Three Treasures (A bit slower, please keep reading!)

Ever since obtaining the divine abilities Star-Plucking Hand and the spear technique Red Snow, Lei Zhan had retreated once more into his quiet chamber.

For an ordinary immortal cultivator, obtaining even one such profound secret technique would be a stroke of immense fortune. Since Lei Zhan had acquired two at once, he naturally had to contemplate and master them thoroughly.

Beyond that, he also intended to venture out into the world.

While staying within the Water Mansion under the protection of Immortal Juhua was certainly comfortable, one's cultivation would never be as solid as it would be through tempering and wandering in the outside world.

After all, jade cannot be polished without cutting.

Yet, embarking on the path of immortality... was inherently a journey fraught with immense hardship and danger.

On the road of cultivation, who knew how many geniuses and raw jades had been shattered during the "polishing" process!

If the original timeline held true, he, Lei Zhan, had perished while out in the world during that very process of being "polished," leaving not even his bones behind, and at that time, he had only been at the Wanxiang level.

Lei Zhan passed through the tall, deep corridor and arrived at the main hall of the Water Mansion.

The hall was silent and ancient, with massive bronze pillars ten thousand feet tall standing firm. Beneath each pillar lay a bright yellow prayer mat, each a thousand feet in size.

On one of these mats, a thin, gaunt old man in Daoist robes sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, as if the passage of time could leave no trace upon him.

Lei Zhan swept his gaze across the hall, immediately spotting Immortal Juhua sitting on the mat, and hurried over.

"Master," Lei Zhan said, bowing.

"After a month of seclusion, you finally decided to come out? Could it be that you wish to spar with the puppet again?" Immortal Juhua opened his eyes and looked at his disciple. Over six years had passed—a duration negligible in his own long cultivation life—yet Lei Zhan's various displays had only made him grow fonder of his only disciple.

"Master, I have been contemplating my spear techniques for the past month and feel I have gained some insight. I came today to spar with your Black Stone Puppet," Lei Zhan said with a smile.

Immortal Juhua was a Loose Immortal who had lived for millions of years. His increasingly severe Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations were even more formidable than the heavenly tribulations of other cultivators; in truth, he was already nearing his limit.

Since he did not need to cultivate every moment, he naturally had plenty of time to spare.

Lei Zhan had always been this way; whenever he made a breakthrough, he would come to find Master Juhua to spar with the puppet. Sometimes, Immortal Juhua would even offer personal guidance during their bouts.

"Spar with the Black Stone Puppet?" Immortal Juhua smiled slightly. "Our master and disciple pair haven't crossed weapons in several years. Today, we shall forgo the puppet."

"Forgo the puppet?" Lei Zhan understood; was his master going to take action himself today?

"Come, strike at me!" Immortal Juhua said, standing up immediately.

"Yes." Lei Zhan looked at his master and replied.

In an instant, the fighting spirit in Lei Zhan's eyes became tangible, and a monstrous spear intent erupted from his entire body.

"Hmm." Immortal Juhua nodded slightly as he looked at his disciple, whose aura was surging. "This momentum is indeed much stronger than it was a few years ago."

"Master, be careful." Lei Zhan warned, and a silver long spear with flowing golden divine patterns appeared in his hand. It was the Cold Shadow Spear, a God-Devil blood-refined divine weapon.

Whoosh.

Lei Zhan's figure moved like lightning, transforming into a streak of light. The spear in his hand moved like a dragon swimming through water, its speed immense as it instantly thrust toward Immortal Juhua, who stood upon the prayer mat.

"Hmm." Immortal Juhua stood on the mat with his hands behind his back, responding calmly. He raised his hand and slowly extended two fingers, pressing them together into a sword-finger, and swept them gently through the air.

Suddenly, a flash of sword light appeared. With a "bang," the sword-finger collided and entangled with Lei Zhan's spear, clashing violently.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Cold Shadow Spear, already possessing the foundation of an Earth-rank magic treasure, had been further sharpened by Lei Zhan's God-Devil blood. In the hands of Lei Zhan, whose spear technique had greatly improved, it contained endless mysteries.

The spear was like a dragon, surging and vast. As it thrust, countless spear shadows enveloped the area; as it swept, it was unstoppable.

Lei Zhan poured his heart into executing the Red Snow spear technique, yet no matter how profound his moves were, they were all blocked by Immortal Juhua's single sword-finger.

"Hmph!" Lei Zhan shifted his spear technique, making it surge like a raging blue sea one moment and explode like scorching flames the next.

"Oh? You have actually integrated these two minor Daos completely into your profound spear technique." A hint of a smile appeared on Immortal Juhua's face. "No wonder you came to find me today; this spear technique has indeed improved much more than before."

"Water-Fire Grinding Disc!" Lei Zhan also smiled. The Cold Shadow Spear in his hand suddenly became incredibly heavy as he lashed it out.

Whoosh!

In an instant, a massive Water-Fire Grinding Disc appeared around Lei Zhan. The two different powers of heaven and earth—water and fire—entwined to form the giant disc. At the center of the disc, streaks of spear light collided with the water and fire, creating a terrifying grinding force.

The Water-Fire Grinding Disc circled Lei Zhan, and the spear in his hand simultaneously manifested the two opposing forces of water and fire, resembling a miniature grinding disc itself. The one about to be cast into the disc to be 'ground to nothing' was, naturally, Immortal Juhua.

"A bit too slow!" Immortal Juhua tapped his sword-finger gently. A streak of sword light cut across the sky, instantly transforming into a cyan streak of light, its speed reaching the absolute limit.

"This move again." A hint of solemnity appeared on Lei Zhan's face. "First form of the Red Snow spear technique—Rainbow-Swallowing Breath!"

Whoosh!

Spear light danced.

Bolstered by the power of the Red Snow spear technique, the Cold Shadow Spear whirled frantically, whistling through space like a bolt of lightning. The Water-Fire Grinding Disc in the air spun faster and faster, its power growing until it even threatened to tear the surrounding space apart.

"Break!" Immortal Juhua smiled.

Suddenly, an invisible Sword Qi appeared out of thin air and struck the Cold Shadow Spear directly. The powerful Sword Qi made it difficult for Lei Zhan to resist.

"Hold for me!" Lei Zhan let out a muffled grunt. With a thought, complex divine patterns flashed faintly across his palms.

Boom!

As the spear light collided with the sword light, a thunderous explosion instantly echoed throughout the entire main hall.

After a long while, the sword radiance dissipated, and the Water-Fire Grinding Disc that had been coiled above the great hall vanished into thin air, transforming into a long spear flowing with golden patterns.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Immortal Juhua walked forward. "The way you combined your spear arts with that divine ability..."

Immortal Juhua had seen it clearly; although the spear arts Lei Zhan had just displayed were profound, they had remained within his expectations.

Yet, the terrifying power that erupted at the very end, with that long spear becoming incomparably fearsome in those seemingly ordinary hands, had been startling. Although Immortal Juhua had never seen the divine ability Star-Plucking Hand, there were very few methods that could allow one's strength to soar by such a large margin in an instant.

"It is a pity that with my current divine power, I can only use this divine ability twenty or thirty times at most before I am exhausted." A smile appeared on Lei Zhan's face. He was extremely satisfied with the terrifying might of the Star-Plucking Hand, now that he had used it for the first time.

"Lei Zhan," Immortal Juhua said solemnly, "besides sparring with the puppets, did you come here today because you intend to head out into the world?"

"This... as expected, I cannot hide anything from Master. I do indeed have that intention." Lei Zhan nodded.

"A fledgling eagle must spread its wings, and a hidden dragon must enter the sea; it has always been this way. It was so in the past, and it will always be so in the future."

Immortal Juhua laughed. "Even if you hadn't said it, given your current rate of growth, I would have sent you out to temper yourself in a few more years anyway."

"Yes," Lei Zhan nodded.

His master had bestowed upon him various techniques and treasures, but he still needed to put in the effort himself.

A master could provide help, guidance, and support, but it was the disciple who had to strive and struggle!

Lei Zhan looked at Immortal Juhua. "I am already familiar with this divine ability. As for my spear arts, although I have gained some insights into the second stance, it would be difficult to fully comprehend it by merely closing my doors and working in isolation. The same holds true for my insights into the Dao."

What Lei Zhan said was naturally the truth. The spear art Red Snow was something Red Snow Celestial God had realized amidst battle and slaughter; if one wished to cultivate it, one naturally could not avoid combat.

Moreover, if all techniques and secret arts could be perfected simply by accumulating time, there would be no such thing as a bottleneck.

"Hmm." Immortal Juhua nodded, immediately understanding his disciple's thoughts.

"Since that is the case, I grant you permission to head out and temper yourself."

Immortal Juhua said in a deep voice, "I will keep this Water Mansion here on Qianqiu Island. The North Dark Sea where Qianqiu Island is located is a good place for training, so you may start your journey here in the North Dark Sea."

"The North Dark Sea?" Lei Zhan nodded. Since he had not yet broken through to the level of a Primordial Spirit Daoist, he could not carry the Water Mansion with him. Naturally, he could not venture too far from it while tempering himself.

Since his master, Immortal Juhua, had chosen to keep the Water Mansion on Qianqiu Island, it would be convenient for him to return whenever he needed to after his travels.

Immortal Juhua looked at Lei Zhan and spoke. "I had prepared a few treasures for you, originally intending to give them to you in a few years. Now that you are heading out, as your master, I shall bestow them upon you directly."

"Three treasures?" Lei Zhan was startled. Many cultivators would naturally prepare a few life-saving treasures before heading out, but he had not expected Immortal Juhua to have started preparing them for him so early.

"Lei Zhan," Immortal Juhua looked at him.

"When a cultivator steps onto the path of cultivation, they must contend with the heavens and struggle with the earth. They must also be wary of fellow human cultivators, as well as the ancient Gods and Devils who remain active in hidden corners."

Immortal Juhua said solemnly, "With the great divine ability left behind by the first owner, your current strength can be considered among the best even among Wanxiang True Persons. As you head out today, these three life-saving treasures will provide you with a much greater chance of survival in times of crisis."

I have been thinking about a question recently: God-Devil blood-refined weapons are meant to ensure that a God or Devil always has a suitable weapon by their side, while also being able to absorb various killing intent and baleful energy to upgrade the divine weapon. If this divine weapon were armor... would the same principle apply?