First achieve immortality, then cultivate immortality.

Mo Yao followed Xu Mu's instructions and went to find Master Chen Xuan.

Master Chen Xuan offered to recommend her, and then said he wanted to see Xu Mu.

Mo Yao didn't think much of it. The two of them used to play chess and chat often. Later, Xu Mu went to Yulongtian, and she thought that was why they stopped drinking tea together.

So she relayed the matter to Xu Mu.

Upon hearing this, Xu Mu's heart skipped a beat. He must be looking for him at this time because of the demonic arts, right? He was afraid that the demon would kill him to silence him.

But not going isn't an option either. If I go, I might be able to have a talk, but if I don't go, I'm more likely to be killed to silence me.

After all, he was just an inner disciple in the Foundation Establishment stage; how could I possibly fight him?

After much deliberation, Xu Mu went there anyway.

Eight years had passed, but the courtyard remained the same, with Master Chen Xuan sitting at the stone table drinking tea.

"This disciple greets the Venerable One." Xu Mu bowed respectfully.

Of all the Foundation Establishment cultivators he had met in the sect, only Yan Qing treated him as an equal. He had to be extremely respectful to everyone else.

Master Chen Xuan put down his teacup, looked at him, and calmly said, "You still haven't practiced that Mysterious Heaven Demonic Art?"

Xu Mu replied, "Replying to the Venerable One, this disciple is dull-witted and has never been able to learn it."

Master Chen Xuan smiled: "I really admire someone like you."

Xu Mu remained silent.

Master Chen Xuan suppressed his smile and calmly said, "My Dao foundation is damaged. The only things that can heal me are pills of level six or higher, or this demonic technique, which can destroy and rebuild."

Now that I have succeeded, I can continue my cultivation, but I can also clearly feel the influence of demonic energy...

This demonic skill was given to me by my master, Elder Yunfu; I'm not lying to you. My master has been kind to me and couldn't bear to see me trapped on the path of cultivation, so he gave me this choice.

He actually hoped I could let go, but I failed to live up to his expectations and ultimately couldn't master this demonic art.

If my becoming a demonic cultivator were to be exposed, it would surely bring shame upon my sect. Therefore, I will change my name and identity from now on. There will be no more Chen Xuan in this world, only one more demonic cultivator who does not want to be influenced by demonic energy.

Xu Mu could only remain silent after hearing this.

Master Chen Xuan looked at him and said, "You are the only person besides my master who knows that I cultivate demonic arts. To be honest, I don't know if it's the influence of demonic energy, but I have had the thought of killing you to silence you many times."

Xu Mu's heart tightened immediately; this time it really concerned him.

Master Chen Xuan coldly said, "I'll give you two choices: either you leave the sect yourself, or I'll kill you and then leave."

"Anyway, with your cultivation talent, you'll never reach the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime. You'll just die of old age in a few decades. As long as you leave the sect, I can spare your life."

Xu Mu's mind raced, and he cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Could you give me another three years? I will leave after three years."

Master Chen Xuan pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, if you don't leave in three years, I will definitely kill you."

Xu Mu nodded solemnly in agreement.

A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall. There's nothing to be nostalgic about in this wretched place anyway. I'll have to leave sooner or later, so I might as well make a run for it.

However, he still needs to make some preparations, so he is aiming for three years.

……

The factional struggles within the sect are currently raging, and once a weakness is exploited, the sect will be utterly defeated.

Master Chen Xuan sent him away, probably because he didn't want to keep this troublesome man who could harm his master, Elder Yunfu. After all, the landmine of demonic arts was too big.

Giving him a way out is already a sign of having some conscience, and it does justice to the friendship we shared back then.

Back at his residence, Xu Mu went to take a look at the spiritual field he had cultivated.

The fertilizer hasn't been made yet, so we can't see the effects.

Composting requires mixing manure with various materials, placing them in a compost bin, burying them in the soil, and periodically injecting spiritual energy to refine them.

The entire process will take six months.

Previously, he had been using ordinary weeds with spiritual energy to make fertilizer, which could only nourish first-grade spiritual herbs.

Now he is using top-grade spiritual herbs, along with the principles and techniques of alchemy, to try to make high-grade fertilizer.

If this theory succeeds, Xu Mu is confident that he can refine increasingly high-grade fertilizers, making it easy to cultivate third-grade, fourth-grade, and even fifth-grade and sixth-grade fertilizers.

This is precisely the source of his confidence that allowed him to leave the sect after gaining three years.

Why not farm in a safer place, without worrying about being framed or silenced?

……

time flies.

As the internal struggles within the sect intensified, the elders clashed fiercely, and personnel changes frequently occurred in various departments.

The various key positions, including the Internal Affairs Hall, the Spirit Field Division, the Alchemy Hall, the Weapon Forging Hall, and the Law Enforcement Hall, became the focus of the power struggle.

Some were also found to have abused their power for personal gain, and as a result, their cultivation was abolished and they were imprisoned.

The situation in Yulongtian was relatively stable, but the pharmacists were still somewhat uneasy, given the vivid memory of Lao Yu's fate.

The good news is that the Core Formation Elders need people to do their work, so they have started recruiting outer disciples.

Unlike in the past, now they are recruiting their own disciples, rather than it being a benefit given by the sect to its outer disciples.

Although they were all eventually accepted as disciples by the Core Formation Elder, the nature of their relationships was different.

Many things that used to belong to the sect collective are slowly being deconstructed and divided up by private individuals.

Mo Yao was given an "interview" opportunity. The person who recruited him was the elder behind the Transmission Hall, who was none other than Elder Yunfu, the master of Venerable Chen Xuan.

He is one of the most senior Core Formation elders in the sect, with many disciples under his tutelage. He is highly respected within the sect, and even Xu Mu has heard of him.

If one could become his disciple, even if the future wasn't particularly bright, at least one would be safe.

Mo Yao wasn't too excited about this hard-won opportunity. Instead, he calmly stated that he could spend another five years reflecting on the Great Dao and increasing his chances of successfully establishing his foundation.

This character earned the approval of Elder Yunfu, who then accepted her as a disciple and promised to give her a Foundation Establishment Pill five years later.

She cheered with excitement when she shared this with Xu Mu.

Xu Mu smiled, happy for her.

"Junior brother, have you really never thought about reaching the Foundation Establishment stage?" Mo Yao asked softly again.

According to her calculations, Xu Mu is at least 60 years old, and his cultivation level is only at the sixth level of Qi Refining. At this rate, he only has 21 years left. How could he possibly reach the Foundation Establishment stage?

Xu Mu smiled faintly: "Senior sister, there's no need to worry. I have my own plans."

Mo Yao looked at him and nodded gently, saying, "You always do things that are hard for ordinary people to understand, but I know you're not stupid. You know what you're doing."

Xu Mu smiled and said, "Senior sister is making fun of junior brother again."

Mo Yao rolled her eyes at him.

"Do you know why I've become so calm?" she suddenly asked.

"That's because of me, of course." Xu Mu proudly raised his head and puffed out his chest.

Mo Yao curled her lip and snorted, "That's because I was thinking that if I can't reach the Foundation Establishment stage, then so be it. It wouldn't be bad to find someone to become my Daoist partner and spend the rest of my life with them."

"But I can now establish my foundation, so you have no chance."

After saying that, she stuck out her tongue, turned around, and ran away.

Xu Mu was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head with a smile: "Trying to flirt with me? No way."

However, I suddenly realized that this woman in her seventies was actually quite adorable.