“Maoqiu, I’m about to refine this spirit energy. It might take a while, so don’t get too close!” Lin Xiao said to Xu Tian Wangyue beside him.
Refining the Nine Heavens Thunder Dragon Spirit Energy was fraught with immense danger. If anything went wrong, Xu Tian Wangyue could be harmed.
And if Xu Tian Wangyue playfully disturbed his body, even without issues, it could trigger problems.
In short, refining this spirit energy was extremely perilous.
Having already fused two spirit energies in his mind, adding a third was an unimaginable challenge.
Lin Xiao was risking his life.
Hearing his words, Xu Tian Wangyue waved its white whiskers, gesturing animatedly, then swallowed the white pearl into its mouth.
Immediately, clusters of white whiskers extended, wrapping itself tightly, layer upon layer, transforming from a head-sized ball into a one-zhang-wide sphere.
Lin Xiao was stunned. Xu Tian Wangyue had swallowed the pearl and begun secluded refinement?
With such airtight whisker wrapping, even an explosion from his spirit energy refinement wouldn’t harm it.
Seeing Xu Tian Wangyue secure in its fortified state, Lin Xiao felt relieved.
His gaze shifted to the floating Nine Heavens Thunder Dragon Spirit Energy. Closing his eyes, he controlled it to approach his brow, activating the Eternal Heaven Spirit Art to bind it.
“Crackle! Crackle!”
The moment it touched his brow, Lin Xiao felt as if it were scorching, the violent energy threatening to erupt. Terrifying lightning surged into his mind.
At that instant, the Devouring Heaven Azure Fire Spirit Energy in his mind grew restless, repelling the thunder dragon spirit energy, the two clashing fiercely.
This repulsion prevented the thunder dragon spirit energy from entering his mind, causing Lin Xiao’s brow to split, blood seeping out. He had to force the spirit energy back.
“Pfft!”
A mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth.
The clash of spirit energies not only split his brow but nearly shattered his head.
Refining spirit energy was too dangerous.
After resting to recover, Lin Xiao tried again, using his spirit power to draw the spirit energy to his brow.
But the result was the same—his fused spirit energies repelled it fiercely, forcing him to eject it, injuring himself again.
Undeterred, he tried repeatedly after healing.
Instead of forcing the spirit energy into his mind, he used the Eternal Heaven Spirit Art to reduce the repulsion, grinding them at his brow.
Initially, he was injured with each attempt, but after countless tries, he gradually controlled the process, lessening the damage.
After a full month, he finally mitigated the fierce repulsion, successfully drawing the spirit energy into his mind.
But this was only the first step.
The next steps were even more dangerous.
In his mind, the closely positioned spirit energies still repelled each other intensely. To refine and integrate the thunder dragon spirit energy, making it part of his mind, was an extreme risk. A single misstep could destroy his brain.
The Devouring Heaven Azure Fire Spirit Energy’s repulsion heightened the danger.
However, the Eternal Heaven Spirit Art, a mysterious technique from the God-Devil Graveyard designed for refining spirit energies, gave Lin Xiao confidence to suppress the repulsion.
Still, the process would be arduously long.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Xiao persisted, the thunder dragon spirit energy’s lightning scouring his mind and flowing into his body.
From the outside, his body was enveloped in lightning. Had he not cultivated the Thunder Three Forms and tempered his body to withstand five thousand zhang of thunderstorm, his body would have collapsed before his mind could endure.
This state persisted for a long time—Lin Xiao endured for a full year.
After a year, the repulsion between the two spirit energies vanished, and the thunder dragon spirit energy became part of his mind.
Though he hadn’t fused the three spirit energies, his mind had transformed, strengthened countless times by the ordeal.
“Crackle! Crackle!”
A terrifying wave of spirit power surged from his mind. His spirit control level broke through from mid fourth-grade to high fourth-grade, nearly reaching the peak.
However, it stopped at the pinnacle of high fourth-grade.
Simultaneously, his body and dantian, scoured countless times, underwent massive changes, exuding a powerful aura.
“Crackle! Crackle!”
His elemental cultivation soared from Martial King Seventh Rank to Eighth Rank, then Ninth Rank, stopping at the peak of Ninth Rank.
Both the leap from fourth-grade to fifth-grade spirit controller and from Martial King to Martial Venerable were massive hurdles, difficult to cross even with the thunder dragon spirit energy, halting him at this step.
But at the peak, Lin Xiao was confident he’d soon break through with a bit more tempering and opportunity.
Opening his eyes, faint lightning flickered within them. Feeling the immense power in his body and mind, a surge of confidence rose in his heart.
“Senior, rest assured, one day I’ll appear on the battlefield you spoke of!”
After successfully refining the spirit energy, Lin Xiao recalled the Stone Clan powerhouse’s words.
*“I hope to see you on future battlefields!”*
Though unaware of that battlefield, he imagined it must be extraordinary, given the Stone Clan powerhouse’s might.
With the thunder dragon spirit energy refined, Lin Xiao was confident he’d one day reach that level.
“It’s been over a year; the thunderstorm must have dissipated by now.”
Noticing the darkened surroundings, Lin Xiao looked up. The thunderstorm had indeed vanished, with only occasional lightning flickers remaining.
