C3 [thunder God Essence Leveled Up.]

As the light faded away...

"What's this?"

Before him materialized a crystal jade bottle.

The Weapon Spirit responded, "Congratulations, Master, on unearthing a Grade 6 Spirit Pill, the Purple Soul Pill!"

"Oh..."

Su Yun nodded instinctively, then his realization hit him like a thunderbolt, and his eyes bulged, "What did you say!!"

He fixated on the jade bottle before him, incredulous, "This... This is a Grade 6 Spirit Pill!?"

"Indeed!"

"Gulp..."

The Weapon Spirit's confirmation caused Su Yun to swallow hard, his gaze ablaze with excitement.

Spirit Pills were precious resources that could directly enhance the power of Soul Cultivators, crafted by only a select few alchemists. Across the vast Tiancang Empire, you could count the number of alchemists on one hand.

And in Yunhe City? Not a single one.

That's why even the most basic Grade 1 Spirit Pill was worth its weight in gold.

A Grade 6 Spirit Pill... The entire Yun family's assets wouldn't come close to affording one!

"However, due to your negative luck value, you cannot claim it. This Purple Soul Pill will offset 20 points from your luck value, which now totals '-280'."

The Weapon Spirit's subsequent words doused Su Yun's fiery enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water.

Negative luck value, deducting 20 points...

"Buzz!"

As the jade bottle vanished with a 'whoosh' following the Weapon Spirit's declaration, Su Yun's heart gave a painful lurch.

A Grade 6 Spirit Pill!

Such a treasure, now lost!

"Master, please focus and continue with the egg smashing!"

Despite his frustration, Su Yun heeded the Weapon Spirit's prompt, mindful of the countdown that had already slipped away by nearly half a minute. He quickly moved on to the next crystal egg.

Walking over, he came to a grim understanding of the heavy debt his predecessor had left behind.

A mere 20 points deducted for a Grade 6 Spirit Pill, and yet he was saddled with a 290-point deficit in luck value!

He silently cursed the former owner's misfortune...

Crash!

Fuelled by his simmering resentment, Su Yun raised his hammer and shattered another crystal egg.

Buzz!

A burst of golden light suddenly enveloped him.

"Hmm?"

Su Yun's eyebrows lifted as he watched a scroll, shimmering with golden radiance, emerge from within.

"Master, congratulations on uncovering the Sky Rank Cultivation Technique—the 'Celestial Thunder Chant.'"

"A Cultivation Technique, huh..."

Su Yun gave a slight nod, but his eyes bulged the very next second. "What rank did you say?"

"Sky Rank..."

"Holy crap!"

Su Yun leapt to his feet before the Weapon Spirit could finish, his eyes wide with astonishment as he stared at the luminous scroll before him.

If a Grade 6 Spirit Pill was beyond the reach of the entire Yun family's wealth, then a Sky Rank Cultivation Technique was something not even the sale of all Yunhe City could procure.

On the Soul Sky Continent, Cultivation Techniques are categorized as either Advanced or Inferior.

Any cultivating family worth their salt would have access to the Inferior Cultivation Techniques. But the Advanced ones? Those were rarities, possessed only by a handful of mighty clans and sects within the Tiancang Empire. The ranks of Advanced Cultivation Techniques ranged from Spirit Rank to Earth Rank, Sky Rank, and even Saint Rank...

And even the most basic Spirit Rank Cultivation Technique could be a sect's most treasured possession.

Sky Rank...

The thought was almost too much for Su Yun to fathom.

He trembled as he gazed at the scroll before him, a sudden twitch pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"Buzz..."

He reached out to seize the scroll, but a burst of light enveloped it before he could touch it, leaving him grasping at thin air.

Su Yun was on the verge of tears.

A Sky Rank Cultivation Technique!

It was right there, a Sky Rank Cultivation Technique, and he had just missed his chance...

"Master, this 'Celestial Thunder Chant' has deducted 200 luck points from you..."

Despite the Weapon Spirit's words ringing in his ears, Su Yun felt as though he had been physically gutted.

In a fit of frustration, he mentally cursed the Divine Hammer's lineage back eighteen generations...

But then his eyes shifted back to the crystal eggs scattered across the hall, and his expression transformed.

Having smashed three eggs, with two revealing treasures—a Grade 6 Spirit Pill and a Sky Rank Cultivation Technique—what wonders might the remaining crystal eggs hold?

"Gulp..."

Swallowing hard, Su Yun eyed the countdown, now just over two minutes. Wasting no more time, he approached another crystal egg and swung his hammer down to crack it open.

Crash!

Shards of crystal eggs scattered everywhere!

"You've hit an empty egg. Luck value decreased by 10..."

Ignoring the Weapon Spirit's incessant chatter, Su Yun was already poised in front of another crystal egg, hammer raised.

"Buzz!"

A burst of blue light erupted, revealing a half-meter-long short sword aglow with a blue aura.

"An Earth Rank Soul Weapon, the Blue Soul Short Sword!"

Su Yun's eyes lit up at the Weapon Spirit's description.

Soul Weapons, tailored specifically for Soul Cultivators, were exceedingly rare. And Earth Rank Soul Weapons? There might be only a handful throughout the entire Tiancang Empire.

"This Blue Soul Short Sword will cost you 60 luck points..."

Su Yun's expression soured upon hearing the Weapon Spirit's words.

But there was no time for disappointment. With the countdown ticking away, he gripped the wooden hammer tightly and entered a frenzy of egg smashing.

"Empty egg. Master, your luck value has decreased by 10..."

"Empty egg. Master, your luck value has decreased by 10..."

"A Grade 6 Spirit Pill, the Elimination Pill! Master, 20 points have been deducted from your luck value..."

...

...

"Empty egg. Master, your luck value has decreased by 10, now standing at -60!"

The Weapon Spirit's voice echoed in his ears once more, and as Su Yun glanced at the countdown, now at its last ten seconds, a sense of futility overwhelmed him.

Despite his relentless effort over the past two minutes, smashing numerous eggs and uncovering treasures that were once in a lifetime finds, the constant appearance of empty eggs was disheartening.

His luck value fluctuated wildly, never breaking out of the -10 to -100 range.

He had mentally berated the previous owner more times than he could count.

Without this deficit, he would have been swimming in a trove of treasures by now.

After all, according to the treasure hunt's rules, positive luck value meant the treasures were his to claim!

Grade 6 Spirit Pills, Sky Rank Cultivation Techniques, Earth Rank Soul Weapons...

The thought of each precious item he'd encountered made Su Yun's heart ache.

"Only five seconds remain!"

Prompted by the Weapon Spirit, Su Yun approached yet another crystal egg. With a resigned sigh of 'the last one,' he brought his hammer down with force.

"Buzz! Buzz!"

As the crystal eggshell cracked, a blinding golden radiance burst forth, instantly bathing the entire hall in light.

"What's happening?"

Su Yun was baffled.

"Master, congratulations on uncovering a treasure — the Thunder God Essence!"

The voice of the Weapon Spirit rang out.

"What did you say!?"

Su Yun's eyes bulged in shock. "Essence... Essence!?"

"Yes, it's the Thunder Attribute Soul Energy Essence..."

"Holy crap!"

Su Yun blurted out an expletive, cutting off the Weapon Spirit mid-sentence.

He had only encountered Soul Energy Essence in ancient texts.

Even the most basic form required a Soul Cultivator at the Sky Soul Stage to deplete all their Soul Power to create it, containing the purest essence of their Soul Energy.

In terms of value, it was beyond compare, even to a Sky Rank Cultivation Technique!

"Zi Zi..."

As the brilliant light dissipated, a glowing orb of electric energy emerged.

"Gulp..."

Su Yun couldn't help but salivate.

Ding!

Just then, a soft chime echoed throughout the hall. The countdown had reached zero!

"Time is up!"

The Weapon Spirit announced, "The Thunder God Essence you've just uncovered is worth 300 luck points. Given that your luck points are currently at '-60', adding this would bring you into positive figures. You may choose to claim it and stay at '-60' luck points, or use it to offset the negative balance..."

"I want it! I'm claiming it!!"

Su Yun interrupted, unable to contain his excitement.

"Very well, Master. Your final luck point tally for this treasure hunt remains at '-60'!"