C17 Lightning and Rain Never Stopped.

Upon returning to the Yun Family Estate, Su Yun wasted no time in dashing to his quarters, eager to extract the contents from the six embroidered boxes. Inside, he found a milky white jade, two lustrous pieces of special metal, and three Spirit Stones, each glowing with a different hue.

Out of all the items he had purchased, Su Yun was only familiar with one: an azure Spirit Stone known as a Water Spirit Stone. On the Soul Sky Continent, Spirit Stones came in a vast array, with some possessing unique attributes beyond the common ones used for cultivation. The Water Spirit Stone was one such stone, imbued with highly pure water attribute energy, immensely beneficial to Soul Cultivators attuned to water. When used in weapon forging, it could imbue blades with water attributes.

And so it did.

"Buzz buzz!" The room's temperature plummeted as a long sword, etched with blue patterns, materialized, infusing the air with a moist essence. "Spirit Level Soul Weapon, Water Pattern Spirit Sword!" Su Yun couldn't help but gulp as the Divine Hammer in his mind relayed the information.

The first of his six materials had been transformed into a Soul Weapon! Thirty thousand gold coins well spent, indeed!

With eyes sparkling with excitement, Su Yun set the Spirit Sword aside and eagerly grabbed the next material to continue his forging.

"Forged successfully, a Middle Level Weapon!"

"Forged successfully, another Middle Level Weapon!"

...

A quarter of an hour later, Su Yun surveyed the four weapons before him with mixed emotions. The materials had proven their worth, yielding no Low Level Weapons, but...

Four Middle Level Weapons. The outcome was somewhat disheartening. After all, each material had cost him 5,000 gold coins out of the 30,000 total, and a Middle Level Weapon typically fetched between 2,000 to 3,000 gold coins at best. By that measure, these four forges...

Had resulted in a loss.

But with a Soul Weapon already in his possession, it was hardly a disaster. Moreover, each forging session infused him with energy, subtly enhancing the Soul Power within his body. Even if the weapons weren't the main benefit, the boost to his energy was undeniably significant.

However...

"Hammer Spirit, didn't you mention at least two Soul Weapons?"

Su Yun couldn't resist asking.

"Master, don't we still have one material left?"

The Hammer Spirit chuckled, "Why not forge it and see?"

"Hmm?"

Su Yun's eyebrows quirked up as his gaze settled on the lone piece of milky white jade stone on the table.

Truth be told, of the six precious materials, this jade stone certainly looked the most extraordinary.

But could it really be used to forge a Soul Weapon?

Su Yun harbored doubts.

Without further ado, he swung his Divine Hammer down upon the jade stone.

"Chi!"

But this time, striking the stone caused the space before him to warp dramatically.

The entire room seemed to shudder.

"What kind of jade stone is this?"

Su Yun exclaimed, astonished.

"Master, it's a Spatial Soul Jade!"

"Spatial Soul Jade?"

"Put simply, it's a type of spirit jade with spatial attributes. In terms of value, the sum of the other five materials you acquired wouldn't even come close to this jade's worth!"

"That valuable?"

Su Yun was taken aback, then his brow furrowed in confusion, "Hold on! If it's that insignificant, why would the Cloud Vast Treasure Pavilion bundle it with the others?"

"Their lackluster discernment at the pavilion couldn't possibly recognize this jade. They likely mistook it for a common Spatial Spirit Jade!"

The Hammer Spirit scoffed dismissively, taking a moment to enlighten Su Yun, "Spatial Soul Jade and Spatial Spirit Jade share a common origin, with nearly identical appearances, making it quite challenging for the average Soul Cultivator to tell them apart. A regular Spatial Spirit Jade is worth maybe a few hundred Spirit Stones..."

Su Yun finally understood.

Watching the Divine Hammer busily work the Spatial Soul Jade, his curiosity intensified, "What will this jade yield? Is it guaranteed to be a Soul Weapon?"

"Not necessarily a Soul Weapon..."

The Hammer Spirit grinned, "But it's sure to be a delightful surprise for the Master!"

"A surprise?"

Su Yun's interest was now thoroughly ignited!

Yet, the forging process this time was unusually lengthy.

Fifteen minutes, thirty minutes...

A full half-hour passed, and the Divine Hammer was still tirelessly clanging away, nowhere near completion.

Su Yun was starting to feel drowsy.

Just then, the Hammer Spirit chimed in, "Master, due to the low level of your Divine Hammer, forging such precious materials will take a considerable amount of time..."

With that, Su Yun stopped waiting.

He went to bed, sat down cross-legged, and began to practice his cultivation with the Spirit Spell.

He cultivated from daylight until nightfall.

Buzz!

As the moon hung high, a sudden soft sound in the quiet room snapped Su Yun's eyes open.

The instant he did, his vision was flooded with brilliant light.

"Boom!"

Simultaneously, the peaceful night sky over Yunhe City was shattered by a thunderous roar. Massive thunderclouds, booming with the sound of thunder, echoed throughout the city.

Many of the city's residents, who had just settled in for the night, were jolted awake.

"Looks like rain is coming?"

They rose and peered through their windows at the ominous clouds, wondering.

But after a long half-minute, not a single raindrop fell, leaving them perplexed.

What was happening?

Thunder with no rain?

Before they could ponder further...

The thunder was as quick to cease as it had begun. In just a moment, it vanished...

The sky returned to a canvas of scattered stars.

The people of Yunhe City were left bewildered.

What was this capricious display by the heavens?

A couple of thunderclaps followed by silence!

They must think the day hadn't been exhausting enough, deciding to stir up a midnight commotion!

...

At the Yun family estate.

"The heavens sure have a sense of humor!" exclaimed the Yun Family Old Family Head, standing in his plain robe on the courtyard corridor, watching the rapidly dispersing thunderclouds with a wry smile. "Don't you think?"

Next to him, a figure in a black robe stood in silence.

Unperturbed, the Old Family Head picked up a bamboo stick and began toying with the canary in the nearby birdcage, asking, "Any new discoveries?"

The man in the black robe responded, "After the young man finished off Lin Hee yesterday, he went back to his place, grabbed a package, and made his way to the Cloud Vast Treasure Pavilion once more!"

"Oh?"

The elder patriarch of the Yun family raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips. "He bolts from the estate right after a killing? That youngster certainly has guts! But what's in the package you mentioned?"

The man in the black robe reflected briefly before responding, "It appears to be a weapon."

"A weapon?"

The Old Family Head's playful teasing of the canary came to a halt. He set aside the bamboo stick, his aged eyes squinting thoughtfully. "His strength surged after being disabled, and twice in two days he's been seen with a package resembling a weapon. It seems that item truly is in the young fellow's possession..."

After a brief pause, he inquired further, "And where is he now?"

"Recent reports suggest he's been cornered into the forbidden lands!"

"The forbidden lands?"

The Old Family Head chuckled at the news, resuming his amusement with the canary by picking up the bamboo stick. "Well then, let's get ready. After nurturing for so long, it's about time for the harvest!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he thrust the bamboo stick sharply.

It speared through the canary's wings.

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

Blood spilled as the canary's agonized cries reverberated within the cage.

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