Yunxiao froze in place, her eyes fixed on Lu Changsheng, filled with suspicion.
Had she misheard him?
But how could a Taiyi Golden Immortal like her possibly have misheard?
At first, she had thought that Lu Changsheng was asking about the Shangqing Divine Thunder because he wanted to learn the technique.
The Shangqing Divine Thunder was a signature technique of the Interception Sect, but it wasn't something one could learn just by asking.
One had to reach the True Immortal realm before becoming eligible to learn it.
But she had never expected Lu Changsheng to ask her to strike him with the Shangqing Divine Thunder.
What kind of request was that?
Had her Dao Companion gone mad?
"What are you standing there for? Strike me with the Shangqing Divine Thunder."
Lu Changsheng was already growing impatient.
Originally, he'd have had to wait until his next breakthrough to finish Lightning Body Tempering and cultivate the Indestructible Thunder God Body.
Now that Yunxiao was here, he didn't have to wait until then.
Seeing Yunxiao still standing motionless, looking at him as though he were an idiot, Lu Changsheng hurried to explain.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm cultivating a Body Tempering Divine Ability, and it requires Lightning Body Tempering."
"Since you're here, you can help me finish it."
Only after he explained did Yunxiao finally understand.
So he needed Lightning Body Tempering.
"Got it."
Yunxiao formed a Seal Method, and a bolt of Shangqing Divine Thunder crashed down.
Lu Changsheng took the full force of the Shangqing Divine Thunder, but a trace of confusion arose in his heart.
The tempering effect of this bolt of Shangqing Divine Thunder seemed much weaker than that of Huanglong Zhenren's Jade Purity Divine Thunder.
What was going on? Was Yunxiao weaker than Huanglong Zhenren?
Impossible!
Then why?
As he pondered the question, Lu Changsheng remained perfectly still.
This startled Yunxiao.
Had she hit him too hard?
She hurried over to Lu Changsheng and asked anxiously, "How are you?"
"I only used twenty percent of my strength. You should be fine, right?"
Yunxiao's words made Lu Changsheng understand.
It wasn't that Yunxiao was weaker than Huanglong Zhenren. She had held back because she was worried about his injuries.
On top of that, he had already completed most of his Lightning Body Tempering, and his flesh had developed some resistance to lightning.
That was why this bolt of Shangqing Divine Thunder had barely tempered him at all.
Once he understood, Lu Changsheng looked at Yunxiao.
"Twenty percent isn't enough. You can use more magic power."
Yunxiao looked worried. "Can you handle it?"
"My Shangqing Divine Thunder isn't something an ordinary Earth Immortal can withstand."
Lu Changsheng smiled faintly.
"I'm not an Earth Immortal anymore."
The aura of a Heavenly Immortal emerged.
Yunxiao froze.
He'd broken through?!
Perhaps advancing from Earth Immortal to Heavenly Immortal wasn't a big deal.
But that depended on who was doing it.
After leaving Three Immortal Island, she had looked into the location of Lu Changsheng's cave abode and, while she was at it, learned a few other things about him.
Lu Changsheng had been stuck at the Earth Immortal realm for quite a while.
Yet after becoming Dao Companions with her, he had broken through?
Could the reason he'd been unable to advance before really have been her?
"Don't waste any more time. Come on."
Lu Changsheng urged her.
Only then did Yunxiao pull herself together.
"Then be careful. If you can't take it, say so."
With that, she unleashed another bolt of Shangqing Divine Thunder.
This time, the Shangqing Divine Thunder was clearly much stronger than before.
Naturally, its tempering effect increased as well.
Watching Lu Changsheng's figure "bathing" in the thunder, Yunxiao was deeply moved.
So this was how Lu Changsheng had gotten his injuries.
He really didn't have to push himself this hard.
Was it because of her?
```
[System Prompt: Your Dao Companion Yunxiao's favorability has increased by twenty. Current favorability: fifty (indifferent).]
Lu Changsheng froze.
That could raise her favorability too?
He didn't understand, but it was a good thing.
He'd better focus on cultivating.
Under the onslaught of the Shangqing Divine Thunder, his Lightning Body Tempering progress began to climb at an astonishing rate.
A little under half an hour later, Lu Changsheng spoke again.
"The Shangqing Divine Thunder needs to be even stronger."
Yunxiao furrowed her delicate brows.
After being struck by several bolts of Shangqing Divine Thunder, Lu Changsheng's already battered body had become even more gruesome.
"Have you ever heard the saying 'more haste, less speed'?"
"Your body is reaching its limit."
Even Lightning Body Tempering had its limits.
But Lu Changsheng only smiled.
"But there's another saying: 'No destruction, no rebirth.'"
"I don't have time to waste."
Yunxiao looked at Lu Changsheng's determined face and took a deep breath.
"I understand."
She formed another Seal Method, and a bolt of Shangqing Divine Thunder even stronger than the last crashed down.
After it struck, Lu Changsheng had been blasted into a charred husk, without the slightest trace of life.
Yunxiao's heart lurched. She immediately rushed to his side to check on him.
At the sight of him, she panicked.
There wasn't the slightest trace of life coming from Lu Changsheng.
Why had she trusted him?
And what about "no destruction, no rebirth"?
For a Heavenly Immortal, being destroyed and reborn was unimaginably difficult.
Just then, a faint peal of thunder rang out.
Yunxiao froze.
Had that sound come from inside Lu Changsheng?
Lu Changsheng's tightly shut eyes snapped open. A flash of lightning glimmered in his deep eyes and vanished.
Their gazes met, and Yunxiao froze in place.
They were so close that she could clearly see Lu Changsheng's eyelashes trembling ever so slightly.
Her Dao Companion was quite handsome.
"Were you worried about me?"
Lu Changsheng's question brought Yunxiao back to her senses.
She hurriedly stepped back, her eyes darting away.
"It's good that you're all right."
"Did you manage to cultivate the Divine Ability?"
Yunxiao changed the subject.
Lu Changsheng smiled faintly. Cracks spread across his charred body.
With another peal of thunder, the charred layer fell away completely. Arcs of lightning flickered across his powerful, well-built body.
No destruction, no rebirth—he had used Yunxiao's final, powerful bolt of Shangqing Divine Thunder to make it happen.
Lightning Body Tempering was finally complete.
He had also cultivated the Indestructible Thunder God Body.
Yunxiao stared at Lu Changsheng, momentarily lost in thought.
At first, when Lu Changsheng said that cultivating a Body Tempering Divine Ability required Lightning Body Tempering, she hadn't thought much of it.
After all, what could be so special about the Body Tempering Divine Ability of an Earth Immortal—no, a Heavenly Immortal now?
But she realized she'd been wrong.
The final bolt of Shangqing Divine Thunder she had unleashed was far beyond what an injured Heavenly Immortal could withstand.
Lu Changsheng had been able to emerge from destruction reborn not because his body was exceptionally strong, but because of the Divine Ability he had cultivated.
It was easy to imagine that lightning-based Mystical Abilities and techniques would be far less effective against Lu Changsheng from then on.
The Body Tempering Divine Ability he had cultivated wasn't nearly as simple as she had imagined.
But where had Lu Changsheng gotten such a technique?
"Do you like what you see?"
Lu Changsheng's voice suddenly sounded beside her.
Yunxiao froze, her heart racing.
She hurriedly turned away, a blush spreading across her fair neck.
"Put your clothes on!"
"Don't be so shy. We're Dao Companions. Look all you want."
Lu Changsheng chuckled.
"You..."
The corner of Yunxiao's mouth twitched.
Was she shy?
Lu Changsheng found another Daoist robe and put it on, then came over to Yunxiao.
"Now that I've mastered the Divine Ability, let's do something else Dao Companions are supposed to do."
Yunxiao immediately remembered what Bixiao had said earlier about the things Dao Companions were supposed to do.
She took two steps back.
"You've mastered your Divine Ability, and Bixiao is waiting for me on Three Immortal Island. I should head back."
With that, Yunxiao fled.
She really wasn't ready for the intimate things Dao Companions did.
"Remember to collect your Cultivation Resources when you go to Golden Ao Island next time."
His voice drifted through the air.
Lu Changsheng's lips curled up.
His Dao Companion was more interesting than he had expected.
If he weren't in such a hurry to improve his cultivation, he would have gone after her.
Next, he would cultivate with the Spirit Capturing Pearl and Xuanling Fruit, and try to break through to the True Immortal realm before going to Golden Ao Island to collect his resources!
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