Enduring humiliation for three years, seizing the elixir, the treasure, and the holy maiden.

The stone steps of Luoyun Sect are old.

The moss on the steps had been worn down to a thin line by the feet of countless disciples, embedded in the cracks of the stones.

Su Chen walked down the steps.

Just as they left the side hall of the main peak, before they could even figure out what to say to their master, they heard the sound of wheels rolling ahead.

Three hearses slowly made their way from the other end of the mountain road.

The cart was piled with bluish-gray stones, each as big as a millstone.

The cart was pulled by several Foundation Establishment disciples, each pushing their spiritual power to the limit. Sweat dripped down their chins from their foreheads, but they didn't bother to wipe it away.

Su Chen stood on the steps and glanced at the group of people.

It looks very familiar.

Back when I was still an outer disciple, two of these kids used to weed the medicinal herb field with me.

Now they have all reached the foundation stage.

"My fellow disciples."

Su Chen rolled up his sleeves and stopped the first car.

The round-faced disciple at the front looked up and saw the newcomer's furious blue robe with scales on it; his knees buckled on the spot.

"A true...true master-uncle!"

The two behind also hurriedly let go, the hearse veered to the side, and a stone rolled down.

Su Chen used his spiritual power to support the stone and gently placed it back on the car.

"No need for such formalities."

"Uncle-Master, just one question: where are all these stones going?"

The round-faced disciple bent over, not daring to breathe too loudly.

"Replying to Martial Uncle, transport it to the back mountain."

"The Supreme Elder wants to build a Spirit Gathering Array."

"I heard it's to gather the spiritual energy of our Luoyun Sect's main lineage."

"From now on, disciples will be able to save half the spirit stones when cultivating."

Su Chen nodded and gestured for them to continue.

The disciples, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, pulled the cart forward again.

The sound of wheels gradually faded into the distance.

Su Chen, however, did not leave.

Spirit Gathering Array.

Su Chen was familiar with these four words.

That trip to the Black Mountain Continent was the first time I had ever met my master.

At that time, Master was searching all over the Black Mountain Continent, looking for the source of the spiritual vein.

Later, his master asked him to keep an eye out for things in the Xuanhuang Continent as well.

Su Chen's thinking was too simple at the time.

My master is a Mahayana cultivator from the upper realm; he has a broad vision and a grand perspective.

The purpose of gathering spiritual energy from the lower realms is simply to nourish these barren continents.

With sufficient spiritual energy, more powerful individuals will naturally emerge.

Perhaps Master wants to unify the lower realm, so that this human realm will no longer be such a barren land with scarce spiritual energy.

Otherwise, how can we explain why Master wanted this spiritual vein?

Moreover, speaking of which, after my marriage to Bai Luwei...

They also planned to take Bai Luwei with them to search for it.

Li Ziran naturally agreed to help search.

With the methods of those rogue cultivators in Luoyan City, they should definitely be able to find it.

Besides, judging from Li Ziran's words at the time, it seemed that he did know something about the source of the spiritual vein.

But now Su Chen has realized what's going on.

An old monster in the Mahayana stage, with a lifespan of hundreds of thousands of years, who has seen all kinds of storms.

Would they care about this little bit of spiritual energy from the lower realm?

That's it.

Now is not the time to think about that.

After being master and disciple for many years, we must first catch up.

Using the technique of shrinking the earth to an inch, one is already at the entrance of the main hall halfway up the main peak.

...

The palace gate was ajar.

A slightly bitter aroma of spiritual tea wafted out from under the door.

Speaking of which, Su Chen does have some fond memories of this place.

He married Wang Yuyan in this very hall.

Later, it was in this very hall that I suppressed Lu Feng in front of all the cultivators of Qingzhou.

Since I transmigrated to this world.

This is Su Chen's first home.

However, Su Chen was just thinking that it was time to ask Master Deng.

Elder Xiao Han has been missing for so long, is there some inside story?

If that doesn't work, send a few people to search for them.

But now Su Chen didn't want to ask anymore.

Given the current gloomy and uncertain situation, if Elder Xiao Han had not perished...

In fact, traveling outside the sect is not necessarily a bad thing.

Su Chen raised his hand and pushed the door open.

Li Changfeng was holding a rough pottery teacup and blowing on the foam as he looked down.

This appearance hardly resembles that of an ancestor in the Mahayana stage.

He looked more like an old farmer sunbathing in some village down the mountain.

"They're here."

Li Changfeng didn't even lift his eyelids, and nodded towards the prayer mat opposite him.

"sit."

"You've been standing at the mountain gate for quite a while, I've seen you."

Su Chen lifted the hem of his robe and sat down on the prayer mat.

"Nothing can be hidden from Master."

There was also an empty cup on the table.

Su Chen picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup.

The tea is a common wild tea from the mountains, and it is bitter.

Su Chen took a sip and put the cup down.

There are some things I've been keeping to myself for years.

Now that we're seated here, there's no need to beat around the bush.

"Master."

Su Chen raised his eyes.

"There is something I have been thinking about for many years."

"Back then, you were clearly at the Mahayana stage of cultivation, but you only referred to yourself as a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"He left his ancestral home and traveled far and wide, and many years have passed since then."

"Why is that?"

Li Changfeng's hand, holding the teacup, paused for a moment in mid-air.

Then, a smile appeared on the old man's face.

"I knew you'd ask this question sooner or later."

Li Changfeng placed the teacup on the table and glanced towards the door.

"That brat Wang Mang hasn't arrived yet."

"Since you asked and there's no one else around, then I'll tell you what's going on."

"It's alright to say it."

Su Chen straightened his back a little.

At that moment, Su Chen could even clearly hear the soft popping sound of the lamp wick in the corner of the palace.

"I am not a person from the lower realm."

Li Changfeng spoke, his tone as flat as if he were talking about someone else's business.

"I am a cultivator from the spirit realm."

"Back in the Spirit Realm, the sect I belonged to was called the Haori Sect."

"It can be considered a top-tier commodity."

"When I was young, I was a top-notch prodigy in the sect."

Su Chen remained silent.

Just listening.

"Five thousand years ago, I entered the Mahayana stage."

Li Changfeng gently rubbed his fingertips on the edge of the table.

"Do you know how long a cultivator in the Mahayana stage lives?"

"Three hundred thousand years."

"I, an old man with a lifespan of only ten thousand years, have already touched the threshold of the Mahayana stage."

"This talent is unparalleled in the Haori Sect."

Su Chen's brows furrowed unconsciously.

May you live ten thousand years and attain the Great Vehicle.

I've only been at the Void Refinement stage for a few years now, how many years have I actually lived?

Compared to Master's innate talent, it's truly like a firefly compared to the bright moon.

"But in my life, I have a mortal enemy."

"My senior brother."

"His cultivation level is the same as mine, and his aptitude is also comparable to mine."

"I have been fighting with him for tens of thousands of years for the position of the next sect leader."

"Fighting back to five thousand years ago."

"I and he entered the Mahayana stage on the same day."

Li Changfeng slammed the teacup down on the table.

Su Chen understood this point perfectly.

That's how it is in the world of cultivation.

How could someone who has reached the Mahayana stage not have some sworn enemies?

Let alone Master.

Take myself for example. Back then in Qingzhou, Lu Feng always overshadowed me with his reputation as a genius, and even tried to steal my Daoist partner.

He had waited a long time for the opportunity to kill this person under the Sword Abyss.

...