Summon Wind and Rain (Please Support!)

"Eighty!"

"Eighty!"

"Eighty!"

Rhythmic pounding rang out across the first level of Snake Abyss. Every strike thundered deafeningly, even causing small-scale tremors throughout Snake Abyss.

Like a blacksmith hammering iron.

It was Su Qingqiu training.

The hard rocks around the Dragon Bone had visibly been hammered away layer by layer, while the surrounding Spiritual Pythons fled as far away as they could.

His scales now carried a trace of crimson amid their golden hue, faintly gleaming with a metallic luster. Even when he slithered, the friction between his scales sounded like clashing metal.

Ordinary Spiritual Serpents made only soft rustling sounds as they crawled, but under Su Qingqiu's immense weight, he was practically a road roller.

This bizarre sound made him utterly unique among all Spiritual Serpents. Most could hear him from far away and would quickly steer clear.

As the saying went, effort brought rewards.

After all that frenzied training—

Physical Fitness: 57.3

Physical Defense: 95.5

Combined with the Daoism Cultivation he had gained by devouring Evil Remains over this period, his Spiritual Light had surged to 3,500.

That level of Spiritual Light was simply beyond what an ordinary Spiritual Python could possess. Perhaps only the creatures in the deeper levels of Snake Abyss had such reserves.

Unfortunately, after becoming a Spiritual Python, shedding his skin had become exceedingly difficult. So far, Su Qingqiu had not sensed the slightest sign that he was about to shed.

Thus, he immersed himself in day-after-day training, every tiny gain intoxicating him.

After another day of repetitive training—

"Whew!"

Su Qingqiu let out a long breath, ending his training for the day. He rested his massive head against the Dragon Bone and took a short break.

Though he had stopped training, the Vajra Sutra continued to consume Spiritual Light, transforming it into streams of force that tempered his body.

With the Vajra Sutra's tempering, Su Qingqiu's snake body had not continued growing thicker. Instead, it had become much slimmer.

Yet his weight had increased rather than decreased, showing that the density of his flesh and blood had risen considerably.

The Spiritual Patterns on the scales covering his body had also become denser, increasingly complete and intricate.

Following protection, hardness, and heaviness, the Spiritual Patterns had gained another property: rebounding force.

As the name implied, so long as an attack did not exceed the limits his body could withstand, a small portion of its force would rebound outward.

Though this initial rebounding force was weak, it could still be strengthened through training.

Length: 9.7 meters. Weight: 2,000 kilograms!

Those were Su Qingqiu's current physical stats.

"What a pity... these pills are no longer much use."

Su Qingqiu sighed, then poured a pile of pills into his mouth like candy beans.

After a Spiritual Serpent transformed into a Python, devouring Evil Remains on the first level of Snake Abyss still yielded the same rewards, but they had less and less effect on him.

At this point, these things could only replenish the blood and qi expended during physical training.

"At this stage, unless I find intact evil beings or Evil Remains like the Great Green Snake or the Eye Demon, Exorcism and Blessing is actually less useful than Protecting the Residence."

Su Qingqiu silently pondered.

As his strength grew, Protecting the Residence's usefulness became increasingly apparent before he could obtain stronger Evil Remains.

Every training session brought feedback. A proficiency panel was no joke.

"Once both Physical Fitness and Physical Defense break through one hundred, I reckon I'll undergo my first shedding as a Spiritual Python. By then, my body length will surely cross the ten-meter threshold and rise sharply."

"But to reach one hundred by training alone..."

Su Qingqiu shook his head and sighed again.

Having experienced the explosive rate of improvement from combining pills with Protecting the Residence, it was far too hard for him to settle down and train step by step.

"I need stronger Evil Remains."

Su Qingqiu turned his gaze toward the darkness deep beyond the Dragon Bone. That was the entrance to the second level of Snake Abyss. He had tried many times over this period, but had found no way to pass through the sealing barrier there.

If he wanted to enter, it seemed he could only start with Dragon-Raising Temple. Yet he had not thought of any way to do so.

"Forget it. When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten itself. I'll wait and see."

With that thought, Su Qingqiu mobilized the little Spiritual Light remaining in his body and immediately cast a Minor Rain Accumulation Technique.

The next moment—

A fine drizzle appeared out of thin air on the first level of Snake Abyss, and the Evil Qi that had pervaded the surroundings instantly began to dissipate.

Countless Spiritual Serpents let out delighted hisses and basked in the drizzle. Under the washing rain, wisps of Evil Qi surfaced from their bodies.

These Spiritual Serpents had long fed on Evil Remains. Though they possessed Spiritual Light, their bodies had accumulated considerable Evil Qi and all sorts of toxic negative substances.

The Minor Rain Accumulation Technique possessed the power to exorcise evil. While it could not completely remove the evil toxins from the Spiritual Serpents, it greatly slowed the process by which they were corroded and contaminated.

Some of the larger female snakes even gazed at him with tender affection, looking as though they could not wait to leap into his embrace.

As for how Su Qingqiu knew that... well, the less said about that, the better.

In short, after defeating the Eye Demon, relying on his own immense strength and the miraculous power of the Minor Rain Accumulation Technique, Su Qingqiu had become the undisputed Serpent King of the first level of Snake Abyss.

The emperor of every Spiritual Serpent here!

"Huh? Why does today's Minor Rain Accumulation Technique feel different?"

After casting the Minor Rain Accumulation Technique once, Su Qingqiu suddenly felt an unusual impulse rise within his body.

It seemed like a call from his bloodline.

Or perhaps the Water Vapor between heaven and earth was waiting for his summons.

At that moment, his Spiritual Light merged into heaven and earth. He sensed the dryness of this region, the unbearable suffering of all living things, and the yearning for rain shared by every sentient creature.

In an instant, Su Qingqiu understood what had happened.

The Minor Rain Accumulation Technique had advanced!

After being used continuously 108 times, the Minor Rain Accumulation Technique had officially advanced into the Major Rain Accumulation Technique!

When fortune turned, even heaven lent its strength. The Spiritual Light he had consumed was replenished in that instant and rapidly increased, ultimately reaching a full 5,000 points of Spiritual Light.

Five thousand points of Spiritual Light equaled five thousand years of Daoism Cultivation.

"Looks like I can cast it once more?"

"Should I give it a try?"

Su Qingqiu's enormous Serpent Eyes shifted slightly as power equal to five thousand years of Daoism Cultivation poured out in an instant.

Major Rain Accumulation Technique, activate!

Let me see just how heavy this rain can get!

A moment earlier—

Within Dragon-Raising Temple—

Yuanhui looked at the fine drizzle, his face scrunched into a knot.

"Why is it raining again?"

"Which eminent monk is playing a joke this time?"

Yuanhui was utterly helpless.

Ever since Yuanming had been attacked, rain had fallen over Dragon-Raising Temple every few days.

It had made life miserable for Dragon-Raising Temple. The constant rain had left the entire area around it damp and soggy. The key was that nowhere else received rain—only the ten-li radius around Dragon-Raising Temple.

The mortals thought a deity had descended, and all sorts of forces kept investigating. On the upside, the temple's incense offerings had increased considerably, evil beings had decreased, and all kinds of wild animals had settled here in droves. Snakes and insects in particular had multiplied severalfold.

At first, Yuanhui thought some accomplished monk within the temple was practicing Rain Prayer, but after investigating, he found nothing.

By now, it had rained 108 times. Even Yuanhui could not help muttering to himself, wondering whether some Rain God had taken a liking to Dragon-Raising Temple.

"Wait, this rain... why is it getting heavier?"

Yuanhui suddenly froze. He looked up at the sky, and his expression changed drastically.

Above Dragon-Raising Temple, an immense thunderstorm cloud was abruptly taking shape.