Chapter 88: The Elixir of Youth

Three years later.

Within the endless mountains, atop a certain peak in Ghost Spirit Valley, a series of explosions erupted suddenly, as if dozens of shells were detonating one after another. The sky above was shrouded in dark clouds, from which bolts of lightning in various colors crashed down, all targeting this very summit. Yet, strangely, these differently shaped lightning bolts, upon striking the mountain, seemed to vanish into the earth without a trace, as though sinking into the sea.

Thunder and lightning raged for an entire day, and by the end, even ball lightning appeared—brilliant, shining orbs trailed by long tails, fiercely slamming into the already shattered mountaintop, only to disappear as well. If any great cultivator had witnessed this, they would have been awestruck by such a celestial phenomenon.

Gradually, the ball lightning grew less frequent, the clouds thinned and faded, and at last, both lightning and clouds, as if exhausted, scattered altogether, leaving the sky clear once more. Starlight cascaded down, illuminating the mountaintop ravaged by lightning.

Suddenly, a red light shot up from the depths of the broken mountain, carving a beautiful arc through the sky before halting above the peak. As the red glow receded, the figure of a young man was revealed. He was tall and slender, with ordinary features, save for a small tiger tooth revealed in his gentle smile—a characteristic trait. Who could it be but Lei Xiang?

Beneath his feet was the Nine-Treasure Lotus Rod, glowing with crimson light as if freshly forged in a furnace. Lei Xiang glanced down at the devastated summit, his eyes flashing blue as he surveyed his temporary lair within the mountain—now a scene of utter chaos. The cave residence was certainly destroyed, yet Lei Xiang was overjoyed, for he had once again advanced.

Late Foundation Establishment.

The ball lightning just encountered was the lightning tribulation he drew upon breaking through to late Foundation Establishment. Such a commotion would normally only occur during the formation of a Nascent Soul, yet he faced it at the Foundation stage. Should he be glad or dismayed?

Lei Xiang lifted the jade bottle in his right hand, murmured an incantation, and watched as it shrank down instantly before tossing it into his storage pouch. This was a reward for his advancement—the heavenly thunder he had collected, especially the rare ball lightning at the end, a priceless treasure for future cultivation of the Divine Thunder Severance.

Lei Xiang descended slowly into his ruined cave, a wry smile on his face. This tribulation had not only destroyed his lair but also obliterated the precious Time-Value Array, causing him a pang of regret. Yet, recalling the item in his Spirit Fat Bottle, his mood quickly recovered.

The Immortal Scarlet-Preserving Pill!

This legendary elixir had truly been refined by Lei Xiang. The late Queen Qing, who had schemed for centuries to acquire the precious Reed and Aloe, along with the supporting ingredients and method for the pill, could never have foreseen that it would all end up in Lei Xiang’s hands. Having consumed one of these pills, Lei Xiang’s youthful appearance would never fade—no matter how many centuries pass, he would always look as he does now.

There were still seven Scarlet-Preserving Pills left in the Spirit Fat Bottle. One is all that is needed; the rest he intended as gifts, and there was one person in particular he most wished to give it to.

What delighted Lei Xiang even further was that, after advancing to late Foundation Establishment, he had successfully cultivated the fourth layer of Boundless Divine Sea—Nine Bulls and Two Tigers. Now, he could control eighteen magical tools at once and had mastered the basics of the Split Spirit Technique. Next, he could begin forging puppets and other constructs—truly a cause for joy.

But Lei Xiang sighed, for one major goal of this retreat had failed: his attempt to break through to the sixth layer of the Divine Treasure Mirror was unsuccessful. Thus, he made no progress in refining magical treasures, which was a heavy blow to his plans to reinforce the Shooting Immortal Spear in his palm. That would have to wait until he reached the sixth layer. For now, all he could do was reforge the Heavenly Crystal Bullets.

Steadying his mind, Lei Xiang set up a new forbidden array, then sat cross-legged and tossed out several storage bags. Materials of various colors floated into the air.

First, Lei Xiang grabbed a Heavenly Crystal, carefully crushing it with his five fingers and sprinkling the powder into a jade basin. Then, with three fingers, he pinched a small amount of Iron Tree shavings and added them to the mix. Next, he turned a small pouch upside down—an acrid, foul-smelling black liquid poured into the basin: the essence blood of a male and female Fubo. Finally, he scattered in fragments of the Mountain-Splitting Chalice.

He then drew out the Nine-Treasure Lotus Rod—like an embroidery needle at first, with a flick it grew to over a foot long and as thick as a rolling pin. Lei Xiang pressed one end into the basin, grinding and stirring the mixture meticulously several hundred times. Then, he activated the Xuantian Leaving Fire Array: pale blue flames leapt up, the air temperature soaring, and the mixture in the basin quickly melted into a paste.

With a twist of his fingers, Lei Xiang made the small basin spin rapidly, causing the paste inside to swirl. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the mixture had been shaped into nineteen paste balls. He pointed at one, sending it into the floating smelting furnace above the fire array. With a sizzle, green smoke rose as the ball began to refine—smelting, preliminary refinement, and purification compressed, recombined, and strengthened the paste into a thumb-sized pellet.

Channeling his spiritual power, a blue flame burst from Lei Xiang’s fingertip, enveloping the pellet. After another hour of ritual refinement, the thumb-sized pellet turned nearly transparent—a new Heavenly Crystal Bullet.

Repeating the process, he crafted nineteen such bullets. After a brief rest, Lei Xiang packed his belongings, preparing to seek that particular person. From his storage pouch, he took out a blue, diamond-shaped communicator—the farewell gift from Lan Xi. It was a single-use paging talisman, and Lei Xiang had always kept this backup plan in mind. Since Lan Xi could live among the Elves, she must know the way back to Dongyue Kingdom. This was his last resort.

Infusing it with spiritual power produced no change. Scratching his head, Lei Xiang was about to recite the incantation again when he sensed something odd behind him. Expanding his spiritual awareness, he discovered a blue crystal pattern had appeared on his back, almost identical to the communicator in his hand.

He raised the blue communicator high overhead, chanting a deep incantation. As the spell activated, the blue crystal communicator emitted a hum and vibrated, sending a faint beam of blue light into the sky.

Mounting his light, Lei Xiang left the Endless Mountains, flying in the direction indicated by Lan Xi’s gift. Who knows how many days he traveled before, above a boundless ocean, he suddenly felt a commotion from one of the spirit beast pouches at his waist.

He knew this particular pouch contained the Gluttonous Pig—a creature Lei Xiang never neglected, always feeding it spirit stones on schedule. Since its evolution, it had slept sweetly throughout their journey. Why was it restless today? Could it be mating season for it as well?

Or was there something unusual nearby?

Glancing into the distance, his eyes flickered blue—endless blue sea surrounded him, not a hint of land in sight. There was nothing for reference, and in such circumstances, even his blue vision was useless.