Martial Arts Crossover: The Sweeping Monk of Wudang? That's our patriarch!

If you fabricate an identity of dubious origin and anger An Yi, he might turn around and accuse you of being a "spy of a sect," and then you'll be in for a lot of trouble.

He didn't want to get involved in this mess, so in his haste, he blurted out a string of pre-prepared statements—

"I am Lin Daochen, originally from Yunxiu Temple. The Taishu clan forcibly occupied the temple and destroyed my incense offerings, forcing me to wander here. I accidentally entered your esteemed and perilous place, but fortunately, Elder Qingluan rescued me and saved my life."

"The Taishu clan?"

The people around immediately exchanged glances. They all knew the major families of the Spirit Realm, and they were especially familiar with the Taishu family—

They are domineering and ruthless, with numerous experts in their clan, and they always follow the rules. If you say they forcibly seize someone else's property, no one will even bat an eye.

Not to mention that after the bloody battle in the Nine Provinces Realm, the Taishu family lost a large number of young talents and is now scrambling for resources to make up for their losses. Seizing a mountain or a piece of spiritual field is just commonplace for them.

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed in unison, their eyes filled with pity, truly regarding the gaunt old man before them as the victim.

The registration officer didn't ask many questions, quickly noted down the disciple's name and place of origin, handed him a blue-patterned jade talisman, and also gave him a set of gray cloth servant's robes.

"Let bygones be bygones. Now that you've entered my Five Elements Sect, you're a member of the sect. As for revenge? Forget about it and live your lives peacefully."

The man patted him on the shoulder, shook his head and smiled, then turned to attend to other tasks.

After Lin Daochen's figure disappeared at the end of the stone steps, Elder Zhou lowered his head and rubbed his palms, then raised his eyes to stare at the gray figure in the distant clouds—

"That touch just now..."

This person was clearly only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, yet the aura emanating from his fingertips was like a deep pool surging beneath the surface, suppressed and not revealed.

He pondered for a moment, then smiled: What kind of ordinary person could be personally brought back by that woman Qingluan?

The two disciples who had led the way escorted him to the foot of the weapon-refining peak, then bowed and took their leave.

The mountain is neither too high nor too low, with milky white clouds swirling around its waist. Its shape is graceful, with wisps of cloud floating among it, like the fluttering sleeves of a fairy.

But what's most striking is the spiritual energy—it's so denser than outside the mountain that it's almost condensed into water vapor, and you can smell its clear, sweet fragrance from a great distance. Looking further up, a majestic spiritual array hangs atop the peak, its golden light shimmering, guarding all directions.

Along the mountain path, Ganoderma lucidum sprouted from the ground, Vermilion Fruit hung from branches, and Wisteria cascaded down like waterfalls… These spiritual creatures, which would attract cultivators to fight over on the Nine Provinces Continent, grew wildly here, covering the mountains and fields like roadside weeds. Lin Daochen glanced at them and muttered under his breath, “No wonder it’s called the Spirit Realm.”

Climbing the steps, piercing through the clouds and mist, until reaching the summit—which turned out to be a giant, flat, mirror-like rock platform.

Two or three thatched huts crookedly perched on the edge of the cliff, with sparse bamboo fences, bare thatch, and spider webs hanging from the eaves, looking exactly like the huts of a hunter in the mountains, not at all like the place where elders practiced their hermitage.

The moment Lin Daochen's toes touched the ground, a sound suddenly rang in his ears, clear and cold like a spring striking a stone—it was Qingluan.

"Come in. For the next three years, you'll be tending the fire by the hearth. When you're hungry, pick wild fruits from the mountains; when you're craving something, hunt down mountain goblins and wild boars, and roast them yourself. There's an old pine forest behind the mountain; cut down as much timber as you like and build your own house."

Following the sound, I pushed open the door and went into the largest and oldest thatched hut.

Unexpectedly, the interior was surprisingly spacious and far from the cramped feeling it appeared on the outside.

It turned out that the entire thatched hut was actually a hidden treasure trove within a sleeve.

In the center of the house stands a bronze alchemy furnace, its belly blazing with crimson flames, the fire as fierce as a dragon, ceaselessly spewing forth.

Qingluan half-exposed her right shoulder, her delicate hand forming a hand seal. Despite her slender figure and cultivation level of only the third level of Qi Refining, spiritual power surged between her fingers like a river bursting its banks, displaying the imposing pressure of a Golden Core stage cultivator!

"Tianchai!"

Lin Daochen responded by grabbing the stack of firewood next to him—it was heavy in his hand, his arm bones ached, and each piece of firewood seemed to be filled with lead and mercury, making his wrist sag.

As soon as the firewood was thrown into the bottom of the furnace, the flames suddenly surged and instantly engulfed the furnace. As the flames licked at the furnace, the runes on the four walls lit up one after another, and the array hummed, steadily supporting the inextinguishable true flame.

After a short while, the fire subsided, and Qingluan put on her outer robe and led him outside.

"What is being forged in the furnace is my own natal magical artifact, which I personally crafted. For the next three years, the firewood must not be cut off, and the fire must not be extinguished. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

That thatched hut to the west is where I've collected many books over the years; you are free to browse them. If you encounter any difficulties in your cultivation, you can come to me for guidance at any time, or go to the sect's monthly cultivator experience exchange meeting to ask the experienced senior brothers for advice.

At this point, Qingluan's gaze swept over Lin Daochen's slightly aged face. She paused, her tone becoming slightly heavier yet even more solemn:

"Never think that because you are old, you are no longer destined for the Great Way. On the path of cultivation, you can hear and understand in the morning and evening. With a single moment of clarity, you can soar to new heights. To slack off for even a day is to waste the opportunity bestowed upon you by Heaven."

After explaining the trivial matters, Qingluan turned and left, her figure disappearing into the mountain mist in an instant.

Lin Daochen had nowhere to stay, so he could only sit cross-legged in a spacious area on the summit and get through the night.

However, since stepping into the critical point, his cultivation has been surging like the spring tide, progressing by leaps and bounds in a day. He had already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, and now he was even more solid and profound, with his aura smooth and unobstructed, like a full lotus seed waiting to bloom, just waiting for the right opportunity to break through the shell and break through the barrier.

This is the true meaning of a perfect foundation, without any flaws or superficiality. Such a foundation is like the deep-rooted foundation of a towering building, allowing one to remain as stable as a rock and unstoppable when reaching even higher realms in the future.

The following morning, he absorbed the first wisp of purple energy from the dawn of creation and then used it to fuel the fire in the weapon-refining room.

After finishing these tasks, he pushed open the door and entered the library. Just as Qingluan had said, the exterior was simple, but the interior was vast and magnificent: layers of bookshelves stretched to the horizon, and cultivation manuals and handwritten ancient scrolls were piled up like mountains. A rough estimate put the number of cultivation scriptures at no less than 100,000 volumes.

He casually pulled out a book, which turned out to be a long-lost superior cultivation method, with annotations and insights from predecessors densely written between the pages. As he walked deeper, an invisible pressure quietly emerged, pressing heavily on his shoulders.

Looking to the side, I saw two ancient seal characters engraved on the bookshelf beside me: "Golden Elixir".

Further on, the shelves were filled with cultivation manuals and seclusion notes written by Golden Core cultivators.

This oppressive force, which would be an insurmountable chasm for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, making it impossible to advance even an inch, was nothing more than brushing off a speck of dust from Lin Daochen's clothes. He lightly touched the ground with his toes and exhaled slightly, and the barrier shattered in response.

Although the number of Golden Core level scriptures is far less than that of Foundation Establishment books, they are all-encompassing: sword cultivation, talisman mastery, array formation, alchemy... all kinds of methods are displayed in abundance.

But taking another step in, an overwhelming and unstoppable pressure suddenly rushed over him, as vast and boundless as an abyss, causing his soul to tremble slightly. Lin Daochen knew in his heart—that was a realm he was not yet capable of venturing into.

He did not insist, but calmly retreated to the Foundation Building area, bent down and read carefully, turning page after page, each word penetrating his heart.

With his almost monstrous comprehension, these attack techniques were not difficult to understand. In just one morning, he had already read through the entire bookshelf.

Many blind spots in spiritual practice were suddenly cleared up, and the omissions and shortcomings in the original methods were quietly filled in through comparison and verification.

The deeper he read, the more he sensed something amiss: the "Yin-Yang Creation Secrets" he had painstakingly studied for many years was not the pinnacle of his knowledge.

In this world, the five elements rotate, yin and yang interact, and wind, thunder, water, fire, and earth each perform their duties, generating and restraining each other in an orderly manner—only chaos stands apart from all of them, not belonging to the five elements, not bound by yin and yang, and not following the cycle of generation and restraint.

Yin and Yang represent two; and two arise from one. The saying goes, "One begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things." The creation of Yin and Yang is precisely the "two" transformed from "one".

Although this technique is extremely powerful, it ultimately falls within the framework of "two".

If we trace back to the origin and return to the origin, can we open the gate of chaos and refine our cultivation into the chaotic power that transcends all laws?

All forces follow the laws of generation and restraint, except for chaos, which has never been bound by them from beginning to end.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he took out his most treasured possession—the Book of Chaos Dao. The reason this item could suppress a region was that it sealed away surging chaotic energy and ancient Dao patterns.

With the approach clear, the challenges immediately follow: How to begin? What is the path forward?

A month has passed in the blink of an eye since I began studying so diligently.

One day, Lin Daochen was engrossed in a tattered copy of "The Nine Luminaries Diagram" when a clear, melodious voice suddenly rang in his ears:

"The Disciple Exchange Conference begins today. If you have any questions, please attend and seek clarification from your fellow disciples."

Qingluan's voice came from outside the door. For the past month, she had been secretly observing him—whenever the old man had free time, he would go to the library. Once inside, he would not choose the books, but would just flip through them quickly, making a rustling sound. It didn't seem like he was seeking knowledge, but rather like he was rummaging through boxes and cabinets looking for something important.

The room was filled with her treasures accumulated over many years, and now they were all ruined. A surge of anger rose in her heart, but since the other party hadn't crossed any lines, she could only suppress her temper and not lash out.

Just as the monthly disciple exchange meeting was about to begin, she wanted to see just how much this old guy was capable of, and also to make him stumble in front of everyone.

Upon hearing Qingluan speak, Lin Daochen immediately bowed and turned to go down the mountain to take a look.

But as soon as his toes stepped out of the threshold, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged toward him like rivers flowing into the sea.

The profound principles of martial arts crashed into my mind, and the bottleneck that had been blocking me for many years cracked open like thin ice meeting the sun or brittle paper meeting a blade, without any resistance.

Deep within the Purple Mansion, a small sphere shimmering with golden light rapidly condensed—

Jindan period!

Qingluan sensed something amiss, and her pupils suddenly contracted. She had thought the old man was on his last legs, but who knew that after squatting by her stove for a month, he had actually broken through his cultivation realm and reached the Golden Core stage!

She had been practicing diligently for many years without achieving a breakthrough, and at this moment, a wave of bitterness welled up in her heart.

The astonishment lasted only a moment before she was upon him, her smile bright and clear: "Congratulations on advancing to the Golden Core stage! From this day forward, you will be a direct disciple of my Weapon Refining Peak, representing our peak in this disciple exchange competition."

Lin Daochen was stunned into place by his sudden rise in status, unable to believe it for a moment.

As if seeing through the astonishment in his eyes, Qingluan waved her hand and explained crisply:

"The alliance leader is pressuring me hard, insisting that I send a representative, or else he'll force me to take on more disciples. Look at my cultivation level—Qi Refining stage—it's not a very prestigious position to speak of. Taking on disciples? I'd probably be laughed out of the room."

"Besides, teaching apprentices is too much trouble and effort. It's better to let you go through the motions—go on stage, show your face, and then admit defeat. It's clean and efficient."

Before she could finish speaking, she rolled her eyes. She hadn't originally planned to ask Lin Daochen to take the blame, but his breakthrough at this time was like a pillow being handed to her when she was sleepy, exactly what she wanted.

At the Golden Core realm, at least he's qualified to appear on the same stage as those up-and-coming disciples.

But this old man's hair and beard were all white, and his muscles and bones were stiff. How could he possibly compete with those young and impetuous core disciples? He would just show his face, admit defeat, and that would be the end of it.

Lin Daochen's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he stared intently at the woman in front of him, a woman in her early forties with a sharp and confident demeanor.

"You...are you my master now?"

"A master at the Qi Refining stage?"

He deliberately emphasized the words "qi cultivation" slowly and heavily, causing the veins on Qingluan's forehead to throb slightly and her jaw to clench.

"What? You think practicing Qi is shameful?"

"While I dare not claim to have swept through the Spirit Realm, when it comes to Qi cultivation, who in the Five Elements Sect dares to claim second place?"

The strongest Qi Refining stage?

Lin Daochen shrugged, a faint smile playing on his lips—a subtle hint of mockery that did not escape Qingluan's notice.

You don't believe me?

"Anyway, the exchange conference is still a few days away. Today, I'll let you see for yourself why I'm firmly in the position of Elder of the Five Elements Sect!"

Lin Daochen remained calm, narrowing his eyes as he quietly observed what tricks she would use next.

With a flick of her wrist, Qingluan produced a perfectly round jade ball in her palm and casually tossed it into the air.

In an instant, the world within a hundred feet darkened, and an invisible barrier was suddenly spread out.

His newly formed golden core power was forcibly extracted and compressed, causing him to fall back to the early stage of Qi Refining in the blink of an eye.

Lin Daochen looked down at his palm, his spiritual power dissipating like the receding tide, and a long-lost feeling of emptiness rushed to the top of his head.