Chapter 193: Chapter 183: Silver-winged Bat
Based on his experience absorbing the Essence Soul of the Cold Ice Silkworm, Zhao Lin knew that while this type of attribute-based Essence Soul didn’t transform the body, it could aid in cultivation breakthroughs.
He immediately began circulating the Sea Return Skill, driving his qi to assault the acupoints on his two main meridians.
With the aid of the Thunder Catfish’s Essence Soul, he advanced with unstoppable momentum.
The Chest Center, the Jade Hall, the Purple Palace...
The Spirit Platform, the Divine Dao, the Body Pillar...
In just a few moments, he had broken through every single acupoint on the two meridians!
BOOM!
The two main meridians were instantly connected. Zhao Lin felt a jolt run through him as his fourteen meridians linked together. His qi flowed without end, and his Qi and Blood ascended to a new level.
"Third Layer of the Qi Realm!"
Zhao Lin subconsciously exhaled, only to release a stream of bubbles. He then remembered he was still underwater and quickly shut his mouth.
When he used his inner vision on the Spirit Beast Scroll, the portrait of the Thunder Catfish appeared in the seventh slot.
’That’s the seventh Essence Soul.’
Amid his joy, he couldn’t help but lament, ’It would be nice if this Spirit Beast Scroll had twenty-four or even thirty-six slots.’
Now, with only two empty slots remaining, he would have to be very careful in choosing which Essence Souls to absorb next.
However, more than his breakthrough, he was concerned about whether he had obtained Thunder Attribute True Qi. He immediately probed his Qi Sea, only to be stunned by the discovery of a wisp of golden energy within!
This wisp of golden energy was as thin as a hair and about seven inches long. It looked like a small snake, coiling around his Qi Sea Acupoint at an extremely high speed.
’This should be the Thunder Attribute True Qi. Why is there so little of it?’
Zhao Lin couldn’t help but be surprised. The Thunder Catfish was massive, yet the True Qi it condensed was just this tiny amount.
It was less than a tenth of the Cold Ice True Qi he had gotten before. It probably wasn’t even enough for a single punch.
While he was pondering this, his vision suddenly brightened as light illuminated his surroundings.
He looked up and realized he had drifted near the surface. With a powerful kick, he leaped out of the pool.
SPLASH...
Amidst the splashing water, Zhao Lin landed on a large rock, took off his soaked clothes, wrung them out forcefully, and spread them on the rock to dry.
There was no one else around. More than twenty animal carcasses floated on the surface of the water, and the injured bristleboar was nowhere in sight.
Zhao Lin went over to where he’d stashed the animals and pulled out a wild deer.
"I wonder what the power of this Thunder Attribute True Qi is really like."
Zhao Lin muttered to himself. Taking a deep breath, he activated the power of his Stone Roar Fist, channeled the wisp of Thunder Attribute True Qi, and threw a punch.
PFFT...
The punch carried no force.
That wisp of Thunder Attribute True Qi was wild and agitated. Though small, it refused to obey his commands.
The slightest attempt to guide it was met with fierce resistance.
’What’s going on?’
Zhao Lin frowned, switched his Cultivation Technique to the Three Yin Finger, but the result was the same.
’Of course. The power of Stone Roar Fist can command ordinary qi without a problem, and it can manage yin-cold energy just fine.’
’But it’s not up to the task of commanding the wild Thunder Attribute True Qi. I must have a compatible Cultivation Technique!’
It only took a moment of thought for Zhao Lin to understand the reason, so he didn’t feel particularly disappointed.
As the saying goes, good things are worth waiting for. There was no need to rush.
He had a nagging feeling that with the right compatible Cultivation Technique, the power of the Thunder Attribute True Qi could even surpass his Cold Ice True Qi.
Seeing Zhao Lin muttering to himself while making a fist one moment and a claw-like gesture the next, the wild deer began to tremble, its eyes filled with terror.
Seeing this, Zhao Lin gave it a gentle smile and untied the ropes binding it.
The moment it was freed, the deer sprang up and bounded away, fleeing without a backward glance.
A few of the animals used to lure the Thunder Catfish into discharging electricity were still alive. Zhao Lin killed the mutated beasts among them and released the ordinary, harmless ones back into the forest.
Before it got dark, he fished the carcasses out of the pool, cut off their left ears with an axe, and casually tossed them into his bag.
After finishing all this, Zhao Lin felt hungry, so he took some food from his provisions bag and had a big meal.
As dusk approached, his clothes were mostly dry. He put them back on, shouldered his bag, and left the pool.
He had absorbed the Thunder Attribute Essence Soul and killed a good number of mutated beasts. The goals of his trip were met. Adding in the exhausting fight with the Thunder Catfish, he was feeling truly weary. Zhao Lin decided to find a safe place and get some rest.
But after a look around the mountainside, he found only low-growing trees like pittosporum, boxwood, and juniper, none of which were suitable for taking cover.
So he walked a bit further up the mountain and found a tall White Fruit Tree, so thick it would take two or three people to wrap their arms around it.
This White Fruit Tree looked ancient. Its trunk was covered in many cracks. The southern side of the trunk was withered and dry, but the northern side was lush with branches and leaves—half dead, half thriving.
Zhao Lin glanced up at the canopy, nodded in satisfaction, and then leaped. His feet kicked off the uneven bark in quick succession, propelling his body upward.
Halfway up the trunk, a dark shadow suddenly burst out of a crack with a WHIR.
Zhao Lin knew it was a bat and wasn’t alarmed, giving it a casual glance.
In the twilight’s afterglow, he saw three silver lines on the bat’s membranous wings, flashing with a silvery light as they flapped up and down.
"A Silver-Winged Bat!"
A thrill of excitement shot through Zhao Lin.
The Silver-Winged Bat was a small mutated beast, evolved from the Horseshoe Bat.
Unlike ordinary bats, they don’t like living in colonies, preferring a solitary existence on cliffs or in the crevices of tall trees.
Its most obvious features were a pair of long ears and three silver patterns on its wing membranes. It had superb hearing and could prey on flying insects from a great distance.
Although the Silver-Winged Bat was among the weakest of mutated beasts and had little medicinal value, it was different in Zhao Lin’s eyes.
No matter how weak, it was still a mutated beast. Its hearing was definitely superior to a Horseshoe Bat’s.
Coincidentally, the ability of the Horseshoe Bat in his Spirit Beast Scroll had maxed out, and he hadn’t been able to strengthen his hearing for a long time.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Zhao Lin immediately stopped his ascent. Seeing the Silver-Winged Bat was already several dozen feet away, he kicked off powerfully and shot straight toward it.
The Silver-Winged Bat noticed Zhao Lin giving chase and flapped its wings forcefully, streaking through the air like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Zhao Lin knew he couldn’t match its speed. Using his forward momentum, he threw an Ice Fist.
A frosty aura emanated from the punch. The Silver-Winged Bat’s body instantly went rigid. Its wings stopped flapping, and it began to fall.
Zhao Lin also changed direction, following it like a shadow, and threw another punch.
With a soft thud, the man and the bat landed at the same time.
The Essence Soul rose.
Zhao Lin glanced at his Spirit Beast Scroll. The slot where the Horseshoe Bat was located began to flash.
’Excellent. The Essence Soul can be upgraded.’
Zhao Lin inhaled sharply, drawing in the Silver-Winged Bat’s Essence Soul.
What happened next was identical to his experience absorbing the Horseshoe Bat’s Essence Soul.
The Essence Soul transformed into three streams of silver light.
One silver stream entered his throat via his nasal passages, while the other two entered his left and right ears.
It began to transform Zhao Lin’s throat and ears once again.
Zhao Lin was used to this process by now. He endured the sensation for a moment. With a flash of light from the Spirit Beast Scroll, the Horseshoe Bat in the third slot was replaced by a Silver-Winged Bat.
"Excellent!"
A smile touched his lips. ’It seems good things really do come in pairs today.’
