A white light tore through the black-curtained sky.
The immense pressure and force crashed into the dense lightning, directly ripping the lightning net woven by the Thunder Snake Flowers in half.
The spiritual energy in Lin Qi's dantian was instantly drained dry as well.
She braced herself on the ground with one hand holding her sword, gasping for breath.
"Success!"
Lin Qi had worked at this for so long. She had been certain that she would succeed in the end.
Yet when the icy phoenix phantom burst from the night, an indescribable joy still surged within her.
After recovering some strength, Lin Qi put away the wooden sword in her hand.
"As expected of a divine art. Using one move nearly drained my dantian dry. I'll have to use it carefully from now on."
Otherwise, after using that move, she would not even have the ability to protect herself.
Once Lin Qi stopped, the backyard fell silent. That half of the Thunder Snake Flowers was now completely listless, as though it would wilt to death the next second.
Lin Qi withdrew the gauze, and the contrast between the Thunder Snake Flowers on both sides was striking.
She clapped her hands and gave a soft snort. "Serves you right for electrocuting me. Now it's my turn to bully you!"
Using the Thunder Snake Flowers' attacks to force herself into unleashing the Scattered Phoenix Shadow Dance had merely been one of Lin Qi's immature ideas.
She had always been bold. Once she had an idea, she immediately put it into action.
She had not expected to succeed on her very first attempt.
Satisfied, Lin Qi returned to the training room. After stuffing down a few pastries, she began wandering through the Underground Palace.
Back in the Lübing Abyss, Chen En and Tan Yueqing had been beside her. It had not been convenient to enter the Underground Palace in front of them, so Lin Qi had set the matter aside and focused on cultivation.
Come to think of it, she had not entered the Underground Palace for quite some time.
With a shift of her mind, Lin Qi appeared in the Underground Palace.
This place had not changed at all. Lin Qi walked expertly to the desk, picked up the brush beside it, and began drawing on the scroll.
Now that the spiritual energy in her dantian had grown several times more abundant, she should be able to draw a complete character, right?
Spiritual energy flowed from her dantian to the brush tip. Lin Qi's heart was still as water as she calmly controlled the brush's path.
One stroke fell, then another. A faint glow emerged on the scroll.
Just as she was about to finish, Lin Qi relaxed slightly. Her spiritual energy immediately slipped out of control and began scattering in every direction.
The nearly formed character on the scroll instantly dimmed until it vanished.
Lin Qi sighed. "Do I really have any talent for talisman crafting? I've practiced this first-rank Thunder Burst Talisman for so long, yet I still can't even write down the first character."
Lin Qi counted on her fingers how long she had practiced, excluding the fifteen days in the Lübing Abyss.
Fine. She had not actually practiced for that long.
After fretting for a while, Lin Qi swallowed a Spirit-Replenishing Pill, picked up the brush, and continued writing.
This time, she successfully drew the first character.
But the Thunder Burst Talisman had five characters in total!
Lin Qi was patient and unwilling to admit defeat. Holding her brush, she set the Spirit-Replenishing Pills beside her and prepared to battle through the night.
After staying awake all night, Lin Qi felt as though her head had been hollowed out. Exhaustion slowly crept in from all directions.
This was the first time she had felt this way after staying up late.
It seemed there was quite a difference between staying up late to cultivate and staying up late to craft talismans.
Lin Qi rubbed her head, stuffed a handful of mint grass into her mouth, and swallowed it. In an instant, she felt refreshed and clear-headed.
Carrying her Small Wooden Sword, she walked out the door and happened to run into a bleary-eyed Luo Ci.
"Good morning, Second Senior Sister!" Luo Ci beamed brightly.
Lin Qi slowly replied, "Morning!"
She even looked a little aloof.
Luo Ci knew that Lin Qi was simply slow to react, so she had taken the route of being brief and to the point whenever she spoke. He did not mind it.
The two headed together toward the Stone Steps. Lin Qi had not expected to truly see Senior Sister Yuan Xi there.
While still some distance away, she happily jogged over to Senior Sister Yuan Xi.
Left behind, Luo Ci watched Lin Qi instantly change her expression and could not help feeling gloomy.
So she was not aloof—she was treating people differently!
Lin Qi ignored Luo Ci's little grievance and happily asked Senior Sister Yuan Xi for guidance on the things that puzzled her.
As they spoke, Lin Qi began demonstrating. Senior Sister Yuan Xi stood beside her, adjusting her posture.
After practicing the sword techniques a few times, Lin Qi and Luo Ci prepared to go down the mountain to find something to eat.
Senior Sister Yuan Xi had matters to attend to, so she did not go down the mountain with the two of them this time.
Luo Ci finally found an opening to ask Lin Qi.
"Last night, I saw a white light suddenly shoot into the sky above your backyard. I vaguely heard the cry of a phoenix too. You didn't sleep in the middle of the night—were you cultivating some spell again?!"
Lin Qi said, "You saw it?"
Luo Ci nodded wildly and asked a soul-piercing question. "Were you working hard behind my back at night too?!"
Lin Qi feigned surprise. "What do you mean, working hard behind your back? The night is so long. Isn't it meant for cultivation?"
She asked in return, "Don't you cultivate at night?"
Luo Ci stared at Lin Qi in stunned silence and involuntarily swallowed.
In a weak voice, he carefully asked, "Isn't nighttime supposed to be for sleeping?"
Lin Qi gave him a sidelong glance, her eyes telling Luo Ci to figure it out for himself, then lightly stepped onto the stairs.
Luo Ci followed behind her blankly, feeling as though the ground beneath his feet were floating, everything unreal.
Seeing that he had remained silent, Lin Qi felt she had been a tiny bit cruel. Just as she kindly wanted to comfort Luo Ci, she heard a scream.
A black shadow brushed past her like the wind.
She froze. All she had time to see was Luo Ci's terrified expression and his body falling through the air.
Lin Qi could not fly on a sword, so she could only call out to comfort Luo Ci. "It's fine! The jade token will protect you. You won't be hurt!"
Amid the empty, profound mountain peaks, Lin Qi vaguely heard a miserable cry for help.
Her hand trembled.
Fine, next time she should watch her words.
If she kept tormenting him like this, who knew whether Luo Ci would be able to grow up healthy?
By the time Lin Qi found Luo Ci at the foot of the mountain, he was sitting where he was with a gloomy, grief-stricken expression, as though he had suffered a devastating blow he could not bear.
Lin Qi pursed her lips and went over to comfort him. "Junior Brother..."
Luo Ci abruptly turned his head. His eyes blazed with resolute light, as though he had made some heart-wrenching decision.
"Nighttime is for cultivation!"
Lin Qi said, "Uh... Junior Brother, did that fall make you stupid?"
Luo Ci climbed to his feet and dusted off his backside, his little face full of determination.
"When I came to the sect, my mother said that once I became a cultivator, I couldn't fear hardship or exhaustion. From today onward, I won't sleep at night either. I'll cultivate!"
The final two words were nearly squeezed out through clenched teeth, showing just how great Luo Ci's resolve was at that moment.
"Junior Brother, I told you already. I have reasons why I have no choice but to work hard. You don't need to be so harsh on yourself."
Yet Luo Ci seemed not to hear her at all. He kept muttering about cultivation as he headed toward Tianyi Peak on his own.
Lin Qi followed behind him. Seeing that Luo Ci moved freely and appeared unharmed, she finally set her mind at ease.
After getting their meals, Lin Qi spotted Xu Ying at a table again, speaking with fervent passion at a glance.
This time, twice as many people surrounded her as last time.
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