I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Chapter 124 Old Friends Change Easily

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In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

Zhou Yi had become wildly popular in the Scripture Hall, bonding with the disciples.

After all, who would reject a person who lectured profoundly, had a gentle disposition, and also owned a collection of rare editions of storybooks?

On this particular day, the lecture had ended.

The disciples in the hall bowed in thanks, quietly waiting for the master to leave before dispersing.

Zhou Yi didn't return to the Hundred Flowers Valley but instead turned to a side hall. Before long, more than ten disciples had gathered one after another.

"Greetings, Master Zhou."

"Dispense with the formalities."

Zhou Yi waved his hand to have everyone be seated and brought out a century-old Soul Soothing Intoxication. "Xiao lad, why so serious? Come and pour the drinks."

Yan An rose helplessly to his feet. Given that he was the youngest and the last to be admitted, after pouring wine for his senior brothers, he deliberately filled his own cup to the brim.

Zhou Yi asked, "Were there any doubts about the Lightning Method today?"

These disciples were all keen on the Lightning Method and rather talented; originally, they had sought guidance after class. To avoid the hassle, Zhou Yi decided to start a small class. The class didn't have many strict requirements—anyone willing to dedicate the time could attend as an observer.

The disciples took turns asking questions, and Zhou Yi untangled their doubts one by one, while the other listeners also gained some insight.

After about half an hour, the small class ended, but as usual, the disciples stayed behind to chat about interesting events and tales. Read the latest tale on M-VL-em|p,yr

The Dan Ding Sect's headquarters stretched over a thousand miles, with many mystical and spiritual places within its borders—such as the Spiritual Spring on Xiaoquan Peak and the exotic flowers and herbs of the Hundred Flowers Valley. Then there was the Heavenly Pond under the moonlight, which many disciples purposely flew over when passing Moon Viewing Peak.

Unfortunately, clouds and fog often veiled the view, hiding the sight of any celestial maiden taking a bath.

As if in passing, Zhou Yi inquired, "I heard from a fellow daoist the other day that the sect once had a Punishment Cliff, an excellent place for enjoying the snow. Why can't I find it on the map?"

"Master Zhou, I know some insider information about this."

The disciple who spoke was called Qin Yu, whose family had cultivated in the Dan Ding Sect for several generations, and thus had a wide network, "A few years ago, Uncle Master Xuan Xiao caused trouble outside the sect and was sentenced to Punishment Cliff. To everyone's surprise, he discovered the inheritance of a deceased Nascent Soul ancestor within the Black Wind Cave..."

Hiss!

The other disciples were also hearing this for the first time. Such experiences were incredibly mysterious and aroused longing and anticipation.

Zhou Yi's hand trembled slightly as he held his wine cup, asking, "And what happened after that?"

Qin Yu continued, "With the aid of the ancestor's inheritance, Uncle Master Xuan Xiao advanced forcefully into a false core realm. He is currently in seclusion and cultivating at Divine Fire Peak, and it's rumored that the five ancestors have agreed to a special granting."

Once these words were spoken, the sense of longing was now mixed with envy and jealousy.

A Solidifying Pill was different from a Foundation Establishment Pill; even within the Dan Ding Sect, it was an extremely rare item.

There were three known ways to attain it, exchanging for merit, the sect's grand competition, and special granting by the ancestors. The first option was priced so high it was staggering—ordinary disciples would need to accumulate merit over four or five generations to afford it.

The second option, while fiercely competitive, was the most feasible.

The third option required unanimous consent from all five Nascent Soul ancestors.

The last disciple of the Dan Ding Sect to meet the third criterion lived hundreds of years ago. Records show that they had crafted a magic artifact during the Foundation Establishment Stage, a rare talent in artifact refining scarcely seen in the world.

After some more casual conversation and finishing a pot of wine, the disciples said their goodbyes to Zhou Yi.

In the side hall.

Zhou Yi pondered for a long time, suspecting that there was more to the story. Given Xiao Tiezhu's ability to court disaster, there was a good chance that he had come upon more than just a Nascent Soul inheritance.

"With at least five living Nascent Souls in the Dan Ding Sect, why would they place such importance on a deceased ancestor?"

"Could it be a Divinity Transformation inheritance? Or perhaps some Supreme Treasure..."

"That guy is too good at causing trouble. In the Qi Refinement Realm, he brought calamity to the Little Dan Mountain. If in the future he advances to Golden Core, will the Dan Ding Sect be able to withstand it?"

"He's practically a walking nuclear bomb!"

Zhou Yi's thoughts raced, feeling both convinced by the profound foundation of the Dan Ding Sect and fearing some drastic calamity.

He couldn't take the risk.

...

Upon returning to the Hundred Flowers Valley.

The valley was evergreen, with no sign of autumn or winter.

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Xuan Yu was still leisurely planting flowers; each day in the vast valley, quite a few flowers would wither. She took her flower hoe and one by one, replenished them.

Day after day, she was totally unlike a real Golden Core realm cultivator, but rather a mundane flower farmer.

Zhou Yi descended from his escape light and greeted with clasped hands, "I've seen Senior Sister."

"Junior Brother Zhou is back."

Xuan Yu carefully arranged the soil and said, "Is Junior Brother teaching a small class today? How did my clansman perform?"

Zhou Yi praised, "Nephew Yan has grasped a third of the subtlety of the Lightning Method. Within ten years, he may well succeed and vie for the top ten in the minor competition."

"It's because Junior Brother teaches well."

Xuan Yu smiled faintly but soon returned to her usual cool demeanor and asked, "Junior Brother has deep insight into the Lightning Method and has few rivals at the same level, so why not sign up for this year's sect competition?"

Zhou Yi shook his head and said, "The competition is too fierce; I would just be part of the backdrop if I went up."

This year coincided with the Golden Core Sect's decade competition and as the end of the year approached, the atmosphere in the sect grew increasingly tense. Some Foundation Establishment true cultivators who usually secluded themselves for cultivation began appearing frequently, forming alliances and manipulations; the competition had already started off the fighting platform.

Xuan Yu said, "Since the establishment of the sect competition, there has never been anyone who made it into the top ten on their first try. It's through repeated failures to gain experience, coupled with a bit of luck, that one can obtain the Spiritual Objects needed for Core Formation."

Zhou Yi pondered and asked, "Senior Sister, could you talk about how to form a core?"

Xuan Yu was the ninth in the sect competition ten years ago and obtained a millennium mushroom-horse, but unfortunately, she failed in Core Formation.

The grand formation of the Golden Core Sect blocked the minor forty-nine heavenly tribulation, and Xuan Yu, having previously exchanged for Spirit Pills, barely held onto her life, but her Dantian was damaged and her path of cultivation cut short.

"Such texts are considered top-secret within the sect. Even true disciples are only allowed to view them when they are close to Core Formation."

Xuan Yu pondered for a moment, thinking that Zhou Yi was the teacher her clansman admired the most. She said, "However, I can talk to you about the process of failure..."

Zhou Yi's face lit up with joy and he clasped his hands, saying, "Thank you, Senior Sister. I have organized the essence of the Five Thunder Technique in volume five, and I will pass it on to Nephew Yan tomorrow."

"Golden Core formation is generally divided into three steps: false core, true core, and tribulation. I failed at the second step!"

As someone who had experienced it first-hand, Xuan Yu was very familiar with the process of Core Formation: where she hadn't been perfect, where she had barely succeeded, and the reasons for her ultimate failure.

"After all, my cultivation had been too smooth, without taking risks to seek opportunities, leading to insufficient accumulation. The Golden Core is the condensation of essence, mana, and spirit into a Hun Yuan unity. I had enough mana, my soul was barely passable, but my Qi-Blood was far too lacking!"

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister."

Zhou Yi now knew the direction to put his efforts, and he could avoid many detours.

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The New Year began.

The sect competition commenced.

The Foundation Establishment true cultivators in the audience seats paid no attention to their image and activated Magic Artifacts for recording to document the fighting processes.

Returning to their caves, they carefully contemplated and sought insights, devising counters for future encounters.

Zhou Yi also bought many Magic Artifacts for recording, meticulously documenting all the combat matches, with some of the top ten favorites recorded from multiple angles.

"I'm not studying the fighting techniques but observing the art of dodging and fleeing!"

The competition revealed many familiar names of cultivators, such as Li Qing, Chu Feng, and so on, but compared to the veteran Foundation Establishment real persons, they were out of their league, and very few made it past three rounds.

That day.

Like usual, Zhou Yi was watching the battles unfold when he suddenly heard a familiar name.

"This match, Lin Yushu against Xuan Jing."

Afterward, two streaks of light landed on the stage, one a gentleman in white with a folding fan, and the other a Purple Daoist robe and a true disciple.

"Is this Lin Yushu?"

Zhou Yi looked at the handsome and dashing young master with a tall figure, his face showing confusion, as he couldn't reconcile this image with the short and plump one from his memory.

"It must be a coincidence of names!"

The fight began.

Lin Yushu activated his folding fan Magic Artifact, from which two twenty-more zhang long dragons emerged, clashing fiercely with True Person Xuan Jing.

After a short moment, Xuan Jing was overwhelmed by the dragons, let out a scream, and was knocked off the stage.