That night, Mo Qingxue and Han Xiangjun flew toward an ancient spring on Tianjian Mountain.
“Not bad, the spiritual energy here is indeed abundant. It rivals the Gathering Spirit Array of Wenxin Tianzong,” Mo Qingxue said. “Maybe I should train here for a while.”
She then sat cross-legged and began to regulate her breath.
“Qingxue, you’re too diligent,” Han Xiangjun teased while meditating.
“Weren’t you always saying you never took training seriously? But in reality, you probably train harder than anyone else.”
“I have no choice. Who else am I but the senior sister?”
Mo Qingxue said helplessly.
“I don’t have a senior brother like Senior Brother Yuan Jianyi backing me up. Right now, my strength can’t even compare to Yuan Jianyi’s, let alone Qin Feng from the Bihai Blade Sect. The elder who guides us keeps saying we’re the worst batch he’s ever trained.”
“And yet you keep saying you don’t train?”
Han Xiangjun rolled her eyes at her.
“Can’t help it. That’s just the atmosphere in Wenxin Tianzong. They pride themselves on never seriously training yet staying far ahead. But where do so many geniuses who can succeed without training come from? So secretly, most of them still train desperately,” Mo Qingxue complained harshly.
“They’re all hypocrites. Always claiming they don’t train, then scrambling to train like mad to get good results in the Sect Competition, and afterwards smugly saying, ‘Sorry, I accidentally took first place again this time.’”
Han Xiangjun’s mouth twitched. “I always feel like our Heavenly Extreme Sword Sect has quite a few of those types as well.”
After all, a Fengshui Treasure Land is still a Fengshui Treasure Land. Han Xiangjun’s cultivation speed was indeed accelerated because of it.
Today, her training went especially smoothly. Her spiritual energy circulated several cycles within her body without any fatigue.
—This is just too smooth… and her spiritual energy still hadn’t reached its peak.
Han Xiangjun felt the spiritual energy inside her rising gradually, as if surpassing her previous limits.
And she was very familiar with this feeling.
“Thunder Dragon Xuanting! It’s really here!”
Han Xiangjun looked up and saw the source of the surrounding spiritual energy fluctuations push her gently.
“So beautiful! Is this the Thunder Dragon’s actual form at the Integration stage? It’s as big as a small mountain.”
Mo Qingxue also marveled at the grandeur of Lei Long, even able to see the scales shimmering under the lightning. “Xiangjun, shall we chase after it and take a closer look?”
“No, you go,” Han Xiangjun said. “I suddenly feel my cultivation is very smooth. Maybe I can break through to the late Jiedan stage in one go.”
“Really?”
Mo Qingxue brightened.
“Then I’ll go on my own. Be careful.”
Before leaving, Mo Qingxue pulled out her Spirit Pen and wrote several characters in the air, hoping to assist Han Xiangjun.
[ Advance ] [ Guard ] [ Protect ] [ Calm ]—one by one, the large characters embedded themselves within and around Han Xiangjun’s body, forming a small protective barrier.
Then she soared with the wind, chasing after Lei Long’s direction.
After crossing several layers of clouds, two figures appeared before her eyes.
It was White Zhiqing and Lin Dongming.
White Zhiqing cautiously approached Lei Long, lightning gauntlets of thunder energy streaking past her, narrowly missing her.
—What are they trying to do?
Those are Integration stage Thunder Gauntlets. Never mind Core Formation stage cultivators, even Nascent Soul practitioners might die if struck by one.
Mo Qingxue was shocked. For Thunder Dragon Xuanting, nighttime wandering was effortless; the thunder gauntlets were merely a byproduct of his overflowing true energy.
But the huge gap in cultivation made his thunder gauntlets deadly to anyone below the Nascent Soul stage. Furthermore, the dragon’s innate talent made his actual combat power equivalent to a half-step Tribulation Stage, despite only being Integration stage.
White Zhiqing copied Lin Dongming’s method from that day, stacking as many protective shields as possible and wearing her most defensive magical robe, then attempted to approach the weakest thunder gauntlet.
“Junior Sister Bai… cultivation doesn’t have to be so risky, especially for you. There are many safer options. Why not try something else?”
Lin Dongming said anxiously.
“No,” White Zhiqing shook her head firmly.
“I have to do it this way. I don’t want to wait so long, nor do I like feeling powerless.”
She reached out her hand to touch the weakest thunder gauntlet.
A clear dragon roar echoed.
“Huh?”
White Zhiqing was stunned as the thunder gauntlet suddenly changed direction. Instead of touching the weakest one, a thick thunder gauntlet slammed into her, leaving her no time to dodge.
“Not good!”
Lin Dongming flew over quickly to push her away, but it was too late.
The dozens of layers of her spell shields shattered like paper. Even her magical robe, which could resist Nascent Soul attacks, was scorched black by the electric shock.
“Damn it, the power of this thunder gauntlet surpasses Core Formation!”
Lin Dongming didn’t hesitate; he immediately formed a hand seal and grabbed White Zhiqing, redirecting the thunder tribulation on her onto himself.
—Don’t die on me, or I’ll be out two hundred thousand spirit stones every month!
Fierce electricity coursed chaotically over White Zhiqing’s body, almost destroying her magical physique cultivated over the years.
Although she had good talent, she was not a Body Cultivator, so her physical strength was average. Fortunately, Lin Dongming pulled her in time, and the electricity weakened by more than half.
Even so, both were heavily injured by the shock. White Zhiqing lost control of her spiritual energy and fell from midair.
“Damn! Are you okay?”
Lin Dongming wanted to curse in anger. He didn’t understand why Lei Long suddenly went berserk, roaring and causing spiritual energy waves.
He grabbed White Zhiqing, nearly dragged down by her falling weight. Luckily, his diligent cultivation and strong willpower steadied his spiritual energy.
“Wake up!”
Lin Dongming took out a high-grade Healing Talisman and pressed it onto White Zhiqing, then shoved several Yuan Nurturing Pills into her mouth like they were nothing.
“This is a huge loss,” Lin Dongming muttered.
“You better earn it back for me.”
Before he could check his own injuries, he cast a Liaoyu Spell on White Zhiqing. Only after her aura stabilized did he finally relax.
“…This young lady really causes trouble,” Lin Dongming sighed deeply.
Thunderclaps exploded in the sky again. Lin Dongming instinctively looked up and saw Thunder Dragon Xuanting had left the Protective Sect Barrier, roaring repeatedly.
Brilliant lightning flashed from him, far surpassing the previous display of power. Even Integration stage cultivators would probably have to avoid him.
“…With Thunder Dragon Xuanting making such a ruckus, there’s only one explanation,” Lin Dongming gritted his teeth. “There’s an enemy outside.”
Perhaps it had just sensed something amiss nearby, changed its route, and roared as a warning. Now that the enemy was confirmed, it had entered combat mode.
“!?”
A black light shot toward Lin Dongming, who reacted swiftly, deflecting it with a sword strike that rang with clear golden-metallic chimes.
“Who’s there!?”
Lin Dongming shouted coldly.
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