Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

The word that cannot be avoided is 'meaning'.

Only by clarifying one's intentions and aspirations can one understand the Way.

So, what exactly did Chu Xunfeng comprehend? What happened to this junior brother in the past?

Chu Xunfeng cannot answer this question now, nor will he ever answer it in the future.

He was lost in the memories of his two lifetimes, searching, tracing back to the source, searching for what he truly wanted.

He himself didn't know how much time had passed.

Until he touched his own true self.

In my previous life, as a child, I earnestly answered the question posed by my parents.

"Xunfeng, you've grown up. What kind of person do you want to become?"

The young man opened his eyes.

I want to become an amazing person.

What kind of person is considered remarkable?

The child didn't know, and in fact, even now, Chu Xunfeng didn't know.

but......

"Teacher, I understand, I know what I want."

He opened his eyes, revealing a gentle smile, as if nothing had happened. After attaining enlightenment, he seemed completely unchanged; the handsome young man was still the same, but his temperament had changed slightly, very subtly.

Can you tell me?

"Ascending to the heavens, descending to the deepest seas, reaching out to pluck stars, turning over mountains and seas, finding leisure in playing music on leaves, and burning with passion to dispel illusions. By adhering to one's inner self, one can attain freedom and live a carefree life." He spoke softly, his smile gentle.

"I didn't understand before. Maybe I was just going with the flow, harboring resentment, and stepped into the cultivation world, only thinking about proving why I couldn't become a cultivator. But what about after becoming a cultivator? I haven't thought about it, and I haven't figured it out." Chu Xunfeng didn't want to talk much about his past in this life to his senior sister and master, so he simply expressed his feelings. "However, from today onwards, I will only work hard for myself and the people I care about. I don't need to prove anything to anyone else."

"As long as I stand on the mountaintop, others can only look up at me, and I have already proven myself."

"I've let go." Chu Xunfeng said, then suddenly felt something and stretched vigorously as he relaxed his body.

A series of popping sounds, like cracking beans, came from the young man's body, making Yao Jiangshu's eyes widen and Xu Jiujing nod in satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad." The old man was knowledgeable and experienced, and his cultivation level was unparalleled in the Imperial State. He could naturally see that Chu Xunfeng's words came from his heart and were not arrogant. He was naturally satisfied with the lofty ambitions of his closed-door disciple.

"Having ambition is a good thing, but you should also know what you should do to achieve that ambition."

"The first step, three months from now, is to crush Ding Yusong." The young man's smile faded slightly, and his expression became solemn.

"Excellent!" Xu Jiujing, sitting cross-legged under the maple tree, laughed heartily. "A cultivator should face difficulties head-on. After three days of cultivation, you have already entered the Iron Bone Realm and even sensed the flow of Qi and blood, which cleanses the body and purifies the flesh."

"Today you have gained enlightenment and clarified your aspirations, and have begun your journey to the fourth realm. You are already on a smooth path. In three months, I will definitely guide you into the path. Go back today and prepare well. Tomorrow at Sword Pavilion, we will hold a tea ceremony to pay our respects to our master. Xunfeng, what do you think?"

Xu Jiujing looked at the handsome young man and liked him more and more, his voice even becoming more excited.

"I will follow Master's instructions." Chu Xunfeng smiled.

"Alright, Jiang Shu, take your junior brother back to prepare for tomorrow's apprenticeship ceremony. I will be teaching him for the next three months, and you can also audit the classes."

“Junior Brother has already entered the Dao, you can’t let Xunfeng surpass you.”

"Understood, Master." Yao Jiangshu breathed a sigh of relief.

Ultimately, we still need to find a way to understand the Tao.

Chapter Seventeen: Autumn Hunting Festival? An Exam?

Baidi City is the name of both a sect and a city.

Baidi City is a very large city, the capital of the imperial prefecture, with nearly 100,000 people living in it. As a city, Baidi City is not small either.

The following day, nearly 600 of the more than 700 disciples in Baidi City came to witness the apprenticeship ceremony. From the sect, lecturers from various classrooms, enforcers from the Enforcement Hall, and heads of various departments of the sect also made appearances.

After all, Elder Xu Jiujing is the strongest person in the entire sect on the surface, so his taking on a closed-door disciple is naturally a major event in Baidi City.

Under the watchful eyes of nearly a thousand people, Chu Xunfeng, with the help of his senior sister Yao Jiangshu, walked through the entire apprenticeship ceremony step by step.

The whole process seemed uneventful. Even the Second Elder, Ding Nian, who sat upright and received the tea, did not show any special emotions. Like the other elders, he gave Chu Xunfeng a word of encouragement.

Chu Xunfeng's formal cultivation began on the afternoon of the day of the apprenticeship ceremony.

At first, it was fine. I just listened to the lectures and asked questions about things I didn't understand about cultivation, asking my master for help in answering my questions.

However, as Xu Jiujing realized that Chu Xunfeng was exceptionally talented, and that while he was tempering his body from the inside out in the Iron Bone Realm, he was also circulating his blood and qi to cleanse his body, this old man who taught according to aptitude immediately changed his approach.

Chu Xunfeng's day of suffering officially began on the eighth day after the apprenticeship ceremony.

There's not much to say about the early morning practice; it starts at dawn and continues until the sun is high in the sky.

Then came the cultivation of his innate supernatural abilities.

The Dragon Step and the Wind Fury Leg are practiced starting with the Zhama Tendon Training.

Xu Jiujing's philosophy on cultivation has always been to accumulate knowledge and skills before unleashing them. In his eyes, the foundation must be solid and down-to-earth, and there can be no slackening.

After all, a solid foundation means that you can achieve twice the result with half the effort when you practice body techniques and leg skills in the future.

Xu Jiujing wouldn't personally supervise Chu Xunfeng's basic training; these basic exercises were naturally all handed over to his senior sister Yao Jiangshu.

After finishing the basic training in the morning, the afternoon was for practicing supernatural techniques. If Yao Jiangshu was willing, she could even spar with Chu Xunfeng.

Yao Jiangshu naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity pass. As she had mentioned before, the essence of a weapon needs to be honed through combat, much like sharpening a knife. Although Chu Xunfeng's strength wasn't quite Yao Jiangshu's whetstone yet, Yao Jiangshu could still provide him with sparring and training. In short, after becoming an apprentice, Chu Xunfeng's daily life was basically like this: he would leave home before dawn, feeling refreshed, and return to his small dwelling at the foot of the solitary peak at dusk, completely exhausted.

However, such efforts are rewarding.

Chu Xunfeng was very satisfied with the feeling of getting stronger every day.

Some even became addicted to the thrill of progress, because every step they took meant they were one step closer to their goal.

After more than a month of rigorous training, Chu Xunfeng was able to withstand a few more moves from his senior sister.

Below Jianmen Pass, behind the solitary peak.

Chu Xunfeng was sent flying by a piece of wood, staggering back five steps before his back hit a large tree. He gasped for breath, "Senior Sister, I can't take it anymore, I really can't."

Yao Jiangshu, who was about to give chase, paused. Seeing the young man slowly sit down against the tree, she leaned closer and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"It hurts a lot." Chu Xunfeng glanced at Yao Jiangshu and replied with two words in an annoyed tone.

"Bloodline supernatural power is truly amazing; it deserves to be called a ninth-grade supreme pill." Yao Jiangshu couldn't help but sigh as she looked at the burning sparks on the wounds on her junior brother's exposed skin caused by the twigs.

After all, they had spent a month together, and the fact that Chu Xunfeng had taken the Phoenix Blood Dragon Bone Pill was not a secret in the Elder Hall. As time went on, his senior sister naturally found out as well.

After all, Chu Xunfeng didn't expect to be able to keep it a secret.

"Can't hold on any longer?"

"It's alright, I just want to rest for a while, I'll continue later." Chu Xunfeng wouldn't slack off. He has a goal, so he's motivated. Slacking off would be completely irresponsible to himself.

"Hmm, that's more like it." Yao Jiangshu sat down next to her junior brother, unconsciously scratching the ground with a twig. "Just hold on for another half month, and the exam will be here in another half month."

"An exam?" Chu Xunfeng raised an eyebrow.

Yao Jiangshu noticed Chu Xunfeng's puzzled expression and remained silent for a few seconds before asking, "You...you didn't know, did you?"

"Know what?" Chu Xunfeng was even more confused.

"The Autumn Hunting Festival, the Autumn Hunting Festival!" Yao Jiangshu looked at her junior brother, who had been a disciple for over a month, in shock. "The sect has been preparing for the Imperial Province's Autumn Hunting Festival all this time, and you didn't know anything about it?"

"I get up in the morning and head straight to the nineteenth floor, cultivating until the sun is high in the sky. After that, I listen to Master's lectures, eat lunch in the classroom, rest for half an hour after lunch, and then come with you, Senior Sister, to cultivate in the back mountain. In the evening, I go back and have a quick dinner before going to bed. And so it goes, day after day..."

Muttering about the hardships of the past month, Chu Xunfeng couldn't help but reveal a hint of resentment in his words, "How am I supposed to find out about this Autumn Hunting Festival?"

"I have no more than five people in the entire Baidi City who can speak for me."

"..." Yao Jiangshu's smile suddenly turned awkward. To be fair, after realizing Chu Xunfeng's talent, since Chu Xunfeng had already figured out the path clearly before even reaching the fourth realm, his master simply chose to let him grow up freely.

If we say the master is a sheep herder.

Then Yao Jiangshu is the sheepdog, and Chu Xunfeng is the sheep.

The shepherd ignored it, and the sheepdog kept chasing after the sheep. The poor lambs could only run desperately, without even a moment to rest and eat some grass or drink some water.

"That's right, isn't the area south of the Imperial State bordered by the Southern Wilderness Mountains?"

"Hmm?" Chu Xunfeng nodded. He didn't have common sense about the world of cultivators, but he did have some common sense about this world.

Of the three regions of Kyushu, the Southern Wilderness Mountains are the gateway to one of them.

"If we don't deal with the monsters in the Southern Wilderness Mountains in autumn, they will roam into human territory in some areas of the Imperial State and Bianzhou that border the Southern Wilderness Mountains in winter. They may attack villages or devour people. To avoid this situation, the joint autumn hunt between the Imperial State and Bianzhou was initiated."

"A coalition of cultivator sects from two states?" Chu Xunfeng fell into deep thought.

She'll probably come too.

"Yes, the autumn hunt for demonic beasts benefits the people and cultivators of both states. Naturally, it is a joint action by the cultivators of both states. Demonic beasts are good things, and the whole thing is a good thing. In the past, they would not have acted in unison. I heard that decades ago, cultivators fought among themselves to compete for demonic beasts. It was only in the end that a unified hunting situation was formed."

"I see." Chu Xunfeng nodded. "So, Master used this as my test?"

“Mm.” Yao Jiangshu nodded.

"So, senior sister, you must have taken this exam too, right?"

“Yes.” Yao Jiangshu nodded, proudly puffing out her chest. “Your senior sister won first place in the Autumn Hunting Competition back then.”

"May I ask how many years you cultivated back then, Senior Sister? What realm did you reach?" Chu Xunfeng asked quietly.