Midnight, Magical Beast Mountain Range.
The heavy rain had finally stopped, and the clouds dispersed, revealing a tranquil night sky dotted with twinkling stars. Due to the downpour, the waterfall's roar was even louder than before, deafening to the ears.
On a cliffside next to the waterfall, a circular patch of light stood out against the pitch-black forest, as if the moon's reflection had fallen there.
Upon closer inspection, the glow was actually coming from a cave embedded in the cliffside.
Inside the cave, several Moonlight Stones emitted a soft, eerie radiance.
A young man, completely naked, lay unconscious on a massive boulder. His eyes remained tightly shut, and his long, lean body was covered in burnt scars, as if struck by lightning.
Facing the cave entrance, Yao Lao sat cross-legged in mid-air with his eyes closed.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, his calm expression shifted slightly.
Without turning around, his voice carried a hint of relief as he said, "You're awake!"
At this moment, Xiao Bai felt pain everywhere.
A numbing sensation spread across his entire body—a mix of pain and itchiness that was unbearable.
His mind was also throbbing with sharp pain, making his freshly awakened consciousness feel like it was about to black out again.
Even with his strong willpower, he couldn't hold back a soft groan of pain.
"Sigh... you brat, why must you be so impatient? With your talent, becoming a powerhouse in the continent is only a matter of time. There was no need for such a reckless move, throwing yourself into the jaws of death!"
Hearing Xiao Bai's groan, Yao Lao sighed, his tone carrying a trace of frustration.
He genuinely couldn't understand why this kid had acted so recklessly today.
In his eyes, Xiao Bai had always been someone who cultivated at his own steady pace—never rushing.
Even during those years when he was stuck at Dou Zhi Qi 9nth Stage, the Xiao family girl was anxious for him.
But Xiao Bai had never shown impatience, despair, or frustration.
He had always been calm and composed, never once uttering a single complaint.
That attitude was the complete opposite of his cheap disciple.
"Ah… young people, after all."
Unable to make sense of it, Yao Lao could only chalk it up to youthful impulsiveness and sighed with emotion.
Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Bai couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Even though this wasn't something he deliberately initiated, today's events were both related and unrelated to him at the same time.
After entering the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Bai had noticed that the wood attribute energy here was incredibly dense—an ideal place for cultivating wood-based techniques.
Because of this, the Daoist Righteous Thunder of Yi Wood and Yang Thunder of Bing Fire inside him had become extremely active.
Xiao Yi absorbed wood attribute energy at a much faster rate here.
Since wood fuels fire, Xiao Bing also greedily took in a huge amount of energy.
However, this led to an imbalance—while their wood and fire attributes surged, their thunder attribute energy fell behind.
That was when Xiao Bai, while flying in the sky, encountered a thunderstorm.
As the lightning energy around him soared, his two little troublemakers reacted instantly.
Like parched travelers stumbling upon an oasis, they craved the lightning energy with overwhelming hunger.
Without considering whether Xiao Bai's body could handle it, they rushed out on their own.
After all, they had spirit, but not intelligence.
They didn't think things through—they acted purely on instinct.
If they saw something they wanted to eat and could eat, they ate it.
"Being a father is tough..."
Xiao Bai sighed internally, feeling a bit helpless.
Inside him, Xiao Bing looked exhausted, curled up into a ball of lightning near his heart, motionless.
But Xiao Bai wasn't too worried.
It hadn't suffered any damage to its core—it had simply overexerted itself and just needed time to recover.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yi was busy repairing the meridians throughout Xiao Bai's body, smoothing out the accumulated lightning energy.
Whatever excess it couldn't absorb, it passed along to Xiao Bing.
Of course, that was only figuratively speaking.
In reality, Xiao Yi was cleansing the stagnant lightning energy, allowing it to flow through the heart, where Xiao Bing then devoured it.
Watching them act on their own, Xiao Bai didn't bother blaming them.
At the end of the day, it was his own strength that was still insufficient to fully support their growth.
For both the thunder seeds he already possessed and those he had yet to obtain, Xiao Bai had always been planning ways to nurture them properly.
Now, a clearer idea had begun to take shape in his mind.
"Looks like I need to wrap up my current matters quickly and make a trip to Jia Nan Academy!"
After all, the academy's headmaster was a lightning attribute cultivator.
There was no way the academy didn't have a suitable lightning cultivation ground.
Even though the original novel never mentioned it, he was sure it must exist.
"Brat, what's wrong? Did you get struck dumb by the lightning?"
Seeing that Xiao Bai had been silent for a long time, Yao Lao finally turned around.
Noticing that Xiao Bai was still lying there, unmoving and dazed, he couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
Xiao Bai secretly rolled his eyes.
Does this old man even know how to talk properly?
Enduring the numbing pain in his jaw, he forced out a hoarse and weak voice:
"I'm fine… but I appreciate Senior's care."
Seeing that Xiao Bai finally spoke, Yao Lao subtly sighed in relief.
He had seen people struck by lightning before—some directly got fried senseless after getting hit.
So when he saw Xiao Bai wake up with dull eyes and staying silent, he had genuinely been concerned.
If his disciple entrusted him with someone, only for that person to return mentally impaired, how could he possibly explain himself?
Not to mention that little girl—she might just burn his old bones to ashes with the Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame.
"Watching over you is no big deal. Just don't do something so foolish again. The path of cultivation requires balance. Don't rush for quick gains; sometimes, it can hinder your progress," Yao Lao said earnestly, his tone filled with concern.
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior. I will remember it well." Xiao Bai responded with sincere respect.
Even though Yao Lao didn't know the full story, and there was a bit of misunderstanding, his words came from genuine concern.
Xiao Bai could tell the difference and didn't take offense.
"Good!"
Seeing Xiao Bai's earnest attitude, Yao Lao nodded in satisfaction, stroking his beard with a pleased smile.
Then, with a mischievous glint in his eye, he added, "You've got quite the 'asset,' kid."
At first, Xiao Bai didn't understand. Asset? What asset? Following Yao Lao's gaze, he immediately realized what the old man meant and felt utterly speechless. He cursed inwardly:
Damn it, this pervy old man!
Only now did he realize—he was completely naked, lying spread-eagle on a massive boulder. Enduring the sharp pain in his soul, he hurriedly retrieved a set of robes from his storage ring and covered himself.
He glared at Elder Yao with resentment. Who would have thought that the first person to see him naked wouldn't be a beautiful girl but this old geezer?
A wave of melancholy washed over him as he thought, "Am I... no longer pure?"
About half an hour later, Xiao Bai finally felt well enough to move, albeit with great difficulty. He sat up on the rock.
His meridians were still undergoing repairs. At this rate, it would take about two more days before he could forcefully circulate his cultivation technique.
Without being able to circulate his technique, he also couldn't use Dou Qi.
"Senior, I'll need about two more days before I can recover enough to travel."
"No problem. Two days is nothing."
Seeing this, Xiao Bai didn't say anything more. He needed to check the state of his sea of consciousness.
Focusing inward, he entered his sea of consciousness. As soon as he did, he noticed how empty and dry it was. Only a few wisps of soul power floated within, a far cry from its usual vastness. There was also a faint aura of heavenly lightning lingering in the sea of consciousness, but not a trace of lightning attribute energy could be seen.