Daoist Competition

With the assistance of the "Riding Gold Essence Stone," the thunder energy entering the belly has become harmonious and balanced, making it easy to move. Zhang Yan absorbed it into his Dan Acupoint, transforming it for a full quarter of an hour, until not a drop of those sixteen strands of thunder energy remained.

Next, he followed the guidance of the Dharma technique, resolutely focusing his heart and spirit, patiently operating the Mysterious Skill.

Yet the spell is extremely complex, and after an entire day, he finally accumulated a purple shimmering Essence Qi in his lower abdomen.

At this moment, Zhang Yan paused, looking at the heap of thousands of Gang Sand, pondering deeply. By this estimation, if he wants to completely transform it, it would take approximately three months.

But this is only the first hurdle upon entry.

Once the Essence Qi grows more and more, until the Dan Acupoint is filled, he must then find a way to transform it, gradually making it condense into a substance. Then, break it apart, and at this step, it still isn’t finished. He must re-gather it, and after repeating this thirty-six times, one can claim a minor success, able to utilize some Thunder Power.

Although the process seems simple, the requirements are extremely stringent.

Each time the Essence Qi is dispersed and gathered, the required spiritual energy for the next round doubles.

In the later stages, a cultivator’s need for spiritual energy is akin to a whale swallowing the sea.

Zhang Yan couldn’t help but shake his head; this truly deserves its rank as the second Divine Power within the sect. If he didn’t have the support of a Cave Mansion, with an abundance of spiritual energy, he would inevitably be stuck at a certain stage. If he were to give up halfway, who knows if he could ultimately refine it?

He calculated in his heart; under normal circumstances, each time the Essence Qi condenses and dissipates, a cultivator would take five to six years. Thirty-six times, that’s over a hundred years.

However, since he decided to enhance this Divine Power while condensing the True Imprint of Dharma Power, it wouldn’t take those many years. As long as he achieves minor success before then.

As for those complex spells, he has the Broken Jade to assist him, allowing him to practice proficiently within it first, and then cultivate externally, so this doesn’t count as a difficult issue.

He pondered for a moment, considering all potential problems thoroughly, then reached into his sleeve, holding the Broken Jade, and immersed himself into it.

This time, his seclusion lasted six months.

In the external world, one day is over forty days within the jade; he spent twenty years on the spell as if in one breath.

When his heart and spirit withdrew, he was thoroughly familiar with all the operating methods of the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder. The next step is simply diligent practice.

He flicked his sleeve, pinching a spell, summoning the Mirror Spirit, saying, "Is there any important matter recently?"

It was also a casual question; cultivators live long lives, spending most of their time sitting in meditation in the sect or searching for cultivation external objects. Half a year, presumably, there isn’t anything urgent.

The Mirror Spirit bowed, saying, "Master, there is no particular activity in the Mountain Gate. However, I have heard that recently, a disciple named Ji Suihan from the Yuan Yang Sect was killed, but the perpetrator hasn’t been found."

"Ji Han?"

Zhang Yan had some impression of this name; he was also a rising star of Yuan Yang Sect, a direct disciple of a Cave Heaven True Master, holding a notable position in the sect.

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He inquired a few more details, learning that when the disciple died, his Protective Treasure Clothing and portable Dharma Treasure were destroyed. Even the Dharma Talisman used for escape was expended, yet he still couldn’t escape doom, indicating the murderer was no simple person.

The Mirror Spirit added, "This incident seems to have enraged the Cave Heaven True Master of Yuan Yang Sect, sending a Nascent Soul cultivator and several disciples to search outside, but no results so far."

For some reason, images of those two Demon Sect disciples flashed in Zhang Yan’s mind, and he slightly sneered. As the Demon Tribulation approaches, some people are already becoming restless.

His eyes flickered slightly; although his cultivation was already outstanding among his peers, it was far from sufficient to face the Demon Tribulation.

He gently waved his sleeve, the Mirror Spirit understood, bowed, and retreated.

Zhang Yan got up, walked to the side, looked up to see the Nine Capturing Demon Scroll still like a misty cloud. With his heart and spirit probing inside, he found the progress was much slower than expected; that segment of tailbone so far refined only a quarter—seems like it’ll need quite a while.

Zhang Yan’s eyes became deep; then another year is necessary for him to attain some self-protection capability.

As for now, he must concentrate fully on cultivating the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder!

While Zhang Yan was in seclusion cultivating, Huo Xuan alone arrived before Mystic Water Zhen Palace, saying, "Child, go inside and report that Huo Xuan wishes to visit Master Brother."