Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

The story ended, and the entire room fell silent.

No one expected that Master Yunbai had lied about this.

No one expected that a child in his early teens would be so ruthless.

In order to pursue the path of immortality, he didn't hesitate to kill a childhood friend who had just fought alongside him.

The remnant soul didn't give everyone much time to react before speaking: "The four of you guessed wrong this time, so one point of your mental energy will be deducted from each of you."

"Every one person guesses correctly adds a bit of effort!"

"Yunbai's storytelling was a success, and my motivation has increased a bit!"

As soon as the remnant soul finished speaking, the number of orbs of light appearing in front of everyone began to change.

The four who guessed wrong each lost one, while Gou An and Yun Bai Zhenren each gained one.

"Next!" The remnant soul looked at the rat demon Xu Gu Zi and said, "It's your turn to designate the next storyteller."

Upon hearing this, the rat demon's gaze swept across the entire area, finally settling on Master Qingfeng.

Under the gaze of the rat demon, Master Qingfeng frowned slightly.

Sure enough, the rat demon spoke the next second: "I designate the next storyteller as... Venerable Qingfeng!"

The remnant soul turned to look at Master Qingfeng and said, "Then please!"

For the rat demon, among the people present, it was easier for him to distinguish the stories of the human cultivators.

After all, he grew up in a human cultivation sect and knew far more about human cultivation than about demon cultivation.

If he hadn't mistakenly trusted Master Qingfeng's judgment, he wouldn't have made the wrong choice.

Master Qingfeng took a deep breath, pondered briefly, and then slowly began to tell his story.

......

When I first entered the Daoist path at a young age, my aptitude and comprehension were ordinary.

He was inconspicuous among the disciples, his cultivation progress was always at the bottom, and he even stumbled through the most basic breathing technique of the sect, with almost no way forward in sight.

At that time, the sect rules were strict and cultivation resources were scarce. If outer disciples had no opportunities or talents, they would spend decades of their lives and end up achieving nothing.

I know I am of mediocre talent and have never dreamed of instant success. I only seek to make steady progress and survive on my path.

But in the year when I was at my lowest point in my cultivation and almost wanted to give up and return to the mortal world, a strange event suddenly occurred in the back mountain of the sect.

An ancient cave, covered by grass and soil for thousands of years, opened without any spiritual light or unusual phenomena.

It stood there unremarkably in the mountains and forests, unnoticed by anyone.

That day, I was feeling down, so I avoided my fellow disciples and went into the mountains alone to clear my mind. By chance, I ended up in the mountains.

The cave was dilapidated and desolate, without any suppressing restrictions, guardian beasts, or dangerous illusions, making it completely different from ordinary secret realms.

Inside the cave, there is only the remains of an elder who has sat there for a thousand years, and a blue stone platform.

On the stone platform lay a perfectly intact golden pill and a fragmented scroll of an unnamed mental cultivation manual.

There are no traps or tests, no inner demons or trials, and no checks and balances between life and death.

Once I entered the cave, I could take whatever I wanted without any problems.

I was both surprised and suspicious at the time. I searched the cave repeatedly to make sure there was no danger.

He accepted the pills and cultivation techniques, bowed respectfully three times to the remains of his predecessor, and then left the cave.

Thanks to this unexpected elixir, I was able to break through my limitations and my cultivation went smoothly from then on.

That nameless mental technique, though not a peerless divine skill, is most suited to my temperament, helping me calm my restlessness during cultivation and avoid countless hidden dangers of inner demons.

Even more bizarrely, after I took the pills and cultivation techniques and left the cave, the ancient cave collapsed and vanished on its own, turning into a handful of dust that completely disappeared into the mountains and forests behind the cave without leaving a trace.

It was as if that cave dwelling and that serendipitous encounter had always existed only in my own experience.

In my centuries of cultivation, I have witnessed countless people risking their lives for opportunities, staining mountains and rivers with blood.

I have witnessed the hidden dangers of secret realms and the calamities that accompany spiritual herbs; Heaven never bestows blessings without reason.

The greatest opportunity of my life came too easily, too strangely, without any danger, difficulty, effort, or cost.

I rarely mention this matter to outsiders, because ordinary cultivators would only think that I fabricated stories to embellish my own path of cultivation.

But fate is mysterious and the way of heaven is unpredictable. The most unbelievable adventures in the world are often so ordinary and silent, leaving no trace.

After finishing his narration, Master Qingfeng remained extremely calm.

Gou An stared at his face for a long time, but couldn't find a single flaw.

The reason Gou An chose to lie to Yun Bai Zhenren just now was because his acting skills were too good and his performance was too realistic.

However, this challenge was not about making people believe what he was saying, so the more realistically Yun Bai acted, the more Gou An felt something was wrong, leading him to make the opposite choice.

Master Qingfeng was different; he showed no change in expression and spoke with unusual calmness from beginning to end.

At this moment, the remnant soul spoke up: "Now, you may ask your questions."

"I'll go first!" The rat demon Xu Gu Zi spoke first. "You said that secret realm was in the back mountain of the sect, so why were you the only one who discovered it after it was opened?"

Master Qingfeng slowly replied, "At that time, no other disciples in my sect were willing to go to the back mountain, and even I would not normally go there."

"I just happened to be out for a walk that day when I discovered it by chance."

"In addition, the opening of the secret realm is very quiet, so naturally the other disciples have no way of noticing it."

After asking the question, the rat demon began to frown and think.

Soon after, Old Sheep Qingmianzi asked, "Your cultivation was originally mediocre, but it surged after you obtained the treasure from the secret realm. Didn't this arouse suspicion from the rest of the sect?"

"No!" Master Qingfeng replied, "I know I am innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime!"

"Therefore, I never revealed anything from beginning to end. Even when my cultivation level broke through, I deliberately concealed my aura and cultivation level."

"After I gained the ability to stand on my own, I used that as an excuse to leave the sect I was in at the time, and from then on I was free to roam the world."

The crow then asked, "What was the name of the sect you were in back then?"

"Qianfu Sect!" Master Qingfeng replied, "It was just a minor sect, which was wiped out more than two hundred years ago."

"You just said..." Gou An suddenly asked, "After you entered the secret realm's stone chamber, there was a perfectly intact golden pill placed on the stone platform!"

"But based on my many years of experience in alchemy, a pill left out in the open cannot be preserved for very long!"

"You also said that secret realm has existed for ten thousand years, which makes it even more impossible!"

"So, does this pill really exist?"

As soon as Gou An asked this question, his eyes were immediately locked on Qingfeng Shangren's face, wanting to see how he would explain and how his expression would change.

"Yes!" Master Qingfeng nodded, "There is indeed such a golden pill. Even now, I don't know how it was preserved for so long!"

"Anyway, after I took it, it felt just like a newly made pill; there was nothing unusual about it!"

"Even now, I have never seen such a pill again, or even one similar one."