241: Chapter 240 Heavenly Dao Entry: Thunder God

Hu Nan cupped his hands, his tone humble: "Thank you for the praise, Senior."

"Being able to take first place in the trial this time was merely a matter of luck."

Shen Guhong raised his hand and signaled to an attendant, who immediately brought a cup of clear tea and placed it before Hu Nan.

Shen Guhong said slowly: "Young friend, there is no need to be formal. I summoned you today simply because I appreciate your talent, with no other intentions."

Meanwhile, far away on the square, Qin Changsheng kept his Divine Sense locked onto Hu Nan's figure, closely monitoring the movements within the grand hall.

Initially, seeing Shen Guhong warmly receive Hu Nan, he didn't notice anything unusual, but at the moment Hu Nan stood up to express his thanks, Qin Changsheng's brow furrowed slightly.

Because he discovered that a new status had appeared on Hu Nan's panel.

[Curse: A special curse of the Yao Race. When breaking through to the Golden Core stage, a Heart Demon will inevitably erupt.]

The moment he saw this curse, Qin Changsheng understood everything.

This Shen Guhong was not a human Cultivator at all, but a member of the Yao Race!

The reason he had specifically summoned Hu Nan was not out of genuine appreciation, but to take the opportunity to place a curse on him.

Qin Changsheng knew in his heart that this curse was extremely sinister.

Once cursed, a Heart Demon would erupt during the Breakthrough to the Golden Core stage.

Qin Changsheng also understood why Shen Guhong would curse Hu Nan.

After all, Hu Nan was the top Prodigy on the Qingyun Ranking.

His strength and talent were both exceptionally high.

In the future, he would inevitably become a major threat to the Yao Race.

With this curse present, it would be impossible for Hu Nan to reach the Golden Core stage.

He might even die during Core Formation.

However, all of Shen Guhong's schemes were destined to fail.

Because Hu Nan was merely an External Incarnation.

His strength was entirely inherited from Qin Changsheng.

As long as Qin Changsheng broke through to the Golden Core stage, Hu Nan would also become a Golden Core Cultivator.

Furthermore, if Hu Nan were to commit suicide, the curse would vanish; it was essentially useless.

...

Time flew by like a weaver's shuttle, and in the blink of an eye, a year had quietly passed.

Over this past year, Qin Changsheng had cut off almost all external affairs, immersing himself entirely in bitter Cultivation.

After more than a year of bitter Cultivation, Qin Changsheng's Cultivation level had reached the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment.

[Name: Qin Changsheng]

[Lifespan: 38/+∞]

[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer (13,000/160,000)]

[Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Spirit Gathering Technique (Perfection)]

[Vajra Body Refining Art: Perfection]

[Spells: Fire Snake Technique (Perfection), Fire Shield Technique (Perfection)]

[Gale Sword Technique: Perfection]

[Sword Flight Technique: Perfection]

[Movement Technique: Wind Chasing Lightning Technique, Perfection]

[Lifebound Treasure: Dragon Abyss Sword*10]

[Spiritual Root: Top-grade Five Spirit Roots]

[trait Extraction Count: 1]

[traits: Storage Space, Immortality, Substitute Death, Breath Concealment, Exchange, Sword Heart Clarity, Sharing, Rebirth, Repair, Instant Spellcasting, Body Refining, Speed, Teleportation, Disease, Teleportation, Poison Resistance]

[Heavenly Dao Entries: Heavenly Dao - Cultivation, External Incarnation, Intelligence, Divine Sense, Source of Mana, Mana Absorption, Fire God]

This year of bitter Cultivation, though dull and monotonous, had been quite fruitful. Not only had his Cultivation level increased significantly, but his control over the Heavenly Dao Trait "Fire God" had also become increasingly adept. He could cast various Fire Spells at will, and their power far exceeded what they had been in the past.

At the same time, with a thought, Qin Changsheng extended his Divine Sense toward the Flowing Fire Sect, clearly seeing Wang Cheng's figure.

Over the past year, following his instructions, Wang Cheng had shed his former mystery. Relying on his strength as the second place on the Qingyun Ranking, he had successfully joined the Flowing Fire Sect and become a Named Disciple of the Flowing Fire Sect Leader, Shen Guhong.

With Wang Cheng as a mole, Qin Changsheng could easily obtain information about the Yao Race.

What made Qin Changsheng happiest now was not his Breakthrough to the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment.

Nor was it Wang Cheng's success in taking Shen Guhong as his master.

What made Qin Changsheng happiest was that a new year had arrived.

He could once again extract a new trait.

If this year's trait was powerful, Qin Changsheng could also enhance that Golden Trait into a Heavenly Dao Trait.

"Extract Golden Trait!" Qin Changsheng said.

As Qin Changsheng's voice fell, a golden light appeared on the attribute panel.

Within the golden light, countless phantom traits flickered rapidly and indistinctly. Accompanied by a slight humming sound, streaks of spiritual light flashed as if undergoing a final selection.

As the golden light faded, a golden glow appeared before Qin Changsheng.

[Lightning-type Spells]

With a thought, Qin Changsheng carefully checked the detailed information of the [Lightning-type Spells] trait. Descriptions of its characteristics clearly surfaced in his mind, each one extremely valuable, filling him with joy.

[1. Lightning Amplification: When controlling all Lightning-type Spells, lightning power is increased by 200%, and mana consumption is reduced by 30%.]

[2. Lightning Comprehension: When practicing Lightning-type Spells, Cultivation Speed is increased twofold, and the Speed of comprehending Lightning-type Spells is significantly enhanced.]

[3. Lightning Resistance: Immune to damage from low-rank Lightning-type Spells.]

[4. Synchronization: All of your Incarnations can use Lightning-type Spells.]

Looking at the description of Lightning-type Spells, Qin Changsheng's eyes were full of delight.

With these Lightning-type Spells, Qin Changsheng's strength would receive a massive boost.

Furthermore, when facing enemies, Qin Changsheng would no longer rely solely on Fire Spells for attacks.

The most important thing was that Qin Changsheng was about to push for the Golden Core stage.

After the Golden Core stage, there would be the Golden Core Lightning Tribulation.

With these Lightning-type Spells, Qin Changsheng's success rate in undergoing the tribulation would be greatly increased.

After reviewing the description of the Lightning-type Spells, Qin Changsheng's gaze turned toward his numerous traits.

During the Qingyun Ranking trials last year, Wang Cheng had obtained a heavenly dao fragment.

Qin Changsheng had not used that heavenly dao fragment yet.

Now that he had extracted the Golden Trait Lightning-type Spells,

today was the perfect time to enhance this Golden Trait Lightning-type Spells into a Heavenly Dao Trait.

"Enhance Lightning-type Spells!"

The moment Qin Changsheng's words fell, a condensed pillar of golden light, carrying wisps of purple electricity, flew straight toward the [Lightning-type Spells] trait on the attribute panel.

The golden pillar of light penetrated the panel and merged perfectly with the [Lightning-type Spells] trait. The Golden Trait, which originally only emitted faint purple electricity, was instantly enveloped by the power of the Heavenly Dao.

In the next instant, a notification sound rang out.

[Ding! Congratulations, you have successfully enhanced the Golden Trait Lightning-type Spells into the Heavenly Dao Trait: Thunder God.]

[Thunder God: Heavenly Dao Trait]

[1. Lightning Amplification: When controlling all Lightning-type Spells, lightning power is increased by 500%, and mana consumption is reduced by 80%.]

[2. Lightning Comprehension: When practicing Lightning-type Spells, Cultivation Speed is increased fivefold, and the Speed of comprehending Lightning-type Spells is significantly enhanced.]

[3. Lightning Resistance: Immune to all lightning Spell damage. Whether it is a lightning attack cast by an enemy or a Lightning Tribulation, neither can cause you any harm.]

[4. Evil-Breaking: Deals massive damage to demons, evil Cultivators, and Yao Race Cultivators.]

[5. Synchronization: Your Incarnations, Hu Nan and Wang Cheng, can also simultaneously obtain all the buffs of the Heavenly Dao Trait "Thunder God," Sharing all effects and increasing their combat power in sync.]

After reviewing the Heavenly Dao Trait: Thunder God, Qin Changsheng turned and walked to a prayer mat to sit down.

He closed his eyes, and his future path began to clearly unfold in his mind. Every step allowed for no mistakes; only by proceeding steadily could he establish a firm foothold and go further in this world of Dao competition.

The primary task was to find heavenly dao fragments.

Qin Changsheng knew in his heart that although the Golden Traits he had awakened within him each had their uses, their power was not very strong.

Only by using the power of heavenly dao fragments to upgrade them into Heavenly Dao Entries could Qin Changsheng's strength be significantly increased.

Secondly, he needed to find a top-tier lightning-type Cultivation Technique.

He had just tested the Heavenly Dao Trait [Thunder God]. Although he could draw upon the power of thunder, because he lacked a corresponding Cultivation Technique to support it, he could only clumsily activate it using the power of the entry itself. This greatly reduced its power, and he was even unable to fully control that violent thunder; a slight lapse could result in a backlash against himself.

The Heavenly Dao Trait [Thunder God] shared the same source as thunder. Only when paired with a compatible lightning Cultivation Technique could the entry's power be brought to its peak, allowing for precise control of thunder and the manifestation of ever-changing Lightning-type Spells.

Only those powerful lightning Cultivation Techniques could rapidly increase Qin Changsheng's strength.

Finally, the most urgent matter at hand was to find the Materials for refining a golden core pill.

Qin Changsheng was now at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment. To push for the Core Formation stage, a golden core pill was an indispensable item.

Refining a golden core pill was not easy, and the required Materials were all rare items. He had to find them as soon as possible.

With a wave of Qin Changsheng's hand, the Heavenly Dao Trait: Intelligence appeared on the attribute panel.

Qin Changsheng began to search for heavenly dao fragments, the qiankun token, and the Materials needed for Core Formation.

However, after searching for a long time, he did not find any treasures.

Within the Heavenly Sword Sect, there was only the qingling fruit in Jiang Hui's possession.