Chapter 438: Old Jin’s Foundation Establishment |
The Thunder Gold Kui possessed little innate lightning power to begin with. Drained by the relentless consumption, its reserves ran dry, and it quickly lost the strength to resist.
Jiang Chen remained unmoved, pouring his Magic Power into the creature in an endless stream. With the Five Elements generating each other in an endless cycle within his Dantian, his reserves were vast; he had no fear of exhausting himself.
As time passed, the slender horn atop the Thunder Gold Kui’s head began to shimmer with intertwined patterns of golden lightning.
At first, the light flickered, faint and fragile.
Gradually, the glow grew sharp and distinct, until the radiant patterns stabilized completely.
Jiang Chen focused his mind, and the creature’s attributes surfaced in his vision.
Thunder Gold Kui
Potential: 10
Intimacy: Life Contract
Current Realm: 50 Years
Remaining Lifespan: 283 Years
Effect 1:
Friction with the air during movement leaves pale golden afterimages; speed reaches one hundred zhang per breath.
Effect 2:
The single horn can pierce high-grade Spirit Weapons, low-grade Magical Artifacts, golden lightning shields, and solid bedrock.
Effect 3:
Extremely sensitive to spiritual fluctuations; can lock onto spiritual trajectories within a hundred-li radius.
Effect 4:
Autonomously seeks out deeply buried mineral veins, such as lightning ore and gold veins, marking them for a set duration.
Effect 5:
Unleashes a ten-zhang thunder-gold storm centered on itself. The vortex is filled with high-speed rotating thunder-gold needles, each piercing five times per breath to shatter enemy defenses.
Effect 6:
Within a lightning environment, movement and attack speeds temporarily increase by half. Attacks gain a penetrating effect alongside defense-shattering properties.
Special Effect 1:
Body swells to two zhang. The single horn transforms into a Trident Thunder Gold Halberd, and wings become Thunder Light Wings. Movement and attack speeds double for the duration of one incense stick.
Weakness 1: Fear of Cold, Speed Impairment
Weakness 2: High-Frequency Backlash
Weakness 3: Thunder Gold Dependency
Jiang Chen’s eyes lit up as he reviewed the creature’s traits. “Good heavens. No wonder insect cultivators dream of obtaining such a rare variant.”
Truthfully, even its most basic abilities were extraordinary.
Not to mention the special trait that temporarily surged its combat strength.
Once a master achieved Unity with their spirit insect, they too would inherit this explosive power.
The most terrifying aspect, however, was that the Thunder Gold Kui was still merely a larva.
Once it evolved into an adult, its strength and abilities would skyrocket, transforming it into a true nightmare.
The little creature finally ceased its struggling. Bound by their shared mental link, it fluttered down and landed obediently in his palm.
Jiang Chen lowered his head, studying it closely. Through their bond, he could feel the faint thrum of its thoughts and emotions.
Its internal lightning power was utterly spent; it radiated a ravenous hunger, desperate for nourishment.
The only flaw of this beast was its heavy reliance on thunder and metal-attribute energies. It required daily absorption, or its growth would stagnate entirely.
For Jiang Chen, however, this was hardly a challenge.
He had made a fortune in the Return to Ruins Secret Realm, securing hundreds of thousands of Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
Furthermore, he already possessed an artifact brimming with lightning power.
Was not one of the core abilities of the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat to unleash lightning?
Its intensity was fierce enough to incinerate ordinary water demons and sea monsters.
Given the Thunder Gold Kui’s minuscule size, it could gnaw on the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat for ten thousand years without draining it.
With a flick of his wrist, Jiang Chen summoned the long-dormant Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat.
Ever since it devoured the flesh and blood essence of the Mirage Dragon, the vessel had been in a deep slumber.
He wondered just how much it had evolved during its rest.
Yet, when the Thunder Dragon Water-Repelling Boat materialized before him, Jiang Chen stared in stunned silence.
Its physical form had undergone a drastic metamorphosis.
The Mirage Dragon’s essence had fused seamlessly with the vessel’s lightning power. The once-ferocious silhouette of the half-dragon warship was now veiled in a flowing, illusory haze.
A hazy gray mist drifted over the blue-purple lightning patterns etched into its scaled armor.
The dragon figurehead’s eye sockets no longer burned with pure lightning; instead, its pupils were forged of silver arcs wrapped in swirling gray fog.
The hull itself had lost its fixed shape, shifting and rippling to mimic its surroundings.
Here in his portable space, it instantly adopted the exact colors and textures of the environment, perfectly simulating the nearby Spirit Farm and its glowing crops.
At a glance, it was entirely indistinguishable from the landscape-a seamless extension of the earth itself.
Mirage Thunder Dragon Boat
Effect 1: Supreme Lightning Control
Effect 2: Supreme Water Control
Effect 3: Environmental Mimicry
Effect 4: Thunder-Phantom Fusion
Effect 5: Devour and Evolve
Special Effect 1: Thunder-Water Lock, Phantom Trace Positioning
Special Effect 2: Thunder Dragon’s Wrathful Breath, Phantom Form Impact
Special Effect 3: Thunder Light Concealment, Phantom Qi Cloaking
Special Effect 4: Conductive Feedback, Phantom Injury Backlash
Special Effect 5: Mirage Thunder Domain, Phantom Realm Lethality
Not only had its foundational abilities been vastly strengthened, but it had also awakened a terrifying new domain-type special effect.
As expected, the manifestation of the Mirage Thunder Dragon Boat instantly captivated the Thunder Gold Kui. The insect buzzed its wings and darted toward the vessel.
It latched onto the hull, greedily devouring the crackling lightning power.
Had it been any other creature, the Mirage Thunder Dragon Boat would have reduced it to ash in a heartbeat.
But through its mental link with Jiang Chen, the ship recognized the larva as an ally. Though clearly displeased at being treated as a feeding trough, the artifact spirit restrained its wrath.
Jiang Chen chuckled softly at the sight. “Looks like you’ve met your match.”
Mirage Thunder Dragon Boat: “…”
After observing them for a while longer, Jiang Chen stepped out of his portable space.
For now, he would raise the little creature in secret. It would only see the outside world once it evolved into an adult.
Returning to his bedroom, he glanced out the window. The invasive, mystical snow was still falling, showing no signs of stopping.
Fortunately, most of the Spirit Farm was shielded by Warm Sun Arrays. These desperate sanctuaries of light pushed back the encroaching death, ensuring his crops would survive the short term.
…
…
In the days that followed, Jiang Chen ventured out into the biting cold once a day.
Riding the Shattered Moon Flowing Frost, he meticulously patrolled every acre of the Spirit Farm. Any sign of frostbite or array failure was immediately reported.
It wasn’t until the seventh day of the relentless snowfall that a sliver of good news finally arrived.
“Old Jiang, guess why I suddenly came looking for you?”
“Foundation Establishment?”
“How did you know?”
“Given the current situation, only two things could possibly make you this happy.”
“Which two?”
“One is securing a monopoly on all the spirit beast dung in Beast Mountain. The other is reaching Foundation Establishment!”
“Ah, you know me too well! I’ve finally established my foundation!”
For Jin Fugui, burdened with mutually restraining Spirit Roots, this breakthrough had been a grueling ordeal.
His Foundation Pill needed to perfectly balance both elemental affinities; even the slightest imbalance would have triggered a catastrophic failure.
This was precisely why, despite reaching Qi Condensation Perfection first, he had been surpassed by Tie Zhu and his pure earth Spirit Root.
Mutually restraining Spirit Roots were a curse, spawning endless complications during realm breakthroughs, technique cultivation, and even Heavenly Tribulations.
Jiang Chen immediately extended an invitation. “Grab Old Mo and come over to my place for a meal. We need to celebrate!”
Jin Fugui sighed helplessly. “Old Mo is missing!”
