Chapter 93: Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood

　　Since ancient times, heavenly thunder has been the nemesis of all demons and ghosts.

　　Lightning-struck wood is a tree that has been hit by heavenly thunder. This wood, having undergone the process of being struck by lightning, absorbs the essence of the lightning, subdues evil spirits, and exudes a more spiritual aura. It is regarded as 'divine wood for warding off evil' and possesses powerful talismanic properties.

　　Among all types of lightning-struck wood, lightning-struck red jujube wood is considered the most superior, followed by lightning-struck peach wood and lightning-struck cliff cypress.

　　Lu Fei's heart was pounding as he moved closer in the dim light of the lantern, examining the charred branch carefully.

　　Even amidst the charred appearance, the fine grain of the wood could still be discerned.

　　This was a characteristic of jujube wood!

　　Lu Fei suppressed his excitement and continued to observe.

　　The wooden branch was charred black with slight signs of carbonization, looking rather shabby on the outside, but a faint flow of energy could be seen in the cracks.

　　This kind of energy is usually not noticeable unless one touches it, but fortunately, Lu Fei has the Yin-Yang Eyes.

　　"It's the real deal!"

　　At this moment, Lu Fei's heart almost leaped out of his throat, but he managed to keep his composure on the surface.

　　He first looked up at the stall owner.

　　The stall owner seemed to be a scruffy old man sitting in the shadows where the lantern light could not reach, his old eyes also fixed on Lu Fei.

　　Lu Fei pointed at the lightning-struck jujube wood and took out his piece of gloomwood from his backpack, waving it in front of the old man.

　　The old man immediately reacted, leaning forward and staring intently at the gloomwood in Lu Fei's hand.

　　After a moment.

　　The elderly man waved his hand.

　　"What do you mean? No exchange?" Lu Fei felt a pang of anxiety.

　　This lightning-struck jujube wood was a rare commodity; missing this opportunity would mean losing the chance entirely.

　　Lu Fei quickly made gestures, asking the elderly man what he needed.

　　After some communication, he finally understood that the other party did not think the dark wood was unworthy, but rather that the dark wood alone was not enough.

　　"Not enough, huh..."

　　Lu Fei thought for a moment and then took out half a bottle of corpse oil from his backpack.

　　This kind of thing was very suitable for trading in the ghost market, and he had brought it along just in case it might be useful.

　　Dark wood was mostly used to nourish corpses or ghosts. Since the elderly man showed interest in the dark wood, perhaps he also needed corpse oil.

　　The elderly man stared at the corpse oil for a few seconds, deliberated for a while, and finally nodded.

　　"Great!"

　　Lu Fei was overjoyed. He immediately put down the dark wood and corpse oil, took the lightning-struck jujube wood in his hand, nodded at the old man, and quickly left with Hu Zi.

　　As he walked, he wrapped the lightning-struck wood with a black cloth.

　　This is called not showing off one's wealth.

　　He hurriedly left the ghost market and went to a crowded area. Only then did he wipe the mud off his face and hailed a taxi back to the antique street.

　　As soon as he entered the pawnshop, he told Hu Zi to lock the doors and windows tightly.

　　"Hu Zi, don't let anyone disturb me!"

　　He took out a dagger and carefully scraped off the charred marks on the surface of the lightning-struck jujube wood.

　　Removing layer by layer of the burned wood, he finally revealed a half-meter-long wooden core.

　　The wood was fine and hard, in very good condition.

　　"I hit the jackpot!"

　　Lu Fei was so thrilled he nearly jumped up.

　　Since ancient times, many cultivators have sought out wood struck by lightning to use as their life-bound magical instruments.

　　Such treasures are rare and hard to come by.

　　Of course, his success was also due to the similarly precious piece of submerged wood he had, and the corpse oil that Liu Fugui "stole" back, which unexpectedly played a significant role.

　　Lu Fei took a deep breath, cut his middle finger, and smeared his blood on the wood, then channeled his magic power into the wood struck by lightning.

　　If the absorption was successful, this piece of wood struck by lightning would become his life-bound magical instrument.

　　This process required complete concentration; there could be no distractions.

　　The blood gradually merged with the wood, but Lu Fei felt that his magic power encountered an extremely powerful force.

　　This force was like an untamed wild horse, full of raw energy.

　　Lu Fei channeled his magical power, trying to control this force.

　　Drops of sweat appeared on his forehead.

　　Lu Fei put all his might into wrestling with this force.

　　After an unknown amount of time, his tense body suddenly relaxed.

　　Halfway there!

　　He had infused his blood into the thunderstruck wood, allowing him to harness part of its heavenly thunder power.

　　For a first attempt at refining, Lu Fei was already quite satisfied with what he had achieved.

　　A life-bound artifact also needs to be nurtured.

　　As his magical power increased, his mastery over the life-bound artifact would also grow stronger.

　　The stronger he became, the more powerful his life-bound artifact would be, complementing each other.

　　"It would be great if another deal with the dead came along soon." Lu Fei wiped the sweat from his forehead, a sense of boundless anticipation rising in his heart.

　　Apart from gaining it through cultivation, magical power can also be increased by the power of merit.

　　The last time he took on a deal with the dead and helped a ghost fulfill its wish, he must have earned merit, which then increased his magical power.

　　In high spirits, he even slept hugging that piece of wood struck by lightning.

　　Once he has fully nurtured this fated magic artifact, it will be no less impressive than Grandpa's Sima Scale!

　　It was just beginning to dawn.

　　Lu Fei was awakened by a phone call.

　　An unknown number.

　　"Hello, who is this?"

　　"Shopkeeper Lu, it's me, Brother Fa!"

　　As soon as the call was connected, the coarse voice of the nouveau riche came through.

　　"Brother Fa."

　　Lu Fei was taken aback and sat up.

　　Chen Jinfa calling him so early must mean that the strange object at his construction site hasn't been resolved yet!

　　"Manager Lu, do you have time today to come over to my place?" There was a sense of urgency in Chen Jinfa's tone.

　　"I'm available." Lu Fei nodded immediately, "Brother Fa, didn't you find a suitable expert yesterday?"

　　"We did look, but it's hard to describe! The problem wasn't solved, and it caused me a lot more trouble! It's driving me crazy!" Chen Jinfa seemed quite frazzled.

　　"Brother Fa, what exactly happened?" Lu Fei couldn't help but be curious.

　　"It's hard to explain over the phone. Just come over as soon as possible. I'll be waiting for you at the construction site."

　　"Alright, send me the address, and I'll be there shortly."

　　Putting down his phone, Lu Fei went to freshen up and then wrapped the lightning-struck jujube wood stick in cloth, putting it into his backpack.

　　After peeling off the outer bark, the lightning-struck wood was only half a meter long, making it very convenient to carry.

　　Lu Fei was quite satisfied.

　　Today would be a good day to test the power of the lightning-struck jujube wood.

　　"Hu Zi, time to get to work!"

　　Lu Fei woke up Hu Zi, and the two of them bought some food on the way for breakfast.

　　Hu Zi said that Liu Fugui had found an internet cafe yesterday and stayed up all night, and he was now looking for a place to sleep.

　　"Then let him find a teahouse and continue sleeping."

　　The two didn't call Liu Fugui, and they took a taxi to Chen Jinfɑ's construction site.

　　It was a project for the reconstruction of a shopping mall, surrounded by metal fences.

　　As soon as Lu Fei got out of the car, he felt that there was something wrong with the feng shui of this place and squinted his eyes to look around.

　　"Manager Lu, you're finally here," Chen Jinfah and the bodyguard greeted him at the door.

　　Chen Jinfah had dark circles under his eyes, looking extremely tired, as if he hadn't slept all night.

　　The tall and sturdy bodyguard still stood behind him.

　　"Brother Fa, what's the situation now?" Seeing his anxiety, Lu Fei went straight to the point.

　　"Sigh! There was almost a life-threatening incident yesterday!"

　　Chen Jinfah was still furious as he said, "After I left your Sinisterium Pawnshop, I found out about a Master Wang. He came to take a look and said that the feng shui of my mall was bad, which caused all the trouble."

　　Hearing this, Lu Fei couldn't help but feel puzzled.

　　If Master Wang had already noticed that there was something wrong with the construction site's feng shui, why did the incident still occur last night?