Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 744 You catch up with your master's cultivation level in one day, and you call him junior brother?
Just as dawn was breaking, the door of Fang Yu's simple outbuilding was pounded on, the knocks urgent as if they were a death warrant.

Fang Yu jolted awake from the hard bed. The mess from last night's alchemy was still there. In the corner, the large sow, whose skin had been scalded and then "patched up" by his medical ninjutsu, was groaning weakly. A strange, lingering smell, a mixture of peculiar medicinal fragrance and a faint odor of burnt meat, permeated the air.

He scratched his messy hair, slipped on his shoes, and opened the door a crack.

Standing outside the door was a young woman wearing a bright green dress and a cute bun hairstyle. She had willow-leaf eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, and was standing with her hands on her hips, looking somewhat accusatory.

Before she could speak, Fang Yu, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, preemptively pointed eagerly at the grunting pig beside the bed:
"My lady! It's a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! I have a strange habit when I sleep; I only feel secure when I'm hugging something! This pig... here it is, untouched, returned to you intact! I really didn't touch a hair on it; look at it, lively and energetic... uh, the live pig is right here!" He tried to open his still sleepy eyes, striving to appear utterly sincere.

The woman in green followed Fang Yu's finger and swept across the room. She immediately spotted the pig, which was listless and had strange marks on its body. The strange smell of medicine mixed with roasted meat in the air was overwhelming.

She was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing, her eyes crinkling as if she had discovered something incredibly funny.

"Ha! You little rascal, you've got some nerve!" Zhong Weiniang suppressed her laughter, her shoulders shrugging. "On your first day as a disciple, you dare to steal Old Man Li's roasted pig? Do you know that this 'pig brother' is Elder Li's favorite? Aren't you afraid he'll chop you up?" She deliberately put on a stern face, but the laughter in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Fang Yu immediately protested his innocence, gesturing exaggeratedly with his hands: "Roast? I swear! Senior sister, look at it, it's plump and strong, its fur... well, its skin may look a bit weathered, but it's definitely alive and kicking! I really didn't use any fire! This smell... this smell... maybe I had a little mishap during my cultivation last night and accidentally set the door on fire?" He made up a story on the spot, his eyes darting around.

Zhong Weiniang clearly didn't believe his nonsense, but she was too lazy to delve into the matter of this pig. She waved her hand and looked Fang Yu up and down: "Alright, alright, stop with the glib talk. My name is Zhong Weiniang. I am the seventh disciple under Master. I entered the sect a few years earlier than you. Just call me Senior Sister Zhong." Her voice was clear and cheerful.

Fang Yu immediately followed suit, chuckled, and clasped his hands in greeting: "Senior Sister Zhong! My apologies! Does that mean I'm going to be number eight?" He deliberately dragged out the words, then changed the subject, his stomach rumbling at the opportune moment, "Senior Sister, it's so early in the morning, breakfast can't be 'secret recipe mini hamburgers,' can it?"

Zhong Weiniang was taken aback by his erratic thinking and strange words, and blinked blankly: "Mini hamburger? What kind of magical dessert is that? I've never heard of it. Our breakfast here is just plain porridge with pickled vegetables and dumplings, and it's all you can eat."

She rolled her eyes at Fang Yu. "Let's go, Junior Brother 'Eighth Brother'. Stop thinking about your 'little hamburger'. Senior Sister will take you to meet the other fellow disciples."

Fang Yu responded, casually closed his creaking, broken wooden door, and followed behind Zhong Weiniang, who walked briskly.

The two walked through several courtyards and arrived at a slightly more spacious courtyard.

In the center of the courtyard stood a long wooden table, around which sat several men and women dressed in the robes of Huangfeng Valley disciples, slurping hot porridge with pickled vegetables.

Zhong Weiniang led Fang Yu to the table, cleared her throat, and pointed to a kind-faced, composed young man at the head of the table, about to introduce him: "This is Senior Brother Yu Kun, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, specializing in..."

Fang Yu's gaze, however, was already firmly fixed on the steaming, fragrant wooden bucket on the table, and his stomach growled even louder.

He interrupted Zhong Weiniang directly, a nonchalant smile on his face, and waved his hand dismissively:

"There's no rush to find an introducer! We're all brothers under the same master, there's plenty of time, we'll naturally get to know each other over time! As for names, we can remember them later! The most important thing right now is this—"

As he spoke, he grabbed an empty bowl from the table, squeezed his way to the porridge bucket in a few quick steps, and plunged the long-handled wooden ladle into the porridge, stirring it with a gurgling sound. "I'll have a bowl to tide me over! If I'm late, there might not be any left!"

The group found Fang Yu strange, but they didn't say much, assuming that was just his personality.

But only Fang Yu himself understood.

In this world, he has to be unemotional with everyone. As long as he is unemotional, no one can control him, and it is difficult for others to have any leverage against him.

If you really act like an immortal cultivator, spreading "love" and "seeds" everywhere, you'll eventually be blackmailed by people using your descendants and friends.

As long as you have no love in your heart!

That is the Great Love Celestial Venerable!
Fang Yu squatted on a stone stool in the corner of the courtyard, holding a rough earthenware bowl bigger than his face. He slurped down the porridge, with half a piece of dark brown pickled vegetable stuck in his chopsticks. He ate with great gusto, as if the porridge in the bowl was not bland white porridge, but some kind of dragon liver and phoenix marrow.

Zhong Weiniang and several other senior brothers and sisters sat around the stone table next to them, watching the new "eighth brother" who was so uninhibited and had such an amazing appetite, their expressions were all a little subtle.

The eldest brother, Yu Kun, wore a helpless expression on his honest face, while the third brother, Liu Jing, frowned slightly.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you," Zhong Weiniang couldn't help but say, feeling that there was something strange about this kid.

Fang Yu didn't even look up, just mumbled an "uh-huh," and scraped his chopsticks against the bottom of the bowl with a screeching sound, as if he hadn't eaten for three days.

For him, the porridge and pickled vegetables were indeed bland, but at least they provided energy, so he might as well eat them.

Just then, a beam of azure light descended, and Elder Li Huayuan, who had just reached the Core Formation stage, appeared in the courtyard.

His expression was solemn as he glanced at his disciples. He cut to the chase, his voice deep and clear: “You’ve all arrived? Good. The Crimson Forbidden Land will open in three days. This trial is crucial to your path of cultivation. I intend for you all to take the plunge. Your fate is in the hands of destiny, but it will be a valuable experience!”

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the courtyard instantly became solemn. The Bloodstained Forbidden Land was infamous, and the disciples' faces all showed tension and determination.

"Yes, Master! Your disciple will not fail your expectations!" Yu Kun, Liu Jing and the others immediately stood up, clasped their hands and accepted the order.

Zhong Weiniang, quick-witted, couldn't help but look at Fang Yu, who was still struggling with the last few grains of rice at the bottom of his bowl, and asked in a clear voice, "Master, what about Junior Brother Fang Yu? He just started his training, is he going too?" She pointed to the figure of him working hard with his head down.

Li Huayuan's gaze followed Zhong Weiniang's finger and finally landed on Fang Yu.

He had only glanced at him casually; it was his first meeting yesterday. Although the boy had amazing talent, he was only at the peak of Qi Refining.

However, upon closer inspection—

hum!
Li Huayuan felt as if an invisible thunderbolt had exploded in his mind!

His pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints, and the solemnity on his face was instantly replaced by extreme horror and disbelief!
It was as if I were witnessing the most absurd and utterly ridiculous sight in the world!
What about that Qi Refining junior cultivator who seemed a little uneasy under his spiritual pressure yesterday?
Although the person before me did not deliberately exude spiritual pressure, his harmonious and restrained nature, which originated from the essence of life, and the powerful aura that emanated from the depths of his dantian, like a dormant volcano, were still evident.
This is clearly someone at the same level as him—the Core Formation stage!

"puff!"

The small teacup that Li Huayuan was unconsciously holding instantly turned into powder in his palm, and the warm tea mixed with the porcelain powder dripped down between his fingers.

He was completely oblivious, staring intently at Fang Yu as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight, as if he were seeing this person for the first time.

His lips trembled twice, as if confirming something, or as if a huge shock had choked him. Finally, in a tone that was almost blank and confused, yet filled with immense astonishment, he murmured almost involuntarily:

"Stop calling me 'Junior Brother'!"

"Call the elder."

"what?!"

“Elder?!”

"Master?!"

"Junior Brother Fang Yu is an elder?!"

Li Huayuan's earth-shattering words completely stunned all the disciples in the courtyard!

Senior Brother Yu Kun's honest face froze, Liu Jing's brows furrowed into a deep frown, and Zhong Weiniang's almond-shaped eyes widened, her small mouth forming an "O" shape. She looked at Fang Yu, then at her master, wondering if she was hallucinating.

A newly initiated Qi Refining stage disciple? Became an elder overnight?! What kind of joke is this, the biggest joke in the history of Yellow Maple Valley?!
"Master? You mean you want Junior Brother Fang to be an elder?" Yu Kun thought he had misheard and asked with difficulty.

Li Huayuan suddenly came to his senses, took a deep breath, and his face, still showing shock, became even more solemn as if facing a formidable enemy!
He almost gritted his teeth, growling each word slowly and deliberately, his voice filled with disbelief and a profound sense of absurdity, as he urgently addressed the equally shocked disciples standing beside him:
"No! I didn't mean for you to call him elder!"

He suddenly pointed at Fang Yu, who was still slowly licking the porridge stains from the edge of his bowl, as if it were all none of his business. His voice rose abruptly, carrying an almost uncontrollable urgency:

"This is a notice to all elders inside the sect! Whether you're in seclusion or refining pills! Immediately! Gather in the main hall right now! It's extremely urgent! Delay could lead to unforeseen consequences!"

The disciples were completely dumbfounded!
Gather all the elders?
Just because of this new disciple who's still licking his bowl?
This scene... could it be that a calamity of annihilation is about to befall Yellow Maple Valley?!

Seeing his disciples standing there dumbfounded, Li Huayuan's chest heaved violently, as if he had used all his strength to squeeze out an explanation through gritted teeth:

"Why?! Because when I saw him yesterday, he was still at the peak of Qi Refining! I'll accept him as a disciple!"

His gaze swept over Fang Yu's still nonchalant face in horror once more, his voice hoarse and trembling with the shock of a worldview utterly shattered:
"Today...and only one night."

"His cultivation level."

"They've caught up with me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire courtyard seemed to have been plunged into absolute zero, becoming deathly silent!
Apart from the sound of Fang Yu putting down the bowl he had licked clean and letting out a satisfied burp.

"Hiccup~"

(End of this chapter)