After being jilted by the saintess at the beginning, why is she crying?

Now that he is in the late Foundation Establishment stage, in terms of total spiritual power alone, he is no less than a cultivator in the Pseudo Core stage!

In addition, his physique is comparable to that of a second-tier body cultivator, and he also has the Purple Lightning Whip in hand—

Lin Fengmian was confident that he could even hold his own against a cultivator in the early stages of the Golden Core realm!

"It's done!"

Lin Fengmian smiled, stood up, and stretched his limbs.

His bones crackled and popped, and the power within his muscles made him feel lighter.

however--

Before he could even celebrate for long, reality dealt him a heavy blow.

He looked inward at his dantian, sensing the resources needed for another breakthrough, and was completely stunned.

"What...what the hell is this?"

Lin Fengmian's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

After breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, he once again sensed the amount of spiritual energy required to progress from the late Foundation Establishment stage to the Pseudo-Core stage—that is, the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

That's an astronomical figure!

This is several times more than the total amount from the early to the late stages of Foundation Establishment!

"Are you kidding me?!"

Lin Fengmian's lips twitched.

At his current cultivation speed, even with the support of the Spirit Sealing and Root Locking Technique and the spiritual energy from the jade pendant space, it would still take him at least several years to break through to the Pseudo-Core stage!

and--

This is only at the pseudo-elixir stage.

The resources required to progress from the False Core stage to the Golden Core stage are immeasurable!

What troubled him even more was—

In order to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he almost exhausted all the resources he had accumulated.

He harvested all the spiritual herbs in the spiritual field of the jade pendant space.

The spirit stones in the storage bag were almost gone.

He had already devoured the rare and precious materials he brought out from the secret realm.

"These resources could easily support ten late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators..."

Lin Fengmian gave a bitter smile.

But now, even if all the resources are poured into him alone, it will only barely allow him to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Five spiritual roots—

It's a fucking bottomless pit!

Fortunately-

At least it's a breakthrough.

Lin Fengmian took a deep breath, suppressing the frustration in his heart.

His cultivation level has improved, but his techniques are still far from perfect.

Most of the cultivation techniques he practices now are at least at the Earth Rank.

The Starfall Sword Manual is indeed profound and unfathomable, but it requires the use of sword formations. He currently does not have enough flying swords to unleash its full power.

The Yin-Yang Harmony Chapter is a dual cultivation technique, and he can't find a suitable dual cultivation partner right now—he can't very well go to Chu Qingyi, can he?

Lin Fengmian shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind.

He also needs a powerful combat technique.

Ideally, it should be of the lightning attribute, so it can complement his current lightning spiritual root.

"Got it."

With a thought, Lin Fengmian's consciousness once again entered the jade pendant space.

-

Frozen Cave Heaven.

White mist swirled, and spiritual energy surged like a tide.

Lin Fengmian appeared under the willow tree, his gaze falling on Li Bao, who was bound like a dumpling by chains of divine sense not far away.

At this moment, Li Bao looked as miserable as could be.

The remnant soul was so dim it was almost transparent, its spiritual light flickering faintly, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.

The two chains of divine consciousness were still tightly bound to him, and the runes on their surface lit up from time to time, keeping him in a state of slight burning, making it impossible for him to rest properly.

The torment of these two months has completely worn down this former Nascent Soul stage expert.

Upon seeing Lin Fengmian appear, Li Bao's remnant soul trembled violently and instinctively shrank back.

Lin Fengmian walked forward with a smile, squatted down in front of Li Bao, and spoke in a gentle tone as if he were exchanging pleasantries with an old friend:

"Mr. Li, how have you been here lately? Are you settling in well?"

Looking at the chilling smile on his face, Li Bao felt a chill run through him.

Whenever this young man makes that expression, it's never a good sign.

He quickly forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace, his voice so weak it was like a mosquito's hum:

"Hehe... young friend, I'm doing quite well here..."

"I wonder what brings you here, young friend?"

Lin Fengmian nodded, and without beating around the bush, went straight to the point:

"Now I also specialize in lightning spiritual roots, and my cultivation level has broken through."

He paused, his gaze sharpening.

"We're still missing a cultivation technique that grants the lightning elemental root."

"Do you have it?"

Upon hearing this, Li Bao's remnant soul trembled once more.

He opened his mouth, about to say something, when Lin Fengmian continued:

"Don't try to fool me with that defective product."

"Bring out everything you've been keeping hidden away."

The tone left no room for doubt.

It was as if they were giving orders, not discussing them.

Li Bao's lips twitched, and he cursed inwardly: This kid really doesn't hold back at all!

But he dared not refuse.

The torment he had endured for the past two months had made him realize that this young man in front of him was truly not going to be polite.

"Yes...yes!"

Li Bao quickly spoke, afraid that if he was too slow, the other party would attack again.

"Of course!"

"Young friend, I possess a supreme technique from Thunder Prison Mountain in the Spirit Realm—"

He paused, his tone tinged with arrogance.

"The Nine Heavens Purple Thunder Technique!"

Lin Fengmian raised an eyebrow: "What rank?"

Li Bao took a deep breath: "Mid-grade Heaven Rank!"

Lin Fengmian's pupils suddenly contracted.

Mid-grade Heavenly Rank?!

In the lower realms, even Earth-rank cultivation techniques are treasures that protect a clan or sect.

Heavenly-rank cultivation techniques—those are legendary!

Even the three major sects of Zhao Kingdom might not be able to produce a complete Heaven-rank cultivation technique!

And now, this old man in front of me actually said—

He possesses a mid-grade Heaven-rank cultivation technique?!

"The enemy who chased me back then coveted my cultivation technique and my lightning spiritual root."

Li Bao's voice was filled with hatred.

"The Zhao family of the Heavenly Thunder Sect, in order to obtain the 'Nine Heavens Purple Thunder Technique,' wiped out my entire family, hunted me down for decades, and even forced me to flee to the lower realm!"

"This is an irreconcilable feud!"

Lin Fengmian listened to his story, but his heart was not greatly moved.

In the world of cultivation, the law of the jungle prevails.

What he's more concerned about now is—

Just how powerful is this technique?

"Continue," Lin Fengmian said.

Li Bao suppressed the hatred in his heart and began to introduce:

"Upon mastering the Nine Heavens Purple Thunder Technique, one can summon the Nine Heavens Purple Thunder from the highest heavens to trap and kill enemies; its power is boundless!"

"Nine Heavens Purple Lightning—that's a level above ordinary heavenly lightning. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't last long if struck by it!"

Lin Fengmian's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Moreover—" Li Bao continued, "this supernatural power also has a companion spiritual artifact."

"A companion spirit artifact?" Lin Fengmian raised an eyebrow.

"That's right." Li Bao nodded. "While cultivating the Nine Heavens Purple Thunder Technique, you can refine a 'Purple Thunder Token' to nurture your natal spiritual weapon."

"The Purple Thunder Token not only amplifies the power of the Nine Heavens Purple Thunder, but also stores thunder energy, unleashing a strike far exceeding one's own cultivation level at crucial moments!"