Chapter 74: Lightning Magic

The spells Li Zhen acquired by swallowing mid-grade talismans through the Dragon Heart Space were mostly at the ‘Understanding Magic’ realm.

However, there was a vast difference between approaching the ‘Understanding Magic’ realm and transcending it. This manifested in practical applications as a significant increase in spell power, reduced spell energy consumption, and greater spell flexibility.

Excitedly, he proceeded to swallow one high-grade talisman after another, feeling no remorse for their destruction.

It’s worth noting that high-grade talismans were immensely valuable. Typically, only late-stage Qi Refining cultivators with substantial wealth could afford to use them. Mid- and early-stage Qi Refining cultivators simply couldn’t match their financial cost.

On the walls of the Dragon Heart Space, the original spell runes were replaced by more complex ones. By understanding the connections between these new, intricate runes, Li Zhen re-mastered these spells.

“What kind of talisman is this?” As Li Zhen leafed through the talismans, he discovered a wooden one emanating lightning.

When he checked the detailed auction records, he found no corresponding item listed.

He surmised that this wooden talisman must have been added at the last minute by some cultivator.

This wasn’t unusual. Many cultivators, unwilling to reveal their items beforehand, chose to submit them just before the auction began.

This type of auction item had some issues with its origin; the cultivator who submitted it was concerned about attracting the attention of the original owner.

Of course, when dealing with such items, the auction house would increase the consignment price accordingly.

The wooden talisman was a top-grade first-rank talisman. Initially, through his perception of spiritual objects, Li Zhen had only thought it was an ordinary top-grade first-rank talisman. It wasn’t until he examined them one by one that he discovered its uniqueness.

Li Zhen pondered for a moment before deciding to let the Dragon Heart Space consume the wooden talisman.

Regardless of how special and valuable this wooden talisman might be, he didn’t want anyone else to find out. More importantly, this seemed to be a lightning-type talisman, and for someone like him with a lightning spiritual root, he desperately wanted to master the thunder magic within.

A lightning-bright rune appeared on the wooden talisman, then flew towards the wall of the Dragon Heart Space and solidified there.

As Li Zhen made contact with the lightning rune, a surge of magical information pertaining to it flowed into his mind.

He had grasped a new thunder magic, known as ‘Heavenly Thunder Magic’.

By logging into the cultivator network through his identity bracelet, he began researching ‘Heavenly Thunder Magic’.

It didn’t take long to find relevant information. Heavenly Thunder Magic was an ancient technique that originated from the now vanished Shenxiao Sect.

Over millennia, the cultivation system of the Xian Nation had continually evolved, shaping a distinctive framework that aligned with its unique culture.

The once-independent sects had given way to a network of universities. Even after graduating and joining various departments within the nation, individuals were still identified with their alma mater.

The most powerful entities within the Xian Nation were its seven premier universities, followed by twenty-four prestigious academies, and then numerous specialized institutions.

The legacy of the Shenxiao Sect, which included the Heavenward Thunder Magic—an advanced lightning-based spell—had been preserved among these top-tier universities.

Li Zhen’s consciousness connected to the ‘Heavenward Thunder Magic’ rune on the Dragon Heart Space wall, causing intricate runes to materialize between his fingers. Such complexity would have been beyond his reach if attempted manually; only through the Dragon Heart Space’s rune could he bypass the arduous mental inscription process required for casting this magic.

The Heavenward Thunder Magic Li Zhen now commanded was an interpretation of the technique by a high-ranking ‘master craftsman’ of first-tier superior grade. With such guidance, he felt confident in handling the magic anywhere, including his bedroom, without fear of losing control.

However, as he prepared to cast the spell, nearly half of his spiritual energy was instantly drained, leaving his dantian feeling dangerously hollow.

He finally realized that each use of the Heavenly Thunder Magic required 50 spiritual energy. This made it far too powerful for a cultivator in the early stages of Qi Refining to master. Even those in the intermediate stages would struggle to control such a demanding spell, given its high mental and spiritual energy requirements.

Waving his hand, he dissipated the Heavenly Thunder Magic, but the drained spiritual energy could not be recovered.

“Now, I need to find a target to test the true might of this Heavenly Thunder Magic!” Li Zhen muttered to himself.

Each use consumed 50 spiritual energy, but if its power was extraordinary, he’d gained another trump card.

Had it been any easier, such a spell would have been mastered within the realm of Understanding Magic. Who knows how much spiritual energy it might have required otherwise.

Li Zhen turned his attention to the pile of spirit materials. He separated the mid-grade gold elemental components and stored them with the mid-grade magical tools; all of these would be crucial for refining his Black Iron Body.

The consumption for cultivating the Black Iron Body was becoming increasingly staggering. Without this unexpected windfall, he wouldn’t have even dared to dream of advancing his Black Iron Body practice.

From the remaining spirit materials, he chose earth elemental ingredients for the Dragon Heart Space to consume. This time, it absorbed them gradually, just to compensate for the deficiency in his earth spiritual root.

The information on his identity bracelet changed:

”

Name: Li Zhen (Male)

Age: 13

Realm: Qi Refining Third Layer

Spiritual Roots: Wood 21.22, Water 20, Metal 23.43, Fire 20, Earth 20, Thunder 20

Spiritual Quality: 1

Spiritual Energy: 60

Physical Body: First Stage (56/100)

”

His earth spiritual root had increased to 20 points. His thunder spiritual root, originally at 19 points, benefited from the Dragon Heart Space consuming the ‘Heavenly Thunder Seal’. Not only did he gain the ‘Heavenly Thunder Magic’, but his innate talent in thunder elemental spiritual roots also increased by 1 point.

“I still need to find higher quality spirit artifacts to consume. Simply raising my spiritual roots to 20 points is still considered inferior!” Li Zhen looked at his spiritual roots, which would be considered lavish to other cultivators, yet remained highly unsatisfied.

Despite the impressive appearance of his spiritual root talent, at the end of the day, he was still a mid-grade spiritual roots cultivator, and even among them, one of the weaker ones.

From that pile of spirit artifacts, he selected a medium-grade talisman brush called ‘Silver Fox Pen’. The others didn’t catch his eye, and having nowhere else to store them, he decided to keep them in the Dragon Heart Space for now.

Since the Silver Fox Talisman Brush was for private use, there was no need to worry about others discovering it. This new mid-grade first-rank talisman brush had piqued his interest.

He sat at his desk, spreading an inferior-grade talisman paper across its surface.

Holding the Silver Fox Brush, he felt the spiritual energy flow smoothly through it. As he dipped the brush tip into talisman ink, he could even sense the ink permeating the bristles.

He composed himself, focusing all his attention inward. Recalling the process for drawing the Fireball Talisman, he guided the Silver Fox Brush onto the talisman paper.

The talisman creation flowed in one continuous motion, without the slightest hesitation. In merely ten breaths, he had completed the drawing of this talisman.

When he set down the Silver Fox Brush, the paper shimmered with dazzling light as fire elemental spiritual energy gathered and condensed upon it.

Li Zhen was startled; the magnitude of this fire elemental spiritual energy vastly exceeded that of an ordinary low-grade Fireball Talisman.

Quickly preparing himself, he stood ready. If the talisman paper could not withstand this fire elemental spiritual energy, he would instantly control the burst of energy to prevent any destruction.

His tempering strength had already reached the peak of the Body Tempering First Stage. Even a mid-grade Fireball Talisman exploding before him could be effortlessly crushed with his bare hand—an example of the formidable defense possessed by Body Tempering cultivators.

Yet, what he imagined did not occur. The first-rank low-grade talisman paper somehow bore the immense fire elemental spiritual energy, and the talisman was successfully completed.

He picked up the ‘Fireball Talisman’ and discovered it was actually a mid-grade ‘Fireball Talisman’.

Using low-grade first-order talisman paper to create a mid-grade ‘Fireball Talisman’, he hadn’t seen this described in Wang Yibin’s introductory text on talisman making for mid-grade artisans, nor had he found any similar accounts in the Xian Nation cultivators’ network.

After careful study, he arrived at what he believed might be the correct conclusion.

Firstly, his mastery of the ‘Fireball Spell’ had surpassed the Understanding Magic realm, equivalent to the ability of a talisman maker who could create first-order high-grade ‘Fireball Talismans’.

Moreover, his command of the ‘Fireball Spell’ was perfectly solidified, ensuring it would not fluctuate under any circumstances.

Even a talisman maker capable of producing first-order high-grade ‘Fireball Talismans’ couldn’t guarantee each talisman would consistently achieve the highest level of performance.

However, what the Dragon Heart Space had absorbed was the essence of the Fireball Spell, as understood by a talisman maker when creating a first-order high-grade ‘Fireball Talisman’.

Thus, throughout the drawing process, Li Zhen maintained an absolutely flawless execution of the ‘Fireball Spell’.

Secondly, the low-grade first-order talisman paper was mass-produced in the Xian Nation. Through countless iterations of refinement and improvement, its quality was assured. Notably, the paper was made using pulverized spirit rice straw, resulting in a virtually flawless surface with hardly any imperfections.