Chapter 254: Lightning Technique

"Master, rest assured. The student surpasses the master; this disciple will not lose face for you!" Xia Daoming said with a serious expression upon hearing this.

Uh!

Zuo Dongge looked at Xia Daoming, speechless.

This brat is even more arrogant than I was back in the day!

And he's only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment!

But it seems that when I was at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, I could only beat up mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators who were slightly more formidable could only fight me to a draw. This brat can already defeat Foundation Establishment perfection; he indeed has the qualifications to be more arrogant than me!

Zuo Dongge soon discovered with frustration that this disciple of his was actually far more formidable than he had been back in the day.

"The two Senior Brothers I mentioned to you are comparable to False Core cultivators," Zuo Dongge reminded him helplessly after a good while.

"Having just received Master's guidance, this disciple has gained a lot; defeating them should be no problem," Xia Daoming said with a confident expression.

Zuo Dongge looked at the overconfident Xia Daoming and wanted to give a reminder, but thinking that those two were both favored children of heaven, they would definitely disdain challenging Xia Daoming, who was at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Moreover, if the two were to fight, given Xia Daoming's realm, even if he lost, it would be a glorious defeat that wouldn't damage his dignity.

"Fine, you handle it yourself; anyway, I, your master, won't care," Zuo Dongge soon waved his large hand.

"By the way, Master, is that Wan Yue Technique really that formidable?" Xia Daoming asked.

"Your Sect Master Uncle practices the Wan Yue Technique. Back in the day, among the disciples of the same generation, only I could suppress him. You think about it—is it formidable or not?" Zuo Dongge said.

Xia Daoming stared at Zuo Dongge for a long time upon hearing this, his eyes full of admiration.

To be able to say such things—it truly makes people admire him.

Zuo Dongge was looked at in a confused way and was about to flare up when Xia Daoming already gave a thumbs-up and said: "Then it must be formidable!"

"That's right, I almost couldn't suppress him back in the day!" Zuo Dongge said with emotion.

"Master, what do you think about Qiaolian switching to practice the Wan Yue Technique?" Xia Daoming asked.

Zuo Dongge stroked his beard upon hearing this and fell into deep thought.

Xia Daoming sat obediently on the side, not daring to disturb him.

"There is no such necessity. Qiaolian's greatest talent lies in formations. Formidable formations can completely fight across realms, and can even fight one against many without being defeated.

But no matter how formidable one's formation attainments are, wanting to deploy them requires a corresponding realm to match. The Wan Yue Technique levels up too slowly; not only will it prevent Qiaolian from going far, but it will also greatly drag down her progress in formations.

There are quite a few disciples in the Qingyuan Sect who covet the power of the Wan Yue Technique, but those who truly have the opportunity to reach Core Formation are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Today, in the entire Qingyuan Sect, there is only your Sect Master Uncle who is a Core Formation cultivator practicing the Wan Yue Technique.

And his path has basically reached its end; unless there is a heaven-sent fortuitous encounter, it is impossible to have hope of breaking the Core to form the Nascent Soul," Zuo Dongge said.

"Many thanks for Master's guidance; this disciple understands. Then let her continue practicing the Earth Mountain Suppressing Yuan Technique," Xia Daoming said.

"Have you found your cave dwelling?" Zuo Dongge asked.

"Returning to Master, I have already found it. It is one hundred and eighty li southeast of Heaven Jianfeng, named Crimson Flame Shanfeng. It is currently being arranged," Xia Daoming replied.

"Crimson Flame Shanfeng?" Zuo Dongge showed a trace of confusion. "I don't seem to have heard the name of this mountain peak."

"This disciple named it," Xia Daoming explained.

"You named it? You found a nameless mountain peak?" Zuo Dongge's brow furrowed slightly.

In the Qingyuan mountains, peaks are like a forest, and most are nameless. Those peaks are very ordinary, so the Qingyuan Sect couldn't be bothered to name them.

Only those peaks recorded in the register are suitable for cultivation and opening cave dwellings.

"That's right, Qiaolian helped this disciple find it," Xia Daoming replied.

"Take me to see it," Zuo Dongge thought for a moment and said.

Soon, the group took the flying boat and arrived at Crimson Flame Shanfeng.

Crimson Flame Shanfeng, having been arranged by Liu Qiaolian and the others, was already showing some momentum; a red light was vaguely visible at the top of the peak.

And all around, the ground that had originally been vaguely emitting heat was now moist and cool. The vegetation on it was still not lush, but the branches and leaves were stretched out, no longer in the withered and dying state as before.

Not only that, strands of spiritual energy were escaping from underground, the quality of which was clearly higher than other nameless mountain peaks.

Zuo Dongge stood on the peak, closing his eyes to feel it.

After a long time, he opened his eyes, greatly moved.

"A discerning eye for pearls, a discerning eye for pearls indeed! This Crimson Flame Shanfeng is ordinary, even having the shape of a barren mountain, so it was ignored by true disciples for so many years, and even we elders didn't pay any attention to it.

I never expected that you, Qiaolian, with only Qi Refining cultivation, would discover this mountain peak in just a few days. It seems your innate formation talent is even more formidable than I imagined," Zuo Dongge looked at Liu Qiaolian and couldn't help but praise her.

"Master overpraises me; this disciple does not deserve it," Liu Qiaolian said modestly.

"Lian'er, you don't need to be modest in front of Master; your formation talent is truly formidable," Xia Daoming laughed.

"It is indeed formidable. The geothermal vein of this mountain is of good quality, just right for your sworn sister, Wenyue, and Lan Xue to use for alchemy. The only slight flaw is that the spiritual energy is still a bit lacking.

But that is not a big problem either. Spend some spirit stones and other materials to set up a Spirit Gathering Array, and with the general environment of Qingyuan Mountain, you can gather dense spiritual energy.

Moreover, you are my disciples; on my Heaven Jianfeng side, you can pick a place in the mountains to serve as your own cultivation cave dwelling. When you need to go into long-term closed-door cultivation, you can go to Heaven Jianfeng," Zuo Dongge said.

"Master, regarding the spiritual energy matter, Qiaolian has already considered it. She is currently arranging it, and if everything goes smoothly, she can connect to the spiritual pivot node of that large third-rank spiritual vein," Xia Daoming said with a trace of smugness.

"Oh!" Zuo Dongge was greatly moved.

Then, he stopped speaking, transformed into a streak of brilliant light, and shot into the sky, circling around the area.

After a good while, Zuo Dongge returned to Crimson Flame Shanfeng and stood on the peak, closing his eyes for a moment before slowly opening them.

At this moment, his gaze toward Liu Qiaolian changed again.

"Work hard; in the future, you will surely shine brilliantly in formations! After you become a true disciple, I will introduce you to the elders in the sect who are proficient in formations, and I will also discuss with the Sect Master to let you browse the ancient formation scrolls hidden in the Scripture Pavilion," Zuo Dongge said, his expression excited.

He never expected that when his own path had reached its end, Heaven would send him such a formation genius.

Of course, Xia Daoming was also very formidable, being able to open the Blood Sea.

However, in Zuo Dongge's view, body-refining martial arts were ultimately in decline; Xia Daoming couldn't go far and would ultimately have to return to the Qi Refining Dao.

If that were the case, Liu Qiaolian, who had superior cultivation talent and was a formation genius, had a much brighter future than Xia Daoming, and her contribution to the sect in the future would be much greater than Xia Daoming's.

"Many thanks, Master; this disciple will surely not let down Master's deep love," Liu Qiaolian bowed to thank him upon hearing this.

"Daoming, to have a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for!" Looking at Liu Qiaolian's sensible and gentle appearance, and thinking of her talent, Zuo Dongge couldn't help but sigh with emotion to Xia Daoming.

"Master, you must not say such things. If it weren't for Master, where would this disciple be today!" Liu Qiaolian said hurriedly upon hearing this.

Zuo Dongge looked at Liu Qiaolian, then at Xia Daoming, who had a trace of smugness on his face, shook his head speechlessly, and left, rolling up a streak of brilliant light.

"Before Crimson Flame Shanfeng is opened up, you might as well come to Heaven Jianfeng to live and cultivate."

Zuo Dongge's voice came from far away.

——

After that day, Xia Daoming's life returned to peace.

Every day, he was either in the Zhu Que Residence cultivating in seclusion, or going to the Scripture Pavilion to browse ancient scrolls, or going to Heaven Jianfeng to seek guidance from Zuo Dongge, occasionally going to Crimson Flame Shanfeng to check on the progress.

This day.

In Xia Daoming's middle dantian, the Blood Sea surged, and above it, three bolts of lightning moved like electric snakes.

A section of pitch-black wood in his hand made a cracking sound, actually turning into powder and scattering on the ground.

This wood was precisely the greeting gift Xiao Hongyi had given him: a section of Millennium Lightning-Struck Wood.

Xia Daoming walked out of the cultivation room, flew out of Changqing City, and found an uninhabited mountain ridge.

"Lightning, come!"

Xia Daoming's heart stirred, and he spread his palm toward a giant rock seventy-some zhang away.

A dazzling, thick bolt of lightning was emitted from his palm.

"Boom!"

The lightning struck the giant rock.

The giant rock instantly exploded, rocks flying everywhere.

Looking at the flying rocks, Xia Daoming was stunned for a good while.

This technique was precisely one of the body-refining divine abilities collected in the Qingyuan Sect's Scripture Pavilion: the Palm Lightning Technique.

Xia Daoming had anticipated that this technique would not only be extremely fast but also very powerful.

But when it was truly deployed, it still made Xia Daoming feel somewhat surprised.

This technique was not only a wonderful long-range method for body-refining martial arts, but if it were suddenly unleashed at close range, I'm afraid even a Core Formation cultivator could be killed in one blow.

"What a divine ability! It's just a pity that it consumes too much lightning-struck wood!" Xia Daoming soon recovered, feeling both joyful and somewhat regretful.

It turned out that after this strike, there was one less bolt of lightning above the Blood Sea.

That section of Millennium Lightning-Struck Wood was worth a lot, estimated at fifty or sixty thousand.

This casual Palm Lightning strike was equivalent to consuming 20,000 spirit stones.

Not only that, collecting lightning energy from the lightning-struck wood and condensing lightning in the Blood Sea also consumed a lot of energy.

"Isn't it just 20,000 spirit stones? I, Master Xia, can afford to spend it." Soon, Xia Daoming lost his regret, feeling only joy.

Returning to Changqing City, Xia Daoming immediately sought to purchase Millennium Lightning-Struck Wood.

The Changqing City market was rich in goods.

Xia Daoming soon purchased five sections of Millennium Lightning-Struck Wood.

Of course, it cost quite a bit, totaling 300,000 spirit stones.

Returning to the Zhu Que Residence, Xia Daoming began to borrow the lightning-struck wood to condense lightning in the Blood Sea.

There are many kinds of divine abilities.

The methods for deploying various divine abilities are all different.

The Palm Lightning Technique is not cultivated and transformed from strength, but is condensed from external lightning power, hidden in the Blood Sea, and deployed when needed.

Therefore, this divine ability only consumes time, effort, and wealth during cultivation; once cultivated, it is equivalent to a talisman, not requiring much magic power to release.

Of course, the power of this divine ability is immense, far from what ordinary talismans can compare to.

Xia Daoming had only just opened the Blood Sea and was still far from casting the Crimson Palace, so he could just use the cultivation of this divine ability to temper his strength and blood essence; he wasn't afraid of consuming time and effort, and as for wealth, that was even less of a problem.

Therefore, Xia Daoming prepared to take advantage of this period to store a large amount of lightning in the Blood Sea.

In this way, when fighting others in the future, he could release lightning to kill the enemy just like throwing talismans.

At that time, bolts of lightning would be released, flashing and thundering, illuminating the world—just thinking about it was majestic.

It was just a pity that Xia Daoming had thought of things too beautifully.

When he exhausted five sections of lightning-struck wood and spent nearly 300,000 to purchase four more sections, Xia Daoming soon discovered that after the lightning reached eighteen bolts, no matter how hard he tried, he could no longer increase it.

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and a month went by.

Shang Rui and Ji Wenyue returned to Changqing City.

Accompanying them were Lu Ziying, Xia Daoming's godson Especially Especially Lu Yunjin, and six young boys and girls.

The day after Shang Rui and the others returned, Xia Daoming took Shang Rui, Ji Wenyue, Lu Ziying, and Especially Especially Lu Yunjin to pay respects to Zuo Dongge.

Zuo Dongge soon discovered that Ji Wenyue not only had superior cultivation talent but was also a natural genius in alchemy.

Immediately, Zuo Dongge took Ji Wenyue as his personal disciple.

Zuo Dongge also appreciated Lu Ziying.

However, Lu Ziying was Xia Daoming's Junior Niece, so he did not take her as a disciple, but simply used his authority as a Core Formation Elder to directly give Lu Ziying the status of an inner disciple.

Especially Especially Lu Yunjin's talent was considered quite good, but Zuo Dongge's vision was high, and he didn't catch his eye.

However, out of consideration for Xia Daoming, Zuo Dongge also got him the status of an inner disciple.

He was considered a person of his Heaven Jianfeng lineage.

Shang Rui was a False Core cultivator and a third-rank alchemist, so Zuo Dongge was quite polite to her.

Privately, he specifically sought her opinion, indicating that if she were willing, he could go discuss with the Sect Master to give her the status of a guest elder.

However, Shang Rui refused.

She indicated that she was only willing to follow Xia Daoming to do things and was not willing to be constrained by the sect.

Even though Zuo Dongge's vision was very high, hearing that a figure like Shang Rui was actually willing to follow Xia Daoming to do things, he was still greatly shocked.

"Elder Zuo, don't be surprised. Actually, I find this brat Daoming very unpleasant, but not only did he save my life, but my being able to form a False Core was also thanks to him, so I can only work for him," Shang Rui respected Zuo Dongge and explained specifically when she saw his surprise.

"You also find that brat unpleasant? Me too; seeing him makes me annoyed, and I want to beat him up," Zuo Dongge immediately felt like he had found a kindred spirit.

As for the life-saving grace and the False Core formation Shang Rui mentioned, he didn't feel much surprise.

Shang Rui, who had always been reclusive and had no expression on her old face, couldn't help but purse her lips and smile lightly upon hearing this: "I don't have the guts to beat him given my status. If possible, Elder Zuo, please help me beat him a few more times, lest this brat show off at every turn."

Shang Rui's sentence "show off at every turn" hit Zuo Dongge right in the heart.

"Fellow Daoist Shang, rest assured; the day this brat shows off again, I will help you beat him," Zuo Dongge laughed.

——

In the blink of an eye, another month passed.

Under Zuo Dongge's guidance, Liu Qiaolian and Ji Wenyue soon reached the perfection of Qi Refining.

Another month later.

Liu Qiaolian and Ji Wenyue took Jin Dan Ye for Foundation Establishment.

For the sake of Liu Qiaolian and Ji Wenyue, Zuo Dongge specifically ran to the Qingyuan main peak to pay a visit to Sect Master Yue Huang.

Zuo Dongge hadn't paid a visit in decades; his sudden arrival made Yue Huang very surprised.

Zuo Dongge stated his purpose, which made Yue Huang even more surprised and shocked.

"My path has reached its end; rather than living out the rest of my life in a daze, I might as well contribute a bit more to the sect. These two girls have superior innate talent and will surely shine brilliantly for the sect in the future, so I want to request the status of true disciples for them," Zuo Dongge said with a solemn expression.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 255 =====