin of ice water."

"I felt the same, as if the wind around me had seeped into my bones. No matter how I circulate my qi and blood, I'm still shivering even now."

"Tsk tsk tsk, there are more and more experts these days—even the Si Nong position has produced such a formidable character. One person, three Lingxiu, and so many miraculous straw figures!"

"It seems tonight's contest for the first incense will be even livelier than the first day."

"What a pity we didn't see it, and we don't know what happened last night either."

"I know a little. Last night, that Yang Junxiong, alone with a bamboo horse, swept through those of the same rank with no equal. He entered the temple and seized the first incense. The heir of the Nanyang Du family's spear art, Du Jiao Sect, arrived a step late and only got the second incense."

"Both are Si Nong—I wonder how this man compares to the True Lord's descendant Cao Cao Qiushui?"

"Probably can't compare, right?"

Summoning wind to swirl around his entire body and block out outside noise, Zhao Xing took out the treasures obtained from the mountain cat's cave.

A purple stone, a page of yellow paper, and a blue lotus pod.

"All three are mid-grade Lingxiu."

"It seems what the mountain cat valued so much was the superior-grade Lingxiu, the Qi Yun Golden Cup." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

He felt no regret—securing three Lingxiu at once and retreating unscathed was already extremely rare.

When a person's fortune is exploding, as long as one is not greedy, one can keep the gains.

If greedy, one might end up with nothing and be unable to escape safely. Zhao Xing had seen too many such examples.

"If I make progress on the third day, I'll go try again to seize the Qi Yun Golden Cup. If it doesn't work out, I won't force it—I'll just go down the mountain."

Casting aside distracting thoughts, Zhao Xing focused on what was before him.

He didn't dare touch the purple stone with his hands, instead using wind to hold it up, because even the Mighty Vajra had been scorched by lightning—his bare palm touching it would likely be ruined.

The reason it's called lightning-scorched rather than heat-scorched is precisely because this purple stone is a lightning-attribute Lingxiu.

Among the five elements, wind overcomes lightning; using a gentle breeze to hold it up prevents harm.

"Such dense lightning-attribute power!" Zhao Xing held it close to examine carefully. The stone was semi-transparent, and beneath a thin stone skin, it was filled with rampant lightning.

This was entirely a stone condensed from Lei Ting!

"I wonder how that silly cat carried it into the cave. No wonder I always felt the mountain cat moved as swift as lightning—that wasn't an illusion; it must have gained considerable benefit from this stone."

Without a doubt, this Lei Ting Stone was a lightning-attribute Lingxiu, containing pure Lei Ting power within, capable of aiding one in comprehending lightning-system spells!

"Hum~" Zhao Xing slowly brought his other hand closer, a wisp of yuan qi emerging from his fingertip, gently probing into it.

A faint tingling sensation traveled from his fingertip, and immediately Zhao Xing's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the Lei Ting Stone, his eyes fully immersed in the world within the stone.

"Boom-crack!"

The world within the stone was entirely a world of Lei Ting. Zhao Xing felt as if he were standing in Lei Chi, watching the flickering Lei Ting.

The world of Lei Ting was reflected in Zhao Xing's pupils.

He couldn't help but begin to comprehend, and his proficiency with lightning-attribute spells skyrocketed.

【You have comprehended the mid-grade spiritual essence 'Thunder Stone', Thunder Art proficiency increased by 1000 points!】

Just as it had only just begun, 【Thunder Strike】 immediately broke through to the eighth revolution, and 【Lightning Guidance】 also took advantage of the momentum to break through to the second revolution.