Sect Leader! Please strengthen our Dao Sect!

Clang clang...

It was past midnight.

"At midnight, all is well!"

"Hiss~ Damn. Why is it so cold today?"

Dark clouds loomed overhead, and gusts of cold wind carried snowflakes that disappeared into the inky darkness of the night.

crunch...

In the empty alley, a faint, dim yellow light flickered.

In the silence, the whistling of the wind through the long alley was mixed with the sound of the night watchman's footsteps in the snow, echoing in the dark alley.

"Who's standing there in the middle of the night?"

The night watchman was passing a fork in the road when the light from his lantern shone on a foot wearing boots, startling him.

"Old man, what are you doing standing outside in this freezing weather? You really gave me a fright!"

The night watchman raised the lantern high and saw an elderly man with gray hair standing in the wind and snow. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Huhu~

The cold wind stung the night watchman's face, making him feel as if tears were welling up in his eyes, leaving his face wet with sweat.

"Heh, you're an unlucky person."

The old man chuckled, but his voice was somewhat chilling.

"Hey...you old geezer."

The night watchman initially thought the old man might be getting old and confused. He decided to be a good Samaritan and take him back, but the old man immediately became hostile.

"It must be because you have this terrible temper at home that your son and daughter-in-law kicked you out, right?"

The wind howled faster in the alley than before, and the night watchman suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes. The lantern he was carrying fell to the ground.

"It's so cold, my hands are completely numb."

"Old man, you've met someone as kind as me. If you don't know the way home, come stay at my house for the night."

"Otherwise, they'll freeze to death."

As the night watchman spoke, he bent down to pick up the lantern.

The gray-haired old man just stood there, smiling without saying a word.

Just as the night watchman reached out and approached the lantern.

Under the dim yellow light, I shivered.

It was a hand that was nothing but bones, without a trace of flesh or blood.

pat...

Pieces of something soft and steaming fell from the night watchman's face.

It's the flesh on his face!

The night watchman was about to shout in alarm when he found that he couldn't make a sound at all.

The cold wind howled, and chunks of flesh fell off his body. He soon died, lying lifeless on the snow.

"hehe……"

The gray-haired old man was still laughing as he watched this scene; his lifeless eyes held only chilling indifference and mockery.

It's like watching ants die helplessly in your eyes.

A moment later, the old man turned his gaze to the distance, towards the direction of the Tang residence.

The wind and snow are getting fiercer!

However, if someone could ignore the darkness and look down from high above, they would be surprised to find that the old man was actually at the center of the strange wind.

……

……

Inside the Tang residence, Tang Xiao had his servants light night lamps, so the mansion wasn't too dark.

Snow fell from the sky, hitting the eaves and landing on the ground, quickly piling up in layers.

Shen Shanshui sat cross-legged on the jade platform in the courtyard, surrounded by an invisible barrier, with not a single snowflake visible on his body.

A full month has passed.

The medicinal power of the Crimson Spirit Pill was still seeping out of Tang Yan's room.

Tang Xiao initially stayed up all night, extremely worried about his son's condition and afraid that something else might happen. But as time went on, he stopped worrying so much and has now gone to sleep.

At this time, apart from the guards on night patrol, only Shen Shanshui remained in the courtyard, and he had to keep a close eye on Tang Yan's situation.

At this moment, Shen Shanshui was like an old monk in deep meditation, each exhale was steady and long, and his aura was gathered to the extreme, as if he had merged into the world.

If the Tang residence hadn't lit nightlights, making the night less dark and allowing people to see someone, the guards patrolling the night wouldn't have noticed Shen Shanshui's presence at all.

These guards dared not approach Shen Shanshui. Even when they had to pass by, they tiptoed around, afraid of disturbing him.

Their cultivation levels were at most the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining; they were all hired by Tang Xiao at a high price.

The guards heard that a master had come to the manor, taken the young master as his disciple, and even bestowed upon him a destiny of immortality that others could only envy.

Although no one knows what kind of divine connection it is, a peculiar Daoist aura emanates from the young master's room every few days.

They were all cultivators, so they naturally knew that only geniuses with outstanding cultivation could comprehend the Dao.

What could transform the young master from an ordinary person into a cultivator, a cultivator capable of comprehending the Dao?

They held Shen Shanshui in high esteem.

Tang Xiao gave them a lot of money and some spirit stones, asking them to keep Tang Yan's secret.

Even if they didn't give it to him, these guards would never mention it and wouldn't offend someone like Shen Shanshui just because they said something carelessly.

"Is the first of the three calamities about to arrive?"

Shen Shanshui on the jade platform slowly opened his eyes, murmuring something.

It has been more than half a year since he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and now he is about to break through again.

Such a rapid pace of cultivation would undoubtedly arouse envy and admiration from countless people.

During the Qi Refining stage, cultivators focus on accumulation. As long as their cultivation speed is fast enough and their accumulation is solid enough, there are no obstacles to breaking through their realm.

Foundation Establishment is completely different; only after crossing the threshold between immortals and mortals can one be considered a true cultivator.

Cultivation is inherently defying the heavens, disrupting the laws of strength and weakness among all things, so how could it be smooth sailing?

Heaven and Earth set up three tribulations for all Foundation Establishment cultivators, which cultivators call the Three Calamities.

Only those who have survived the three calamities, attained the Dao and the Golden Elixir, and lived for ten thousand years, are worthy of being called true immortals.

The first of the three calamities is the Bifeng, a powerful wind that comes from the sea and can blow away flesh and blood, leaving only bones.

If a cultivator can survive this calamity, his physical body will naturally undergo a transformation; but if he cannot, all that awaits him is death and annihilation.

Shen Shanshui could clearly sense that something terrifying was brewing deep within his Qi Sea.

The wisp of calamity energy swirling outside the Qi Sea seemed to resonate with it, trembling and vibrating.

Shen Shanshui has retained this wisp of Heavenly Tribulation Qi until now.

He was a perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator, so the tribulation energy of the Heavenly Tribulation had no effect on him. But for other cultivators, he was definitely a great threat.

Calamity energy can silently pollute another's path to immortality and disturb their mind.

You must know that in a battle of wits, victory or defeat may be decided in the blink of an eye.

However, now that the first of the three calamities of his Foundation Establishment is about to arrive, this damned thing actually resonates with it.

Just to be on the safe side, Shen Shanshui removed it from his dantian and wrapped it around his finger to avoid any unnecessary accidents. To the untrained eye, it looked like a gray-black ring on his finger.

After glancing at Tang Yan's room, Shen Shanshui hesitated for a moment before beginning to circulate his Qi through his body, directing it towards his own dantian.

Let's wait a little longer.

Although he had great confidence in the pills produced by the system, Tang Yan was, after all, his first disciple. At this time, it was not advisable for him to break through.

"I have indeed been working much harder lately."

His divine sense swept across Shen Lingxi's room and found that she was breathing in spiritual energy and circulating it throughout her body.

Shen Shanshui smiled slightly. Ever since he reprimanded his junior sister that day, the little girl had been putting in a lot of effort. She had only just broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, and she had already touched the threshold of the sixth level.

This shows just how lax Shen Lingxi was in her cultivation in the past.

"Master, you always forced me to cultivate back then, why didn't you discipline Lingxi?"

Shen Shanshui shook his head and chuckled. His master's talent in cultivation was only average, but he was really lucky to take on disciples.

Shen Shanshui and Shen Lingxi are both rare and exceptionally talented individuals.

Just as Shen Shanshui was lamenting that he must discipline Lingxi severely in the future, an extremely strange feeling arose in his heart.

"who!"

……