Mo Xingjue?
Li Ze was somewhat dazed and murmured, "Is it Mo Xingjue, and not He Xingjue?"
Liu Haozhi laughed, with a hint of teasing, "You're a bit too eager, kid. You've only known us for less than two days and you already want to make our senior brother your family? Have you even asked our junior brothers and sisters from Fengyang Sect?"
Liu Haozhi had his back to Li Ze, so he didn't notice that Li Ze's eyes were slowly turning red and his body, hidden under his wide robe, was trembling slightly.
Could Mo Xingjue be the person he knows?
"What is the cultivation method that your senior brother mainly practices?" Li Ze asked again.
“Young man, your question is a bit too much. But if you really want to know the answer, you can ask our senior brother yourself,” Liu Haozhi said.
Cultivation techniques aren't taboo, but people who aren't close usually don't ask about them right away. Liu Haozhi felt it was inappropriate for Li Ze to ask this, but considering the other's young age, he didn't take it to heart.
"Is it the Vast Expanse Technique?" Li Ze asked softly, his heart pounding in his throat.
Liu Haozhi raised an eyebrow. "Young Fellow Daoist He Yu, you're not being honest. You said you weren't familiar with our senior brother. If you weren't familiar, how do you even know his main cultivation technique? The Vast Vast Technique isn't a cultivation technique of our Fengyang Sect. People outside have almost never heard of it. How do you know it? Our senior brother must have told you."
Li Ze didn't reply. Crystal tears slid down his cheeks. At this moment, he wished he could turn around and chase after Mo Xingjue, but he couldn't. He was only at the Qi Refining stage, and he didn't even know how to fly on a sword.
In addition, he had a powerful enemy—
Li Ze felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. The redness and mist in his eyes slowly faded, and his eyes returned to their clear black and white, giving him a cold and aloof appearance.
After flying for about half an hour, Sun Chenghao led his team to land in a valley.
“I’ve searched the area within a seven or eight li radius and haven’t found any high-level demonic beasts. We’ll spend the night here,” Sun Chenghao said to the group.
Everyone naturally agreed. "Second Brother, can we look around the neighborhood?"
“Okay, just don’t leave the valley,” Sun Chenghao said.
"Understood, Second Senior Brother."
The crowd scattered in all directions.
"He Yu, why don't you go for a walk too? You might find some spiritual fruits and herbs," Liu Haozhi advised Li Ze.
Li Ze shook his head, "I'm not going."
Liu Haozhi glanced at Li Ze and gave up trying to persuade him. "That's true, you shouldn't lack those spiritual herbs and fruits."
Li Ze remained noncommittal, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate.
Having found He Xingjue, a huge weight was lifted from his heart, but his sense of urgency doubled. Ji Lin, relying on the evil artifact, was capable of fighting against a Nascent Soul cultivator. If he wanted revenge, he needed at least the strength of a Deity Transformation cultivator, preferably a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Transformation into a deity?
Out-of-body experience?
Even a major sect might have fewer than ten members like him. Could he possibly grow to that level? How long would it take?
Before this, he could not acknowledge He Xingjue, nor could he put the other party in danger. The thought of not being able to acknowledge He Xingjue for hundreds or even thousands of years made Li Ze's heart ache.
The valley was filled with a very strong malevolent aura, seemingly formed by the natural terrain. This might explain why there wasn't a single demonic beast in such a large valley.
Li Ze advanced from the seventh level of Qi Refining to the eighth level in just one night.
"You advanced?" Liu Haozhi asked in surprise. "Why didn't I sense any spiritual energy fluctuations last night?"
He was too tired last night and accidentally fell asleep, but he wasn't so unaware that he was asleep that he didn't even know the person next to him had advanced.
“My cultivation method is different from others, so there’s been no progress in my advancement,” Li Ze said.
"Eighth level of Qi Refining, not bad, not bad, the same realm as Junior Sister Bai Xue." Sun Chenghao said meaningfully, "Young Fellow Daoist He Yu, how old are you this year?"
"Twenty," Li Ze said, pursing his lips.
"Twenty? Judging from your appearance, I thought you were at most fifteen or sixteen years old," Sun Chenghao said in surprise.
Li Ze remained noncommittal. His bone age was indeed very young, but he had lived three lifetimes, totaling several thousand years.
"Second Senior Brother, she may look young, but she's actually quite old," Bai Xue said sarcastically. She herself was twenty years old, and she and He Yu were the weakest in the team. If He Yu was only fifteen or sixteen, wouldn't that mean she was the worst one?
"Junior Sister Bai Xue, if I remember correctly, you've been at the eighth level of Qi Refining for two years now, right?" Sun Chenghao asked with a smile.
Bai Xue's face stiffened, but she stubbornly replied, "I've already reached the edge of a breakthrough."
Sun Chenghao nodded, "Then I congratulate you in advance, Junior Sister. Now that we are in the secret realm, the concentration of spiritual energy is three or four times that of the outside. Not only Junior Sister Bai Xue, but everyone should seize the time to cultivate. I think this valley is good. Let's not go anywhere today, let's cultivate here for a day, and then set off tomorrow."
No one objected. They had been traveling ever since entering the secret realm, and it was indeed time to stop and rest properly.
Li Ze had no objections. He hadn't completely absorbed the evil energy here yet, so staying another day would be best.
The next morning, Liu Haozhi exclaimed, "You've advanced again!"
Who advanced?
"Has anyone advanced? I didn't know that."
"Oh, it's Fellow Daoist He Yu again. Didn't he just advance in rank yesterday?"
"One level per day, this speed is simply too heaven-defying."
"......"
Everyone surrounded Li Ze, looking at him with astonishment.
Li Ze stood still, calm and composed, without a hint of embarrassment.
“Fellow Daoist He Yu has already reached the ninth level, and now the person with the lowest cultivation has become Junior Sister Bai Xue. Junior Sister Bai Xue, you should work harder.”
“Cultivation cannot be rushed, junior sister, please do not be impatient.”
"Junior Sister Bai Xue has good talent. In the future, she may not only reach the Foundation Establishment stage, but also the Golden Core stage."
What seemed like encouraging words actually made Bai Xue's chest ache with anger. What did they mean? What did they mean by "it's possible to reach the Golden Core stage"? Did they think she couldn't even reach that level?
Seeing Bai Xue's expression change repeatedly, Sun Chenghao, fearing he might upset her, immediately ordered them to prepare to leave.
After leaving the valley, Sun Chenghao and the other three Golden Core cultivators discussed the matter and chose the north direction.
The group began walking, picking spiritual herbs and fruits whenever they encountered them, and killing any demonic beasts they came across. Li Ze did not take any action and gained nothing along the way.
The disciples of Fengyang Sect guessed that he looked down on him, and became increasingly curious about his identity.
Only Li Ze knew that it wasn't that he looked down on them, but rather that he had already gained an advantage by traveling with them, and he felt embarrassed to compete with them for spiritual fruits and herbs.
However, he did not come away empty-handed. He cultivated with every spare moment, and after just advancing to the ninth rank, he was already on the verge of reaching the tenth rank.
There are twelve stages in the Foundation Establishment stage, and I believe it won't be long before he can establish his foundation.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com