Just as Xiao Bai was deep in thought, a streak of green lightning suddenly flashed through the darkness.
"Daoist Righteous Thunder of Yi Wood!"
At that moment, as the Bing Fire Yang Thunder continued to evaporate his blood, the remaining blood in Xiao Bai's body began to emit a faint silver-white glow.
Once all his blood had seemingly been tempered, the Daoist Righteous Thunder of Yi Wood within his liver began to stir.
As the refined blood passed through the liver, it was stimulated by the Yi Wood Qi, continuously generating new blood. The newly formed blood was just like the refined one—crimson with a hint of silver.
As his blood volume steadily increased, Xiao Bai's withered body gradually regained its fullness.
At that moment, his consciousness finally reconnected with his body. The familiar sensation of pain surged back, making him instinctively gasp in response.
Looking inward at his own body, Xiao Bai observed the red-silver blood flowing silently through his veins. Though he didn't fully understand what had happened, he could make an educated guess.
Forming a seal with both hands, he prepared to refine the Bing Fire Yang Thunder within his heart.
However, as soon as he began, he realized how difficult it was—far more challenging than refining the Daoist Righteous Thunder of Yi Wood.
Every strand of Bing Fire Yang Thunder that entered his meridians felt like being sliced apart by a thousand blades, causing severe damage to his channels. The refinement process was excruciatingly slow.
Xiao Bai had no choice but to mobilize the Daoist Righteous Thunder of Yi Wood from his liver to continuously repair the damage. He didn't dare let the two types of thunder come into direct contact.
In the Five Elements theory, wood generates fire. If Yi Wood Thunder merged with Bing Yang Thunder, it would only fuel its flames, making the refinement process even more difficult.
Several hours passed, and he had only refined a tiny portion of the Bing Fire Yang Thunder—a mere fraction of the entire thunder seed.
By his estimation, it would take at least half a year to fully refine the Bing Fire Yang Thunder within his heart. That meant he would have to endure this agony for at least six more months.
Gritting his teeth against the searing pain in his heart, he struggled to his feet. He looked at the gray-white strands of hair hanging over his chest and his slightly emaciated hands. A hoarse chuckle echoed through the cave.
"Heh… heh… heh…"
"A little hardship—nothing more than a passing storm!"
He gently adjusted his slightly oversized white robe and staggered out of the cave.
Outside, it was already deep into the night. The bright moon cast a silvery glow, draping the land in a soft, white veil. The cool night breeze brushed against him, slightly easing his exhaustion as he slowly made his way down the mountain.
Sweat continuously dripped from his face. Every few steps, he had to pause to catch his breath, waiting for the pain in his body to subside before continuing downward.
A path that would normally take mere moments now felt exceptionally long.
After a grueling descent, he finally reached the lake where he had last washed his face. In the distance, the well-arranged courtyards of the Xiao Clan came into view. Not far away stood a pavilion, and Xiao Bai slowly made his way toward it.
Suddenly, his brows furrowed. He turned his gaze toward a large tree several meters away.
"Who's there?"
Xiao Bai's soul was exceptionally strong. Ever since cultivating the Heavenly Heart Induction Scripture, his spiritual perception had become even sharper. He had just sensed someone watching him.
He didn't bother trying to identify the intruder. Anyone lurking around at this hour was unlikely to have good intentions. Without hesitation, he infused his voice with his soul force as he spoke.
Though his voice wasn't loud, to the person hiding behind the tree, it sounded like a thunderclap, leaving them dazed and disoriented.
Behind the tree, Xiao Yan instinctively rubbed his ears. He had been unable to sleep due to concerns about his cultivation, so he had decided to take a walk by the lake. Unexpectedly, he had spotted a white-clad figure slowly descending from the mountain.
Frightened, he thought he had run into a ghost in the middle of the night. The area was too open, and he didn't dare to run outright, so he quickly hid behind a large tree, praying that the white-clad "ghost" wouldn't see him.
As the figure approached, Xiao Yan cautiously peeked out to take a look.
The night was too dark to make out the person's features, but he could see that the figure had gray-white hair, a completely bloodless face that appeared stark white under the moonlight, and moved slowly.
He knew everyone in the Xiao Clan, yet he couldn't recall anyone with this appearance. This only reinforced his belief that what he saw wasn't human.
It wasn't until the person turned to look at him and let out a soft shout that he realized—though the voice wasn't loud, it rang in his ears like thunder.
If it weren't for his decent soul strength, his meager third-stage Dou Disciple cultivation would've caused him to faint on the spot.
"You're… Bai… Bai-ge?" Xiao Yan asked hesitantly.
"Xiao Yan?" Upon hearing the voice, Xiao Bai couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing sneaking around out here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk by the lake. Then I saw a white figure coming down from the mountain, and I thought I had run into a…" Xiao Yan abruptly stopped mid-sentence, awkwardly rubbing his nose as he stepped out from behind the tree.
"What? Thought you saw a ghost?" Now realizing it was just Xiao Yan, Xiao Bai ignored him and continued his slow steps toward the pavilion.
"Heh…" Xiao Yan let out a dry laugh and followed him toward the pavilion.
As he got closer and saw Xiao Bai's appearance clearly, he exclaimed in shock, "Bai-ge, what happened to you?"
At this moment, Yao Lao, inside the ring, was also deeply astonished. The young man he had always regarded with caution was now in such a wretched state. Moreover, Xiao Bai's body occasionally emitted a pure yang energy so intense that even Yao Lao's soul form felt a burning sensation.
"Why are you shouting? I just ran into a small accident while cultivating," Xiao Bai shot him a glance, walked into the pavilion, and sat down on the stone bench, letting out a long breath.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan assumed that Xiao Bai had used some extreme method to try and break through to the Dou Practitioner realm, which left him in such a condition. His eyes showed a sense of shared hardship.
Xiao Yan had once thought of Xiao Bai as pretentious and found his behavior insufferable.
In the Xiao Clan, Xiao Bai was always polite, refined, and warm to everyone, like a spring breeze. The older generation of the clan adored him.
Whenever a child was scolded by their parents, it was always the same:
"Look at Xiao Bai! Blah blah blah…"
"If you had even a tenth of Xiao Bai's qualities, I would blah blah blah…"
This made Xiao Bai seem like a sworn enemy among the boys of the same generation. No one wanted to play with him.
Whenever they saw him, they glared at him. If not for the fact that they couldn't beat him, he would have long been ambushed and stuffed into a sack.
On the other hand, the girls of the same generation had a very good impression of Xiao Bai—he had an elegant temperament, a good appearance, and outstanding talent. Everyone liked him. If it weren't for the fact that he only had eyes for Xun'er, he would have been swarmed by admirers.
And Xiao Yan?
He was once the clan's genius, the leader of the kids. He and his "subordinates" saw Xiao Bai as their common enemy, bearing both new and old grudges against him. They despised him in every way.
That group of kids never sat still either, always stirring up trouble in the Xiao Clan. Whenever something happened, they would drag Xiao Yan into it because he was their leader.
As a result, whenever parents scolded their children, it was always:
"He's a genius, the hope of the Xiao Clan! But you? Blah blah blah…"
"His father is the clan leader! But you? Blah blah blah…"
This left Xiao Yan with a bad reputation among the clan members, who saw him as the bad influence leading their children astray. He took the blame for countless things. If not for his "genius" title, the clan would have long been in an uproar against him.
But ever since his cultivation dropped, the people who once surrounded him began to distance themselves. Now, the same clan members who once held their tongues started speaking up, allowing him to fully experience the fickleness of human nature and the cold reality of the world.
At this point, in the entire Xiao Clan, aside from his father, only Xiao Bai still treated him the same as before.
Xiao Bai had never clung to him in his prime, nor did he distance himself when he fell.
This made Xiao Yan feel a bit guilty about all the times he had troubled Xiao Bai in the past. Only after his own downfall did he realize how unpleasant such an experience was.
Because of this, his impression of Xiao Bai had improved considerably, and even his way of addressing him had changed.