Travel (Part 1)

Nine years later, on Moon Peak, one of the main peaks of Qifeng Mountain.

As always, Seven Peaks Mountain was shrouded in mist. Diligent disciples were either practicing sword flight around the mountain peaks, studying sword techniques in the open spaces on the mountain, or refining pills or crafting practical magical artifacts in places like the alchemy room or weapon-forging room.

Lin Shi was now 22 years old. When she looked up, her stunningly beautiful face was revealed. Beneath her high-swept bun was a widow's peak, an oval face, and skin as white and flawless as snow. Below her thick, slender eyebrows were a pair of beautiful, well-proportioned peach blossom eyes, watery and appearing both kind and resolute. Below her eyes was a straight nose and lips as vibrant as flowers. Her appearance hadn't changed much, but compared to when she was 13, she had grown much taller, and her figure had become more slender and graceful. Lin Shi wore the blue and white disciple's robes of Seven Peaks Mountain; as she moved, her skirt fluttered, making her look like a celestial maiden descended from heaven.

After nine years of diligent cultivation, Lin Shi has dabbled in various aspects of swordsmanship, weapon crafting, alchemy, and array formation, but she excels most in swordsmanship, alchemy, and array formation (especially killing and illusion arrays). As a result, Lin Shi earned the Daoist name Danmeng at a young age. Her cultivation has reached the final stage of Qi Refining, the Great Perfection state, and she is preparing to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

On this day, Lin Shi, carrying several bottles of Foundation Building Pills and Bigu Pills that she had painstakingly refined, as well as some medicines for healing and recuperating, walked alone into a secluded stone chamber on Moon Peak. After activating the mechanism and closing the stone chamber door, she sat down on the futon on the stone bed, crossed her legs, placed her palms up on her lap, and began to meditate.

This was her first attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Her elders weren't particularly worried; they simply stayed in the halls on Sun Peak, constantly monitoring the situation on the neighboring Moon Peak. They believed in her strength and hard work, but also didn't want to put too much pressure on her, potentially affecting her mindset and even causing her to fail her Foundation Establishment attempt. Her other senior brothers and sisters continued their cultivation as usual.

Lin Shi calmed her mind, regulated her breathing, and meditated for a while. She then felt a surge of spiritual energy rushing into every corner of her body, flowing through her meridians like a rushing stream, bringing a slight pricking sensation. Slowly, a faint white mist rose around her, enveloping her in a ball of light. Her face was hidden within the light, making her appear even more holy and beautiful.

Lin Shi felt her five senses were much more acute, as if amplified many times over. She could clearly hear the conversations of her senior brothers and sisters, at least a mountain peak away, as well as the sound of the Qiupu River flowing in the distance and the chirping of birds and insects in the nearby forest. Then, accompanied by intensifying pain, Lin Shi frowned slightly. Soon, she closed her eyes and quietly felt the spiritual energy within her body slowly transform from a gaseous state into a liquid state, finally settling in her dantian.

Foundation Establishment Successful! Lin Shi felt a surge of joy. She eagerly opened her eyes, about to carefully examine the condition of her meridians, when she heard the sound of lightning and thunder coming from outside the stone chamber.

Worried that something had happened to the sect, Lin Shi hurriedly got off the stone bed and opened the door to the stone chamber. Upon emerging, she discovered a strange phenomenon occurring above her. A small dark cloud was flashing with lightning, but the lightning hesitated to strike her. After a short while, the cloud and the lightning stopped, transforming into an illusion of a crane-like animal, and finally, accompanied by celestial music, vanished without a trace.

"Danmeng, you've successfully established your foundation! Congratulations! Successful foundation establishment and the unusual phenomena are a good thing!"

Upon witnessing the strange phenomenon in the sky, Zhao Xiyue and several elders from the sect flew on their swords to the stone chamber on Moon Peak to prevent any accidents from happening to Lin Shi. Once the phenomenon disappeared, Zhao Xiyue hurriedly came over to examine Lin Shi's meridians. When she sensed that his spiritual meridians were far more robust than those of a cultivator who had just successfully established their foundation, Zhao Xiyue couldn't help but smile and praise him.

Seeing Zhao Xiyue's expression, the elders from other sects couldn't help but smile. The other senior brothers and sisters from the Seven Peaks Sect also flocked over to congratulate Lin Shi.

"Come, let your master take you to choose a suitable sword. Next, we'll practice flying on a sword and swordsmanship." Seeing that everyone had congratulated Lin Shi, Zhao Xiyue took her hand and led her to the sword pavilion on Sun Peak to choose a sword.

The Sword Pavilion, both its upper and lower levels, was densely packed with all sorts of brand-new swords. Most of them were crafted by senior members of the sect with high cultivation levels; since they couldn't use them themselves, they left them to their disciples and descendants.

Zhao Xiyue led Lin Shi from the first floor to the second floor, giving her a general introduction to the names and functions of each sword.

Lin Shi looked around for a while, then finally returned to the first floor and chose a light and slender Demon-Slaying Sword. The sword's blade was covered in black, diamond-shaped patterns, the lines as fine as hair, faintly shimmering with a bluish light. Lin Shi tried channeling her own spiritual power into the sword, and it emitted a dazzling golden light. When used with talismans, it could even form a demon-slaying array to identify evil spirits.

"Thank you, Master!" Lin Shi toyed with the Demon-Slaying Sword in her hands, growing more and more fond of it. Soon, she felt as if she had found a priceless treasure, a bright and sweet smile spreading across her face, revealing her two rare dimples. Then, she immediately pricked her finger with the sword, letting her blood drip onto the Demon-Slaying Sword, allowing it to recognize her as its master. With her will, the Demon-Slaying Sword disappeared into her meridians.

Seeing that Lin Shi liked her new sword, Zhao Xiyue smiled gently. After smiling, she took Lin Shi to teach her the skills of flying on a sword and practical swordsmanship. She found all the sword manuals in the sect, made copies for Lin Shi, and told her to memorize them well and practice them more.

"Yes, Master!" Lin Shi replied repeatedly. Compared to successfully establishing her foundation, she looked forward even more to the days after learning sword flight and swordsmanship.

For the next year, Lin Shi devoted herself to learning sword flight and swordsmanship. She mastered sword flight in just an hour or two, becoming able to fly steadily around the main peak of Seven Peaks Mountain. As for swordsmanship, she quickly devoured the sword manual and mastered the various techniques. Afterward, she sparred with her fellow disciples every day, making rapid progress with each passing day.

By the time Lin Shi turned 23, her cultivation level had not only steadily increased, but her swordsmanship had also become exquisite. She was able to fight to a standstill with her senior brothers and sisters whose cultivation levels were higher than hers, and sometimes even had the upper hand in swordsmanship. At this time, Lin Shi had also spent a full ten years at Seven Peaks Mountain.

To advance their cultivation faster, Foundation Establishment cultivators generally need to go down the mountain for training. Xu Xingran, Huo Linglong, and others took Lin Shi down the mountain twice to train in the surrounding area, familiarize her with the environment and the formations for entering and exiting Seven Peaks Mountain, and then let Lin Shi train and familiarize herself with the surrounding area on her own every day.

"Junior sister, take these talismans with you. They can save your life in a critical moment." Huo Linglong specially gave Lin Shi a lot of talismans.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Linglong!" Lin Shi was a little surprised, but still accepted Huo Linglong's kindness.

Ten years have passed, and Huo Linglong has become a beautiful 25-year-old female cultivator. Her cultivation progress is much faster than Lin Shi's. She started cultivating at the age of 3 and is now at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. The other disciples of Seven Peaks Mountain basically started cultivating between the ages of 3 and 6, and have all entered the Foundation Establishment stage, with the lowest being the late Foundation Establishment stage, or the Foundation Establishment Perfection stage, just waiting for enough cultivation to break through to the Golden Core stage.

"Junior Sister Danmeng, these are for you. Cultivate well, and remember to be careful when you travel!" Later that evening, Xu Xingran also came to the side hall where Lin Shi lived, giving her some pills, array stones for refining formations, and spirit stones. Xu Xingran was older, already 30 years old, and his cultivation was also higher. He was already at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Xingran!" Lin Shi looked into Xu Xingran's phoenix eyes and sincerely thanked him.

After Xu Xingran left, Lin Shi couldn't help but think of Xu Xinghao. If he were still alive, he would have grown into a handsome and tall man like his brother by now. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Afterwards, more senior brothers and sisters arrived, each bringing Lin Shi a gift. These included herbs, pills, materials for refining formations, spirit stones, and daggers. Finally, Sect Leader Huo Quan and five elders entrusted Lin Shi's master, Zhao Xiyue, to deliver gifts to her.

Lin Shi accepted all the gifts from the elders and fellow disciples of the Seven Peaks Sect, secretly keeping their kindness in her heart. She thought to herself that she would cultivate even harder and repay them in the future by bringing them even more valuable gifts.