Chapter 88: Blood Spirit Thorn
Time flowed by, and undercurrents surged within Tianxuan City.
Inside his cave dwelling, Lin Changan, as usual, spent his days drawing talismans to earn spirit stones and cultivating.
"So this is the power of a top-grade magical artifact!"
Amid the cold green glow, the newly upgraded Green Bamboo Sword easily sliced through hard spirit stones, greatly satisfying Lin Changan.
The Green Bamboo Sword, fused with the forelimbs of the Ironback Mantis Demon, had advanced into the ranks of top-grade magical artifacts.
As for the other parts of the Ironback Mantis Demon, they weren’t as hard as the forelimbs, and only a green armor was forged—an upper-grade defensive artifact.
Though the Green-Horned Ox had thick skin and flesh, it still couldn't compare to defensive spirit pets like the Xuan Shui Turtle. With this set of green armor, its defense increased significantly.
He himself had two upper-grade defensive magical artifacts but lacked a top-grade one.
"I didn’t expect such a huge gap between top-grade and upper-grade magical artifacts."
After pondering carefully for a moment, Lin Changan secretly nodded. It wasn’t just the strength of the spiritual power they could bear—the hardness and sharpness were entirely on another level.
If an upper-grade artifact clashed head-on with a top-grade one, it would likely be broken after just a few strikes.
"No wonder top-grade magical artifacts are considered a symbol of Foundation Establishment cultivators."
With a sigh, Lin Changan manipulated the Green Bamboo Sword within the cave dwelling as if it were his own limb. After becoming proficient, he stored it into his storage pouch.
"I now possess a second-rank spirit pet, the Green-Horned Ox, and a top-grade magical artifact, the Green Bamboo Sword. My strength is far beyond what it was before."
Deep in thought, Lin Changan considered: spirit pets, magical artifacts, formations, and spells—these four external factors directly influenced combat strength, and he already had two of them.
As for second-rank formations, they were currently beyond his reach. Apart from the cost, there were none available on the market right now.
Even within the three major sects, second-rank formations were reserved for inner sect disciples only.
This too was a form of monopoly by those in power.
The remaining three—spirit pets and magical artifacts—he temporarily had already.
"That leaves only spells."
Lin Changan frowned. The Foundation Establishment spells available in Tianxuan City were all ordinary, offering little enhancement to his strength.
"Wood Spirit Thorn was powerful enough during the Qi Refining Stage to easily threaten cultivators of the same level. But after reaching Foundation Establishment, it's clearly lacking. Even with a top-grade flying needle artifact, it doesn’t possess the same awe-inspiring power it once had."
At that moment, Lin Changan raised his hand, and four flying needles used during the Qi Refining Stage appeared before him. Since his breakthrough, he had spent considerable effort researching them.
Though their power wasn’t bad, it couldn’t reach the level where they could easily threaten same-level cultivators as before.
"From what Yun Yao said, this minor spell was created by a predecessor of Lihuo Palace a hundred years ago. He dominated during the Qi Refining Stage, but never refined this spell after reaching Foundation Establishment."
Lin Changan sighed inwardly. Advanced spells did exist, but they were always closely guarded secrets of the three major sects. Even in Tianxuan City, no one would leak such high-grade techniques.
"Compression, rotation—these are all based on stable and meticulous control from wood attribute techniques, as well as long-term cultivation. They put immense strain on the fingers..."
Recently, Lin Changan had been reflecting on this. In fact, he had already purchased many insights on spell cultivation from the marketplace, even including incomplete spells from robber cultivators and demonic cultivators.
Most of these had severe side effects, but this was the only route rogue cultivators had to access advanced spells.
"Extreme compression and rotation—what if I abandon worrying about the strain on my body?"
Several days later, inside the cave dwelling, Lin Changan seemed to have thought of something, and his face revealed an eager expression.
"Many demonic and robber cultivators, and even some rogue cultivators, all cultivate one or two trump card spells. These spells place heavy burdens on the body and are only used during desperate battles."
After all, in moments of crisis, when one's life was on the line, who cared about bodily strain?
Whether he survived didn’t matter—at the very least, he would drag the enemy down with him.
"But I possess a Regenerative Body. Wouldn’t it be a waste not to use it?"
In that moment, Lin Changan came to a sudden realization. Ever since he cultivated this ancient technique, and thanks to the Mysterious Sky Immortal Vine's blessings, his powerful regenerative body had been left largely unexplored—a complete waste.
"If I discard concern for bodily strain, and use techniques that burn and compress blood essence during desperate fights..."
Suddenly enlightened, Lin Changan felt invigorated and began deducing improvements to the Wood Spirit Thorn spell inside the cave dwelling.
...
Half a month later.
"As expected, my idea was correct!"
At this moment, a deep pit appeared on the cave dwelling's wall. Lin Changan, grinning with excitement, still had blood dripping from his finger, but the wound was visibly healing.
"I possess a Regenerative Body, so I don’t need to worry about physical strain. With my Foundation Establishment cultivation, I can fully unleash this spell. Others might fear crippling their fingers or even their entire arms, but I have no such concern."
In his excitement, Lin Changan raised his hand and threw a low-grade second-rank Vajra Talisman onto a stone pedestal within the cave.
In an instant, golden light flickered, forming a bell-shaped defensive barrier.
Lin Changan's expression turned solemn as he activated his improved Wood Spirit Thorn. A flash of blood light burst forth.
Pfft!
Blood mist filled the air. Lin Changan’s palm was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, and the fingers that released the flying needle revealed stark white bone.
However, his face was full of excitement, and his eyes were fixed solely on the golden light in the distance.
That golden bell-shaped defense was equivalent to the full-force defense of an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even his divine sense could only catch a fleeting glimpse of the blood flash.
The golden light barrier was directly pierced through from front to back.
That top-grade flying needle artifact—the Phosphorescent Green Needle—was now embedded deep into the rock layers at the back of the cave.
"Wood Spirit Thorn! This power is no longer that of a Qi Refining Stage spell. With extreme compression and rotation, the instant burst is too much even for an average Foundation Establishment cultivator to withstand."
Looking at his skeletal finger and the torn and pain-ridden tendons in his arm caused by violent spiritual energy, Lin Changan still smiled.
Thanks to his powerful Regenerative Body, he was healing rapidly. While regular Foundation Establishment cultivators would need a month or two to recover, he could feel his wound healing in just the time it took for one incense stick to burn.
On the original foundation, he added extreme self-harming techniques—mad compression and rotation—which greatly boosted its power. However, the backlash on the cultivator’s body also increased accordingly.
"Under the influence of my own blood essence, it's already a faint blood flash. The name Wood Spirit Thorn no longer fits. It should be Blood Spirit Thorn instead."
The immense power brought a satisfied smile to Lin Changan’s face. After all, this spell itself hadn’t been altered—he merely added violent techniques using his own arm. The spell's nature remained unchanged.
Lifting his hand, Lin Changan looked at the top-grade flying needle artifact, slightly damaged after piercing the low-grade second-rank talisman. He nodded to himself.
"Blood Spirit Thorn—if I combine it with a premium-grade artifact, its power will reach a new tier. And that flash of blood just now was so fast, even I couldn’t dodge it."
"Disregarding other factors, even a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator might fall victim to it."
Of course, in real combat, many external variables had to be considered.
"But this is already enough. At the very least, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators—even those from sects—likely have never seen such a powerful spell."
With a satisfied smile, Lin Changan felt content. Although his cultivation hadn’t advanced much recently, his combat strength had made a significant leap.
If he could craft another top-grade flying needle artifact, he was confident he could threaten mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
After all, aside from this spell, he also possessed the powerful Regenerative Body. Whether it was spiritual power recovery or physical healing, both were incredibly strong.
"Drawing talismans and cultivating—there's certainly enough time."
Looking down at his continuously healing finger, Lin Changan showed a pleased smile. Not even ordinary demon beasts like the Green-Horned Ox could match his recovery speed.
He had nearly wasted his most powerful physique.
With the Regenerative Body, as long as the vital points—head and heart—weren’t injured, he wouldn’t lose his combat ability.
In the days that followed, Lin Changan once again settled into his routine of daily cultivation and drawing talismans to earn spirit stones.
As for alchemy, he temporarily put it aside.
Thanks to the continuous influx of foreign cultivators into Tianxuan City, Lin Changan’s second-rank talismans were selling very well in the marketplace’s underground trade.
...
That day, Tianxuan City basked under a clear, sunny sky.
"Lu Turtle! So you finally returned from the Sea Abyss of Beasts. Come out if you’ve got the guts!"
Suddenly, a furious shout rang out, echoing through the clouds.