Chapter 423: Refining Spiritual Roots 2

After the ice and fire, Zhang Shagen felt an intense itch all over his body, as if tens of thousands of ants were biting him inside and out. This numbing itch was even harder to endure than the ice and fire just moments ago; if not for Meng Yifan restraining his body, Zhang Shagen would have wanted to tear his own flesh off.

After a while longer, Zhang Shagen felt as if his body were being scraped by small knives; the pain was comparable to Lingchi.

Zhang Shagen was on the verge of collapse. He wanted to lose consciousness so he wouldn't have to suffer, but during the process of Refining Spiritual Roots, his mind remained extremely clear, making the desire to pass out a mere luxury.

Time ticked by, and Zhang Shagen felt as if every second lasted a year. After an unknown amount of time, Meng Yifan finally withdrew the hands he had pressed against Zhang Shagen's back and said, "It is done. I have helped you refine all other spiritual roots, and you are now left with only the Thunder Spirit Root, comparable to a Heavenly Spirit Root. I have already imprinted the 'Thunder Origin Art' into your mind. Later, try holding the wires and practicing the technique to see how the results are."

Zhang Shagen was tossed about like a dead fish. It took him five minutes to recover. Thinking of what he had just endured, he shivered all over. It was too painful, truly too painful; that kind of agony had exceeded the limits of what an ordinary person could bear.

If Meng Yifan hadn't used his Spirit Power to protect Zhang Shagen's vital points, Zhang Shagen would have exploded and died during the refining process.

Zhang Shagen slowly stood up, looked at the two wires sparking with electricity, and said with some fear, "Master, is this reliable? I heard the middle school students in the school say that touching wires can electrocute people to death. If I grab the wires directly like this, won't I be roasted into charcoal?"

"It's fine, go ahead and grab them with confidence. You have your master here; you won't be electrocuted to death." Meng Yifan now possessed the Five Elements Origin Power; the Wood System energy governed growth and was inexhaustible, while the Water System energy nourished all things. Both of these energies could be used for healing, so even if Zhang Shagen were charred by electricity, Meng Yifan could still heal him.

"Alright, Master, I'm going to grab them then. Keep an eye on me." Zhang Shagen sat cross-legged, gritted his teeth, reached out his right hand, and grabbed the two wires sparking with electricity.

In an instant, Zhang Shagen's eyes rolled back, his hair stood on end, and his whole body trembled.

"Fool, circulate the Thunder Origin Art," Meng Yifan shouted.

Zhang Shagen endured the pain of the electric shock, focused his mind, and circulated the "Thunder Origin Art." Soon, he felt the current surging into his body stop darting around wildly and instead follow his commands, moving through the circulation path of the "Thunder Origin Art" to complete a full cycle.

At the same time, as the "Thunder Origin Art" circulated, the stray Lightning Spirit Qi in the world was also attracted, entering his meridians through the Baihui Acupoint on the top of his head, merging with the current, and slowly refining into Zhang Shagen's own Lightning Spirit Power.

"Haha, this method is indeed feasible." Seeing Zhang Shagen's cultivation get on the right track, Meng Yifan was very pleased.

In fact, it would have been best for Zhang Shagen to hold a Thunder Spirit Stone while practicing the technique, but Meng Yifan had no Thunder Spirit Stones at all.

To help Zhang Shagen improve his cultivation as quickly as possible, Meng Yifan had a flash of inspiration, thinking that the electricity generated by the wind turbines was also a form of Thunder Element energy. Although this type of Thunder Element energy was not quite the same as the energy in a Thunder Spirit Stone, it was essentially similar.

Since Meng Yifan was by his side and Zhang Shagen wouldn't be electrocuted to death, Meng Yifan used him for an experiment, and it seemed the results were quite good.

Next, based on their levels of loyalty and their spiritual root conditions, Meng Yifan called in some more soldiers from the Imperial Guard Company to temper their spiritual meridians.

Zhang Shagen had been tempered into one comparable to a Heavenly Spirit Root, which required consuming too much World Source energy; for the other soldiers, Meng Yifan basically tempered them into Three-Series Spirit Roots.

Such aptitude was already quite good; if they entered an Immortal Cultivation Sect, they could directly become Inner Disciples.

Meng Yifan tried his best to ensure the soldiers retained their Thunder Spirit Roots so they could use wires to assist in their cultivation, but this led to a new problem: there wasn't enough electricity.

Luolong County relied on wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels for electricity, which was enough for lighting, but now with so many soldiers holding wires to practice, the power supply could not keep up.

"I must make a trip back to Earth to get more wind power generator units and solar photovoltaic panels. Also, I need to get more thermal weapons like assault rifles, hand grenades, and rocket launchers to prepare the soldiers for seizing Spirit Stone Mines."

"And there is also that Yamata no Orochi in Dongying. It killed my master, so I should go back and take revenge."

Thinking of the scene where Zhang Sanfeng fell, Meng Yifan felt as if his heart were being cut by a knife. Now that he was a Sixth Grade High cultivator, he had the strength to crush Yamata no Orochi and avenge his master.

Meng Yifan had tempered the spiritual roots of fifty-five soldiers in total. It wasn't that he didn't want to temper more, but the energy of the World Source was insufficient.

Meng Yifan had already integrated the Faith Wish Power of the believers in Luolong County into the World Source, but it was still not enough to cover the expenses. He had to stop the refining for now and wait until he seized a Spirit Stone Mine and had abundant energy before continuing to help the soldiers refine their spiritual roots.

Meng Yifan arrived at the Practice Chamber and announced to the outside that he was going into seclusion. In reality, he consumed the collected Soul Energy, clicked the return button, and once again opened the Space-Time Channel, preparing to return to Earth.

As his strength increased, Meng Yifan felt the Game Panel was becoming increasingly mysterious and unfathomable. Not to mention that killing monsters could grant Experience Value to rapidly increase his strength, the mere fact that it could open a Space-Time Channel connecting two worlds was already mind-boggling.

Meng Yifan was now a Sixth Grade High cultivator; he had his own Nine-System World Prototype and could use World Power to perceive the boundless sea of the universe.

The sea of the universe was too vast, with Space Turbulence blowing across it; Meng Yifan's Nine-System World was like a plankton floating on the ocean.

Wanting to cross the sea of the universe from one world to another was extremely difficult. With Meng Yifan's current strength, a moment of carelessness would result in being shredded by the Space Turbulence.

Yet this Space-Time Channel opened by the Game Panel connected Earth and the Great Martial Heavenly Dynasty World, allowing even low-level cultivators to traverse space and time; it was truly miraculous.

From the memory fragments of He Dongliu, Meng Yifan learned that even a Nine-Rank Expert could not establish such a Space-Time Channel.

"The Game Panel must have been crafted by an expert in the Ancient God Realm. Why did they craft the Game Panel, and why did they choose me as the host?"

Meng Yifan's heart was filled with confusion. He believed that as his strength increased, he would slowly find the answers.

Meng Yifan stopped overthinking, took a step forward, and walked into the Space-Time Channel. In an instant, the light distorted and the world spun. When everything stabilized, he had already returned to Earth once again.