Chen Mo Became Famous Once Again

"Who exactly is this Chen Mo? Is he really as formidable as they say?" In a corner of the tavern, Xiao Yi Xian propped her cheek on her hand and spoke softly.

"What a despicable, shameless bastard. What that storyteller said is complete nonsense." Xiao Yan said angrily. If there had not been so many people around, he would have smashed the table before him the moment he heard Chen Mo's name.

"What the storyteller said was indeed somewhat exaggerated. That brat may act strangely, but he is nowhere near as outrageous as described," Elder Ya transmitted secretly.

"You know him?" Xiao Yi Xian asked.

"I ran into him before in the Beast Mountain Range, but unfortunately, I never fought him." Xiao Yan clasped his wrist, a hint of regret in his voice. "Only a few days have passed. His strength couldn't possibly have become this exaggerated."

Naturally, Xiao Yan would not tell Xiao Yi Xian about how he had lost face.

Xiao Yi Xian was extremely perceptive. From Xiao Yan's earlier gritted-teeth expression, she could tell that some conflict had definitely occurred between the two.

However, since Xiao Yan had not mentioned it, she was not foolish enough to ask. Instead, she indignantly sided with him, saying, "I see. Then he definitely isn't a good person."

Xiao Yan did not continue the topic. He stood and walked over to the old man, whose hand had gone numb from counting money.

"Give me one of those booklets."

"Three Gold Coins."

Inside a room, the two of them flushed red as they looked through it. This really was that kind of booklet.

"This bookstore is awfully bold. Aren't they afraid of angering the Misty Cloud Sect?" Looking at the booklet, which even had illustrations, Xiao Yi Xian's face reddened. She hurriedly turned her face away.

"These are all made by small underground workshops. The imperial authorities once cracked down harshly because of the Consort incident, but they could never stamp them out. In fact, the more they were banned, the more popular they became. Still, it had some effect. In larger towns and cities, you definitely can't buy them openly. You can only..."

Xiao Yan explained at length.

Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian looked at him strangely. "How do you know so much?"

"Well, cough, just because I haven't eaten pork doesn't mean I haven't seen a pig run, right?" Xiao Yan said somewhat awkwardly. "I heard about it."

In the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

Misty Cloud Sect.

Late at night, a bolt of purple lightning tore through the clouds. Accompanied by violent wind and rain, it struck fiercely above Misty Cloud Mountain. The flash illuminated the entire mountain as though daylight had arrived.

The disciples' quarters.

The disciples covered their ears and complained bitterly. "It's here again! That damned lightning is here again! Do you know what these past few nights have been like for me?"

"Ever since the day it started raining, the lightning has never stopped. What is going on with this weather?"

Boom!

Another bolt of purple lightning struck down.

Many elders emerged from their halls, all turning their gazes toward the Misty Cloud Sect's Back Mountain.

The light flashed past. In that brief instant—

the elders could see it.

Above the Back Mountain, a strange-shaped, battered bamboo plaque hovered in midair, swaying as though it might fall at any moment.

A long rope was attached beneath the plaque, and at its lower end was tied a seated figure whose face could not be seen.

Not long after, another bolt of lightning came crashing down upon the precarious plaque with violent wind, rain, and deafening thunder, as though it would destroy the heavens and earth.

Then everyone clearly saw the lightning travel down the rope beneath the plaque and enter that figure's body.

Terrifying currents flickered within the figure's body. As his body convulsed, everyone could even see the outline of every bone in his body.

"My heavens, who is that? He's actually using lightning to cultivate."

"He looks somewhat familiar. Could it be Chen Mo?"

"It is him." Amid the uncertain looks of several white-robed elders, Yun Leng confirmed it.

"This..."

The other elders were utterly shocked. They had never heard of such a cultivation method—being struck by lightning.

Atop a huge rock on the Back Mountain.

Three days of lightning-strike cultivation had gradually allowed Chen Mo to adapt to this kind of lightning.

Sure enough, that step of the Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Force still required being struck by lightning.

Frenzied lightning entered his body, slicing through his flesh and cutting into his bones like tiny blades, but Chen Mo endured it.

The resistance energy transformed from the lightning flowed through every muscle, bone, and meridian in his body. In the end, it formed a vortex and gathered at the Qi Cyclone in his lower abdomen.

Crack.

A sound like an eggshell breaking spread from within Chen Mo's body. Two particles awakened in succession, granting him the strength of another two giant elephants. The Dou Qi around Chen Mo surged madly into his body.

Chen Mo's aura rose steadily. If a powerful soul cultivator had been watching at that moment, they would have seen the current vortex at Chen Mo's Qi Cyclone transform into a violent Thunder Giant Elephant, which let out a long cry within his Qi Cyclone.

Bzz!

Lightning continued to strike down. The crude kite Chen Mo had made was already on the verge of falling apart; now, it vanished completely.

The flashes of lightning illuminated the shocked faces of the elders.

Under their dumbfounded gazes, Chen Mo's cultivation broke through from a Two-star Dou Master to a Three-star Dou Master, then continued to rise until it finally stopped at the peak of the Three-star Dou Master realm.

Yun Leng no longer knew what to say.

The shock Yun Leng felt at that moment was beyond words.

"Can't you keep a lower profile?"

Yun Yun had appeared long ago. She stood in midair with Nalan Yanran, and beneath the protection of the pale green wings behind her, neither the raging wind nor rain could reach them.

As the two silently watched, two whooshing sounds rang out. Immediately afterward, two figures abruptly appeared behind Yun Yun, atop the palace roof.

They were Pill King Gu He, followed closely by Liu Ling, who had just returned from the Imperial Capital after passing the third-tier alchemist examination.

Liu Ling wore an alchemist's robe. He was quite young, appearing to be no more than twenty-one or twenty-two. His deep gaze first looked toward the Back Mountain, where thunder continued to rumble, before turning to Nalan Yanran. In a gentle voice, he smiled. "Long time no see, Yanran."

Hearing the commotion, Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran turned to look.

After nodding in acknowledgment, the former returned her gaze to the Back Mountain. The latter glanced at the badge on Liu Ling's robe, offered congratulations on his becoming a third-tier alchemist, then also withdrew her gaze.

Liu Ling froze. His brows furrowed ever so slightly as he looked toward the Back Mountain of Misty Cloud Mountain. By the dazzling flashes of lightning, he saw a figure wreathed in thunder and fire darting about atop a massive boulder in the darkness.

"Who is he?"

"Chen Mo, the winner of this Inner Sect Competition." Gu He smiled gently. "You just got back, so I forgot to tell you. He is also a new disciple I have taken in."

"A new disciple Master has taken in? Chen Mo..." Liu Ling murmured softly. Then his heart jolted. "It's him!"

No wonder he had seemed familiar.

When Liu Ling had taken the third-tier alchemist examination at the Alchemist Association in the Imperial Capital, he had heard this name from President Fa Ma.