Liang Chen ignored everything else and continued to madly cultivate, drawing upon more and more lightning. The more lightning he drew into himself, the faster the Qi within the Demonic beast blood would be absorbed, which then further increased the speed at which he could draw in lightning. With the creation of this cycle, Liang Chen"s cultivation speed was getting faster and faster.But such speed and rapid progress always comes with a price, and the price Liang Chen paid was enough pain to make him believe that his very soul was getting torn apart. But Liang Chen ignored the pain, his eyes glowing with a derange light. When his fingernails cracked because of how tightly he was clenching his hands, he ignored it. When his vision turned blurry and a low ringing sound rang out in his head, he ignored it. Even when he was forced to lean forward and threw up blood, he continued to ignore it, drawing in more and more Qi and lightning. Now that he had such a good chance to increase his strength, he refused to let go of it.
Liang Chen completely lost track of time, his mind fully focused on the bolts of lightning that lit up the sky and battered the land. His frenzied cultivation only came to a stop when the thundering sound of the lightning stopped, the Demonic beast blood completely drained of Qi. With the rain stopping and the black clouds dispersing, the bright dawn that was just rising finally managed to shine down upon the land.
Liang Chen opened his eyes, the light of the sun hitting his eyes and forcing him to squint his eyes for a short moment. The blood in the pool had turned a lighter color, the pungent smell receding somewhat. Liang Chen"s body was filled with a familiar pain, his naked body drenched in blood, a mixture of his own and the blood from the pool.
But despite his state, the corners of his lips curved into a wide grin. Within the empty black s.p.a.ce of his dantian, he could see the outline of a tall paG.o.da with nine corners, the first floor already fully built. The first floor was built out of golden stone, a scaly pattern engraved onto the stone. At first, Liang Chen thought that the scaly pattern was emerald green in color, but as he continued to observe it, he saw that the scaly pattern continuously changed between emerald green and deep violet.
Liang Chen continued to sit in the pool of blood for several more minutes, entranced by the first floor of his Ascending Tower. Only after several minutes pa.s.sed did he open his eyes and step out from the pool of blood, walking over to the bag that contained his water-skins. He drank a bit of the water from one of the water-skins and then used the rest of the stored up water to wash away the blood that stained his body.
When all the blood was washed away, Liang Chen gave his own body a quick look-over. Thanks to the tempering of the lightning bolts, Liang Chen"s body had gotten somewhat slimmer, his muscles hidden perfectly beneath his skin. His wounds had also vanished, the wound that he had on his left arm only leaving behind a scar where he had stabbed himself.
Liang Chen put on the robe he had worn when he entered the forest. It was a bit wet and dirty, but he had used all the other clothing to line the pool of blood, so he had nothing else to wear. After he put on his robe, he sat down on the ground, bringing his right hand in front of his face as he muttered to himself.
"I managed to construct the first floor, but what element do I have?"
Liang Chen connected his mind to the tower within his dantian, drawing upon the Qi that was residing within it. The Qi coursed through his veins and flesh, quickly reaching his right hand and gathering in his palm. The Qi, which was a violet-gold in color, gathered in his palm and split into two separate orbs. One of the orbs was a brilliant gold in color, arcs of lightning crackling around the orb.
The other orb was violet in color, but as time pa.s.sed, it changed from violet to green, and then back to violet. The orb released a somewhat sweet and fragrant smell, but when Liang Chen moved the orb and had it touch the ground in front of him, the ground started releasing a hissing scent as it slowly started to melt. Looking at the two orbs, the smile on Liang Chen"s face grew dark and cold.
"Poison and lightning, huh? Very well. Qing Lan Yong, let my existence become a poison to yours, my wrath the wrath of the heaven"s that failed to strike you that day."
Liang Chen clenched his hand, the orb of lightning sinking back into his body. Most cultivators in the Ascending Tower stage would only cultivate a single element, as they would need more resources to increase their cultivation if they built their Ascending Tower using two or more elements. But Liang Chen did not care in the slightest, all that mattered to him was that he now knew how he could become stronger.
Liang Chen spent a bit more time testing out how to use his poison and lightning Qi, only standing up and packing up his things after a few more hours. He broke off a new branch, fastening his two make-shift bags to the branch and then leaning it against his shoulder as he headed towards the exit of the forest. While walking, a slight hum escaped his lips, his mood reaching the peak. As he made his way back towards the city, he stopped at one of the rivers, kneeling down next to it to fill up one of his water-skins. But when he spotted his own reflection in the water, he could not help but drop the water-skin, touching his own face in confusion.
"This... How did this happen?"
His once black hair had turned emerald green in color, shining slightly under the light of the sun. His once green eyes had turned a brilliant golden in color, a slight light flashing past his pupils from time to time, as if arcs of lightning were dancing around within them. Liang Chen continued to study his own reflection, touching his hair and eyes. But there was no change, even as time pa.s.sed on, so Liang Chen could only a.s.sume that it had to do with his earlier frenzied cultivation.
He filled his water-skin and quenched his thirst, continuing to head back to the city. He was uncertain how long the storm had lasted, but he knew that he had been gone for at least three days. If he stayed away for too long, it would be hard for him to make up the missed days to Qing Chun, and then she would likely pester him without end.
Liang Chen quickly entered the city, several curious gazes landing in him. Liang Chen ignored the curious gazes, even when he spotted Qing Huo Ling and a few other people that he knew, he ignored them as well. Right now, he just wanted to get home and take a bath, preparing himself for his meeting with Qing Chun tonight. Since he had managed to enter the early stage of the Mortal Tower realm, he felt that he did not need to hide what he had done from her.
But as Liang Chen was walking past an alley, just when he felt he heard a familiar voice, he felt a strong impact hit the side of his head. Someone grabbed onto his arm, dragging him into the alley while he was disoriented. He felt like he heard a familiar voice shout, but when the voice reached his ears, it felt so distant that he was unable to make out who it was or what it said.
Another strong impact hit Liang Chen"s head, his mind turning icy cold as it calmed down. He felt several more strong impacts. .h.i.t his head, so he guessed that he was being hit by someone right now. He did not know why, but he suddenly felt his blood boil, the sound of his own pounding heart resounding in his head as his vision slowly dyed red.