Wood-Attribute Spirit Lightning

Ye Ruxue had originally stared at Tang Tian in dumbfounded disbelief. Now, she watched as he took out an even more precious Dragon Emperor Ginseng for Little Thunder.

Even she felt that Tang Tian was truly generous and willing to part with treasures. If such a precious spirit herb appeared in Starfall City, it would certainly spark a mad scramble among countless people.

Yet the man before her treated it as though he were handing a radish to a demon beast for a snack.

Unexpectedly, Tang Tian's gaze fell upon her.

Though she had originally been as aloof as frost and snow, she could not help growing flustered. Where was the bearing of an Organs-Hiding Realm expert?

"Congratulations, Miss Ye. You are now an Organs-Hiding Realm expert."

Tang Tian offered his sincere congratulations.

Given how harsh the requirements of his current cultivation techniques were, it was truly hard to say when he would reach the Organs-Hiding Realm.

Cultivating the Primordial Star Scripture was manageable enough, but the requirements of the Nine-Turn Heavenly Thunder Art were far more demanding.

"Mm... mm..."

Ye Ruxue did not dare look at Tang Tian. Lowering her head, she answered softly.

Tang Tian rose to his feet and looked again at the Heavenly Thunder Python's corpse, his eyes immediately shining. This was a Half-Step Organs-Hiding Realm demon beast.

On top of that, its innate lightning-attribute power made the Heavenly Thunder Python several times more valuable than demon beasts of the same level.

Without another word, he pulled out a dagger and began cutting apart its flesh along its wounds.

Without any power sustaining it, the flesh and hide were easy to cut through.

When he opened its abdomen, Tang Tian raised a brow and spotted a pearl as large as the mouth of a bowl.

"This is a Demon Core."

During this period, Tang Tian had killed some Bone-Forging Realm demon beasts, but they had all been ordinary beasts that had not formed Demon Cores.

For demon beasts, cultivating a Demon Core was exceedingly difficult, much like humans cultivating a Life Soul.

It could be said that the most precious thing on the Heavenly Thunder Python was this Demon Core, which contained pure lightning power.

"Miss Ye, you helped me gather the Thunder Cherry Blossoms and Heavenly Thunder Vine. You also saved me just now. This Heavenly Thunder Python's Demon Core should go to you."

As he spoke, he held it out before Ye Ruxue.

"How... how can I accept this? You were the one who seriously wounded the Heavenly Thunder Python and left it with its oil exhausted and its lamp extinguished. Only then did I have the chance to strike."

Ye Ruxue repeatedly waved her hands in refusal.

Tang Tian smiled faintly. "Miss Ye, you and I have been through life and death together. Why be so polite? Besides, do you think my life is not worth a Demon Core?"

"All right, then... I will accept it without ceremony."

The words "through life and death together" stirred Ye Ruxue's heart deeply.

Then she seemed to recall something and hurriedly said, "Young Master Tang, my father is skilled at forging weapons. If you trust me, could you give me the Heavenly Thunder Python's hide, bones, and fangs? Ru Xue can have my father forge you a weapon that suits your hand."

"I have long heard that the Ye Family Head excels in weapon forging. If he is willing, that would be wonderful!"

Tang Tian stored the Heavenly Thunder Python's flesh and blood separately, then placed its hide, bones, and fangs into another spatial storage pouch and handed it to Ye Ruxue.

Ye Ruxue had not expected Tang Tian to trust her so completely without the slightest hesitation, and she was deeply moved.

She immediately said, "I will certainly have Father finish it and deliver it to the Tang Family before your duel with Lin Yichen! Here, these are the Heavenly Thunder Vine and Thunder Cherry Blossoms you wanted."

"Haha, then I'll have to trouble you, Miss Ye. But Miss Ye, we have already been through life and death together, so just call me by my name. Calling me young master makes us seem distant."

Tang Tian smiled faintly and accepted the spatial storage pouch. Having one more friend was always better than having one more enemy. While the iron was hot, he might as well take their relationship a step further.

As for just how many steps that relationship would take, no one but Tang Tian himself could know.

"All right, Tang Tian. Then do not call me miss anymore either. Just call me Ru Xue. How about it?"

Ye Ruxue fixed her beautiful eyes on Tang Tian, her expression utterly resolute.

"I'll do as Ru Xue says."

Tang Tian was in an exceptionally good mood. He then told Ye Ruxue that he planned to cultivate in Heavenly Thunder Valley and only return when the date of his duel with Lin Yichen drew near.

This was the Heavenly Thunder Python's territory. Ordinary demon beasts did not dare set foot here, so no one would disturb him. It was an excellent place for cultivation.

Ye Ruxue nodded in agreement. She also needed to hurry back and ask her father to forge the weapon, lest there be any delay.

The Thunderclap Beast looked at Tang Tian with some reluctance before leaving with Ye Ruxue.

After returning to Heavenly Thunder Valley, Tang Tian hurriedly asked Fan Siren, "Master Fan, can you tell me about the important matter you mentioned now?"

"Mm. When we first arrived, I was curious about the lightning power here. After looking into it, I understood why Heavenly Thunder Valley had Heavenly Thunder Pythons, Heavenly Thunder Vines, and Thunder Cherry Blossoms. The lightning power that never disperses from Heavenly Thunder Valley could be said to have nurtured it, while it in turn nurtured Heavenly Thunder Valley."

Master Fan's words were rather cryptic, leaving Tang Tian lost in clouds and mist, utterly unable to make heads or tails of them.

"I suspect there is Wood-Attribute Spirit Lightning here. When you cultivate the fourth turn of the Nine-Turn Heavenly Thunder Art, you will need Spirit Lightning of the five elements. Gathering it early will also prepare you for the future."

Master Fan's voice had turned serious. He hoped Tang Tian would become stronger and stronger.

"Wood-Attribute Spirit Lightning? Wonderful! I'll hurry and look for it."

Tang Tian was overjoyed. As he spoke, he began searching and inspecting the surroundings, but found no trace of it.

"Boy, you truly are stupid. Go take a look at the Heavenly Thunder Python's lair."

Master Fan scolded him in exasperation, hating iron for not becoming steel.

Wood-Attribute Spirit Lightning was incomparably precious. How could it possibly be exposed out in the open?

After circling around the valley, Tang Tian found the cave where the Heavenly Thunder Python had lived.

After entering, he discovered bones strewn all over the ground—human bones and demon beast bones alike.

It seemed that they had either wandered into Heavenly Thunder Valley by mistake, or had been devoured by the Heavenly Thunder Python while it searched for food, after which it spat out the bone fragments and piled them at the entrance.

"By the way, Master Fan, can I transplant the Thunder Cherry Blossoms and Heavenly Thunder Vine into the Primordial Unity Tower?"

Without the Heavenly Thunder Python guarding them, these two spirit herbs would certainly be picked by others. Rather than letting others benefit, he might as well dig them up himself. They might prove useful in the future.

Moreover, if he took away the Wood-Attribute Spirit Lightning, then without the nourishment of lightning power, these two spirit herbs would also wither away completely and cease to exist.

"What little ambition. You even fancy such low-grade medicinal herbs? Back then, even the fodder the God Clan used to feed demon beasts was better than this."

Master Fan was utterly disdainful. He would never miss any chance to mock Tang Tian.

"..."

Tang Tian shrugged helplessly. In his previous life, as a powerful alchemist, he would not have cared about such low-grade spirit herbs either.

But did he have any choice now?

At present, only spirit herbs of this level were available for him to use.

For now, the most urgent matter was to find the Wood-Attribute Spirit Lightning first.

The cave was filled everywhere with a nauseating stench.

Suppressing his nausea and holding his breath, Tang Tian took out a Moonlight Stone to illuminate the surroundings and cautiously advanced deeper inside.

The cave's depth greatly surprised Tang Tian. It truly concealed another world within, dark and profound.

He walked for a long while, twisting and turning through countless winding paths.

"There really is Wood-Attribute Spirit Lightning. I can feel it—the deeper I go into the cave, the denser and purer the aura of that Spirit Lightning becomes."

Tang Tian could not hide the excitement in his eyes. After cultivating the Nine-Turn Heavenly Thunder Art, he had become exceptionally sensitive to lightning power.

"Boy, do not celebrate too soon. Be careful, or before long, you truly will not even have scraps left."

Master Fan snorted coldly and poured another basin of "cold water" over him.

[Author's note: The third update of the day is here! If you like it, hurry and cast your precious silver votes! Tang Tian really needs them!]