Anti-fraud manual for the cultivation world

"Junior Brother Li? What's wrong? Why are you spacing out?" The second senior brother's kind eyes were filled with his usual gentleness and care.

Li Gu took another deep breath, suppressing his anger and trying to remain calm as he said, "I was memorizing the breathing technique my senior brother taught me, and I went through the process in my mind."

The second senior brother laughed and said, "You mustn't remember it wrong! If you use the wrong method, it's easy to go into qi deviation. Repeat it to me so I can hear if you've remembered it correctly. I'll check it for you."

"You're faking it, keep faking it." Li Gu grinned, like an innocent child, and recited in detail the breathing techniques his second senior brother had just explained. After listening, his second senior brother's expression remained kind, with a hint of joy: "Very good, you didn't make any mistakes! Then keep it up and practice hard."

Li Gu clasped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Thank you for your guidance, Second Senior Brother."

The second senior brother nodded and walked away. Li Gu watched his back disappear into the flower bushes and suddenly felt that the back looked very unfamiliar.

That night, Li Gu tiptoed over Fang Shidi, who was fast asleep on the floor, pushed open the door, and slipped out of the dormitory.

The silvery moonlight bathed the flower valley, adding a touch of chill to the night. When the mountain breeze blew, the fragrance of the flowers remained, but it also brought a sense of desolation.

Li Gu walked through the flower valley and came to a solitary house on the hillside.

Brother Zheng, who had gone mad from practicing qi cultivation, was lying in this lonely house.

During the day, his junior classmates take turns taking care of him, feeding him, giving him water, and helping him defecate and clean himself, but no one comes near the hut at night.

Li Gu slipped into the room and knelt down in front of the bed. Senior Brother Zheng's eyes were open. Since becoming paralyzed, he had been lying in bed all day, which had long disrupted his biological clock.

"Senior Brother Zheng, Senior Brother Zheng, it's me, Junior Brother Li! I know you can only move your eyelids. I have a few questions for you. If you're willing to answer, just blink twice."

Senior Brother Zheng blinked twice slowly.

Li Gu: "The matter I need to ask you is of great importance, so I must make sure you are of sound mind. Senior Sister's name is Hei Yan, isn't it? If yes, blink twice; if not, blink once."

Senior Brother Zheng blinked only once.

Li Gu confirmed that Senior Brother Zheng was conscious and able to communicate normally.

He then changed the subject, asking, "Two years ago, you suffered a qi deviation. Was it because you broke through a bottleneck in your luck using the method Senior Brother Zhou suggested? If not, it was just one blink; if so, it was three blinks."

After asking that question, Li Gu nervously looked into Zheng's eyes. He saw Zheng's eyelids blink gently, gently, gently three times... and then tears streamed down his face...

Two years have passed! After two years, one of my junior brothers finally learned the truth.

I've struggled to survive, barely clinging to life, just to welcome this day.

Senior Brother Zheng's tears flowed uncontrollably, soaking his pillow in an instant. His eyes itched terribly when he cried, but to prevent Li Gu from miscounting the number of blinks, he stared wide-eyed and refused to move an eyelid.

Li Gu let out a long sigh.

It's confirmed; it's a heavy truth.

Just then, Li Gu's gaze pierced through the window, and he saw a figure approaching from the flowerbed in the distance. The moonlight wasn't bright enough to make out the person's face, but Li Gu could guess who it was.

He quickly climbed out of the back window of the house, hid in the flower bushes, held his breath, and channeled the [Hidden Flower Mind Technique] into his ears...

His current cultivation level is only one realm lower than his second senior brother's. As long as he holds his breath and doesn't step on a tree branch or anything, his second senior brother won't be able to detect him.

Squeak!

The sound of the door opening rang out, followed by the soft slamming of the door shut and light footsteps.

Next, Li Gu heard the familiar voice of his second senior brother, Zhou Shijie: "Junior Brother Zheng, how have you been these days? Oh! Why are you crying? So many tears... Tsk tsk, what's bothering you? Tell me so your senior brother can cheer you up."

His voice was very low, but Li Gu used his hearing to hear every word clearly.

His flippant and gloating tone was completely different from the usually venerable and respected Second Senior Brother; he seemed very unfamiliar.

The sound of a hand gently patting a face rang out, followed by a soft chuckle from the second senior brother: "After you, another junior brother's cultivation progress is about to catch up with mine. Guess who it is? Junior Brother Li, who's only been a disciple for four years! Tsk tsk! When I first discovered that my cultivation speed was faster than Senior Sister Bai Yan's, I thought I was a genius. You were the first to make me realize that someone was more outstanding than me, and Junior Brother Li is the second..."

The second senior brother's tone was full of arrogance and swagger: "Looks like I'll have to add a bed to this room. How about I put it here? Next to you, so you and Junior Brother Li can glare at each other and won't be so lonely. See how good your senior brother is to you?"

Li Gu: "..."

The second senior brother's voice continued, "It's a pity that I can only show my intelligence to you, and I can't let others appreciate me too. It's such a shame... Only you know that I'm already tired of playing the role of the confidant senior brother in this damned flower valley. Fortunately, I'll be completing my apprenticeship soon... Once I'm in the martial world, I can finally be myself again. How wonderful, hahahaha..."

"Come here, Junior Brother Zheng, let me prop up your pillow a bit. From this window, you can see the Cold Jade Stone. That's where you suffered a qi deviation while sitting on that stone. Tomorrow, or maybe the day after, you'll soon see Junior Brother Li lying on that stone just like you, and then he'll come and lie beside you, keeping you company every day. Aren't you happy?"

The deep, arrogant laughter lasted for several seconds, followed by the sound of a door opening and closing, footsteps fading into the distance, leaving only the sound of the wind, the rustling of wildflowers and grasses swaying in the breeze...

Li Gu lay there for a very long time before slowly sitting up from the flowers.

As I walked to the window, I saw Senior Brother Zheng staring wide-eyed out the window, his gaze meeting Li Gu's.

A thousand words can be conveyed in a single glance.

----

early morning!

The flowers nodded gently in the breeze, and the valley was still filled with their fragrance.

As usual, Li Gu recited the sect rules with his fellow disciples.

"Senior Sister!" Li Gu raised his hand: "Today I am preparing to break through the Guanyuan acupoint. Please allow me to use the Cold Jade Stone to break through the bottleneck."

"what?"

Bai Yan's tone carried a hint of surprise: "Pretty fast."

She didn't express her opinions like her second senior brother, so even the sect leader couldn't tell whether she was jealous of her fellow disciples like her second senior brother.

Maybe she feels the same way? She just doesn't say it?

It's better to say nothing than to lie!

Li Gu holds this view.

If the senior sister is also that kind of person, Li Gu will completely lose faith in Hidden Flower Pavilion.

"The Cold Jade Stone is yours today," Bai Yan said expressionlessly. As Li Gu was about to leave, she added, "I've broken through the fifth bottleneck, and I have some insights into luck-related techniques. Would you like to hear them?"

Li Gu wanted to hear it, but was also a little afraid of hearing the system alarm.

Just then, the second senior brother, Zhou Shijie, chimed in, sporting his signature gentle smile: "Don't worry, senior sister, I've already taught junior brother Li all the methods I used to break through my bottleneck. He recited them from memory right in front of me without making a single mistake."

Bai Yan simply nodded upon hearing this: "Your progress is faster than mine, and your insights are certainly better than mine. Since you have already explained, I won't interfere any further."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the other junior brothers and sisters.

The second senior brother stood in front of Li Gu, smiling gently, like a very kind person: "Junior Brother Li, don't worry, you will definitely be able to break through using my method."

[The Cultivation World Anti-Fraud Handbook reminds you: Zhou Shijie's claim that "you can definitely break through using my method" is a lie. Because we chose to make a "similar lie" true yesterday, this lie is automatically considered true today.]

Li Gu pretended to be deeply moved: "Thank you very much, Second Senior Brother. I'll go try the Cold Jade Stone right now."

With his second senior brother watching him go, Li Gu arrived at a piece of cold jade as big as a bed.

It is a treasure specially obtained by the master for his disciples. It has the effect of calming the mind and spirit. When you sit on it to break through the bottleneck, it will make you achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Li Gu sat cross-legged on the cold jade stone, and several gazes focused on him.

There were envious glances from his junior brothers and sisters, Zhou Shijie's gentle and encouraging gaze, and another, shining through the window of the lonely house, was Senior Brother Zheng's complex and unfathomable look...