"How can there be Shock Lightning Wood in the Tenglong Continent? Could there be a place dominated by rampant thunder somewhere?"
Yun Xiao held the Shock Lightning Wood in his hand, feeling its formidable Thunder Power. A look of doubt appeared on his face, mingled with a glint of anticipation, for what he needed most right now was the boundless power of thunder.
Yun Xiao, who had once activated his Lei Attribute Ancestor Vein with a Thunder Spirit Crystal, knew clearly that even if he refined this piece of Shock Lightning Wood, it could at best elevate his strength to the Qi Seeking Realm Late Stage. However, the enhancement effect on his Lei Attribute Ancestor Vein might be very limited.
To be honest, Yun Xiao didn't have much knowledge about his Lei Attribute Ancestor Vein. He only knew that it could transform into Thunder Wings, allowing him to soar into the sky, but the required Thunder Power was probably terrifyingly immense.
At the very least, the last time Yun Xiao managed to glide through the air for several dozens of yards, it was with the assistance of the Golden Snake Worm's power, and only after reaching the Seeking Origin Realm Early Stage could he achieve that capability.
Therefore, Yun Xiao had reasons to believe that if he wanted to achieve true flight, besides enhancing his Meridian Qi Cultivation to the Seeking Origin Realm Early Stage, he might only need to increase the Thunder Power within his Lei Attribute Ancestor Vein as much as possible.
But this required a large number of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures related to the thunder attribute. The Thunder Spirit Crystal he obtained at the Spirit Fighting Conference was one, and the Shock Lightning Wood he snatched from Yang Wanliu's hands was another.
However, although both were of Earth Rank quality, the Thunder Power in them was far from meeting Yun Xiao's needs. He required much more and much stronger Thunder Power in order to gain true flying ability in an extremely short period of time.
The appearance of the Shock Lightning Wood undoubtedly gave Yun Xiao a glimpse of hope. Such an item would not appear out of thin air. It would require certain special trees to withstand years of bombardment by thunder and lightning to possibly form such a short segment.
At least Yun Xiao could guess that the place where the Shock Lightning Wood had appeared must be land scourged by thunder. If he could find this place, the Thunder Power he needed might be easily within reach.
"Perhaps I can find an opportunity to ask that Yang Family's Princely Heir again!"
A spark of surprise flickered in Yun Xiao's eyes. At that moment, he felt extremely wise for sparing Yang Wanliu's life, but all of this was for later consideration. What was urgent now was to refine the piece of Shock Lightning Wood in his hand.
After all, the Yang Family held Yang Dingshan, a cultivator at the Origin Seeking Realm Early Stage. To ensure absolute safety, Yun Xiao, without any hesitation, sent a wisp of Meridian Qi into the Shock Lightning Wood right after the thought flickered across his mind.
Boom! Ka!
A strand of silver thunder peeled off from the Shock Lightning Wood as if it were provoked and directly struck Yun Xiao, who was trying to refine it, causing his figure to stiffen suddenly.
"Hey, the Thunder Power of this Shock Lightning Wood is indeed much stronger than that of the Thunder Spirit Crystal!"
Feeling that bit of Thunder Power as if led by some attraction, directly heading towards his back and shoulders, a slightly numb expression emerged on Yun Xiao's face, revealing a hint of a smile.
After all, the Thunder Spirit Crystal that Yun Xiao had previously obtained was merely Seventh Rank Advanced, and the corresponding grade of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures was just a bit stronger than Earth Rank Low Level. Now, the Shock Lightning Wood was Earth Rank Middle Level. If converted to Thunder Spirit Crystals, it would be equivalent to Eighth Rank.
It should be mentioned that the Golden Snake Worm Xiao Wu, which even in times of slumber would come to snatch food, showed no movement now just like the last time Yun Xiao refined the Thunder Spirit Crystal, which made him both surprised and delighted.
It seems that in Xiao Wu's subconsciousness, it also knew the significance of thunder attribute power to Yun Xiao. Their fortunes were linked; if Yun Xiao acquired Flying Power, his ability to protect himself in the future might be enhanced tenfold.
Proceeding methodically with the refinement, it was taking place in this modest inn. However, what Yun Xiao didn't know was that due to his performance in the arena during the day, Ancient Moon City was already in an uproar.
Numerous strong individuals and guards belonging to the Yang Family were searching every inn and even household for the traces of a youth named Xingchen (Star), indicating the arrogance and despotism of the Yang Family in Ancient Moon City.
But those ordinary civilians and Low-level Practitioners could only seethe in silence. If they didn't let the Yang Family search through their places, once being accused of colluding with the Yang Family's enemies, they probably wouldn't even have the chance to escape from Ancient Moon City.
It's worth mentioning that although the inn where Yun Xiao was staying was quite remote, a few Yang Family guards had searched it. But the innkeeper, clearly very astute, after confirming with the portrait that his inn did not harbor the person the Yang Family was looking for, directly handed over a hefty purse to the lead guard.
Such things would happen anywhere, so the Yang Family guard just took a cursory glance around the modest inn. Finding nothing unusual and not disrupting Yun Xiao turned out to be a stroke of luck.
In fact, even if the Yang Family guards had seen Yun Xiao, they would definitely not recognize him as the Xingchen who had crippled the Yang Family's Princely Heir in the arena that very day.
And even if they did recognize Yun Xiao, these Low-level guards wouldn't dare to lay a finger on him. It would be a joke; after all, he was a formidable man who had exchanged blows with the Origin Seeking Realm Early Stage Family Head of the Yang Family. Wouldn't it be suicidal for them to confront him?
What Yun Xiao didn't know, however, was that the very moment he began refining the Shock Lightning Wood, a figure in the depths of Yulei Mountain, whose eyes had initially been tightly closed, suddenly opened wide, emitting a beam of resentful and venomous light.
.......
Deep within Yulei Mountain!
Under the cover of night, flickering lights could be seen here and there—several encampments. In one of these tents, a middle-aged man in a purple robe seemed to be sensing something.
"Thunder Spirit Crystal, finally there's some movement again!"
After a moment, the man murmured thoughtfully, looking at his appearance and listening to his voice, it was none other than Xu Huang, the Chairman of the Yuyang City branch of Douling Commerce.
That day, upon abruptly learning of the shattering of his son's soul token, Xu Huang couldn't resist coming to Yulei Mountain in person, where he eventually found the body of his son Xu Huan, thrown out of the waterfall cave by the Two-tailed Dragon Scale Crocodile.
In a fit of rage, Xu Huang ripped the Seventh Rank Two-tailed Dragon Scale Crocodile to shreds, but the hatred in his heart was not alleviated one bit.
"Yun Xiao, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I, Xu Huang, will surely find you and tear you to pieces!"
During this period, Xu Huang had been searching tirelessly for Yun Xiao's trail in Yulei Mountain. However, his sensing was limited to the Thunder Spirit Crystal, which Yun Xiao had already refined, so for a while, he found nothing.
It wasn't until Yun Xiao acquired the Thunder Wood and began refining the Thunder Attribute power for his own use that he finally triggered the residual aura of the Thunder Spirit Crystal within his body, giving Xu Huang a slight sensation.
"That direction... seems to be Ancient Moon City?"
Sensing the direction for a moment, Xu Huang couldn't help but reveal a cold smirk, muttering under his breath, "Hehe, Yun Xiao, this is really a case of 'heaven provides a way which you do not take; hell has no gate yet you break in!"
A cold laugh escaped from Xu Huang's mouth, and perhaps he alone knew that the Yang Family of Ancient Moon City was supported by the Yuyang City branch of Douling Commerce. Otherwise, the Yang Family Head couldn't have advanced to the early stage of the Origin Seeking Realm in such a short time.
Xu Huang was quite ambitious. Although Ancient Moon City was not under the jurisdiction of their Yuyang City branch, he had extended his reach there, preparing for his future control of that region's branch of Douling Commerce.
Unexpectedly to him, Yun Xiao, the killer of his son, had actually fled to Ancient Moon City. Sensing that the aura did not move, he knew that his plan to avenge his son was unlikely to encounter any more accidents.
"Elders, break camp, I have found the hiding place of that brat Yun Xiao!"
Anxious to seek revenge, Xu Huang, wary of delays leading to troubled dreams, leaped out from his tent, shouting loudly. Figures began to move around the various tents, each one radiating an imposing aura.
It seemed that Xu Huang, to ensure absolute certainty, had brought all the elite forces of Yuyang City's Douling Commerce. He also had complete confidence that with such a group heading towards Ancient Moon City, the young man who had been only at the early stage of the Qi Seeking Realm two months ago would have no chance of escaping.
.......
Time quickly passed by, several days later.
During these days, Yun Xiao had been quietly staying in the inn, refining the Thunder Wood, paying no attention to the tumult outside.
As the afternoon of that day approached, Yun Xiao refined the Thunder Wood, reaching a crucial moment. Countless Thunder Attribute powers rampaged within his body, eventually converging beneath the skin of his shoulders as if they were about to burst forth.
Boom!
At a certain moment, a powerful force suddenly erupted from Yun Xiao's body—a sign of breakthrough. Luckily, the inn was in a remote location and the innkeeper and servants were all very low-level practitioners, unaware of what level of power the breakthrough had reached.
Originally at the middle stage of the Qi Seeking Realm, Yun Xiao had now broken through to the Qi Seeking Realm Late Stage. It should be noted that it had been only two months since his breakthrough in the waterfall cave on Yulei Mountain.
After reaching the Earth Rank Third Realm, it would usually take an ordinary cultivator at least a year or even a decade to break through a minor realm. Yun Xiao's ability to advance in just two short months was not only due to his dedication, but also a stroke of luck.
Both the Seventh Rank Advanced Thunder Spirit Crystal and the Earth Rank Middle Level Thunder Wood were indispensable. However, compared to other practitioners, Yun Xiao's refinement of these two Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures was more thorough.
All of this was due to the Thunder Attribute Ancestor Vein beneath Yun Xiao's shoulders. Without the power of this Ancestor Vein, which was highly compatible with the Thunder Attribute, his chances of leveraging the two great treasures for a breakthrough would have been no different from that of ordinary practitioners, likely ending in failure.