The Lightning Ancestor hesitated, not very pleased with how Bai Xiaochun was looking at him.
“Listen, ya old monkey. Times are different now. That technique of yours really isn’t that interesting. Think about it. The spiritual energy I’ve given you so far is like a drop in the ocean to me. If you want to be stingy, then you can go ahead and just keep wishing for my spiritual energy. Even if I get more, I won’t give you any!”
The Lightning Ancestor immediately started to get nervous. Smiling wryly, he sighed and thought, “Little punk! I guess it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re doing this on purpose…. Fine, you win!”
Although he had come to be a bit muddle-headed after all the years of confinement, if he couldn’t see what Bai Xiaochun was doing by this point, he didn’t deserve to have lived for so long.
No matter how he thought the matter over, there didn’t seem to be any other option for him. Besides, the spiritual energy he wanted so badly was under the complete control of Bai Xiaochun. And that couldn’t possibly be the handiwork of the Nine Heavens Cloud Lightning Sect.
Most importantly, although the Eleven Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformations was powerful, it didn’t seem likely that the Nine Heavens Cloud Lightning Sect’s demigod patriarch would hatch a plot this complicated to get it.
In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he had to praise Bai Xiaochun for doing things this way. After all, not only had he come to hold the Lightning Ancestor’s fate in his hands, but he had also manipulated his feelings perfectly. First he had done his work with the lightning, and had then hooked him and reeled him in with the lure of spiritual energy.
From beginning to end, he had controlled things masterfully.
After coming to all of these realizations, the Lightning Ancestor finally sighed and looked over at Bai Xiaochun.
“Ah, whatever,” he said. “Alright kid. I don’t need that much energy from the lightning. A hundred bolts will do. Enough to create a spirit seed inside of me!
“As far as my divine ability goes… well, listen up!” Eyes shining, he went on to explain the full mnemonic for the Eleven Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformations.
He didn’t hide any aspect of the technique. He explained it all in full. He acted like a true demigod, explaining everything in minute detail. After all, he was worried that Bai Xiaochun wouldn’t give him the one hundred lightning bolts he needed.
It was a valid concern. The Lightning Ancestor knew that when dealing with a moneybags like Bai Xiaochun, he needed to be generous.
Bai Xiaochun felt a bit embarrassed at how shameless he had been. Clearing his throat, he quickly fixed the Eleven Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformations mnemonic into his mind.
The more he studied it, the more excited he got, and by the time he finished, his eyes were shining brightly with excitement.
“Even right now, I can tell that it’s possible to combine it with my Sun-Moon Vast-Sky Incantation!!” Delighted, he started tossing lightning bolts in the dozens over to the Lightning Ancestor. He only stopped when he reached fifty.
Choosing not to hide anything, he politely explained his intentions. “I hope you can understand, Senior. I need to be cautious. I’ll give you the rest when I leave."
The Lightning Ancestor completely understood. Snorting, he closed his eyes and went about absorbing the spiritual energy from the lightning bolts and beginning work on his spirit seed.
At that point, Bai Xiaochun breathed a sigh of relief. It had been exhausting to both work on his cultivation and also figure out a way to get the divine ability from the Lightning Ancestor.
Now that he had succeeded, he could focus fully on consuming lightning and furthering his cultivation.
He had been incarcerated for about two months now, and during that time, had pushed his Sun-Moon Vast-Sky Incantation all the way from the first level to the third. His cultivation base had also progressed, and his aura was stronger, very close to the mid Deva Realm.
Anyone outside who heard that would be completely shocked, and also overcome with envy.
“Right now, I have two main goals. First is to break out of the third level of the Sun-Moon Vast-Sky Incantation, and thus step into the mid Deva Realm!
“After that… I need to cultivate the Eleven Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformations, and fuse it with the Sun-Moon Vast-Sky Incantation!” After taking a moment to examine the crescent moon that existed inside of himself, he sent his divine sense out and waited for the next lightning storm.
As the lightning bore down on him, he opened his mouth and inhaled deeply!
He breathed in with all his might, causing the lightning to distort as it headed into his mouth.
RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!
In one breath, he sucked in several hundred lightning bolts. Deafening crashing sounds filled him, and intense energy of heaven and earth began to course through him. The crescent moon glittered, and his Sun-Moon Vast-Sky Incantation pushed closer to breaking through.
“Just a bit more!” His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and then waved through the air in front of him. Hundreds more lightning bolts then shot toward him. Before long, an hour had passed.
At that point, the lightning in the area began to thin. Although Bai Xiaochun had consumed quite a bit of lightning this time around, when compared to the boundless amounts that had gathered, the number was not very significant.
Although he wasn’t thrilled that the lightning was fading away, he knew that it would come back in about four hours. That was how things had gone consistently throughout the past two months. All of a sudden, he realized that if he changed his method, he might be able to speed up his cultivation.
Having reached this point in his train of thought, he shot to his feet and performed another double-handed incantation gesture. His cultivation base immediately began to rotate at top speed, forming a huge vortex.
As the vortex spun and rumbled, a significant gravitational force spread out. He also opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, and threw in the powers of gravity and repulsion that he had researched so many years ago.
Before long, more than half of the dissipating lightning was actually moving toward him.
The intense rumbling sounds that resulted attracted the attention of the Lightning Ancestor, who opened his eyes, looked around, and gasped.
“What are you trying to do?!”
Bai Xiaochun had no attention to spare for the Lightning Ancestor. He kept his cultivation base rotating at top speed, drawing in hundreds of lightning bolts every time he opened his mouth.
As a result, his cultivation base continued to climb. Four hours passed, during which time he absorbed roughly ten percent of the total amount. At that point, a new lightning storm began to build.
After absorbing as much as he could from the new storm, the lightning began to dissipate, so he used the same method to force it to stay behind.
Because of that, a sea of lightning built up around him, fully 5 kilometers across, and terrifying to behold.
As for the Lightning Ancestor, he used a special technique to move his cell further away from Bai Xiaochun.
“This guy’s crazy! That’s not cultivation, that’s suicide!” Outside of the 5-kilometer lake of lightning, he looked back, heart trembling with fear.
Bai Xiaochun was also feeling very apprehensive. However, if you ride a tiger, it's hard to get off. Despite having dispelled his cultivation base vortex, the sea of lightning had reached critical mass, and begun to swirl on its own, and also attract more lightning to it.
“What did I do this time…?” he thought nervously. “Well, no time to worry about it now. Gotta absorb this lightning!”
Howling, he absorbed the lightning like mad, which caused massive amounts of spiritual energy to surge through him.
However, he could only breathe in a few hundred lightning bolts at a time, and had to close his mouth after doing so…. Therefore, there were still plenty of lightning bolts left to strike him!
He tried to dodge, but it was too little, too late….
Massive rumbling sounds could be heard as over 10,000 lightning bolts slammed into him, provoking an agonized shriek. There was simply no way for him to consume all of the lightning, and now it felt like the lightning was actually eating him!
The pain caused tears to spring out of his eyes. Even as he tried to dodge the lightning strikes, he realized that the massive influx of spiritual energy had pushed the Sun-Moon Vast-Sky Incantation toward the very limits of the third level!
His cultivation base rose rapidly, pushing him far beyond the early Deva Realm, and very close to the mid Deva Realm!
“Who cares about that!? My poor little life is the most important thing of all!” Trembling, he backed away from his original spot, but his movement tugged at the lake of lightning, causing an imbalance that sent tens of thousands of lightning bolts in his direction. A bloodcurdling scream rang out as they slammed into him.
Even as he screamed, his Sun-Moon Vast-Sky Incantation broke through, and his cultivation base climbed up into the mid Deva Realm!
Off in the distance, the Lightning Ancestor stared in complete shock.
“I guess times really have changed. Why are young people nowadays… so reckless in their cultivation?