Sect Leader! Please strengthen our Dao Sect!

In front of Tianyi Temple.

Shen Lingxi sat with her senior brother on the high threshold, taking a satisfying bite of a candied hawthorn, her beautiful eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

Actually, as she grew older, Shen Lingxi didn't love sweets as much as she did when she was a child. But since Shen Shanshui gave them to her, she ate them anyway.

"Senior brother, why did you think of buying me candied hawthorns?"

Shen Shanshui, who was lost in thought, snapped out of it and replied, "My rice jar is almost empty, so I'm going down the mountain to buy some. I'll bring you a string of rice while I'm at it."

For some reason, Shen Shanshui felt a strange sense of guilt when facing Lingxi, perhaps due to the lingering effects of Liu Ruyan's influence.

Shaking his head, Shen Shanshui quickly dismissed all the complicated thoughts in his mind and soon returned to his usual calm.

Thinking about it carefully, it was truly thrilling.

If it weren't for the sudden clarity of mind, I would probably have been bewitched by that Taoist charm and fallen into its trap.

Shen Shanshui had a thought in his mind: if he really sought momentary pleasure, he might invite misfortune.

"Is this the rudimentary form of the innate Dao Fruit?"

Shen Shanshui frowned.

Liu Jiujiang told him that Liu Ruyan was a natural-born Dao Fruit cultivator, and if her cultivation went smoothly, she could become a Dao Venerable!

Liu Jiujiang himself had only heard about this matter.

Everything has a beginning, and cultivation is no exception. Whether it's the Foundation Establishment stage or the subsequent realms, they are all discovered step by step by those who have gone before.

Each breakthrough in a cultivator's major realm is not only a breakthrough in realm, but also an elevation in status, achieving a transformation in the level of life.

It was precisely because of their different levels of status that the idea of ​​a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator fighting against a Foundation Establishment cultivator was absolutely impossible in Shen Shanshui's eyes; the two were simply not on the same level.

The highest position in the universe is naturally the Heavenly Dao. The ultimate goal of cultivation in the pursuit of longevity is nothing more than to live as long as the heavens.

Cultivators aspire to rival the heavens, and it is precisely for this reason that cultivation is described as going against the will of heaven.

In this situation, would Heaven truly bestow innate status?

In Shen Shanshui's view, Liu Ruyan's nascent Dao Fruit was far superior to Tang Yan's Pure Yang Dao Body.

Just like a river, a fast-flowing current doesn't necessarily mean it will eventually become a great river. But if it's already a river, and you just need to add water, that would be truly incredible.

"Senior brother, what are you muttering about?"

Seeing her senior brother lost in thought, Shen Lingxi tilted her head curiously and asked.

"It's nothing."

"I've been practicing diligently lately, and I've actually broken through again."

Shen Shanshui looked at his junior sister gently and couldn't help but pat Shen Lingxi's head.

hee hee~

Shen Lingxi smiled, revealing her tiger teeth, just waiting for her senior brother to praise her.

Do not be arrogant or complacent.

Shen Shanshui's expression became even more serious.

When his master was alive, he never criticized Shen Lingxi's cultivation. But now that his master is gone, he has taken on this responsibility.

"understood."

Shen Lingxi pouted and took another bite of the candied hawthorn.

"By the way, senior brother, I was just about to say, why do you smell so nice today?"

……

As late autumn arrived, Shen Shanshui sat cross-legged on the mountaintop, practicing meditation, yet he could not sense any changes outside the mountain.

Today, the changing seasons seem to have disappeared from Tianyi Mountain.

He could sense that he was getting closer and closer to the second calamity.

Such a terrifying rate of advancement would be utterly outrageous in the eyes of other cultivators.

Ordinary cultivators, when experiencing the calamity of the Bifeng, need to spend a lot of time cleansing themselves with spiritual energy in order to keep their bodies pure at all times.

However, Shen Shanshui discovered that he didn't need it. Perhaps because of his perfect foundation and flawless Qi Sea, the turbid Qi in the world couldn't invade him at all.

In other words, if Shen Shanshui can successfully overcome the second and third calamities without getting injured, he can break through to the Blood and Flesh Golden Core stage in a very short time.

Sensing someone's arrival, Shen Shanshui slowly opened his deep eyes.

"Young friend, how have you been?"

Liu Jiujiang arrived before he did, but his voice preceded his arrival. This time, Wu Lianshan did not follow.

"Magistrate Liu."

Shen Shanshui smiled, stood up, and bowed.

Liu Jiujiang seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood today, and his overall energy was more rosy and vibrant than Shen Shanshui had seen him before.

"Ha ha……"

"All the resources allocated by the government are here."

As he spoke, he took out a storage bag from his bosom and handed it to Shen Shanshui.

Upon receiving the storage bag and scanning it with his divine sense, Shen Shanshui raised his eyebrows in surprise.

A full 50,000 cubic meters, the vast majority of which were spiritual materials used to build the mountain gate!

A storage bag that can hold 50,000 cubic meters of spiritual materials is already quite valuable.

"I noticed that your Tianyi Mountain didn't have any impressive palaces, so I took it upon myself to have them replace some of the flashy but useless things with spiritual materials. I hope you won't take offense, young friend."

"Magistrate Liu, what are you saying? This is exactly what I need right now! I don't know how to express my gratitude."

Shen Shanshui bowed again to express his deep gratitude.

"You're too kind. I also have some selfish motives. Qingyang County doesn't have any major sects or immortal sects to support it, so the number of immortal talents is decreasing year by year, and the quality of the county officials is also declining."

"Old Wu and I have to handle all sorts of trivial matters; we're simply too busy."

Liu Jiujiang smiled and sighed softly; he was speaking from the heart.

Apart from him and Wu Lianshan, who are both Foundation Establishment cultivators, there isn't a single person at or above the fifth level of Qi Refining in Qingyang County.

Even a cultivator's experience is limited. Liu Jiujiang had to personally oversee everything, big or small, and over time he naturally felt exhausted.

"Let's not talk about that yet; it's too early."

We didn't discuss this topic much. For a sect to truly function, it's almost impossible without a hundred years of accumulation. It's too early to talk about this now.

"Does your young friend know how to craft magical artifacts?"

Liu Jiujiang looked at Shen Shanshui with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

He had witnessed Shen Shanshui's ability to carve array patterns in the air.

A while ago, a calamity cloud passed through the area, and Liu Jiujiang, whose divine sense covered Qingyang County year-round, naturally sensed it.

When he discovered that the lightning tribulation was not a heavenly tribulation but a pill-forming tribulation, Liu Jiujiang was amazed at how much Shen Shanshui knew.

Shen Shanshui was taken aback. Did Liu Jiujiang want him to forge a magic weapon? But he didn't know anything about weapon forging.

Seeing Shen Shanshui pause for a moment, Liu Jiujiang understood. He had said that no matter how talented the other party was, how could he possibly master everything while cultivating? That would be too discouraging.

Anyway, Wu Lianshan, that brute, is good for nothing but hacking and slashing. Liu Jiujiang, as a civil official, would sometimes paint to cultivate his mind.

"Hehe... those spiritual materials are beyond the capabilities of ordinary craftsmen."

If you do not have the method to forge weapons, you can go to the government office and post a reward.

There are quite a few immortal sects in Jiangnan Prefecture that specialize in crafting palaces.

"I see... Thank you for reminding me."

Shen Shanshui suffered from a lack of experience, naively believing that building a house with spiritual materials was no different from building a house with ordinary people.

So after exchanging a few pleasantries, Liu Jiujiang prepared to take his leave.

"It's nothing serious. Cultivation on the mountain is tedious. If you have nothing to do, you can come and sit in my county office."

Old Wu was a rough man, never spoke a word, and was extremely boring.

"must."

……