"Ahhhhhhh…" a deep exhalation broke through the zapping of the purple arcs, and with that breath Mikael shifted his focus onto the thunder circling around him.
'This…' his gaze followed the purple arcs of lightning swirling about as the hint of a small frown touched his unimaginably handsome visage, '…needs to be controlled!'
As these thoughts flickered through his mind, Mikael forced himself to ignore the wild sensation coursing within him—especially that faint, electrifying 'something' he could sense all around.
He shut it out and instead concentrated on the lightning crackling across his skin, striving to bend it to his will.
Zap–zap.
To his surprise, even though it was the very first time he had ever manipulated Lightning Qi, it came almost naturally. After only a few seconds of adjustment, he was already able to guide the arcs with ease, commanding even the streaks that licked against his skin.
'Thunder Affinity and Myriad Lightning Convergence Physique working together, huh… better than I expected!'
As that thought passed through Mikael's mind, he began to 'pull it back,' and under his deliberate control the lightning grew tamer, rapidly retreating into his body.
The arcs of purple grew thinner, less numerous with each passing second until at last they vanished entirely, leaving him seated in his naked meditative form…
"Hmm." Mikael's galaxy-like gaze fixed on the empty air, 'What is that I'm feeling?' The thought lingered as he expanded his senses outward, reaching for that strange sensation brushing against him.
Zraaaccckkk!
'That? Lightning Qi!' A flicker of purple cracked across Mikael's eyes as his senses locked onto it, and instinctively—
Zap!
Two meters before him, the air flashed with light as a faint streak of yellow lightning cracked.
"Ooohhh!?" a hint of understanding lit up in Mikael's eyes as he continued to focus on the Lightning Qi present all around him.
Zap-zap-zap.
The sound of lightning crackling in the air began to resound with increasing intensity as brief flashes of Lightning Qi manifested all around him.
Smirk.
A hint of a smile appeared on Mikael's lips as, with a wave of his hand, the Lightning Qi in the atmosphere obeyed and materialized into a yellow lightning bolt that violently collided with the golden wall of the structure.
Boom!
As the deadly lightning bolt struck the wall, the structure shook a little, but beyond that it stayed intact—and that was only logical, since Mikael hadn't put much strength behind the attack.
'My affinity with Thunder/Lighting is high enough that I can control the Lighting Qi present all around me, whether it's because of my Thunder Affinity, the Myriad Lightning Convergence Physique, or a mix of the two, I can't tell, but it's probably the latter.'
His gaze fixed on the wall where the lightning bolt had crashed in, 'And while it was weak, it didn't cost me the slightest bit of Qi, it was entirely me using the Lighting Qi present around me, and it's not like the previous form was the limit of it either—'
With a smooth movement he raised his hand, once more gathering the Lightning Qi to form a yellow lightning bolt like before, but this time he also guided a faint strand of his own purple Lightning Qi into it, forcing the two to fuse together.
He didn't send much of his own Qi, just a faint amount, but the instant he did so, the lightning bolt dramatically changed.
Crackles–Zraacck–Kkrrrrttt!
The previous yellow color became a brilliant purple as the power contained in the now purple lightning bolt surged upward, turning extremely violent and potent as arcs of lightning crackled wildly in the air.
"Go," he murmured, and the instant he did, the bolt streaked forward before colliding with one of the golden walls.
BOOOMMMM!!!!
A violent explosion thundered out as the extremely durable wall, which had endured the earlier lightning bolt without a scratch, lasted only an instant before being torn apart by the sheer might of the purple lightning!
"I see…" a thoughtful glint passed in his 'galaxy-like' eyes, "It seems that combining my own Purple Lighting Qi with the atmospheric Qi gives rise to a scenario of 1 + 1 = 100000000000!"
He slightly shook his head, "Okay, maybe not that much, but the power is definitively real, and the boost compared to before is at least multiple times greater—and the best…"
"Is that the consumption is practically negligible!!! And I'm pretty sure this is only a rudimentary usage of it…"
As he murmured these words to himself, he controlled the atmospheric Lightning Qi to surround him, and it obeyed as yellow Lightning Qi circled around his arm before turning purple under his own infusion.
The lightning then circled around his other arm before moving across his torso, until he withdrew his own Qi, returning it to its previous yellow hue, and continued to play with it.
As time passed Mikael's control over both his own Lightning Qi and the Lightning Qi present in the atmosphere grew at a ridiculous pace.
After a 'short' couple of hours, his control over his now changed Qi returned to what it had been before he absorbed the Perfected Thunder Vein Dew, while his command of the 'wild' Lightning Qi reached an extremely high level.
Just then Mikael rose from the sitting position he had never left during those hours and retrieved both storage rings before slowly walking through the hole in the golden structure he himself had created.
As he neared where he had left both his Taoist Robes and Sangrelia, he heard something.
"Gulp." Hmmm.
A gulping sound reached his ears as Sangrelia slightly trembled, and at the sight of it, Mikael's smile deepened. "Liking what you see?" he teased as he began to put on his Taoist Robes.
Sangrelia fell silent for an instant before her bladed form gave a subtle nod, her melodious yet bloodthirsty voice ringing out, "Yes, I do! Master is unbelievably handsome—even more so than before the Thunder Vein Dew absorption!"
"Ohh…" Mikael didn't quite know how to respond to her words…
But Sangrelia didn't pause and instead pressed on with excitement, "Especially Master's eyes, they are like a living galaxy! It's really… enticing… it makes me want to go on a massacre…"
Twitch.
Mikael's lips twitched slightly as he placed a hand on her hilt. "Maybe later… we have more important things to do right now, don't you think so?"
"Humm, what could be more important?" At that moment, Mikael had the illusion of seeing a silver-haired, red-eyed woman tilting her head innocently, a drowning bloodlust emanating from her as she brought a finger to her blood-red lips.
Vmmmmm.
Sangrelia suddenly vibrated as she realized something. "Master is right! We need to test if Sangrelia is still as compatible with Master as before his transformation!"
"Yeah…"
Hearing her words, Mikael's earlier smile vanished, his expression hardening as his grip on her hilt tightened before he moved—
Moonpiercer Sword Art – Second Movement: Eclipsing Crescent Cut
Sangrelia cut through the air with violence as he executed his Mastered Sword Art, but what was immediately visible was that on her blade the silver Lunar Qi, usually radiant and stable, now seemed unstable, far thinner and weaker than before…
"Fuck." A small curse escaped Mikael as he executed the other moves of the Moonpiercer Sword Art—passing from the first movement, Lunar Shadow Flash, to the defensive third, Silver Dawn Requiem, the piercing fourth, Nightfall Piercer, and even the strongest of them all, Celestial Moon's Embrace!
He executed them all as Lunar Qi materialized in the underground cave, yet as he did so he confirmed what he had already feared before even unleashing the second move, what that second move had hinted at, and what each following Movement of his Sword Art now left beyond doubt.
"Sigh…" a weary exhalation escaped Mikael as his gaze landed on Sangrelia's form, a form he no longer felt as closely attuned as before. It wasn't that their link had grown weaker, but rather that his Qi had drastically changed, and she now needed to adapt.
"...It's as I feared. The emergence of the Myriad Lightning Convergence Physique brought about by the absorption of the Thunder Vein Dew changed my Qi from its previous 'neutral' characteristic to one that is now extremely lightning attenuated… and this—"
Zap–krrccck!
A flash of purple lightning materialized on Mikael's hand as he manifested his Qi outward, "means that my Qi is now firmly of the 'Lightning Type,' which makes these Lightning Cultivation Arts far more potent—doubly so considering my new physique and affinity, but…"
A glint passed in his eyes as he continued to mutter to himself, "...for other types of Cultivation Techniques like Moonpiercer Sword Art where my Qi needs to change and become Lunar Qi, my new Lightning Qi will conflict far more than my previous neutral one, and it will have difficulty transforming, which means that it would not only cost more Qi but the end result would even be weaker!"
Clench.
Mikael clenched his fist, extinguishing the Purple Lightning Qi in his palm. "Still, I was expecting something like that, so it isn't surprising—it's just… unpleasant, fortunately this 'debuff' isn't permanent."
A determined glint passed in his changed eyes, "I just need a way to integrate my new Purple Lighting Qi with Cultivation Technique like Moonpiercer Sword Art,Cloudbreaking Stride and not only would they reach their previous power but also far surpass it!"
"Sangrelia understands! So this is why her connection with the Master is so…weird?"
His attention focused on the talking sword in his hand, "Yeah…I think so, but if I do that—"
He sent his changed Qi in her bladed form who didn't resist and let her Master's Qi enter her.
Crackles, Crackles.
Quickly, small and rare arcs of purple lightning began coursing through her blade, arcs that in the following minutes grew slightly more numerous, and under their dual efforts, combined with the already extremely thick link existing between them, they rapidly 'reconnected.'
It didn't take even half an hour before their connection returned to what it previously was.
"Ahhh~ better like that," Sangrelia's melodious and bloodthirsty voice resounded as she sighed in satisfaction; not being close to her Master really, reallywasn't something she liked.
She was HIS sword after all, and should always be with him!!!
Shiiinnng.
On that note Mikael placed Sangrelia in her favorite position, strapped to his back, as he prepared himself to leave now that everything that needed to be done was finished.
"I'll take care of what I built and then we can leave," he declared in explanation to Sangrelia, his attention fixing on the golden structure that had already served its purpose.
There was no reason to leave it here to rot; it would be far better if he could sell it in some way. After all, it had been extremely costly, so if he could recover even part of what he had spent… he certainly wouldn't say no.
Swish, rustle.
After a short time where he 'packed' everything the cavern was now entirely empty, with no signs of his previous presence in it, except maybe for the cavern existence which was by itself a sign…
He gave the place a last look over before waving his hand and under his magic the cave morphed and in moment was now entirely filled with earth and rock except from the place he was in.
Flew!
He then flew upward while doing the same for the 'tunel' that he left behind, leaving no traces of his presence.
BOOM!!
The ground exploded outward in an not at all discreet fashion as his figure emerged from the earth, leaving nothing behind as he magic took care of it.
Howl.
The wind howled in Mikael ears as he flew tens of meters above the ground he just burst out from, 'That was a… productive expedition.'
That was the thought that passed through his mind as with a last glance below he flew away at insane speed, his destination?
The Wandering Sword Sect!
Author Note:
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I don't know if it's me but the small interaction with Sangrelia was..,refreshing, it's nice, almost therapeutic as after all the combat and action focused scenes(it wasn't that much action but you understand) to be back at Mikael's side.
At least I found it refreshing when I wrote it to see him once more with the 'girls' like the interaction with Sangrelia that carried a 'slice of life' quality.
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— End of Chapter —