Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 157: The boast came true
When Yang Qianmin counted to nine breaths, the vortex of spiritual energy in Gong Tianwu's body suddenly exploded, transforming into countless tiny spiritual threads that penetrated deep into his limbs and bones, perfectly merging with his flesh, blood, bones, and meridians.

At this moment, he seemed to be reborn, and his body was filled with unprecedented strength and vitality.

Foundation built successfully!!
Everyone who witnessed this found it incredible, and some even couldn't believe their eyes. This foundation-building stage that had stumped Qi Refining cultivators to death and seemed as daunting as an inconceivable chasm was overcome so easily by this Senior Brother Xu?

Calculating the time, it’s less than two incense sticks!

Not only that, he also entered the Dao Xiantian and broke through the foundation without relying on any external force.

And when you climb the ladder to heaven, it takes nine breaths, which is equivalent to climbing nine stairs directly!

In all the sects, any Qi Refining disciple who can accomplish any one of these three things when he is promoted to Foundation Building will be trained as a core disciple.

Such a disciple has a high probability of being able to ascend directly to the Golden Core stage!!
With the combination of Gong Tianwu's three factors, the golden elixir would almost come naturally.

Seeing Gong Tianwu open his eyes and stand up with a smile, Liu Xun walked forward with a laugh, patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Good boy, I really didn't expect it. At that time, I thought you were just bragging about your innate Dao and breaking through the foundation building. Hey! You actually did it."

"Besides, Lao Wei and I only climbed eight stairs back then. You're better than us right from the start."

Gong Tianwu lowered his head and smiled humbly:

"That's because Master Liu and Master Wei taught me well and were very tolerant of me."

Elder Yang was standing beside him, exclaiming in amazement:

"Junior Brother Xu, your foundation building this time is almost as good as that of Uncle Yu Huanzi back then! Even if you were placed in a place like the Emei Sect, you would be directly included in the Immortal Seedling List."

Wei Liang was usually amiable and approachable, and he was as gentle as a spring breeze when dealing with people, but at this moment he turned sternly to Gong Tianwu and said:

"The road to the truth is long and arduous. Your current achievements can only be regarded as a good start. Remember to be proud and not get carried away."

After hearing this, Liu Xun glanced at Wei Liang and said:

"Why are you saying these things to him with a stern face on such a happy day?"

Wei Liang sighed and said:

"I was thinking of Senior Brother Zeng. His talent was not inferior to Tianwu back then. Seeing this child's diligence and bravery today, I couldn't help but think of Senior Brother Zeng's high spirits back then."

"If someone had given him a few words of advice at that time, he might not have died."

At this point, Wei Liang even choked up.

Liu Xun was also silent at this time. It seemed that both of them were lost in memories of the past and were quite sad.

In fact, even without the two of them saying anything, Gong Tianwu could guess that it was most likely a sad story of a former genius who fell into misery, so Gong Tianwu took the most sincere attitude to guarantee that he would not repeat the same mistake.

As the saying goes, some are happy while others are sad. Seeing Gong Tianwu greeting people with a smile, Li Zhen next to him felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

Once upon a time, he was a well-known genius, and even after entering the immortal gate, he was still valued by his teachers.

Even Li Zhen still remembered the words of hope that Master Wei patted him on the shoulder and said when he was among the top three in the entrance exam:

"Come on, the future of Baita Villa will probably depend on your generation."

However, it was not until now that Li Zhen deeply understood that there was also a gap between geniuses.

A genius like me, who works hard and racks his brains to struggle, can at best only get a fair evaluation in the eyes of his teachers.

A genius like Xu Tianwu, who can perform with ease and seemingly effortless movements, can still amaze everyone and regard him as a peerless talent!
Not only that, everyone can brag. After two glasses of wine, if there are fellow students around, Li Zhen feels that he is also a good braggart.

However, the people that Senior Brother Xu was bragging to were the head of the sect and Jing Yunzi! And he said it as if it was a matter of course without changing his expression, which was something that few people could match.

And now he can actually turn his boasting into reality, what else is there to say? The fire in Li Zhenxin's heart was completely extinguished.

Once the distance is pulled to the point where the other party is out of reach, the unbalanced mentality will naturally return to normal.

It's like if your monthly salary is 9,000 yuan higher than that of your colleague, that bitch will most likely slander you behind your back.

But if your monthly salary is 90,000 higher than his, he will be your fanboy from then on.

***
After everyone had said their goodbyes and left, the seventh sister stepped forward, bowed and said:

"Congratulations, my dear, your cultivation has reached a new level."

Looking at the sparkling eyes of the seventh sister, Gong Tianwu also smiled sincerely, because he knew that only this woman was truly on his side.

Therefore, Gong Tianwu laughed, put his arm around her shoulders and walked upwards, but he did not notice that Yang Qianmin next to him was sad and extremely heartbroken.

After returning to his residence, Gong Tianwu felt quite exhausted from his retreat and level-up, so he first had some fun with his seventh sister. After the clouds and rain stopped, the two started to chat.

In addition to his own cultivation, Gong Tianwu was most concerned about the trade route he had created himself, so he took the initiative to ask:
"How is the trade route going now? Are there any problems?"

The seventh sister smiled and said:
"Of course there is no big problem. After all, you are just in seclusion in the sect, and you have Master Wei and Master Liu to look after you."

"There are definitely a lot of small problems. It can be said that they are endless. There are employees who are greedy, people who want to take advantage of others, and people who force people to buy and sell. Since you are running a business, you will have all kinds of customers."

Gong Tianwu frowned and said:

"I get a headache when I hear you talk about these things. I didn't expect you to be able to handle them one by one, and you seem to be able to handle them with ease?"

The seventh sister smiled calmly and said:

"It wasn't that easy at the beginning, but with the help of my sisters, three heads can make a great team. If we work together, we can at least solve 80% to 90% of the problems."

"If it doesn't work, we can just compete with the other party in patience and grind slowly. Anyway, our people have the best patience."

Gong Tianwu hadn't reacted to this before he realized what was going on:

A spider weaves a web and sits there waiting for goods. It often takes a day or two for the goods to arrive. If a large quantity of goods arrives, the web will be destroyed and the web will have to be weaved again. Is it possible to do this with such poor patience?
The seventh sister continued with a smile:
"If we encounter a really difficult customer and we can't handle it well, we can just call someone else. Master Liu is very good at persuading people."

Hearing the latter sentence, Gong Tianwu burst into laughter. Master Liu was indeed very good at persuading people and liked to reason, of course, using his fist as big as a casserole.

Then the seventh sister thought for a moment and said:

"By the way, there is one more thing, it's about Wu Xiong."

Gong Tianwu frowned slightly. When he was in seclusion, the task of transporting goods was left to Wu Xiong and his brothers.

Strictly speaking, they are responsible for logistics and security. Although it may seem insignificant, it is actually very important!
Because the group that shoulders this responsibility needs both strong strength as support and reliable character as guarantee.

Without the former, it would be difficult to deliver expensive goods to their destinations across thousands of miles; without the latter, one could lose all his money at any time!
Therefore, Gong Tianwu pondered and said:

"Oh, is there something wrong?"

Of course, the seventh sister understood what "inappropriate" meant, and shook her head and said:

"No, the accounts handed over are very clear. They didn't take a cent more than they should have."

"And their entire team has grown. Although the core is still just a few of them, the number of peripheral members has increased a lot."

"It's just that the current situation of Wu Xiong and his group is a bit strange, and it is completely different from before."

Gong Tianwu spread his hands and smiled bitterly:

"You have to be more specific, otherwise it will be difficult for me to understand." Seventh Sister frowned and said:
"I've never seen such changes before, so I can't explain it to you. You'll know when you see them."

Gong Tianwu smiled and said:
"Okay, let me know the next time they deliver something."

The seventh sister nodded, then leaned into Gong Tianwu's arms, and after several seconds she said:

"My dear, your junior sister likes you very much. What do you think of her? You have to tell the truth."

Gong Tianwu immediately cried out in his heart that something was wrong. When his concubine spoke in such a resentful tone, he had better not take it seriously, especially when her race had the habit of eating their spouses after mating.
So he immediately said in astonishment:
"What? Is there anyone else who likes me besides you? How come I don't know?"

The seventh sister said softly:
"My dear, when you just came back, you praised this junior sister for her beauty, intelligence, and grace, and even asked her to demonstrate the Tianhe car to the guests. My dear, why don't you remember it?"

"Fuck, it's been so many years, how come you still remember this!"

Gong Tianwu secretly complained in his heart. Of course, with his high emotional intelligence, he would not say it out loud, but he said:
"Really? Is that true? I've completely forgotten about it."

The seventh sister said with a smile:
"Actually, I've also read a lot of books about women of your race. They all say that we shouldn't be jealous, especially concubines who need to serve the first wife well."

"If you like her, how about I propose marriage to her on your behalf?"

Gong Tianwu glanced at Seventh Sister and said firmly:

"how is this possible?"

Of course, there is actually a roar that almost came out of my mouth after this sentence:
"How could I possibly fall for this trick of yours!!"

***
Soon, the news that Gong Tianwu had successfully established his foundation spread throughout the sect like the wind.

At the beginning, many people were a little bit disdainful, thinking that it was just a foundation, as if no one had ever eaten dumplings.

But after learning the details of Gong Tianwu's foundation building, the louder the group of people sneered at the beginning, the more intense the burning sensation on their faces became.

The three records that Gong Tianwu set when he was building his foundation were like three huge mountains, weighing heavily on their hearts.

The custom in the Great Snow Mountain is that once a disciple is promoted to the foundation-building stage, the master will receive a very generous reward, and this disciple is assumed to be qualified to go out and establish his own school.

Take the eldest disciple under Elder Yang for example. After he was promoted to the foundation-building stage, he left the sect and became qualified to accept disciples. If he made contributions in the future, he could also be promoted to elder. When they met each other, they would call each other fellow Taoists.

However, Gong Tianwu still stayed in Baita Villa, and when he met Liu and Wei, he still called them "Master". This made his reputation in the sect even more famous, and everyone thought he was very humble and respectful to his teachers.

What is even more rare is that after successfully building his foundation, Gong Tianwu did not do anything else, but chose to continue his retreat, and he lived even more secludedly than before he had built his foundation.

This kind of patience and calmness makes people look up to him even more.

In a flash, another three years had passed. Gong Tianwu's nickname of "the crazy recluse" had spread like wildfire. With his current fame, the fact that he had retreated for twenty years in one breath when he first entered the sect had become a hot topic of conversation.

A full moon rises in the sky,
Gong Tianwu came out of the retreat room on time.
He usually goes out of seclusion three times a month. The time of two of the times is not very certain, but the time of going out on the evening of the fifteenth day is fixed.

At this time, the seventh sister would prepare the hot springs on time, the fire dates that Gong Tianwu liked to eat, the Qingxi wine for a sip, and the crispy and fragrant roasted inch carp.

During this period of time, Gong Tianwu was completely relaxed. He did not talk about any business matters. He only chatted with his seventh sister about gossip and interesting things.

However, this time after Gong Tianwu came out of seclusion, he saw his eldest sister, third sister, seventh sister and others who came together.

At this moment, Gong Tianwu already felt that something was wrong, as if something big was about to happen.

At this time, the eldest sister took the lead and said:
"I have been here for several years. Thanks to my brother-in-law's care, I have lived a good life here and successfully found a husband. However, something big is happening in the clan right now, so the third brother and I are here to say goodbye."

Gong Tianwu pondered and said:

"What's the big deal? I wonder if I can help?"

The eldest sister smiled and said:
"We have saved up some money over the years, so it should be enough for us to take back. If you still have any questions, I will trouble you again."

Gong Tianwu nodded and said:
"Okay, you're welcome. We're all family."

Then Gong Tianwu looked at the seventh sister:
"What about you? Are you going back with us?"

The seventh sister shook her head:
"Wherever my husband is, there I am."

The eldest sister also laughed and said:

"We're going back, so we don't need Lao Qi anymore. Besides, we're not not coming back, and we have a lot of business here that we need Lao Qi to take care of."

Gong Tianwu said:

"Okay, if you have any questions, please send a message back in time. Although I can't do anything about the monsters over there, I still have a few allies in Mujiang City. Maybe they have a solution."

The eldest sister laughed and said:

"Don't worry, I won't be polite."

At this time, the third sister suddenly said:

"By the way, as a reward for your care over the years, I will tell you a secret obtained from a private channel. According to my analysis, you will most likely be interested in this secret."

Gong Tianwu asked curiously:

"What a secret."

The third sister said:
"Come here, I will tell you only one person."

Then she pulled Gong Tianwu aside, and ignoring the murderous look in Qimei's eyes, she leaned close to his ear and said intimately:
"Yu Fei Sect was in turmoil. The original leader's family was overthrown, and the leader Jin Suanpan Xue Xiong was killed."

Gong Tianwu's expression immediately changed.

"When did this happen?"

The third sister said:
"This news came from a friend I met last night. It can be said to be quite reliable."

Gong Tianwu pondered for a moment, his mind racing.

He had already studied the leader of Yufei Sect. He found that this man was good at calculating and had strong selfish motives.

Back then, Zi Yuzi was his junior sister, and the two should have been childhood sweethearts, but in the end, Xue Xiong married the daughter of the previous leader for fame and status, so the fact that he could sit in this position was largely due to nepotism.

However, Xue Xiong's Taoist partner died early. If she had not died in an accident in public, people would have really speculated that it was Xue Xiong who did it.

Because of this, a large part of Zi Yuzi's strange temper was indulged by Xue Xiong.

Therefore, it is not surprising at all that there is internal strife in the Yuhua Sect.

Of course, the reason why Gong Tianwu usually pays attention to this place is because he is obsessed with the "Heavenly Palace Heart Sutra" in this sect!
According to Kang's analysis, although the Tiangong Heart Sutra in this sect is an incomplete version, the stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade!
If it can be obtained, it will still be of great reference value for Gong Tianwu who possesses the complete version of the True Feather Heart Sutra.

When exploring the Ningcui Secret Realm before, Gong Tianwu had planned to capture the disciples of Yufei Sect and interrogate them, but unfortunately he didn't have the chance. However, this time the internal strife in Yufei Sect was a great opportunity.

As soon as he thought of this, Gong Tianwu immediately said to his seventh sister:
"Go and collect all the information about Yufeimen immediately, at any cost."

The seventh sister first rushed over and pushed the third sister away fiercely, then went out to do her work in a huff.

(End of this chapter)