Chapter 165: Eastern Yi Wood Azure Lightning, Spirit Stones and Body-Refining Elixirs

Upon seeing the manual, Yu Xian lost interest in everything else and, with a mere thought, summoned it into his hand.

This was the Three Treasures Divine Thunder Art.

Qi Xuan was a cultivator known for his thunder techniques—tyrannical and domineering. Of all the Foundation Establishment Peak experts Yu Xian had met so far, not even his own master, Xiao Wusheng, surpassed Qi Xuan in raw power.

Take Jiang Xiaolong’s pet, for example—it was a Fifth-Rank beast, practically invulnerable to normal attacks, and yet, under Qi Xuan’s hands, it was severely injured and ultimately torn apart by a horde of malicious ghosts while defending its master.

That level of destructive might couldn’t have come from the ghosts alone. It was Qi Xuan’s doing.

Even with Jiang Xiaolong himself, a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator, fighting alongside his pet, they stood no chance against Qi Xuan.

If Yu Xian hadn’t taken advantage of Qi Xuan being injured and surrounded, he too wouldn’t have been able to trap and doom him within the ghost cave.

The reason Qi Xuan was so fierce boiled down to two things: his extraordinary Thunder Spirit Root—one of the rare variant roots beyond the five elemental roots—and his fearsome thunder techniques.

Thunder destroys all.

One crack of thunder, and all creation falls silent.

In terms of sheer destructive power, thunder arts were second to none—even sword cultivators would need to yield.

But thunder arts were rare. Most sects didn’t even possess them. Even if a great sect did, they wouldn’t casually teach them unless a disciple with a thunder-aligned root came along.

“I may not have a Thunder Spirit Root,” Yu Xian muttered with shining eyes, “but I can at least study this. If I can cultivate it… it would still be an incredibly powerful spell.”

Having weighed the value of the Three Treasures Divine Thunder Art, he stored it away for now. This was not the place to begin cultivation.

Half an hour later, deep within a desolate mountain range, Yu Xian found a cave. After sweeping it clean of dust and bugs, he activated an Eight-Cloud Forbidden Array that blanketed the area in mist.

Then he sat cross-legged and stilled his mind. Once at peace, he retrieved the manual and opened it gently.

First Lines:

“In my view, all thunder in this world can be divided into three types—human-forged spell thunder, earth-born annihilation thunder, and heaven-given tribulation thunder.”

“But how can I, with my boundless wisdom, settle for mere spell thunder? I will wield earth thunder with my left hand, and heaven thunder with my right, to become invincible!”

Yu Xian’s brows twitched. He quickly flipped past two pages full of arrogant boasting to reach the third page.

The true name of the Three Treasures Divine Thunder Art was actually just Divine Thunder Art. The “Three Treasures” referred to the name of its creator.

“Divine Thunder” referred to the concept of using one’s divine will to command thunder.

The art contained six stages—not based on cultivation level, but on the strength of thunder one could wield.

Even a Qi Condensation cultivator, if capable of using Heavenly Tribulation Lightning, would be at Stage Six.

The Six Stages:

Spell Thunder: Created by manipulating spiritual power. Can be weak as a spark or strong as a lightning bolt.
Fire Thunder: Thunder formed spontaneously, destructive within 100 feet.
Earth Thunder: Drawn from the land itself, capable of killing all within several hundred feet.
Earth Tribulation: The land condensed into tribulation thunder. Incomprehensibly powerful.
Heaven Thunder: Harnessed from universal forces. Its might causes all life to wither.
Heaven Tribulation: “I, Zhang Sanbao, am the tribulation incarnate!”

Yu Xian twitched again. This Zhang Sanbao… was insanely arrogant. He might’ve gotten along well with the creator of that overbearing Body Refinement technique.

Was he still alive?

Probably long dead.

“Zhang Sanbao…” Yu Xian murmured, memorizing the name. Then, he began cultivating the first stage—Spell Thunder.

This was formed purely from spiritual power. The strength of the thunder depended on one’s cultivation, perception, and root compatibility.

Qi Xuan, with his pure Thunder Root and mastery of thunder arts, could shred a Fifth-Rank beast with ease. But a non-thunder-root cultivator, even at Foundation Peak, couldn’t hope to match that power.

Still, innate roots were just a head start. Plenty had caught up through effort.

Yu Xian recited the incantations and activated his Ten Thousand-Year Wood Spring Art, drawing vibrant green energy into his body.

If lightning could be born from wood Qi at its peak, then what formed would be known as Wood Lightning, or more formally—

Eastern Yi Wood Azure Thunder.

He sat still, one hand forming seals, the other open. Spiritual energy gathered in his palm, forming a glowing green dot.

Three days passed.

His first attempt at thunder art was painfully slow. It wasn’t about comprehension—it was about patience.

Bit by bit, he compressed the wood Qi until quantity transformed into quality.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.

His palm glowed an intense green, sparking violently.

“Go!” he shouted.

Crack!

A foot-long bolt of green lightning shot out and exploded five meters away, reducing a rock to rubble.

“Wood Lightning!”

Yu Xian’s eyes gleamed. He wasn’t disheartened by the weak power—in fact, he was elated.

He had just proven that he could cultivate thunder arts even without a Thunder Root.

His lightning was weak now—weaker even than a casual fireball—but who knew?

One day, this humble Wood Lightning might evolve into a true Eastern Yi Wood Azure Thunder, a force of nature.

And so, satisfied, he dispersed the lingering sparks and calmed his surging Qi.

He had succeeded in grasping the first stage—Spell Thunder.

The rest would come through gradual refinement.

After a short rest, Yu Xian turned to the storage bags—Qi Xuan’s, Tong Xue’s, and Ge Xiyu’s. He hadn’t fully explored them yet.

He began with Qi Xuan’s.

Inside:

8,000+ mid-grade spirit stones: A great windfall.
4 bottles of body-refining pills:

Mid-tier Grade-4 Body Nourishing Pill
Mid-tier Grade-4 Bone Hardening Pill
High-tier Grade-4 Muscle Forging Pill
High-tier Grade-4 God-Tempering Pill

These were meant to strengthen Qi Xuan’s body in preparation for forming his Golden Core. Now, they would help Yu Xian break through his body refinement bottleneck.

He set them aside and explored further:

Three Thunder Spell Scrolls: Lightning Spell, Great Raging Thunder, Shocking Thunder.
Miscellaneous items: Clothes and other non-essentials.

Next, he opened Tong Xue’s storage bag.

Inside were 700,000+ low-grade spirit stones, 2,000+ mid-grade stones, dozens of pill bottles, and two Grade-4 low-tier magic treasures—a fan and an inkstone.

Also, there were herbs for making Breakthrough Pills, though one ingredient was missing—a Grade-4 beast core.

A sheepskin scroll and a glowing blueprint caught his eye.

The scroll again referred to the legendary “Great Kui Mountain Villa” and “True Spirit Master”—yet another fake treasure map. This was the third he had seen across tens of thousands of miles.

He confirmed it: this map was a trap.

But one day, when he became strong enough, he would uncover the truth behind whoever dared to spread these deathtraps across the continent.

He turned his attention to the blueprint: it was a forging plan for a treasure called the Five Dragons Breaking the Sea Fan—originally a Seven-Tier treasure.

Depending on the materials, it could be forged as Tier 4, 5, or 6.

Yu Xian stored it away. He wasn’t strong enough to collect Tier-6 materials yet. If he forged it now, he would regret the waste.

Better to wait, and one day forge the true fan—one that could sweep aside all beneath the Golden Core realm!

He moved on to Ge Xiyu’s storage bag.

Although they never had direct interactions, Ge Xiyu had been a close friend of Master Xiao Wusheng.

Still… it felt wrong rifling through his things.

Pushing the guilt aside, he peered in:

Over 10,000 mid-grade spirit stones

Piles of Grade-4 herbs and spiritual fruits

Three Grade-4 auxiliary treasures:

A bottle that turned water into plant-nourishing spiritual liquid
A watering pot that evenly distributed water over large spiritual farms
A mysterious silver shovel

Three manuals:

Universal Spirit Herb Record
One-Life Spirit Cultivation Method
Spring Wind Rainfall Technique

A Grade-4 low-tier pill furnace

Clearly, Ge Xiyu was wealthy—unsurprising for a long-time spirit herb hall master.

Yu Xian organized everything, created a dedicated storage bag for spirit stones, and resumed his preparations.

Finally, he gazed at the four pill bottles before him.

“Time to break through!”

He grabbed the low-quality Yellow Dust Pill—the size of an egg—and swallowed it whole.

Heat surged through his body. He activated the Great Pill Body Refining Art. His body steamed like molten iron.

A stick of incense later, the effects were fully digested. With no pause, he downed the first of the real treasures: the Body Nourishing Pill.

Its warm energy soothed his flesh and healed internal strains.

Half an hour later, he swallowed the Bone Hardening Pill.

Now the pain began—his bones reshaped, reforged.

An hour passed. Then came the Muscle Forging Pill.

This one pushed his body to its limit. Muscles swelled, tendons thickened, bones cracked and regrew. He grew taller—like a child undergoing puberty in seconds.

The pain was excruciating, but Yu Xian bore it with grit. His once-slender frame was now filled with power and balance.

Finally, he opened his eyes and exhaled a thick cloud of impurities.

“Last step… I can feel it…”

He reached for the God-Tempering Pill—and without hesitation, popped it into his mouth.