The Rise of the Sect: I am the most persistent person in the world of immortal cultivation

When the steam dissipated, the teahouse was completely empty.

The old man who sold tea has disappeared.

It was as if he had never existed.

Ye Yang did not show up.

He simply transformed into an invisible divine thought, following the woman in white from afar.

He had been in Blackwood City for several years and knew this woman.

The woman's name was Lin Qingxue. She was the resident doctor at the Blackwood City Medical Clinic, a late-stage martial artist, and skilled in medicine and alchemy.

She and Wang Hu were Daoist partners.

Or rather, it was when Wang Hu was alive.

Lin Qingxue flew out of Blackwood City and headed straight for Bloodfang Valley.

That place is one of the most dangerous areas in the wilderness.

Wang Hu said last night that he was going there, which clearly meant he wanted to risk his life to save a few enemies.

Lin Qingxue hurried through the snow, her face streaked with tears.

Finally, she stopped ten miles from Bloodfang Valley.

Several corpses lay on the snow.

They were all disciples of the Flying Heaven Sect, and the wounds on their bodies were shocking, clearly indicating that they had experienced a fierce battle.

But Wang Hu was not there.

Lin Qingxue searched frantically around, turning over every corpse and digging through every pile of snow.

She cried out Wang Hu's name, her voice echoing across the empty snowfield, but there was no response.

So she went crazy, knelt down on the ground, and frantically dug through the snow and frozen soil with her hands.

Her fingers quickly became a bloody mess, but she seemed to feel no pain.

Finally, she dug out a broken breastplate from the frozen ground, on which was engraved a crooked "tiger" character.

The woman clutched the cold breastplate, her body trembling violently, yet she couldn't shed a single tear, only letting out suppressed whimpers like a wild beast.

Lin Qingxue knelt in the snow for a very long time, until her whole body was covered in white snow.

Lin Qingxue knelt in the snow for a long time, so long that her clothes were buried in the snow.

Finally, she stood up and walked back without expression.

Her eyes were vacant, as if she had lost her soul.

In the end, she stood up, accepted the fate of her Daoist partner's death, and, clutching the protective mirror, walked back to Blackwood City step by step.

Ye Yang did not follow her any further.

He returned to the dilapidated tea shop and continued to work as an old man selling tea.

He knew what was going to happen next.

In this chaotic world, what choices does a woman have after losing her Daoist partner?

They either die for love or they start living again.

Lin Qingxue, however, clearly chose the latter.

A few days later, Lin Qingxue came by once.

She didn't go inside; she just stood across the street for a long time, looking in the direction of the tea shop with a complicated expression.

Then, she turned and left.

Ye Yang didn't know why she did this, but none of that mattered anymore.

The days passed by.

Ye Yang's tea shop has become a very special place in Blackwood City.

The tea here is the cheapest, the stove is the warmest, and the owner is always dozing off and rarely speaks.

Flying Heaven Sect disciples returning from patrol like to rest here, drink a bowl of hot tea, complain about how cunning the enemy is, or boast about which foolish monster they have killed.

Independent cultivators who travel alone also like to come here, exchanging all sorts of information, some true and some false.

They were discussing which mineral veins had yielded valuable finds and which dangerous places had swallowed up several unlucky souls.

Ye Yang is like a reef, quietly watching people come and go, listening to the ebb and flow of the tide.

one year later.

Ye Yang saw Lin Qingxue again at the street corner.

She changed out of her white outfit and put on a plain blue cloth dress.

She was selling low-level talismans she had drawn herself at a small stall, and business seemed to be doing quite well.

Although there was still lingering sadness on her face, her eyes held a newfound warmth and lifelessness.

She didn't glance in the direction of the tea shop again.

one year later.

Blackwood City became even more prosperous.

After their initial frenzied probing, forces such as the Earth Dragon Sect suddenly ceased their activities.

Because they discovered a horrifying truth.

Suddenly, Master Ye disappeared without a trace.

Perhaps they've disappeared, or perhaps they're still alive.

He was not at Flying Gate, nor at any stronghold; no one knew where he had gone.

Did he fail in his secluded retreat and die, his cultivation vanishing?

Or have they successfully transcended the tribulation and ascended to heaven?
Or perhaps, it's like a venomous snake, lurking in the shadows, waiting for someone to jump out and deliver a fatal blow?
The unknown is the greatest fear.

Before confirming Ye Yang's fate, no one dared to truly kill the Flying Heaven Sect.

This strange peace, ironically, gave the Flying Heaven Sect a precious chance to breathe.

this day.

At the entrance of the Blackwood City Medical Clinic, Lin Qingxue was bandaging the wounds of an injured rogue cultivator.

Her movements were practiced and her expression was calm, as if the woman who had been crying in the snow earlier was just a dream.

That rogue cultivator was a middle-aged man who worked as a guard in the wilderness, constantly risking his life.

His name is Sun Yan. He is a generous and outgoing person and is quite popular in Blackwood City.

"Dr. Lin, thank you for your help again."

Sun Yan grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"This injury is nothing."

Lin Qingxue responded calmly, her hands continuing their work.

"Your medical skills are among the best in Blackwood City, it's a pity..."

Sun Yan stopped halfway through his sentence.

Lin Qingxue looked up at him.

“What a pity?”

"It's a pity that it's too hard to do it alone."

Sun Yan scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

“I heard that your Daoist partner… sigh.”

Lin Qingxue's hand paused for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.

"he died."

Her voice was flat, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

"Condolences."

Sun Yan didn't know what to say, so he could only utter this dry sentence.

"If Dr. Lin encounters any difficulties in the future, he can come to me."

Lin Qingxue didn't say anything more. After bandaging her wound, she turned around and went back to the clinic.

Sun Yan watched her retreating figure and sighed.

He had spent several years in Blackwood City and had seen far too many stories like this.

War has caused too many people to lose their loved ones.

Those who survived could only grit their teeth and continue to struggle in this chaotic world.

As it turned out, for some reason, perhaps it was fate that brought us together.

Soon after.

Sun Yan and Lin Qingxue actually became Daoist partners.

The news quickly spread throughout Blackwood City.

Some offered their blessings, some watched coldly, and some gossiped behind their backs.

But most people simply accept this fact numbly.

In the wilderness, survival is more important than anything else.

Ye Yang sat in the teahouse, listening to the idle gossip, his heart unmoved.

"Have you heard? Doctor Lin married Sun Yan."

"They were a good match, but it's a pity that Wang Hu was also a good man. It's a shame that after he died, he couldn't keep his wife."

"What do you know? In the development of this wild land, one general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand."

"Wang Hu is definitely gone. In such a vast and desolate region, even the living face hardship, and women always need someone to rely on."

That's what they say, but I still feel...

"What do you think? If you die, your wife will have to remarry. That's just how the world is."

In the teahouse, Ye Yang listened to the people's discussion, poured himself a bowl of tea, and slowly drank it.

He did not judge Lin Qingxue's choice.

Living is not easy.

Moreover, in this chaotic world.

Moreover, he is now just an old man selling tea.

He observes life with detached indifference, watching birth, aging, sickness, and death in this mortal world; other things have little to do with him.
Two years later, Lin Qingxue gave birth to a son for Sun Yan.

Sun Yan was overjoyed and hosted a three-day banquet, inviting all his acquaintances in the alley to drink.

They even handed the invitation to Ye Yang; as neighbors for many years, Ye Yang still gave them a small token of appreciation.

Besides the three ounces of fine tea that he had roasted himself, he also had two loose spirit stones.

On the day he gave the gift, Ye Yang glanced at the child from afar.

Exquisitely crafted, very cute.

Lin Qingxue held the child, and a smile finally appeared on her face.

That smile was genuine.

She seems to have really forgotten Wang Hu.

Or rather, she chose to forget.

Because only by forgetting can one survive.

Sometimes, Lin Qingxue would bring her child to the teahouse.

Ye Yang withdrew his gaze and continued to brew his tea.

Another three years passed.

Three years have passed.

Ye Yang's tea shop is still located in that alley in Blackwood City.

During those three years, he met countless people.

A spirited young cultivator, full of enthusiasm, ventured into the wilderness, only to end up as a cold corpse.

There are old cultivators who are barely clinging to life, who have saved up spirit stones their whole lives just to buy a life-extending pill and live a few more years.

There are traitors who have betrayed their sect, hiding in a corner of Blackwood City, living in fear every day.

There were also loyal individuals who upheld their beliefs, knowing they would die, yet still bravely faced death.

He has witnessed far too many partings and deaths.

I have witnessed far too much of the good and evil in human nature.

I've seen too much helplessness and compromise.

Those "battle casualties" that he once saw as just numbers have become vibrant lives.

The cold, hard information that was once on the jade slips has become real stories.

He began to understand what "all living beings" meant.

All beings are suffering.

Yet they all struggled to survive amidst hardship.

And in the outside world.

The situation of the Flying Gate is becoming increasingly bizarre.

That Daoist Ye has disappeared.

Completely disappeared.

No one knows where he went, nor whether he is dead or alive.

Gu Xuan sent people to search the entire Star Sea Realm, turning over every stronghold, but they could not find any trace of Ye Yang.

The Flying Heaven Sect even used its most precious tracking techniques, but still found nothing.

Ye Yang seemed to have vanished into thin air.

This caused all the forces that were eyeing the opportunity to hesitate.

The Earth Dragon Sect had already assembled its forces, preparing to take Blackwood City in one fell swoop.

But at the last moment, he stopped.

"Is Daozu Ye really dead?"

"He should... be dead, right? It's been four years, and there's not a sound."

Are you sure?

The confidant remained silent.

No one is sure.

Ye Yang's infamy was built on the corpses of countless others.

Who would dare bet that he's really dead?

What if he's just in seclusion? What if he's broken through to the Tribulation Realm...?

That would be a catastrophe.

So everyone waited.

Waiting for definite news.

This wait gave the Flying Heaven Sect a chance to catch their breath.

Gu Xuan seized this opportunity to vigorously reorganize the internal affairs and strengthen the defenses.

This wild and uncivilized situation has strangely stabilized.

No one dared to make a move.

Because they are afraid.

I'm afraid that the man who disappeared will suddenly reappear.

It was another snowy day.

Inside the teahouse, the stove was burning brightly.

Ye Yang sat behind the counter, looking at the heavy snow outside the window, a hint of daze flashing in his eyes.

He has lost count of how many years it has been since China joined the WTO.

He was used to seeing birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Having witnessed the complexities of human nature.

Having witnessed the many helpless situations in this world.

He touched his chest, knowing he was ready.

He slowly stood up and took off the worn-out cotton robe he had worn for four years.

Gray hair faded, wrinkles disappeared, and the hunched body straightened up again.

A handsome young man appeared in the teahouse.

"Thousands of lights illuminate the world..."

"I see."

He closed his eyes, and a golden pill materialized in his hand.

It was the Nine-Turn Tribulation-Crossing Pill given by the Nine Heavens Ancestor.

He put the pill into his mouth.

The scalding medicinal power erupted instantly within his body, impacting his meridians and refining the source of his Dao power.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky.

The tribulation lightning has arrived.

The cultivators of Blackwood City all looked up at the sky, their eyes filled with shock and fear.

"This is... a tribulation of lightning?"
"Who is undergoing tribulation?!"

"Look! It's outside the city!"

Countless streaks of light shot into the sky, flying towards the location of the lightning.

Even more alarming is that these lightning bolts, which should have been raging and indiscriminately striking down, were actually...

At this moment, it seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, hovering three feet above Blackwood City.

"What...what's going on? Why did the sky suddenly change?"

On the city walls of a distant town, the monks on guard were the first to discover this strange scene.

Soon, more and more cultivators discovered this strange change in the world.

It wasn't just the cultivators guarding the city.

Even the ancient ancestors who were in seclusion in the city were alarmed by this unusual power of heaven and earth.

These people either emerged from their secluded meditation chambers or put down their cultivation methods, and all brought out various viewing artifacts.

Some took out their crystal-clear jade tokens, while others activated their spiritual eyes between their brows, all gazing towards the direction of the entrance to the desolate region.

When they saw the figure in green robes surrounded by thousands of lightning bolts, everyone gasped.

His face was filled with shock and confusion, and his previously calm demeanor instantly became disordered.

"A celestial phenomenon! Such a phenomenon, where lightning follows one another like a shadow, is extremely rare even in ancient and modern texts!"

An elderly man with white hair stroked his long beard, which trembled slightly with shock, his voice filled with disbelief.

His cultivation had reached the late stage of the Golden Core realm, making him a top expert in this Blackwood City. He considered himself knowledgeable and experienced, yet he had never seen such a bizarre scene before.

"Lightning is the most powerful and fierce destructive force of heaven and earth, and it has always been uncontrolled and unrestrained. But the lightning before us... seems to have been tamed and has become the companion of that figure."

"Who exactly is this man in the blue robe? How can he summon such terrifying power of heaven and earth?"

Ye Yang was completely oblivious to the shock and prying eyes of others.

Or rather, at this moment he was already immersed in his own world where he merged with heaven and earth.

With each step he took...

He could clearly feel some kind of profound law of heaven and earth flowing through his fingertips and echoing in his soul.

He looked up at the sky and could clearly feel the extreme destructive power contained in the lightning.

That power was enough to tear mountains apart and burn everything.

At the same time, beneath this destruction lies a vibrant life force; after destruction comes rebirth. The cycle of destruction and life is the ultimate truth of the universe.

"tread!"

The moment Ye Yang's feet touched the ground with his first step, he clearly sensed the ferocity and power of the lightning.

Deep within his soul, long dormant, the desire to break through to the Thunder Tribulation Dao Realm was quietly beginning to stir.

His previously stagnant cultivation was beginning to show signs of improvement. (End of Chapter)