Challenge
Under Ruan Qingyu's hands, the Wutongqin continuously emitted a dazzling red light, as if responding to the familiar moves and techniques.
Seeing the surrounding array flickering and showing signs of breaking, Yun Yin gritted his teeth and gripped the ground with his four paws. Accompanied by dozens of dense purple lightning bolts, the ground array quickly stabilized.
As Yunyin intensified her efforts, the previously turbulent disciple residences returned to calm. No matter how Ruan Qingyu played her zither, it would go unnoticed by outsiders.
Half an hour later, Ruan Qingyu slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing he felt wasn't an improvement in his cultivation level, but rather his depleted dantian. Although his spiritual energy was being replenished, he had just been trying out various techniques from "String Sounds."
He had actually exhausted his still considerable spiritual energy in his dantian. If he were to train outside, he would probably be captured by the likes of the mantis stalking the cicada the moment he stepped in.
After quickly absorbing three cycles of spiritual energy into her depleted dantian, Ruan Qingyu stood up. Her spirit was even more excited than it had been several hours earlier, and she rushed over to Yun Yin's back.
"Yunyin, I think this technique is really good. It's unexpected, and I've never seen a technique like this before. It's really useful. If I encounter it in the future, it's even better than secretly setting up formations and talismans."
Ruan Qingyu's tone was slightly excited as she hugged Yun Yin's neck and shook him.
Upon hearing this, Yun Yin sighed inwardly. He hadn't expected that Wu Tong would find a kindred spirit after so many years. But then he thought of the effects of the "String Sound" and the people Wu Tong had defeated in the past.
Yun Yin nodded, knowing that Ruan Qingyu probably couldn't see him nod at this moment, so he simply said in his mind, "It's good. This technique seems to be destined for you and is extremely suitable for you. After practicing it more, it should have the same miraculous effect as your Phoenix Divine Fire."
Having gained Yunyin's approval, Ruan Qingyu smiled even more happily, and unusually childlike, she clung to Yunyin's back for a long time without getting down.
After a long while, Yun Yin saw that Ruan Qingyu still hadn't spoken. Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly remembered something. He simply released his divine sense to look over and saw that the person on his back had fallen into a deep sleep.
He actually fell asleep like that? Yun Yin was somewhat taken aback, then slowed his breathing and even forcibly suppressed his heartbeat to the lowest level.
He then tiptoed into the room, his desire to transform into human form growing stronger. However, looking at the empty bed, he realized that Ruan Qingyu had mostly focused on cultivation and hadn't prepared any bedding or similar items.
If Ruan Qingyu were placed directly on it, it might not be as comfortable as his back. After thinking for a moment, Yun Yin simply lay down on the ground without moving, looking like a fluffy carpet from a distance.
It completely enveloped Ruan Qingyu, gently floating with her breath. Yun Yin waited patiently for half an hour before confirming it.
He carried this person on his back and they truly fell asleep. It wasn't because their spiritual energy was exhausted or they had made a mistake in their cultivation; it was simply because they had exhausted their spiritual energy while practicing a new technique and had gained new insights.
His spirits rose and fell, and he drifted off to sleep like an ordinary person. Yun Yin's ears twitched, sensing the calming emotion emanating from July.
After blinking, I also fell asleep.
At this moment, a gentle breeze stirred outside the courtyard, causing the medicinal herbs to sway. The sunlight slowly sank, turning golden.
When Ruan Qingyu finally woke up, three days had passed. Fortunately, Foundation Establishment cultivators do not need to eat, otherwise, after sleeping for three days, she would probably be starving.
Feeling the warm downy fur beneath her, Ruan Qingyu realized that Yun Yin had been lying motionless with her for three days.
Just as Ruan Qingyu was still somewhat stunned, the black panther, which had been motionless, suddenly turned its head and looked over.
Instantly, Ruan Qingyu was so frightened that she slid off Yun Yin's back.
Unaware that his sudden movement had startled someone, Yunyin flicked his tail, feeling a pang of regret. This tranquil atmosphere evoked a sense of returning to ancient times, where nothing else mattered, and everything was simply a matter of will.
Seeing his beastly eyes staring intently at her, Ruan Qingyu was speechless for a moment. As her mind wandered, she heard Yun Yin speak.
“Wutong’s techniques are bad for others, and not good for himself either. You were too serious about practicing his techniques, which is why you fell into a deep sleep. Now that you’ve recovered, you should have improved.” As he spoke, Yunyin flicked his tail and circled around Ruan Qingyu.
He immediately squatted down and stared intently at Ruan Qingyu.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingyu immediately used her divine sense to carefully examine her own body. After a moment, her eyes lit up. She discovered that her spiritual power had improved again, although she could not immediately enter the Golden Core stage.
However, the spiritual energy constantly swirling within the dantian, besides settling downwards, also swirls around the center. It seems to be vaguely forming a sphere.
And this location happens to be the spot where a Golden Core cultivator condenses their Golden Core. How could Ruan Qingyu not be excited?
"Yunyin, I am now only one step away from the Golden Core stage." Ruan Qingyu's tone was full of excitement. If Yunyin's posture hadn't been wrong, she would have pounced on him again to hug him and express her joy.
Sensing her emotions, Yunyin swung his tail more and more frequently on the ground. Yet he still spoke coldly, "Countless cultivators have said things like 'just a hair's breadth away.' You've been at the Foundation Establishment stage for a hundred years; you'll need to continue honing your skills to successfully reach the Golden Core stage."
Nodding, Ruan Qingyu simply took out her disciple's token and probed it with her divine sense. A quarter of an hour later, Ruan Qingyu suggested, "Yunyin, since this new technique is quite powerful, why don't we go and test it out within the sect?"
Venturing out to find secret realms for training is too time-consuming and dangerous for us right now. If we were to learn a martial art, we would need to go out and find those secret realms.
The world is probably not entirely populated by cultivators who have mastered new techniques, so each sect or family will have its own corresponding training grounds.
The purpose is to allow cultivators to hone their skills without harming themselves.
The Xuantian Sect disciple token contains all the sect's information; aside from some internal sect secrets, everything can be easily found.
“I haven’t been to this place much before. If you’re too weak, going there will only bring you humiliation.” Ruan Qingyu was referring to Duantian Mountain of the Xuantian Sect, an independent mountain.
The largest arena within the sect is where disciples settle disputes, whether it's about grudges or personal improvement.
Aside from the specially set-up arena, there are numerous mysterious caves. Xuan Tian Sect disciples can choose a cave that suits them and enter a series of challenging mini-realms.
It wasn't some natural secret realm, but rather a magical artifact crafted by a master craftsman of the Xuantian Sect. It connected one secret chamber after another, containing mazes, tunnels, mecha, and more.
Upon successful completion of the challenge, the Xuantian Sect will bestow corresponding rewards, which are said to vary for each participating disciple. Judging from the evaluations of each disciple, these rewards are all extremely suitable for the disciple who participated in the challenge at that time.
Logically speaking, with such a desirable reward, many Xuan Tian Sect disciples should have come to attempt the challenge. However, as far as Ruan Qingyu could see, there were only a handful of people.
Many of the disciples' cultivation levels were beyond Ruan Qingyu's current ability to perceive, yet they all wore solemn expressions and carefully chose the cave entrances they could enter.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingyu hesitated for a moment, and was about to step forward to choose the nearest cave when a voice suddenly came from behind her: "Junior sister, you can't just go into the caves here."
Ruan Qingyu immediately stopped and turned around. She saw a cultivator wearing a mid-level disciple's robe smiling at her. He was extremely tall and exuded an extraordinary aura.
"Senior brother? Do you have something to say?" Ruan Qingyu's lips curved slightly. Since someone had taken the initiative to explain, she would save herself the trouble of trying again.
Yun Yin's ears twitched, feeling inexplicably irritated. This person didn't seem like much, only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm. Why was he deserving of such a good attitude from Ruan Qingyu?
Chen Hao subconsciously glanced at Yun Yin standing at Ruan Qingyu's feet. He felt that the black panther looked extremely majestic. There were many cultivators in the sect who had beast pets, but only this black panther had the same imposing aura as the one in front of him.
But right now, this junior sister was still looking at him with a smile, and Chen Hao shook off the uneasy feeling on the back of his neck.
He cleared his throat before saying, "Junior sister, I am the disciple on duty at Duantian Mountain today. Duantian Mountain is full of countless trial caves. But you can't just go in randomly. If you go in the wrong place, you will be injured at best, or even faint and your cultivation will regress at worst."
Seeing Ruan Qingyu's calm expression and attentive listening, Chen Hao felt even more that this junior sister was of excellent character.
"Judging from your junior sister's cultivation level, it's at the late Foundation Establishment stage. It would be best if you took your disciple token and tried to enter the lower cave entrance first. Generally speaking, the spiritual light of the disciple token is white if you can enter smoothly, and red if it's dangerous. Don't try to enter lightly."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingyu nodded, smiled, and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you, Senior Brother. I'll go try the lower cave entrance right away."
Dazzled by Ruan Qingyu's smile, Chen Hao was about to say something when he saw her turn around and gracefully head towards the lower cave entrance.
Following behind Ruan Qingyu, Yun Yin turned around and grinned at Chen Hao. Seeing that the other party immediately froze, he quickly turned around and followed, satisfied.
Yun Yin's threat wasn't just a threatening expression; this action employed the pressure of his cultivation. Yet, it only took a breath to make Chen Hao's consciousness tremble.
When he came to his senses, he couldn't remember what had just happened, and thought he had just instructed a disciple as usual.
Ruan Qingyu was completely unaware of what was happening behind her. Holding her disciple token, she circled the entrances to the lower levels. At some entrances, before Ruan Qingyu even took a step closer, the token flashed casually, clearly indicating it was too simple.
In short, it's not suitable for Ruan Qingyu to practice, or rather, it doesn't put any pressure on her.
After trying several caves, Ruan Qingyu couldn't find a suitable entrance to the challenge. She hadn't even seen a normal white aura, let alone a red one.
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