Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Master Guyue suppressed the melancholy in his heart, glanced at the four disciples standing respectfully below, and spoke calmly: "During my seclusion, has anything happened on Guyue Peak?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Wan quickly stepped forward and apologized to Master Guyue: "This disciple is guilty. I accidentally broke the key to the secret vault a few days ago. Please punish me, Master!"

Qin Wan lowered her head, refusing to mention the things Pei Hongling and the others had done to her.

She knew very well that Pei Hongling's uncle was an elder of the Law Enforcement Hall and a Foundation Establishment cultivator. With such a background, even her master would have to give him some face.

The sect's internal forces are deeply intertwined, divided into the master-disciple lineage and the aristocratic family lineage. The two factions are intertwined, yet they secretly engage in fierce factional struggles.

In short, Qin Wan herself didn't have a prominent family background, nor did she have the cultivation level of Foundation Establishment. If she were to go head-to-head with Pei Hongling, she would definitely be the one to suffer in the end. Therefore, she simply decided to say nothing.

Master Guyue glanced meaningfully at Qin Wan kneeling below, then turned to Pei Hongling and the others beside her, his tone unreadable: "Hongling, tell me, did Qin Wan really break the key accidentally, or... was she forced by someone?"

Although Pei Hongling usually acted arrogantly because of her background, she felt a sudden pang of fear when her master swept her with his deep gaze. She stammered and avoided his eyes, saying, "Maybe...maybe it was my junior sister's fault."

Master Guyue remained noncommittal and then turned his gaze to Lu Qingshan.

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Lu Qingshan's forehead, and he quickly echoed, "Since Junior Sister says so, it's probably true."

Finally, Master Guyue looked at Feng Fei. Feng Fei swallowed hard and quickly bowed to distance himself: "Reporting to Master, this disciple has been away from the mountain these past few days, so I truly do not know what happened on the mountain."

"Oh?" Master Guyue's voice rose slightly. "Where have you been all this time?"

Feng Fei forced a smile and replied, "This disciple is gathering the spiritual herbs needed to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill at the foot of the mountain."

Upon hearing the words "Foundation Building Pill," Master Guyue couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Privately refining Foundation Establishment Pills is easy for the government to find fault with, and now is a time of great turmoil."

Master Guyue paused, as if making a decision: "Alright then. When I came out of seclusion, my senior brother, the sect leader, sent me a message by flying sword, saying that the Wusheng Sect has been making quite a stir lately. Taking advantage of the drought and plague, the Wusheng Sect is secretly expanding rapidly and has already set its sights on some of our sect's important strongholds. Hongling, Qingshan, and Fengfei, the three of you will go down the mountain to guard the Crimson Fire Mine for three years. When the term is up, I will personally petition the sect for your merits, and you will be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Upon hearing the words "Foundation Building Pill," the three who had been anxious were now overjoyed. The competition for Foundation Building Pills within the Immortal Sect was extremely fierce; this reward was truly an immense blessing.

Master Guyue continued, "In addition, the imperial court's Eagle Wolf Guard has also sent people to the Crimson Fire Mine to assist in guarding the mine. When you get there, you must pay close attention to their movements and remember to report to me at any time."

"Disciples thank Master for his grace! We will certainly not fail in our mission!" The three of them bowed down in unison to express their gratitude.

After dealing with the three, Master Guyue's gaze returned to Qin Wan, and his tone became stern: "Qin Wan, you were careless in your work. I am taking back your authority to manage the secret vault and the assets of this peak. You will be sent to the Yinling Mine as a manager and reflect on your actions for three years."

"This disciple thanks Master for his mercy." Qin Wan calmly and respectfully accepted the punishment.

Upon hearing this, Pei Hongling couldn't help but reveal a smug, gloating smile.

Although this Yinling Mine is nominally a spirit stone vein, its spiritual energy has long been depleted, resulting in extremely low yields.

What's worse, it was an ancient battlefield left behind by the catastrophe that caused the depletion of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth before the establishment of the Great You Dynasty.

After the fierce battle, the lingering spirits of many cultivators and martial artists haunted the area, spreading a pervasive and lingering yin energy that formed the unique Yin Spirit Mine. While the Yin Spirit Stones within have some uses in weapon crafting, prolonged exposure to the Yin Spirit Mine causes immense damage to a cultivator's soul from the yin energy, making it impossible to cultivate peacefully in such a haunted place.

So no matter how you look at it, Qin Wan has been severely punished this time.

However, Lu Qingshan and Feng Fei, standing to the side, exchanged thoughtful glances. Unlike Pei Hongling, they were not fools, for they clearly remembered an old story from the sect—their master, Master Guyue, had once been punished by being sent to the Yinling Mine as a manager.

It was after that incident that Master stood out in the sect and was finally able to occupy a peak to spread the Dharma.

Moreover, Junior Sister Qin possesses a "Lightning Spiritual Root".

Thunder magic is extremely yang and powerful, naturally restraining evil spirits and yin entities. Placing her in an ancient battlefield mine, filled with yin energy and haunted by yin spirits, is not merely a punishment, but rather sending her to an excellent place for tempering.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan and Feng Fei had rather complicated thoughts.

Although everyone is a disciple of the master, the master's arrangement clearly shows that he favors Qin Wan more, and there is even a hint that he will focus on cultivating her as his successor.

Each of the three harbored their own thoughts. Pei Hongling was smug, while Lu and Feng were secretly alarmed. They all took their leave from Master Guyue and withdrew from the main hall.

……

……

The main hall fell silent again, now empty except for Master Guyue and his disciple Qin Wan.

Master Guyue withdrew his stern gaze, looked at the young disciple standing with his head bowed, and softened his tone: "Go to the Yinling Mine for three years to reflect on your actions. Do you feel wronged?"

"This disciple has no such answer." Qin Wan raised her head, her expression calm and firm.

Master Guyue nodded slightly, then changed the subject: "Hmm. How's that kid down the mountain doing lately?"

Qin Wan knew her master was asking about Xia Dong. Her heart skipped a beat, but she remained outwardly calm, carefully omitting the details of their clandestine transactions involving large quantities of talismans and pills. She only reported the obvious changes: "He has already made contributions and taken up the position of commander of the Eagle Wolf Guard. In addition, his martial arts have progressed extremely quickly, and he has now entered the Inner Strength Realm."

Upon hearing the first word, "Commander-in-Chief," Master Guyue remained calm, even taking it for granted. After all, possessing the "Daoist register" of the Great You Dynasty meant that once one entered the court's system, an invisible force would naturally push one forward, and promotion was only a matter of time.

But upon hearing the last sentence, a hint of astonishment flashed in the usually cold and aloof eyes of Master Guyue.

"How many years has it been, and he's already reached the Inner Strength Realm?" Master Guyue asked softly.

Although the martial arts of the mortal world are not as profound as the immortal path, the first three stages of tempering the skin, flesh, muscles and bones are extremely arduous. Many martial artists spend most of their lives and may not even be able to touch the threshold of inner strength. How could that kid have made such progress?

"He does indeed have a great talent for martial arts, and his perseverance is astonishing," Qin Wan replied truthfully.

"He was quite talented... what a pity." Master Guyue sighed softly.

No matter how amazing one's martial arts skills are, without spiritual roots, one's achievements are ultimately limited. A hundred years later, one will still be nothing but a handful of dust, unable to attain the path to immortality.

Master Guyue did not ask any further questions.

Her attempt to break through to the "Purple Mansion" during this seclusion failed. Although her Dao foundation was not damaged, her spirit was greatly diminished.

Since he cannot open up the Purple Mansion, he is destined to only form an ordinary Golden Core in this lifetime, with no hope of becoming a Deity.

Given this, she had almost given up on the idea of ​​using the Ascension Token to travel to the wider "Three Islands Sea Area" to seek immortality.

Given this, Xia Dong's value to her is rather negligible.

However, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the Great Perfection stage, with a lifespan of nearly two hundred years, she had plenty of time ahead of her and was not in a hurry to force herself to form her core.

After all, although reason told her that the hope of opening the Purple Mansion was extremely slim, who among cultivators would truly and completely give up and accept their fate unless they were forced to do so when their lifespan was exhausted?

Therefore, we can leave the summer-winter connection alone for now; it's never a bad thing to build a positive relationship. It's just that we don't need to pay as much attention to it as before.

This time, I'll take the opportunity to have Qin Wan go to the Yinling Mine to temper herself. If she can withstand it, her future path will be easier.

If she can't overcome it, then it's just that she misjudged him.

The inheritance of Lonely Moon Peak cannot ultimately be placed on Pei Hongling and the other two.

They are all commonplace talents, unlikely to achieve great things.

...

...

"The attempt to condense the talisman seed has failed again. Must we really resort to the extreme method recorded in the Taiping Yin Talisman Scripture, and find a place of absolute Yin and malevolent energy?"

Xia Dong was disappointed.

He anticipated the difficulty of condensing the rune seed, but he did not expect it to be this difficult.