Sect Leader! Please strengthen our Dao Sect!

On a platform halfway up the mountain, this was formed by Shen Shanshui's previous land reclamation efforts.

Originally, the plan was to keep it and expand the sect when conditions allowed. However, Shen Shanshui now has a new plan.

Tang Yan, who was lying on the ground, slowly woke up, sat up, and looked around in a daze.

He was only one step away from the boundary marker of Jiangnan Prefecture, so how did he suddenly faint?

When he saw Shen Shanshui standing in front of him with a serious expression, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Master!"

"snort!"

Shen Shanshui gave a low snort and stared at Tang Yan with a cold expression.

This attitude frightened Tang Yan so much that he knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"When did you become so spineless? Kneeling down so easily?"

"Master, I did not leave without saying goodbye on purpose. I have already caused you a lot of trouble, it's really..."

Tang Yan was equally frustrated. He hadn't done anything wrong, but it seemed like fate was playing a cruel joke on him. Just when he had finally embarked on the path of cultivation, misfortune struck again.

If possible, he didn't want to implicate anyone.

Shen Shanshui stared blankly. Most inexperienced youths are like this. Full of passion and dreams, they possess the courage to draw their swords against anything, yet they are still too naive and their minds too simple.

Get up.

Shen Shanshui's tone softened slightly.

Tang Yan stood up, but kept his head down. His act of leaving without cause would be considered defection in any cultivation sect.

In the rites and laws of the Immortal Dynasty, this was a grave offense.

Even if Shen Shanshui were to kill Tang Yan with a single palm strike right now, it would be a perfectly reasonable and compliant thing to do.

"Cultivation is never something that can be accomplished overnight. You may have talent and courage, but you may lack the right mindset."

If you run away at the first sign of trouble, where will you run to when the heavenly tribulation strikes again?

Shen Shanshui sighed softly. He and Tang Yan didn't have a deep emotional connection, but he did value each other highly.

There are countless cultivators in the world, especially in Jiangnan Prefecture alone. There are many exceptionally talented immortal seedlings, but how many of them actually reach the Foundation Establishment stage?

Tang Yan is kind-hearted, and even though he has some flaws in his personality, he is still the kind of disciple that his master likes the most.

Shen Shanshui didn't want such a good apprentice to die prematurely.

Those chosen ones who rely on their talent to grow in adversity and fight their way through might really exist.

But even more geniuses disappear silently, their lives cut short. If you take fictional stories as reality, isolated cases as the norm, and gamble your talent with your life, then you are not suited for cultivation.

Spiritual practice is about taking one step at a time, building a solid foundation. You can move quickly, but you must move steadily.

"Disciple... knows his mistake."

"Originally, we planned to have you cultivate in the mountains for three years, but now it's been changed to five years."

"There is no place for you to stay on the mountain, so choose a rock wall and carve out a cave for yourself."

I will have Lingxi bring you food every three days.

"If you still have the intention to leave, then go. I will not force you to stay, but our master-disciple relationship will be severed."

I don't want to hear the news one day that you, Tang Yan, are dead out there.

When Tang Yan looked up, Shen Shanshui's figure had already disappeared, leaving him standing alone in the same spot.

"Master, at least leave me a chisel..."

……

Mountain top platform.

"Is this what it feels like to discipline a disciple? No wonder Master always scolded me before?"

Shen Shanshui's figure slowly emerged, but his divine sense remained focused on Tang Yan. He wasn't just talking empty words; if Tang Yan insisted on leaving, he would not stop him this time.

He knew Tang Yan's thoughts all too well; Shen Shanshui had also been young once.

When Shen Shanshui was young and his cultivation level surpassed that of Shen Qingfeng, he thought he was a genius and that he would have a great time traveling the world.

After being stuck at the Qi Refining Perfection stage for nine years, Shen Shanshui gradually came to understand a principle.

Spiritual practice is an extremely tedious thing; it tests one's patience, one must be able to endure loneliness, and withstand setbacks.

Tang Yan's understanding of cultivation was flawed, and Shen Shanshui even felt that all the cultivators in the entire Jiangnan Prefecture had a flawed understanding of cultivation.

To understand the path of the Golden Core, the most important and difficult thing is to maintain the purity of the Dao body. Cultivators are most vulnerable to injury and contamination by impure energy during battles.

The conditions are so obvious, but the cultivators in the entire Jiangnan Prefecture still seem to share the same brain, and the atmosphere remains one of fierce competition.

It was as if some entity was subtly influencing all the cultivators.

"Hiss~"

Shen Shanshui shook his head violently, quickly dismissing the thought from his mind.

"Let's just focus on refining the pills!"

The system has been issuing this task for almost a year now. The Spirit Gathering Array has been set up, and all that's missing are these five hundred batches of Qi Refining Pills.

……

Spring passes and autumn comes.

Outside Tianyi Mountain, a sense of desolation gradually arises. Yet, the mountain is enveloped in a rich spiritual energy, with lush vegetation and a vibrant, flourishing scene of life.

hum~

With a buzzing sound that echoed throughout Tianyi Mountain, several dark clouds drifted in from nowhere from the originally clear sky.

With a crisp, loud bang, a bolt of lightning struck the mountaintop without warning.

The lightning struck the enormous alchemy furnace, which was thirty feet tall.

"My stove!"

Shen Shanshui hurriedly went forward to check and found the alchemy furnace completely charred.

After a careful inspection, Shen Shanshui found no damage and was finally relieved.

To his utter surprise, his 500th batch of Qi Refining Pills actually triggered a pill-forming tribulation.

Although the scale of this tribulation lightning was not large, and there was only one lightning bolt, the Qi Refining Pill was not of high grade to begin with, so it was truly remarkable that it could withstand even one lightning tribulation.

The pills were taken out of the furnace. This batch produced nearly thirty pills, almost twice as many as before.

Each pill is wrapped with a pattern formed by a lightning strike.

"This batch of finished products is so good; if we sold it, we should be able to get quite a few spirit stones."

Shen Shanshui pondered to himself.

When Shen Shanshui went to Baoqixuan to purchase alchemy materials before, he noticed the price of the finished Qi Refining Pill.

Only when impurities are around 30% can it be called a Qi-refining pill, and its price is a hundred times that of the raw material.

A pill like his, perfectly round and almost without any impurities, which has undergone a tribulation of lightning, should not be overvalued by doubling its value.

Although Tianyi Mountain is vast, Tianyi Temple is far too small. Building the mountain gate requires spirit stones, and training disciples also requires spirit stones.

Shen Shanshui, the sect leader, might really have to rely on alchemy to earn funds for the sect's development.

"The task is arduous and the road ahead is long!"

After putting away the pills, Shen Shanshui decided not to refine any more of the materials for the Qi Refining Pills, as there were still more than a hundred sets left.

These past few months, I've been spending all my time refining elixirs, and my cultivation has fallen behind considerably.

Congratulations, Sect Leader!

The task of setting up a spirit-gathering array and refining five hundred batches of Qi-refining pills is complete.

Rewards: One Nine Tribulations Flying Sword (top-grade magic weapon), ten ordinary Foundation Establishment Pills.

Enable monitoring functionality.

[The Immortal Sect has already built a good cultivation environment and accumulated a certain amount of cultivation resources.]

The beginning is always the hardest. Loyal disciples are valued for their quality, not quantity, and are an important cornerstone for the development of the immortal sect.

Task posted: Take on apprentices, Sect Leader! (1/5)