Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improved Spirit Rice

Chapter 50 Thunderbolt

Zhao Cheng'an handed over the bamboo bone sword grass in his hand.

Chen Heng reached out and took it, but the moment her fingertips touched it, she noticed something was wrong.

Although the sword blade was still slender, it was much heavier than ordinary sword grass. She looked down and examined it closely, discovering that the seemingly seamless blade was actually made of three extremely thin blades of grass tightly stacked together.

"The sword-leaf grass in my hand has been improved."

Seeing her puzzled expression, Zhao Cheng'an explained, "I grafted it with the Nine-Cornered Azure Leaf I found in Black Wind Valley before, and optimized the runes on the Sword Leaf Grass, which is why the Grass Sword Technique has the ability to differentiate."

Having possessed the Qiankun Cauldron for so long, Zhao Cheng'an had already gained a profound understanding of the uses of this extraordinary treasure.

The Qiankun Cauldron is not omnipotent; it cannot guarantee a 100% success rate in synthesizing materials every time. Even if it is successfully synthesized, the result may not be exactly what he envisioned.

Just like when he first synthesized the spirit rice, he tried countless times and experienced numerous failures before he could barely synthesize a seedling with disease resistance. Later, cultivating the second-generation improved spirit rice consumed a tremendous amount of his energy in studying the theory and conducting experiments.

In summary, two conditions must be met to successfully synthesize and express a specific trait.

The first is the rune, and the second is the structure corresponding to the rune.

The former is similar to a driver, while the latter is equivalent to a hardware carrier. Only when the driver and hardware are perfectly matched and coexist can the function of the spiritual plant be truly expressed.

"As for the sword flight I just performed," Zhao Cheng'an continued, "it was actually a combination of the Lightness Technique and the sword control technique from the Grass Sword Manual."

After listening, Chen Heng's face showed a look of amazement, "Is this Lightness Technique also part of the magic system you mentioned before?"

Zhao Chengan nodded.

"Not bad. I previously optimized and reorganized the True Spirit Runes within my body, and now I can instantly cast three spells."

Seeing the longing in Chen Heng's eyes, Zhao Cheng'an spread his hands, smiled, and said, "If you want to learn, I can teach you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Heng hesitated: "I don't have anything of value on me right now, and this set of magical theories is extremely valuable."

"We can exchange what we find in this cave. Also, during the fight just now, I noticed that the way you instantly dodged the mountain demon's attack didn't seem to be magic; rather, it looked more like martial arts from the mortal martial arts world?"

Chen Heng didn't hide anything, "I had previously collected some common martial arts manuals. Ordinary martial artists use something called 'true qi' to stimulate their muscles, thereby unleashing power and speed beyond the limits of normal humans."

"I gained inspiration from this and tried to replace true qi with the true spirit of us cultivators. In addition, every time a cultivator advances in realm, their physique is tempered by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, making their physical strength far exceed that of ordinary people."

Therefore, stimulating muscles in the same way can unleash incredible destructive power in an instant.

"I call it the Qi-Boosting Technique," Chen Heng said, looking at Zhao Cheng'an. "In close combat, its threat level even surpasses that of most low-level spells."

Zhao Chengan's eyes lit up.

His talent in combat is actually quite average, especially his inability to handle the crisis when the enemy gets close. In his previous sparring match with Chen Heng, he almost always lost as soon as the distance between them closed.

This problem is difficult to solve through conventional practice in a short period of time, but it can be compensated for in other ways.

If Chen Heng's Qi-raising technique is combined with his lightness technique, it will definitely allow him to unleash incredible speed and power in an instant, thus greatly compensating for his weakness in close combat in actual battle.

"You will use the Qi-Boosting Technique, along with all the gains from this operation, in exchange," Zhao Cheng'an stated his terms.

Chen Heng thought for a moment, then her expression became extremely solemn.

"Even so, the two are not equal in value. Moreover, I have been enjoying the spiritual rice you have cultivated over the years, which has greatly helped my spiritual practice."

"Following the will of Heaven and accepting the consequences of karma, I finally know who I am today."

Chen Heng looked into Zhao Cheng'an's eyes and said earnestly, "From today onwards, we are fellow Daoists. If Fellow Daoist Zhao ever needs any help in the future, I, Chen Heng, will certainly not refuse."

"Alright, it's a pleasure to cooperate, Fellow Daoist Chen," Zhao Chengan replied with a smile.

Chen Heng pursed her lips, seemingly still a little unaccustomed to the title "fellow Daoist".

She turned her head and walked quickly ahead, her high ponytail swaying gently with each step.

"Let's go inside the cave and take a look first. What if there are no rare treasures inside? You'll be at a huge disadvantage."

Zhao Cheng'an chuckled, "It's not exactly a loss; at least we gained another fellow Daoist."

Chen Heng walked even faster ahead.

The cave interior was very spacious and not as gloomy and terrifying as one might imagine.

There is a naturally formed stone hole at the top of the cave, through which a beam of bright sunlight shines down, casting a golden pillar of light into the dim cave.

Directly beneath the sunlight was a crystal-clear pool of water, in which several red carp were swimming leisurely.

In the damp mud at the edge of the pool, a small green shrub grows.

Many heavy bean pods hung from the branches and leaves of the shrub. These pods had an eerie indigo color, with tiny purple arcs of lightning flickering and dancing on their surface.

Zhao Cheng'an's heart stirred, and he cautiously approached.

He concentrated and used the Qiankun Ding to examine the shrub.

A line of gray-white subtitles quickly appeared in sight.

[Thunderbolt: A temperamental plant that likes to explode on the spot at the slightest provocation. If you must touch it, it is recommended to use insulating material.]

The following entries are four: energy storage, self-destruction, make a noise, and have a good blast.

Zhao Cheng'an looked at the words on the screen and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He turned to Chen Heng beside him and said, "It seems we won't be able to leave empty-handed this time."

This is an extremely rare lightning-attribute offensive spiritual plant.

Lightning-attribute spiritual plants are already very rare, let alone one that is purely offensive.

If this spiritual plant were sold in the market, its price would definitely not be low.

Chen Heng breathed a sigh of relief.

"Congratulations. As per our previous agreement, this spiritual plant is now yours."

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Fellow Daoist Chen."

Zhao Cheng'an took out a small jade shovel and carefully dug up the thunderbolt plant by the roots, then carefully put it away.

The two then left Black Wind Valley.

Three months have passed in a flash.

Although this period was short, Zhao Chengan had a very fulfilling time.

On one hand, he diligently studied the power generation techniques of the Qi-raising method under Chen Heng's guidance. On the other hand, he devoted all his remaining time to the research and improvement of the Thunderbolt.

In addition, Zhao Cheng'an also had several communications with the Dayin royal family.

He mainly inquired about demonic cultivation and history from a thousand years ago. Although Zhao Cheng'an asked rather cryptically in his letter, his father's answers still surprised him greatly.

In a quiet room.

Zhao Cheng'an looked at the letter in his hand, his eyes filled with surprise.