For the next few days, Lu Ming shut himself away and trained diligently.
With the help of a batch of High-Grade Bone Refining Pills he had obtained from Zhou Xuan, Lu Ming made exceptionally rapid progress in tempering his bones.
In just a few days, his second round of bone tempering was nearing completion. When Lu Ming sensed his divine ability bone, he could see spiritual light flowing over it, and from time to time, an exceedingly faint, mysterious sound emerged, like the low growl of a tiger or leopard and the rumble of thunder.
These were signs that he was about to complete his second round of bone tempering.
When Lu Jin learned of Lu Ming's progress, he was delighted. At the same time, he told him to stop taking Bone-Tempering Pills for the time being. At the final moment of bone tempering, it was best to rely on the divine abilities he cultivated to bring about the final step. Only then would the tempering be complete.
Relying entirely on medicinal power would always leave gaps. These gaps could not be detected in the short term, but as they accumulated over time, they would affect his foundations and underlying strength.
Lu Ming naturally did not dare disregard the old man's valuable experience.
Thus, over the next two days, he stopped taking High-Grade Bone Refining Pills for the time being and devoted all his effort to the two Lower Divine Abilities he cultivated.
Through diligent practice, he grew increasingly proficient with the Flame Blade and Lesser Thunderlight, wielding both Lower Divine Abilities with ease. Regrettably, however, neither had yet reached the Major Accomplishment Realm.
Clearly, a considerable gulf lay between Minor Accomplishment and Major Accomplishment.
But Lu Ming was not impatient. Cultivating divine abilities took time to begin with. Yuan Da, Gao Yu and the others had all spent months or even longer in arduous cultivation to bring a single Lower Divine Ability to greater mastery. Though he possessed a Sub-Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone, he could not accomplish it in a single bound.
Boom!
A faint rumble of thunder sounded in the courtyard as Lu Ming's figure darted past. Faint arcs of lightning danced beneath his feet, allowing him to flit nimbly past the many obstacles in the courtyard like an agile cat.
Lower Divine Ability, Lesser Thunderlight.
Once mastered, this divine ability could increase its user's speed.
In little more than ten breaths, Lu Ming darted dozens of zhang and appeared before a massive rock covered in scorched blade marks. He extended his palm, and Primordial Qi surged out of his body, instantly forming a crimson blade of light about a foot long over his hand.
The blade light flickered and radiated intense heat, making even the air grow hazy.
Lower Divine Ability, Flame Blade.
Lu Ming's gaze sharpened as he swung the Flame Blade's light, slashing repeatedly at the massive rock before him. Sparks burst apart, and flaming blade marks appeared one after another.
He delivered dozens of slashes in all.
Only then did Lu Ming's face turn a little pale. The crimson flame blade in his hand finally shattered into countless sparks as his Primordial Qi ran dry.
Whew.
Lu Ming panted as he gazed at the increasingly deep flaming blade marks on the rock. They showed that his mastery of the Flame Blade was improving by the day, but its flames were still crimson, and not a wisp of blue flame had emerged.
"Brother Yuan and Sister Yu both reached the Major Accomplishment Realm in the Flame Blade during their third round of bone tempering. Looking at it that way, my Primordial Qi still isn't strong enough, which is why I haven't been able to reach the Major Accomplishment Realm yet."
Lu Ming wiped away his sweat, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
But the only way to improve his Primordial Qi was to practice his Qi Refining Art every day. Lu Ming was currently stuck at the final stage of his second round of bone tempering. Here, he could not rely on the power of pills; only by honing his divine abilities and circulating his Primordial Qi every day could he bring the tempering to completion.
"If only there were another way to increase the strength of my Primordial Qi..."
Lu Ming murmured to himself. Suddenly, his eyes stirred as he recalled the mysterious fire lotus divine ability branded on his divine ability bone.
Buddha's Fury Flame Lotus.
The grade of this mysterious divine ability was unknown. So far, Lu Ming had only discovered its ability to raise the grade of his divine ability bone. Moreover, that was largely a passive effect; he had not truly brought it under his control.
Perhaps one day, only by using this divine ability's Fusion Method will I be able to reveal its divine might.
But judging by the information inherited from the mysterious fire lotus, this so-called Fusion Method required the fusion of at least two kinds of spiritual fire, and Lu Ming currently possessed neither.
"Once I finish my third round of bone tempering, perhaps I can try to obtain the flame seed called the Flame of Life inside the black ring's space. And Golden Plasma Fire, a middle divine ability of our Divine Ability Hall, can be turned into a divine ability fire. I wonder if combining the two would let me use this fire lotus's Fusion Method?"
Lu Ming was greatly interested in the Flame of Life. Though this miraculous spiritual fire was not suited to attacking, its function was astonishing, and it was just right for someone at his current stage of development.
On the Dao of Divine Abilities, talent was important, but cultivation resources were equally indispensable. Given the same talent, different resources could lead to outcomes as far apart as heaven and earth. He was still only at the bone-tempering stage, yet his family was already tightening its belt to secure resources for him. As his realm rose in the future, the advanced resources he would need would be even harder to estimate. At that point, he would have to rely entirely on himself.
And if he made good use of the Flame of Life, it might become one of his greatest sources of help on the Dao of Divine Abilities.
As Lu Ming pondered the Flame of Life, a spark of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind.
"That's right. My Flame Blade can't reach the Major Accomplishment Realm right now because my own Primordial Qi isn't abundant or condensed enough. But the fire lotus divine ability is extraordinarily wondrous. It can absorb and transform Primordial Qi. If I use this transformed Fire Lotus Yuan Qi to power the divine ability, wouldn't the effect be even better?"
With that thought, Lu Ming immediately wanted to try. At a thought, his divine ability bone trembled slightly, and the Primordial Qi within it rose and surged toward the fire lotus mark.
The fire lotus mark swallowed all the Primordial Qi without leaving a trace.
As the Primordial Qi flowed in, one petal of the fire lotus mark ignited. The flame flickered, giving off a peculiar fluctuation.
Lu Ming carefully directed the flame on the petal. Wisps of fire darted out like lively fish, then swiftly circulated through his body along the Flame Blade divine ability's path.
The youth extended his hand and brought his five fingers together, forming a blade with his palm.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, flames burst from the pores of his right palm, forming an intensely scorching, violent Flame Blade.
Lu Ming's pupils contracted slightly. Then shock and wild joy surged through him like a tide.
This time, the flame blade on his hand was no longer crimson. It had turned into blue flame.
Flame Blade, Major Accomplishment Realm!
It really worked!
Lu Ming's heart raced. Unable to contain his wild joy, he brought the blue flame blade in his hand down fiercely on the massive rock before him. A deep rumble sounded, and a flaming blade mark half an arm deep appeared clearly before his eyes.
Its destructive power was far more astonishing than the dozens of slashes he had delivered earlier.
The Flame Blade at the Major Accomplishment Realm was indeed extraordinary!
After that slash, however, Lu Ming also felt a faint weakness spreading through his body. His Primordial Qi had been consumed at an incredible rate. Clearly, though the transformed Fire Lotus Primordial Qi was incomparably domineering, at Lu Ming's current level, he could only sustain it briefly.
The Fire Lotus Yuan Qi was consumed extremely quickly. As it dissipated, the blue flame blade in Lu Ming's hand rapidly dimmed, turning crimson before finally going out and vanishing altogether.
Clearly, without the Fire Lotus Yuan Qi, Lu Ming could not maintain his Flame Blade at greater mastery.
Even so, having successfully used the Flame Blade at the Major Accomplishment Realm this once, Lu Ming could already feel his divine ability bone giving off a jubilant hum. It was as though a hidden region he had been unable to reach before had been tempered.
He was drawing ever closer to completion.
The result filled Lu Ming's face with delight. At this rate, it probably would not be long before he could fully complete his second round of bone tempering.
While Lu Ming was excited and delighted, a small figure in the courtyard bent low and crept over to the stone pavilion like a sneaky kitten. She then took some things from her clothes and quietly stuffed them into the cloth bag Lu Ming had left on the table.
Once she was done, she hurriedly turned to slip away.
But before she had taken more than a few steps, a hand seized her by the back of her collar and lifted her up.
"Lu Mengmeng, what tricks are you up to again?" Lu Ming asked, looking at the girl in exasperation.
"Nothing," Lu Mengmeng said, widening her innocent eyes.
Lu Ming grabbed the cloth bag with his other hand and shook it, sending several pale green pills tumbling out.
Lu Mengmeng gave him an innocent smile. "Brother, these are all the Qi Refining Pills I've saved up these past few days. You work so hard at cultivation, and I wanted to do my part to help you."
Lu Ming fell silent. Then he reached out a finger and flicked Lu Mengmeng hard on the forehead.
"You lazy little thing. If you don't want to cultivate, just say so. And here you are, giving me such a high-sounding excuse." Lu Ming was both annoyed and amused. If he had not taken Qi Refining Pills himself while refining Qi, he might actually have believed the little girl's touching speech.
Qi Refining Pills were needed in the Qi Refining Realm, and they tasted extremely bitter.
Clearly, Lu Qingyan had been forcing Lu Mengmeng to take Qi Refining Pills and cultivate every day. So she had put her little brain to work and decided to stuff the pills she had secretly held back into Lu Ming's bag, dressing it up as saving her own resources to help her brother cultivate.
"I really am thinking of you!" Lu Mengmeng refused to admit it, sticking stubbornly to her story.
She understood well enough that confessing meant a beating, while keeping her mouth shut meant a scolding.
"Well, thank you very much, but these Qi Refining Pills don't do anything for me." Lu Ming put her down and stuffed the pills back into her pocket.
The girl might genuinely have had some small intention of saving resources for him, but more than that, she wanted to slack off.
"If you secretly save your Qi Refining Pills again, I'll tell Father."
"Aw."
Hearing Lu Ming bring their father into it, Lu Mengmeng could only droop in dejection.
"Go and cultivate properly. I'm going out with Father to take care of something. I'll bring you some Fire Rosy Cloud Pastries when I get back." Amused, Lu Ming ruffled the little girl's hair.
At the mention of Fire Rosy Cloud Pastries, Lu Mengmeng perked up. She hurriedly agreed and showered him with flattery.
Lu Ming tidied up briefly, then turned and left the inner courtyard.
Lu Jin had specifically instructed him to accompany Lu Qingyan on this errand, so he could learn something about the affairs of Thunderfire Hall. After cultivating in seclusion for so long, he also needed to get out, clear his head, and broaden his horizons.