Chapter 384 - 357: Tracing Back
Chapter 384: Chapter 357: Tracing Back
「One month later.」
In a Spirit Cave in Han Chi County, Zhao Lin sat cross-legged on a cushion, dressed in a brown Daoist robe.
Light from an Everlasting Stone shone down. Dense Spiritual Qi enveloped his body, and with every breath, wisps of Spiritual Qi seeped into him.
A moment later, Zhao Lin opened his eyes, shook out his robes, and rose. He extended his left hand and formed a hand seal.
Palm facing up, he hooked his index and pinky fingers together. His middle finger passed between them, and he then used his thumb to press down on all three, forming a "Surprise Battle Seal."
A white ball of light the size of a fava bean rapidly condensed at his fingertips, entwined with several wisps of blue light that twisted and turned like spiritual snakes.
"Thunder Blade Skill!"
Zhao Lin let out a soft cry. With a flick of his joined fingers, the ball of light shot out like a bolt of lightning and struck the cave wall.
PFFT! A blinding flash of light appeared, then quickly vanished.
This was not because the Magic was weak, but because the Spirit Cave was protected by an Array that nullified the attack.
’It seems my cultivation is too low and my Spiritual Power is insufficient. I can only cast it at the Minor Achievement Level.’
Zhao Lin sighed softly.
The Thunder Blade Skill was an excellent armor-piercing tool. In a fight, when faced with powerful defensive Magic—when other spells, magic treasures, and even flying swords were useless—the Thunder Blade Skill could break through in a single strike.
Zhao Lin’s Rock Armor Skill was at the Mastery Level, making it exceptionally sturdy. It could easily withstand seven or eight attacks from Magic of the same level, but against the Thunder Blade Skill, it couldn’t even take one hit.
Just like in the martial path, those with a Thunder Spirit Root were extremely rare in the Cultivation Realm. Zhao Lin was the only one in all of Han Chi County.
Furthermore, Thunder Spiritual Power was highly unstable and difficult to craft into talismans. Most of the talismans on the market advertised with words like "thunder," "blast," or "boom" were actually inscribed with Fire Element Skills. Because of this, Zhao Lin had never had the chance to practice Thunder Element Skills.
When Li Yuanzhi attacked Zhao Lin with the Thunder Blade Skill, the Spirit Cultivation Map captured the Magic. Naturally, Zhao Lin wouldn’t let such a good opportunity go to waste. After returning, he spent sixty-four Spirit Stones to cultivate the Thunder Blade Skill to Mastery.
But when it came to actual practice, he encountered a problem: the Magic caused too much of a disturbance and consumed a massive amount of Spiritual Power.
Even at the initial Entry level, casting the Magic produced a deafening ROAR, and after just a few uses, his Spiritual Power would be completely depleted.
He could only spend several hours recovering his Spiritual Power before practicing again.
These were the characteristics of Thunder Element Skills: immense power, short duration, and extremely high Spiritual Power consumption.
For safety, and to speed up his practice, Zhao Lin exchanged merit points for the privilege of cultivating in a Spirit Cave.
This would allow him to quickly recover his Spiritual Power and practice the Thunder Blade Skill repeatedly.
The Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Cave was dense. Being inside felt as if his entire body was enveloped in it, and an hour of meditation was enough to fully restore his Spiritual Power.
At first, Zhao Lin redeemed time in a normal Spirit Cave, which cost three merit points for twenty-four hours of cultivation.
Half a month later, he finally raised his proficiency with the Magic to the Minor Achievement Level, only to discover that a single cast now consumed more than half his Spiritual Power.
He had no choice but to switch to a better, medium-grade Spirit Cave, which cost five merit points for twenty-four hours.
But after a few days of practice, he discovered that while his control over the Magic was growing more and more refined, its power remained stagnant.
After a long period of contemplation, Zhao Lin finally understood. He had mastered the Thunder Blade Skill to the Mastery Level, but limited by his insufficient Spiritual Power, he could only unleash its power at the Minor Achievement Level.
’This is as far as I can go for now. I expect it will come naturally once my cultivation reaches the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.’
Zhao Lin felt a sense of relief. Although the Thunder Blade Skill was only at the Minor Achievement Level, its destructive power in a single strike was still far greater than his other Magic.
He still had a few hours of cultivation time left in the Spirit Cave, which he couldn’t let go to waste, so he sat down and continued to practice.
Over the past month, Zhao Lin had broken through two more Spiritual Acupoints, putting him more than halfway through the Qi Refining Third Layer. Such progress placed him in the top five among all the disciples, even faster than many with high-grade Spiritual Roots.
However, this was all thanks to the Pipa Catfish’s Essence Soul, which allowed him to open his acupoints without any reservation. That, combined with his large amount of merit points, enabled him to cultivate in the Spirit Cave.
’It’s already difficult to increase my cultivation speed. Is there a way to enhance my Divine Sense and Spiritual Power?’
Zhao Lin silently pondered. Although he had mastered a Mastery-level Magic, he struggled to unleash its full power.
Not to mention the short attack range, after casting just a few spells, his Spiritual Power would be exhausted. It felt like a small horse pulling a large cart.
This problem became even more pronounced now that he had learned the Thunder Blade Skill.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...
A knocking sound came from outside the Spirit Cave.
Zhao Lin knew his time was up. He opened the stone door and strode out of the Spirit Cave.
The next day, Zhao Lin took this problem to the Instructional Elder.
Elder Wu listened patiently to Zhao Lin’s request and said in a teasing tone, "The greatest benefits of advancing your cultivation level are an increase in Divine Sense and Spiritual Power."
"But you want the benefits of a high level while still at a low one. Where in the world would you find such a good deal?"
Zhao Lin said seriously, "This disciple does not wish to take a shortcut. I have not slacked in my cultivation for a single moment. Unfortunately, my aptitude is ordinary, and it is difficult for me to advance my level quickly."
"During my recent mission outside the sect, I deeply felt that my attack range was too short, leaving me constrained in combat. That’s why I had this idea."
Elder Wu’s smile faded, and he nodded slightly. "This old man understands your thinking. You’ve pinpointed the problem accurately. If you want to expand your attack range, it all comes down to Spiritual Power and Divine Sense."
After a moment of thought, he said, "Let’s discuss them one by one."
"You are a Martial Cultivator. Your meridians are wide and your Spiritual Acupoints are deep, allowing you to hold more Spiritual Qi. Therefore, your Spiritual Power is already stronger than that of a Magic Cultivator at the same level."
"You just haven’t had a chance to compare, so you don’t realize it. As you open more Spiritual Acupoints, the gap will become more and more apparent."