"Thunderwood?"
Lin Shisan, who had nearly given up, seemed to glimpse hope again.
His thoughts raced.
Plants and animals containing the lightning power of the five elements-he had some in his ring.
There were still several sections of the thunderwood Niu Shan had cut down.
And he had never brought himself to throw away the pieces he had cut earlier, even though most of their lightning power had dissipated.
The immortal path of the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art seemed within reach now.
He had nothing to lose anyway. At worst, he would get shocked a few times. It was not as though he had never been shocked before.
No sooner thought than done.
Lin Shisan actually took a section of thunderwood from his ring.
If a path lay before him and he refused to walk it himself, that would be the greatest disservice he could do himself.
Compared with spending his whole life as a small fry who never rose in the world, it was worth a try, even if he ended up covered in wounds.
Perhaps he really could fight his way onto an immortal path that reached the heavens.
"Sizzle... bang..."
Amid the sizzling electrical arcs, Lin Shisan was sent flying by the shock.
He slammed hard into a towering tree.
His back burned, and his bones felt close to breaking.
Looking at him now, his hair had curled and his mouth had twisted sideways.
Even his eyes had gone a little crooked.
Electrical arcs crackled dully in his chest, and even his breath carried the taste of lightning.
He could not get up for a long while.
"That really does hurt a bit."
Enduring the numbness and pain, Lin Shisan braced himself against the towering tree and staggered to his feet.
He shook his head hard, rubbed his numb face, then poured cold water over himself.
Fortunately, no one was around. Otherwise, the commotion Lin Shisan made would certainly have alerted all the neighbors.
In the Azure Cloud Lineage, although menial workers held a low status, their accommodations were actually quite decent.
Essentially, everyone had a courtyard of his own, with plenty of space.
It was an immortal cultivation sect, after all. Simple restrictive wards had even been installed when the courtyards were built.
They not only muffled sound but were also particularly sturdy. Ordinary little scuffles would not bring them down.
"Gulp..."
He opened his mouth and poured in a mouthful of Body Tempering Liquid.
Lin Shisan felt his spirits lift.
His nearly broken back did not hurt as much anymore.
Even the numbness from the electrical arcs seemed to ease considerably.
"Body Tempering Liquid can do this too?"
Lin Shisan felt as though he had discovered a new continent.
There was still a bottle of Body Tempering Liquid in Niu Shan's ring-half a jin of it.
Now, what did he have to fear?
"Senior Brother Niu, thank you."
Lin Shisan politely thanked Niu Shan once again.
"Again."
Having learned his lesson, Lin Shisan made thorough preparations this time.
First, he circulated the true qi in his dantian, unleashing his strength at the second level of body tempering.
Then, with great care, he picked up another section of thunderwood, a third smaller than the first.
"Sizzle... ah... bang..."
It went just as it had before.
After holding on for three breaths, Lin Shisan's body went rigid.
He was sent flying by the shock again.
By an unfortunate coincidence, he slammed into the same towering tree, striking exactly the same spot as before.
"I... sizzle..."
Lin Shisan watched helplessly as his waist, knocked crooked by the impact, straightened out.
In yet another coincidence, his right hand accidentally touched the first section of thunderwood he had taken out.
He had forgotten to put it away.
As though injected with chicken blood, Lin Shisan shot into the air with a whoosh.
At the same time, he felt ten thousand centipedes burrowing through his body and ten thousand ants gnawing at him.
He even had the illusion that he was being torn apart.
Then he seemed to become an enormous, fat sponge.
One bubble of water after another was forcibly stuffed into his body.
"Bang... crash..."
Lightning hissed beside his ears.
Stars filled his vision.
Lin Shisan plummeted from the air and landed hard.
With a crash, he knocked a blue stone on the ground flying.
He also landed mouth-first in the dirt.
Dazed and confused, he had no idea how much time had passed. It seemed dawn was approaching.
He lay there numb, able only to watch the sun rise little by little.
After struggling for ages, Lin Shisan finally managed to sit up.
He barely managed to take the little bottle from his ring and drink a small mouthful of Body Tempering Liquid.
It still worked.
But its effect was no longer as immediate as that first mouthful.
Wisps of electrical arcs darted through all his internal organs.
"Oh no, I'm going to be late for work."
"Chen Yang will definitely use this to make a huge fuss and torment me to death."
"Shisan... Shisan, time for work..."
Just as Lin Shisan was worrying about being late, Ning Hao's voice came from outside the gate.
Seeing Lin Shisan's wretched state, Ning Hao was badly startled.
"Shisan, what happened to you?"
Ning Hao was so anxious he nearly burst into tears.
Lin Shisan merely made up an excuse and brushed the matter aside.
He certainly could not tell Ning Hao about the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art.
It was not that he did not trust Ning Hao. The matter was simply too important to discuss.
He could hardly say that the Little Black Cauldron was an Immortal Artifact that had helped him advance.
It was too fantastical. Even if he told Ning Hao, Ning Hao would not believe him.
Despite hurrying as best they could, with Ning Hao supporting Lin Shisan as he stumbled every few steps, they still arrived half a quarter-hour late.
"You two... be more careful next time. You can't be late and hold up the work."
The man filling in for Chen Yang was none other than big-mouthed Old Feng, who had watched the spectacle that day.
Feng Qiufeng.
Ning Hao already got along well with him. They were also from the same hometown, old friends who had grown up running around bare-bottomed together.
Feng Qiufeng rolled his eyes and let the matter slide.
With Ning Hao's help, Lin Shisan worked on until nightfall was drawing near.
"Senior Brother Ning, go back and rest. I can finish this little bit myself."
Lin Shisan had almost fully recovered.
"You're all right now?"
Ning Hao asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. Go on back."
"Today's a good day. Hurry back and make your breakthrough."
"Hehehe... you noticed. All right, I'll treat you to drinks once I advance."
Ning Hao had indeed planned to advance that day.
It was only because he was worried about Lin Shisan that he had stayed to help him work.
"It's settled, then. I'll empty my stomach in advance and wait for you to fill it with a feast."
Lin Shisan spoke with a smile.
He was sincerely grateful to Ning Hao.
Ning Hao had risked his life to save him from Chen Yang's murderous intent.
Their personalities also meshed well, and in his heart, he already regarded Ning Hao as a friend worth growing close to.
"Junior Brother Lin, let me help you."
When Lin Shisan reached the rear mountain, Zheng Qian ran over with a cheerful smile.
He eagerly helped Lin Shisan push the wheelbarrow.
He even volunteered to help Lin Shisan empty out the furnace ash and pill residue.
Naturally, he sifted through it along the way, searching for discarded pills.
Someone had been refining medicine again that day.
However, Lin Shisan and the others had not been responsible for attending the session. They were only in charge of cleaning up and clearing out the Pill Furnace.
"There aren't any discarded pills."
Lin Shisan said honestly, "The Immortal Lord refining medicine today made Body Tempering Liquid, not Body Tempering Pills."
"Hehehe..."
Zheng Qian gave an embarrassed laugh.
But then he said, "Junior Brother Lin, next time someone's refining pills, you have to let me know beforehand. If there's money to be made, we should all make it together."
As he spoke, Zheng Qian even took the initiative to give Lin Shisan two Spirit Coins.
"We're brothers now. If you buy another pill, I'll give you the brother's rate-twenty-five percent off."
"... Hehehe."
Lin Shisan did not stand on ceremony either and promptly accepted the Spirit Coins.
"Then let's agree on that now. Twenty-five percent off. Let me thank you in advance, Senior Brother Zheng."
"Of course, of course."
But Zheng Qian's smiling face immediately turned awkward.
Because Lin Shisan really did want to buy a Body Tempering Pill.
The scroll had eaten the last Body Tempering Pill. Unwilling to give up, he wanted to buy another and try again.
What if the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art advanced again this time?
Before you continue