I've already become an immortal lord, and only now is the spiritual energy reviving?

【A Thousand Rivers Flow with the Moon, Reflecting the True Scripture】

[Rank: Fourth-Grade Foundation Establishment Ancient Technique (Can be further refined)]

[True Meaning: Capturing the reflection of the moon in the water, integrating the subtleties of the four methods, forging the illusory and the real. The body is the reflection of the moon, the orifices receive the flowing radiance, the light is divided into shadows, and the moon in the heart shines eternally.]

[Annotation: Specializing in the transformation of the divine soul, a thousand rivers reflect a thousand moons, truth and falsehood are indistinguishable, and murderous intent lurks between the undulating ripples.]

Qingyuan slapped his thigh hard.

Absolutely!

Shu Yan's destiny is characterized by "Plain Clothes Reflecting the River," which emphasizes clarity and, combined with the "Heart Monkey" characteristic, makes her most adept at understanding people's hearts.

Studying this scripture makes up for the shortcomings of having only one method, and brings the word "deceptive" to its fullest potential.

Furthermore, given that it is a fourth-grade ancient method, it is not surprising that it surpasses ordinary fifth-grade methods.

In the future, he will be even more superior to the arrogant and haughty direct descendants of the immortal sect.

His gaze shifted to the disciple panel.

[Shu Yan: Qi Refining Level 9]

[Chai Wu: Jade Bone Realm Perfection (Horizontal Training), Qi Refining Level 4 (Immortal Path)]

fifteen years.

Guanhuamen has grown from a makeshift operation with only four people to now boasting two large Buddha statues that could potentially break down the threshold at any moment.

That's enough in terms of foundation and heritage.

"There's no time like the present."

Qingyuan made a brief calculation.

To make disciples act as "proxy" disciples, the rules are rigid: their physical bodies must not stray far from the incense burner and must remain within the coverage area of ​​the Guanhua Hall.

At that moment, both of them happened to be present.

When his gaze fell upon the values ​​required to convert Chai Wu into [Substitute], his eyebrows twitched slightly.

[Consumable: 400 incense sticks]

"That's interesting."

He stroked his chin, trying to figure out the trick.

Back then, when Shu Yan practiced fetal breathing, the system judged her to be at the first level of Qi Refining, and only accepted 100 incense offerings.

Now that Chai Wu's physical body is strong, the system determines that 400 incense sticks will be collected because his spiritual cultivation is still at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

"So the system is a rigid 'academic qualification-only' system? It only recognizes the blue bar, not the health bar?"

Qingyuan chuckled, delighted to have gotten such a bargain.

"I wonder how much 'toll' it will take to trick a wild Foundation Establishment cultivator into swearing an oath to join the sect in the future?"

Shaking his head, he dismissed the somewhat far-fetched idea and turned his gaze to the southern corner of the map.

There was an old acquaintance squatting there.

【Red-Eyed Frost Toad (Ninth Level of Qi Refining)】

"A beast is a beast after all."

The tone was sarcastic.

They're guarding a spiritual treasure like the [Azure Blood Earth Core Lotus], which even Foundation Establishment cultivators would envy, yet they still haven't managed to break through that thin layer of paper.

Before reaching the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, the toad dared not touch the Spirit Lotus in the slightest, otherwise being torn to pieces by the violent medicinal power would be the least of its worries.

"Since it's such a waste, I'll take this flower for you."

Once the two have received the Dharma and advanced in rank, it will be the time for the toad to die of old age.

Chai Wu and Shu Yan are currently together.

Without further hesitation, a light tap of the fingertip and the cursor appears.

......

Raindrops fall on the green tiles, causing shattered jade fragments to leap about.

After the meeting concluded, the outsiders dispersed, leaving only tranquility.

The corridor twisted and turned, and the two figures strolled side by side.

The woman was dressed in white, as white as snow, yet she did not appear plain.

At eighteen, Shu Yan is tall and slender; her former youthful naiveté has long been polished by time, leaving her with a gentle and radiant appearance.

As I walked by quietly, the surrounding moisture seemed to possess a spirit, swirling around me with joyful cheers, yet not a single patch of my clothing got wet.

Normally aloof, she transformed into a gentle, girl-next-door type when facing her senior brother.

"Junior sister."

Chai Wu spoke in a deep voice, scratching his slightly mystical jade-colored skin:

"Have you noticed?"

"There seems to be a thread between heaven and earth, invisible and intangible, pulling us together."

"Um."

Shu Yan nodded slightly, her steps light and graceful.

"This feeling... is not annoying, but rather like a kite with a string, or a lone boat finding its anchor, making one feel at ease."

The sound of rain pattered as I turned the corner of the corridor.

Chai Wu looked at a group of children practicing horse stance in the mud not far away, and his eyes suddenly dimmed.

"That brat Dingwei got a scolding from Qin'er again the other day."

The man, who wouldn't even flinch when his blade dulled on the battlefield, let out a long, heavy sigh:

"With only a three-inch spiritual root, let alone an inner disciple, even an outer disciple would be destined to sweep and do odd jobs."

"This child is like me, but without my luck, and lacks my naiveté. If he were to grow up..."

"Senior brother, you are overthinking it."

Shu Yan stopped, turned to look at the towering man beside her, and said in a gentle voice:

"Back when you led me up the mountain from the village, everyone thought I was a weirdo."

"My senior brother led me into the sect and said that this place would be my home from now on."

A very faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips:

"Dingwei is simple and honest. Cultivating Taoism is not the only way out. The sect is large and prosperous. Whether he goes to the market to learn management or manages the spiritual fields, he can live a decent life."

"With me here and you here, no one in Qinglu Mountain will dare to bully him."

Chai Wu was taken aback.

With a great weight lifted from his heart, a hint of warmth appeared on his hard-lined face.

Yes, we are here.

"Senior brother."

Shu Yan turned her head, her tone soft and low:

"The sect's hopes now truly rest on our shoulders."

"Um."

Chai Wu nodded, just about to say something bold like, "If it collapses, I'll be the first to hold it up."

Suddenly, I felt a blur of rain before my eyes.

Tick.

The universe has turned upside down.

......

The sound of water faded away, and a cold wind blew down on my neck.

Chai Wu looked around in astonishment.

Where does the Guanhua Gate come from?

Beneath his feet lay the dilapidated hut that haunted his dreams and caused him unbearable pain.

He had no heavy sword in his hand, only a broken wooden bow.

"Xiao Wu..."

Inside the room, a familiar face, ravaged by illness and as pale as a withered leaf, turned around.

On the kang (heated brick bed), his mother, Xu Shi, no longer had a loving look in her eyes; instead, her gaze was filled with a sinister coldness as she stared intently at his empty hands.

"Where's the medicine?"

"Didn't buy the medicine?"

"Don't you want to save your mother? You think she's a burden, and you wish for her to die so you can go and cultivate that damned immortality?"

Every word is piercing to the heart.

Chai Wu stood frozen.

Heart demon?

Or did God think that life was going too smoothly and thus sent down punishment?

Seeing that he remained silent, Xu's face gradually contorted, her body swelled up, transforming into a dark, venomous ghost, and she pounced to kill him.

"If you don't want to save me, then give me back my life! Give me back my flesh and blood!!"

A foul stench filled the air.

If it were the Chai Wu of yesteryear, he would have already knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly, and offered his neck for execution.

now.

The man didn't shed a single tear; instead, the corners of his mouth gradually turned up, eventually forming a ferocious grin.

"You're quite the actor."

He grasped the air with his large palm-leaf fan in the opposite direction.

"But my mother has never spoken so loudly."

"She never asked where the money for the medicine came from until her death."

"Even if I hang myself, all that's left for me is half a bowl of hot soup, not resentment."

"so......"

boom!

In the void, a giant sword, which had no physical form but was as heavy as a mountain, was forcibly pulled out.

Chai Wu's blood and qi surged like a dragon, and a towering mountain called "Sumeru" suddenly appeared on his back.

At the mountain's summit, a bronze incense burner suppresses the universe, while purple mist descends, protecting the clarity of the mind.

"You imposter, how dare you use her face to disgust me?!"

"die!!"

He roared like thunder.

The sword fell.

Regardless of inner demons and monsters, they all vanish into nothingness and fragments.

......

Shu Yan was enveloped in deep darkness.

She realized this earlier than Chai Wu.

"The Sacred Furnace..."

The familiar feeling made him realize that this was a sacred gift.

The darkness dissipated, and the sound of the waves rose.

The mighty river surges beneath our feet, with countless tributaries and boundless waves.

There is no sky overhead, only a bright, lonely moon hanging in the endless night.

Shu Yan lowered her head.

Thousands of waves reflect countless moons.

On the shore, a nimble and mischievous white monkey leans out from the treetop, stubbornly trying to scoop up the bright moon in the water.

It was scooped up and broken.

Water gathers, the moon is full.

Repeatedly.

Is the moon in the sky real? Is the moon in the water real? Or is the tireless white monkey real?

"Water has no fixed shape, the moon has no fixed luster..."

Good fortune comes to mind.

The bright moon in the sky, like mercury spilling onto the ground, flowed down and condensed into moon-white talismans in Shu Yan's pupils.

"Capturing truth from illusion, reflecting falsehood into truth, with a mind like a flowing river, all things become clear..."

Every word was like sweet dew, seeping into her soul and completely immersing her in the profound Daoist philosophy.

......

"Tick-tock".

The last of the rainwater that had accumulated under the eaves fell onto the bluestone.

Ripples spread out.

Shu Yan blinked, and a faint crescent moon flashed across the depths of her clear black and white eyes.

He looked at his senior brother beside him.

Just then, Chai Wu shook his head, breaking free from a state of deep meditation.

Eyes facing each other.

A tacit understanding flowed through the air that the spoils had been divided.

"Did it work?"

Shu Yan's question was completely unrelated.

"Hey, this is solid stuff."

Chai Yue grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth:

"Junior sister, what about you?"

"I also got some...interesting gadgets."

Shu Yan didn't say much, but her ethereal and otherworldly aura grew even stronger.

They started walking again, side by side, towards the outside of the corridor.

The atmosphere became inexplicably much more relaxed.

Shu Yan glanced at her burly senior brother, her eyes sparkling, and then she chuckled.

"Senior brother, sometimes it's better to think things through."

"What is it?"

Chai Wu was stunned.

"Just now in the main hall, the way Peak Master Qin Ranqing looked at you was practically stretching out strands of blood."

Shu Yan rarely showed a hint of mischief:

"Peak Master Qin is at least in the late stage of Qi Refining. Regardless of his physique and appearance, his potential to reach Foundation Establishment alone makes him a good match for you."

"Moreover... I heard Sister He Qin mention the other day that the sect is busy, and if there were a sister who cares about her and helps with the internal affairs, she wouldn't be annoyed, but would want to give her a big red envelope instead."

"How about you give in, senior brother?"

"Pfft—cough cough!"

Chai Wu stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face. His bronze face visibly turned a liverish color.

"Junior sister! You...you...how come you're getting more and more improper while practicing!"

"Ah-Qin was... she was so angry she was talking nonsense, and you joined in the commotion?!"

"And that Qin... Qin what? He reeks of a fox, I don't want him! Don't mention it again! If you do, your senior brother will get angry!"

The man, who usually chopped people down like vegetables, was now so anxious that he scratched his head and was at a loss for what to do.

Shu Yan's smile deepened, and she strode forward quickly, her hands behind her back, leaving behind a string of silvery laughter:

"What's the rush? I heard it clearly; my senior brother's heart skipped a beat just now!"

"You scared me! Yan'er! Don't talk nonsense! Oh dear, what kind of situation is this..."

In the pavilion.

One after the other, their figures gradually disappeared into the distance.

The rain is still falling.

But no matter how strong the wind and rain, the umbrella ultimately held up the sky.