Cultivation begins with planting techniques

The steward of the medicine hall suddenly changed color and looked into the distance.

Everyone else was now observing his movements, and naturally, they subconsciously looked over as well.

It turned out that the valley where Li Ye was located was actually the place I was looking at.

Suddenly, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth changed, gradually gathering into a small vortex of spiritual energy.

It was faintly visible in the sky above the valley, yet it attracted the attention of everyone present.

They found it strange that Li Ye hadn't appeared, but since this steward had arrived in a hurry and Steward Pan wasn't there, they all had to go forward to pay their respects, so naturally no one went to call Li Ye.

Upon seeing this strange phenomenon in the valley, the Lingnong disciples were immediately stunned.

"This……"

Xia Fansong stared blankly, muttering to himself, "Could this be a breakthrough phenomenon?"

Who is in that valley?

The steward of the Pill Hall glanced at the several shocked spiritual farmers in front of him and asked Xia Fansong, who was at the front.

Even though they were captivated by the extraordinary phenomenon, they dared not dwell on it too much in front of the true innate deacons.

Xia Fansong snapped out of his daze and quickly bowed, replying, "Reporting to the steward, the person in the valley is Li Ye, a fellow Lingnong disciple like us!"

“Li Ye…a disciple of Lingnong…”

The deacon's eyes flickered with surprise.

He didn't seem to have seen any spirit farmers on the verge of breakthrough during his last visit. Where did this Li Ye come from?

They had all cultivated to the ninth level of the Gathering Yuan Realm and were qualified to break through, yet they were not even slightly famous among the disciples!

He ignored the Lingnong disciples and had no intention of waiting for Old Man Pan to come out of his cave.

With a flash of spiritual light, he flew towards the vortex of spiritual energy.

Seeing him leave, the remaining Lingnong disciples looked at each other, exchanging bewildered glances. It was the younger Lao Chunhe who spoke first.

"Why don't we go and take a look as well?"

"If it really is Senior Brother Li... cough, I can congratulate him on breaking through to the Innate Realm right away!"

"Junior Brother Lao is absolutely right!"

Xia Fansong nodded in agreement.

Without saying much, they set off first.

The others echoed in agreement, their steps quickening as they each displayed their skills and headed towards the valley.

………………

"The strange phenomenon has stabilized, and a faint aura of malevolence is emerging... His breakthrough is now complete!"

We entered the valley and landed outside the woods.

Although it was strange that such a large forest had appeared in this herb garden, Lian Yang's attention was now more drawn to the person who had broken through.

His condition was so stable, and the whole process was without any setbacks, which was much better than when he broke through back then.

I wonder just how profound this junior brother's foundation truly is!

I never expected that a routine task of collecting medicinal herbs would lead to such an interesting encounter.

It's been so many years! He can hardly remember when the last person to break through in the Spirit Herb Garden appeared!
Perhaps because it went so smoothly, not long after he arrived, the vortex of spiritual energy gradually faded away and was completely absorbed into the treehouse on the mountaintop.

At this point, the group of Lingnong disciples finally arrived, panting heavily. As before, Lian Yang ignored them, letting them keep their distance and wait for the outcome while gazing at the treehouse in the mountains.

It didn't take long.

The treehouse suddenly opened, and a handsome young man, whose aura was like that of a tree growing vigorously, yet whose every branch and leaf exuded sharpness, stepped out.

His gaze swept across the crowd outside the forest with his divine sense, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Immediately, a pure azure light enveloped him, and he landed in front of the group.

"Hahaha! It's been a long time since I've seen a disciple from the Spirit Herb Garden break through to the Innate Realm. I am Lian Yang, congratulations on your successful advancement, Junior Brother!"

Lian Yang immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and smiled.

While bowing, Lian Yang looked at Li Ye's youthful face, which appeared to be at most twenty years old, and his surprise deepened.

At such close range, and given that Li Ye had just broken through, his aura and magical power were still somewhat exposed and could not be completely contained. However, at a glance, he could tell that Li Ye's technique was the common Green Wood Sword Technique from the sect.

Although the Green Wood Sword Technique is a wood-element technique, it is still a sword technique and does not have the profound methods of the Longevity Sword Technique. Therefore, it is not as effective as other wood-element techniques for maintaining youth and health.

Compared to other cultivation methods, it's barely better than nothing.

This junior brother is so young, he is very likely his actual age!
A Xiantian level cultivator in their early twenties is considered a true genius disciple even within the Heavenly Sword Sect...

Previously, Li Ye was just a spirit farmer who spent his days in the fields dealing with spiritual plants?!

Is this some kind of joke?

Although Li Ye looked puzzled, he remained polite and quickly returned the greeting:
"My name is Li Ye. I greet Senior Brother Lian Yang!"

At that moment, a group of Lingnong disciples who had rushed over also bowed and offered their congratulations.

"We congratulate Martial Uncle Li on reaching the Innate Realm!"

Even though they managed to force a smile and many of them looked excited, it all felt somewhat unreal.

How come they remember that not long ago this Master Li... was only at the eighth level of the Gathering Yuan Realm, how come he has advanced to the Innate Realm in the blink of an eye?
Isn't this a bit too rapid?

Then look at themselves. Li Ye has only been in the Spirit Herb Garden for six or seven years, and he has already achieved the Innate Realm, while most of them have only made some progress.

Such a disparity is utterly disheartening!
"Thank you all!" Li Ye smiled and cupped his hands in thanks.

As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily swept around, as if he hadn't seen the figure he expected.

He asked, puzzled:

"Where is Deacon Pan? My successful breakthrough this time is entirely due to Deacon Pan's support, which has made my cultivation journey so smooth. I am eager to express my gratitude in person!"

"It's really strange!"

Lian Yang continued, "To be honest, Junior Brother, I came here today to collect the spiritual plants as usual, but Senior Brother Pan, who is always punctual, is nowhere to be found. I knocked on the door outside the cave but there was no response. I wonder what is going on with him!"

"Is that so?"

Li Ye's expression changed slightly. "I remember that after Deacon Pan came to entrust me with some cultivation items, I haven't seen him since. I just assumed that he had gone into seclusion or had gone out on business..."

"But they haven't shown up even at this point. Could something have happened?"

His words caused Lian Yang's expression to change slightly.

Recently, there has been increasing friction between the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Netherworld Sect. If they happen to meet, a fight is bound to break out, and the two sides have formed many blood feuds.

If Old Man Pan truly entrusted his cultivation resources to Li Ye in this way, and then left the sect without leaving any trace...

There's a real possibility that he's already perished at the hands of the Netherworld Sect disciples! (End of Chapter)