In the first three years, Hongmeng Mountain was not only overtaken by its own nine peaks.

It was also seized by other sects.

The once prosperous and luxurious mountain was completely stripped bare. In order to appease the Nine Peaks, since it wouldn't be good to give it to anyone, the sect leader eventually turned Hongmeng Mountain into a public cultivation site.

A daily schedule is arranged, and students come to Hongmeng Mountain at fixed times to meditate.

Another one is the Cold Pool.

Unexpectedly, there was a thousand-year-old mysterious ice in the back mountain of Hongmeng. The elders were all shocked and expressed their dissatisfaction with Shen Yuqing for taking it all for herself. However, since she had already passed away, they didn't say much.

The Cold Pool is very useful for healing injuries and filtering impurities from spiritual energy, making it an excellent place for cultivation.

Unfortunately, it's too cold; most people can't withstand it.

Even the sect leader, a Mahayana stage expert, can only stay for half an hour. Some peak masters can't even stay for ten minutes, let alone the sect's disciples.

Hongmeng Mountain originally had 3,000 disciples, 2,500 of whom ran away, and 7 were expelled by their master, leaving 493.

Lu Yunyu is the only one left in the inner sect.

The rest all went to work under other peak masters, some even willing to start from the outer sect. Lu Yunyu could understand this, since everyone said that Master had passed away and Hongmeng Mountain had become an empty shell with no one to protect it.

They naturally seek new habitats.

If Lou Yu hadn't told him that his master could be saved, Lu Yunyu felt that he might have left as well.

Because no one can defend Hongmeng Mountain.

Each mountain peak wasn't assigned territory by a few experts hired by the sect leader; rather, each peak master claimed their own territory. The sect leader merely acted as an intermediary, facilitating exchanges between the nine peaks and enabling mutual benefit in cultivation techniques.

Therefore, people from Yaowang Mountain who come here to grow medicinal herbs need to pay land rent.

Now the Nine Peaks are dividing up Hongmeng Mountain. On the surface, they say they are family and that since Shen Yuqing is gone, it should belong to them. But in reality, it's just robbery.

Two-thirds of the remaining outer disciples were recruited by scavenging 'garbage'.

This type of family is usually average.

It's neither good nor bad.

It is an immense honor for a child to enter the Qingxuan Sect; it is a blessing from their ancestors.

If I go back, my parents will be so disappointed.

Even if it means gritting my teeth, I have to stay in Hongmeng Mountain.

Their aptitude was too poor, and other peaks wouldn't accept them. The sect leader had tried to persuade them to leave, but the group of them stubbornly refused to go.

In a fit of anger, he could stay, but only as a servant.

They provide food and lodging, but do not offer the same benefits as disciples.

For example, they are not entitled to the monthly distribution of spiritual fruits and stones, nor can they participate in sect exams or enter secret realms. They are also prohibited from picking any fruits from Hongmeng Mountain without permission.

It was all because of Lou Yu's words: "Master can be saved."

Lu Yunyu gritted his teeth and endured for three years. Without the aid of spirit stones or the time to cultivate, he was stuck in a bottleneck and unable to break through to the Golden Core stage.

Their spiritual practice is divided into eight major stages.

Qi Refining, Foundation Building, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Out-of-Body Transformation, Spirit Division, Mahayana, Immortal Transformation/Ascension.

Each major stage has three intermediate stages: the early, middle, and late phases.

Each period is further divided into nine sub-segments, in the order of one, two, three, four, and five. However, there are too many sub-segments, so gradually everyone only uses the first, middle, and last periods to distinguish them.

The further you progress in your spiritual practice, the more difficult it becomes, and it's especially easy to hit a bottleneck.

Lu Yunyu is one of them.

In the fourth year, Master and the others returned.

But it was Lou Yu who brought it back.

What shocked him the most was Lou Yu. In just three years, he had made a qualitative leap. It is extremely difficult for ordinary disciples to go from Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment to Nascent Soul.

Even with talent, reaching that level within three years would still make one a terrifying existence.

Later, when Lu Yunyu saw Lou Yu take on Jiufeng alone, he was completely stunned. Jiufeng was a place where, not to mention the sect leader and peak master, even the teaching teachers were all experts!

During that time, the air was filled with the smell of blood.

Jiufeng was unwilling to give up Hongmeng Mountain, a prize they had subconsciously come to believe over the past three years that it was their territory and were even less willing to let an outsider take it away.

Once the war started, the mountains were covered in blood.

Many people are perfectly fine one second, and then suddenly explode the next.

Lu Yunyu fainted several times from fright.

He often went to secret realms to train and slay demons, so he wasn't too afraid of being attacked. However, he was still afraid of killing his fellow disciples.

The Qingxuan Sect dared not fight for too long. Once its strength was greatly depleted, other sects would come and plunder like wild beasts. They tried to make peace with Lou Yu, after all, he had once been a disciple of Shen Yuqing.

Let Lou Yu take over Hongmeng Mountain, and the existing system will remain the same.

Lou Yu disagreed, and in the end, Hongmeng Mountain was divided into ten peaks, which were no longer under the control of the sect, and the disciples of the nine peaks were not allowed to go there.

In battles between the strong, only small ants are injured. Of the more than four hundred disciples left in Hongmeng Mountain, only a few survived.

During this period, Lu Yunyu had the idea of ​​traveling (running away) many times, but Lou Yu forcibly held him up and threatened him that he would die if he dared to leave!

Life gradually became more stable.

Lou Yu treated Lu Yunyu and the others like cleaners.

The Bodhi Academy is required to be cleaned once a week.

How big is Bodhi Academy?

It depends on those few people.

It takes at least five or six days to clean once.

It was just sweeping up fallen leaves.

He wanted his master to wake up and see that Bodhi Academy was still as clean, tidy, and magnificent as ever.

All things considered, Lou Yu did not turn evil; he simply grew up. He is no longer ruthless, and his hands are not stained with blood. Hongmeng Mountain no longer belongs to Shen Yuqing. Kindness cannot lead an army, benevolence cannot make an official, righteousness cannot manage wealth, and affection cannot establish anything. These words and meanings complement each other.

He only felt resentful towards his master.

More than anything, they felt wronged.

Even when he jumped off a cliff.

It also bears a striking resemblance to the suicides of modern children who are unable to cope with their situation.

If children didn't have unspoken grievances and parents couldn't empathize with them and offer support, but instead criticized, complained, or ignored them, leaving them feeling unloved, how could they possibly go to such extremes?

Lou Yu glanced at Lu Yunyu and left.

Lu Yunyu was disappointed and chased after him:

“Junior brother, it’s been five years. If Master really doesn’t wake up, I will have no choice but to leave the mountain. Don’t blame me. I’m only at the Golden Core stage and my lifespan is not as long as yours. If I don’t find a way to cultivate, I will have to go down the mountain to get married…” He sighed heavily as he spoke.

Lou Yu gave a low "hmm," which was taken as agreement to let him go down the mountain.

Lu Yunyu's eyes widened. He had said this many times before, but he had always been threatened. Why was it like this today...? "Master is awake!"

In a very confident tone.

Lou Yu still did not answer.

Lu Yunyu was 80% sure that his master had woken up. He was both surprised and delighted, thinking that he had finally made it through. But the next second, Lou Yu poured cold water on him.

"You can go down the mountain now, take them with you."

Lu Yunyu clenched his fists and gritted his teeth:

"Junior brother, you're so inhumane! How can you only share the hardship but not the joy? Master has finally woken up, and I'm still waiting to break through my bottleneck!"

Beneath the mask, his dark eyes were as calm as still water, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, yet the words he uttered were colder than the snow of the twelfth lunar month.

"After following Master for so many years, don't you understand his personality? Staying here will only make it harder for you to break through."

Lu Yunyu's expression changed: "That's not what you said back then!"

Lou Yu had initially made empty promises to Lu Yunyu.

The general idea is that having endured great hardships and being the master's most senior disciple, if one can survive to the end, the master will surely be moved and repent. As long as one can get through this, the master will wake up, and only good fortune will follow.