Chapter 231 The Ruthless Senior Brother of the Path of the Path of the Cannon Fodder (Fourteen) Very…

Long ago, as the youngest and most recent junior disciple, the Seventh Elder was not yet an elder, but was affectionately called Little Seven by his fellow disciples.

Although Xiao Qi is a little behind in her progress, she is still very diligent in her cultivation and has not learned many different kinds of skills.

At that time, like all sword cultivators, he admired Xuan Ling, the strongest cultivator in the Xuan Yang Sect, until one time he finally managed to snatch a spot in a secret realm led by Xuan Ling.

With Xuan Ling, a Nascent Soul Realm expert, leading the team, no matter which sect they were, they would give him a wide berth. The dangers of the secret realm were also insignificant. Everyone originally thought this was a sure win.

However, after entering the depths of the secret realm, Xuan Ling sensed the sword heart of the secret realm's sword tomb and abandoned his dozen or so disciples, running away.

At that time, Xiao Qi was only in the late stage of Foundation Establishment. However, apart from him being the sect leader's personal disciple, the others were all inner disciples, and their cultivation levels were not as high as his.

The secret realm did indeed offer great opportunities, but the risks were also very high. That's why the sect leader specifically asked Xuan Ling to lead the team, but that guy was extremely unreliable and ran away.

Without an elder to lead the way, they would inevitably encounter danger even if they didn't seek out opportunities. Xiao Qi struggled to protect everyone. Fortunately, he had done his homework beforehand and knew some information about the secret realm. Despite the risk of his natal sword being shattered and his foundation being damaged, he finally managed to bring everyone back safely.

Fortunately, aside from their injuries, they didn't come away empty-handed. They obtained a considerable amount of spiritual plants and fruits, spiritual minerals and springs, as well as the North Sea Mystic Ice, which they had fought for three whole days until everyone was exhausted.

The disciples who entered the secret realm together all knew what was good and bad, and unanimously gave the North Sea Profound Ice to Xiao Qi, who had damaged his foundation and destroyed his natal sword. They also shared most of the other things with him.

Not only could the North Sea Mystic Ice repair his damaged natal sword, but it could also stabilize his injuries. If he took pills in time afterward, his damaged foundation could be slowly repaired. He was able to survive for so long due to his serious injuries, thanks to the North Sea Mystic Ice.

Originally, the elders wouldn't have said anything about what everyone had agreed on, but then Xuan Ling came back. He had a top-grade ice spirit root and was a top-grade ice-attribute refining material, which greatly helped his swordsmanship.

Xuan Ling didn't ask him for it, but simply said that if he had the North Sea Mystic Ice, his cultivation and swordsmanship could improve significantly, and he could become the number one cultivator in the world.

One is a peerless genius, a rare talent in the cultivation world, with the allure of becoming the number one cultivator; the other is a Foundation Establishment disciple whose foundation is damaged and whose natal sword is shattered, with no guarantee of future cultivation. Everyone knows which one to choose.

Then, people began to visit Xiao Qi, who was seriously injured and bedridden. They tried everything from enticement to coercion, and in the end, he still couldn't save Beihai Xuanbing.

Although the sect gave her many spiritual herbs and stones, many materials and magical artifacts, and the largest mountain in the sect with the most abundant spiritual energy as compensation, Xiao Qi became more and more silent.

His damaged foundation made cultivation increasingly difficult, and he could no longer repair his broken natal sword. He even stopped learning swordsmanship. If it weren't for his third senior brother occasionally coming over to tease him, he probably would have died on the mountain without anyone knowing.

The junior brother, who was feeling down, was persuaded by his third senior brother to take elective courses to cheer himself up. First, he learned alchemy, then weapon crafting, then talisman drawing, formations, and so on.

He studied until his master passed away peacefully, his eldest brother became the new sect leader, and his fellow disciples all became elders, but he never picked up a sword again.

From then on, the Xuan Yang Sect lost a junior brother who wanted to roam the world with his sword, and gained a seventh elder who spent his days lazily farming and refining pills with his hands behind his back.

The Seventh Elder was carefree and even his cultivation was sporadic. While all his senior brothers had successively advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, he remained at the Golden Core stage.

When the sect leader arrived, he saw the Seventh Elder lounging in a rocking chair in the courtyard, lazily eating snacks, drinking beverages, and humming a little tune. The sect leader's already less-than-ideal mood worsened even further.

“Junior brother, you have elderly parents and young children to support. Can’t you make a little effort? Maybe you can stay with us for a few hundred more years. Even if you get tired of us old folks, there’s still Xiao Mo. That child is all alone, and you are his only family. Can you bear to abandon him?”

The sect leader had forgotten why he came here. He was earnestly advising his junior brother to stop slacking off. As for asking Heng Mo to change masters? Who even remembers that now!

Anyway, Xuan Ling went on a mission and wasn't on the mountain, so how could he possibly know whether he had mentioned it or not?

The senior disciple, who had originally planned to casually mention it, focused all his attention on comforting his junior brother after seeing him looking dejected (actually, he was enjoying the rocking chair his disciple had given him), listless (actually, the snacks his disciple had given him were so delicious that he couldn't help but squint and savor them), and giving up on cultivation (actually, he had discovered through his disciple's reminder that combining work and rest was more efficient for cultivation).

The Seventh Elder was prepared for a big argument, but it seemed that something was wrong with the Sect Leader.

Having known each other for hundreds of years, the Seventh Elder quickly understood what his senior brother was thinking, seeing his worried expression. He rocked back in his chair, picked up a snack called an egg tart, ate it, and then slowly replied:

"What's there to be afraid of? I've already prepared the longevity pills. Xiao Mo has such good aptitude. By the time I die peacefully in my old age, his cultivation will definitely be higher than mine. At that time, I won't need to protect him anymore."

The sect leader paced around anxiously for a while, then watched helplessly as he leisurely ate egg tarts and drank milk tea, then potato chips, then egg yolk pastries, then a bag of spicy strips, and finally a cup of grass jelly to finish his meal.

Senior Brother Sect Leader: I feel like something's not quite right. Never mind, I'll just coax her a bit more.

The caring senior brother approached his junior brother and patted him on the shoulder. "Junior brother, when I went to the North Sea before, although I didn't find such top-grade materials as North Sea Xuanbing, I did find quite a few North Sea Yunjing and some spiritual herbs. You can take them and play with them."

The eldest brother's methods of coaxing his junior brother haven't changed much in hundreds of years. The seventh elder smiled and accepted the pile of things, then gave half of his junior disciple's tribute to him.

Unable to refuse the sect leader's hospitality, the senior brother tentatively lay down on the rocking chair, basking in the warm sunshine and enjoying the gentle breeze. He took another bite of a new snack he had never seen before, and suddenly he understood something.

It seems that his junior brother's life isn't as bad as he thought. Thinking about how busy he is every day, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to persuade him anymore.

However, the injury still needed to be healed. The sect leader left a time slot for a scheduled medical consultation and then hurriedly left again, without saying a word about Xuan Ling from beginning to end.

The Seventh Elder lay back in the rocking chair, swaying back and forth for a long while before finally revealing a relaxed smile. His eldest brother was still the same eldest brother who used to buy him candied hawthorns; nothing had changed.

Unlike his master back then, who would have held his hand and taught him sword techniques move by move, he was abandoned because of the so-called number one person in the cultivation world.

Perhaps it was the warm sunshine, or perhaps it was the intoxicating breeze, but the Seventh Elder suddenly felt like drinking, but drinking alone was always a bit boring.

The Third Elder, who was crouching on the hilltop hunting and trying to find some new prey to give to Heng Mo for developing new dishes, suddenly received a message:

[Xiao Mo's newly brewed rice wine is ready to be opened, shall we have a couple of cups?]

The Third Elder was just shocked that Xiao Mo could brew wine when he suddenly realized, "Holy crap! My junior brother sent me a message!!"

Ever since that incident, the junior brother has lost interest in everything. Although he was coaxed and persuaded to learn so many things later, he no longer enjoys communicating with people.

Normally, it's the fellow disciples who go to the junior disciple's mountain, or when there are group activities, they'll take him out for a walk. The junior disciple never takes the initiative to contact anyone.

I heard that a message stone was given to Xiao Mo some time ago, but whether the two of them actually chatted or who initiated it is something the Third Elder doesn't feel comfortable asking.

But things are different now. Without any emergency, his junior brother took the initiative to contact him and even invited him for drinks!

The rice wine has a low alcohol content. Heng Mo and Lin You actually planned to make sweet rice balls in fermented rice wine, but it can also be drunk as alcohol. When Lin You was in modern times, there were sweet rice wine soups sold on the streets.

The eldest sister, Lin Nan, forbids minors from drinking alcohol, but this does not include rice wine. The sweet rice wine carries the mellow aroma of glutinous rice, and some rice grains float in the somewhat cloudy wine.

Two yuan a cup. When I was a child, every time I got a perfect score on a test, my older sister would use the money she earned from collecting bottles and waste paper to buy me a cup as a reward. If it was summer, we could also buy chilled rice wine.

Lin You naturally didn't want to eat alone. The rice wine in the simple plastic cups, divided into five portions, was only two sips each, but it made them happy all day.

Heng Mo didn't give his master that kind of sweet wine. It was a stronger wine with a richer taste, made from spirit rice. Although it wouldn't get a cultivator drunk, it would still make them slightly tipsy.

When the Third Elder arrived, the wine was already laid out, along with several snacks to accompany it. Without asking any questions, he sat down opposite his junior brother, picked up his wine cup, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Good wine! This apprentice is much more filial than my brat. Little Qi is so lucky!"

The Seventh Elder laughed and picked up the wine pot, pouring him another cup. "Third Brother is just showing off. Your little apprentice is also very filial. He always saves you a portion whenever he has something he likes."

The moment the Third Elder heard the word "Third Brother," his eyes welled up with tears, and his heart pounded. He quickly raised his wine glass to cover it up, saying, "That kid wasn't saving it for me. He was just afraid I'd give him more homework."

As the two talked, the apprentice drank wine. The slight clinking of the wine glasses, accompanied by the cool moonlight, quickly intoxicated them, as if all past events had vanished.

Meanwhile, Heng Mo was still diligently teaching his fellow disciples how to cultivate. Originally, no one cared about this matter, but it wasn't until the seventeen miscellaneous disciples successively entered the Qi cultivation stage and all managed to draw Qi into their bodies that the sect leader began to take it seriously.

Guiding Qi into the body is the first hurdle to overcome in cultivation. Once you cross it, you have successfully entered the immortal realm and become a true cultivator.

This threshold is one that many menial disciples cannot cross in their entire lives. Although they have spiritual roots, they are of the lowest grade, and their cultivation techniques are only the most basic. Although they are in the immortal sect, they are just servants.

No sect would invest resources in menial disciples, nor would any cultivator teach them. However, the status of a menial disciple is not static.

As long as a menial disciple can draw qi into their body and master the basics of qi cultivation, they can become an outer disciple. If an outer disciple can cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage, they can be promoted to an inner disciple.

Normally, it's a minor matter for a handyman to be promoted to an outer disciple, which doesn't need to be reported to the sect leader. However, it's not a simple matter when more than a dozen handymen simultaneously begin Qi cultivation, especially since they all came from Anguo and received special instruction from Heng Mo.

After all, which handyman disciple doesn't want to start cultivating? Even disregarding the treatment of outer disciples, just the fact that one can live to be 120 years old when the average lifespan of mortals is less than 50 is enough to make many people envious.

When Heng Mo was summoned by the sect leader, he felt a little strange. The things he taught were not complicated. He was just imitating how his master taught him, explaining the basic knowledge in more detail, and occasionally adding a few of Lin You's unique explanations.

The sect leader, half-believing and half-doubting, pulled his six junior brothers, including Xuanmo's master, to listen to a lesson, and then checked the cultivation progress of all the Anguo disciples. In the end, he came to a conclusion that was somewhat mind-blowing.

Although those with low-grade spiritual roots progress slowly in cultivation, it doesn't mean they can't cultivate; it simply means they lack guidance and don't know how to cultivate.

As for how this situation evolved, we must talk about one of the biggest differences between ancient and modern education.

In modern society, as long as you enter school and are willing to learn, no teacher will be unwilling to teach you. Even if you ask a physical education teacher a math question, as long as he knows the answer, he will be willing to squat on the playground and explain it to you for half an hour.

In ancient times, even if you were just passing by someone teaching a disciple, you had to plug your ears and cover your eyes. You couldn't eavesdrop or watch, otherwise you would be accused of stealing someone else's secret techniques and would be despised and scorned by many people.

There's an old saying: "Teach your apprentice and you'll starve yourself." To avoid the pressure of job competition, many people pass down their skills from father to son. If someone really wants to take on an apprentice, they'll suppress and boss them around for three years, then teach them a few things and hold back some knowledge. This kind of method has become a tradition.

This also applies to the cultivation world. Sects only have so many resources, and elders only have so many spots for accepting disciples. If there are too many competitors, how could it possibly be my turn?

From a personal standpoint, it's naturally better to have fewer cultivators at the same time.