The road is vague

Chapter 217 Thunderfire Burial Shadow Line Secret Technique
After the mission is completed.

Lu Qi summoned Li Mo privately and inquired briefly about the process of the mission.

After Li Mo answered truthfully, Lu Qi nodded, as if he had expected it.

"That's good, you don't need to worry about this."

Lu Qi noticed Li Mo's nervousness and unease.

"I know you are an upright person and act with integrity. I understand your concerns. It's not that I'm unwilling to tell you the whole story. I'm doing this for the sake of our sect's thousand-year heritage. When the time is right, you will naturally know. If the time is not right, I cannot tell you."

He sighed quietly.

"Since things have come to this point, there's no point in thinking about it anymore. Take a good rest and prepare yourself. The annual meeting of the sect will be held after the Dragon Boat Festival. As the head of the formations in the Guardian Hall, you will also be attending. Also, I have already reported the Nine Nether Soul Refining Formation to Xi Yue before, so you don't need to worry about it."

Do we have to wait until after the Dragon Boat Festival?

Li Mo pursed his lips, a thousand words in his heart, but in the end, none of them could compare to the immense kindness of his master. In the end, all he could do was nod.

"Yes."

Perhaps for a Golden Core cultivator, two months is just a blink of an eye.

The Qingming Hall is located at the summit of Qingming Peak and is the gathering place for high-level cultivators of the Lingmu Sect.

At the annual meeting, the conference will summarize the important achievements of the past year, recognize and reward outstanding churches and individuals, and then allocate the budget for the new year to each church.

……

Before we knew it, a month and a half had passed.

Li Mo, who was meditating in his cave, slowly flipped through the bamboo slips piled up in front of him.

When he got to the crucial part, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and his face lit up with realization. He then quickly took out his notes and started writing them down.

The process wasn't long.

After Li Mo finished recording his thoughts, he put away his notebook, pondered for a moment on the futon, and then suddenly got up and walked out of the cave.

A quarter of an hour later.

Li Mo flew on his sword and arrived at the desolate peak.

Wilderness Peak is barren because it has been bombarded by various spells from Lingmu Sect cultivators for a long time.

When Li Mo arrived, he noticed that there were four or five people testing spells on the mountainside. He bypassed the area where these people were and came to a bare boulder.

Given the vastness of Wilderness Peak, let alone a mere Foundation Establishment stage disciple, even a Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage cultivator would not be able to completely destroy it.

That's why.

The ancient cultivators' ability to move mountains and fill seas seems quite mythical to modern cultivators.

these past few months.

He entered the Dao through alchemy, and through his understanding of the fire refining method, he finally had a preliminary plan for creating his own magic.

"By combining the spiritual energy structure of the Fire Cloud Technique with some earth attribute variations, and taking fire and lightning characteristics as the main focus, this technique should already belong to the category of high-level spells in essence. However, I can castrate a part of the spiritual energy structure of the Fire Cloud Technique and suppress it to the category of mid-to-high-level spells to ensure the support of my own magic power."

Li Mo carefully circulated the magical power within his body.

His current basic magical power is almost comparable to that of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As the immense magical power within his body circulated, a surge of fire spiritual energy soared into the sky, gradually forming a thundercloud vortex dozens of feet above his head.

At the center of the vortex, the color of a crimson flame was visible.

The process of creating one's own magic requires extreme caution to avoid accidents and backlashes; there are countless tragedies in history caused by this.

Fortunately, Li Mo was quite cautious about this, and no accidents occurred; the fiery cloud vortex gradually stabilized.

"Next, we need to integrate fire and lightning properties as much as possible, and then add a little earth elemental power."

He remained cautious, ready to end the test at any time should an unexpected situation arise.

About ten breaths later.

As the mana within his body was continuously output, the spiritual energy properties of the vortex of fire clouds in the sky kept changing. After a slight hesitation, Li Mo increased the output of mana and let out a low shout.

Within the swirling vortex of flames, more than twenty lightning balls, each ranging from two or three feet to four or five feet in diameter, appeared, trailing long flames as they fell continuously toward the target area, emitting deafening explosions.

The desolate mountain was riddled with craters, each ranging from one or two zhang to three or four zhang in size. The terrifying shockwaves of lightning and fire covered almost half a block of land.

Rocks flew everywhere, and flames soared into the sky, creating a spectacular sight.

"Oh hoo!"

Standing on the boulder, Li Mo couldn't help but shout excitedly.

Even when he created the Li Mo Inner Classic based on the Di Xin Inner Classic, he was not this excited.

As a cultivator, Li Mo is now at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but before he created this spell, his various spells and techniques were still at the secular level, which was something that ordinary mortals could fight against.

But faced with the destructive power of such large-scale magic, he had truly transcended the mundane level and had initially acquired the strength to wage a disruptive war. Even the largest armies of mortals and the most fortified fortresses were nothing but clay chickens and earthenware dogs in front of him.

"Let's name this technique Thunderfire Burial."

In high spirits, Li Mo once again unleashed the Thunderfire Burial, covering another barren rocky area and turning it into a pitted and uneven region. Only then did he leap up, ride his sword, and leave the desolate peak, returning to Qingming Mountain.

Next, he can use this reverse to comprehend the art of alchemy.

a few days later.

After completing his military training mission, Li Mo met with Wang Xiyue, Shi Xiang, Kang Jinzhong, and Lü Jin to exchange experiences.

At this time.

Five communication talismans flew in from the horizon, heading straight for the five people, one for each of them.

Upon seeing this, Master Xiang chuckled. "It must be the communication talisman that notified us to attend the regular meeting."

As he spoke, he channeled his magic into the sound transmission talisman in his hand, and his guess was quickly confirmed.

The short Taoist priest, with a smug look on his face, casually turned the communication talisman into ashes.

Lü Jin looked expectant.

"The spirit stone rewards are about to be distributed again. You and Instructor Wang are both Golden Core cultivators of the sect. Not to mention your daily salary, your year-end bonus will never be less than two thousand spirit stones. Last year was a good year, so this time it will probably be more than three thousand spirit stones. As for the three of us, we will probably get five or six hundred spirit stones as year-end bonuses this time."

Lu Jin had served as the instructor of the Guardian Hall's military formations for many years and had his own set of calculations for year-end bonuses.

The year-end bonuses for these individuals were related to their military training missions.

"Alright, alright, what do you Foundation Establishment juniors need so many spirit stones for? Unlike us Golden Core cultivators, we need spirit stones for everything, and we can't move an inch without them."

The Master grumbled.

It's clear that the two have a good relationship and are friends despite their age difference.

Li Mo shook his head and smiled. After channeling his magic power into the communication talisman in his hand, he received a notice to attend the sect's annual meeting. He then casually put the communication talisman away.

Wang Xiyue and Kang Jinzhong, however, seemed lost in thought and remained silent.

the next day.

Lu Cuicui went to Li Mo's private cave and took out a brand new wooden ox and flowing horse.

"Li Mo, come quick and take a look!"

Lü Cuicui explained excitedly.

"This wooden ox and flowing horse consumes one low-grade spirit stone and can run at full power for 180 hours, which has initially achieved the energy-saving goal. The magnetic lubrication technology you proposed earlier is indeed a good research direction!"

Upon hearing this, Li Mo couldn't help but show surprise.

He opened the outer shell of the wooden ox and flowing horse, carefully admiring its internal structure, nodding repeatedly as Lü Cuicui explained in detail.

"How much silver does this wooden ox and flowing horse set cost?"

"About nine spirit stones, which is about ninety taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, Li Mo's eyes lit up.

An ordinary family carriage would cost about one hundred taels of silver, while a fine horse would cost at least several hundred taels of silver. This wooden ox and flowing horse has already achieved the initial goal of civilian use.

"Congratulations! You have finally realized your dream, which will benefit many people in the future!"

Holding Li Mo's hands tightly, Lü Cuicui was both excited and moved.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. During my improvement of the wooden ox and flowing horse, I went down the mountain a few times. I was inspired when I visited the shadow puppet show in Anle City. Based on the Lü family's secret technique of spirit lines, I created my own secret technique of shadow lines."

"The Secret Technique of Shadow Lines?"

Li Mo looked somewhat curious.

Lu Cuicui smiled smugly and summoned a monkey-like beast soldier puppet.

She then chanted a spell, and a hidden fluctuation of spiritual energy flashed by. Li Mo activated her spiritual eye to observe carefully and noticed that Lü Cuicui had established a spiritual connection with the beast soldier puppet, but she could not see the spiritual thread at all, which made her even more surprised.

So he amplified the power of his spiritual eye to its fullest extent.

Only then did they notice several secret threads in the shadows inside the cave, which seemed to be manipulating the beast soldier puppets like shadow puppets.

"Great!"

Li Mo clicked his tongue in amazement, while Lü Cuicui smiled smugly.

"These are my insights from my time at the foot of the mountain."

However, after a brief moment of triumph, she felt a sense of sadness and confusion.

"On stage, the shadow puppets are meticulously crafted, singing of joys and sorrows, separations and reunions. Off stage, the master is unknown to all. My life is full of twists and turns. The curtain rises and falls, and the audience comes and goes. Only the lantern show behind the screen tells the story of life's ups and downs. Is it fate that good things are hard to come by, or is this just the true reality of life?"

"you……"

Li Mo stared blankly at Lü Cuicui.

The fact that she could say these words shows that she truly has profound insights.

Lu Cuicui shook her head violently, concealing the confusion and sadness in her heart, and forced a smile as she looked at Li Mo.

"I want to teach you the secret techniques of shadow lines that I've learned from these insights. Would you like to learn?"

"Of course I do."

As Lü Cuicui patiently explained things again and again, Li Mo seemed to understand and nodded frequently.

He was not only learning secret techniques, but also experiencing Lü Cuicui's insights and comparing them with his own, which gradually stirred up his inner world.

Lü Cuicui's confusion stems from her family; this is her life.

As a cultivator, she comprehended the Great Dao while lamenting her own insignificance and the brevity of life, feeling as if she were a shadow puppet under a lamp, unable to determine whether she truly existed or was merely a story manipulated by someone behind the scenes.

a few days later.

With Li Mo having gained a basic grasp of the Shadow Line Technique, Lü Cuicui bid farewell and left.

"Her inner demons have intensified."

Gazing at Lü Cuicui's lonely figure as she walked away alone, Li Mo felt as if he were experiencing the same thing, and his mind began to resonate with her.

Is it fate's way of saying good things are often delayed, or is this just the reality of everyday life?

He muttered to himself, sighed softly, and returned to his cave.

(End of this chapter)