Thundercores are valuable, but Thunderbeasts are by no means easy to kill.
Thunder Island spans hundreds of miles, with the Furious Thunder, Wild Thunder, and Violent Thunder peaks aside, the island's mountain ranges stretch on, with bizarre rocks and countless caves and stone hollows.
Thunderbeasts are born from the power of Coagulating Thunder, possessing natural intelligence, extremely high speed, and a knack for concealment. Moreover, they have incredibly strong senses, and one can imagine the difficulty in trying to capture them in such a unique environment as Thunder Island.
Most importantly, Thunderbeasts are not to be trifled with; they naturally harness thunder and possess innate spells.
Even Purple Mansion cultivators might find themselves defeated when encountering them!
"Since you're aware of Thunderbeasts, I'll spare you the explanation."
Wu Yanqiu's gaze flashed as she asked, "Junior Brother, are you interested in joining us to hunt Thunderbeasts together?"
Wang Chen shook his head, "Senior Sister, I only wish to solely cultivate Thunder Magic."
With the Immortal Cultivation panel on him, he didn't need a Thundercore to advance at a rapid pace; he was even considering challenging the Great Perfection level, so where did he have time to join others on a Thunderbeast hunt?
The key point was that Wang Chen didn't feel he would have much say in Wu Yanqiu's hunting team.
After all the hard work, to be left with barely any benefits seemed like the act of a fool.
Wu Yanqiu clearly hadn't expected Wang Chen's refusal to be so swift. She paused and then said, "Junior Brother, you should know that we've found a beast lair on the island…"
Wang Chen didn't let her continue, "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm really not interested. I'm sorry."
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Thunderbeasts prefer to live in groups, with a nest housing a dozen or even scores of them.
If one could eliminate them all at once, the Thundercores harvested would indeed be considerable.
But it's not that simple!
The higher the reward, the greater the risk. Leaving aside the fact that Wang Chen didn't need a Thundercore, even if he did, he would never join a group of unfamiliar sect members to raid a beast lair.
Interrupted before she could finish, Wu Yanqiu felt somewhat embarrassed and annoyed.
But she did not show anger, and instead offered a wry smile, "If Junior Brother is unwilling, then let's pretend I never mentioned it."
Wang Chen nodded, "Thank you for understanding, Senior Sister. I'll head back now."
After Wang Chen left, a skinny and tall cultivator took his place and asked, "What did he say?"
Wu Yanqiu shook her head helplessly, "Junior Brother Wang is not willing."
The tall and skinny cultivator furrowed his brow, "Didn't you propose a deal to him?"
"I couldn't get that far."
Wu Yanqiu explained with frustration, "Junior Brother Wang has no interest in Thunderbeasts; he refused outright."
She countered, "Senior Brother Zhao, why must he join?"
The skinny cultivator fell silent for a moment before responding, "Someone has to lure the Thunderbeasts out of their lair."
Thunderbeast lairs are deep within the mountains, with passages leading in all directions. Once the beasts sense danger, they will scatter and escape, making them impossible to capture.
Therefore, someone is needed to attract them out.
This task is undoubtedly perilous, requiring not only decent strength but also a high resistance to thunder and lightning.
Wang Chen was the target chosen by the skinny cultivator.
Wang Chen's cultivation level in the Purple Mansion was average, not too high nor too low, just right. His long period of cultivation in the Enlightenment Cave was widely recognized for its diligence.
By extension, the amount of time Wang Chen spent in the Enlightenment Cave indicated he likely had high resistance to lightning.
Most importantly, he was a solitary figure with no backing or origin and no foundation to speak of within the sect.
Such an individual was easiest to manipulate.
Only, the skinny cultivator's calculations were thorough, yet he had not foreseen that Wang Chen would not take the bait at all.
Upon returning to the Enlightenment Cave, Wang Chen continued to practice the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Technique.
He planned to master this Thunder Magic to the Grandmaster realm before returning to West Sea City, break through to the third level of the Purple Mansion, and then come back.
However, after the breakthrough to Great Achievement with the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Technique, the progress that followed became even more difficult; Wang Chen could only gain a sliver of experience after an entire day's effort.
Advancing to Grandmaster would require at least four to five hundred days.
This Spell was profound and expansive, truly not something an ordinary Cultivator could practice!
Half a month later, a trading event was held in the Yuan Cultivation Cave.
Referred to as a trading event, it was actually a gathering for Sect Disciples who practiced at Furious Thunder Peak to exchange or purchase cultivation resources like Pills, Spiritual Materials, and the like.
If they were common items, there would be no need for such an event; after all, Thunder Island was only a few thousand miles from West Sea City, and one could get there quickly either by Sword Flight or by taking a flying boat.
If something was needed, one could simply go to the city to buy it.
But Thunder Island had a harsh environment, and some of its local products were rare elsewhere.
Materials such as Thunderbeast Thundercores, Lightning-Struck Wood, Purple Thunder Vine, Thunder Crystals, and so on, were treasures frequently sought by Disciples on the island; as long as one wasn't incredibly unlucky, they would find something.
These materials were very suitable for Cultivators who practiced Thunder Magic, and it was most convenient to sell them in the Yuan Cultivation Cave, where they could fetch a good price.
Additionally, everyone would exchange cultivation insights.
Such trading events were held once a month, organized by the Cultivators themselves. Having been on Thunder Island for nearly four months, Wang Chen was well aware of this.
Since his recent practice had been progressing slowly, and feeling somewhat frustrated, he decided to participate in today's event.
He considered it a diversion.
The day the trading event was held also happened to be the busiest day in the Yuan Cultivation Cave, with most Disciples in attendance.
Many Cultivators set up stalls.
The West Sea Sect's rules were strict and, as everyone was a fellow Sect member, the event was orderly even without anyone managing or overseeing it: the crowd was buzzing with noise yet organized, and no one was foolish enough to cause trouble in public, thus losing face and reputation.
Wang Chen wandered around with great interest.
There were about a hundred Disciples setting up stalls, and since it wasn't a formal market, everyone was quite casual.
Here, the identities of stall owners and customers could be completely interchangeable.
However, after looking over dozens of stalls, Wang Chen didn't find anything appealing.
Firstly, his standards had become high, and ordinary goods no longer caught his eye.
Secondly, Wang Chen wasn't lacking in Magic Artifacts or Pills and Talismans; the spoils of war he had gained from slaying his enemies were yet to be sold, so common items held little interest for him.
After browsing for a while, Wang Chen stopped in front of one stall.
The stall was manned by a tall, skinny Cultivator, who had only one item displayed on his table.
A crystal the size of a baby fist, wrapped in lightning, lay before him.
Wang Chen recognized it at a glance, a Thundercore taken from a Thunderbeast.
The characteristic features were too obvious.
For those who practiced Thunder Magic, the benefits of a Thundercore were well-known, and thus a crowd had formed around this stall.
"Senior Brother, how many Spirit Stones are you asking for it?"
"Senior Brother, can I trade a top-grade Nurturing Origin Pill for it?"
The stall owner sat back like he was fishing, waiting until the crowd was sufficient before he spoke, "Starting bid of five hundred Middle Spirit Stones—the highest bidder wins!"
Immediately, the throng of Cultivators around the stall thinned out considerably.
A starting bid of five hundred Middle Spirit Stones, with bidding to follow, really was a show of strength that deterred those without sufficiently bulging Storage Bags—it was pointless to embarrass oneself.
Those who remained were, of course, the ones with the means.
The second update is here.