Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

[Nine Heavens Divine Thunder: Experience +1]

[Nine Heavens Divine Thunder (Great Achievement): 315/400]

Inside the Enlightenment Cave, Wang Chen looked at the data displayed on the panel with satisfaction.

In his hand, he held a gray-white crystal.

This crystal was none other than a Thunder Crystal, refined from four thousand jin of Thunderstones. Over the days Wang Chen used it to aid in cultivating the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Technique, he had already gained nearly 300 experience points.

That's an average of 10 points a day!

This effect was much stronger than before. Find more to read at empire

After breaking through to the Great Achievement stage of the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Technique, the difficulty of cultivating it increased dramatically. No matter how hard Wang Chen tried, gaining 1 point of experience per day was already considered good.

At this rate, he would need to spend over a year to achieve another breakthrough in this Thunder Technique.

But the Creation Cauldron gave Wang Chen a surprise.

This treasured cauldron could actually refine Thunderstones into extremely high-quality Thunder Crystals. As long as he continued to absorb the Thunder Power contained within the crystal during cultivation, he could earn a steady stream of experience points.

What's most important was that, through such cultivation, Wang Chen's body became even more adapted to the power of thunder.

This meant his ability to withstand Thunder Magic had also increased.

Two birds with one stone!

Crack!

At this moment, the Thunder Crystal in Wang Chen's hand suddenly shattered into pieces, turning into countless specks of dust and scattering.

Its last bit of power had just been extracted by Wang Chen, fulfilling its purpose.

Wang Chen didn't mind this and took out a new Thunder Crystal from his Sumeru Ring.

This Thunder Crystal, refined from tens of thousands of jin of Thunderstones in the Creation Cauldron, was about the same size but contained two to three times the Thunder Power.

Wang Chen planned to push in one effort to cultivate the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Technique to the Grandmaster realm.

But he quickly put away the Thunder Crystal again.

Because Wang Chen remembered that today was the monthly exchange meeting.

Last time during the exchange meeting, Wang Chen discovered the remarkable use of the Creation Cauldron, which led him back to acquire a batch of high-quality Thunderstones, though the quantity was not very large.

Taking into account that after breaking through to the Grandmaster realm of the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Technique, the difficulty of cultivation might increase exponentially, it was necessary to stock up on a few refined Thunder Crystals in advance.

Wang Chen stood up, left the Enlightenment Cave, and went to the Yuan Cultivation Cave.

Today's Yuan Cultivation Cave was especially bustling, with many cultivators setting up stalls or treasure-hunting—many of whom were Outer Sect Disciples.

Thunder Island doesn't restrict a disciple's status; as long as the corresponding Merit Points are paid, anyone can come to the island to cultivate.

However, the Enlightenment Caves of Furious Thunder, Wild Thunder, and Violent Thunder Peaks are only available for Inner Sect Disciples to rent. Cultivators who can't rent them can only find their own places on the island to practice in seclusion.

And the Yuan Cultivation Cave is a place open to everyone.

The lowest level's Cultivation Chambers are also unrestricted.

Wang Chen had a clear purpose for visiting the Yuan Cultivation Cave this time. He found an empty spot at the corner and hung up a sign for purchasing high-quality Thunderstones.

The price was still one Low Spirit Stone per jin.

In just the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, a group of Outer Sect Cultivators gathered in front of Wang Chen's stall.

One of the cultivators, a delicate-looking female cultivator, timidly asked, "Senior Brother, I have thirty jin of Thunderstones, will you buy them?"

Thunderstones are common on Thunder Island, a renewable resource and a cheap consumable.

Many Outer Sect Disciples who come to the island will dig some up, keeping it for cultivating Thunder Magic or trading it for Spirit Rice and other things.

There are hardly a few who set up stalls like Wang Chen to buy them in large quantities.

Wang Chen nodded, "I'll buy."

The delicate female cultivator immediately took out a large chunk of Thunderstone, and happily received thirty Low Spirit Stones.

The Yuan Cultivation Cave was neither too small nor too big, yet news of Wang Chen's successful trades quickly spread.

Therefore, more cultivators flocked over.

They had all dug up Thunderstones and were carrying some with them. Hearing that Wang Chen was purchasing here, some came out of curiosity to watch the excitement, while others wanted to buy some Spirit Stones to spend.

Wang Chen's business suddenly boomed!

In fact, the "wealth disparity" within the Sect was enormous. Direct descendants of Rich Families would generously pay high premiums when bidding for Thundercores without the slightest heartache.

There were also disciples from humble backgrounds or Loose Cultivators who had joined, who were extremely thrifty, saving wherever possible.

Descendants of Noble Clans would never dare to risk getting struck by lightning to collect something like Thunderstones.

But it was different for poverty-stricken Outer Sect disciples.

The Thunderstones Wang Chen bought mainly came from their Storage Bags.

Because many wished to sell, Wang Chen only accepted high-quality stones and rejected the medium-quality ones.

Some Outer Sect disciples emptied their reserves yet still wanted more, asking, "Senior brother, will you still be buying in the future? I can go dig for more."

What's a lightning strike or hard work in comparison to the difficulty of earning Spirit Stones!

After some thought, Wang Chen answered, "I'm only buying today, we'll see about the future."

He had already collected around fifty to sixty thousand jin of high-quality Thunderstones, which was more than enough to cultivate the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Technique to the Great Perfection level.

In fact, Wang Chen could have bought Thunderstones without limit, refining them into high-quality Thunder Crystals to make a profit from the price difference.

But the source of these Thunder Crystals wouldn't be easy to explain and might bring unexpected trouble.

Plus, he wasn't currently lacking in Spirit Stones, so he quickly abandoned that thought.

As for today, he would take as much as he could gather.

Even though Wang Chen was open to buying, the Thunderstones in the hands of these Outer Sect disciples weren't unlimited. After collecting about a hundred thousand jin or so, there weren't many people left in front of his stall.

Wang Chen figured it was about time, just as he was about to pack up, a short and stout cultivator came over to inquire, "Do you buy Thunder Crystals?"

Thunder Crystals?

Wang Chen hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What quality?"

The stout cultivator took out a large piece of blue-purple crystal, "Medium to high quality."

Wang Chen, "At what price?"

The Inner Sect Disciple answered with a smile, "Ten Middle Spirit per jin."

Like Thunderstones, Thunder Crystals were also priced by weight, and his offer was essentially one thousand times the price of Thunderstones.

Wang Chen immediately lost interest, "Forget it."

Of course, Thunder Crystals were much better than Thunderstones, but why should Wang Chen spend a high price on medium to high-quality Thunder Crystals when he could refine high-quality ones from cheap Thunderstones?

He wouldn't mind buying them at a low price to try and refine them further.

Hearing Wang Chen's refusal, the stout cultivator frowned, "Junior brother, cultivating Thunder Magic with Thunder Crystals is much better than with Thunderstones. High-quality Thunderstones are trash in comparison!"

Wang Chen shook his head, "Can't afford it."

Can't afford it?

The stout cultivator didn't believe it, for he had just seen Wang Chen purchasing several tens of thousands of jin of Thunderstones.

He probed, "Do you have a way to cultivate Thunder Magic with Thunderstones?"

Wang Chen laughed, "Just pile them up in the Enlightenment Cave, that's all."

The stout cultivator gave Wang Chen a deep, enigmatic look.

Without saying a word, he turned and left.

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The first update is here.