Cultivation: I can see the proficiency level

On the desolate mountain.

A sacred place with lush bamboo groves.

Jiang Hao emerged from the sacred ground carrying a bamboo basket. Seeing the old man Tie Gu sitting in a rocking chair basking in the sun, he placed the basket under the eaves and went to refill the old man's tea.

"I wonder how Brother Wang is doing now, whether he is alright?" Jiang Hao was often worried about Wang Mian, who was wanted by the Lü Clan, causing quite a stir in this desolate mountain.

Jiang Hao had also seen the bounty notice and knew how many greedy and desperate people could be driven by such a large reward.

Iron Bone Elder still had scars on his face, though they had faded considerably. He turned his head to look at his disciple, and the topic brought up a source of worry for him.

"Mian-ge'er has a strong destiny, so don't worry. He might come to see you soon. If he sees that you still have such a low cultivation level despite your abundant spiritual energy, you'll probably be the one who loses face first," Tie Gu Sou comforted him.

The bamboo forest is so rich in spiritual energy that Jiang Hao can cultivate every day. Now that the master and disciple have raised a spirit child and have income, Jiang Hao has never stopped taking ointments and medicinal baths.

He is currently at the second level of Qi Refining, but he is not far from reaching the third level.

Although he was far behind Wang Mian, Tie Gu Sou was already satisfied. This was the cultivation progress that a young cultivator in Luopo Mountain should have. Wang Mian was an exception.

"My disciple has already done his best," Jiang Hao said with a bitter face.

The more he cultivated, the more he felt that Wang Mian was a freak. At first, he thought it was because of insufficient spiritual energy and spiritual medicine that he had fallen so far behind. Now it seems that spiritual energy and spiritual medicine cannot close the gap between him and Wang Mian.

He even wondered if Wang Mian had really drunk the Immortal Lord's urine, otherwise how could he have cultivated so quickly?

Ironbone Old Man stood up, took out a jar of ointment, and then a large ironwood club: "You've exhausted all your strength? Disciple, you haven't. Apply the ointment... and let your master help you cultivate your copper skin!"

Jiang Hao: "......."

He turned and ran, but was pulled back by the Iron-Boned Old Man, who applied ointment and began to beat him with a stick. Twelve blows were struck in an instant, each one merciless, making Jiang Hao cry out for his parents.

He only nodded in satisfaction after beating him until he was covered in bruises and then smearing his apprentice's face several more times.

"Hurry up and start cultivating! This is what it means to give it your all, disciple. Don't deceive yourself and pretend to work hard!" The Iron-Bone Elder sat back down in his rocking chair.

Jiang Hao rubbed his bruised eyes, tears welling up before he could speak.

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Qianji Mountain, also known as Bamian Mountain, is shaped like a trigram, corresponding to the eight directions of Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, Zhen, Gen, Xun, and Dui. There is a valley in the center of the mountain called Tianji Valley.

The valley is unique, resembling two fish entwined, with their heads connected to their tails and vice versa. One side is barren, while the other is lush with vegetation, making it remarkably similar to a yin-yang symbol.

At the very center of the valley stands a Taoist temple called Xuanji Temple. Year after year, cultivators come here, wearing down the bluestone path in front of the temple until it is smooth and worn.

Just as dawn broke and dew still clung to the grass, a goatee-bearded monk walked along the bluestone path to the front of the temple.

The visitor was the head of the fourth branch of the Lü family of Taixi Lake, named Lü Xingdai, who was also the youngest of the four heads of the Xinglong family for generations.

This was his third visit to Xuanji Temple to request an audience with Qianjizi.

He was told twice that Qianjizi was in seclusion and had not yet emerged from his cultivation, which made him feel resentful. As someone who already held a high position and possessed profound cultivation, Lü Xingdai was quite indignant about this.

Qianjizi owed the Lü family a favor in his early years, and this time he was making such a fuss about the fortune telling. If it weren't for the importance of the matter, he would never have gone to such lengths to ask for an audience.

"Senior Lü, Master has been waiting for you for a long time." As soon as they arrived at the temple, the boy guarding the gate bowed and spoke first, pointing to the open gate and saying, "Senior Lü, please come in."

He had been instructed by his master to wait at the gate for the Lü family cultivators to arrive, and to lead them into the temple if they came.

The master is always incredibly resourceful.

When he said someone came, then someone really did come.

Hearing what the boy said, Lü Xingdai nodded slightly and followed the boy into the Taoist temple. He was led to the main hall, which was simple and only had a Taoist priest in hemp robes holding a hanging plate.

The person Lü Xingdai was looking for had just finished offering incense and turned to face him. The man had an old face, white hair and beard, and was not robust; in fact, he looked rather sickly.

He appeared to be very old.

This person is none other than the famous Thousand Machine Elder, also known as Thousand Machine Master, who is known by many cultivators as Master Liu Yixian.

"Fellow Daoist!" Lu Xing greeted him.

"Fellow Daoist, you are too polite. Please have a seat here." Qianjizi gestured for him to sit on the futon, poured two cups of the brewed spiritual tea, and asked first, "Fellow Daoist, have you come to divine someone's whereabouts?"

If it weren't for lingering personal relationships, he really wouldn't want to meet with this fourth son of the Lü family. Getting involved with him and his affairs would mostly involve divination, but just to cast this divination would involve a considerable amount of karma.

It was not what he wanted, but he had no choice but to do it.

I've already refused twice; that's my limit.

Qianjizi's words hit the nail on the head, and Lü Xingdai simply nodded in agreement. He knew that the man before him was incredibly shrewd and could predict why he had come here, so it was not surprising.

Qianjizi's abilities had long been rumored to be miraculous.

The rumors may be exaggerated, but the Lü family knows a great deal about his abilities. His divination skills are indeed unfathomable and unfathomable.

When asked, Lü Xingdai answered frankly, "There is a family enemy who has been difficult to track down despite all the effort and resources I have put in. Now that he has disappeared, I have come here specifically to ask you to perform a divination."

Repeated attempts to capture them resulted in heavy losses of soldiers and officers.

They spent a lot of time, spent a lot of spirit stones, and mobilized a lot of people, but they still couldn't find Wang Mian. The Lü family had no other choice but to come to Thousand Machine Mountain.

Unexpectedly, Qianjizi had twice used the excuse of seclusion to avoid seeing him, and it was only today that he finally met him, which had delayed him for more than a month.

Qianjizi wiped his storage bag, took out a gray compass, and instead of starting to divine, asked, "Fellow Daoist, have you thought it through? Do you really want to divine this person's whereabouts?"

The third time is the limit, and this was the last time he would remind her. If the favor hadn't been so great, he would have already repaid the debt of gratitude after a few reminders.

If Lü Xingdai still insisted, he would cast a divination.

These words caused Lü Xingdai's face to darken.

Upon careful consideration, he realized that the question might have a deeper meaning. However, he also thought that he had made some progress in searching for the elixir at home, and now he was missing this crucial link. Giving up was definitely not an option.

For the Lü family now, the possibility of establishing a foundation is something they must hold onto tightly and cannot let go of.

Lu Shi once asked Qianjizi if he could predict the opportunity for Foundation Establishment, but Qianjizi refused outright, saying that he could not bear such a great karmic burden and that it was impossible for him to cast a divination.

This divination is indeed absolutely certain.

After thinking it over, Lü Xingdai nodded firmly and presented the item with the remaining traces of its aura: "Fellow Daoist, there is no need to persuade me further. Please perform a divination. No matter how great the cause and effect, my Lü family will bear it all."

He didn't believe that Wang Mian could be a bastard son of the Wang family who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

The consequences of only reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining are something the vast Lü family can bear. Now that they have received the information, they must take him down in one fell swoop, allowing no mistakes and giving him no chance to escape.

Seeing his unwavering determination, Qianjizi could only sigh softly.

The compass in his hand swelled to five feet in size in the wind, hovering in front of him. He kept calculating with his hands and chanting incantations. The divination plate slowly rotated in circles, emitting a faint spiritual light.

"Pardon!"

He spat a mouthful of blood onto the compass, and the last two wobbling circles of the compass slowly turned and gradually settled.

Qianjizi's face turned even paler.

He reached out and took the compass, observed its divination results, and calculated for a while before saying, "The person is south of Luopo Mountain, below the mountainside; you can find traces of him there."

This is the result of the divination that Qianjizi told us.

"South of Luopo Mountain, below the mountainside?" Such a large area made Lü Xingdai frown. He wanted to ask, but then remembered that this was Qianjizi's usual rule not to explain the divination in too much detail.

For both him and the other party, it left a glimmer of hope.

This is why Qianjizi is called the Taoist who leaves a glimmer of hope.

"The divination is complete. I will not linger any longer, fellow Daoist. The divination fee is one thousand spirit stones, which you may give to the servant boy." Qianjizi put away the compass and gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Divining the secrets of heaven comes at a price, which is why he aged so much in his middle age. Some divinations come at a high price and bring considerable trouble.

Thinking of this, he sighed again, but he felt he had repaid the great favor.

Seeing that Qianjizi had given him the order to leave, Lü Xingdai took his leave of Xuanji Temple and returned to Taixi Lake to gather manpower. Even if it meant setting up a net and spending a lot of manpower, he was determined to capture the man.

After seeing the person off, the boy returned to the temple and offered the spirit stones, only to find the master sighing incessantly. He asked, puzzled, "Master, why are you sighing like this?"

He shook his head and remained silent.

After pondering for a long time, Qianjizi handed a brocade pouch to the boy.

He then instructed, "Master is preparing to visit a friend, and his return date is uncertain. If a young cultivator arrives riding a white dog, give him this item. I don't think he will make things difficult for you."

The child should be.