Chapter 250: 42: Oh? Are you feeling shy?

East of the Kunlun Mountain Range, in the Chitai Market, there lies a tavern.

“Senior Brother Qiu does have a taste for elegance,” Qiu Changtian said slowly.

The person sitting across the wine table was the successor to Chonghe True Person’s Daoist inheritance, the elderly Daoist who had previously been rescued from the depths of Mount Tianmu by Ling Yunpo and Senior Sister An.

“Cough.” The elderly Daoist drained the cup of wine in one gulp and said with a smile, “Who would have thought that in today’s Kunlun Sect, there would still be those willing to practice the Thunder Method.”

“Cultivating the Thunder Method is fraught with huge hidden dangers,” Qiu Changtian said warmly, “If I didn’t have Daoist Heart Clarity, I wouldn’t dare to delve into it lightly.”

Senior Brother Qiu’s words are very true,” the elderly Daoist nodded.

The two then talked about knowledge related to the Thunder Method.

What surprised Qiu Changtian was that although the elderly Daoist’s realm was modest, the theoretical foundation of his Thunder Method was unexpectedly solid.

However, other than Shenxiao Thunder, Chonghe True Person did not leave behind much Daoist inheritance. For the past few decades, this elderly Daoist had nothing else to do but study the Thunder Method, so it was only natural that he had a solid foundation.

“I do have a question I wish to ask Senior Brother Zhang,” said Qiu Changtian modestly, “Among the Ten Thunders, Jade Pivot, Shenxiao, and Great Hollow are the lower three; Immortal Capital, North Pole, and Tai Yi are the middle three; Purple Mansion, Yu Chen, and Tai Xiao are the upper three; and ultimately the supreme Divine Thunder of Tai Ji.”

“According to the Thunder Method’s general principles, these ten thunders can be divided into lower, middle, upper, and supreme four Ranks, but in my view, the lower three and the upper-middle thunders each have their own characteristics and there is no distinction of superiority or inferiority.”

“Then why are these three lower and three middle thunders defined in this way?”

“Senior Brother Qiu’s question is indeed thoughtful,” said the elderly Daoist with a laugh, “These lower and middle thunders… do not pertain to the power of the Thunder Method, but to its rarity.”

“Rarity?” Qiu Changtian asked in surprise.

“Indeed, rarity begets value, and the less there is, the more people want it. It has always been so since ancient times,” the elderly Daoist stroked his beard and said, “Jade Pivot, Shenxiao, Great Hollow are known as the lower three because, in ancient times, these three types of Thunder Methods were the most widely spread, and even Loose Cultivators without a Thunder Method lineage could also manage to learn a thing or two.”

“And the reason these three types of Thunder Method were spread is tied to the three ancient disasters.”

“The three disasters?” Qiu Changtian pondered, “Does it refer to ‘heavens shattering, earth cracking, and demons running rampant’?”

“Exactly those disasters,” the elderly Daoist tapped the table lightly, “When the heavenly dome shattered, there were frequent invasions by Demon Heads from outside, moving between worlds as if passing through a door left open; it wasn’t until Nuwa forged the Heaven-Mending Stones that the cataclysm was fully resolved.”

“Before heaven was mended, how did human Cultivators combat the Heavenly Demons? They focused on the Great Hollow Thunder, which was specialized against Heavenly Demons.”

“Likewise: With the Nine Provinces cracked, meddlesome Nether Ghosts emerged from beneath Huangquan. Before Shennong cast the Shennong Cauldron to suppress the Earth Veins of the Nine Provinces, humans relied on Jade Pivot Thunder to exterminate Nether Ghosts.”

“After mending the heavens and suppressing the earth, the protracted battles between humans and the Demon Race began. Shenxiao Thunder, which was extremely effective against Demons, immediately stood out, with nearly all major Sects having their scripture scrolls. It wasn’t until Fuxi forged the Tai Yin and Tai Yang pair of swords, cutting down Demons as if they were rotting wood, and drove all the Demon races into the Eastern Emperor Realm, that Shenxiao Thunder lost its place of use and gradually ceased to be passed down.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I see,” Qiu Changtian had an epiphany, “Cultivating Thunder Method is arduous and perilous, the threshold is too high. It can only flourish when faced with natural disasters and calamities.”

“Or, like Senior Brother Qiu, who has exceptional talent and regards the difficulty of Thunder Method cultivation as nothing, can also cultivate it,” the elderly Daoist complimented, “Now that you have become Daoist Companions with the Phoenix Immortal, it truly makes one envious.”

“Cough.” Qiu Changtian modestly said a few words, feeling helpless in his heart.

Previously, when he had helped Junior Sister Xu escape the marriage, the result was a great increase in her fondness for him—even earning a kiss.

The trouble was that this kiss wasn’t a result of Junior Sister Xu’s careful deliberation, but the release of emotions from long confinement; a moment where her feelings got the better of her.

By the next day, Xu Yinglian abruptly cooled down from her passion, and what followed was an endless tide of shame, wishing she could travel back to the day before, find her earlier self who had taken the initiative to kiss Senior Brother, and slap her fiercely eighteen times, both left and right, while shouting, “How could you be so lacking in restraint!”

She might even indulge in wild speculation, thinking that Senior Brother would take it as “Junior Sister must be deeply infatuated with me, which is why she took the initiative to kiss,” “Ah, this Junior Sister is too sentimental, so easily pleased with such a small gesture,” “Not only is Junior Sister behind in cultivation, but now she has also lost to me in terms of charm.”

Lost to me in charm…

Lost to me…

Lost…

Therefore, when Qiu Changtian went to Junior Sister Xu’s cave dwelling the next day, he discovered that she had already left early in the morning to cultivate.

On the third day, he went to the entrance of the sister’s cave dwelling to discuss music, only to find that she had already left again.

On the fourth day, he went early in the morning to stake out and, sure enough, he caught the junior sister leaving her cave dwelling at the hour of Yin.

Xu Yinglian flew on her sword all the way to the Extreme West, an expansive and desolate place with no human inhabitants, making it an excellent location for Kunlun Cultivators to practice Daoist Magic.

She landed in a certain valley and began with practicing the Great Bright Fire, completely melting a large area of the surrounding rock.

After resting for a while, she seemed to think of something and, grinding her teeth furiously, drew the Feather Jia Sword to vent her feelings by chopping wildly at the rock face.

Qiu Changtian followed behind and watched apprehensively, wondering if Junior Sister Xu had succumbed to a Heart Demon.

Thinking this, he rushed over to stop her, but when Xu Yinglian saw him, she immediately turned and fled.

Qiu Changtian chased her for dozens of miles until she shouted indignantly, “Stop following me,” and then he suddenly understood.

It wasn’t a Heart Demon, but embarrassment…

“Senior Brother Qiu?” the old Daoist asked softly.

“It’s nothing,” Qiu Changtian returned from his thoughts and said smilingly, “I just remembered some things.”

This junior sister is too embarrassed to see me; chasing after her will only backfire.

It’s better to let her cool down for a while.

“By the way,” Qiu Changtian took out a cone from his storage bag and placed it on the table, “Daoist Zhang, do you recognize this object?”

The old Daoist stared at the cone with furrowed brows without reaching for it, instead carefully scanning it over several times with his gaze.

Suddenly, he noticed the Immortal Seal Script inscribed on the side of the cone and said uncertainly,

“Could this be Thor’s Awl?”

“Thor’s Awl?” Qiu Changtian asked in surprise, thinking the name seemed rather common.

As is well known in this Cultivation World, the majority of orthodox Daoist artifacts and techniques bear names that essentially stack buffs.

For instance, the “Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra” indicates origins from the Immortal Realm with “Nine Heavens,” purity from transforming the turbid with “Clear Entrance,” and signifies that one can achieve Dao with this technique… The more prefixes it has, the higher the level, denoting a typically higher rank.

However, there are exceptions, such as certain Spiritual Treasures linked to the Immortal Realm, whether Innate or Acquired, with names that are extremely succinct, like the Kunlun Mirror, Qing Ping Sword, Heaven-overturning Seal, and so on.

Could this Thor’s Awl be something similar?

“Legend has it that in ancient times, there was an old great Sect called ‘Donghua Sect,’ which mastered the cultivation secret technique of the Tai Xiao Thunder, one of the three Supreme Thunders,” the old Daoist said cautiously. “Tai Xiao Thunder is profound and obscure, rumored to possess the power to destroy worlds. Human Cultivators need exceptional talent to master it, initially requiring the aid of Thor’s Awl to release and gradually learn to adapt.”

“From this, it seems that Thor’s Awl was probably a specialized magic artifact used to learn Tai Xiao Thunder… Later, as the Donghua Sect declined in the ancient last era, both Tai Xiao Thunder and Thor’s Awl disappeared without a trace.”

“If Senior Brother Qiu could search the place where Thor’s Awl was found, perhaps you could find a trace of Tai Xiao Thunder,” he suggested.

“I see. Thank you, Daoist friend,” Qiu Changtian secured Thor’s Awl properly and thought to himself:

This Thor’s Awl was obtained last time from the secret realm of Western Queen Mother of the Divine Flame Path.

Could Tai Xiao Thunder be there as well?

Unfortunately, the secret realm requires Golden Core Cultivators to enter for trial; I’ll have to pay attention for now.