Ever since he had obtained the divine ability Star-Plucking Hand and the spear technique Red Snow, Lei Zhan had returned to the quiet chamber to cultivate once more.
For ordinary cultivators, obtaining even one of these profound arts and secret techniques was already a great stroke of luck. Lei Zhan had obtained two at once, so of course he needed to study them carefully.
Besides, he was also going to venture out.
Staying in the Water Mansion, under Immortal Juhua's protection, was certainly comfortable. But his cultivation would never be as solid as it would be if he tempered himself and adventured outside.
After all, jade had to be cut before it could become a useful vessel.
But embarking on the path of cultivation... meant setting foot on an extraordinarily rough and dangerous road.
Who knew how many uncut gems of genius had been shattered in the course of being carved?
In the original timeline, Lei Zhan had perished while being "carved" out in the world. His bones had even vanished without a trace. At the time, he had only been at the Myriad Phenomena level.
Lei Zhan passed through the tall, shadowy corridor and arrived at the main hall of the Water Mansion.
The hall was ancient and still. Towering bronze pillars, each ten thousand zhang tall, stood in a row. Beneath every pillar lay a bright yellow meditation cushion, each a thousand zhang across.
On one of the cushions sat a lean old man in a Daoist robe, eyes closed. The passage of time seemed unable to leave so much as a trace on him.
Lei Zhan swept his gaze across the hall and immediately spotted Immortal Juhua sitting on the cushion. He hurried over.
"Master." Lei Zhan bowed.
"You've been in seclusion for over a month. Finally decided to come out today? Or are you hoping to fight that puppet?" Immortal Juhua opened his eyes and looked at his disciple. More than six years was nothing in the long span of his cultivation, but Lei Zhan's many displays had made him grow even fonder of his only disciple.
"Master, I've spent over a month studying spear techniques, and I feel I've made some progress. I came today hoping to spar with your Black Stone Puppet." Lei Zhan smiled.
Immortal Juhua had lived for millions of years as a Loose Immortal. His increasingly formidable Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations were now even more severe than the heavenly tribulations faced by some cultivators. In truth, he was already nearing the end of his lifespan.
He had no need to cultivate constantly, so he had ample time on his hands.
Lei Zhan did the same whenever he made progress: he would seek out his master, Immortal Juhua, and spar with the puppet. Sometimes Immortal Juhua would even guide him personally.
"Fight the Black Stone Puppet?" Immortal Juhua smiled faintly. "It's been several years since you and I last sparred. Today, we won't need the puppet."
"No puppet?" Lei Zhan understood. Was his master going to fight him personally today?
"Come. Make your move!" Immortal Juhua said, rising to his feet.
"Yes." Lei Zhan looked at his master and answered.
In an instant, battle intent blazed in Lei Zhan's eyes, almost tangible. A surging spear intent burst from his entire body.
"Mm." Immortal Juhua regarded his disciple, whose aura soared like a tempest, and nodded slightly. "Your presence is much stronger than it was a few years ago."
"Master, be careful." Lei Zhan gave him a warning. A silver spear appeared in his hand, golden divine patterns flowing along its length. It was the Divine Demon Blood-Refined Divine Weapon, the Cold Shadow Divine Spear.
Whoosh.
Lei Zhan moved like lightning, transforming into a streak of light. The spear in his hand swam like a dragon through water, its tip instantly thrusting toward Immortal Juhua, who stood upon the cushion.
"Mm." Immortal Juhua stood on the cushion with his hands behind his back and gave a mild reply. He raised one hand and slowly extended two fingers, bringing them together like a sword. Then he lightly swept them through the air.
A streak of sword light flashed. With a bang, his sword fingers tangled with Lei Zhan's spear, clashing wildly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Cold Shadow Divine Spear had already been forged on the foundation of an Earth-Grade Magic Treasure. After being blood-refined with Lei Zhan's divine-demon blood, it had grown even sharper. In the hands of Lei Zhan, whose spear skills had greatly improved, it carried endless mysteries.
The spear surged forth like a dragon, sweeping in a mighty rush. When it thrust, countless spear shadows filled the air. When it swept sideways, nothing could stand in its way.
Lei Zhan unleashed the Red Snow spear technique he had comprehended to his heart's content. Yet no matter how profound the technique, Immortal Juhua's sword fingers blocked every attack.
"Hmph!" Lei Zhan shifted his spear technique. At times it surged like rolling waves across a blue sea; at others, it burst like blazing flames.
"Hmm? You've completely woven these two minor paths into your profound spear technique." A hint of amusement appeared on Immortal Juhua's face. "No wonder you came looking for me today. Your spear technique has improved considerably."
"Water-Fire Grinding Disc!" Lei Zhan smiled as well. The Cold Shadow Spear in his hands suddenly grew immeasurably heavy, then swung down with a fierce blow.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a gigantic Water-Fire Grinding Disc appeared around Lei Zhan. Two opposing forces of heaven and earth, water and fire... entwined to form a huge grinding disc. At its very center, streaks of spear light collided with water and fire, creating a terrifying force that ground everything to pieces.
The Water-Fire Grinding Disc revolved around Lei Zhan. The spear in his hands now carried two entirely opposed powers, water and fire, like a miniature grinding disc. The one about to be cast into the disc and "ground to nothing" was naturally Immortal Juhua.
"Too slow!" Immortal Juhua lightly tapped the air with his sword fingers. A beam of sword light streaked across the sky, instantly becoming a flash of blue light that moved at the utmost speed.
"That move again." Lei Zhan's expression grew solemn. "Red Snow Spear Technique, First Form—Rainbow-Swallowing Breath!"
Whoosh!
Spear light danced through the air.
Empowered by the Red Snow spear technique, the Cold Shadow Spear whirled furiously, slicing through space with the howl of lightning. The Water-Fire Grinding Disc in the air spun faster and faster, its power growing ever stronger. It seemed ready to tear apart the surrounding space.
"Break!" Immortal Juhua smiled.
An invisible sword qi appeared out of nowhere and struck the Cold Shadow Spear directly. The powerful sword qi immediately put Lei Zhan under immense pressure.
"Hold!" Lei Zhan grunted. With a thought, complex divine patterns shimmered faintly across his palms.
Boom!
Spear light collided with sword light. The resulting explosion reverberated across the entire hall.
After a long while, the sword light dissipated, and the Water-Fire Grinding Disc hovering above the hall vanished as well, transforming into a spear traced with flowing golden patterns.
"Not bad. Not bad." Immortal Juhua stepped forward. "With your spear technique and divine ability used together..."
Immortal Juhua had seen it clearly. The spear technique Lei Zhan had used had been profound, but it had all remained within his expectations.
But the terrifying power that erupted at the end was another matter. In those seemingly ordinary hands, the spear had suddenly become incomparably fearsome. Immortal Juhua had never seen the divine ability Star-Plucking Hand before, but there were very few methods that could instantly raise one's strength by such a large margin.
"Unfortunately, with my divine power, I can use this divine ability no more than twenty or thirty times." Lei Zhan smiled too. The first use of Star-Plucking Hand had unleashed such terrifying power that he was extremely pleased with it.
"Lei Zhan." Immortal Juhua's expression turned serious. "You came today not only to fight the puppet. Are you preparing to venture out?"
"Well... I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Master. I am indeed planning to go." Lei Zhan nodded.
"Fledgling eagles spread their wings; hidden dragons plunge into the sea. It has always been so. It was true in the past, and it will always be true."
Immortal Juhua smiled. "Even if you hadn't brought it up, with your current rate of growth, I would have sent you out to adventure in a few years."
"Yes." Lei Zhan nodded.
His master had bestowed all sorts of arts and treasures upon him, but he still had to strive for himself.
His master could help, guide, and support him. But the disciple had to fight and work hard for himself!
Lei Zhan looked at Immortal Juhua. "I've already mastered this divine ability. As for the spear technique, I've gained some insight into the second form, but if I want to fully comprehend it... it'll be difficult to accomplish by shutting myself away. The same goes for comprehending the Dao."
Lei Zhan spoke the truth. The Red Snow spear technique had been created by Red Snow Celestial God amid battle and slaughter. Naturally, cultivating it could not be done without fighting.
Besides, if every art and secret technique could be fully mastered merely by accumulating enough time, there would be no such thing as a bottleneck.
"Mm." Immortal Juhua nodded, immediately understanding what his disciple had in mind.
"Since that's the case, I'll allow you to venture out and temper yourself."
Immortal Juhua said solemnly, "I'll keep this cave mansion here on Qianqiu Island. The North Dark Sea around the island is also a good place to gain experience. For now, you can train in the North Dark Sea."
"The North Dark Sea?" Lei Zhan nodded. He had yet to break through to the Primordial Spirit Daoist level, so he couldn't carry the Water Mansion with him. Naturally, he couldn't venture too far from it.
And since his master, Immortal Juhua, had chosen to leave the Water Mansion on Qianqiu Island, Lei Zhan would be able to return whenever he wished after a bout of adventuring.
Immortal Juhua looked at Lei Zhan and said, "I prepared several treasures for you, originally intending to give them to you in a few years. But now that you're venturing out, I, as your master, will simply bestow them upon you now."
"Three treasures?" Lei Zhan was startled. Many cultivators prepared several life-saving treasures before venturing out. He hadn't expected his master, Immortal Juhua, to have started preparing them for him long ago.
"Lei Zhan." Immortal Juhua looked at him.
"When cultivators embark on the path of cultivation, they must contend with Heaven and seize from Earth. They must also guard against their fellow human cultivators, as well as the ancient demons still active in hidden corners."
Immortal Juhua said solemnly, "With the great divine ability left behind by the first master, your current strength would rank among the best even among Myriad Phenomena True Persons. Since you're venturing out today, these three protective, life-saving treasures will give you a much better chance of surviving a crisis."
I've been thinking about something lately. Divine-demon blood-refined weapons exist because demons might not have a suitable weapon that can stay with them throughout their lives, and weapons can absorb all kinds of killing intent and baleful energy to upgrade themselves. So, could a suit of armor also be a divine weapon of this kind?