Maiden in Thunder

"Refining soul weapons means sacrificing your soul into the soul weapon, nurturing it with spiritual power, and permeating it day and night to establish a spiritual connection, a soul connection."

Zhong Yue sat cross-legged, the Dragon Blood Sword Box placed upright on the ground before him. Xin Huo, within his Sea of Consciousness, guided him on how to refine the Dragon Blood Sword Box and the Dragon Scale Sword.

"The longer the refining time, the more stable the connection with the soul weapon. Even if your soul weapon is lost, you can recall it with a single thought, and no one can take it away. However, this sword box of yours has already established a connection with the Dragon Scale Sword, a connection between sheath and sword. If the precious sword is lost, you can also recall it by activating the sword box. You don't need to refine the sword box now; first, refine the sword, nurturing it with powerful spiritual power and soul!"

Zhong Yue sacrificed his soul into the Dragon Scale Sword, and his spiritual power surged out, nurturing the precious sword.

"Most ordinary people nurture their soul weapons by simply using their souls and spiritual power. It takes more than ten days to refine it to satisfaction; this is just the most foolish method."

Xin Huo continued to guide him, saying, "While you are nurturing it, simultaneously visualize the Fire Epoch Palace and Suihuang. By doing so, you can refine the soul weapon to satisfaction in at most a few hours."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Yue immediately visualized the Fire Epoch Palace and Suihuang. After a few hours, Zhong Yue suddenly opened his eyes.

"Refine!"

With a click, the sword box opened, and the Dragon Scale Sword emitted a low hum, leaping out of the sword box. A cold light instantly sharpened, and the surrounding air temperature plummeted, chilling to the bone!

The Dragon Scale Sword seemed to become his eyes. Zhong Yue "saw" the surrounding scenery through the Dragon Scale Sword, and as it flew higher and higher, the scenery he saw became wider and wider.

Crack!

Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the air. Under Zhong Yue's control, the Dragon Scale Sword unleashed the Thunderclap Sword Art. Lightning bolts crisscrossed wildly. This Dragon Scale Sword had truly transformed into lightning and electricity, moving like lightning and as swift as thunder!

Zhong Yue was both surprised and delighted. He fully unleashed the Thunderclap Sword Art. Sword light flickered and leaped in the air, and the power of the Thunderclap Sword Art was fully displayed!

In the past, when he performed the Thunderclap Sword Art, he always felt somewhat restricted and unable to unleash its full potential. But using the Dragon Scale Sword, this soul weapon, all the changes he couldn't previously execute now flowed smoothly!

No wonder so many Upper Court disciples say that a good soul weapon can double one's strength. With the Dragon Scale Sword, the power of my Thunderclap Sword Art is more than doubled? Zhong Yue thought to himself.

"You have only refined it into the sword for now. It's enough to kill ordinary fierce beasts, but it's still far from enough to deal with a brat like Shui Qinghe. Shui Qinghe's spiritual power is stronger than yours, and his soul weapon is likely no inferior to yours. Your chances of losing in a fight against him are quite high."

Xin Huo transformed into a small flame, landed on the Dragon Scale Sword, and merged into the sword body, standing above Zhong Yue's soul. "This sword is not bad. It can protect your soul, preventing you from being annihilated if someone shatters the Dragon Scale Sword. The toughness and rigidity of this sword are top-notch. Unless it's a Qi Refiner, no one can break it. When colliding with other soul weapons, you don't have to worry about your soul dying."

"If the soul weapon shatters, the person also dies?" Zhong Yue exclaimed in shock.

"Naturally. When you sacrifice your soul into the soul weapon and use it to fight, the most feared thing is the shattering of the soul weapon. Because the soul is sacrificed into the soul weapon, if the soul weapon shatters, the soul will also shatter, and the owner will die."

Xin Huo sat on his shoulder and said, "Therefore, things like soul weapons, if not used, are fine. But if you use them, use the best ones. Otherwise, if the soul weapon shatters, your soul will be scattered! Look at those little bumpkins in the Upper Court; they don't know anything. Their soul weapons are mostly crudely made, shattering at the slightest touch, yet they dare to use soul weapons to fight. They are clearly parading around with their heads!"

Zhong Yue's heart trembled. Indeed, many disciples in the Upper Court would summon their soul weapons when facing combat, relying heavily on them. He hadn't expected that in Xin Huo's eyes, they were all courting death.

"This sword of yours is quite good. As long as it's not a Qi Refiner, it's not easy to shatter your Dragon Scale Sword. You can summon it when contending with Upper Court disciples."

Xin Huo said solemnly, "Of course, if you encounter a Qi Refiner, you should flee as far as possible. Otherwise, if a Qi Refiner cuts down your Dragon Scale Sword, they will also cut down your soul! Soul weapons are merely a substitute for Sword Qi, a helpless measure when one's cultivation is still low. Sword Qi not only has far superior attack power to soul weapons but is also much safer... Alright, continue flying upwards, go to the high altitude to practice sword!"

The Dragon Scale Sword immediately shot towards the high altitude. Mid-air, the sword light carried rolling thunderous sounds. Before long, it had flown tens of thousands of feet into the sky!

Zhong Yue's soul looked down. The surrounding mountains appeared low and much smaller. However, beside them, Sword Gate Mountain stood like a giant sword, still immeasurably high!

After Zhong Yue controlled the Dragon Scale Sword to fly for a while, he felt his spiritual power was becoming difficult to sustain. His spiritual power still had reserves, but its intensity was insufficient to support such a long distance.

And after flying so far, the golden peak of Sword Gate Mountain still towered in the sky, seemingly out of reach.

"Let's stop here."

Xin Huo looked outwards and said, "This is the high-altitude lightning zone. In the high altitude, there are the scorching sun, fierce winds, and latent lightning. The scorching sun is like fire, the fierce winds are like knives. If a soul reaches the high altitude, it will burn to death, or be blown to death by the wind. The scorching sun and fierce winds are not particularly dangerous, but lightning is formidable. Lightning will sense your soul. Once you reach high altitude, lightning will generate spontaneously and strike you, killing you!"

"Lightning will strike me proactively?"

Zhong Yue was horrified. "Even if I don't provoke the lightning, it will still strike me?"

"Before the soul combines with the spirit, it is yin. Lightning is full of yang. When yin and yang meet, they attract each other. Therefore, when a soul goes to high altitude, it will be struck by lightning."

Xin Huo said, "This is like men and women. When a man meets a woman, he wants to get closer. When you practiced the Thunderclap Sword Art before, it was just lightning visualized by your spiritual power, which is false lightning, yin lightning. Natural lightning is yang lightning, and its power is many times greater than yin lightning! The altitude here is just right; the lightning is not yet very intense, it's very sparse. You can use the lightning here to cultivate your Thunderclap Sword Art, using the lightning to temper your soul, spirit, and soul weapon... Be careful, lightning is coming, quickly visualize Suihuang!"

Around the Dragon Scale Sword, crackling electric lights flashed. The electric lights grew more numerous, converging together. In mid-air, it was as if many lightning snakes suddenly appeared, swimming among the clouds, which was quite astonishing!

More and more electric lights gathered, like large snakes swallowing smaller ones, growing bigger and bigger. Thunderous sounds faintly appeared in the air!

Zhong Yue's heart trembled. He felt as if his soul was locked onto by something, and his soul actually felt fear. He quickly visualized Fire Epoch Palace and Suihuang.

Spiritual power constructed the Fire Epoch Palace within the Dragon Scale Sword, while Zhong Yue himself transformed into Suihuang, with a dragon's head and human body, and a dragon's tail. Instantly, the feeling of fear vanished.

Rumble!

Thunder roared loudly, and a deafening sound came. A bolt of lightning struck horizontally. The Dragon Scale Sword was struck by the lightning before it could even dodge. An unimaginable power instantly filled the Dragon Scale Sword!

Within the Dragon Scale Sword, Zhong Yue's soul was scorched black. Even the Fire Epoch Palace and Suihuang he had visualized were blackened. His soul seemed on the verge of turning into charcoal and shattering!

His spiritual power was almost scattered, and he felt an extremely intense pain. The sound of thunder vibrated as if it wanted to shatter him!

"Visualize with all your might, don't get distracted!"

Xin Huo stood on his shoulder, seemingly unharmed, and said with a tense expression, "If you get distracted, you'll die, your soul will be scattered!"

Zhong Yue gritted his teeth, enduring the pain that felt like it was tearing him apart. He concentrated his spirit to the utmost, visualizing Fire Epoch Palace and Suihuang. The scorched parts of his soul immediately began to recover, like an old tree regaining its vitality.

Rumble!

Another bolt of lightning struck. Zhong Yue's soul, just as it had recovered, was almost shattered again. The unbearable, intense pain struck him once more!

Xin Huo was not worried at all and chuckled, "Just grit your teeth. You're only gritting your soul. If your body were to grit its teeth like this, you'd break all your teeth. If you survived the first time, you'll survive the second time. Continue cultivating, don't relax!"

"It hurts..." Zhong Yue gritted out.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

The small flame seemed a little guilty and said, "The pure-blooded Fuxi Divine Clan members I've taught before never complained of pain..."

Zhong Yue gritted his teeth and persevered, constantly visualizing. In just half an hour, more than twenty bolts of lightning struck the Dragon Scale Sword. Even Xin Huo was startled, thinking, The pure-blooded Fuxi Divine Clan I taught before didn't last this long when struck by lightning for the first time; they cried out in pain and couldn't go on. This kid is still holding on...

Zhong Yue felt his soul becoming numb with pain, yet the lightning bolts continued to surge, crackling as they struck him.

Gradually, however, Zhong Yue seemed to feel less pain. The intensity of his spiritual power was increasing, and his soul was becoming tougher and more robust, capable of withstanding such lightning strikes!

In fact, a trace of lightning and electricity even flickered within his soul and spiritual power.

Suddenly, Zhong Yue "saw" a delicate young girl sitting in mid-air hundreds of feet away. Bolts of lightning were also striking her continuously. Without a soul weapon to protect her, the lightning struck her directly, yet her body remained seated, unmoving!

"This girl doesn't look old, yet she's so powerful!"

Zhong Yue's thoughts stirred, and the Dragon Scale Sword flew towards the girl. The girl opened her eyes, looked curiously at the Dragon Scale Sword, and smiled, "Is this Senior Brother also tempering his soul? Does it hurt?"

"It hurt a bit earlier, but now it's just numb."

Zhong Yue's soul poked its head out of the sword and smiled, "What should I call you, Senior Sister?"

"I am of the Qiu Clan, named Qiu Jin'er. The lightning just now was almost unbearable, and I nearly fainted."

The girl struggled to endure the pain and asked, "What should I call you, Senior Brother?"

Seeing the lightning strike, Zhong Yue quickly retreated into the sword, "I am of the Zhongshan Clan, Zhong Yue. Senior Sister Qiu's cultivation is very formidable; I wouldn't dare resist the lightning directly with my soul."

Qiu Jin'er chuckled, "Senior Brother Zhong, you seem a bit older than me. You should call me Junior Sister."

After chatting for a while, both felt a little tired. Zhong Yue smiled, "Junior Sister Qiu, I'll see you tomorrow."

Qiu Jin'er nodded, and her soul flew away. Zhong Yue watched, his eyes widening. He saw Qiu Jin'er flying towards a palace on a Lingzhi Mushroom-shaped platform on Sword Gate Mountain!

"That's where Qi Refiners live. Why is she..." Zhong Yue exclaimed.

Xin Huo wondered aloud, "She's a Qi Refiner. Didn't you notice?"

Cold sweat beaded on Zhong Yue's forehead. "She called me Senior Brother earlier, and I called her Junior Sister... A Qi Refiner calling me Senior Brother, I feel so much pressure..."

"When you become a Qi Refiner and surpass her in cultivation, won't that Senior Brother title be solidified?"

Xin Huo said with a smile, "But you need to work hard. Because this little heifer named Qiu Jin'er is no simple person. She's a natural Spiritual Body, with talent comparable to Fang Jiange. People like her cultivate at a speed as wild as a mad heifer!"