The ancestor is incompetent!

Chapter 10 Five Years
On the second day, an elder summoned him. It was Elder Gu from Lingfeng. He warned him once again that he must not mention anything about the Nine Palaces, and that the consequences would be serious if it were leaked.

Li Yuan naturally made assurances again and again, not daring to say anything more.

After he left, Elder Gu thought to himself: This disciple had broken through the mid-term bottleneck with the blessing of Fu Kong Zhenxiu a few years ago, and now he was able to escape from the ambush of the Nine Palaces. Perhaps he is somewhat extraordinary.

So, Elder Gu called a disciple and said, "Do you know Li Yuan, the deacon disciple of our Lingfeng?"

Upon hearing this, the disciple hurriedly said, "Ah? Li Yuan? I have heard of this."

"Then tell me about this person."

"This... this person has average spiritual roots and character. He was an orphan at the foot of the mountain and was brought back to the mountain to practice. He was originally an ordinary disciple. It seems that he had a funny story more than ten years ago. I heard that he was almost pierced through the throat by a mortal's sword!

Then he got lucky. His cave was located in the northwest, and he benefited from the luck of the Taoist master of Qingfeng Pavilion when he was achieving enlightenment. He broke through the middle stage and became a deacon.

However, he only passed nine floors in the Baique Tower and was the one with the worst execution ability in the sect.

And I heard that he doesn’t know any magic, not even a single medium-level spell.”

"What?" Elder Gu's eyes darkened when he heard this, and he sighed, "Is it so unbearable?"

"Exactly!"

……

On the way back to the cave, Li Yuan handed in thirty spirit stones as tribute, leaving him with only eighty-seven spirit stones.

The reason why he spent a huge sum of more than two hundred spirit stones to buy this mid-grade flying magic weapon was because he had thought it over carefully.

Top-grade magic tools are extremely precious, and ordinary ones cost four hundred spirit stones, which is beyond his ability to afford.

However, if you buy mid-quality offensive and defensive magic weapons, you will still be suppressed if you encounter multiple mid-level opponents. If you encounter late-level cultivators, your life will be even more dangerous.

Instead of doing this, it is better to buy a mid-grade magic weapon so that he can run away if he cannot defeat the enemy. An ordinary mid-stage cultivator would not be willing to spend a lot of money to buy a flying magic weapon. As long as he can run fast, even a late-stage cultivator without a better flying magic weapon may not be able to catch up with him.

If you really meet a swordsman like Elder Cui Huaiqiu, you can only accept your fate.

Li Yuan returned to his own courtyard and continued to practice.

Sit cross-legged in a quiet room, absorb spiritual energy to fill up qi and blood, and exchange spirit for blood. This is a slow and painstaking process and can only be done slowly, not quickly. Otherwise, qi and blood will flow backwards, or spirit and blood will collide, and the body will explode and die!

Therefore, everyone who can cultivate to the late stage of Qi Refining is a cultivator with a long history. At least, there has never been anyone in the Qi Ling Sect who has cultivated to the late stage within sixty years.

If it weren't for the secret of communicating with the lower Yuan, Li Yuan would still be wasting time in the early stage. He would probably be in his fifties or sixties before entering the middle stage. Even at the fastest, he would have to be one hundred and fifty or sixty years old to enter the late stage. By then, he could only wait for the end of his life.

Because there are still many difficulties to become the rumored foundation-building true cultivator, that little time is simply not enough to support him to reach that step before the end of his life.

Fortunately, he now has someone to rely on. Even though practicing the spiritual lower Yuan Zhen Jue would make it difficult for him to learn the techniques, the magic power he cultivated is mediocre, and even his control over magic tools is affected, making him the weakest cultivator at the same level.

But, it can build a foundation! There is even hope to go further!

If a mediocre person like Li Yuan can see the possibility of building a foundation, any other shortcomings will no longer be important.

The spiritual energy around the courtyard slowly approached, guided by Li Yuan's mind, entering his internal organs, and then his limbs and bones, nourishing his blood.

This speed far exceeds that of people with superior spiritual roots. As for whether there are people with inferior earth-grade spiritual roots who practice faster, only by comparing with Li Yunming can we know.

But such a speed is undoubtedly far beyond the practice progress of other disciples in the mountain sect.

The sun rises and the moon sets, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye. The branches of the osmanthus tree in the courtyard are green, the spring rain is continuous, and there is some water on the courtyard road. The ripples reflect the blue sky. The breeze blows the rain curtain, and the courtyard gate opens.

An oil-paper umbrella slowly opened, revealing a man in a green shirt under the umbrella, with a white jade pendant around his waist and a cloud crown on his head. His eyes and brows reflected the beauty of spring, and his smile warmed people's hearts.

Li Yuan walked in the rain and prepared to go on duty for general affairs. After two months of seclusion, his cultivation had improved.

Before he went out, he rarely looked in the mirror and found that his appearance had changed slightly. What was even more rare was his temperament. He no longer looked like a teenager as before, but more like a gentle young man. His temperament was like water, moist but not turbulent, like Shui Yuanchun.

Li Yuan remembered the martial arts he practiced, which was the Yuanshui method. He must have been influenced by this Yuanshui.

He felt slightly delighted in his heart, as this was a sign that his technique was becoming more profound, indicating that the blood transfusion in the body had begun to shift from the internal blood of the internal organs to the external blood. Naturally, the Yuanshui spiritual energy would unconsciously change the appearance of the practitioner.

He looked up and saw the rainy scenery in the distance. Flowers were about to bloom all over the mountains. It was really like the spring rain adding to the beauty of the flowers. He walked into the hot and dim underground fire room.

……

Spring comes and goes, and five years have passed in the blink of an eye. This year, Li Yuan is already 35 years old.

Li Yuan, who was already extremely skilled in the underground fire room, was controlling the temperature of the furnace with an ice and fire fan. The elder next to him was a Lingfeng elder who had made a breakthrough three years ago. His name was Bai Yizi and he was over 140 years old.

The old man was very kind to him and even took good care of him.

Bai Yizi cast a spell and collected a newly-made Jiamu puppet. He took a long breath and said, "Little Li, stop and rest for a while."

Li Yuan was naturally happy to take a break. He fanned out cold air to lower the furnace temperature and said with a smile, "Thank you for your understanding, Elder."

"Alas, they are all the same." Bai Yizi waved to him while sitting on a mat and asked him to come forward, saying, "I am also a cultivator without any sect or relatives. I have been toiling all my life for cultivation. Now I have finally entered the late stage, which can be regarded as fulfilling my wish.

In a few years, when I have saved enough spirit stones, I plan to return to the mountain and live out my old age as a wealthy man.

When I see you, I feel like you are very similar to me in my whole life."

Li Yuan heard this and said, "Elder, you have already reached the late stage, and you still have sixty years to go, why don't you try to break through it..."

"Haha, that's not necessary." Bai Yizi smiled bitterly and said, "When I was young, I also thought about achieving the foundation-building true cultivation one day, living to be five hundred years old, and being admired by others.

But now he discovered that the late stage of Qi Refining was a world away from the realm of true cultivation.

The realm of cultivation in ancient times was not as vague as it is today. It could be clearly distinguished after one reached the initial stage of Qi Refining.

At that time, the ancient cultivators called it the Marrow Cleansing Realm, the Blood Moving Realm, and the Bone Condensing Realm, and the Foundation Building Realm was also called the Dao Foundation.

Wash away the filth, shed the mortal blood, and solidify the immortal bones. Only after these three steps can one be considered halfway to true cultivation.

The difficulty of building a foundation. In ancient times, the world was extraordinary, so there were many Taoist ginsengs. People could visualize spiritual objects to become supernatural powers and turn them into the foundation of Taoism. From then on, they would open up the supreme road and hope for longevity. But today, rare objects in the world are rare, and Taoist ginsengs are hard to find. In addition, many Taoisms are already complete, so it is difficult to cultivate supernatural powers. Once supernatural powers fail, the laws of heaven and earth contained in the body are different from those of humans, so if they fail, they will die!
"Of all the Qi-refining monks who want to build their foundation, only one can do so!"

Even though Li Yuan had inherited some martial arts skills, his heart sank when he heard this. There is only one chance out of a hundred, could he be that one?
"I don't have so many thoughts. Maybe I also want to go down the mountain and enjoy wealth and prosperity when I reach the same age as you." He replied without any ambition.

After hearing this, Bai Yizi felt a little relieved. "You can think this way, and you know when to advance and retreat. I have a daughter, who is only in her twenties. She is of low character and spiritual roots, and has not yet married. I wonder if you..."

Li Yuan was embarrassed. It turned out that Bai Yizi wanted him to be his son-in-law!
Just at this moment, a voice came from outside the door, "Elder, this disciple is here to take turns on the chores!"

Bai Yizi smiled and said, "Little Li, think about it. There's no rush. You've been busy for two months. Go back and have a rest first."

"Yes, Elder!" Li Yuan bowed and stepped out.

He returned to his own courtyard, put the matter out of his mind in a blink of an eye, and lay down to rest for a whole day.

Li Yuanke didn't think about women, or couples supporting each other. His experience as an orphan made him realize that no one in the world could be trusted, and even his wife, who slept with him day and night, might kill him one day.

On the third day, which happened to be the first day of May, he had no choice but to get up early, put on his Taoist robe, and go to the pulpit.

A group of disciples were standing in groups of three or four. Some were sleepy, while others were resting with their eyes closed. There were no less than seventy or eighty of them.

Li Yuan stood alone in the crowd, looking at them, and couldn't help but feel that the sect had recruited too many disciples in recent years.

In the past, every three years, the population of the three states plus the population inside and outside Yunzhou City was only a dozen or so people, and no more than thirty at most.

But now, at the beginning of any month, there are so many disciples. You should know that there are still many disciples on duty who have not arrived, as well as some disciples who have been assigned to various places, and even many people who are lazy and have not come.

Even if the sect wants to expand, isn't this too fast?

Li Yuan had doubts in his mind several years ago.

"Hey, look, here comes Li Yunming!"

"The ancestor's direct disciple!"

The discussions among the crowd made everyone's attention involuntarily focus on the young man in white.

"Middle stage of Qi training!"

"What? You didn't see it wrong? How old is he? Not even thirty? He's already in the middle stage of Qi Refining?"

"Is this the terrifying speed of an earth-grade spiritual root?"

“It’s so irritating that people are so different from each other!”

The disciples were discussing non-stop in the crowd.

Li Yuan looked at the man curiously. The young man in white stood in front of everyone with one hand behind his back, ignoring everyone. He had an aura that kept people at a distance, causing several disciples who wanted to establish a relationship with him to be timid and afraid to step forward.

This young man walked slowly and unhurriedly in front of the crowd, his white clothes were whiter than snow, his eyes were bright as stars, he was a handsome and unrestrained young man of the clan, he raised his eyes and looked up at the blue sky, as bright as a jade tree in the wind.

He bowed and a cold voice rang out, like a biting snow, bringing everyone back to their senses.

"The elders are busy today, so I will do the work for them. I hope you can give me some advice."

Everyone knew that he was of noble status and had a promising future, so they would not be foolish enough to offend the person in front of them, so they all returned the gifts.

After Li Yunming performed the salute, he began to perform palm techniques. This set of Xuanqi Palms made everyone unable to take their eyes away.

Li Yuan, who was at the front of the crowd, was also concentrating on using this palm technique. He practiced it at least several times every year, and after decades of practice, he had become extremely proficient in it.

When he saw Li Yunming in front of him performing this palm technique, which was simply natural and like snow in the cold, the energy condensed into frost, his heart moved slightly, and he thought about what it would be like if this palm technique was combined with the spiritual power refined from the Lower Yuan True Art?

But there were so many people at the moment, so Li Yuan only followed everyone to complete the three moves, ending the gathering and practicing. Li Yunming bowed again and said, "My fellow disciples, I'm leaving now!"

After he finished speaking, a white mist appeared under his feet and he flew up into the sky, causing another round of discussion among the crowd.

The demeanor of dozens of disciples present was overshadowed by him alone.

Li Yuan was about to return to the courtyard, but before leaving he suddenly heard someone discussing the monthly salary, so he stopped and listened.

"Brother Wang, is what you said reliable?" a disciple asked in disbelief.

"How could it be false? I tell you, this will be announced soon. The deacon disciple is really lucky! Not only has the spiritual resources doubled, but the spiritual stones have also doubled. I really don't know what those elders are thinking?

The number of disciples in our mountain is increasing day by day. Even if we have enough spirit stones, we can't be so lavish, right?"

"What do you know? The elders stand high and see far. How can they be compared with you and me, the initial cultivators?"

Li Yuan stood aside with a heavy heart. Combining his experience from his previous life with the current situation, he felt like he was preparing for war.

There are only four major forces near the Guangyuan Mountains: the Tongshan Wang family, the Qinghe Xu family, the Qingfeng Pavilion and the Qiling Sect. The rest of the many independent cultivators make a living by hunting monsters in the mountains.

There aren't many strong enemies on all sides. If the four families want to fight, it's one against three. No one dares to act rashly. Now that the four families have related interests, they shouldn't fight each other.

There are only two possibilities for the enemies that Qi Lingmen is preparing for. The first is not human, and the second is external enemies that fall from the sky.

Obviously, if it was the second case, Qi Ling Sect would not necessarily know to prepare for war so early. So it could only be the first case!

Li Yuan was worried. If he could live peacefully for another twenty or thirty years, with the speed at which he could communicate with the Lower Yuan True Art, he would be able to reach the later stage and condense the immortal bones. Coupled with the secret technique of Shuiyunjian, he would be able to protect himself.

After returning to the cave, he came to the World of Ten Thousand Woods with a stir of his mind. Passing through the ancient stone archway, he saw eleven tall puppets standing on an empty ground, nine of which were A-wood puppets and two were B-wood puppets.

Looking at the puppets, Li Yuan felt a little relieved. With so many puppets, even an ordinary late-stage cultivator would need some effort. Even though his own strength was at the bottom among the mid-stage cultivators, with these puppets, it would naturally make a world of difference.

Over the past few years, he has become more and more proficient in refining A-wood puppets, and has also been refining B-wood puppets. Over time, he has actually refined two, but his success rate is extremely low.

This shows how advanced the Qi Ling Sect's skill inheritance is. Making a puppet is divided into dozens of steps, and each step is done by a dedicated person for a long time. As a result, practice makes perfect, and the difficulty is extremely low. Naturally, the success rate becomes higher and higher over time.

A few months later, deep and powerful bell sounds rang out from the Qi Ling Gate Mountain, shaking the clouds and spreading across the mountain gate for hundreds of miles. Birds were startled and flew into the sky, and all the disciples hurriedly stood up.

The bell rings forty-nine, it means death or impending doom!
(End of this chapter)