"This is the Thunderbolt Bamboo?" The bamboo inside the box was merely a short, ordinary dry stalk, about two inches long and as thick as a small finger, with clearly shriveled root tendrils. It looked no different from any regular bamboo at all! While puzzled, Han Li glanced at Zilin, the young lady, expressionlessly. Clearly understanding his doubts, Zilin smiled gently, held the half-yellow, half-green bamboo between her jade fingers, then flipped her hand, producing a translucent, shimmering dagger in the other. With a crisp sound, she swiftly struck the bamboo with the blade. At the very moment of contact, a delicate electric arc surged across the surface of the bamboo, instantly rebounding the dagger. Witnessing this, Han Li's doubts were fully dispelled. He carefully placed the Thunderbolt Bamboo back into the box and closed it. Then, Zilin presented Han Li with a jade badge from a senior monk of the Miao Yin Sect. After a brief conversation, Han Li bowed and departed. Not long after Fan Li left, Fan Lady and Zhuo Ruying returned to the inn together. After listening to Zi Ling's account, the two exchanged glances for a long time, puzzled. "Sibling, this is quite different from what we originally agreed upon. Don't we seem to be at a disadvantage? With the reputation of the Thunder Bamboo, we could easily find other Jin Dan cultivators—why should we go to such lengths to accommodate this person?" Fan Lady expressed her growing frustration. Although Zhuo Ruying remained silent, her brows were slightly furrowed, clearly showing her own confusion. "The two of you may not know. When I first proposed making him a senior monk of our sect, his expression was quite displeased. From his gaze, I immediately sensed his strong determination—he would not have agreed to this matter even if the Thunder Bamboo had been of no value at all. Moreover, Fan Sister herself mentioned that this person has no fear of our subtle charms." "As for using the Thunder Bamboo to invite other cultivators, I believe you have greatly overestimated its value—this is truly a mere afterthought." To be honest, although the Tianlei Bamboo is hailed as one of the three great divine bamboos of the immortal realm, in reality, very few actually make use of it. Few would employ it as a material unless they were crafting top-tier wooden artifacts. And even among those who know how to craft such artifacts, our modest supply of Tianlei Bamboo simply wouldn't make a significant impact. Moreover, you know that even Tianlei Bamboo comes in different grades—our bamboo is merely a white-thunder variety from several thousand years ago. Even if it were used to craft an artifact, its power would remain modest. It would be wiser to first establish good relations with this person. After all, since he has agreed to serve as a senior elder of our sect, as long as we treat him with respect and offer our annual tributes consistently, would he dare to refuse assistance when our sect truly faces a major threat? Zi Ling, the immortal lady, spoke calmly and composedly. Furthermore, even if someone else were to take an interest in our Tianlei Bamboo and agree to serve as a senior elder, would our sect truly have the courage to welcome them under current circumstances? By then, it might well be that we'd be turning away tigers at the front gate while letting wolves in through the back! Back when my mother was still relying on her own status as a Ju Dan-stage cultivator, she had to adopt a balancing strategy to ensure that the two senior monks, Zhao Meng and his colleague, would genuinely contribute to our sect. After all, merely relying on charm and feminine grace to win over senior cultivators often proved to be counterproductive!" The young woman smiled faintly, a touch of wryness in her expression. Upon hearing this, both Fan Lady and Zhuo Ruiting fell silent. In light of the recent wave of defections among our disciples, they had begun to question the effectiveness of their own charm and grace—now finding the young sister's words increasingly convincing. "For now, we shall jointly manage affairs within the sect and postpone appointing a Master. We'll establish a Master once either of us, or one of our female disciples, achieves Ju Dan stage cultivation." The young woman spoke with firm determination. This time, the other two ladies showed no hesitation. "Will Elder Han, with her deep cultivation level, inevitably intervene in our affairs? Should we take any preventive measures?" "Zhuo Ruru Ting suddenly asked in a cold tone. "No, that's not true. Though I haven't known him very well, I can clearly see from his words and manner that he seems to be a dedicated cultivator—someone whose only real passion is cultivation. Aside from that, nothing else would truly move him. Otherwise, when I mentioned sending one of my female disciples to serve as his concubine, he wouldn't have shown the slightest reaction. It's precisely because of this single-minded devotion that he has been able to reach the Ji Dan stage!" Zi Ling, the fairy princess, shook her head, with a touch of admiration. "Hmph! I wonder if we, the other sisters, still have a chance to attain the Ji Dan stage?" Fan Fu-ren sighed softly, as if her hopes for reaching Ji Dan had dimmed. Upon hearing this, Zhuo Ruru Ting's expression also grew a bit melancholy. It seems these noble ladies share the same deep longing for the Ji Dan stage! ...At this moment, Han Li had returned to his dwelling. He had not attended to any other matters immediately, but instead promptly consulted the numerous scrolls and texts stored within his library. After finally uncovering the cultivation method for the Tian Lei Bamboo within a single jade scroll, Han Li carefully transplanted the bamboo according to the method, placing it in his herb garden. Staring at the slender, barely-established Tian Lei Bamboo now in place, Han Li felt an overwhelming sense of excitement. He was well aware of the hierarchical classification of Tian Lei Bamboo, yet he had never given it much thought. For the quality of the bamboo—its rank—was entirely determined by its spiritual age. Tian Lei Bamboo under two thousand years old could only emit ordinary, white lightning; after five thousand years, the lightning turned blue and became significantly more powerful. When the bamboo reached over ten thousand years old, the lightning transformed into a pale golden hue, reaching a level of power that was truly astonishing and possessing remarkable effects in countering various evil spells and magical techniques—thus earning the admiration of cultivators as the "divine-protecting lightning." This is also the oldest known instance of Tian Lei Bamboo ever seen in the immortal cultivation realm—believed to be the famed "Golden Thunder Bamboo." The "Golden Thunder Bamboo" first appeared once in the era of the Chaotic Star Sea, emerging mysteriously from an unknown source, and only reaching a mere half of its full length. As a result, the Chaotic Star Sea endured bloodshed and turmoil for several decades, with numerous factions vying fiercely for it, passing it through the hands of countless cultivators. Yet, no single cultivator managed to preserve it long enough to refine it into a divine artifact. For just as it first appeared, the bamboo vanished without a trace—mysteriously and unexpectedly. This left the various factions deeply frustrated, and they continued investigating for a long time before the matter eventually settled. Thus, the value of this ten-thousand-year-old Golden Thunder Bamboo becomes evident. To date, Han Li has never cultivated any spiritual creature beyond a thousand years old. For his usual medicinal preparations, even the most ancient herbs of one to two thousand years were entirely sufficient. This gave him not only great anticipation, but also a touch of nervousness about successfully maturing the Thunder Bamboo into Golden Thunder Bamboo. In the days that followed, Han Li used the green liquid to stimulate the growth of the bamboo while frequently strolling through the markets of Tianxing City. The "Green Bamboo Hive Sword" required, in addition to its primary material of spiritual wood, several rare auxiliary materials to be incorporated before it could finally be refined using the pill-fire technique. As a complete set of divine artifacts, the sword demanded far more materials than typical counterparts. Although Han Li had previously gathered some of these materials, many remained uncollected, necessitating further searches. Indeed, the Luanxing Sea was far richer in resources than the southern Tiannan region. Even as Han Li spent heavily—sacrificing his entire fortune in spirit stones—he finally managed to gather all the necessary materials after two years. To achieve this, he had to take on the risk of drawing attention by selling off several of his remaining rare beast pills. When Han Li looked at the now-empty storage bags, he could only sigh in admiration. Crafting a divine artifact—especially a truly excellent one—was no ordinary expense for a regular wandering cultivator. A soft, muffled sound, as the pale light, after being struck by the delicate golden arc of electricity, transformed into a visible, drifting mist of jade-green hue, and then vanished completely. Han Li was first startled, but quickly broke into a joyful smile—one that radiated genuine delight. Now he was eager to imagine what expression the purple spirit maiden would have if she learned that this white thunder bamboo had unexpectedly become golden thunder bamboo. This transaction was likely the most advantageous he had ever secured since entering the immortal realm. Unfortunately, however, he would never get the chance to witness it firsthand.