Cultivation: I can see the proficiency level

Wang Mian escaped from the Thousand Caves, riding on the Green Fish Shuttle. With a flash of inspiration, he rushed into the Fallen Mountain and disappeared without a trace.

Long after he left, two more figures emerged from the Thousand Caves, their faces covered in dirt and their clothes stained with blood, looking quite disheveled.

Standing at the cave entrance, looking around, the person they were searching for had long since vanished, leaving only the vast mountains in sight. One man gritted his teeth, consumed by rage, while the other remained meek and silent.

After standing there for a long time, the two headed towards Fenglei Valley. Upon entering the valley, they saw flames shooting into the sky from Fenglei Fortress.

Bian Zening, who had been silent all the way, suddenly escaped from the flying boat and rushed into the sea of ​​fire, landing on the Fenglei Valley Square. There were corpses on the ground and houses were burning.

The bodies of Bian Zeyan and Bian Zeqi lay beneath the evergreen tree whose leaves were charred from the fire, their eyes wide open in fury, unable to rest in peace.

Iron-Boned Old Man, who should have been bound to the tree trunk, has vanished without a trace.

My worries of yesterday have come true today.

The massacre of his family and the destruction of his homeland caused Bian Zening to tremble all over, his eyes turning bloodshot, clearly consumed by rage.

"Fellow Daoist Bian, please accept my condolences." Lü Xingshui's voice slowly rang out.

……

Bai Jiuniang peeked out from inside Wang Mian's clothes. Seeing that they were already far away from the Thousand Caves, and having exhausted a lot of her essence and blood, she turned back and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

After speeding along, Wang Mian reappeared outside Yuer Bay.

The mountain is covered with water veins, and one of them flows through the area year-round. Due to the protruding mountain rocks, a meadow and river bend have been formed here.

The river bend is abundant with taro and fish, hence the names Taro Bay and Fish Bay. It is also known as Three-Color Bay because the river pool, meadow, and rocks are all the same color.

Yu Taijun's cultivation cave was set up on the rock wall. The stone wall was carved out, and a horizontal beam was laid on top to build a house, which contained the cave.

Upon exiting the Thousand Caves, Wang Mian checked the communication talisman and received a message from Hua Gu: Tie Gu Sou has been rescued. If he is safe, he can meet up at Yuer Bay.

After shaking off the Lü family cultivators, Wang Mian went straight there. Now that Tie Gu Sou had escaped danger and been rescued, he felt it was only right and proper for him to come and see him.

Just as he skimmed across the river bend, Wang Mian spotted a slender figure in the distance, looking directly at him from the rock-walled walkway.

The blue carp flew by, leaving a green trail in the meadow, then flew up to the rock wall and landed in the covered walkway.

"The seniors sensed that Fellow Daoist Wang had returned safely and sent Tinghe here to wait for you," Yu Tinghe said with a smile.

Seeing him arrive on a magical artifact, Yu Tinghe felt a sense of defeat. Just as she was about to reach the second level of Qi cultivation, Wang Mian was about to reach the third level.

She diligently cultivated day and night, and had already broken through to the second level of Qi Refining. At this moment, Wang Mian, who was standing in front of her, had already reached the fourth level of Qi Refining.

With Wang Mian's cultivation level, if they met someone they didn't know, she would have to address him as a senior and treat him with the respect due to a junior.

"Thank you for waiting, Fellow Daoist Yu. I wonder if Senior Iron Bone Elder is safe and sound?" Wang Mian asked hastily as he entered the corridor and put away his magical artifact.

If he were Bian, and he captured Tie Gu Sou, he certainly wouldn't treat him well with good food and drink; he would most likely subject him to severe torture and interrogation.

Even if they can't get any information out of the interrogation, they'll still interrogate them three times a day, and ten times in three days.

Upon hearing this, Yu Tinghe chuckled: "Fellow Daoist, rest assured. Thanks to the treatment of several seniors, although the injuries are quite severe, there is no danger to your life."

She led Wang Mian to the cave.

Yu Tinghe knew that Wang Mian must have escaped death after being chased by cultivators at the mid and late stages of Qi Refining. Yet, he appeared calm and composed, as if he had never been chased at all.

"Fellow Daoist Yu... seems to have something to ask?" Wang Mian noticed her frequent glances and couldn't help but wonder what she meant.

"Tinghe admires Fellow Daoist Wang. He has just escaped danger and turned it into safety, yet he remains calm and composed," Yu Tinghe replied frankly.

Including today, she has only seen Wang Mian three times. Once was at Songlintan, where Wang Mian, at the second level of Qi Refining, killed a third-level Qi Refining cultivator.

The second time was outside Wind and Thunder Valley, where he went to lure away those cultivators in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining.

This is the third time; he has just escaped death.

Every time she saw him, it was as if she were walking on a tightrope over a precipice, each time fraught with danger. Compared to Wang Mian, she was like a flower under the eaves, untouched by wind, frost, snow, or rain.

"Since you failed to take my life this time, there's no need to think about it anymore." Wang Mian said seriously, "You were able to escape with your life mainly due to luck, which is not worthy of your admiration, fellow Daoist."

He wasn't always so lucky; last time he was almost killed at Songlintan. If it weren't for Tiegusou, the grass on his grave would be three feet high by now.

Having weathered numerous crises, Wang Mian has now become accustomed to the fact that as long as he is alive, everything else is trivial.

"Fellow Daoist Wang is still so humble!" In this world of cultivation, how many people are truly blessed by fate? Yu Tinghe didn't believe it.

She led Wang Mian into the cave.

Inside, several senior figures who participated in this operation were present. Bone Daoist, White-haired Old Man, Flower Girl, and Wang Mian all paid their respects.

All of them had smiles in their eyes, even the usually cold-faced Bone Daoist had a smile on his face.

After a moment, Wang Mian suddenly realized that after he lured away the people with the highest cultivation levels, the seniors must have gained a lot at Fenglei Fortress, which is why they couldn't hide their joy.

Turning his head, Wang Mian looked at the Iron-Boned Old Man sitting on the wooden chair.

Perhaps because he had just applied medicine, he hadn't put on a shirt yet. The old man was much thinner and more listless. His body was covered with countless new and old wounds, clearly indicating that he had suffered a lot.

Wang Mian couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"Brother Mian, don't say anything too formal to me, I don't like hearing it." Seeing Wang Mian's ashamed expression, Tie Gu Sou knew what he was thinking.

From beginning to end, he never blamed Wang Mian for this incident. Perhaps Wang Mian was partly at fault, but he still felt that the majority of the fault lay with him.

It was because he didn't hide further away that he was captured by Bian.

Wang Mian's willingness to take such a huge risk to lure away cultivators at the mid-stage and late-stage of Qi Refining was already a great favor to him.

In truth, he actually owed Wang Mian quite a few favors.

"No need to be so formal. I'm relieved to see that you are safe and sound, senior." Wang Mian swallowed back his original words. If he didn't want to hear it, then he wouldn't say it.

"That's good." The Iron-Boned Old Man laughed freely.

Having made preparations for the underworld, he escaped with his life. Now, seeing the younger generation's success, he is very pleased.

What's the point of bringing up the past?

"Old Man Tiegu has escaped disaster, and Mian Ge'er has made great strides. Today is a double celebration. We should drink a few more cups to celebrate our old friend's good fortune," the white-haired old man said, stroking his beard.

It's been many years since we last met, and now it feels like it was many years ago. It's a pity that my old friends have passed away and cannot be here today, which is a bit of a regret.

"Old Man Iron Bones should have a couple more drinks. With such a junior, we should drink a whole cup of wine," said the Bone Daoist.

The Iron-Boned Old Man laughed heartily and nodded in agreement.

"Tinghe, set out the feast and bring several bottles of spirit wine." Granny Yu ordered her apprentice to set out the spirit food that had already been prepared.

Yu Tinghe quickly served the dishes and poured the wine, and then invited several seniors to sit down.

Wang Mian didn't disturb the seniors' reminiscing. He remained seated at the small table with Yu Tinghe and Jiang Hao. Jiang Hao poured wine and expressed his gratitude: "Brother Wang, I'm not good with words, but I'm extremely grateful for your help."

The last time he drank, he realized the gap in their cultivation levels; this time, he was even more aware of it.

If it weren't for Wang Mian's selfless risk, Master would never be sitting here enjoying himself today, chatting and laughing.

He remembered everything clearly: the healing pill, the storage jade pendant, the spirit stone... He remembered each and every one of them.

He will repay them in the future.

"Let's not stand on ceremony." Wang Mian chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Between you and me, brothers, there's plenty of time ahead."

If someone gives me a peach, I will repay them with a precious jade. We should look after each other and give and take. But if we talk too much, discuss things too seriously, or make too clear distinctions, we will become biased.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Jiang Hao asked him about his future plans.

Wang Mian pondered for a moment before replying, "I plan to find a safe place to cultivate in peace for a while, so as to avoid the Lu family's attention."

Having killed several members of the Lü family, the enmity between them had deepened. Wang Mian was not ready to cause any trouble and wanted to focus on his cultivation for a while.

I had long intended to focus on my cultivation, but I was held back by many things. Now that I have achieved success, it is time to settle down and cultivate for a while.

Reach the fifth level of Qi Refining as soon as possible.

May you master the new spell as soon as possible.

I hope to become a talisman master as soon as possible.