Omnipotent Sage

Chapter 229: To Cultivate Gang with the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi and the Appearance of the Purple Thunder

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Swish!

With a shrill-sounding swish, a cyan stripe more than 10 feet long was fiercely shot out from Junior Leopard’s room. In the blink of an eye, it flew thousands of feet away, carrying an immense power.

More than 1,000 feet away, a protruding rock was severed in half with a loud crack. Like cutting a piece of tofu with a knife, there was not even the slightest noise. After the huge rock was cut, the cyan stripe suddenly changed its trajectory and headed straight for the sky, rushing to the clouds almost instantaneously. It was so fast that not even Golden Rooster had the time to react.

“Good boy! I originally thought his Flying Sword would elevate to the Mysterious Level after using the Peach divine wood as its foundation. I can’t believe it went up to the Earth Rank! Hehe, an Earth Rank Flying Sword is rare even in the heyday of sword practitioners!”

The momentum of the cyan stripe alarmed both Elder Qing and Golden Rooster who in a discussion inside the room. They came out together and saw the cyan sword light split the rock and went up the sky. Elder Qing sighed, his eyes flickering.

“An Earth Rank Flying Sword?” Golden Rooster paused for a moment, giving the disappearing cyan sword light an odd look. “It’s so fast!”

“Speed is just one aspect!” Elder Qing said. “If I’m not mistaken, his Flying Sword is probably mixed with a very unique material. It’s not only a Flying Sword, but also an External Elixir that has reached the top of Level Six. Now, after the baptism of the Peach divine wood, I’m guessing it has reached Level Seven!”

“I know he has an External Elixir, but I didn’t expect he’d refine it into a Flying Sword.” Jin Yuquan shook his head with a wry smile. “The skill that his External Elixir has been practicing is the Green Jade Qian Yuan Skill. He likely got it from Wang She!”

“The Green Jade Qian Yuan Skill is the greatest and most unbending skill. It owns powerful thunder property that coincides with the ray of Thunder Yuan in the Peach divine wood. This helped him!” Elder Qing said thoughtfully, his eyes squinting. “Now his External Elixir has a Level Seven cultivation and he also owns Green Jade Qian Yuan Skill. How unbelievably lucky!”

Golden Rooster was stunned to hear the unusual tone of Elder Qing’s words. “Elder Qing, what do you mean?”

“Tell him to come down and you’ll see!” Elder Qing replied.

“Yes!” Without asking another question, Golden Rooster turned into a golden light with a flash and went up the sky. However, when he rushed into the clouds, he realized Junior Leopard, who had just made a big noise, had flown away. There was no trace of him for thousands of miles around.

“Impossible! When did his sword light become so fast?”

The altitude of ten thousand feet unlike being on the ground. Golden Rooster, a Level Seven expert, could see almost everything within a thousand miles at this height.

It was shocking to see someone travel a thousand miles in such a short time whether flying on Gang Qi or Reining Sword. In fact, besides the Level Nine experts, it was something unheard of.

He saw a cyan light flash at the end of his sight before the words left his mouth. In the time it took for him to inhale a breath, the cyan light had come to him. “Golden Rooster, why are you here?”

“W-Why are you so fast?” Seeing Junior Leopard standing on the cyan sword light with his face lit up, Golden Rooster was tongue-tied and in shock.

“I don’t know either. The sword’s quality has risen to a higher level after fusing with the Peach divine wood. It’s incredibly fast now. I think it’s because of the Thunder Yuan inside the wood.”

“Oh!” Golden Rooster nodded, understanding flooding his eyes.

So it was the Thunder Yuan!

The skill the sword had practiced was the Green Jade Qian Element. With the Thunder Yuan infused into it, it wasn’t a surprise that it would be so fast.

What could be faster than a thunderbolt in the world? In the medieval period, the speed of the sword practitioner whose Flying Sword had a thunder property was also recognized as the fastest.

“Had enough fun? Elder Qing is looking for you. Seems like there’s another good thing waiting for you!”

“The Immortal Palace is really my lucky place! Good things come in pairs since my arrival!” Junior Leopard smiled. “Looks like I made a right decision in joining the Immortal Palace!”

He was excited to hear there was another good thing waiting for him. With a swishing sound and a flash of his sword light, he had landed before Elder Qing. Golden Rooster, who was still mid-air, gnashed his teeth.

“Dear Elder Qing, please accept my respect to you. Thank you!”

Junior Leopard bowed low at Elder Qing, sincerely thanking the old man for giving him so many benefits.

“Don’t be too polite. You’re a member of the Immortal Palace. You deserve all these. It’s your luck that your Flying Sword rose from the Yellow Level to the Earth Rank, nothing to do with me!” Elder Qing knew why Junior Leopard was courteous to him, so he smiled and said, “Luck is something without reason. Your luck is really good!”

“I’m afraid I’ll run out of my luck!” Junior Leopard smiled bitterly.

“Without luck, you still have strength!” Elder Qing patted him on the shoulder. He glanced at the verdant sword pellet on Junior Leopard’s finger that resembled a green jade. “Your External Elixir has reached Level Seven. It’s time for you to cultivate Gang!”

Gang?

Junior Leopard paused before he could react.

Yes, it had reached Level Seven. He could cultivate Gang now!

He was so excited that it slipped his mind. With Elder Qing’s reminder, he remembered his External Elixir had reached a Level Seven cultivation and that meant he could cultivate Gang now. Besides, Wang She had previously mentioned about a place with Evil Qi great for cultivating the Jade Original Power Gang. When he returned this time, he had to go to the Tian Long Taoism to cultivate and master it.

“Is there something on your mind?”

Elder Qing asked after seeing Junior Leopard kept quiet.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Thanks for reminding me. I was recalling how Chief Wang told me that I should go to him after my Green Jade Qian Yuan Skill has been cultivated to Level Seven. He knows a place where the Earth Vein Evil Qi can condense the Jade Original Power Gang.”

“The Earth Vein Evil Qi? If that’s the case, then it’s too regrettable!”

Elder Qing waved his hand after hearing what Junior Leopard said. “The great and unrelenting Jade Original Power Gang is a powerful practice method that contains a fierce thunder property. In general, people who use this method need the Evil Qi of thunder property. However, such Evil Qi is extremely rare and can only be generated in certain unique places. Besides, even if it’s generated, its property can also turn out to be underground somber thunder, which is malicious without great momentum. I know the place Wang She mentioned because I told him that. Like the Heavenly Peach Wood, that place has been struck frequently by lightning for tens of thousands of years so it generates the Evil Qi of somber thunder property. It’s great for Wang She to cultivate his Gang, but if you use it, it’ll be too much of a pity.”

“Why?” Junior Leopard asked in confusion.

“I mentioned the earth vein of somber thunder Evil Qi formed by Heavenly Thunder strike earlier. The somber thunder property contains the underground Yin Qi. It’s heterogeneous, impure, and malicious without great momentum. There’s nothing wrong with Wang She using it to cultivate Gang, but you’re trying to cultivate Gang for your External Elixir which fused with the Heavenly Peach Wood. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about the impact of Evil Qi on your body, nor do you need to look for the Earth Vein Evil Qi. You can guide the real Nine Heaven Thunder Qi on the ground. This way, your Gang Qi will be thousands of times stronger than Wang She’s!”

“Guide the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi on the ground?” Junior Leopard shivered, and the frightening scene he saw by the river came to his mind. The stranger in the thunder seemed to be guiding the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi. Was he also cultivating Gang?

He left the idea behind as soon as he thought about it. As Elder Qing said, he could guide the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi because he was cultivating Gang for his External Elixir, not for his body. Even if a Level Nine expert cultivated Gang for his body, the Heavenly Thunder would strike him dead, never mind a Level Seven expert!

Finding Junior Leopard in silence, Elder Qing thought that he was thinking and said, “The Heavenly Peach Wood can generate a ray of Thunder Yuan because it’s born with the ability to absorb thunder Evil Qi. Therefore, with the Peach divine wood, you have an 80 percent chance of succeeding in guiding the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi. Once you succeed, do you know how many benefits will come your way?”

“Thanks for your advice!” Junior Leopard hastily thanked him.

“We’re both members of the Immortal Palace. It’s only right for me to help you!” Elder Qing smiled. “Your cultivation has just reached Level Seven so you’ll need some time to consolidate. How about staying for a few more days? When your cultivation steadies, you can guide the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi when a thunderstorm arrives. You can take this opportunity to learn about medieval characters and figure out the material you need for your Air-frozen Bead and its refinement process.”

“Oh, I would’ve forgotten if you didn’t mention this!”

…

…

10 days later, the sky was dark and overcast with leaden clouds, carrying the faint echo of thunder.

Fine raindrops fell from the sky, wetting the whole world.

Junior Leopard, still dressed in a black suit and wearing that weird Smiling-face Mask, looked up at the darkened clouds in the sky. He was feeling very nervous.

How could he not be nervous?

He was going to be struck by lightning!

Though it won’t his body that will be hit by lightning, he had placed all his divine thoughts he could use into the Blue Sword. If he failed and the lighting shattered all his divine thoughts, he would really want to cry.

It was the Heavenly Thunder, not common Evil Qi! The real thing!

From the ancient times all the way to present day, what was most powerful and destructive?

It was neither a powerful technique nor a formidable celestial device, but the Heavenly Thunder!

It was recognized as the most destructive existence between heaven and earth!

“Junior Leopard, ready?” Elder Qing’s voice came from beside him. His face had lost its usual calm and appeared somewhat grave, though it carried a faint hope as well. It made his voice seemed hoarser than usual.

Taking a deep breath, Junior Leopard suppressed the tension in his heart and replied, “I’m ready!”

“Go! Remember you’re only guiding the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi this time, not competing with the Heavenly Thunder. You must come back immediately the moment your External Elixir absorbs enough Nine Heaven Thunder Qi. Never get close to the Heavenly Thunder to avoid any complications! Your Flying Sword is infused with the Heavenly Peach Wood, but it also contains gold material. Metals attract lightning easily. You must be careful!”

“Yes!” Junior Leopard said, lowering his head.

Elder Qing was right. Metals were the material that attracted lightning easily. Otherwise, in his previous life, metals wouldn’t be used to make lightning rods.

“Go ahead. The thunderbolts in the clouds have risen. Remember not to go anywhere near the Heavenly Thunder. Just absorb the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi within the thunderclouds!”

“Okay!” Junior Leopard raised his hand and his Blue Sword shot out like a snake, flying straight toward the sky. Placing all his divine thoughts on the sword, his nervousness grew.

In the blink of an eye, the sword had risen into the sky and went close to the leaden thunderclouds before slowing down.

“What violent momentum! The heaven and earth are so many times more powerful than an expert on earth!”

Before the Blue Sword reached the thunderclouds, Junior Leopard had already felt the destructive spirit between the heaven and earth. It was like a substance, making him afraid to go any further.

He secretly gritted his teeth and drove the Blue Sword again, where it transformed into a snake and slithered into the thunderclouds.

“Click…!”

A flash of lightning appeared at the edge of the thunderclouds. With a roar, it lit up the world. The nearby spirit-like substance violently fluctuated like surging waves in the sea. Its towering momentum nearly made Junior Leopard lose his mind. Most importantly, there was also a ray of thunder property in the spirit. When it came into contact with the Blue Sword, he who was on the ground suddenly shuddered. Feelings of numbness and weakness spread throughout his body and he felt like he was getting an electric shock. He hissed sharply and clenched his fist.

At the same time, the Blue Sword in the sky began retreating like a piece of wood adrift on the sea. As the spirit fluctuated, it floated in the air, struggling to get close to the thunderclouds.

Growl!

Suddenly, another thunder crept up behind the Blue Sword, much more powerful than the previous one. Its great momentum was like a raging torrent. The sword was pushed to the front and had rushed to the thunderclouds before Junior Leopard’s divine thoughts could react.

“Are you kidding?” Junior Leopard quietly made an odd cry. He moved his divine thoughts fiercely to keep his sword steady so it wouldn’t be struck by lightning.

The impact of the great thunder was so violent that the vibrating spirit propelled his sword into the depths of the thunderclouds.

Inside the thunderclouds, countless lightning storms went on endlessly where the massive Evil Qi flooded and raged.

This was the best place for cultivating Gang. However, how would Junior Leopard dare cultivate Gang here?

Never mind cultivating Gang, the Blue Sword he commanded didn’t even dare make a move.

In the thunderclouds, the thunder roared. The Heavenly Thunder would appear at any time and place and strike. If he cultivated Gang in this terrifying place and triggered the spirit of thunderbolt, thousands upon thousands Heavenly Thunder would strike him dead at once.

Therefore, he commanded his Blue Sword to carefully move among the thunderclouds, cautiously avoid thunderbolts, to try and find a way to leave the damn thunderclouds.

The sea of thunderstorms wasn’t large, only dozens of square kilometers big. At his usual speed, he could rush out in a flash.

But he dared not! He may be quick, but lightning was faster at 300, 000 km per second.

Could he outrun it?

Of course not! He would just get struck!

Thus, he could only look for an honest way out of it.

It went smoothly first, but he soon discovered something was wrong.

More and more thunderbolts showed up and exploded around the Blue Sword. There was no need for him to absorb any of the fierce Nine Heaven Thunder Qi as it dissipated around the sword, easily coating the body of the sword.

Junior Leopard was supposed to get the Blue Sword to cultivate Gang using the Evil Qi, but he couldn’t find the courage to do so.

He didn’t dare to make a single move and only allowed the strong Nine Heaven Thunder Qi to rush into the sword.

The strong thunder Evil Qi, like countless steel needles, severely pierced the sword and his divine thoughts.

The Evil Qi fiercely struck Junior Leopard’s divine thoughts, heavily damaging them.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

On the ground, Junior Leopard spat out a hiss like an old snake dying of old age. He trembled with his eyes closed. The sweat running down his face like raindrops had already soaked his black robes. With the rain getting heavier and heavier, his clothes were also all wet.

“Elder Qing, he…!”

Golden Rooster’s expression changed when he saw how Junior Leopard was faring.

Elder Qing stopped him with a wave. “He’s at his most critical moment now. He can only rely on himself. Don’t disturb him, lest he wastes all the previous efforts!”

“Yes!” Golden Rooster nodded. “What if he can’t hold out?”

“At best, all his divine thoughts will be destroyed. At worst, his spirit will utterly extinguish. The power of the Heavenly Thunder is unfathomable!”

“This is so dangerous. Why did you…?”

“I’ve already made it clear to him all the dangers and possibilities.” Elder Qing gently sighed. “It won’t be so dangerous if it only absorbs the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi. At most, his divine thoughts will suffer some injuries. But I didn’t expect him to be blown into the thunderclouds by a thunderbolt. There is countless thunder appearing and disappearing in those clouds. It’s full of destruction and chances for survival. We can only hope he can shoulder on!”

Golden Rooster turned his eyes to the dark clouds in the sky. In a low voice, he said, “He can definitely make it!”

…

…

Wheeze, wheeze, wheeze…

Under the impact of the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi, Junior Leopard felt his divine thoughts were like broken bellows. He wanted to reunite them, but every time his divine thoughts would be struck by thunder Evil Qi before they could be fully gathered. Again and again, he gathered his divine thoughts only for them to scatter.

It happened over and over again. He didn’t know how long this went on or how many times his divine thoughts were gathered and scattered. His divine thoughts were already numb and were only moving based on instinct.

Growl!

There was another loud thunder. A thunderbolt as thick as a child’s arm exploded beside the Blue Sword, with the eruptive Nine Heaven Thunder Qi crushing Junior Leopard’s divine thoughts.

He was done for!

With a tremor in his heart, Junior Leopard felt as if he was torn apart by the powerful force.

Puff.

On the ground, Junior Leopard violently coughed out purple blood. His body went soft and he fell backward.

“Oh no!” With a sudden change of expression, Golden Rooster reached out to him, trying to help him up.

“Watch out!” Elder Qing hastened to stop Golden Rooster, but it was too late. As soon as Golden Rooster’s hand touched Junior Leopard, he felt the violent force of the thunder Evil Qi breaking out of the latter’s body. In an instant, he was hurled dozens of feet away.

“Yuquan, are you okay?” Elder Qing immediately asked.

“I’m okay!” Golden Rooster got up from the ground, a faint red blood trickling from his mouth. “Elder Qing, what’s going on? Junior Leopard…”

“He’s still holding out. But he must have been struck just now!” Glancing at Junior Leopard who was trembling on his back on the ground, Elder Qing sighed helplessly. “The connection between his spirit and his divine thoughts is getting stronger now. That means his spirit is full of the force of Nine Heaven Thunder Qi. You’d better keep away from him. He can only rely on himself now. We can only wait and see.”

While Elder Qing and Golden Rooster were stuck without a choice but to wait, Junior Leopard felt like he was close to death.

Was he dead? Was he dying?

In his mind, there was only such an idea. But in the mysterious space of his deep consciousness, the bloody eyeball hanging in the middle began to flash as if sensing his crisis. This time it didn’t start but it began feeding his mind a string of profound chants.

‘If your heart is like a cloud, you’ll always feel at ease…’

‘If your thoughts are like the flowing water, you’ll be free and unfettered…’

…

…

The chants were like the water flowing into Junior Leopard’s heart. Unconsciously, his spirit and divine thoughts began working and condensing according to with the mental cultivation methods based on the chants.

An unknown time had passed!

It seemed like a moment, yet it felt 10,000 years as well!

Junior Leopard regained his consciousness. In the thunderclouds, the strong Nine Heaven Thunder Qi had increased. It still felt like steel needles piercing his divine thoughts. Pain once again came to his consciousness, but much lighter this time.

Through countless condensation and scattering, and under the purification of the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi, his divine thoughts finally became extremely pure and one as if they had been materialized.

Boom, boom, boom!

Swish, swish, swish!

The substance-like divine thoughts extracted the constantly incoming thunder Evil Qi as per the profound chants and infused it into the External Elixir based on the refining process of the Jade Original Power Gang.

Everything went well.

Junior Leopard recovered and climbed up from the wet ground. Instead of talking to Elder Qing and Golden Rooster, he fixed his eyes on the thunderclouds.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, but a thin layer of green light had slowly emerged around him, keeping the rain out.

“It’s the Carefree Skill! I’ve unexpectedly broken through the Guarding Spirit between Heaven and Earth with this opportunity and reached the state of Divine Rush Object. Is this a blessing in disguise? Eh, isn’t that…?”

All of a sudden, he shivered all over. Not far from the sword absorbing the Nine Heaven Thunder Qi, a thin purple thunderbolt, like a purple snake, emerged from the depths of the thunderclouds. It especially stood out among all the blue lightning.