Chapter 39: Shaoyang Thunder Method

“Senior Brother, I often feel powerless when fighting demons and monsters. I lack strong Dao Spells to finish them off. Could you perhaps teach me something?”

Ye Rong, even after gaining a Fourth-Rank Magic Treasure, wasn’t satisfied. He pestered Senior Brother Chen Taizhen, hoping to squeeze out more benefits.

This Senior Brother Chen Taizhen was the chief disciple of Qingcheng Sect’s third generation. Even a single hair plucked from him would be thicker than any Player’s waist.

“Hmm, with your current strength facing these chaotic times, the spells you know are indeed a bit too few.”

Chen Taizhen’s expression was serious. He thought for a long time before finally speaking.

“Our Qingcheng Sect is not without powerful spells. But they can’t be taught unless one makes outstanding contributions to the Sect and proves their unwavering commitment to the Dao under the Elders’ scrutiny. However, with unnatural signs appearing everywhere, demons rising from all directions, even the Ancestor of the Celestial Realm sent an edict ordering us to open our doors wide and accept disciples. And you, being our Master’s direct disciple… Passing one spell to you early shouldn’t be a problem.”

Ye Rong’s face lit up with joy. Among the disciples of Far Shore, Qingcheng spells weren’t considered top-tier, but that depended on who you compared them to.

Compared to Emei and Kunlun, they were indeed somewhat lacking. But set against countless third-rate sects, it was more than enough reason to feel proud.

System Notification: Patriarch of Five Peaks, Chen Taizhen, wishes to teach you the Shaoyang Thunder Method. Accept?

Wow, the Shaoyang Thunder Method!

Ye Rong hurriedly clicked to accept. He never imagined the powerful spell Chen Taizhen mentioned would be the Shaoyang Thunder Method.

The Shaoyang Thunder Method was famed as the fastest casting Thunder Method in Far Shore. Its power wasn’t the most outstanding, and it didn’t have many extra effects. But its advantage lay in being easier to cultivate early on, allowing one to master its essentials faster.

Although its power wasn’t comparable to Emei’s Purple Mansion Divine Thunder or Kunlun’s Primordial Yi Metal Divine Thunder, it was still a spell that required the Qingcheng Qi Refining Method to be cultivated to a very high level to learn.

With Ye Rong currently only on the first layer of the Qingcheng Qi Refining Method, learning the Shaoyang Thunder Method this early gave him a game progress lead of several months. How could he not be excited?

“Wait a minute, something’s wrong!”

Shaoyang Thunder Method (Incomplete), Qingfu Jade Script, Golden Tadpole Spirit Text – Genuine Thunder Method. Attack Power 360-380, Attack Range 500 meters, Instantaneous Arrival. Cooldown Time: 5 minutes. Special Status: Cannot be upgraded. Limited to one use per day.

“I will teach you the Shaoyang Thunder Method first. However, you still need profound future cultivation. You must truly study it properly within the Ancestral Hall later to grasp the Thunder Method’s full potential!”

Damn it! I knew the System wouldn’t allow such a big loophole, just giving away such a massive benefit!

With such severe restrictions, the Shaoyang Thunder Method’s usefulness was reduced countless times. The whole point of this Thunder Method was its lightning-fast release frequency. If it had been something like Emei’s Purple Mansion Divine Thunder – which naturally had an extremely long cooldown but terrifying power – Ye Rong could have realistically used it as a secret weapon against bosses.

Oh well, oh well. Having a crippled version of the Shaoyang Thunder Method was still something. He’d just treat it as a hidden ace up his sleeve.

Leaving the Five Peaks Residence, Ye Rong thought for a moment and headed for the peak of Mount Qingcheng. Since becoming a Formal Disciple, many more Sect buildings had become open to him. But he’d been busy leveling up the whole time and hadn’t had a chance to explore properly.

The Qingcheng Alchemy Hall was actually a series of over ten connected buildings. Besides selling various pills, if Formal Disciples acquired the alchemy skill, they could also rent alchemy rooms and equipment here to practice pill-making.

The NPCs in the Alchemy Hall were all Qingcheng servants, each of them over Level 60. However, they were all only ordinary grade. Yet when they saw Ye Rong, everyone was extremely enthusiastic. His status as a Third-Generation Disciple was vastly higher than theirs.

The highest grade of pills Ye Rong’s current permissions allowed him to buy was seventh tier. However, high-tier pills weren’t always available and refreshed constantly. Right now, the highest available were several sixth-tier ones:

Purple Gold Pill, Sixth Tier Pill. Consumed instantly restores 2000 points each of Qi and Blood Energy. Cost: 120 taels of silver per pill.

Chaos Origin Rebirth Pill, Sixth Tier Pill. Consumed instantly removes any Tier 3 or below negative status effect and restores 500 points each of Qi and Blood Energy. Cost: 150 taels of silver per pill.

Great pills, but terrifyingly expensive prices. Even with the fifty percent discount, it was completely unaffordable for Ye Rong at this stage.

Hanxiu Peak also had a Hidden Sword Pool. The guarding NPC there was actually a Crimson Red Ape over ten feet tall. Unwanted junk could be sold to it here. It also sold Flying Swords. Starter Villages typically sold Tier 1 Divine Weapons from general stores. Main Cities had Tier 2 Divine Weapons available at blacksmiths. Yet at the Hidden Sword Pool, you could even find Third-Grade Immortal Weapons as options.

Ye Rong glanced at the two Third-Grade Immortal Weapons. Their attributes were actually worse than his Taixuan Ice Soul Sword, but their price was a staggering twenty taels of gold.

Priced like that, even if Third-Grade Immortal Weapons were rare, who could actually afford them?

Once Far Shore ran for a while longer, and the top players’ levels increased, naturally, large numbers of Third-Rank Flying Swords would be discarded.

By then, the prices of low-grade Flying Swords and Magic Treasures wouldn’t be anywhere as ridiculously expensive as they were now.

This pricing also shattered Ye Rong’s idea of flipping a batch of Third-Rank Flying Swords for real-world cash. Damn, twenty taels of gold? Even if you sold him by weight, he wouldn’t be worth that much.

Curiously, the Crimson Red Ape actually offered a task Ye Rong could accept. He immediately took it.

Sword Refining Mission: Help the Crimson Red Ape collect a single Dizzying Water Essence Pearl. In return, the ape will upgrade one Immortal Weapon at Fourth Tier or below by one Tier. For a Fifth Tier Immortal Weapon, it will significantly enhance its power, making it the strongest within its tier.

“Alright! This task is great, ha! Looks like there are plenty of things within the Sect I still don’t know about. I need to explore more.”

Ye Rong had no idea what a Dizzying Water Essence Pearl was or where to find one. But that was okay, because this Sword Refining Mission had no time limit.

A Fifth Tier Immortal Weapon represented a real upgrade in firepower – leagues beyond the Taixuan Ice Soul Sword he currently held. Stepping into mid-grade sword territory, if its attributes were strong, it could serve him well for a long time.

Happily accepting the mission, Ye Rong continued towards the front halls, taking in all the buildings on Mount Qingcheng.

“Such magnificent scenery! Such exquisite craftsmanship, ha!”

Various halls and pavilions stood in rows. Towering structures layered with green tiles rose up, staggered and winding. Carved pillars decorated with paintings, coated in red lacquer and gold dust – it was grand and spectacular, countless times more imposing than any famous historic site in the real world.

It was just that right now, these places still belonged to NPCs, not the vast Players.

Ye Rong felt a wild ambition start to sprout deep in his heart:

One day, he would step inside these halls as their master. He’d force all those lofty, high-ranking NPC big shots to become his minions. Half he would send off to grind experience points for him, the other half he’d set loose to hunt down any Player that annoyed him!