Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Chapter 123 Nourishing (Bonus Chapter for 1,500 Monthly Tickets)

There are no impervious walls in the world.

Somehow, the top-secret assessment within the Tongxuan Division regarding Gu Yue Zhenren's successful opening of the Purple Mansion was leaked without a trace.

Within just a few days, a piece of news that could drive the entire cultivation world into a frenzy spread like wildfire: the key to why True Person Lone Moon was able to break through the shackles and open his Purple Mansion was the "Sacred Heart Lotus Seed" secretly cultivated by the Wusheng Sect, and the assistance of the "Strange Fire"!

This news immediately stirred up undercurrents among various factions.

Everyone knows that rare and precious items like the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed and the Strange Fire are extremely rare and difficult to obtain.

But it's better to be hard to find than to have no hope at all!

And the eye of this storm naturally fell on the "Wusheng Sect".

In fact, although the Wusheng Sect lost key forces such as the Black Spider Dharma King and the Five Ghosts of Tianshui in the battle of the Crimson Fire Mine in Linyuan Prefecture, the rest of their forces had already taken advantage of the chaos to loot the place and left Linyuan Prefecture with a full load of loot.

The leaders of the Wusheng Sect originally planned to lie low for a while and properly digest this huge amount of resources.

However, the good days came to an abrupt end after only a few days.

As if overnight, the eyes of all forces were on them. Whether it was prestigious sects, reclusive families, or other demonic cultivators, they were all frantically inquiring about the cultivation secrets of the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed, both openly and secretly. As for the Strange Flame, although clues were hard to find, as long as they mobilized their resources and searched diligently, they could always discover some clues.

Faced with this terrifying pressure, the leaders of the Wusheng Sect were completely panicked and utterly speechless.

The elders and vice-leader of the Wusheng Sect were frantic, pointing to the heavens and swearing oaths to clarify: "That Sacred Heart Lotus Seed absolutely cannot help anyone open their Purple Mansion! That thing is just like other Core Formation spiritual objects; at most, it can only increase the probability of achieving a mid-grade Golden Core by a few points!"

To prove their innocence, the Wusheng Sect even resorted to the most straightforward logic: "Use your brains! If we, the Wusheng Sect, had known all along that the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed could open the Purple Mansion, would we all be idiots? How could we possibly have used it in the Crimson Fire Mine as bait to lure and kill the Eagle Wolf Guards? We would have used it secretly ourselves long ago!"

Every word he said was true; it was a completely honest and heartfelt statement.

However, the people of the world simply did not believe it.

To outsiders, the Wusheng Sect's explanation was nothing but a cover-up.

What made the Wusheng Sect even more desperate was that, at this critical juncture, new information was leaked out.

It turns out that someone discovered that the Wusheng Cult has been secretly collecting clues about "strange fire" recently. In addition, they have also begun to cultivate new Sacred Lotus flowers in another secret stronghold.

This was like mud falling into your crotch; even if it wasn't shit, it would still look like shit.

The high-ranking members of the Wusheng Sect were practically spitting blood. They stepped forward again, swearing oaths, to explain: "Cultivating the Sacred Heart Lotus Seeds naturally requires absorbing the power of the Strange Fire as nourishment. This is part of the cultivation secret method. We're not trying to use these two things to open up our Purple Mansion!"

Unfortunately, nobody paid any attention to their explanations.

The outside world unanimously believes: "Look, they themselves have admitted that the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed and the Strange Flame must be used together! This is definitely the secret formula for Master Gu Yue to open his Purple Mansion. They are now secretly collecting materials, preparing to replicate Master Gu Yue's success!"

In short, the Wusheng Sect has been in a state of utter chaos and anxiety lately.

External spies are like flies, impossible to eradicate, and major strongholds are frequently attacked by unidentified experts. Let alone continuing to develop their power and plot against the Great You Dynasty, even self-preservation has become a major problem.

Most fatally, panic began to spread within the Wusheng Sect, leading to a severe crisis of trust.

The rumors circulating outside were so detailed and convincing that even the middle and lower levels of the Wusheng Sect, and some elders who were unaware of the truth, began to whisper among themselves.

They began to seriously suspect that the cult leader and deputy leader might actually be hiding a trump card.

Is it true that the higher-ups really intend to sacrifice these lower-level followers to draw all the world's firepower, while secretly cultivating a Purple Mansion cultivator in the rear?

Once suspicion arises, it grows wildly like poisonous weeds.

The once invincible Wusheng Sect has fallen into internal and external troubles amidst these rumors that are difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and the relentless pressure from various forces.

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The words are divided into two parts.

Just when the Wusheng Sect was being driven to despair by open and covert attacks, and was plagued by internal suspicions, leading to a miserable existence, Xia Dong, far away in the Tiger Hill Mountains of Linyuan Prefecture, finally ushered in her own good days.

Master Guyue moved away with Xiaohong.

As the faint yet suffocating pressure from the Purple Mansion completely disappeared from the cave, Xia Dong's tense nerves finally relaxed completely.

He stretched comfortably, looked at the empty, quiet room, and let out a long breath.

Although Zifu Daxiu's thighs were thick, the pressure of sharing a room with them every day was just too great.

He has too many secrets, especially the ancient bronze bell in his sea of ​​consciousness that can suppress ghosts and demons and illuminate the moonlight. If it were to be exposed even slightly under the extremely keen eyes of a Purple Mansion cultivator, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Now, this secluded Tiger Hill Cave has finally become his own little world again, with only him and the creature entrenched outside the cave remaining:

The snake brother is a dutiful gatekeeper.

Before leaving, Master Guyue was quite generous, leaving him a batch of mid-grade spirit stones, enough for him to squander for a long time. However, he knew that Senior Guyue clearly had much rarer "high-grade spirit stones," but this time, Master Guyue didn't give him a single one.

It turns out that although Master Guyue has successfully opened up her Purple Mansion, her next goal is to go into seclusion and strive to cultivate a high-grade golden elixir as soon as possible.

The process of cultivating a superior-grade golden core is by no means a matter of a day or two; it can take anywhere from several years to several decades. The speed of progress depends entirely on the density of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the cultivation resources invested.

High-grade spirit stones are the perfect divine objects to accelerate this process and maintain the massive flow of spiritual energy in the Purple Mansion. Even Master Guyue himself doesn't have enough, so naturally he wouldn't share them with him.

Moreover, the Qixia Immortal Sect is now just an empty shell.

During that internal strife, the sect's foundation was almost completely looted by the powerful families and factions, who packed their belongings and took them overseas.

Since True Person Guyue attained the Purple Mansion realm and her life level has risen, the resources she consumes for cultivation now are far more than when she was in the Foundation Establishment stage.

In fact, Master Guyue is now struggling to make ends meet.

The reason she was able to grit her teeth and share such a large amount of mid-grade spirit stones with Xia Dong was mostly because she had seized the storage bags of the Black Spider Dharma King and others, which had given her a significant boost. As for the Green-Faced Ghost's storage bag, because the contents were so worthless, True Person Lonely Moon only left the spirit stones to Xia Dong.

On the other hand, before leaving, Master Guyue gave Xia Dong a serious warning.

"During my seclusion, you must remember not to leave Lin Yuan Manor without permission."

"As long as you stay within the territory of Lin Yuan Prefecture, even if you encounter the greatest trouble, my reputation can protect you. But if you leave Lin Yuan Prefecture and are too far away from me, if something unexpected happens, even if I want to save you, I will be powerless and it will be too late."

Xia Dong readily agreed to this warning.

Are you kidding me?

Even if someone were to invite him out in a grand sedan chair, he wouldn't go out and have fun.

This time, he has accumulated quite a lot of gains, and he needs time to digest them.

"However, the Purple Mansion consumes far too many cultivation resources—"

Xia Dong recalled the meticulous way Senior Gu Yue had counted his spoils before leaving. He could clearly see that Senior Gu Yue was truly concerned about cultivation resources this time, and it seemed that he was going to pour in a massive amount of resources in a short period of time.

This made him even more aware: the higher one goes on the path of cultivation, the deeper the demand for resources becomes, a bottomless pit.

If he wants to go further, besides relying on the ancient bell to survive and develop, he must also try every means to seize more of the creations of heaven and earth in the future!

After all, the ancient bronze bell and he himself were major consumers of cultivation resources.

Xia Dong silently counted the days in her heart, quietly waiting for the next full moon to arrive.

When the time comes, the ancient bronze bell will likely break its silence and be revived.

Recalling the time when Senior Lonely Moon had been guarding the cave a while ago, Xia Dong couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate.

During that time, the ancient bronze bell seemed to sense the terrifying spiritual perception of the Purple Mansion that could see through everything. Therefore, when Senior Lonely Moon opened up the Purple Mansion, it did not appear to absorb the lunar essence and revive itself.

If Xia Dong hadn't been able to see its existence clearly deep within his sea of ​​consciousness through internal vision, he himself would probably have thought that this treasure had vanished into thin air.

This made Xia Dong completely certain of one thing—the ancient bronze bell possessed extremely high spirituality. Not only would it intentionally hide itself at special times, but its methods of concealment were also extremely sophisticated. Even a newly promoted Purple Mansion like Senior Gu Yue had not discovered the slightest clue about it.

During this period of waiting for the full moon, Xia Dong was not idle. He devoted all his energy to refining the "Sacred Heart Lotus Flame".

Although this strange fire was forcibly stripped and suppressed by Senior Lonely Moon, leaving only a faint spark, the violent and wicked intent it contained was still terrifying and extremely difficult to tame.

Xia Dong dared not be overconfident in the slightest, and could only rely on his own magic power and divine sense to use the basic fire control technique to test and refine it little by little.

After enduring countless tedious attempts, during which his divine sense was scorched and his magical power was backfired, it took Xia Dong more than half a month to finally completely erase the violent and malevolent energy from the fire seed, successfully refine it, and imprint it with his own divine sense.

With a thought, the dark red Sacred Heart Lotus Flame obediently traveled through the meridians and was eventually safely absorbed into the dantian.

But as Xia Dong looked inward at the fire in his dantian, his brows furrowed slightly.

He had a vague feeling that the dantian was not the most suitable or ideal place for this strange fire to reside.

Since the "Mysterious Yin Divine Water" can be perfectly placed in the "Kidney Water Divine Palace" which belongs to water and is compatible with the internal organs of martial arts, then the Sacred Heart Lotus Fire which belongs to fire should also reside in the "Heart Fire Divine Palace".

However, Xia Dong had no clue how to open up the Heartfire Divine Palace.

Moreover, the heart is the vital organ for a martial artist's blood circulation; the slightest carelessness can lead to self-immolation and the severing of the heart meridian.

"This matter cannot be rushed. It seems we can only wait until the ancient bronze bell is revived and then use it to deduce the method of perfect fusion." Xia Dong suppressed his impatience and made a plan.

Now that he had the Sacred Heart Lotus Flame, Xia Dong did not hesitate to light the furnace and begin refining the "Spirit-Guiding Pill".

Over the past two weeks, while refining the Sacred Heart Lotus Flame, not only was his magical power purified, but his divine sense, which had surged to the eighth level of Qi Refining after consuming the Crimson Yin Spirit Pill and was somewhat unstable, also underwent an extremely rigorous tempering under the repeated scorching of the strange fire.

At this moment, as batches of Spirit-Guiding Pills were successfully produced under the precise temperature control of the Sacred Heart Lotus Flame, Xia Dong's divine consciousness was finally thoroughly refined and solidified, and his foundation became as solid as a rock.

Looking at the round, full Spirit-Attracting Pill in the jade bottle, which exuded a rich and exotic fragrance, a hint of joy flashed in Xia Dong's eyes.

It must be said that the pills refined using the Sacred Heart Lotus Flame, a rare and extraordinary fire of heaven and earth, are indeed of excellent quality.

With everything prepared, Xia Dong took a Spirit-Attracting Pill and officially went into seclusion to cultivate.

The moment the pill entered his stomach, it instantly transformed into a powerful pulling force. Even after just the first ingestion, a whirlwind swirled around Xia Dong's body, forming a visible vortex. This was an extremely miniature "spiritual acupoint."

What's even more amazing is that this Tiger Hill Cave had recently experienced the extraordinary celestial phenomenon of "the bright moon rising over the sea," just like when Senior Lonely Moon opened his Purple Mansion. Under that terrifying gathering of spiritual energy and the baptism of the mystical sounds of heaven and earth, the potential of the underground spiritual veins was greatly stimulated, causing the spiritual energy concentration of the entire cave to increase dramatically.

Now, with the support of the rich spiritual energy around it, and combined with the miraculous effects of the Spirit-Gathering Pill, the amount of spiritual energy that this miniature spiritual cave can generate is actually stronger than that of some "small spiritual caves" in cultivation forces! However, the spiritual gathering effect triggered by this pill has extremely strong limitations. Its coverage area is limited to the small space where Xia Dong is sitting cross-legged, and there is also a time limit.

With the influx of this violent spiritual energy, the power of the Xuan Yin Scripture within Xia Dong's body surged forth like a river bursting its banks.

He broke through the barriers in his meridians naturally, his cultivation level soared, and he naturally pushed his Xuan Yin magic power to the seventh level of Qi Refining, officially entering the "late stage of Qi Refining" realm!

Moreover, even after the breakthrough, the spiritual energy within his meridians remained abundant and stable, with reserves of strength.

In addition, the "Eternal Spring Qi Circulation Technique" within his body was not idle either, rapidly and greedily refining the enormous vitality accumulated within his body, as well as—the Taiyin essence left on him by Senior Lonely Moon.

Nourished by this supremely yin and pure primordial power, the "innate essence" deep within Xia Dong's dantian experienced an explosive surge.

Upon reaching the pinnacle of his cultivation and completely refining the essence of Yin and the vitality of creation, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his current innate foundation not only completely filled the deficit caused by forcibly controlling the ancient bell, but was even 30% greater than during his previous peak!

Xia Dong felt the mysterious energy within his body, which was capable of transforming into all kinds of laws, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

This time, my innate abilities have recovered so quickly, even better than before.

The Yin essence left in his body by Senior Lonely Moon truly played an immeasurable and enormous role.

Qixia Immortal Sect, Lonely Moon Peak.

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The once prosperous Qixia Immortal Sect, shrouded in immortal aura and bustling with disciples, is now deserted. With powerful families fleeing and internal strife erupting, the sect has been rebuilt from ruins, but now, at most, only a handful of members remain.

Those fellow disciples who had been assigned to the Eagle Wolf Guard earlier, after experiencing the purges by the imperial court and the changes in their sects, the vast majority of them decisively severed their ties with the sects and directly swore absolute loyalty to the Eagle Wolf Guards.

This is understandable, since they are not Gu Yue Kangren's direct disciples. Gu Yue Kangren's attainment of the Purple Mansion realm means that they, as outsiders, cannot gain any substantial benefits whatsoever.

Moreover, the Qixia Immortal Sect is now dirt poor, so where would they get any extra resources to allocate to them?

Amidst this bleak situation, Qin Wan was appointed as the head steward of Lonely Moon Peak.

Despite the sect's decline, Qin Wan, with her calm and composed nature, managed the remaining assets of Lonely Moon Peak in an orderly manner.

However, whenever she thinks about the personnel arrangements on Lonely Moon Peak, she feels a sense of bewilderment and wonder.

What surprised her the most was Xiao Hong, the mortal concubine of Brother Lexia.

This girl was not only personally brought back to the mountain gate by her master, but she also became the only personal maid who could serve her master closely while he was in seclusion!

Pei Hongling, the senior sister who used to make things difficult for her, was spared because her master had planted a "life and death curse" in her body, leaving her life and death in the master's hands. She became Qin Wan's assistant.

On this day, an uninvited guest arrived on the quiet mountain path of Lonely Moon Peak.

A red-clad messenger from the Tongxuan Division, wearing a scarlet cloak, personally ascended Lonely Moon Peak.

Qin Wan dared not delay and hurriedly received the carriage in the main hall.

"Miss Qin, I have come up the mountain on the orders of the Master of Tongxuan Division to present a congratulatory gift to Guyue Kangren on his attainment of the Purple Palace." The red-clad messenger was very polite and handed over a tightly sealed jade box with both hands.

Qin Wan looked at the jade box with a troubled expression and replied apologetically, "Please forgive me, Your Excellency. My master immediately announced that she would be going into seclusion after returning to the mountain. My master has issued a decree that she will not receive any outside guests in the near future, nor will she prepare to hold any Purple Mansion Ceremony. All formalities are to be waived. It will not be too late to hold the Golden Core Ceremony after she has nurtured a superior-grade Golden Core."

Even so, Qin Wan still felt a vague sense of unease.

The Master's state after returning to the mountain was very strange. He said he was in seclusion, but she felt that it was as if the Master's state of mind had recently been greatly disturbed, and he was simply "hiding away and not wanting to see anyone".

Of course, as a disciple, she dared not presume to speculate about her master's private affairs, and could only bite the bullet and accept this generous gift on behalf of her master.

The red-clad messenger's smile deepened when he saw Qin Wan accept the jade box.

Before descending the mountain, he seemed to remember something, deliberately lowering his voice and solemnly reminding her, "Miss Qin, the Master instructed that this gift is purely his personal gift. Please, Gu Yue Kangren, do not think that accepting it will cause any political trouble. This does not represent the court's attempt to win you over, nor does it represent any exchange of positions; it is merely the Master's personal appreciation of Gu Yue Kangren's talent."

Qin Wan was incredibly intelligent and instantly understood the implied meaning behind those words. This gift had nothing to do with the official attitude of the Great You Dynasty; it was purely the Tongxuan Division Master's personal intention to curry favor with a talented young person.

After seeing off the red-clad messenger, Qin Wan returned to the inner hall alone, carefully removing the seal talisman on the bow and jade box, preparing to inventory and record the contents of the Ugly Treasury.

However, the moment the jade box was struck, a fragrance so strong it was almost tangible suddenly shot into the sky, instantly filling the entire inner hall with a misty spiritual energy!

Qin Wan stared in shock, her heart pounding wildly.

Inside the jade box, dozens of rare and precious herbs, radiating astonishing spiritual light, were neatly arranged. They were all Thousand Orchid Spiritual Plants!

Even in the most central location, three Wanlan Lingcheng plants, imbued with the essence of time and of superior quality, lie quietly!

"This—how is this possible?"

Qin Wan felt like she was about to stop breathing.

Such a high-ranking and noble spirit official was rare even in the medieval era when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had not yet depleted, let alone now.

Even if the imperial court possesses secret realms and miraculous sites, it shouldn't be able to squander them like this.

In any case, these spiritual herbs are all highly nourishing for those who have reached the Golden Core stage.

Qin Wan dared not keep it to herself and quickly took it to see her master.

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