Lightning Bolt Fist, Great Perfection

The next morning, after soaking in glutinous rice water all night, Qiusheng slowly opened his eyes.

"Whew, the corpse energy in my body has finally been completely purged. I suffered quite a bit killing Ren Weiyong this time, but thankfully, the rewards were well worth it."

"Fifteen hundred Exorcism Points, plus the seven hundred I already had—that makes two thousand two hundred! What a fortune."

"Unfortunately, I still don't have a Five Elements Spirit Body, so I can't use these Exorcism Points to improve my cultivation. The only thing I can work on is the handful of techniques I've learned."

Qiusheng muttered to himself. After a brief hesitation, he poured all two thousand two hundred of his Exorcism Points into the Lightning Bolt Fist.

Ding! Congratulations, host. You have spent 480 Exorcism Points to raise Lightning Bolt Fist to the highest level.

Ding! Congratulations, host. You have spent 960 Exorcism Points to cultivate Lightning Bolt Fist to Great Perfection.

Ding! Congratulations, host. You have cultivated a lightning-based Daoist art to the highest level. Your constitution has been affected by the Daoist art, and your affinity with lightning has increased. (Note: Once your affinity with lightning reaches a certain level, you may awaken a Lightning Spirit Body on your own.)

Hearing the system's notifications, Qiusheng froze for a moment.

"What? Cultivating a Daoist art to Great Perfection increases your affinity with its corresponding element?"

"And once your affinity reaches a certain level, you can awaken a spirit body of that element?"

Qiusheng's mind went blank. He hadn't expected that cultivating Lightning Bolt Fist to Great Perfection would bring such an unexpected bonus.

This also showed Qiusheng another path to awakening a Five Elements Spirit Body: diligently cultivating Five Elements Daoist arts.

Although the Maoshan Sect didn't have many particularly profound Five Elements arts, it did have one or two in each element.

In other words, as long as Qiusheng learned all those Five Elements arts and cultivated them to mastery, he wouldn't be far from awakening a Five Elements Spirit Body.

Overjoyed, he leaped out of the tub, grabbed a cloth and hastily dried himself, then pulled on a coarse linen shirt and rushed out of the room.

In the Public Mortuary courtyard, Tingting was hanging up the clothes she had just washed. Wencai was still practicing the Heavenly Dipper Bagua Steps, while Uncle Nine and Taoist Four Eyes were leisurely basking in the sun.

Seeing Qiusheng hurry out of his room, Uncle Nine immediately got to his feet and asked,

"Qiusheng, what's wrong? Has something changed with the corpse poison in your body?"

"Brother Qiusheng, what's wrong?"

"Qiusheng, come here. Your uncle will check your pulse."

Seeing how his haste had startled everyone in the courtyard, Qiusheng quickly explained,

"Hey, hey, I'm fine. I'm fine."

"I came out because I need to talk to my master. Master, come on, let's speak over there."

When Qiusheng pointed at him and said he wanted to speak privately, Uncle Nine raised an eyebrow.

He came over to Qiusheng and asked,

"You brat, what is it that you need to tell me away from your uncle and junior brother?"

"Master, I wanted to ask whether our sect has a complete set of Five Elements arts. I'd like to ask you to teach them all to me over the next few days so I can study them carefully."

Hearing this from his disciple, Uncle Nine gave him a strange look.

"You really are insatiable, asking for a complete set of Five Elements arts right off the bat. Aren't you afraid you'll bite off more than you can chew?"

"Let me tell you, arts are only the branches and leaves of cultivation."

"Only cultivation and realm are solid and dependable."

Listening to his master's lecture, Qiusheng said nothing. He simply led his master a little farther away and held out his right hand.

Lightning flashed all around his right hand, as if a lightning dragon were coiled around his arm.

This was the power of Lightning Bolt Fist at Great Perfection. He didn't even need to use the fist technique. With a mere thought, a lightning dragon appeared before them, leaving Uncle Nine dumbstruck.

"Y-you've actually cultivated Lightning Bolt Fist to Great Perfection?"

Seeing how astonished his master was, Qiusheng slowly nodded.

"I had an epiphany yesterday, remember? Not only did I cultivate the Shangqing Dongxuan Record to an advanced level, I also cultivated Lightning Bolt Fist to Great Perfection."

"So I came to ask you whether I could learn a few more arts."

Hearing his disciple's explanation, Uncle Nine was completely dumbfounded.

"Alas, I've always known that you have astonishing cultivation talent and exceptional comprehension, but I never imagined your comprehension was this heaven-defying."

"Fine, fine. If you want to learn, then come with me."

This time, Uncle Nine simply admitted that Qiusheng's cultivation aptitude was unbelievably good.

His progress was plain to see. There was no longer any need to suppress his pride, as Uncle Nine had done before.

Too much of that could end up being counterproductive.

Hearing that his master was willing to teach him Five Elements arts, Qiusheng was delighted.

"Thank you, Master."

"Hmph, don't thank me yet. Though our Maoshan Sect has quite a few Five Elements arts, most are ordinary techniques widely passed down among various sects. There are almost none that are particularly profound."

"After all, the strongest techniques our sect has are the Corpse Refining Technique and the Ghost Raising Technique."

"Unfortunately, practicing the former damages one's karmic merit, while the latter shortens one's lifespan. Nowadays, both have been shelved, and hardly anyone practices them."

Uncle Nine led the way, explaining as they walked.

Hearing his master's words, Qiusheng couldn't help frowning.

It was true: his master had already reached the Earth Master realm, yet his combat strength wasn't particularly impressive.

Could that mean Uncle Nine lacked talent or comprehension, and hadn't learned any powerful arts?

That wasn't the case. The real reason was that the Maoshan Sect's two great pillars had been sealed by the sect's senior masters, leaving later generations of Maoshan disciples no chance to practice them.

"Master, arts themselves aren't right or wrong. It's the practitioners, when they lack self-control, who cause trouble in the world after cultivating these techniques."

"If that's the case, why would our Maoshan Sect cripple itself by sealing away all its own arts?"

"Alas, Qiusheng, let's leave it at that. You're not ready to know some things yet. Once you truly reach the Heavenly Master realm, you'll understand the reasons."

Uncle Nine sighed as he led his disciple into the quiet chamber where he usually cultivated.