Upon reaching the Dou King realm, a cultivator could mobilize a small amount of external, same-attribute energy from the world to aid them in battle. After breaking through to the Dou Emperor realm, they could command vast amounts of this energy, enough to influence the very weather! A single strike from such an expert could shatter mountains and cleave the earth.
And Medusa was a peak Dou Emperor.
Although the heavenly lightning was not of her attribute, merely altering its trajectory was a trivial matter for her.
With Medusa's assistance, Zhou Changqing's efficiency in utilizing the heavenly lightning skyrocketed. Often, just as he had barely finished refining one bolt, the next would already be entering his body, one after another without interruption. This left Zhou Changqing no time to rest, forcing him to operate his cultivation method at its absolute limit. Under such high-intensity refinement, the speed at which his physical body strengthened could only be described as meteoric.
By the same token, this extreme load also meant that the excruciating pain was like an endless ocean tide, crashing down on him relentlessly.
The thunderstorm lasted for nearly four hours.
As he refined the final bolt of lightning, Zhou Changqing could no longer hold on. He fell back stiffly onto the stone platform, dead to the world.
A flash of red light appeared, and Medusa's figure materialized beside the unconscious Zhou Changqing. Seeing his state, she immediately knelt to check on him, unable to hide the panic, worry, and regret in her eyes.
Fortunately, after a quick examination, she relaxed. The little fellow had only passed out from the overwhelming mental shock of the lightning strikes; his body was otherwise unharmed. A little rest was all he needed to wake up.
Sensing the Dou Qi within Zhou Changqing's dantian—a unique gold-and-silver, sea urchin-shaped Dou Crystal far more profound than that of any other Dou Spirit—and feeling the formidable strength of his physical body, a level of power no Dou Spirit should possess, Medusa's admiration for him grew.
He could endure what others could not. Even when pushed beyond his limits, he had persisted in refining the heavenly lightning. He was a little madman! His insanity was nearly on par with her own when she had chosen to evolve using the Heavenly Flame.
Noticing the faint tremors running through Zhou Changqing's muscles, Medusa gently supported him. She carefully lifted him into her arms, and her serpentine tail began a slow, steady descent down the mountain. The pain in his body had not yet fully subsided, and any sudden movements might stimulate his nerves.
To keep him from waking in agony, Medusa even enveloped him in a thin layer of her Dou Qi, shielding him from the vibrations of her own movement as she descended.
Returning to the cave, she entered his stone chamber and gently placed him on the stone bed, which was covered with a soft mattress. After tucking him in, Medusa stared at his handsome face for a long while before finally turning to leave.
***
In the endless darkness, an unknown amount of time passed before Zhou Changqing's consciousness finally returned.
"Ugh..."
With a soft groan, he slowly opened his eyes. The familiar furnishings and stone walls of his chamber came into view.
"I'm in my room?"
He sat up slowly, rubbing his slightly dazed head. A moment later, clarity returned. It didn't take much guessing to figure out that Medusa must have brought him back to the cave after he fainted.
Pushing other thoughts aside, Zhou Changqing immediately began to inspect his condition. This training session had been different from all the others. He had been operating at full capacity the entire time. He hoped such a terrifying intensity hadn't electrocuted him into having some lasting problem.
After a careful internal examination revealed no serious issues, he finally felt at ease. At the same time, a look of delight spread across his face.
The reason was simple: after this high-intensity refinement, his physical strength had improved immensely—roughly three times as much as a normal session! Furthermore, his Dou Qi cultivation had also seen a similar boost, also about three times the usual amount.
This was an astonishing rate of progress, like riding a rocket! Back when he was a Dou Grandmaster, it had taken him five months to advance from one-star to seven-star, which was already an incredible speed of over one star per month. Now, as a Dou Spirit, even with the modifications he'd made to his equipment to increase the lightning's output, his speed should have slowed somewhat. Yet this one session had been three times more effective than that already rapid pace.
Zhou Changqing could almost see the Dou King realm waving at him. In fact, it was more likely his physical body would break through to the Dou King level first.
"Wait, why has my spiritual strength increased as well?"
Just as he was basking in his joy, Zhou Changqing suddenly noticed that his spiritual perception was much stronger than before. If previously he could only scan an area with a radius of about one li, now his range had expanded to six hundred meters, and his perception was much clearer.
This might seem like a small improvement, but it was a sudden, qualitative leap. Spiritual cultivation methods were extremely rare on the Dou Qi Continent, so for most people, spiritual strength only grew incrementally along with their cultivation realm. The process was slow and imperceptible, like a gentle spring rain nurturing the earth. It would never result in a sudden jump like the one Zhou Changqing had just experienced.
Zhou Changqing pondered for a moment, and then his eyes lit up as he guessed the reason. "It must be because I pushed myself to the absolute limit. The immense torment I endured tempered my spirit, causing my spiritual strength to grow rapidly under the pressure!"
When a person endures tremendous suffering, be it mental or physical, they either break completely or emerge stronger. In a fantasy world, this manifested as either the soul shattering or the soul strengthening. After all, in such worlds, the soul was a tangible thing. He even recalled a novel from his past life where the protagonist used a "spiritual grindstone" to repeatedly crush and reform his mind, thereby training his mental fortitude and enhancing his spiritual power.
His own experience—enduring the agonizing pain of heavenly lightning to the point of passing out—was not exactly the same, but it was close enough.
"I never knew extreme body refinement had this kind of benefit. Does this mean that every time I do this, my body, Dou Qi, and spirit will all improve?"
The thought alone was enough to make him want to rush out and do it all over again. Body, Qi, and Spirit—cultivating all three aspects at once! Who could resist such a temptation? Not even a Dou Di!
Fortunately, there was no thunderstorm at the moment, and Zhou Changqing still had his wits about him. He suppressed the impulse. He understood the principle of not overdoing it.
Rumble...
The stone door to his chamber slid open, revealing a face of unparalleled, exquisite beauty.
"You're awake?" Medusa asked softly, looking at the now-conscious Zhou Changqing. "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
"No, I've never felt better! Thank you for your help, Your Majesty."
"It's good that you're well. No need to thank me; it was merely a transaction. Helping you was helping myself."
***
In the days that followed, Zhou Changqing and Medusa settled into a routine in the mountain forest. When there was a thunderstorm, they would head up the mountain, one to guide the lightning and the other to refine his body. When there was no rain, they would stay in their cave, one focusing on enhancing her bloodline and the other tinkering with smithing and crafting.
However, every so often, they would tacitly gather at the stone table to share a quiet, well-cooked meal. Their interactions had a certain air of courteous coexistence, like two people treating each other with the politeness due to a guest.
As the days passed, living in such close quarters, the two of them grew much more familiar with each other. Although Medusa rarely smiled, they could now be considered friends.