At the beginning, I cleaned the Sutra Library and completed the incomplete skills.

On this day, Li Lan was awakened by the melodious immortal music.

The sound seemed to come from the horizon, ethereal and pleasant to the ear.

The Dust Washing Ceremony was an extremely important day for the handyman disciples.

The same was true for Guangji Temple.

Has it finally begun?

Li Lan rubbed his sleepy eyes, a hint of unconcealable joy flashing in his pupils.

The first thing he did upon waking up was to perform internal observation.

He saw right in the center of his dantian.

A vortex of magical power, neither like cloud nor mist, was slowly rotating.

Just a while ago.

With Li Lan's unremitting efforts and the assistance of the qi refining pill, he finally successfully broke through to the Qi Refining First Level.

Of course, what truly made even the steady-minded him unable to hide his joy was.

Along with the breakthrough, he also gained an unexpected pleasant surprise.

That day, after breaking through, Li Lan went to the Scripture Pavilion again.

Originally, he wanted to review the cultivation insights left by those Seniors.

But when he inadvertently touched the cultivation technique, he was startled to find that his lifespan had changed.

It had increased from the previous remaining forty years to forty-two years!

It was obvious without thinking that this was definitely a benefit brought by breaking through the realm.

Although it only increased by a mere two years, it still made Li Lan secretly delighted.

This was enough to prove that the path he chose was correct.

As long as he continuously cultivated and broke through, he could pursue longevity and increase his lifespan.

And with lifespan, he could complete more incomplete things like cultivation techniques, pill formulas, etc., strengthening himself.

Everything would enter a virtuous cycle.

Compared to previously being subtly trapped in lifespan anxiety and unable to extricate himself, Li Lan's psychological pressure had significantly reduced at this moment.

Li Lan quickly got out of bed.

After a simple tidying up, he went out the door.

Compared to the previous few days, Guangji Temple was a bit different at this moment.

The most intuitive feeling was.

The clouds and mist in the air suddenly increased, surrounding the towering mountains and ridges, appearing dreamlike and illusory.

Those with extraordinary eyesight could see that faintly visible within the clouds and mist were many slowly moving multicolored immortal boats.

On the road leading to the Guangji Temple mountain gate, Outer Sect Disciples were everywhere maintaining order.

Compared to usual times, the mortals and cultivators here seemed to have suddenly increased several times over.

Some mortals who heard the immortal music from afar came one after another, drawn by its fame.

Many inner sect disciples and Elders who often went into seclusion and rarely showed themselves also came out to witness this grand occasion.

Following the bluestone avenue, Li Lan quickly arrived at the magnificent Grand Ceremony Square.

The surrounding jade palaces and towers were all decorated with an overwhelming immortal aura.

In the center of the square, a huge altar built of white jade stone rose from the ground.

The surface of the altar was covered with complex runes, which, under the infusion of spiritual power, flickered with a deep blue light.

On the altar, a crystal-clear, wordless stone tablet was placed.

Four incense burners were placed around the altar, and the smoke from the spiritual incense in the burners curled upwards, carrying a fragrance of anticipation, filling the entire square.

The smoke seemed to contain some mysterious power that could calm one's mind and make distracting thoughts disappear instantly.

Below the altar.

The registered handyman disciples were neatly arranged in the square, quietly waiting for the ceremony to officially begin.

At this moment.

The expressions on their faces varied.

Those who had successfully advanced to the Qi Refining First Level had expressions of awe and anticipation on their faces.

And those who had not yet broken through the Qi Refining Stage lowered their heads in inferiority.

Deep anxiety and unease were mixed in their pupils.

After verifying his identity, Li Lan also joined their ranks.

Unlike the other handyman disciples.

He didn't have much anticipation for the upcoming ceremony.

Having already experienced it once last year, Li Lan had absolutely no interest in these superficial rituals.

Compared to these, he cared more about the benefits after becoming an official Outer Sect disciple.

As long as he could successfully pass the ceremony, he could receive a disciple's stipend at Zhilv Peak every month.

For Li Lan, this was the most attractive thing.

One must know that ever since becoming a handyman in the Scripture Pavilion more than a year ago, he had always been working without pay.

Let alone spirit stones, he hadn't even received a single piece of broken copper as payment.

The subsequent cultivation path of the Qi Refining Stage was not like the Qi Refining First Level; relying solely on stubborn self-seclusion and arduous cultivation wouldn't work.

There must be the assistance of external factors to make rapid progress.

Regarding this point, Li Lan, who had personally experienced the medicinal effects of the qi refining pill, felt it especially deeply.

Thinking about various things, the cumbersome ceremony was soon completed.

On the high platforms around the altar.

After the Outer Sect Elders appeared one by one, the Dust Washing Ceremony finally entered the main part.

The handyman disciple ranked first nervously ascended the altar.

Following the instructions, he placed his hand on the stone tablet and silently injected magical power.

Soon.

The transparent stone tablet began from his palm and was gradually dyed vermilion by the magical power.

When the stone tablet was about to be dyed mostly red, like chicken-blood stone.

The handyman disciple who had exhausted his last bit of magical power had pale lips and sat down on the ground, somewhat weak.

At this moment.

An Outer Sect Elder with white temples and hair stood up, nodded with satisfaction, and said:

"Although the foundation is still a bit weak, he has at least barely reached the standard of Qi Refining First Level."

"You cultivate the Fire Spirit Guiding Origin Technique, right? Very good, from now on, you will join my Fire Spirit Peak."

Regarding this, the other Outer Sect Elders had no objections.

The affiliation of these disciples had already been assigned when registering their identity information.

Now it was just going through the motions.

"Hehe, congratulations to Fire Spirit Peak for gaining another true spiritual root disciple with three attributes."

"Given time, this child will definitely become a pillar of your Fire Spirit Peak."

An Outer Sect Elder who had a good relationship with Fire Spirit Peak immediately congratulated him.

"Alas! My true spiritual root disciple is good, but compared to their Heavenly Spiritual Root, he's a bit underwhelming!"

The Fire Spirit Peak Elder, smiling fakely, said meaningfully, his gaze sweeping towards a certain spot at the same time.

There, a stern middle-aged man was carefully sipping the hot tea in his cup.

This person was the youngest among all the Outer Sect Elders.

His posture was straight and tall, like a drawn precious sword.

His face had distinct contours like they were carved by a knife, and his sword-like eyebrows slanted into his temples, not lacking in heroic spirit.

His eyes were sharp like an eagle's, seemingly faintly revealing sword intent, making people dare not meet his gaze for too long.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on his master, the situation seemed subtly unfavorable to their side.

The thick-browed disciple and Tie Niu standing behind him both felt a bit restless.

They wished they could speak up now to remind their master.

Although Sword Chen did not turn his head, he was fully aware of the actions of his two disciples.

He slightly furrowed his sword-like eyebrows and said with a hint of dissatisfaction:

"We cultivators who wield swords must first cultivate our hearts."

"As long as the heart is steady, the hand holding the sword will never tremble."

"When the heart is chaotic, the hand trembles; when the hand trembles, the sword is no longer sharp."

"This, is it not the first time I have taught you?"

"Look at the two of you, unable to calm your hearts for so long now, what do you look like?"

"Your resolve is even weaker than your junior brother who just joined Sword Spirit Peak, truly bringing shame upon your master."

Hearing their master's reprimand, the thick-browed cultivator and Tie Niu were immediately so scared they didn't dare to breathe loudly, burying their heads deep into their chests.

Elder Jianchen gently put down his teacup, then softly said to the child beside him:

"Liu Yan, tell me, should your two Senior Brothers be punished?"

The dull-looking child did not speak.

He blinked his eyes, as if trying his best to figure out the meaning of the other person's words.