r18novel Chapter 128 Thunder Nirvana
Chapter 128 Thunder Nirvana
Chapter 128 Thunder Nirvana
Qiu Li felt as uncomfortable as if she had swallowed a fly.
This time, she stood up for her best friend, sparing no expense to bring out her most prized possessions: the third-tier Thunder Ox essence blood and the Fire Phoenix egg, which would be considered second-rate treasures even among her own collection.
This level of treasure is not something she can just take casually.
But for her best friend's happiness, she felt it was worth it to fight back against that scumbag.
But unexpectedly, not only did the meat buns go to waste, but this scoundrel's cooking skills were also given a breakthrough!
Qiu Li grew increasingly angry, her phoenix eyes fixed on Chen Yi, her magical power subtly fluctuating, and her divine sense rising and falling like the tides.
It's clearly on the verge of exploding, and it seems like it could make a move at any moment.
But at this time,
What annoyed her even more was that her friend, Qin Chengcheng, was currently in deep seclusion, with all her defenses removed.
It cannot be disturbed by the outside world.
Otherwise, Qiu Li would have disregarded the rules of this city and directly beat up Chen Yi to vent her anger.
Seeing that she could do nothing to Chen Yi, she ate her soup in frustration.
After taking two spoonfuls, he became increasingly angry, and he didn't even pay attention to the benefits of the soup for enhancing his spiritual awareness.
Beside him, Qin Chengcheng had even removed her outermost layer of protection, and a surge of divine sense emanated from within her.
This is clearly a breakthrough in a certain minor realm.
Qiu Li immediately stopped eating.
A pale purple spiritual energy barrier rose around Qin Chengcheng. The barrier appeared thin, but it actually contained the unique fluctuations of third-tier spiritual energy, enveloping her within it.
"Has this girl gone mad?"
At this moment, if she were to open her mind and body to begin her breakthrough, and if a bad person were to attack her, it could cause her irreparable harm and loss.
While Qiu Li was making a move,
Chen Yi had already secretly cast a spell, enveloping the private room where the three of them were with the power of his private chef's array, ensuring they would not be disturbed by any outside forces.
While maintaining the operation of the formation, Chen Yi secretly observed the middle-aged ugly woman.
Chen Yi was slightly surprised to see that she had also stepped in to protect Qin Chengcheng in time.
It seems that the two women have a good relationship. Could this person be the friend from Zhongzhou that Qin Chengcheng mentioned before?
It seems that Chen Yi's [Azure Willow Jade Body Technique] was passed down from this person; Qin Chengcheng even mentioned it at the time.
With Qin Chengcheng around, Chen Yi could cultivate with peace of mind; Qin Chengcheng could protect him if anything happened.
However, if Qin Chengcheng were to perish, Chen Yi would have to be careful when cultivating this technique, lest her friends in Zhongzhou discover it, or the technique would be taken back.
This is probably the person.
Surprisingly, the two women have a pretty good relationship.
Thinking of this,
Chen Yi canceled the formation that was originally intended to protect Qin Chengcheng and separate the ugly woman.
Qiu Li noticed that Chen Yi was making the same movements as her, and couldn't help but secretly sized up the cook.
A hint of surprise flashed in her phoenix eyes, but she quickly regained her superior demeanor.
"Hmm, a third-tier spirit chef, that's barely passable."
"At the critical moment, he still knew to protect Chengcheng, so he's not entirely without conscience."
She thought to herself.
"Hmph, so what if he advanced three ranks this way? So what? Spirit cooking is just a minor path; it might offer a tiny bit of help in cultivation, but it's far inferior to alchemy or formations."
For cultivators in combat, its role is even more negligible.
It is far inferior to the Dao of Talismans, the Dao of Arrays, and the Dao of Puppetry.
You don't have anything to be too proud of.
With only these third-tier culinary skills, I wouldn't even catch the eye of some important figures.
"What the fairy says is true. I am just a nobody and cannot catch the eye of a great person."
Chen Yi gave a perfunctory answer, but his eyes were fixed on Qin Chengcheng's condition, sensing that Qin Chengcheng's soul seemed to be fluctuating considerably.
It seems that this pot of third-tier spiritual food is quite beneficial to the soul.
However, at this time
The ugly girl's tone suddenly changed:
"However, you are not entirely useless."
To be frank, I am a true disciple of a late-stage Nascent Soul sect in Central Continent. I'm here to also select a few talented cultivators to bring back to the sect.
Your cultivation and talent are mediocre, but your cooking skills are barely passable.
When we leave, we can apply for a spot as a spiritual chef for you on the team.
Qiu Li squinted and said to Chen Yi.
Her plan was to take Qin Chengcheng with her when she returned this time. With Qin Chengcheng's talent, she would have a brighter future in Zhongzhou.
The chances of forming a golden core there are much greater than in the low-spirited land of Qi.
The cook in front of us was originally useless, but now it seems he has a third-tier skill that we can bring along.
This is a consolation for Qin Chengcheng; even if he can make some spiritual food for everyone along the way, it would be good.
Moreover, even if the sect doesn't think much of him and is unwilling to accept him after he returns, leaving him in the immortal city under the sect's jurisdiction would be a satisfactory explanation, as he won't starve with this skill.
Qiu Li meant well, but Chen Yi shook his head in surprise:
"No need for you to trouble yourself, Fairy. I, Chen, will decide whether to stay or leave."
Chen Yi's expression was calm, and his tone was indifferent, yet it conveyed a sense of determination.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to go to Zhongzhou, but he absolutely could not travel with such a Nascent Soul sect.
Crossing the Demon Beast Mountain Range is extremely dangerous, but if you follow the people from Zixiao Palace and have the protection of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it will indeed be safer.
However, he has too many secrets to reveal—the system's devouring ability, the mana of the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment, various special golden radiance crystals, the jade bone tempering method, and the Thunder Spirit Soul Forging, etc., cannot be shown to others.
If there is even the slightest mistake under the nose of a Nascent Soul cultivator, it will likely be exposed.
"Hmph. I gave you a chance, but you couldn't use it!"
You probably don't even know the significance of a sect at the late Nascent Soul stage.
It's like trying to talk about ice with a summer insect!
Qiu Li looked displeased, and spoke in a tone that suggested the person was utterly hopeless.
As a true disciple of a major sect in Zhongzhou, when had she ever been rejected like this before?
If it weren't for Qin Chengcheng's sake, she wouldn't even bother to glance at this ungrateful cook.
Too lazy to invite him again, I turned my attention to the divine dish.
"Since you're the chef, you should name this dish!"
According to the conventions of the cultivation world, all finished products of third-tier techniques, whether they are pills, talismans, formations, or spiritual foods, are named by the creator himself.
The spiritual food before me combines the special spirituality of a third-tier Thunder Ox's essence blood and a Fire Phoenix Egg, and is further harmonized by the Ice Spirit Jade Pot, ultimately forming a balanced state of three layers of mutual restraint and mutual generation. It truly deserves a name.
Chen Yi pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the bowl of spiritual food still crackling with lightning and fire patterns, and slowly said:
"Let's call it 'Thunderfire Nirvana Soup'."
"【Thunderfire Nirvana Soup】?"
Qiu Li was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then curled her lip in disdain:
"You country bumpkin, even your name is so rustic, but we'll just have to make do with it."
Generally, once I've had something of this caliber, I'll never eat it again.
She paused, then waved her hand impatiently: "Alright, this is none of your business. Go back."
She can cultivate; I'll protect her.
Chen Yi glanced at Qin Chengcheng's condition, pondered for a moment, and then left without saying anything more.
The other party neither mentioned the damage to the signboard nor demanded compensation for the Thunder Ox Essence Blood and Fire Phoenix Egg.
They even had Chen Yi name the dish, clearly indicating that they had recognized his culinary skills.
This ugly woman, though sharp-tongued, at least follows the rules in her behavior.
Well, "a lawful wicked woman."
Chen Yi made an initial impression of his friend Qin Chengcheng.
After leaving, Chen Yi secretly added another layer of protection to the array surrounding Qin Chengcheng's private room, and then quietly observed the situation for a while longer.
It's certain that her unattractive friend was genuinely helping her protect the Dharma.
That's when they truly left.
Back in the underground chamber, Chen Yi waved his sleeve, and the stone door closed silently, activating layers of restrictions.
He sat cross-legged and took out a glass cup made of ice spirit jade from his storage bag. Inside was the half portion of the [Thunderfire Nirvana Soup] that he had left behind.
Taking half of the materials as payment might seem expensive to low-level cultivators, but it's already the accepted rule in the cultivation world for third-level cultivators.
Even if you ask someone to refine a third-order crystal condensation pill, the alchemist's fee is often equivalent to the value of the materials, and if the refining fails, the alchemist will not provide compensation.
Third-tier skill cultivators are rare, and each one has enough influence to speak for. Chen Yi, now that he has joined this group, is no exception.
Chen Yi lifted the jade cup, and fine lightning suddenly burst forth from the surface of the semi-solid soup.
Blue-purple arcs of electricity and crimson-gold filaments intertwined and rose like living things, illuminating the secret room with flickering light.
Within the crystal-clear amber-colored paste, faint shadowy figures of snakes darting about and phoenixes flapping their wings can be seen.
When the strange fragrance, a blend of ferocity and vitality, entered his nostrils, it even caused his mid-Foundation Establishment stage magic power to tremble.
"Sizzle—"
The moment the first spoonful touched my mouth, thunder exploded!
Countless arcs of electricity surged through his throat and into his limbs and bones. The water and wood magic power cultivated by the [Taiyi Longevity True Talisman] was as if it were being pierced by thousands of silver needles, and the impurities actually vaporized and dissipated in the lightning.
A warm current surged from his dantian, and the remaining Nirvana aura from the fire phoenix egg transformed into a furnace.
The liquefied mana was refined to an even higher purity – it seemed that the bottleneck of the mid-stage Foundation Establishment was about to be loosened by a third.
"boom!"
At the same time, his sea of consciousness was suddenly turbulent.
Several strands of lightning energy transformed into azure chains that pierced the ancestral aperture and entered the sea of consciousness, colliding fiercely with the five hundred strands of third-order divine thoughts suspended in the air. Each collision unleashed soul-tempering lightning fire.
Chen Yi groaned, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He saw that the hidden injuries to his soul caused by the power of the Thunder Pool were melting away like ice and snow amidst the intertwining of thunder and fire.
Even more astonishingly, the Yuzhen acupoint was slightly warm, and the nascent form of the fourth divine aperture was faintly visible in the lingering warmth of the fire phoenix.
At the same time, the five hundred strands of third-order divine sense within Chen Yi's soul became exceptionally active.
It seems to have the intention to stir up the divine soul and heaven and earth at any time, leading the other nine and a half percent of divine thoughts to ascend to heaven together!
Chen Yi felt a chill run down his spine.
"This is bad! It's about to open the fourth divine aperture while simultaneously propelling the entire divine soul to the third tier!"
Chen Yi sensed something and immediately stopped taking the [Thunderfire Nirvana Soup].
At the same time, it activates the verdant essence of the Azure Dew in the Niwan Palace and the coolness of the Ice Heart Water Drop in the Ancestral Aperture, allowing them to spread throughout the entire realm of the divine soul.
Calm those restless third-order divine thoughts, and then the entire divine soul.
Now is not a good time to break through to the third tier of divine soul.
Not to mention, there were two women in his cave room above who were consuming the [Thunderfire Nirvana Soup] and cultivating in seclusion.
Chen Yi was not prepared for his own soul to break through to the third level.
He remembered that when Qin Chengcheng's divine soul broke through to the third level, it attracted a divine soul tribulation.
At that moment, even the lingering power of Qin Chengcheng's soul tribulation nearly annihilated Chen Yi's wisp of divine consciousness.
The unforgettable horror of that time is still vivid in my mind.
Now, although he has undergone prolonged exposure to the lightning power of the Thunder Spirit, giving his soul an extremely strong resistance to soul lightning,
Furthermore, a cloud of soul thunder was also forming within his soul.
Chen Yi was about 80% confident that he could survive a tribulation of the same level as Qin Chengcheng's soul tribulation back then.
but,
There's still a 20% chance of something unexpected happening!
Moreover, what if Chen Yi's soul tribulation was stronger than Qin Chengcheng's back then?
Chen Yi wouldn't allow himself to actively attempt to reach the third tier and trigger the Divine Soul Tribulation without at least a 98% certainty.
Of course, if he really can't hold it in and it's triggered passively, there's nothing he can do about it.
However, for now, while he can still continuously improve his divine soul thundercloud level and lightning resistance,
He naturally chose to stop consuming the [Thunderfire Nirvana Soup] before him.
Anyway, the effects of this [Thunderfire Nirvana Soup] will last for about half a month.
Chen Yi decided to wait half a month before making a decision.
If, at that time, the chances of successfully passing the tribulation of the soul are still not very high,
Chen Yi might choose to give up.
It's just a few thousand spirit stones of resources; nothing is more important than one's own safety.
Next, Chen Yi raced against time, devoting all his energy to tempering the Divine Soul Thundercloud.
He sat cross-legged in the center of the secret chamber, his hands holding the [Magnetic Thunder Collar] in a gesture of respect. Fine golden light of the five elements swirled around his fingertips as he drew upon the spiritual power of the Thunder Pool contained within it, strand by strand.
With a slight thought, fine blue-purple lightning patterns began to appear on the surface of the collar, and the power containing the third-order lightning spirit intent moved around like living things.
Chen Yi slightly closed his eyes, guiding the violent lightning power along his meridians straight to his sea of consciousness.
Silver-white lightning patterns faintly appeared between his brows, a sign that his soul was undergoing tempering by the lightning spirit.
"Sizzle—"
When the first surge of lightning power entered Chen Yi's sea of consciousness, his entire soul trembled.
The thunderclouds in his mind surged violently, with tiny arcs of electricity constantly exploding within the silvery-white clouds.
If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, their soul would probably be paralyzed by now, but Chen Yi gritted his teeth and withstood the impact.
When the power of the Thunder Spirit exceeded his limit, he had a thought, and the power of the system within his body immediately began to operate.
All the excess lightning spirit intent deep within his sea of consciousness was completely enveloped.
Under the transformation of the system's power, the violent energy gradually lost its sharpness, turning into gentle silver specks of light that slowly merged into the thunderclouds.
Although this method is extremely costly—the spiritual energy of the Thunder Pool that could originally last for three months would be exhausted in just half a month due to his reckless spending—it significantly improves efficiency.
Chen Yin could clearly feel that the thunderclouds in his sea of consciousness were expanding at a visible speed, and the thunder spirit power in the clouds was becoming more and more refined.
"At worst, we can just go into the secret realm again after we've used it all up."
Chen Yi was pondering in his heart,
"The cost of one thousand spirit stones every half month in exchange for such rapid growth of the Divine Soul Thundercloud is barely acceptable in the short term."
He adjusted his breathing and continued to increase the suction force.
The spiritual energy from the Thunder Pool within the collar poured out like a flood bursting its banks, continuously transforming into nourishment for the soul under the harmonization of the system's power.
Lightning flashed in the secret chamber, casting Chen Yi's figure in intermittent light and shadow, making him appear like a deity undergoing tempering by heavenly lightning.
Three days later
Qin Chengcheng and Qiu Li finally refined the entire [Thunderfire Nirvana Soup] and emerged from seclusion together.
Qin Chengcheng's spiritual energy flowed around her like a spring breeze rustling willows. Even though her disguise concealed her true appearance, the radiance between her brows and the faint spiritual light flowing beneath her skin allowed Chen Yi to tell at a glance that she had gained a great deal from her seclusion.
Her eyes were clear as water, and a faint smile played on her lips. Her every move seemed to have a touch more liveliness than usual.
Qiu Li, on the other hand, remained calm, with no obvious change in her aura.
For the past three days, she has focused on protecting the Dharma, and given that the [Thunderfire Nirvana Soup] has limited benefits for third-tier cultivators, her gains so far have been rather modest.
Her phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced back and forth between Qin Chengcheng and Chen Yi, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes.
"Chef Chen, I've troubled you quite a bit these past few days. Thanks to the stability of your meditation room's formation, I've gained a great deal during my seclusion."
Qin Chengcheng gave a graceful bow, her voice as warm and melodious as pearls falling onto a plate. Despite her ordinary appearance as a woman, she possessed a captivating charm.
"It's alright. Your friend has already paid."
Chen Yi's lips curled up slightly, his gaze briefly meeting hers. The two smiled at each other, everything understood without words.
"A pair of despicable people."
Beside her, Qiu Li rolled her eyes, cursing inwardly.
After the two left, she sent a telepathic message to Qin Chengcheng:
"Chengcheng, do you have any ambition at all?"
All I did was cook you a meal, and I even provided the ingredients. Is that why you're so grateful?
Where has your composure gone, you number one Foundation Establishment Immortal in the Qi Kingdom's cultivation world?
"In the Central Plains, if I wanted, resources of this caliber would be delivered to my doorstep every day by different Core Formation male cultivators!"
Qin Chengcheng replied with an irrepressible smile in her eyes:
"Sister Qiu, you don't understand. This time, I was in seclusion in the secret room, which was extremely quiet. It was Chen Yi who was constantly expending his energy to take care of the formation on my side."
His cave's grand formation shouldn't normally achieve such an effect.
"Fine, fine! You're grateful for his mental exhaustion, but I've been watching over you for three days and three nights, and you're completely oblivious?!"
Qiu Li was so angry that she ground her teeth, and her spiritual energy fluctuated slightly.
"Sister~, I was wrong. Let's go back to my cave. I'll play you a Rainbow Dance to make up for your mental exhaustion these past few days, okay?"
"Hmph, that's more like it."
Qiu Li snorted coldly, but a hint of anticipation flashed in her eyes: "Wear the thinnest gauze dress. I love seeing your long legs, slender waist, and jade-like feet."
Chen Yi naturally has no chance to witness the harmonious music and dance performed by the two in Qin Chengcheng's cave.
After they left,
Chen Yi completely shut down the entire private chef formation and entered into a period of complete seclusion.
Half a month later, the power of the Thunder Pool in the Magnetic Thunder Collar was exhausted.
When the last wisp of thunder power in the magnetic thunder collar was exhausted, the thunderclouds in Chen Yi's sea of consciousness had expanded by more than ten times.
For the past two weeks, his soul has been almost constantly paralyzed—from initially carefully guiding wisps of lightning spirit to finally facing the violent bombardment of third-tier lightning spirit power.
At this moment, Chen Yi's spiritual resistance to lightning had reached an unprecedented level.
In fact, Chen Yi exhausted the last third of the Thunder Pool power in the Magnetic Thunder Collar in just three to five attacks.
Each of these attacks was comparable to a strike from a newly ascended third-tier lightning spirit.
It's important to understand that this attack wasn't targeting Chen Yi's physical body; a portion of the lightning spirit's intent was directly aimed at his soul.
However, even with such a powerful lightning attack,
Chen Yi was only paralyzed for a period of time, and the thunderclouds in his soul were slightly enhanced.
In the end, Chen Yi didn't even need to use the system's power to withstand the final blow from the magnetic lightning collar.
The thunderclouds within his soul had expanded to the point where, with a full-force attack, he could unleash near-third-tier soul thunder power.
"That should be about right."
Chen Yi recalled the divine soul power Qin Chengcheng had gained during her tribulation, and compared it to his final attacks.
I felt that his final few attacks definitely contained about 80% of the power of Qin Chengcheng's soul lightning attack.
This level of lightning attack no longer posed much of a problem for him.
He felt he could try taking the [Thunderfire Nirvana Soup].
Chen Yi first gave Qin Chengcheng the two finished magnetic thunder collars. This was the reward for the two Azure Dragon Jade pieces that Chen Yi had given her a few days later.
He still had the last portion of the magnetite and other materials that the Jade Dragon Sect had given him, which amounted to 20,000 spirit stones.
Chen Yi plans to go back and make a larger version of Sheng Lei equipment.
Now, he returned to the secret chamber, preparing to take advantage of the [Thunderfire Nirvana Soup]'s effects to try consuming it and opening his fourth divine aperture.
(End of this chapter)