Seeing an old friend
Two hundred years passed in the blink of an eye, and Lin Shi and Lian Zheng both reached the Great Perfection stage of the Mahayana realm. The two of them went out to train together, and after collecting all the cultivation materials, weapon-refining, array-refining, and pill-refining materials needed to transcend the peak of the Mahayana realm and ascend to the Central Heaven Realm, they returned to their cave dwelling in the Dream Heaven Immortal Sect, waiting for the opportunity to ascend to the Central Heaven Realm, which no one knew when it would come.
On this day, a disciple came to Lin Shi's door, informing him that an old friend had come to visit. Lin Shi went out to greet the guest and discovered that it was Ye Ruxue and Qin Yuan who had ascended to the Hongchuan Realm and both had become elders of the Mengtian Immortal Sect.
Ye Ruxue and Qin Yuan advanced to the Void Refinement stage around the same time and ascended to the Hongchuan Realm in the same year. When they ascended to the Hongchuan Realm, they were shocked to believe that Lin Shi had actually founded the Dream Heaven Immortal Sect in the Hongchuan Realm within just three hundred years.
After they joined the Dream Heaven Immortal Sect, they discovered that Lin Shi had only joined the sect as an elder, found a Daoist partner, and within a mere three hundred years, had become a high-level cultivator at the Great Perfection stage of the Mahayana realm, potentially ascending to the Middle Heaven Realm at any moment. The speed at which her cultivation had increased was nothing short of phenomenal, like a dragon soaring and a tiger roaring, as swift as the wind and lightning.
Lin Shi went to the hall where the Dream Heaven Immortal Sect received guests and friends. As soon as she entered, she saw Ye Ruxue and Qin Yuan waiting for her. Upon seeing her enter, the two of them stood up, greeted her, and then chatted.
Ye Ruxue was Lin Shi's partner for decades, and since both of them ascended from the Dream Heaven Small World, their friendship was naturally extraordinary. Qin Yuan was Lin Shi's partner in founding the Dream Heaven Sect in the Yuan Shu Realm. However, after three hundred years apart, Lin Shi couldn't help but feel a sense of estrangement and change.
A cultivator's appearance is almost fixed from the Golden Core stage onwards. Few cultivators frequently change their appearance. High-level cultivators are also rarely unattractive.
When Lin Shi entered the palace, she rarely smiled. She still looked like she was twenty-three years old, with a beautiful face. When she smiled, deep dimples appeared on her cheeks, making her look incredibly innocent and sweet. Yet this pure-looking beauty had become a high-level cultivator at the peak of the Mahayana stage, and was only eight hundred years old. She was three hundred years younger than her Daoist partner, who was also at the Great Perfection stage of the Mahayana. Meanwhile, cultivators in the Hongchuan Realm with similar cultivation levels to her were mostly several thousand years old, and their numbers were extremely limited.
Ye Ruxue, unable to contain her complex emotions, turned to Lin Shi and said first, "Danmeng, I remember you are ten years younger than me. It is truly astonishing yet not unexpected that you have become a high-level cultivator at the Great Perfection stage of the Mahayana realm at your current age!"
Lin Shi smiled gently, then said seriously, "When I first advanced to the Golden Core stage, the head of our Seven Peaks Sect warned us disciples that the path of cultivation depends on aptitude, effort, opportunity, and even more so on mindset. Even fellow disciples born on the same day, month, and year will have different cultivation speeds. Cultivators don't strive for quick results, but only for the long term. Even if you reach the peak of the Mahayana stage, if you fail to overcome the tribulation, you may die and your cultivation may be destroyed, or your physical body may be completely destroyed and your soul half-disappeared. You will need to rebuild your physical body and start cultivating all over again!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Ruxue genuinely laughed. She said, "Lin Shi, you're still the same as before! No matter how many years have passed, you're still humble, hardworking, and clear-headed. My mindset isn't as good as yours; I should be learning from you!"
Lin Shi replied with a smile, "Ru Xue, you are too modest!"
After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Shi, Ye Ruxue, and Qin Yuan and his wife felt a sense of familiarity again and began chatting warmly once more.
Ye Ruxue informed Lin Shi of the current situation in the Yuan Shu Realm. She said, "Danmeng, the four elders Bai Kunwu, Zhu Yong, Lü Qiwen, and Huang Chenghua will also ascend to the Hongchuan Realm in a few years. Your senior brother Xu Xingran and senior sister Huo Linglong are slightly behind in cultivation, but they should ascend to the Hongchuan Realm within a few decades, or at most a hundred years. Some other elders and disciples of the Mengtian Sect, who also have higher cultivation, may also ascend to the Hongchuan Realm within a hundred years. In recent years, the sect leader of your Seven Peaks Sect, your master, and some disciples have all ascended to the Yuan Shu Realm one after another and joined the Mengtian Sect. The Yuan Shu Realm is generally doing well, except that local cultivators who hunt down cultivators from lower realms still appear from time to time, and they can't be completely eradicated."
Lin Shi nodded: "I understand. That's human nature. Some cultivators with bad hearts will indeed destroy what others can't have. This is especially true in a world where cultivation resources are scarce and competition among cultivators is fierce. In any case, it's a good thing that more cultivators from the Dream Heaven Small World are ascending to the Yuan Shu Realm. It's also a good thing that cultivators from the Blessed Heaven Small World are constantly ascending to the Yuan Shu Realm. It's also a good thing that cultivators with higher cultivation levels are ascending from the Yuan Shu Realm to the Hong Chuan Realm."
After Qin Yuan and Ye Ruxue finished their conversation, Qin Yuan took the opportunity to ask Lin Shi some questions about cultivation, especially the details of how she and Lian Zheng simultaneously dealt with the Heavenly Tribulation of the Integration Stage and the Great Ascension Stage.
Lin Shi didn't hold back and shared almost all the details with Qin Yuan and Ye Ruxue.
Qin Yuan then asked Lin Shi two questions that prompted her deep thought. He asked, "Lin Shi, do you know who founded the Dream Heaven Immortal Sect? Is the Dream Heaven Immortal Sect the same sect as the Dream Heaven Sect when the Dream Heaven Small World was still the Great World?"
Lin Shi was a little puzzled, but still answered Qin Yuan based on the information she had. She replied, "The Dream Heaven Immortal Sect is said to have been founded by a minor cultivator who escaped from the Dream Heaven Sect in the Dream Heaven Minor World when it was destroyed. The two sects should be of the same lineage, but I don't know how many times the Dream Heaven Realm and Hongchuan Realm have gone through the process of upgrading and downgrading. Perhaps Hongchuan Realm was also a minor world before, then became a middle world, and then upgraded to a major world. It's possible that this process has repeated many times. I know a former Dream Heaven Sect cultivator who experienced the destruction of the Dream Heaven Sect two or three thousand years ago. He failed his tribulation at the Great Ascension stage, but now he has rebuilt his physical body and started cultivating from scratch. If you want to know more about the Dream Heaven Sect, I'll try to contact him and ask him about these things."
Qin Yuan nodded: "Okay, thank you for your help!"
After meeting with her two old friends and chatting for a while, Lin Shi returned to her cave. She only told Lian Zheng that she had met with her two old friends, but she had many thoughts on her mind and did not reveal any of them for the time being.
As usual, Lin Shi sat quietly cross-legged, meditating and cultivating diligently. After her consciousness was immersed in cultivation, she suddenly found herself trapped in a dreamlike state, almost unable to escape.
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