This cultivation world was never serious from the start.

After a day of cultivation, Su Zhe breathed a long sigh of relief.

Thanks to the "fighting" between the paper figures, he is able to adjust his posture according to the impact of the waterfall.

In the end, he even meditated under the waterfall for a full fifteen minutes—that is, a quarter of an hour!

After returning to their residence on the main peak, Mingxi led Su Zhe into the main hall.

This place had been conspicuously converted into a mourning hall, with eternal lamps burning and several wreaths placed beside them. A larger portrait of the deceased was placed in the center, and below it was an altar for offerings, on which were placed offerings such as chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Next to the portrait were two lines of large characters:

[His voice and appearance remain vivid, protecting the Tianwen Sect and bringing it ever greater prosperity.]

May your smile remain forever, and may the Eighth Elder remain beautiful and charming.

The horizontal scroll reads: "Good riddance."

Su Zhe's eyes widened, and he quickly got into character, squeezing out a few tears. "Master...the body has been found?"

"What corpse?" Mingxi looked at Su Zhe, puzzled.

"But the portrait and the funeral couplets in the mourning hall..." Su Zhe covered his eyes with one hand and pointed to the wreaths on both sides with the other.

"It was arranged by the Eighth Elder. He said it was so that the fellow disciples could rehearse in advance, in case Master really died one day, they wouldn't have to spend time arranging it anymore."

Mingxi said calmly.

Su Zhe's tears dried instantly. No wonder he always felt that something was off about the funeral procession. It turned out that the producer had tucked in his own agenda.

"Go, light two incense sticks for Master." Mingxi produced two incense sticks from somewhere and handed them to Su Zhe.

Su Zhe, still groggy, took the incense. "Didn't they say Master wasn't dead?"

"At the highest level of cultivation, even the thoughts of ordinary people can be felt by the person who is practicing the art. If you offer incense to your master here, he will sense it even if he is millions of miles away, and may guide him back."

Mingxi said calmly.

At first, Su Zhe was impressed by the world of cultivation, but the more he listened, the more something seemed off. Was this really not a summoning of spirits?

After placing the incense sticks in the incense burner, Su Zhe earnestly prayed before the portrait, "Master, your disciple Su Zhe was accepted as a disciple by Senior Sister Mingxi on behalf of Master. I am twenty years old, unmarried and childless..."

"Alright, that's enough. Master is over three thousand years old and still doesn't have a Daoist partner." Mingxi calmly interrupted Su Zhe.

After leaving the "funeral hall," there was no medicinal bath today, which is unusual.

"Get some rest tonight, and continue your cultivation tomorrow," Mingxi said before turning and leaving.

Su Zhe returned to his usual cabin, lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. He was so tired that he didn't even have the energy to think wildly, and then he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Su Zhe was awakened by hearty laughter.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw an old acquaintance.

Both Chen Feng and Zhang Haizhu had broad smiles on their faces, but Chen Feng's smile was hearty and generous, while Zhang Haizhu's smile was slightly lewd, as if he would lie on the ground and reach out his hand at any moment.

"Why are you here?" Su Zhe asked, somewhat excitedly.

After only half a month of learning, seeing familiar faces again was a pleasant surprise.

"We've already broken through to the Qi Refining realm, so we came to see you," Chen Feng said with a smile.

  

He changed into a blue robe, and the longsword on his back also became a fine steel longsword. It was a gift from the Third Elder. It wasn't some peerless divine weapon, but it suited his current level of cultivation perfectly.

"Yes, I've broken through too!" Zhang Haizhu said proudly, his head held high.

Su Zhe looked on with envy. During the two weeks he was beaten, both of his friends had actually made breakthroughs.

"Then you must have learned magic, right?" Su Zhe's eyes lit up.

"I've learned some," Chen Feng nodded.

He reached out and hooked the long sword behind him, which changed shape as he flicked his finger, finally coming to a steady stop beside Chen Feng.

"This is the Sword Control Technique," Chen Feng said.

Su Zhe looked at Zhang Haizhu, but Zhang Haizhu's smile faded, and he became somewhat awkward.

"Old Biden, it's your turn to demonstrate," Su Zhe urged.

Zhang Haizhu hesitated, but seeing Chen Feng and Su Zhe's urging gazes, he finally made a decision against his own will: "I can demonstrate, but don't laugh at me."

"Don't worry, the three of us are destined to meet, how could we possibly laugh at you?" Su Zhe patted his chest to assure him.

Zhang Haizhu gritted his teeth and used the magic he had learned.

"Minor Cloud Rain Technique!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a light drizzle began to fall within a three-zhang radius of the three of them.

Before Su Zhe could even express his feelings, he saw Zhang Haizhu lying down slowly, clutching his knee in pain.

"My pineapple cap..." Zhang Haizhu cried out in pain.

Su Zhe then realized that this guy had rheumatoid arthritis!

Rheumatism and bone disease is a top-grade water elemental root, allowing the user to cultivate water-based magic. However, Rheumatism and bone disease also cause leg pain when exposed to moisture, and this user can only cultivate water-based magic...

It's a dead loop!

Chen Feng quickly pulled Zhang Haizhu out of the range of the Minor Cloud Rain Technique, and Zhang Haizhu finally recovered a little.

"How was it? Not bad, right?" Zhang Haizhu asked with a grin.

Su Zhe and Chen Feng exchanged a glance and nodded in tacit agreement.

They had never seen a spell that killed zero enemies but caused them to lose ten thousand of their own.

"By the way, Brother Su, how is your cultivation progressing?" Chen Feng suddenly asked.

"Me? Hahaha, I'm almost at the Qi Refining stage." Su Zhe said somewhat guiltily.

The three of them entered the school at the same time, and he was left behind, which was somewhat embarrassing.

"Excellent! Every year, a month after the new disciples enter the sect, there's a private competition to determine who is the strongest genius of that year. This year there are thirteen people, and with the talent of us brothers... the three of us are definitely capable of taking the top two spots!"

Chen Feng clapped his hands in admiration, his face filled with longing.

Su Zhe was shocked.

What? There's even a grand competition!

Seeing Su Zhe's shocked expression, Chen Feng was bewildered. "Didn't your master tell you?"

Su Zhe fell silent upon hearing this.

He also longed to see his master, but his master never appeared in his dreams, so the two of them had never met.

"It's alright, my master said it's just a bunch of weaklings fighting each other, don't worry," Zhang Haizhu reassured him.

Su Zhe nodded. After seeing off his two old friends, Su Zhe felt heavy-hearted and went to the waterfall to continue his arduous cultivation.

Perhaps spurred on by his two old friends, Su Zhe sat under the waterfall for a full hour this time!

The rushing water swept down like a giant python coiling around Su Zhe's body, constantly putting immense pressure on him.

This pressure was transmitted through the body, silently squeezing every cell in Su Zhe's body. When squeezed to the extreme, the cells expanded and frantically devoured all the energy around them!

At that moment, Su Zhe finally caught sight of that special thing in the air!

Sweet! Delicious!

Every cell in my body is cheering and craving this kind of nourishing food!

Su Zhe knew that this was the legendary spiritual energy!

Next, as long as you actively absorb this spiritual energy and integrate it into your dantian, you will have successfully completed the Qi Refining process!