Was I having it easy? Others cultivated immortality and sought eternal life, while I was risking my life doing it.
If I got struck to death by lightning, wouldn't that be terribly unjust?
Come to think of it, he had vaguely sensed the existence of the Lightning Dao Seed just now. The currents of electricity circulating through his body along with his cultivation method had all been absorbed by the Dao Seed in the end.
Su Fan closed his eyes and gathered his Spiritual Sense toward his chest.
Little by little, he sensed the existence of the Lightning Dao Seed, wrapped in purple currents of electricity.
With a thought, he drew out a thread of electricity from the Dao Seed. It followed the meridians in his arm all the way to Su Fan's palm.
He raised his hand and saw purple currents of electricity circling back and forth between his fingers.
"Snap..."
Su Fan snapped his fingers. The purple current rubbed and collided, bursting into a dazzling spark and crackling sharply.
He turned and came to the wooden door he had kicked apart. With a fierce punch, he smashed it into the door panel made of Black Ironwood.
"Bang..."
The already-cracked wooden door shattered into pieces.
Su Fan picked up a fragment that had been blasted away and saw a large area of burn marks on it.
"If that punch landed on someone, it'd really ruin their day..."
He had gained another underhanded trick.
He spread his fists and performed a round of Xingyi Quan.
Purple currents of electricity constantly coiled around both his fists. It really did feel a bit like the "Meteor Fist."
Su Fan got carried away and performed it several times in succession, each punch cutting through the air with a tiger's might.
But the purple currents grew weaker and weaker. In the end, they flickered a few times before vanishing.
That was it?
The Lightning Dao Seed was just a giant power bank.
And he was a stun baton—a large anti-wolf electric shocker, at that.
Now that the power bank was drained, he would have to get struck by lightning again if he wanted to recharge it.
He had just experienced Heavenly Thunder Empowerment. Although his physical body no longer feared lightning, the process was still so damn torturous.
Should he practice "Lightning Ghost Step" or not?
Forget it. He wouldn't.
Why put himself through that agony?
That was right. He wouldn't practice it.
The next day, snow was still falling.
Leaden clouds blanketed the sky, and the biting wind was cold as a blade.
Snowflakes drifted down from the heavens, weaving a vast curtain of snow. Heaven and earth were bleak and desolate.
Su Fan had once again wrapped himself up like a mummy.
He still hadn't been able to hold back last night and had taken another round of lightning.
He opened the panel. [Divine Ability] Lightning Ghost Step (Novice): 1/100.
He had been hammered twice by Heaven and Earth Lightning in one night. It had nearly struck him to death, but fortunately, both divine abilities had reached the novice stage.
For the sake of two divine abilities, Su Fan had really gone all out.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door outside.
Su Fan put on his Daoist robe and went into the courtyard.
"Brother, open up..."
Hearing the voice of his next-door neighbor Xu Wen, Su Fan hurriedly opened the door.
Xu Wen's right arm was wrapped in bandages, and he walked into the courtyard with a face full of dejection.
"Your big brother was robbed by Rogue Cultivators last night. Luckily, I ran fast, or I wouldn't have lived to see you again..."
Su Fan led Xu Wen inside and brewed him a cup of tea.
"Old brother, what exactly happened?"
Only then did Xu Wen tell Su Fan the whole story.
Yesterday evening, just after he had left the market, several Rogue Cultivators had set their sights on him. Fortunately, he had several life-saving dharma artifacts and talismans, allowing him to survive.
"Brother, these Rogue Cultivators are getting bolder and bolder. It wasn't even dark yet, and they already dared to act right under the Lesser Yang Sect's nose."
Su Fan frowned at once upon hearing this.
"Old brother, didn't the Lesser Yang Sect's Law Enforcement Team come out?"
"Alas... Yesterday, the Lesser Yang Sect's elders ordered all disciples stationed outside to return to the market. No one is allowed to take even one step outside the gate. From now on, the market will close its gates after dark."
Su Fan was stunned. Even if the Lesser Yang Sect was useless, it shouldn't be this cowardly.
Xu Wen sighed and said, "Brother, I came to say goodbye. I'm moving over to the market. Don't go outside for the time being, no matter what."
Su Fan's expression grew uglier and uglier. The market was about to descend into chaos.
The few Lesser Yang Sect elders at the Late Qi Refining stage inside the market were already enough to suppress the surrounding Rogue Cultivators.
Yet the Lesser Yang Sect had not only sealed its mountain gate; it was now preparing to hole up in the market. They had clearly run into enormous trouble.
"Old brother, have you heard anything about Evil Cultivators recently?"
Xu Wen gave a bitter smile. "I have. In just these past few days, several hundred Rogue Cultivators near the market have reportedly died, and every death was inexplicable."
After saying that, he patted Su Fan on the shoulder and turned to leave.
At the doorway, he hesitated, then turned around and walked back to Su Fan's side.
Xu Wen opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.
He took two talismans from his Storage Bag and stuffed them into Su Fan's hand.
Grasping Su Fan's hand, he shook it heavily and said, "Brother, take care..."
Watching Xu Wen's back, Su Fan sighed.
For him to leave in such a hurry, it seemed something major was truly about to happen.
Old Xu definitely knew something. Perhaps it was simply inconvenient for him to reveal it, so he had left behind two talismans.
Su Fan glanced at the talismans in his hand. They were a "Golden Shield Talisman" and an "Evil Suppressing Talisman."
Two mid-grade talismans. Old Xu was a man worth keeping around.
Su Fan shut the courtyard gate, then returned to the inner room and sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion.
While he still had time, he had better quickly raise his proficiency in "Lightning Eye Dharma Eye."
Although Old Xu had not said anything, it was obvious from the "Evil Suppressing Talisman" he had given him.
The trouble the Lesser Yang Sect had encountered this time was eighty percent likely to be related to Evil Cultivators.
On the cold winter night, the snow fell harder and harder, while the north wind howled outside the window.
The remaining snow on the empty streets was blown in all directions, like demons and ghosts wailing and lamenting.
After circulating his cultivation nine times, Su Fan stood up and went to the small courtyard outside.
All sounds had fallen silent around him. A thick layer of snow covered the ground, as if it had been draped in a sheen of silver.
Su Fan walked to the middle of the courtyard and sat cross-legged in the snow.
He could feel that the purple current stored within the Dao Seed was far from reaching its limit. He estimated that even after being struck by lightning several more times, it might still not be full.
He would do it once more tonight. Otherwise, it really would not be enough for him to play around with—several sets of punches would drain it completely.
The purple current inside the Dao Seed was absolutely his best means of restraining evil spirits and ghosts.
Even if the process of Heavenly Thunder Empowerment was like purgatory, circumstances left him no choice. He could only grit his teeth and endure it.
At that moment, in a patch of woods outside the market, several cultivators in black cloaks stood motionless.
The group stood silently, allowing snowflakes to fall onto their bodies.
After a while, a figure descended from the sky.
The newcomer was a beautiful female cultivator.
She was in her twenties, dressed in cloud-like robes as white as snow, with a pale-purple brocade sash tied around her slender waist.
Her eyes were cold and detached, as if she had seen through everything in the mortal world and nothing could stir her heart.
She stood aloof and independent, looking down upon all living beings.
"Greetings, Senior Sister Qinghuan."
The black-clad cultivators hurried forward and bowed deeply in salute.
The female cultivator's eyes were deep and obscure, radiating distance and coldness.
"Are you ready?"
A tall, burly black-clad cultivator hurriedly bowed.
"Senior Sister Qinghuan, everything has been arranged properly."
"What about Shaoyang Market?"
"Several days ago, the Heavenly Demon Talisman was delivered into Junior Sister Muxue's hands."
The female cultivator nodded and said indifferently, "Then let's begin..."
The moment she finished speaking, a thunderous explosion rang out.
Far across the sky, bolts of lightning flashed one after another, like a swarm of snakes dancing wildly before shrieking down from above.
The group turned their heads to look, all shaken by the sight in the distance.
"Send someone to take a look..."
After saying that, the female cultivator waved her hand. "The plan remains unchanged. Go..."
Everyone responded with a great roar, bowed in salute, and departed in different directions.
The female cultivator clasped her hands behind her back and glanced at the flickering bolts of lightning in the distance, frowning slightly.
Then she raised her hand, and the surroundings were instantly enveloped in dense black mist.
She turned and melted into it. The black mist rose with the wind and vanished into the pitch-black night in the blink of an eye.
Su Fan's small courtyard was a complete mess.
The lightning had gradually subsided, and Su Fan, his face twisted in misery, sat cross-legged.
More than a dozen bolts of heavenly thunder had slammed into him one after another, nearly ruining him for good.
It hurt like hell.
He struggled to his feet. The bandages he had just wrapped around himself were tattered, and his entire body was almost numb.
"I swear, I'm never getting struck by lightning again for as long as I live..."
He tore the ruined bandages from his body, took out his last roll of bandages, and wrapped himself into a mummy once more.
His physical body was becoming increasingly able to adapt to the bombardment of heavenly thunder.
It still hurt, but this time, the external injuries from Heavenly Thunder Empowerment were already negligible.
Su Fan put on a Daoist robe. Just as he was about to turn and return indoors, an earth-shaking boom came from the distance.
"Rumble..."
With a thought, his figure had already drifted onto the roof.
He cast Qi Gazing Art. The spiritual energy in the distance was violently agitated, emitting dazzling light.
"That's the market's formation..."
One violent boom after another came from the direction of the market.
Immediately afterward, the shantytowns surrounding the market descended into chaos.
The nearby Rogue Cultivators were also roused. Just as everyone was panicking, someone began shouting.
"Someone's attacking the market..."
"Shaoyang Market has been breached..."
"Hurry, let's go too..."
"Let's go! Time to rob the hell out of them..."
The uproar was like a few drops of water falling into a boiling-hot wok of oil. With a "boom," the atmosphere around them exploded.
Countless Rogue Cultivators with bloodshot eyes charged madly toward the market.
The initial panic had long since been replaced by twisted desire. Their eyes burned with feverish excitement.
"They're crazy. They've all gone crazy..."
Someone in the crowd had clearly been deliberately inciting them. The purpose was precisely to make these Rogue Cultivators serve as cannon fodder.
Su Fan shook his head and jumped down from the roof.
With the market in such chaos, should he go outside and hide for a while?
After repeatedly weighing the matter, he rejected the idea. It was pitch-black outside, and at a time like this, he was better off hiding at home.
Su Fan thought for a moment, then went beneath the window of the north room. He thrust his hand into the thick snow, pulled open the cellar door, and jumped inside.
The air in the cellar was damp, and frost covered the walls. The fragrance of cabbage and radishes filled the space.
He rubbed his fingers together to produce a wisp of flame, lit the candle hanging on the wall, and found a clean spot to sit cross-legged.
He would make do for one night. If the situation had not improved by tomorrow, he would go out and hide for a few days.
Su Fan inspected the items in his Storage Bag and sorted the talismans into their respective groups.
Everyone's attention was focused on the market. At least tonight, this place was the safest.
He certainly had a beautiful dream.
If he had not drawn down the heavenly thunder today, things really would have gone as he wished.
Thanks to Gui Youbai for the tips and monthly votes. Your support all this time has left Old Bu endlessly grateful. Thanks as well to Old Demon Is Also a Demon, 5211314, Book Friend 20190216184432873, and all the great patrons for your recommendation votes. Old Bu thanks you all.
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