Return to Qifeng Mountain
Lin Shi stopped at the foot of Qifeng Mountain. She liked the scenery of Qifeng Mountain, and then she slowly walked up the mountain from the foot of the mountain, like a bird admiring the flowers.
As soon as Lin Shi returned to the Sun Peak Square of Seven Peaks Mountain, she was spotted by her sharp-eyed senior brothers and sisters. They immediately flew over on their swords and surrounded Lin Shi, asking with concern, "Junior Sister Danmeng, why have you been traveling for six years without returning? If it weren't for the fact that your soul tablet on Seven Peaks Mountain was still intact, we would have thought that you had accidentally perished."
"Six years? I thought it was just a month or two. I accidentally wandered into a small spiritual realm and only recently came out. Has six years really passed in the blink of an eye?" Lin Shi was a little surprised.
Xu Xingran squeezed next to Lin Shi. He looked at Lin Shi gently and replied, "The flow of time in the Lesser Spirit Realm may be different from that in the outside world."
"Junior sister, you can come and have your bone age and cultivation level tested." Huo Linglong pushed aside the other disciples, then took Lin Shi's hand and led her to the white jade testing stone in the center of the Sun Peak Square.
"Junior sister, you should try it!" Huo Linglong saw that Lin Shi was still as beautiful as a flower, and her eyes were clearer and brighter than before, like bright pearls, full of light. She felt that Lin Shi was in excellent condition and might have made some progress in her cultivation. She couldn't wait to know Lin Shi's current cultivation level and wanted to hear her tell about her experiences during her travels.
Lin Shi looked at the many senior brothers and sisters surrounding her, all gazing at her expectantly. Her gaze swept across the crowd and reached the elders of her sect a little further away, who were smiling at her with eyes full of encouragement and goodwill. Lin Shi smiled and then placed her palms directly on the white jade-like testing stone.
The testing stone immediately emitted a dazzling five-colored light. The elders and disciples of the Seven Peaks Sect were startled and immediately gathered around to see what was on the testing stone.
"Lin Shi (Lin Danmeng), a twelfth-generation disciple of the Seven Peaks Sect, is a female cultivator with five elemental spiritual roots and top-tier genius aptitude. Her current bone age is 29 years old, her cultivation level is the early stage of the Golden Core realm, and her natal sword is the Demon-Slaying Sword."
After reading the contents of the testing stone, the elders and disciples of the Seven Peaks Sect had varying expressions. Most of the seven elders were happy, but some disciples looked envious, while others were not so happy. There weren't many fellow disciples who were genuinely happy for Lin Shi; only a few, such as Xu Xingran and Huo Linglong, immediately put on smiles.
"Congratulations, Junior Sister Danmeng, on becoming a Golden Core cultivator at such a young age!" Xu Xingran and Huo Linglong, quick to react, congratulated Lin Shi with beaming smiles. The other fellow cultivators also quickly recovered, suppressing their true emotions and offering their congratulations to Lin Shi with smiles.
Seeing the varying reactions from the disciples, Huo Quan, the leader of the Seven Peaks Sect, coughed twice. Once he had attracted the attention of his disciples, he spoke: "The path of cultivation depends on aptitude, effort, opportunity, and above all, mindset. Disciples, guard against arrogance and impatience. As long as you cultivate diligently, you will soon reach the Golden Core stage. Once you reach the Golden Core stage, you will face even greater difficulties and challenges on the way to the Nascent Soul stage. Among fellow disciples, cultivation progress will certainly vary in speed. In the future, as you get to know more cultivators from other sects, you will better understand what I am saying today."
"Disciple understands, thank you for your guidance, Sect Leader!" The Seven Peaks Sect had few disciples to begin with, and they were all of good character. After listening to Huo Quan's guidance, their mindset completely changed.
Afterwards, the disciples of the Seven Peaks Sect led Lin Shi to the largest hall on Sun Peak, where they asked her to recount her travel experiences. The seven elders of the Seven Peaks Sect sat in chairs, while Lin Shi sat cross-legged on a futon in the center of the hall, facing the many fellow disciples who were also sitting cross-legged, and began to tell her story of her travels over the past few years.
Lin Shi omitted some details about the Dream Heaven Sect, such as the emotional entanglements and reincarnation information of Qi Ming, Li Feini, Wen Zhaoan, and Yan Qing, as well as her conversation with Wen Zhaoan. She only highlighted the key points of her experiences. She also mentioned that she had killed 12 evil cultivators and that she had visited the central urban area of Dragon Valley City once.
Lin Shi had some questions about her brief experience in Dragon Valley City, so she directly asked Zhao Xiyue. She asked, "Master, is there anything strange about the central area of Dragon Valley City?"
Zhao Xiyue's expression turned slightly off when she heard Lin Shi talk about his experiences in the central area of Dragon Valley City. She sighed and said, "There's nothing strange about the central area of Dragon Valley City, it's just that there are many people and many cultivators, so there's a lot of fighting. Cultivators seek immortality by fighting against the Heavenly Dao and competing for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which is why they always have to encounter tribulations of lightning when they advance from the Foundation Establishment stage. Over thousands of years, even tens of millions of years, cultivators who can truly achieve immortality are extremely rare. In our Dream Heaven Small World, very few cultivators can even reach the Golden Core stage, let alone reach the Nascent Soul stage and successfully ascend to the upper realm. In order to quickly improve their cultivation, there will always be some cultivators who want to take shortcuts and resort to crooked methods." "To avoid the fate of dying and losing their cultivation due to the exhaustion of their lifespan and stagnation of their cultivation, it's common for evil cultivators to act ruthlessly and fight to the death for cultivation resources. This goes without saying; everyone understands. Even righteous cultivators sometimes don't act as righteously as evil cultivators. While they won't go to the extremes of killing and looting, completely disregarding cause and effect or ignoring the possibility of developing inner demons that affect their future cultivation, righteous cultivators also frequently seize cultivation resources. Forming Daoist couples with other cultivators for dual cultivation to accelerate cultivation progress, or consuming various auxiliary pills, are all common practices."
Zhao Xiyue first addressed the disciples, then turned to Lin Shi. She continued, “Danmeng, you are a female cultivator with exceptional talent and striking beauty, making you an easy target for other cultivators. Even if you were still a mortal woman, without protection, your stunning looks could easily attract ill-intentioned individuals. If you possess cultivation, others might want to use you as a cultivation vessel. If you lack cultivation, as a beautiful mortal woman, you might be forcibly refined into a puppet and offered to a higher-level cultivator. Just like that evil cultivator named Long Tian you encountered when you were 13; he was planning something similar. But having embarked on the path of cultivation, you must not be afraid. If you cannot even overcome such difficulties, you will have no chance of ascending to the upper realms, let alone ultimately reaching the Mahayana stage and ascending to the Middle Heaven Realm.”
"Disciple Lin Shi understands!" Lin Shi knew that Zhao Xiyue was genuinely giving her guidance, so she nodded earnestly to show that she had taken it to heart.
Zhao Xiyue was pleased with Lin Shi's intelligence. A smile appeared on her face. She continued, "I originally came from a prominent cultivation family in the central urban area of Dragon Valley City, and was once an inner disciple of a major sect in Dragon Valley City. After marrying your sect leader Huo Quan, I retreated to Seven Peaks Mountain to focus on cultivation and detach myself from worldly affairs. Lin Shi, now that you have entered the Golden Core stage, why don't you go and stay at a friendly sect in the central urban area of Dragon Valley City for a few years? Use it to cultivate your mind and character, and also see if you have the opportunity to advance to the Nascent Soul stage as soon as possible by exchanging skills with outstanding disciples from other sects. If any other Foundation Establishment disciples wish to go, please let me know in advance, and I will make the arrangements."
"Yes, disciple will follow Master's instructions!"
"Yes, disciple will follow Elder Zhao's arrangements."
And so, as soon as Lin Shi returned to Seven Peaks Mountain, he was arranged to go to a friendly sect for exchange and sparring in a while. Accompanying him were several fellow disciples, including Xu Xingran and Huo Linglong.
In preparation for her journey to the central district of Dragon Valley City, Lin Shi took the time to refine some practical pills, array stones, and weapons. She also crafted many new and beautiful fairy dresses and jewelry for herself, and handed over some of the spirit stones, spirit plants, spirit ores, swords, and other items she had obtained from Wen Zhao'an's small spirit realm to the Seven Peaks Sect.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
