Simulation becomes reality, have I ever looked down upon the eternity?

Chapter 531 The boy has grown up; it's not a good day to go out!

Cicadas chirp and birds sing outside the window; summer is in full swing.

You stepped out of your courtyard; two years had passed, and you had finally grown taller and taken on the appearance of an adult.

[Your cultivation is now only one step away from reaching the Golden Core realm of the Great Dao.]

The Great Dao Golden Elixir requires a true understanding of the Dao path, and this is the challenge you face.

Without enlightenment, rashly advancing to the Golden Core stage of the Great Dao will only result in death and the dissipation of one's Dao.

The Heavenly Tribulation of the First Nine Heavens is a tribulation of lightning, a test of the Heavenly Dao, and the first tribulation.

Moreover, as time goes on, some powerful cultivators speculate that with the revival of the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Tribulation will only become more and more difficult, and the number of cultivators who can survive it will gradually become fixed.

Every year, countless cultivators of the Dragon Court perish during the Nine Heavenly Tribulations.

The Dragon Court realm requires mastering all five elements, effectively barring most cultivators from entering; achieving the Great Dao Golden Core stage is even more difficult.

The path to immortality is arduous, and that's no exaggeration.

[You step out of the courtyard. Things have been relatively peaceful for Xiao Qingfeng these past two years!]

[We've recruited more disciples than before; the visit of Fairy Yaotai to Little Green Peak has certainly spread our reputation.]

[You've now been a senior disciple for four years. The affairs of the Spirit Garden are no longer your responsibility. Nie Qingzhu has assigned you to manage the newly initiated disciples; in reality, you're just your superior, managing the spirit fields of Little Green Peak.]

The disciples who were originally sent to the mortuary to assist the elder have all been sent away. The elder prefers peace and quiet, and since your departure, he has not asked any disciples to go there.

[Within two years, your cultivation of the Taiyuan Yiyang Sword has made further progress, and you have finally eradicated the sword intent that had been tainted by tea poison for a hundred years from your elderly body.]

[With the sword energy gone, it was as if shackles had been removed. The old man's hunched back straightened a bit, and like a withered tree blossoming in spring, his cultivation level rose steadily over the course of a year, returning him to the Dragon Court realm.]

[After recovering his cultivation in his old age, Long Ting's two hundred years of being suppressed by sword intent can be considered a blessing in disguise. His cultivation has advanced further, and he has long been eager to spar with you.]

You had no choice but to fight him. You intended to hold back, but old age insisted on seeing through your true colors.

You held back half your strength, yet you were still defeated in one move!

[From that time onward, he never spoke of the matter of exchanging ideas again.]

You deactivated the magic circle in the courtyard and looked up.

Clouds entwine verdant peaks, mist swirls around green cliffs; as the mountain wind passes, layers of forest surge like waves rising from a blue sea—a truly beautiful sight.

Nowadays, Xiaoqingfeng exudes a sense of prosperity and vitality.

[The eldest disciple, You Sanfeng, has begun his true seclusion, striving to reach the late stage of the Dao Embryo realm in preparation for next year's Eighteen Veins Star-Picking Gathering.]

[Xiao Qingfeng is still too weak. There are very few people who can truly handle this matter. Apart from the peak master's four disciples, there is only the purple-clad girl Qi Ling, who entered the mountain sect at the same time as you.]

[Qi Ling has been living a secluded life for the past two years, rarely appearing in public, spending her days in seclusion and cultivating diligently. Yet, her reputation has already subtly surpassed that of You Sanfeng and Lü Qingyu.]

The reason is simple—a late-stage Dao Embryo cultivator at the age of fourteen, such talent is extremely rare, even in the entire Fangcun Mountain.

[The people Xiao Qingfeng sent to participate in the Eighteen Veins Star-Picking Gathering had actually been secretly chosen by Nie Qingzhu.]

Although you have now revealed a cultivation level of the mid-stage of the Solidifying Spirit realm, you are not outstanding among the novice disciples, so naturally your name is not mentioned.

If one cannot even participate in the Star-Picking Gathering, how can one possibly follow Fangcun Mountain to the legendary Heavenly Emperor's Treasury?

Moreover, one must rank highly in the Star-Picking Competition.

However, you are not in a hurry; you still have a whole year to plan.

Qi Yunfeng and Yang Chen once revealed that, in addition to cultivation and combat strength, those skilled in array formation deduction, beast taming, spirit control, and identifying immortal herbs were needed for the trip to the East Sea Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault.

After all, the treasure vault is fraught with danger. If one encounters ancient restrictions or lost secret techniques, only through the complementary strengths of different paths can one turn danger into safety.

You straightened your robes, stepped out of the courtyard, and headed towards the back of Xiaoqing Peak—Nie Qingzhu's summons today must have other arrangements.

The mountain path winds its way, and many disciples, especially the female disciples, greet you along the way.

It's not that you have any prestige in the sect, but rather that the boy you once were has grown into a handsome young man, with the bearing of a true youth.

Many female cultivators within the sect are passionately attracted to you.

[You've gone from an unknown disciple of Xiao Qingfeng to a relatively well-known senior brother.]

[Of course, it's definitely not, "Senior brother, you have exceptional talent and outstanding cultivation."]

Instead, it was, "That very handsome senior brother?"

You also feel quite helpless; the "appearance" of a product is truly beyond your control.

Sometimes, during Xiao Qingfeng's morning lessons, when you're absent-minded and "daydreaming," your fellow disciples say you're contemplating the deepest truths of cultivation.

Conversely, those junior disciples who diligently cultivated were described as "so serious, it's so boring."

[You've entered the bamboo forest of Little Green Peak quite a few times in the past two years.] [Just by looking up, you see the black, thread-like sword aura on the back mountain, noticeably stronger than before.]

Two years have passed, and this peak master has been almost entirely in seclusion.

[Sharpening their knives so fiercely, but who are they aimed at?]

What level has this peak master reached in cultivating the Seven Kill Sword Manual?

[If you were to emerge from seclusion, with your current cultivation at the peak of the Dragon Court realm, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to withstand it!]

Your eyes flickered slightly, and a clear, melodious voice rang out, tinged with a hint of coquettishness.

"Xiao Jing~ You've finally arrived!"

"It's been a month, where have you been? You haven't come looking for me at all."

The newcomer was a tall, slender young woman in a crimson robe and flowing silk dress. Her long, ink-black hair cascaded down to her waist, accentuating her breathtaking curves. She was barefoot with long legs, and a red copper coin hung from her ankle.

[She has an oval face, delicate features, and especially captivating, expressive eyes.]

The young woman is one of the peak master's four disciples, named Xiao Wan'er. She returned to the peak two years ago to prepare for the Eighteen Peaks Star-Picking Gathering.

"Senior Sister Xiao!" you greet her with a cupped-hand salute.

"I told you, don't call me Senior Sister Xiao, call me Sister Wan'er."

"He went down the mountain last month to lead his junior brothers and sisters on trials."

A barefoot girl walks in, and you catch a whiff of rouge mixed with the scent of peach blossoms. A feigned reproach graces her face, like a cat wrinkling its nose.

With a helpless expression, knowing her temperament, you realized she was unlikely to give up, so you could only say, "Sister Wan'er."

The girl seemed to melt away the spring snow in an instant; she smiled and approached you familiarly, leaning in to hold your hand.

You then felt a warm, soft sensation on your arm.

"Xiao Jing, you've worked so hard."

[Actually, your acquaintance with Xiao Wan'er was also what you consider a "ill-fated relationship."]

[In the past two years, you have led your disciples down the mountain for trials on several occasions. Once, in a large lake, you encountered a strange fish at the Heavenly Gate realm, which you killed on the spot, saving a woman in a crimson dress.]

[I never expected this!]

[When they finally carried the woman out, she had already woken up, but that didn't matter. After all, Fangcun Mountain was so vast that it was unlikely the two of them would ever meet.]

Then, on the third day, when I returned to Xiaoqing Peak to report, I happened to run into them.

This woman was none other than Xiao Wan'er.

So, after this experience, although you tried to avoid her, this Senior Sister Xiao was just too clingy.

"Sister Wan'er, it's hard to walk like this." You tried to pull your arm away.

She hugged you even tighter, saying, "What's wrong with that?" Suddenly, she tiptoed and whispered in your ear, "Last time at the bottom of the lake, you lifted me up completely." Her warm breath brushed against your neck.

Just as they were feeling helpless, the bamboo forest suddenly rustled.

"Xiao Wan'er, what are you doing!"

A woman's voice rang out from behind the bamboo grove, "Xiao Wan'er, aren't you ashamed?"

Xiao Wan'er scoffed, showing no fear whatsoever. "Who do I think it is? I thought it was the Peak Master herself issuing orders."

"Lu Qingyu, who do you think you are? What right do you have to tell me what to do?"

[Lü Qingyu strode out, saying, "I told you to release Junior Brother Zhou."]

"I won't."

The barefoot girl clung even tighter, and you felt your arms sink into something warm and soft. Her delicate body wrapped around you like vines, and the peach scent in her hair grew even stronger.

In an instant, a sense of desolation filled the bamboo forest.

[The cultivation level of the young girl in green, Lü Qingyu, began to rise. The pressure of her mid-stage Dao Embryo realm caused bamboo leaves to flutter and fall like a torrential rain pounding on banana leaves.]

Barefoot, Xiao Wan'er refused to yield an inch, her cultivation advancing to the mid-stage of the Dao Embryo realm.

[A tit-for-tat response, refusing to yield an inch.]

You put your hand to your forehead; you didn't consult a fortune teller before leaving home today!

It is not advisable to go out today.

P.S.: There will be another chapter tonight!
(End of this chapter)