The deathly silence in the hall lasted a full three incense sticks.
True Person Yuanyang's gaze remained locked on Li Yunjing's empty palm, his chest still heaving violently.
That wisp of purple-gold lightning had vanished, but the innate vitality and destructive power it contained remained branded into his sea of consciousness.
Xuanyangzi stiffly bent down to pick up the jade tray. His fingertips trembled as he wiped away the tea stains, yet his eyes never left Li Yunjing, filled with disbelief.
"Fellow Daoist Li..."
"Do you know what this essence of innate thunder core means to the Divine Firmament Dao Sect?"
"For a cultivator of lightning arts, it rivals an opportunity to attain spirit transformation!"
"If you used it yourself, breaking through to the nascent soul realm would be within reach. It could even spare you a century of detours when you attempt spirit transformation!"
True Person Yuanyang finally spoke, his voice hoarse and stripped of its earlier authority. "Why offer it to help our Primordial Yang Dao Sect?"
This was the doubt at the heart of his misgivings.
There were no free gifts in the cultivation world, especially treasures capable of changing a cultivator's destiny.
True Person Yuanyang had already braced himself for Li Yunjing to impose harsh conditions.
Perhaps he would demand the Primordial Yang Dao Sect's ancient formation manuals, or ask them to share the method for setting up the Three Thousand Worlds Array. He might even require other concessions from the sect.
"Sect Master Yuanyang, I am not a wholly good man. I have selfish motives in this as well."
Seeing the wariness and probing in True Person Yuanyang's eyes, Li Yunjing slowly sat down. His fingertips brushed the jade armrest, his tone calm yet unmistakably sincere.
"A great calamity is approaching. Allies depend upon one