hotmtlnovel Chapter 124 Old Friends Change Easily
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.
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.
...
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.