"Fujiao offers his deepest gratitude to Master!" Zhou Fujiao bellowed, mobilizing his spiritual technique to force the sound through his stony form.
Nodding slightly with satisfaction, Mang Xiang raised his arm, gesturing to the assembled Purple Palace experts who had gathered to witness the discipleship ceremony.
"Very well, let the banquet begin. Fellow Daoists, we have not gathered like this in years. Today, we must drink our fill!"
Though it was called a banquet, its two primary hosts consisted of a white phantom incapable of consuming a single morsel of food, and a stone golem that lacked a mouth entirely.
In Yulou's eyes, the scene carried a touch of the absurd, yet it felt strangely logical. Cultivation was a journey toward divinity, and perhaps the process of drawing closer to an immortal was fundantally a process of distancing oneself from humanity.
This distance was not asured in physical space, but in conceptual detachnt. Possessing vast, overwhelming spiritual power ant leaving behind the frailty of mortals.
Commanding a lifespan of thousands of years ant breaking free from the great terror of mortality. Ultimately, a powerful individual beca an immortal, and in doing so, ceased to be human.
Mang Xiang was currently walking the path toward becoming an Immortal Venerable, while Zhou Fujiao was already a Purple Palace Grand Cultivator who looked down upon the ages. It was precisely because they had gradually diverged from ordinary humans—and even ordinary cultivators—that they could stand where they were today.
It was how they could transform from bitter enemies into master and disciple, utilizing the most bizarre twist of fate to achieve a mutual triumph. This, perhaps, was a testant to the sheer breadth of mind possessed by a great cultivator.
---
Wang Yulou did not find this particular banquet enjoyable. However, his lack of appetite had nothing to do with the quality of the food.
Even the tables set for the Qi Refining disciples were piled high with rare delicacies. For Huang Qiusheng, it made no difference upon whom the sect’s accumulated wealth was spent.
Patriarch Mangxiang was the future third sun of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect. Leaving aside the massive expenditure required to throw this grand discipleship ceremony, it would be entirely justified even if they emptied the sect's entire treasury to aid the patriarch in attaining Golden Core status.
Of course, Huang Qiusheng only dared to harbor such thoughts in private. The patriarch's repeated extraction of resources under the guise of mutual obligations had already severely drained the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's foundational reserves.
The other Purple Palace experts within the sect were already on the verge of turning hostile; they were rely waiting for soone to take the lead and spearhead a protest.
Yulou’s discomfort stemd entirely from the overwhelming number of Purple Palace experts and seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivators present. Their combined presence exerted an intangible, suffocating pressure. Those high-stage and great cultivators rely needed to sit there to inadvertently influence the environnt around them.
As Yulou slowly poked at his bowl of spirit rice to pass the ti, waiting for the grand gathering to conclude so he could return to his cultivation, a strange yet unforgotten voice echoed directly in his mind.
'Wang Yulou, co here.'
Faced with this sudden summons from Danri, Wang Yulou felt no joy, only a sudden surge of dread. No great cultivator would take notice of an obscure junior without a compelling reason. If the theory that he was a pawn ant to secure a future position for the patriarch held true, then a massive, unpredictable variable had just introduced itself—why would the patriarch take an interest in him while he was still a re Qi Refining cultivator?
Could it be because of the mysterious Jade Ruyi resting within his mind? That was the only logical conclusion. Overwheld by fear, the hairs on Yulou's arms stood on end, and his entire body locked up tight.
Almost instantly, the sudden wave of terror radiating from Yulou was picked up by Ancestor Xianzhou, who was seated directly behind him. The two were positioned very close to one another, and Ancestor Xianzhou had been keeping a watchful eye on Yulou throughout the event.
"Yulou, what is it?" Wang Xianzhou asked, keeping his voice low, though it vibrated with deep concern.
Wang Yulou cast a complicated glance back at Ancestor Xianzhou, causing the old man’s heart to skip a beat. With just a single look, Wang Xianzhou realized sothing was terribly amiss. Beneath the placid, smiling surface of Yulou’s eyes, he could see a deeply masked terror. Yulou had concealed his true thoughts exceptionally well, but having spent so many years together, the two understood each other without the need for words. Sothing had definitely happened!
"It is nothing. True Person Danri has summoned , so I shall head over first. Please, continue with your al, Ancestor."
With that, Yulou stood up under the astonished stares of the surrounding Red Lantern Illumination Sect mbers. After offering a brief explanation, he began walking toward the front of the grand hall.
"I said just a mont ago that Yulou is the type of cultivator destined for great things. Sure enough, to be summoned by Ancestor Danri ans he is about to receive a massive fortune."
"Uncle Xianzhou, it seems your Wang Clan is about to produce another Core Disciple in the next generation. As expected of the patriarch's direct lineage."
"Are these two fellow Daoists from Aunt Jingyi's branch?"
Wang Xianzhou gripped his wine cup so tightly that his knuckles turned white, but given the nature of the occasion, he could only force a smile and play along.
"How could any great fortune fall upon him? More likely than not, he is simply being called over for a lecture."
Naturally, such a dismissive explanation did nothing to quiet the surrounding gossip.
"Uncle Xianzhou, you flatter yourself. Given Ancestor Danri's exalted status, why would she summon a re Qi Refining junior just to lecture him? I suspect she intends to accept him as a personal disciple right then and there."
"Accept him directly? A Qi Refining Core Disciple of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect? This... this is unprecedented..."
While the quiet murmurs of the crowd remained buried beneath the general clamor of the grand hall, Wang Yulou's progression from the Qi Refining section into the rows of Foundation Establishnt cultivators drew significant attention.
Wang Jingyi, who had been actively discussing the path of talisman creation with Guo Baichi, noticed Yulou's approach and sent a puzzled voice transmission.
'What is the aning of this?'
Since Wang Yulou belonged to the Mang Xiang faction, minor breaches of etiquette were not a massive issue. Ancestor Jingyi simply assud Yulou was approaching to speak with her.
'Ancestor, True Person Danri has summoned , haha.'
Wang Yulou transmitted his reply, deliberately infusing his tone with a sense of simple-minded, carefree joy. He was well aware that in a hall filled with such powerful experts, these private transmissions were essentially transparent.
Today, his seat had been placed at the absolute front of the first row within the Qi Refining section. Upon standing, he maintained a steady, asured pace. He had just reached the center of the hall, walking right through the middle of the Foundation Establishnt area. A re twenty to thirty feet ahead of him lay the seats reserved for the Purple Palace Grand Cultivators.
As expected... The mont his voice transmission to Ancestor Jingyi concluded, two of the Purple Palace experts turned their gazes squarely upon him. Unsurprisingly, just like Danri, these two were seated at the very rear of the Purple Palace section. However, Danri sat at the end because she preferred secluded, out-of-the-way spots. Even during her ti at the Beautiful Pavilion, she had favored the corners; it was simply a quirk of her personality. In contrast, the two Purple Palace experts looking at Yulou occupied the lower seats simply because their personal achievents fell short—not necessarily their raw cultivation base, but their overall status within the hierarchy.
'True Person Danri summoned you? I suppose that makes sense. She previously offered guidance regarding your innate root, so she likely wishes to re-evaluate your progress. You are an adult now, no longer a child who knows nothing of the world. You must not breach etiquette under any circumstances. Do not act in her presence with the sa casual disrespect you show to Xianmao and . Furthermore, even I must show the utmost deference every ti I et her, so you must be even more...'
Wang Jingyi's transmission—which was carefully crafted to project the narrative of 'Wang Yulou is a simpleton who made a mistake, so please do not hold it against the child, Aunt Danri'—was cut short as Danri spoke up with a look of mock annoyance.
"Jingyi, you speak of as though I were so terrifying tigress. Am I truly so frightening?"
At Danri's playful deanor, the gathered Purple Palace experts burst into hearty laughter. The Foundation Establishnt cultivators remained entirely bewildered, while Guo Baichi, who had been conversing amiably with Ancestor Jingyi just monts prior, assud that Wang Jingyi had sohow offended his master in secret.
Yet Wang Yulou and Wang Jingyi knew precisely what was happening. Ancestor Jingyi quickly stood and bowed.
"Aunt Danri, your disciple would never dare harbor any disrespect."
Danri gave her a brief look before turning her attention back to Yulou.
"Very well. I simply wished to see how far Yulou has progressed with his Source Vein Gui Water Qi."
Yulou stepped forward with an expression of obedient compliance. Danri reached out, pulling him directly to her side, and began a thorough examination of his condition.
None of the disciples invited to witness the ceremony were fools. They understood perfectly well what this display signified. The Wang Clan of the Mang Xiang lineage was clearly poised for a massive rise in fortunes. It would be wise to seek opportunities to curry favor with them, and absolutely imperative to avoid making an enemy of them.
After completing her inspection, Danri nodded approvingly.
"Your water elent is still a bit lacking, but that is of little consequence. You have already reached the threshold of root-qi harmony."
The surrounding Qi Refining disciples grew even more envious. In the cultivation world, provided one possessed sufficient resources, achieving Foundation Establishnt was a relatively straightforward affair. It was simply a matter of stacking auxiliary aids over multiple attempts until the barrier was forced open. However, if a cultivator could achieve true root-qi harmony, their probability of success during the breakthrough would rise exponentially. The issue was that a lower-stage cultivator had no way of verifying the precise state of their own harmony. Consequently, they required a Purple Palace expert to personally inspect their condition to determine the exact level of harmony achieved.
Wang Yulou was rely at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, yet Danri was already conducting a personal inspection of his root-qi harmony for his future Foundation Establishnt. This alone demonstrated the imnse regard the Wang Clan enjoyed within the Mang Xiang lineage.
"By the way, how old are you this year?" True Person Danri inquired.
Despite True Person Danri's appearance as a small, chubby girl, Yulou felt an intense wave of nervousness standing directly before her. At her question, he hurried to reply.
"I have only recently turned thirty."
The mont those words left his mouth, even several of the Purple Palace experts turned to look at him with genuine surprise. Barely thirty years old and already at the sixth layer of Qi Refining? Had this scion of the Wang Clan been permitted to cultivate within the grotto-heaven of one of the Mang Xiang lineage's Purple Palace masters? Could it be that he was being grood as the future Purple Palace successor of the Mang Xiang faction?
While a Purple Palace expert's grotto-heaven could indeed shield a Qi Induction cultivator from the restrictive laws of the world, it did not an a great cultivator would mindlessly allow their descendants to occupy the space. There were two core reasons for this limitation. First, a master's grotto-heaven belonged strictly to them. When juniors cultivated within it, they consud the spiritual resources inherent to that space. A small number of individuals posed no issue, but allowing a large crowd inside would actively impede the great cultivator's own advancent. Second, the various factions under a Purple Palace or Golden Core expert were prone to internal strife. Yuan Daoshen had gone so far as to kowtow aggressively just to coerce Gong Jiusheng. Showers of excessive favor upon a junior rarely ended well. A surplus of Qi Refining disciples led to an inflation of Foundation Establishnt cultivators, and once people reached that stage, not all of them would remain content acting as mindless beasts of burden for the great cultivator—human nature was fundantally selfish. If the disciples beneath a master beca restive and chaotic, it would cause endless headaches for the great cultivator, complicating matters imnsely. History was rife with such examples. Thus, a grotto-heaven could not be opened to juniors on a whim. The number of occupants, the specific caliber of talent permitted entry, and the exact nature of their future service all had to be governed by strict regulations.
Given that Wang Yulou had reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining by age thirty, it was highly plausible that he had utilized the grotto-heaven of a Mang Xiang faction expert to bypass the natural restrictions of the world, relying on his status as a mber of an attached family. Furthermore, Danri was now personally intervening to inspect his root-qi harmony. Most importantly, the old monster Mang Xiang was on the verge of attaining Golden Core status. Once he ascended to that realm, it would surprise no one if he chose to cultivate a fresh batch of loyal retainers to support his grand ambitions. This realization caused the surrounding Purple Palace experts to look upon Yulou with intense scrutiny, their minds racing with conjecture.
Nevertheless, neither Danri, Xuanzhuan, nor Mang Xiang paid any heed to the shifting gazes of the crowd.
"Thirty years old... step a bit closer."
Muttering his age under her breath, Danri drew Yulou a fraction closer to her position. The Purple Palace Grand Cultivator placed both of her hands directly over Yulou's dantian, offering a quiet warning.
"Endure this patiently. With this act, our debt to your Wang Clan is fully settled."
This sentence was delivered in a whisper ant solely for Wang Yulou's ears; the internal dynamics and shifts within the Mang Xiang lineage were not intended for public consumption.
Adopting an expression of utter bewildernt, Yulou opened his mouth to claim he did not comprehend the True Person's words, but he instantly froze as a strange sensation washed over him. Before he could even register what was happening, his dantian shuddered violently as a torrent of pure, overwhelming spiritual energy surged directly from Danri's palms into his body. Directing his divine sense inward, he observed that the incoming spiritual energy radiated a faint, translucent blue light, characteristic of pure water essence.
To his profound astonishnt, the spiritual energy channeled by Danri seamlessly converted into his own Gui Water spiritual energy. Simultaneously, his cultivation base began to skyrocket at an unimaginable pace. In a re fraction of a second, the sixth layer of Qi Refining reached absolute saturation. In the next instant, the barrier shattered, and he broke through into the seventh layer, stepping firmly into late Qi Condensation.
Even as Yulou's mind reeled from the sheer shock, his cultivation base tore right through the eighth layer. Seventh layer, eighth layer, ninth layer, tenth layer... within monts, Yulou had been pushed directly to the Peak Qi Condensation realm! A True Person had pressed her palms against his dantian, granting him a succession of instant breakthroughs.
It bore a striking resemblance to the ancient legends of an immortal touching one's head to bestow longevity. Of course, in the old cultivation arts, that phrase referred to an enlightened master aiding a junior in comprehending the Dao, helping them grasp the fundantal laws of eternal life. In contrast, Danri's thod of conferring longevity was crude and direct, serving rely to forcefully elevate his raw cultivation base. It lacked the profound, imrsive experience of traditional cultivation; it felt entirely like a dream.
While Wang Yulou felt as though he were trapped in an illusion, the surrounding cultivators felt as though their reality had been entirely upended. Could such a technique truly exist in the world—one that directly elevated a Qi Refining cultivator's stage? A forced inheritance? An infusion of raw power? It was completely unheard of. It was safe to say that the display of power unleashed by Danri left quite a few of the gathered Purple Palace masters thoroughly stunned.
"True Person, why have you..."
Amidst the imnse shock and surprise, Yulou harbored profound confusion. Of course, in Danri's eyes, this confusion was rely a testant to the honesty inherent to Wang Jingyi's lineage. It was all a matter of perception; Wang Yulou was maintaining the image of the Wang Clan's unswerving loyalty. Yet his bewildernt was entirely genuine. If they truly wished to compensate the Wang Clan, they could have simply returned the small grotto-heaven to Ancestor Jingyi. There was absolutely no need for such an indirect, convoluted gesture.
"The war in the West Sea is intensifying rapidly. A higher cultivation base will grant you a greater asure of safety. However, a simple elevation of power is rely the first step. Next, I shall assist you in anchoring this unstable cultivation base to your physical form. The process will be sowhat painful, so brace yourself," Danri stated calmly.
"Wait, True Person! The process of cultivating the Source Vein Gui Water Qi is notoriously agonizing, so I always keep an assortnt of pain-relieving spirit pills on my person. Allow to first—" Yulou interrupted in a panic. Wang Xianzhou had practically perfected the art of creating pain-relieving pills, and Yulou kept several bottles on him at all tis.
"There is no need for such tedious asures. A divine ability can easily replicate the effect."
Originally, Danri had intended to conserve her spiritual power, but noting the intense gazes of the gathered juniors, she made a spontaneous decision to increase the stakes. Forcing Wang Yulou from the sixth layer to the tenth layer in a single mont carried a massive political weight, much like Zhou Fujiao's high-profile discipleship under Mang Xiang. It was a blatant demonstration of raw capability.
The attached mbers of the Mang Xiang lineage who witnessed Danri's casual elevation of Yulou's power would only bind themselves more tightly to the faction, hoping that they or their descendants might one day receive a similar grand blessing. Shortly after, Danri invoked an unfamiliar divine ability. A Purple Palace expert possessed flawless control over their techniques; Yulou perceived no outward phenonon, yet he instantly lost all sensory connection to his physical form. It resembled a complete deprivation of his five senses, yet it was distinctly different. He could still see, hear, sll, and feel the objects around him; only the concept of pain had been thoroughly severed from his consciousness.
The grand hall grew so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Every eye was locked onto Danri as she manipulated her arts to elevate Yulou's power, staring intently at the incredibly fortunate youth. To bypass years of arduous training and receive a massive surge of power directly... To see the bottleneck of late Qi Condensation vanish as though it never existed, leaping from the sixth layer to the very peak in a single bound... Such a spectacle would deeply move any cultivator alive.
"Brother Mang Xiang, is this a novel technique you have recently developed?" Gu Qiyuan, the ancestor of the Gu Family Tea House, inquired politely. The remaining Purple Palace experts similarly turned their attention toward Mang Xiang.
The communications between Purple Palace Grand Cultivators were entirely hidden from the ears of the lower disciples, allowing Mang Xiang to speak without reservation. "Indeed. The technique itself is not overly complex; any modern Purple Palace expert who possesses a fully developed five-vein Dao foundation can utilize it. However, its underlying principles are highly specific. When applied to an individual born within the Great Heaven rather than a native of a grotto-heaven, it demands a permanent sacrifice of a portion of the caster's own cultivation base."
Gu Qiyuan's eyes flickered with insight. He nodded thoughtfully and offered a smooth smile. "Brother Mang Xiang possesses two truly exceptional disciples. I am filled with envy. I find myself highly interested in this particular technique. I wonder if you might be willing to part with it, and what price you might demand?"
Facing the expectant gazes of the gathered masters, Mang Xiang spoke at a leisurely pace, delivering a direct quote. "Twenty strands of the Essence of Grotto-heaven will secure the complete, unedited thodology. However, it is restricted solely to personal use; it may not be transmitted to any external party."
The mont Mang Xiang's price was spoken, the gathered Purple Palace experts exchanged startled glances. Twenty strands of the Essence of Grotto-heaven? Such a demand was practically indistinguishable from highway robbery. Among the masters seated in the hall, there were several whose entire grotto-heavens, if put up as collateral, would fail to match the value of twenty strands. Nevertheless, a transaction always involved an inflated opening bid, followed by aggressive negotiation. The sa rules applied to interactions between Purple Palace experts. Thus, the other masters imdiately began sending private voice transmissions to Mang Xiang, quietly working to lower the price.
On the other side, Danri showed no signs of stopping as she continued to stabilize Yulou's newly acquired, volatile cultivation base. The entire process required zero effort from Wang Yulou himself. As a Purple Palace Grand Cultivator, Danri's sheer capability far exceeded anything Yulou could conceive; though it was Yulou's physical form, she appeared far more intimately acquainted with its inner workings than he was.
Consequently, Yulou finally secured a brief mont to gather his thoughts. He felt a wave of profound relief upon realizing that despite being subjected to such intense, microscopic scrutiny, the mysterious Jade Ruyi nestled deep within his consciousness had remained entirely undetected by Danri. Yet the dominant emotion lingering within him was an overwhelming dread. An immortal touching one's head to bestow longevity... Wang Yulou was fully aware that he had done nothing to rit such extraordinary treatnt. The patriarch's favors always arrived with a clearly defined price tag, and Danri's generosity would undoubtedly prove no different.
As for the excuse she had provided regarding 'settling the debt to the Wang Clan,' it was utterly laughable. If she truly harbored a sincere desire to assist him, she could have easily intervened to cancel his mandatory deploynt to the West Sea, extracting him from the impending crisis entirely. Yulou remained unaware of the private exchange between Danri and Ancestor Jingyi. Thus, at this mont, he was thoroughly convinced that he was rely a strategic pawn chosen by Mang Xiang to secure a foothold within Dripdrop Cave.
Danri's utilization of a secret thod to violently elevate his cultivation base was clearly intended to grant him a distinct advantage in the upcoming struggle for the Purple Mansion opportunity within Dripdrop Cave. The claim of 'settling a debt' was nothing more than a convenient pretext. The words of these True Persons... Ancestor Jingyi had once cautioned him that the higher a cultivator's stage, the more consummately skilled they beca at deception.
Even so, Yulou recognized that acting as a strategic piece was far from the worst fate. To serve as a pawn for the patriarch, to have Danri personally intervene to push him from the sixth layer to the peak in a single mont—such intense focus from two separate True Persons ant he had finally entered the ga, had he not? Suppressing his terror, his mind was left swimming in an ocean of profound, intricate emotions. In the seventeen years since he had set foot upon the path of cultivation, he had completed a journey that had occupied sixty years of Uncle Rongyuan's life, and surpassed a milestone that had taken Uncle Rongjiang a full century to achieve.
However, this forced, accelerated thod of progression left him with a deep sense of unreality, thoroughly shattering the careful plans the Wang Clan had laid out for his future. The cultivation path his clan had mapped out for him had been forcefully derailed by Yuan Daoshen's malicious interference, yet a distinct path back to the proper trajectory had still remained viable. Now that Danri had pushed him to the absolute peak of Qi Refining, his future trajectory had been irrevocably altered.
Mang Xiang possessed the authority to rewrite Zhou Fujiao's absolute death sentence, and now that his disciple Danri had deployed her techniques to alter Yulou's power level, Yulou's destiny had similarly been rewritten. Thirty years old, and already at the peak of Qi Refining. Though the thod of achievent had caught him entirely off guard, the ultimate outco was undeniably beneficial. The Wang Clan's arrangents had been thrown into complete disarray, but it was solely because he had successfully caught the eye of the patriarch. A grand cultivator of that caliber needed only to let a tiny fraction of wealth slip through his fingers to leave Yulou thoroughly satiated.
A brief mont later, Danri withdrew her divine ability. Left without support, Yulou stumbled instantly, nearly losing his footing entirely. It was only because Danri deployed a thread of spiritual power to hold him upright that he avoided collapsing onto the floor. After conducting a final inspection, Danri spoke with absolute certainty. "There is no cause for alarm. Your physical form is simply struggling to adapt to the rapid integration of such vast spiritual power. Your tenth-layer cultivation base has been given a preliminary foundation, though I deliberately held back a fraction of my strength at the end. Currently, you are rely at the entry point of the tenth layer. Once you spend four to five years tempering yourself in the West Sea—cultivating, hunting demons, and allowing your foundations to settle—this power will thoroughly integrate, becoming truly your own."
Deploying to the front lines of the West Sea just to stabilize his cultivation base? Wang Yulou did not believe a word of it! There were countless thods available to stabilize one's power; why choose a theater as notoriously perilous as the West Sea front lines? Naturally, he did not dare voice his objections aloud. If he was to be a pawn, then a pawn he would be. To leap from the sixth layer to the peak in a single day was an imnse favor, and given the existence of a future Purple Mansion opportunity within Dripdrop Cave, playing the part of a chess piece was well worth the price. "Your student shall forever etch the True Person's monuntal grace into his very soul!" Yulou declared respectfully.
Despite his earnest declaration, Danri's chubby face remained entirely unreadable. She simply replied, "Return to your seat. Consu an abundance of spirit rice and spiritual ats. Ah, yes, take these Gold Bud Fruits as well."
With a casual gesture, Danri swept a pile of Gold Bud Fruits from her senior brother's table and thrust them into Yulou's hands. Completely ignoring the utterly speechless look directed at her by her senior brother Xuanzhuan, Danri continued her instructions. "The energy I have bestowed upon you consists of pure water spirit essence derived from a grotto-heaven. Its quality is exceptionally pure and clean, representing the primordial source of spiritual vitality. The power it has generated belongs entirely to you, so you need not harbor any anxiety regarding its impact on your future breakthroughs. Ensure you consu sufficient spiritual food and maintain a diligent cultivation routine to rapidly anchor your power. Go on, return to your seat."
Faced with such extraordinary treatnt, Yulou glanced at the grade-seven Gold Bud Fruits resting in his hands before carefully stowing them away inside his storage bag. Then, he sank to his knees, performing a full, formal kowtow. When he finally raised his head, his eyes were already swimming with a heavy sheen of tears. The tear ducts were rely an organ of the physical body, and under Yulou's flawless internal control, tears began to flow down his cheeks like twin streams. Wiping at his eyes under the collective gaze of the gathered Red Lantern Illumination Sect mbers, Yulou felt no pressure whatsoever. Instead, he recognized this as a grand stage. On this grand stage of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, he thought: Old Yuan, I no longer harbor any hatred toward you!
Kneeling before Danri, Yulou felt no sense of humiliation. He kept his head lowered, staring up through tear-filled eyes at the short, chubby True Person, as he sobbed out his words in a cracking, emotional voice. "True Person, Yulou is a child of the Anbei Kingdom's Wang Clan, and a disciple belonging to the patriarch's lineage. Having lost both of my parents at a tender age, it was the Wang Clan that nurtured to adulthood. Yet I have been incredibly fortunate to receive the protection of the patriarch and the True Person, allowing my journey to proceed with imnse smoothness. From the mont I entered Clear Stream Market seventeen years ago to this very day, I have pursued the path of cultivation for over seventeen winters. Throughout this ti, the True Person first illuminated the correct path for my cultivation, allowing to master the Source Vein Gui Water Qi within Dripdrop Cave. Now, the True Person has personally intervened to elevate my power, lifting directly to the peak of Qi Refining. In this lifeti, Yulou has never tasted the warmth of parental affection. If there is any true affection to be found in this world, it exists solely in the profound care the True Person has showered upon . True Person!"
Wang Yulou wept as he spoke, and as he reached the absolute peak of his emotional delivery, his voice spiked several octaves higher, causing quite a few of the surrounding Qi Refining disciples to stare in absolute shock. The Foundation Establishnt cultivators, anwhile, kept their gazes strictly lowered, their minds entirely focused on analyzing Wang Yulou's performance.
Among them, so felt Wang Yulou was being entirely too theatrical, others viewed his display as utterly fraudulent, while a great many were consud by intense envy, bitterly wishing they had been granted a similar opportunity. Even the Purple Palace experts halted their private discussions, turning their collective attention toward the weeping youth.
Zhou Fujiao, encased within his stone form, remained perfectly still. However, he swept his divine sense across Yulou's body to evaluate his newly elevated cultivation base, a trace of admiration stirring within his mind. Mang Xiang truly rited his reputation as an expert poised to attain Golden Core status; the techniques he developed were genuinely extraordinary. As for Mang Xiang himself, he finally directed a serious, calculating gaze toward this particular pawn of his. Though Wang Yulou's performance appeared distinctly unpolished and borderline clumsy to the eyes of a great cultivator, the youth was utilizing his self-conceived theatrics to deliver a tear-soaked display of absolute devotion.
"Yulou vows to cultivate day and night, ensuring I never disappoint the profound expectations of the patriarch and the True Person!"
Gu Qiyuan shook his head slightly, letting out a soft sigh. This gesture did not stem from any disdain for Wang Yulou's absurd and theatrical conduct; rather, the master was laughing at his own past. The Purple Palace ancestor of the Gu Clan was reminded of his own youth. Back then, he had been far less decisive, far less willing to completely cast aside his dignity to seize an advantage. Fortunately, the Wunan region had been locked in complete chaos during those years. Turmoil served as a perfect ladder for ambitious n, allowing even a simpleton like him to eventually scale the heights of the Purple Palace. It was only much later in life that Gu Qiyuan had truly co to recognize the sheer idiocy and extraordinary luck of his younger years. It was safe to say that standing at a comparable crossroad in life, Wang Yulou far surpassed the youth Gu Qiyuan had once been.
anwhile, the individual feeling the greatest surge of anxiety in the hall was none other than Guo Baichi. This seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivator, whose divine ability manifested as a celestial eye, realized with a sinking heart that a terrifyingly adept flatterer was about to join the ranks of his master's disciples. While Wang Yulou's clumsy performance appeared highly amusing on the surface, anyone possessing a true understanding of great cultivators knew that these supre experts cared nothing for a person's inner heart; they evaluated purely based on outward alignnt. Wang Yulou was aggressively forging a karmic bond, weeping copiously while practically offering to declare her his mother on the spot. This flagrant display aligned perfectly with the psychological requirents of a great cultivator.
The small, chubby girl stepped forward to help Wang Yulou to his feet. She rose onto her tiptoes, intending to pat him on the shoulder as a gesture of encouragent, but her physical stature was simply too short. Consequently, she chose to float directly into the air, hovering four feet off the ground before smoothly patting Yulou's shoulder. She spoke with imnse gravity. "I am deeply comforted by your heart of gratitude. You must never slacken in your cultivation, regardless of the circumstances. Strive to achieve Foundation Establishnt at an early date."
Those words caused the corners of Wang Xianzhou's mouth to twitch as he fought to suppress a triumphant smile. The True Person's command to 'achieve Foundation Establishnt at an early date' carried imnse structural weight. Excellent. Once Wang Yulou secured his breakthrough, he would imdiately step into the rank of a Red Lantern Illumination Sect Core Disciple. Truly excellent.
When Wang Yulou finally made his way back to the Qi Refining section, the gazes directed at him by these elite mbers of the core lineage had completely transford. To be pushed directly to the tenth layer of Qi Refining via a True Person's secret thod at such a tender age was impressive enough, but if the matter had concluded there, the crowd would have simply viewed him as an incredibly lucky individual. Instead, it was Wang Yulou's terrifying decisiveness and sheer ruthlessness in imdiately swearing absolute fealty that truly left them shaken. Scions born into grand, powerful clans often found it impossible to bend a spine that had been raised to never tolerate insult. Yet Wang Yulou bent his without a mont's hesitation. Any intelligent person could see right through his blatant sycophancy, yet not a single clever individual in the hall dared to mock him. Danri would not mock him, Wang Xianzhou would not mock him, Gu Qiyuan would not mock him, Mang Xiang would not mock him, and Zhou Fujiao would not mock him.
Ambition and an aggressive appetite for advancent were never viewed as character flaws. The capacity to adopt the necessary posture remained paramount throughout a cultivator's journey, even as the specific requirents shifted constantly. The stubborn fools who refused to adapt would simply be crushed beneath the turning wheels of destiny, with a peaceful death at the end of their natural lifespan representing their absolute best-case scenario. Only those who possessed sufficient ruthlessness could break free from the cage. This ruthlessness applied not rely to how one treated enemies, but to how one treated oneself.
Could Wang Yulou's performance truly deceive Danri? Could it deceive Mang Xiang? It absolutely could not. Yet the great cultivators cared nothing for his sincerity, just as Wang Yulou cared nothing for whether the fishern at River Bend Fishing Port genuinely harbored absolute loyalty toward him. They required strictly one thing: results.
The ancient proverb stating that heaven and earth were heartless, treating the myriad creation as re straw dogs, already sounded imnsely cruel. Yet the heartlessness of a great cultivator far exceeded that standard; in their eyes, even heaven and earth were viewed as re straw dogs to be utilized. Under the modern cultivation thods, a Golden Core expert was forced to confront a lightning tribulation once every seven years. The natural world was already being pushed to the brink of madness by those supre masters. To a great cultivator, heaven and earth were nothing more than stepping stones along their path toward immortality. Given that reality, did Wang Yulou's actual loyalty or private thoughts possess any real significance? He was rely a tool to be deployed, nothing more than a hound in their service.
---
By the ti the discipleship ceremony concluded during the midnight hour, the first pale light of dawn was already creeping across the horizon.
Within Wang Jingyi's private residence, the ancestor sat directly across from Yulou, engaged in a quiet conversation.
"True Person Fujiao... no, Uncle Fujiao has already agreed to extend his personal protection to you while you are in the West Sea, Yulou."
Zhou Fujiao had agreed to protect him? With that assurance, his safety was practically guaranteed. The Immortal Alliance maintained three great cultivators on the West Sea front lines to anchor the defenses, and regulations strictly forbade them from hiding inside their grotto-heavens; they were required to remain within the Great Heaven at all tis. Zhou Fujiao's official title was the Treasure-Wielding True Person of the West Sea, a post that carried a twenty-year term. He wielded the Immortal Alliance's supre spirit treasure, the Vajra Pillar. A single strike from that artifact was capable of forcing even a Demon General to his knees, placing him second in command among the three supre leaders of the West Sea theater.
With an individual of that caliber shielding him, any attempt by Yuan Daoshen to assassinate Yulou on the front lines beca a functional impossibility—old Yuan could enlist the aid of a Demon General and still fail utterly. Furthermore, Yulou strongly suspected that once word of Danri utilizing a secret thod to violently elevate his cultivation base reached Dripdrop Cave, old Yuan would likely lose the courage to continue targeting him entirely.
"I initially assud Yuan Daoshen's forced deploynt to the West Sea was a malicious plot to destroy . Looking at it now, by the ti I return to Dripdrop Cave, he will be forced to swallow his pride and watch as the sect hands a massive reward for my superior performance."
The deploynt of ten Bixui Palace disciples who had yet to reach late Qi Condensation to the West Sea was explicitly structured as a trial, with substantial rewards promised to the top perforrs. Now, thanks to True Person Danri's intervention, Yulou had shattered four successive layers in a single day, riding a figurative elevator from the sixth layer straight to the absolute peak of Qi Refining. Consequently, compared to the remaining Bixui Palace disciples who lacked late-stage cultivation bases, Yulou commanded an insurmountable advantage. Combined with Zhou Fujiao's backing, Wang Yulou's eventual return to Dripdrop Cave would undoubtedly be executed in the posture of a triumphant victor.
Observing the visibly excited youth, Wang Jingyi's gaze turned imnsely complicated. The ancestor had already discerned a deeply troubling underlying reality. After a brief mont of intense calculation, she lowered her eyes and spoke in an entirely flat, unhurried tone. "Yulou, I suspect... you will never have cause to return to Dripdrop Cave. True Person Danri explicitly stated that no such thing as a Purple Mansion opportunity exists within that sect. Yuan Daoshen has been targeting you over a completely non-existent illusion. True Person Jiusheng likely permitted his erratic behavior simply to use the old man's obsession as a convenient tool to marginalize the Yuan Clan ancestor, thereby rendering the entire clan far more compliant to his demands. He rely tolerated the old man's campaign against you to serve that broader end."
Ancestor Jingyi's sudden revelation dropped like a thunderbolt, leaving Yulou entirely frozen in place. In the next instant, under the weight of an imnse psychological shock, a sharp, deafening ringing erupted within his ears. When subjected to extre pressure, grief, or terror, the human body naturally triggered various physiological reactions, ranging from severe tinnitus to violent nausea. Drawing deep, ragged breaths as beads of cold sweat began to pour from his forehead, a torrent of realization flooded Wang Yulou's mind. As expected, the instinctual terror he had experienced upon receiving Danri's initial summons had been entirely justified; a cultivator's sixth sense was a very real phenonon. Why? Why? Why?
Wang Jingyi understood exactly what terror had gripped Yulou's soul. She forced a fragile smile onto her face, offering a gentle word of comfort. "Yulou, look at how thoroughly unnerved you are. There is truly no need to fear the West Sea. The escalation of the conflict simply provides an ideal theater for a capable individual to distinguish himself. This represents the heaven's timing. The West Sea features the extensive formation arrays, strategic passes, and fortified cities of the Immortal Alliance. This represents the geographical advantage. Furthermore, Uncle Fujiao is poised to assu his command over the theater. This represents the harmony of the people. With heaven's timing, geographical advantage, and the harmony of the people all perfectly aligned, you will naturally achieve great things upon your arrival in the West Sea."
Wang Jingyi had gone significantly out of her way to introduce the concept of heaven's timing, deliberately repeating the phrase twice while subtly shifting her emphasis each ti. For a cultivator, the tinnitus brought on by sudden panic could be easily suppressed, and Yulou had already cleared his senses. Possessing an exceptionally sharp intellect, he instantly comprehended the true ssage the ancestor was working so hard to convey.
Wiping away the cold sweat, Yulou's mind flashed back to a scene from over a decade ago in Clear Stream Market, specifically the day Wang Xianmao had outlined the core behavioral principles of the Wang Clan's heritage.
'Our Wang Clan has maintained its lineage for over twelve centuries, and our survival has always hinged upon mastering the transformation of the dragon and the serpent.'
'What is the transformation of the dragon and the serpent?'
'It is nothing more than preserving oneself while waiting for the proper timing. This timing does not refer to the external heaven's timing, but to our own internal timing.'
'This world operates under its own defined laws, yet those very laws can be forcefully rewritten by powerful entities.'
'Amidst constant upheaval, the sole constant we can truly rely upon, the only variable guaranteed to never shift, is ourselves.'
The clan head's precise explanation of their foundational doctrine echoed clearly in Yulou's mind. Ancestor Jingyi's underlying aning was painfully clear. Heaven's timing, heaven's timing, heaven's timing... child, do you finally understand? The transformation of the dragon and the serpent demands that you endure. To preserve yourself while waiting for the proper timing demands that you wait. You must rely strictly on yourself, child. Danri's sudden elevation of your cultivation base is highly unlikely to stem from pure benevolence!
Wang Jingyi was utilizing the core doctrines of the Wang Clan's heritage to signal to Yulou that the current environnt forbade open speech, and that they must wait for a secure opportunity to discuss the matter in depth. Her outward claims regarding his fear of the West Sea and her emphasis on strategic advantages were rely a vehicle deployed to transmit that vital warning.
eting Ancestor Jingyi's heavy, solemn gaze, Yulou stood up with a completely rigid, serious expression and declared, "Ancestor, given that True Person Danri views with such imnse regard, and True Person Fujiao is deploying to the West Sea, this journey indeed represents an unparalleled opportunity to secure rit under Patriarch Mangxiang's protection. Your student has taken your teachings to heart. The simple truth is that I have rarely engaged in serious magical combat throughout my life, and the terrifying reputation of the West Sea's perils caught off guard, triggering a montary surge of fear. Please set your mind at ease, Ancestor. I do not fear the arduous crossing of the bitter sea, nor do I fear the demons blocking my path. Regardless of what lies ahead, Yulou shall walk his path to the bitter end."
Wang Jingyi stared at the young prodigy standing before her, a heavy sheen of tears gathering in her eyes. She understood precisely what Wang Yulou was experiencing at this very mont; she understood it with absolute clarity. When her personal grotto-heaven had been forcefully stripped away from her years ago, she had been trapped in a state identical to Yulou's current plight. Under Patriarch Mangxiang's protection... ha, Patriarch Mangxiang's protection. The entity the Wang Clan relied upon for survival was no saint, nor was he a benevolent benefactor. He was Mang Xiang—a monster who would eat people without spitting out bones, an entity that would consu a person's very soul until absolutely nothing remained!
Yulou comprehended exactly what kind of 'heaven's timing' Wang Jingyi was referencing, and Wang Jingyi understood perfectly what caliber of 'bitter sea' and 'demons' Yulou was speaking of. The horrific realization of their mutual entrapnt manifested itself vividly once more. The Wang Clan, operating as a re vassal of the Mang Xiang lineage, had shielded Wang Yulou as he took each successive step to arrive where he stood today. In fact, a re two hours prior, Danri, a True Person of the Mang Xiang lineage, had personally intervened to forcefully elevate his power. At that mont in the grand hall, every single cultivator had watched him with expressions of profound awe, envy, and jealousy.
Looking back across Wang Yulou's past through the lens of his status as a mber of the Mang Xiang lineage, his journey appeared remarkably blessed. He had managed comrcial enterprises in Clear Stream Market, effortlessly transforming into a prominent figure while mastering the artificing path until his skills achieved perfection. While stationed at Dripdrop Cave's River Bend port, the combined backing of his clan and the protective umbrella of the patriarch's banner had allowed him to accomplish nurous objectives with ease, establishing a secure foundation for himself. Within days of entering the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, right during Zhou Fujiao's grand discipleship ceremony, True Person Danri had personally intervened to propel the thirty-year-old Wang Yulou straight to the tenth layer of Qi Refining. How exquisitely beautiful it all seed.
Throughout his seventeen years on the path of cultivation, Wang Yulou had never once faced a genuine crisis of life and death. He had never been forced to worry over a complete absence of cultivation resources—worrying over a lack of abundance and worrying over an absolute absence were entirely distinct problems. He had never engaged in a perilous spiritual duel with a hostile cultivator, and he had never been subjected to genuine dismissal or provocation—Yuan Daoshen's calculations against him fell far short of true provocation or dismissal. Everything appeared utterly flawless. Within the Wunan cage maintained by the Immortal Alliance, Yulou had ascended to the peak of Qi Refining with unparalleled smoothness. He resembled the ultimate child of destiny, a convergence of twelve centuries of accumulated luck within the Wang Clan. His rapid ascent aligned perfectly with the sudden explosion of Foundation Establishnt breakthroughs across the family, prompting the clan head and Wang Xianzhou to actively plan for his future Purple Mansion opportunity.
Yet now, the hidden price tag attached to all that historical benevolence lood directly before Wang Yulou, Wang Jingyi, and the entire Wang Clan. The historical comfort they had enjoyed had been built entirely upon the protection extended by the Mang Xiang lineage, and that particular boorang had spent seventeen years in flight before finally arcing back to strike Wang Yulou squarely in the chest. Now, a True Person's massive favor had been forcefully thrust into his hands without rhy or reason. Given that Wang Yulou was not the patriarch's strategic pawn to secure a position, what role was he truly ant to play? What underlying objective had prompted Danri to extend such an incredibly generous hand to him? The karmic debt owed to the patriarch did not rely demand interest; it was an accumulating compound debt of the most vicious caliber!
Blinking rapidly, the unshed tears lingering in Wang Jingyi's eyes vanished completely as she adopted an equally severe, formal tone. "It is enough that you maintain such high aspirations. You gave your word to Uncle Danri that you would cultivate day and night. Retire to your quarters and rest. The mont you awaken, you must begin your training to firmly anchor your power base."
Rest first, then cultivate. We must bide our ti.
Yulou executed another deep, formal bow before turning to depart. As he stepped through the main gates, he encountered Tie Huashan, who was waiting outside for a summons from his master.
"Brother Yulou... haha, I suppose I must address you as Senior Brother Yulou now. Senior Brother Yulou, do you happen to know the specific nature of True Person Danri's technique?"
Tie Huashan harbored no illusions regarding his own chances of receiving a direct cultivation elevation from a True Person; he was simply consud by intense curiosity.
"How could I possibly fathom such secrets..." Yulou replied with a wry, helpless smile.
"You did not think to inquire at the ti?"
Wang Yulou quietly evaluated this supposed prodigy of the Tie Clan, letting out a silent shake of his head. Tie Qinhuo had utterly wasted his family's opportunities.
"To receive the assistance of a True Person's secret thod is a monuntal blessing bestowed upon Yulou. I was entirely consud by terror and intense emotion; how could I possibly dare to speak out of turn?" As he spoke, he turned a deeply moved, reverent gaze toward the distant mountain peak where Mang Xiang's grand estate rested, performing a highly respectful, solemn bow. Faced with Wang Yulou's high-minded display of devotion, Tie Huashan was left with no choice but to follow suit and bow toward the peak, though his internal thoughts were occupied strictly by one realization: it was no wonder this fellow had managed to secure the intense favor of a True Person.
---
Half a month later, outside the boundaries of Mang Xiang Mountain, a black streak of light cruised leisurely toward the protective arrays of the spiritual mountain. The occupant of the light held aloft a Mang Xiang Dojo Command Token, allowing him to slip through the grand array without triggering a single defense chanism.
Shortly after entering, the light paused briefly in mid-air before adjusting its trajectory to fly directly toward Wang Jingyi's private estate. Midway through its flight, the occupant of the streak noticed two cultivators actively engaged in a duel directly outside Wang Jingyi's front gates. The black light instantly accelerated to its absolute limit, tearing through the sky. The pitch-black streak of light appeared distinctly unappealing, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a demonic entity riding upon a cloud of sinister vapor.
The two dueling cultivators ground to a halt imdiately, rapidly closing ranks to face the incoming threat. Wang Jingyi similarly erged from her residence, squinting through the light to evaluate the newcor before barking out a sharp reprimand.
"Wang Rongyuan, what madness has possessed you!"
Having successfully achieved Foundation Establishnt, Wang Rongyuan let out a helpless laugh. He had intended to chide Wang Xianzhou and Wang Yulou for engaging in a aningless duel that had caused him a wave of unnecessary panic. However, given that Wang Xianzhou was his senior within the family hierarchy, he could not voice such criticisms openly. Instead, he simply offered a warm, amiable greeting to the gathered crowd.
"A misunderstanding, purely a misunderstanding. Second Aunt, Little Uncle, Little Yu... a tenth-layer Qi Refining base?!"
Wang Jingyi's eyes flickered with a hidden realization. Offering no explanation, she turned and descended back into her estate, her voice floating up through the open air.
"進來說,你一次就築基,很多事就鬆快了."
Wang Xianzhou similarly nodded with imnse satisfaction. "Rongyuan, you have proven far more capable than that simpleton Wang Rongjiang. If you had required two and a half portions of resources just to force a breakthrough, our Wang Clan would have been forced to declare bankruptcy."
Gesticulating wildly toward Yulou, Wang Rongyuan found himself entirely unable to process the reality before his eyes. He had been a full seventy winters old when he finally secured a lucky breakthrough to the tenth layer of Qi Refining, an outco achieved only after exhausting every ounce of his personal effort. Given the close, intimate bond he shared with the youth, Uncle Rongyuan was intimately acquainted with Yulou's exact age—the boy was barely thirty! A thirty-year-old tenth-layer cultivator!
"Ancestor, what is the aning of Yulou's current cultivation base?"
Having not seen Uncle Rongyuan for over a decade, Yulou felt an imnse surge of genuine joy upon realizing his old uncle had successfully stepped into the Foundation Establishnt realm. He stepped forward with a warm smile, catching hold of the utterly dumbfounded Wang Rongyuan. "Uncle Rongyuan, a few days ago, a fellow Daoist presented with a brace of grade-nine Green-Haired Rabbits. One remains completely fresh, so let us enjoy a al together while we catch up on lost ti."
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