35-46

Chapter 35 - Back Mountain

More than 40 inner disciples stood inside the hall. There were disciples of black, white, and red rank, but no purple. All of these disciples had serious expressions. Among them, Wang Lin could see many faces that he knew, like Wang Zhuo, the girl named Xu, the girl name Zhou, apprentice-brother Zhang, and such.

Right in front of them sat two rows of more than 10 elders, all with cold expressions. Right in the middle sat a person, about 40 years old, wearing a blue gown, with eyes like lightning. He said, "Junior brother Sun, this is your disciple?"

Sun Dazhu quickly put up a smiling face and said, "Elder apprentice-brother, this is my disciple, Wang Lin. He entered the sect late, so he doesn't know the meaning behind the bell ringing 5 times."

A red faced man sitting on the right sneered, "The disciple is really like his master. He's kinda dumb, just like you were back then."

A man on his side laughed. "Apprentice-brother isn't correct. Junior brother Sun at least had some talent, so he was much stronger than his disciple."

Sun Dazhu's face changed between red and white for a while. He gave Wang Lin a hard look. He snorted and ignored Wang Lin and went to sit down.

The man in the blue gown frowned. He looked at Wang Lin one more time before forgetting about him and said, "As said before, these 4 years of intense training must provide results. We must win in the competition against Xuan Dao Zong. Starting today, you will be entering the back mountain. Everyone will be provided with their own cultivation place. This time, the sect will provide 10,000 qi gathering pills for you all to use. None of you may leave the mountain during this time."

All of the inner disciples replied in unison.

The man in the blue gown nodded and continued to say, "I hope that in four years, one of you will become a purple clothed disciple. Purple clothed disciple means a core disciple far more important than inner disciples. Forget it, experience it for yourself. Now, all of you, go to the back mountain and someone will lead to you the cultivation ground."

After he finished speaking, he waved his sleeves and a white light shot out from them. After circling the hall once, he growled, "Open!"

The white light suddenly expanded and soon engulfed all of the inner disciples.

"Go!" Following the growl from the man in the blue gown, the white light sparkled and disappeared from the main hall.

Wang Lin felt a warm sensation in his body. After the blink of an eye, he found himself inside a valley. This place had much more spiritual energy than the other places. Sounds of water could be heard from all sides. He scanned the area and found the other inner disciples chatting with each other.

This valley had no plants. It was a cliff with many holes carved into it, like a bee hive. Some of the holes were sealed with giant rocks.

Suddenly Wang Lin noticed that someone was watching him. He turned around and saw Wang Zhuo smiling at him coldly.

At that moment, a youth came out from one of the holes in the cliff. He was wearing purple clothes and coldly looked at everyone. He said, "Fellow apprentice-brothers and sisters, this is the back mountains of the Heng Yue Sect. As for back mountain, it's not really the back of the Heng Yue Sect, but a cultivation ground for inner disciples built by several Soul Transformation stage experts 500 years ago. This place has much thicker spiritual energy than normal. Since you are here, you must concentrate on cultivating, or else don't blame us seniors for kicking you out of the back mountain."

Wang Lin recognized this purple clothed youth. He was the person that bought Wang Lin's spiritual energy liquid . It was rumored that he was already at the 6th layer of Qi Condensation and that he was very unpredictable.

Wang Lin lowered his head. This kind of scheming he understood well because he put him into a dangerous situation before.

"I have the chants for the 7th layer and below. If you reach that level, but don't have the chant, come to me. Once I check you, I'll give it to you. As for where you will be practicing, any one of these caves that isn't sealed can be chosen. Here are bottles of Qi Gathering pills. Each bottle contains 50 pills and will be refilled once a year." After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and 50 white bottles appeared on the ground.

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Some of the inner disciples stepped forward and took a bottle, then started to look for the entrance to the cultivation area.

Wang Lin took a deep breath. Because he took a disguise pill back then, that person didn't know his identity, so he went up and took a bottle. Zhang Kuang stood at the side, looking at the inner disciples take the bottles one by one, when he suddenly saw Wang Lin. He had a strange look on his face and said, "Whats your name? How come you haven't even reached the first layer of Qi Condensation? Who is your master?" [E/N: Apparently, his name changed from Can Jie to Zhang Kuang. Whatever.]

Wang Lin stopped and turned around. He respectfully said, "Senior brother, my name is Wang Lin. My master is Sun Dazhu. My talent is lacking, that's why I haven't reached the first layer yet."

Zhang Kuang was stunned. He smiled. "You are Wang Lin? I heard about you before. Although talent is important, perseverance is also key. Since your talent is lacking, you must work even harder!"

Wang Lin quickly promised.

"This cliff is too high for you since you're not even at the first layer. I'll give you a lift." Zhang Kuang waved his sleeves. An invisible force appeared under Wang Lin's feet and pushed him until he was in front of a cave.

Wang Lin respectfully thanked Zhang Kuang. After he turned around and entered the cave, his face quickly darkened. If he hadn't met this apprentice-brother before, he would have been thankful, but after seeing his true nature, he would, of course, not take this small favor to heart.

The cave wasn't large. There was only a stone bed and a lever on the wall. Wang Lin walked over and pulled the lever. Suddenly, a roaring sound could be heard as a giant rock fell down and completely sealed the cave.

After carefully examining the cave again and finding nothing wrong, Wang Lin was very satisfied with the place. When he looked for Sun Dazhu, he wanted to look for a place to cultivate outside of the sect. Although he was rejected, the current situation lead him to a place that was pretty close to his original plans.

The only downside was that there was no source of water inside the cave. Wang Lin's cultivation mainly relied on the spiritual energy liquid. But in his bag of holding, he had collected a lot of snow water, so it should be enough for him to use for a while.

He also heard sounds of water inside the valley. As long as he was a bit cautious, water shouldn't be an issue.

Chapter 36 - Quarrel

After thinking about it, he took out the mysterious bead and started his first closed door training.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, 2 years had passed. During those two years, Wang Lin was either cultivating or practicing his attraction technique, but he didn't feel lonely at all.

Even though it had been two years in the real world, in reality, he had been in closed door training for 13 years.

The spiritual energy here was very rich. He was very impressed. Although it couldn't compare to the spiritual energy liquid, whenever he was waiting in the real world, he found the spiritual energy to be at least twice as dense as it was outside of the back mountains.

Starting from the second layer, his cultivation became very slow. After cultivating in the dream space for more than 6 years, he reached the limit of the second layer. He then started to tackle breaking into the third layer. After countless tries, he finally broke through.

But what was causing him confusion and distress was that in the 7 years after, even though he had already reached the peak of the 3rd layer, he couldn't enter the 4th layer, no matter how hard he tried. It was not that he lacked spiritual energy. He felt a mysterious force stopping him every time he reached the critical point.

And this 3rd layer of Qi Condensation was also weird. It was unlike the 1st or 2nd layer, where once he reached the peak, he couldn't condense any more spiritual energy.

Although Wang Lin felt that he had reached the limit, the 3rd layer didn't seem to have a limit. If he continued to cultivate, his spiritual energy would continue to increase and keep transforming his body.

This caused Wang Lin to be very surprised, but no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't find an answer.

Today, all of the snow water had been used up. He only had one gourd of spiritual energy liquid left. That gourd had been with him for a long time. It was one of the three that Wang Lin buried in the mountains. He used two of them to make the 10th cloud appear on the bead, and considering that he almost died the last time he took a gulp of it, he had been very wary of it and kept it in his bag of holding.

After a bit of hesitation, Wang Lin didn't take out that gourd. Based on his calculations, the amount of spiritual energy in that gourd had already reached a terrifying state. He could always use it once he reached a higher level of Qi Condensation.

He stood up and stretched his body. He walked to the lever and pulled. With a roar, the stone door opened. Sunlight poured into the cave and blinded Wang Lin. After he got used to the light, he came out of the cave and took a deep breath.

Looking down, there were a lot of people chatting in the valley. It seemed that a lot of these people found cultivation dull and came to socialize.

After pondering a little, he activated the technique to hide his cultivation level to the first layer of Qi Condensation. He waved his sleeves and jumped forward. His body slowly floated down to the ground.

In the 13 years that he had spent in the dream space, he had completely mastered the attraction technique. He didn't even need to say the chant anymore, he only needed to will it to use it.

Like now, he was using the attraction technique on his body. Although it could be said that once the attraction technique reached a certain level, it was doable, that was only when one moved slowly. The moment it speeds up, it becomes difficult.

But Wang Lin felt so confident now, that even if he needed to fly quickly, he wouldn't lose control. Without more than 10 years of practicing the attraction technique, this would be impossible.

But who had the time to waste on practicing for 10 years on this low level technique? All of cultivators were racing against time. If they had the time, why not practice some higher level techniques?

In order to not attract attention, Wang Lin slowly landed in the valley. Right as he landed, he could hear the sound of ridicule. "The sun really came out from the west side. Even the trash, Wang Lin, has reached the first layer of Qi Condensation and can finally come down from the cliff without help."

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Wang Lin turned his head. He indifferently looked at Wang Zhuo. There were also a few people sitting next to him. They were all inner disciples.

A 24 to 25 year old white clothed youth laughed. "Wang Lin, you shouldn't be here. You should be mixed with those honorary disciples back in the chore house. At least there, you can feel high and mighty, but here, you are the worst of all of us."

Wang Lin scanned with his divine sense. Wang Zhuo was the same as him, reaching the peak of the third layer, and the white clothed youth had reached the peak of the 4th layer. He could break through it at any time.

Wang Zhuo proudly said, "Wang Lin, you sure were smart 2 years ago. You knew you weren't my match, so you just gave up. But let me tell you, trash will always be trash. You will never match up to me. I was the top newcomer two years ago, what are you?"

The white clothed youth beside him laughed. "Junior brother, go fetch me some water from the river there. Your senior brother is feeling good, so I might give you some pointers." As he was speaking, he threw a bottle. It landed at Wang Lin's feet.

Wang Lin remained silent and looked at the white clothed youth.

The white clothed youth said, with a dismissive look, "What does this mean? You want to fight? Let me tell you, second apprentice-brother already said that inner disciples can't fight with each other. If you don't act properly, don't blame me for teaching you a lesson."

"That's enough. All of you shut up!" A shout came from the cliff. Soon, a shadow appeared like lightning, revealing apprentice-brother Zhang's shadow. He frowned and looked at everyone and growled, "Wang Zhuo, Sun Hao, the two of your aren't cultivating, but are here bullying a junior who is only at the first layer of Qi Condensation. Is this really that interesting?"

The two's expression quickly changed. They quickly shot Wang Lin ugly looks and lightly snorted. Afterwards, they didn't say any more. They clearly feared marital brother Zhang.

Apprentice-brother Zhang's gaze turned to Wang Lin and equally harshly said, "Wang Lin, you really shouldn't have come, but since you're here, you should properly cultivate. In the world of cultivation, power is everything."

Wang Lin nodded. He hesitated a bit and asked, "Apprentice-brother Zhang, I have a question. After reaching the peak of the first layer of Qi Condensation, why, no matter what I do, can't I break into the second layer?"

Wang Zhuo snorted and said, "With your talent, don't even think about reaching the second layer in your lifetime!"

Chapter 37 - Four Years

Apprentice-brother Zhang gave Wang Zhuo a cold look and said, "The key to breaking through really does have a lot to do with your talent. Some people only need a few attempts to succeed, while others need hundreds or thousands of years or never even break through in their life."

Wang Lin revealed a melancholy expression and suddenly asked, "Apprentice-brother Zhang, is breaking through every layer this difficult? Is breaking from the 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th as hard?"

Apprentice-brother Zhang nodded, "Yes. The later the stage, the harder it is especially, the 3rd to 4th and 5th to 6th layer."

Apprentice-brother Zhang's answer also attracted a few other disciples. A female disciple suddenly asked, "Apprentice-brother, what is so difficult about going from the 3rd to 4th layer? I'm currently in the 3rd layer."

Wang Lin knew the person that talked. It was the girl named Zhou that Wang Huo was pursuing.

Apprentice-brother Zhang pondered a while and said, "Fine. Just today, I'll tell you guys about the two bottlenecks you will face below the 6th layer of Qi Condensation. The first bottleneck is from the 3rd to 4th layer. For some people, it's very easy, but for others, it's something they might never get past in their entire life. The key has nothing to do with talent, but in one's ability to understand the meaning behind the phrase "the road is merciless"."

He gave everyone a thoughtful look and continued, "Immortals need to cut away their mortal ties. If you can do it, then the 3rd to 4th layer is easy, if not, then it becomes hard. As for the bottleneck at the 5th to 6th layer, that is a change in the quality of spiritual energy in your body. spiritual energy slowly changes your body, and at that point, it starts making deeper changes. This requires a large amount of spiritual energy, so it became a bottleneck that blocks a lot of people.

After Wang Lin finished listening, he was stunned and silently pondered.

The other inner disciples all had different expressions and continued to ask questions. It wasn't until it became dark that everyone dispersed.

Wang Lin wandered into the valley, following the sound of water, frowning. Soon, a lake appeared before him.

A faint scent of spiritual energy was emitted from the water. Wang Lin went and drank some of the water. Although it couldn't match the spiritual energy liquid, it still contained enough to help increase his spiritual energy.

So he took out gourds and filled them with water, one by one. After a long time, he finally filled all of the gourds and turned around. His pupils immediately shrank as he saw second apprentice-brother standing a distance away, behind him, like a ghost. When he was filling the water he was constantly scanning the area with this divine sense, but didn't find anything. However, it seemed that Apprentice-brother Zhang had been there for a long time. Wang Lin's heart sank.

Zhang Kuang's eyes lit up and said, "Brother Wang, the river does contain a lot of spiritual energy, and is good for your cultivation, but I see you have a lot of gourds prepared already. Did you already know you would need them before you came here?"

Wang Lin put away his things without any change in his expression and said, "Master had previously informed me that the river would help my cultivation, so disciple has prepared a lot."

Zhang Kuang stared at Wang Lin for a while and said, "It's normal for Sun Dazhu to know this. You should go back and practice. To be able to reach the first layer in only two short years, it seems junior brother is really determined. That's good. I hope that when I seen you again, you will be at the second layer."

Wang Lin clasped his hands and left. Only after he returned to his cave did he finally relax a bit. His clothes were soaked in sweat. Good thing he trained himself to constantly use the technique to hide his cultivation level, otherwise, if Zhang knew that he had already reached the 3rd layer, he would definitely become suspicious. If Zhang tried to kill him, he wouldn't have the power to fight back.

Wang Lin quietly reminded himself, "Immortals are the same as mortals. There are many different types. In fact, the immortals are much more cruel than mortals, so I must not let anyone know I have this mysterious bead."

After pulling the lever to seal the cave again, Wang Lin sat down crossed legged and started to cultivate again.

The principle of cutting off all mortal desires and ties was to prevent these things from distracting them from their cultivation, but after entering the Heng Yue Sect, Wang Lin found that most of the immortals not only do not cut themselves off from their desires, but become even worse.

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As a result, the term "cut off mortal desires" was a very vague expression, but according to Brother Zhang, it was the key to go from the 3rd to 4th layer, which seemed to be a contradiction.

After being puzzled for a long time and still not finding any clues, Wang Lin knew that he could never cut the ties with his family. The lucky part was that the 3rd layer wasn't like the first two layers. Even though he couldn't break through, his spiritual energy still increased. In the end, he gave up trying to break through the to the 4th layer quickly and just kept building his spiritual energy up.

Time quickly passed. One year, two years. Without knowing, two more years had passed. Wang Lin had been in closed door training for 4 years now. He only left the cave once more to refill with water to make into spiritual energy water for this cultivation.

Four years in the real world resulted in 25 years in the dream space. Including the time from before the closed door training, Wang Lin had been cultivating for 27 or 28 years already.

His Qi Condensation level was still stuck at the 3rd layer, but the amount of spiritual energy in his body was still increasing.

It was the last day of the 4 years of intense training. Outside, an arrogant voice shouted, "Fellow apprentice-brothers and sisters, the 4 years are up. Come out quickly. The head is here, preparing to send you all back."

All of the caves on the cliff opened up. The inner disciples made their way out from them one by one.

Wang Lin felt, with this divine sense, that these 40 plus people all had great harvests while training here in the past 4 years.

Wang Zhuo had already reached the peak of the 5th layer and was ready to break into the 6th layer. There were many others in the same situation. Everyone's cultivation had increased a lot.

The girl named Xu was at the 3rd layer, and as for brother Zhang, he was already at the 6th layer!

He vaguely felt that his cultivation was different from everyone else's. Just now, when he used his divine sense to scan everyone, it seemed as if no one else noticed.

The girl named Zhou had already said that she reached the 3rd layer two years ago, but under Wang Lin's scan, he observed that she was still at the 3rd layer, with no growth at all.

Wang Lin had a guess. It seemed others' 3rd layer weren't like his, without a limit.

Chapter 38 - Light Speck

After analysing the situation in great detail, he felt that this had something to do with him cultivating in the dream space. He had experienced many of the bead's mysteries in these past 4 years.

When cultivating in the dream space, he could feel that those glowing orbs released a light that got absorbed by his body.

As for those glowing orbs, he had analysed them for a while, but still hadn't found their exact use.

Wang Lin no longer used the technique to conceal his cultivation level, as 4 years of cultivation in a place like the back mountains was a good enough reason to explain it all.

No one else knew that 20 years ago, in dream space time, he had already reached the 3rd layer.

Also, for the past 20 plus years, he had been constantly practicing his attraction technique and it had reached a terrifying level.

In fact, no one in the country of Zhao would spend 20 years practicing such a basic technique.

Suddenly, a white light appeared silently from the sky and covered everyone. The warm feeling came again, but this time, Wang Lin noticed a difference.

There were faint flashes of strange symbols in the light. The symbols came together to form a whirlpool that quickly pulled everyone in, and they disappeared from the valley.

When they reappeared, they were in the main hall. The sect head sat there, still wearing the blue gown. Next to him sat several elders.

In the moment, several powerful divine senses scanned them. The sect head smiled. He nodded and said, "For years have passed and I'm very pleased that all of you have made considerable progress. Very good. Now, all disciples that reached 5th layer or higher, stay. The rest of you, go and tell your masters of your harvest in these 4 years. In three days, Xuan Dao Zong will be here. This time, we must win. As for the changes in clothes, it will all be done after the competition with them."

The people all replied in unison. All of the disciples below the 5th layer left. Wang Lin looked around and didn't see Sun Dazhu.

After leaving the hall, Wang Lin made his way to Sun Dazhu's herb garden. He sent out his divine sense and found that the seal on the gate didn't stop him at all, so his divine sense went into the garden and he found Sun Dazhu there, cultivating. Sun Dazhu didn't notice his divine sense at all.

This seal that terrified him before now seemed to be filled with flaws. He now felt that if he wanted to break this seal, he could easily do so.

Wang Lin withdrew his divine sense and respectfully called out, "Disciple Wang Lin is here to greet the master."

After Sun Dazhu heard this, he hesitated for a while. After thinking for a long time, he somewhat remembered that he had accepted a disciple called Wang Lin 4 years ago. Then, he sent Wang Lin to the intense training. He was not sure if that trash had made any improvements.

Due to his curiosity, he opened the gate to the garden and arrogantly said, "Come in then."

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Wang Lin walked in. Sun Dazhu examined Wang Lin and exclaimed, "You managed to get to the 3rd layer?!"

Wang Lin nodded and respectfully said, "Disciple has trained hard in these 4 years and barely made it into the 3rd layer."

Sun Dazhu blinked a few times. He seemed to remember why he had accepted Wang Lin as his disciple. He remembered that he was going to wait until this disciple reached the first layer and use the soul searching technique, but after hesitating for a while, he decided to give up. After all, it had been so many years, and the backlash of lowering his own cultivation didn't seem to be worth it.

Sun Dazhu glanced at Wang Lin and said, "Fine. Since you reached the 3rd layer now, you are a true disciple of Sun Dazhu, and since you are my only disciple, starting today, you can come back and live here again. In a few days, there will be the competition with Xuan Dao Zong. You can follow me there and broaden your horizons. Also, since you reached the 3rd layer, did you practice the attraction technique?"

Wang Lin's expression remained normal as he replied, "Disciple has practiced the attraction technique, but still feels very unfamiliar with it."

Sun Dazhu nodded and said, "That's natural. To be frank, these basic techniques are all about practice. The more you practice, the better you will be at it. Your master practiced it for a whole year and that could be considered the longest in the sect, see." As he was speaking, he moved his hand and a small colorful sword appeared and circled around the room before landing back in Sun Dazhu's hand.

"After practicing the attraction technique and reaching the second layer, one can start practicing the drive technique. The drive technique is what moves this sword. Of course, to reach this level, you must have at least have reached the 4th layer, but with the competition so close, we can't have you making a joke out of the sect. Your cultivation is low, so the chance of you going up is low, but you can't lose the sect any face. A flying sword can still be controlled with the attraction technique. I'll give you a token, so go to the sword shrine and pick out a good flying sword to wear and to show off at the competition." Sun Dazhu finished talking and tossed a token toward Wang Lin.

Wang Lin's expression became strange. He opened his mouth for a long time, but didn't know what to say.

Seeing Wang Lin's expression becoming strange, Sun Dazhu snorted and said, "Don't think of this as a small matter. You must look good, because if you make me lose face, I won't forgive you. Back then, your master did the same thing. Just holding a flying sword earned my master a lot of face."

Wang Lin wryly smiled and said, "Disciple will definitely look fierce, master. Don't worry."

Chapter 39 - Wealth

Sun Dazhu nodded his head in satisfaction and said, "You can keep this token. It will allow you to freely enter and exit this garden. But remember, you aren't allowed to touch any of the herbs without my permission."

Wang Lin nodded. He knew that Sun Dazhu didn't like him, but seeing how he had already reached the 3rd layer, Sun Dazhu at least recognized him as a disciple. Wang Lin respectfully left.

Not long after, he arrived at the sword pavilion in the main courtyard. He was here many years ago, and being here again made him remember the scene from back then.

Outside the sword pavilion sat a disciple in white. He looked like he was 30 years old and kinda chubby. Wang Lin didn't recognize him, so it seemed he didn't participate in the intense training.

He looked at Wang Lin and exclaimed, "Junior brother, you are only at the 3rd layer. What are you doing here? This is a place only disciples of the 4th layer or higher can enter."

Wang Lin remained silent. He took out the token Sun Dazhu gave him and tossed it over.

After the fat disciple received the token, his face became strange, as if he was trying to hold back a smile. Soon, he couldn't hold it back any longer and burst out laughing. "It seems to be Elder Brother Sun's tradition. I had forgotten about this. Elder Brother Sun has this tradition that at everyone competition with another sect, he likes to show off a flying sword."

Wang Lin became embarrassed, especially thinking about Sun Dazhu's serious expression before. He warily smiled.

The fat man laughed for a long time. He forced down his laughter and waved his hand saying, "Junior brother, you can go. I recommend the sword 3 from the right. That flying sword is really amazing. The first time I saw it, I thought it was the most amazing flying sword in the country of Zhao."

Wang Lin quickly thanked the man and made his way toward the pavilion. When he was 5 meters away, he suddenly detected waves of energy from the pavilion, seemingly to try to prevent him from entering.

Seeing this, the fat man realized that he forgot to turn off the formation set around the pavilion. He wanted to tell Wang Lin, but right when he was about to speak, he suddenly stopped as if there was a fishbone stuck in his throat. His eyes grew large and stared at Wang Lin with a look of disbelief.

Wang Lin felt the resistance and remembered the shame from back then. He snorted and kept moving forward, 5 meters, 4 meters, 3 meters, 2 meters, 1 meter!

Despite the resistance increasing, it wasn't able to stop Wang Lin at all and he easily stepped into the sword pavilion. After entering the room, he used his divine sense and found that the room he was currently in was very strange. It seemed his divine sense was restricted to only 3 meters in range.

The fat man immediately jumped up with a shocked expression on his face. He was the disciple in charge of managing the sword pavilion, so he knew the power of the formations very well. Not to mention inner disciples, but lot of the elders couldn't force their way in like Wang Lin just had.

Only when recruiting disciples was the power of the formation weakened hundreds of folds, so that the swords' energy could be released to see if there were any matches.

"Is the formation broken?" The fat man couldn't believe what had just happened. He think the formation had to be broken, so he moved up to test it himself.

Just when he entered the 5 meter range, he felt a very strong pressure that made him feel like he was a leaf in the turbulent sea. He was mercilessly thrown out. His body flew black and made an arc as he fell. He coughed out a few mouthfuls of blood after he landed on the ground. After a long time, he recovered his senses. His was face filled with fear. He exclaimed, "Not… not broken!"

Wang Lin easily entered the room. Once inside, he saw that there were many flying swords of various lengths, all releasing powerful sword intent.

Wang Lin scanned each sword one by one without stopping, until he finally saw the sword that the fat man said was the most amazing looking sword in the country of Zhao.

Aftering seeing it, Wang Lin was speechless. It could really be considered the most amazing looking flying sword. It shouldn't really even have been regarded as a flying sword, but more like a rectangular sign.

It was two palms wide, 1 meter long, and the whole body shined with a golden light. The reason for the golden light was not because this was some sword with a magical spell, the golden light was there because the entire sword was coated with gold.

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Also don't think that the coat of gold was there just to hide some amazing sword under, it was just regular iron.

On the handle were two large diamonds, and even the sword tassel was made from thin strips of gold.

In short, taking this sword out to show people would really amaze them, and maybe even make them think it was an amazing sword.

Wang Lin stroked his chin. He is really optimistic about the sword. If anything else, at least if he ever needed money in the future, he can sell it for a lot of money.

On the flying sword there was a sign that read, "This sword's name is Wealth. It was made by a sect elder 500 years ago and said to have unimaginable power. But in reality, this sword has been broken and rebuilt many times. However, because the elder had done much for the sect, his last will was to leave the sword here in hopes that it finds someone fitting in the future."

"Whoever chooses this sword must treat it well. If it breaks, it must be immediately repaired. If it's sold, then the person who sold it will be kicked from the sect!"

Wang Lin couldn't hold in his laughter. He picked up the sword and said, "I'll chose you then, but I, Wang Lin, am a poor man, so if you break, don't expect me to put you back together!"

After putting the flying sword away in his bag of holding, he left the room. The fat man outside looked nervous. Instead of the mocking laughter from before, he respectfully sent Wang Lin off.

Wang Lin's divine sense was restricted inside the pavilion, so he didn't see what happened to the fat man, so he was surprised at why the fat man suddenly became so respectful.

After returning to Sun Dazhu's garden, Wang Lin took out the sword. Sun Dazhu was stunned, and after mumbling to himself for a while, he glanced thoughtfully at Wang Lin and said, "When I saw this sword before, I didn't have the guts to take it, but it seems you have guts. Good. Take this sword with you to the competition in three days and show it off to the elders."

Three days later, the bell in the Heng Yue Sect rang nine times. It echoed for a very long time through the mountain. The head, all the elders, and many disciples all stood outside the main hall.

They saw a black dot appear in the sky. The black dot got closer and closer to them, until they saw it was a thousand foot long centipede. The centipede was completely black. It seemed to step on black clouds as it thunderously roared towards them.

All of the Heng Yue Sect inner disciples took a deep breath their eyes filled with fear. Some of the female disciples' faces became pale and their legs became weak.

"What's the big deal about it? Although this thousand foot long centipede looks scary, if everyone here struck it with a sword, it will still die!" The red faced man next to the sect head shouted. His voice was very loud. It seemed he wanted the people on the centipede to hear.

Chapter 40 - Guest

Another elder stared at the centipede and whispered, "Hmph, the Xuan Dao Sect is always like this, trying to bully my Heng Yue Sect because we don't have a spirit beast. If there is a chance, we must kill that spirit beast, then we'll see how they will show off."

The sect head coldly snorted. A purple sword suddenly appeared before him. The sword flew into the sky and became a giant purple dragon. It coiled above the Heng Yue Sect and roared at the centipede.

The thousand foot centipede suddenly stopped and didn't dare to continue. Suddenly, a loud laugh could be heard from the top of the centipede.

"Huang Long, it is rumored that this purple sword contains the soul of a dragon. It seems that that rumor is not fake. Friend, I'm here now, and if we win again, the Heng Yue Sect must keep their promise and return the 137 treasures that were stolen from us, as well as give us 200 flying swords as compensation."

The sect head's expression remained normal. There was no trace of anger. He indifferently said, "Friend Ouyang, if the Xuan Dao Sect wins this time, the Heng Yue Sect will naturally do as promised, but if you guys lose, then you must hold back on your technique to control spirit beasts."

While he was speaking, the purple dragon slowly dissipated and turned back into a purple sword. It returned to sect head Huang Long's hand.

The thousand foot centipede started to move forward again. It circled above the Heng Yue Sect as it slowly descended. The inner disciples all pulled back to make room.

All of the elders had frowns on their faces from seeing the disciples recoiling.

After the centipede landed, it remained motionless. Dozens of people jumped down from the centipede's back. Besides three elders, everyone else was very young.

The Xuan Dao Sect had both male and female disciples. It seemed like they were making fun of the Heng Yue Sect because they knew that the Heng Yue Sect didn't have many purple clothed disciples, so every one of them was wearing purple. Another thing that surprised the Heng Yue Sect disciples was that every single Xuan Dao Sect disciple was good looking. The males were very handsome and the females were all very beautiful.

Especially the male and females disciple in the front. The male was extraordinarily handsome and full of masculinity. His long sleeves and hair fluttered in the wind, with a flying sword on his back that made him look even cooler. His appearance completely enchanted a few of the female inner disciples.

The female disciple wore full purple with hair long like a waterfall, bright red lips, and with beautiful eyes could move anyone's heart. Even Wang Lin couldn't stop his heart from beating faster when he saw her. He became very surprised as he carefully looked at her and quickly became more cautious.

Seeing all the disciples with memorized looks in their faces, one of the elders finally couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "When did the Xuan Dao Sect started practicing charm arts? It is simply too despicable."

This shout quickly awakened many of the inner disciples. All of them had a surprised expressions.

One of the three elders of the Xuan Dao Sect laughed and said, "This must be elder Dao Xu. My name is Qin Gu Lei. You should take a closer look. My two disciples here didn't practice any charm arts, but were born with water spirit roots. I can see that among all of the Heng Yue Sect disciples, none of them are of such a pure spirit root. All of them are a mixture of all 5 elements. No wonder you can't tell the difference."

All of the Heng Yue Sect's elder's expressions became unsettled. After a long time, sect head Huang Long's expression remained the same as he changed the subject and said, "Friends of the Xuan Dao Sect, first, rest at our sect. The competition will begin in three days."

Elder Ouyang nodded. Smiling, he said, "Very good, our Xuan Dao Sect has had these competitions with the Heng Yue Sect for many years, but although there are some disputes, there is no need to hurt our relationship."

Among the many elders of the Heng Yue Sect, a very old man walked out. His face was full of wrinkles and he somewhat looked like he had no energy. He lightly chuckled and said to Ouyang, "Good friend Ouyang. It's been 20 years, do you still remember me?"

Elder Ouyang laughed out loud and said, "I've already seen you, old friend Song Dao You. This time, you must let me have some more of your homemade wine. I didn't have enough because you were too stingy last time. You only brought out one jar!"

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Elder Song smiled. "It's not that I'm stingy, it's that when you start drinking wine, it's too scary. No matter how many jars I bring out, it's not enough."

As the two started talking, the other two elders of the Xuan Dao Sect found familiar faces and started chatting as if the unfriendly words before were never said.

As they talked about things that were happening in cultivation world of the country of Zhao, the eyes of the disciples of both sects were really opened.

Things like: the Wu Feng Sect had a male disciple that seduced the Misty Sect's head female disciple and made her pregnant. The Mist Sect's head went to the Wu Feng Sect for justice, but came back with a baby.

Or like the Heaven Sect, where some disciples abandoned the sect and joined the He Huan Sect. After some of them started to spread the benefits of joining the He Huan Sect, more and more disciples abandoned the Heaven Sect. This made the Heaven Sect's head so mad, that he sent out a kill order for any disciple that abandoned the sect.

Or about some genius baby being born, and finally about the Misty Sect's Core Formation expert's birthday being in a few months, so all the friendly sects would send people to attend and such.

Wang Lin listened for a long time and started to have a very blurred impression of the cultivation world in the country of Zhao. At one point, he suddenly felt someone looking at him. He turned his head and saw that female disciple from the Xuan Dao Sect looking at him a faint smile on her face.

Wang Lin nodded his head and secretly put up his guard. He didn't believe that he had the charm to attract someone's attention among all the disciples present.

Liu Mei was the leader of the inner disciples at the Xuan Dao Sect and was very confident in her innate charm ability. Within the Xuan Dao Sect, almost no one her age could resist. But that ordinary looking youth was the first to recover, which surprised her. She couldn't help but take a few more looks, but no matter how she looked at Wang Lin, he was only at the 3rd layer and was nothing out of the ordinary.

As the elders talked, the disciples of the two sects also started to chat with each other to prepare for the competition that was to come. All of the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples seemed to have a mysterious fog that hid their cultivation level.

Wang Lin was also surprised that he became interested in the Xuan Dao Sect. This technique seemed similar to the disguise pill, but on a higher level.

The Heng Yue Sect disciples seemed to focus all their attention on that male and female, all of them with their own ideas, but Wang Lin noticed a strange phenomenon; all of the disciples of the Xuan Dao Sect, from the looks in their eyes, all seemed to shown signs of respect to a middle aged man in the back.

After giving that person a thoughtful look, Wang Lin withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Chapter 41 - Centipede

The Xuan Dao Sect's disciples were also all secretly evaluating the Heng Yue Sect disciples, especially the ones who were at the 6th layer and higher. Wang Zhuo's looks and his peak 5th layer cultivation also made the Xuan Dao Sect disciples keep him in mind.

As for Wang Lin, he was only at the 3rd layer, so they completely ignored him.

Everyone aside from Liu Mei that is. She paid a little attention to him.

As the two sect's elders talked to each other, they were also secretly looking at each other's disciples. The Xuan Dao Sect's three elders became more and more happy as they saw the Heng Yue Sect's disciples. They thought that if these were all the disciples the Heng Yue Sect had, they would win this exchange for sure.

But they had secretly been in conflict with the Heng Yue Sect for many years and knew that they were very cunning. They would save the killing blow until the most crucial moment. Even though there were quite a few disciples of the 6th layer present, all of them were new faces, and all the ones that participated last time weren't in sight.

Those were the people who they needed to focus on during this exchange.

The sect head, Huang Long, scanned the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples. His gaze paused on the male and female with the pure water spirit roots. He secretly sighed in his heart. In the past 500 years, the Heng Yue Sect had really fallen without a successor. Even the Xuan Dao Sect, which was an unknown, small sect only 500 years ago could constantly beat the Heng Yue Sect. He originally thought that they would win this time, but two single element spirit root disciples had appeared this time, which made him very worried.

"Do we really need the purple clothed disciples to come out? They are currently in training…" Suddenly, Huang Long's gaze fell on the disciple all the way in the back and he finally made a decision.

"Fine. Since they sent this disciple, then it's time for our core disciples to come out as well."

Thinking about this, he laughed and said, "Friend Ouyang, the disciples must be tired from the trip. Let them go rest first. Us few old guys should have a good time. Come into the main hall." He waved his hand to welcome them into the main hall with a smile on his face.

Xuan Dao Sect's three elders nodded and followed him into the main hall.

The Heng Yue Sect's elders followed in behind them. Elder Xu was the last one. He turned to the disciples and said, "Wang Zhuo, you're in charge of taking care of the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples. If there are any issues, teacher won't forgive you!"

Wang Zhuo seemed to be prepared for this. He respectfully said, "Teacher doesn't have to worry. I will properly take care of Xuan Dao Sect's fellow apprentice-brothers and sisters."

Elder Xu smiled at the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples and said, "Disciples of the Xuan Dao Sect, if you have any needs, you can ask Wang Zhuo. This old man is old, so I won't bother you young ones. You all should get to know each other more. The future of the cultivation world belongs to you all." After he finished speaking, he walked into the main hall with a faint smile.

The moment the elders left, the disciples immediately became more relaxed. Some of the Heng Yue Sect's female disciples went up to the male with the water spirit root and started to make small talk. Their eyes were filled with admiration.

Besides the Heng Yue Sect's 6th layer disciples appeared some Xuan Dao Sect's disciples. They made small talk about their experiences.

As for the other disciples, they all started to talk with each other. There were also many disciples who looked up to the unmoving centipede in amazement.

Wang Lin looked at the scene and didn't want to join in. He went off to the side and sat down on some steps. Looking at the blue sky and white clouds while bathing in the sunlight felt very comfortable.

There were many other disciples like Wang Lin that didn't like the crowds, like the female named Zhou. She saw Wang Lin and casually walked over.

"Junior brother Wang, I want to congratulate you on reaching the 3rd layer. There aren't many inner disciples as hardworking as you." The female named Zhou said with a smile. She sat down on the steps without a caring if it was dirty or not.

Wang Lin chuckled. He shook his head and said, "It's not like what you said at all. I see that most of these people are painstakingly cultivating as well."

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The female named Zhou looked at the clouds. She sighed and said, "Junior brother Wang, don't sell yourself short. During the 4 year of intense training, almost all the inner disciples came out very often, but I rarely saw you. Cultivation is a very boring thing to do. Junior brother Wang, to be honest, I admire you. To reach the 3rd layer in 4 years takes a lot of perseverance!"

Wang Lin rubbed his nose and smiled, "Senior Sister Zhou, didn't you also reach the 3rd layer?"

The female named Zhou sighed and gloomily said, "I reached the 3rd layer three years ago, but now, all the disciples who were weaker than me back then have surpassed me. Maybe it's because I can't cut off my mortal ties."

Wang Lin pondered for a while and said, "The road is ruthless. If senior sister Zhou wants to advance, you must understand this phrase."

The female named Zhou looked at Wang Lin with her beautiful eyes. Revealing her beautiful teeth, she said, "Junior brother Wang, I can see that you have already reached the peak of the 3rd layer and can break through at any time. I think that you will soon surpass me too."

Wang Lin stared at the breathtaking beauty. He wryly smiled and said, "I won't be able to break through any time soon. These mortal ties aren't something I can cut easily."

The female named Zhou was stunned. She hesitated and asked, "Junior brother Wang, it's rude of me to ask, but what mortal ties can you not cut?"

Wang Lin shook his head and didn't answer. His mind was filled with thoughts about his parents.

The female named Zhou saw that Wang Lin was reluctant to answer. She sighed and said, "I can't cut the ties with my family. Cultivation is too ruthless. Maybe I'm not fit for this."

Wang Lin was about to speak, but he suddenly turned his head and saw Wang Zhuo staring at him and the female name Zhou with an evil gaze.

At that moment, they heard Wang Zhuo's voice. "Brothers and sisters of the Xuan Dao Sect, you all said this centipede likes to eat live animals. Let us, the Heng Yue Sect, take care of it for you during your stay. I have a junior brother, you see. Cultivation is just a waste of time for him, so making him catch live animals to feed this centipede is a much more fitting job for him."

The male disciple with the water spirit root hesitated and said, "Brother Wang Zhuo, this is a bit improper. The centipede's nature is wild. If a stranger were feed it, that person might be in danger."

Wang Zhuo said, with a gentle expression, "Don't worry, brother Liu. How could a cultivator back down because of danger? You are our guests. These chores should be left to us, the Heng Yue Sect."

Chapter 42 - Centipede's Poison

Some of Wang Zhuo's companions agreed and one of them said, "This is true. Friends of the Xuan Dao Sect, leave it to us."

All of the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples hesitated. The disciple named Liu wanted to use the elders as an excuse, but at that moment, the middle aged man in the back lightly coughed. The disciple named Liu's face twitched. He nodded and said, "If that's the case, then we will trouble the Heng Yue Sect."

Wang Zhuo smiled. He turned toward Wang Lin and loudly yelled, "Junior brother Wang Lin, the job of feeding the centipede will be left to you. You need to be careful."

Hearing Wang Zhuo's words, all of the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples turned their heads to look at Wang Lin. They all had strange expressions on their faces. How could they still not understand the meaning behind it all? This Wang Lin must have offended Wang Zhuo.

Among the Heng Yue Sect disciples, one person laughed and said, "I was wondering who brother Wang Zhuo was talking about. As I expected, it's junior brother Wang Lin."

Someone else continued, "This job is really fitting for him. With his lack of talent, it's really a waste of time for him to cultivate. There is no chance for him to compete in the exchange."

"There really is no one else more fitting for these chores than him. Junior brother Wang Lin, you must do your job properly and not lose the Heng Yue Sect any face."

Hearing the laughter, the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples understood that not only had Wang Lin offended Wang Zhuo, but, because of his lack of talent, had also became the target of mockery among the other disciples.

This kind of thing happened in every sect, so it was not a big deal. As a result, all of the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples categorized Wang Lin as trash.

The female named Zhou that was sitting next to Wang Lin frowned. She shot Wang Zhuo a disgusted look. She whispered to Wang Lin, "Junior brother Wang Lin, if I hadn't come, he wouldn't have targeted you. I…"

Wang Lin shook his head. Wang Zhuo hadn't just been targeting him for a few days. Ever since the first day they met and onwards, Wang Zhuo had always made an effort to ridicule him. The rest of the sect had looked down on him due to the fact that he got accepted by trying to commit suicide and then became an inner disciple due to Elder Sun.

Most importantly, he was only at the 3rd layer, making him the weakest among these disciples.

Power was everything. Wang Lin eyed the thousand foot centipede that was lying on the ground. He didn't care and pretended like he hadn't heard any of it

Not long after, Wang Zhuo assigned a few disciples to lead the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples to their rooms to rest.

The Xuan Dao Sect's disciple with the water spirit roots named Liu glanced at Wang Lin before he left and gently said, "You must be brother Wang Lin. Our Xuan Dao Sect's centipede has a wild nature. When you feed it, you mustn't get too close, or you will be injured."

Wang Zhuo looked at Wang Lin with a cold smile. He didn't bother him anymore after that. Soon, everyone dispersed from outside the main hall.

The female named Zhou frowned. She talked with Wang Lin for a bit more, then left.

Looking at the deserted area, Wang Lin stood up and walked toward the centipede. He stopped 10 feet away from it and carefully examined the spirit beast.

Upon a closer look, this thousand foot centipede was an enormous beast. The body was formed by many sections, and between each section were rings with thorns pointing out like countless swords. There were also faint black spots all over its body, and its head had two massive pincers sticking out.

In addition, what attracted the most attention were the two long red whiskers that moved without wind, as if they were two very long snakes.

As if it knew Wang Lin was looking at him, it opened and closed its eyes, giving Wang Lin a cold glance. Wang Lin immediately felt a cold sensation sweep by.

Wang Lin's body felt cold, but the movement of spirit power in his body immediately dispersed the coldness.

The thousand foot centipede revealed a surprised expression. It gave Wang Lin a deep and thoughtful look, then closed its eyes and ignored Wang Lin. Wang Lin revealed an interested expression. No wonder this was a spirit beast, it even had human-like expressions.

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While musing this, he left at a brisk pace for the mountains. Using his divine sense, he easily captured some small animals and came back.

Along the way, Wang Lin saw some of the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples being lead by some senior disciples. When they saw Wang Lin with the small animals in his hands, they laughed, which drew the Xuan Dao Sect's disciples' attention.

One of the Xuan Dao Sect's female disciples, who looked very pretty, with a face that looked so delicate, it felt as if it could be broken by a drop of water, laughed. "Junior brother, all of those small animals you caught won't be enough to feed the thousand foot centipede. You should go catch a large worm. Those are the centipede's favorite."

One of the inner sect disciples immediately tried to suck up and said "Junior sister Ouyang, this dumb kid is like a mute. There is no need to talk to him. You didn't know this, but he isn't qualified to cultivate. He failed all of the entrance tests and then tried to commit suicide, which forced the elders to accept him as an honorary disciple."

Wang Lin was familiar with the person who talked. He was the one that ridiculed him back during the training period, Sun Hao.

Someone from the Xuan Dao Sect quickly asked, "Honorary disciple? But I see him wearing red. He should be the Heng Yue Sect's inner disciple."

Sun Hao loudly laughed. "I'm not done yet. This kid used some lowly method to gain the favor of one of the elders and was quickly raised to an inner disciple. But even so, with his talent, he will only be laughed at for the rest of his life."

Wang Lin glanced at them and left. He arrived back near the centipede and threw the small animals next to it.

The moment the small beasts saw the centipede, they immediately fell to the ground, trembling in fear.

The centipede opened its eyes and didn't even look at the small animals. He spat out a black gas. The moment the black gas touched the small animals, there was a sizzling sound.

In a blink of an eye, the small animals turned into a pool of blood. The centipede sucked the blood into its mouth.

Wang Lin took a few steps back. His eyes lit up. Centipedes typically contain poison, and these poisons were their greatest weapon.

As a child, he read a book that mentioned that the poison of a centipede was related to its size. Simply said, the larger the centipede, the stronger the poison.

Chapter 43 - Old Friend

The centipede before him was one hundred feet long. The poison it contained must have reached an unimaginable level. Wang Lin wasn't unfamiliar with centipedes. Many of the children caught centipedes to play with, and many used them to feed their chickens.

Sometimes, they would accidentally be bitten by the centipede, but all they needed to do was wash the wound with a lot of water, then at most lay in bed for a few days and they would be fine.

There was even a time where he collected centipedes for their poison. The doctor at the village said that if the centipedes' poison was used properly, it could be used to cure illnesses. In the early days, his father couldn't afford to buy wood for his work, so he went up to the mountains to chop wood and let the cold air enter his body. This caused him to almost lose his life.

At that time, the prescription made by the doctor contained centipede poison.

Although his father's illness was cured, the illness left its roots in his father's body. Every time it rained, his father would be in a lot of pain. The prescription the doctor gave to help with the pain contained centipede poison as well, so Wang Lin had caught a lot of centipedes for his father.

Until now, Wang Lin still remembered what happened back then.

Looking at the hundred foot centipede, Wang Lin stroke his chin. If the small centipedes' poison could help his dad's illness, then the poison from this centipede might just remove the root of the problem once and for all.

But the centipede before him was simply too large, and Wang Lin was just too small compared to it. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to get any poison and hurt himself in the process.

Suddenly, Wang Lin remembered a method for obtaining centipede poison. This method was passed down through the generations. It was to make a pill to feed to the centipede. Once the centipede consumed said pill, it would spit out poison.

Thinking about it, he stared at the centipede and walked toward the pill house. The pill house contained the most materials in the sect. He also hadn't seen Wang Hao in 4 years, so it would be good to check up on him.

It was already getting dark when Wang Lin arrived at the pill house and saw Wang Hao carefully exiting from the side door. Wang Hao saw Wang Lin and gestured him to be silent. He motioned him to go outside.

Wang Lin was stunned. He sent out his divine sense and found the 3rd elder staring at the pill furnace with a serious expression on his face.

After walking away for a while, Wang Hao saw that Wang Lin had silently followed him out. He grabbed Wang Lin and quickly ran. After running away for a while, he finally let out a breath.

Wang Hao was short of breath. He warily looked toward the pill house and quickly asked, with a glint of hope, "Wang Lin, I heard you went to the intense training four years ago. What layer are you at now?"

"The 3rd layer…what is this?" Wang Lin scanned Wang Hao with his divine sense and found that Wang Hao was already at the first layer, but the spiritual energy in his body was very strange. The spiritual energy wasn't flowing properly, but moving in an odd path.

Every time the flow circulated through Wang Hao's body, it would take away a bit of Wang Hao's life essence from his organs and absorb it.

In this state, Wang Lin was afraid that it wouldn't be long before Wang Hao ran out of life essence and died.

Wang Hao bitterly smiled and said, "You saw through it?"

Wang Lin nodded and said, "Wang Hao, tell me what this is about."

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Wang Hao tightened his fist and said, while grinding his teeth, "Back when we went to the exchange, I always regretted not being able to get the Foundation Establishment pill. Later, master, bah, Lu Yunie gave me a Foundation Establishment pill to repay me for being his helper. I was very surprised at the time. He also gave me a cultivation method and told me that it was better than the one the sect gives. I didn't think too much about it and cultivated with it."

Wang Lin took a deep breath and asked, "What? Let me see!"

Wang Hao took out a thread bound book and threw it to Wang Lin. He continued, "But after I practiced it for 2 years, my body became weaker. Although I can manage to condense spirit power in my body, I can't use it. Later, I secretly bribed a disciple to look it up for me and found that the cultivation method Lu Yunjie gave me is called Fire Furnace Trial."

Wang Lin opened the book and looked through it. The more he read, the more shocked he became. What was in the book was completely different from what was inside The Three Layers of Qi Condensation. Instead of using the spiritual energy to refine the body, it gathered spiritual energy into a swirl. This swirl would expand as one gathered spirit power, and it would soon be able to absorb the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth to refine the body from the outside, achieving something similar to Qi Condensation.

In simple terms, Qi Condensation was to slowly refine the body from the inside.

And the latter was a high handed method. If one was lucky, the swirl would expand outside the body before the body collapsed and achieve Qi Condensation, and if not, then the body would be destroyed before the swirl expanded to outside the body.

Wang Hao said, with his teeth grinding, "This Fire Furnace Trail cultivation method, the archives in the sect held some copies of this. It is said to have been obtained from the extinct country of Lu. Only 2 out of 10 cultivators would survive using this method. It's all based on luck."

Wang Lin asked the important question, "What benefit would Lu Yunjie gain from all this?"

Wang Hao's eyes grew cold. He darkly said, "He wants to use me as a pill furnace. When the disciple of the archives gave me the information, it was recorded that the moment someone dies from cultivating the Fire Furnace Trial, if a certain method is used, a pill that extends one's life for 3 years can be created."

Wang Lin took in a cold breath and thought that this 3rd elder Lu Yunjie was too cruel.

Wang Hao's expression was bitter. He harshly said, "I don't dare to talk about this with the other elders and the sect head, after all, I'm Lu Yunjie's helper. Under the sect rules, my life is no longer mine, but Lu Yunjie's. If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have agreed to be his helper. Ah, it is too late to regret it now. Lu Yunjie found out that I know the secret and threatened me with my parents. Now, I have no control over my life. Every day I must take several Qi Gathering pills and the swirl in my body grows larger by the day. Based on my calculations, I only have about a year left to live."

Chapter 44 - Li Shan

Wang Lin pondered for a while and said, "What plans do you have? Do you need my help for anything?"

Wang Hao sighed and said, "You are only at the 3rd layer. You can't help me because Lu Yunjie is already at the 6th layer. Also, because he can produce pills, he is loved by the elders. I have already given up hope. Wang Lin, in these few years at the Heng Yue Sect, you are my only friend and my big brother. If you become stronger in the future, you have to avenge me!" Wang Hao tightened his fists after he finished speaking.

Wang Lin stared at Wang Hao and nodded.

Wang Hao bitterly smiled and said, "Brother Tie Zhu, did you need me for something? While I'm still alive, I'll help you as much as I can. Do you want some Qi Gathering pills? I have a lot of them."

Wang Lin looked at Wang Hao. He gave up on asking Wang Hao for the materials he needed and shook his head. He wanted to help Wang Hao, but the enemy was at the 6th layer. Wang Lin was not confident at all.

Although his divine sense was different from others' and he had practiced the attraction technique for more than 20 years, he had never fought with any other human, so he couldn't say for sure how strong he was.

Wang Hao saw that Wang Lin stayed silent. He bitterly patted his clothes and said, "Brother Tie Zhu, you have more talent than I do. Thinking back to when we were taking the test, it feels like a dream. Time passes by too quickly…" Wang Hao sighed and turned to leave with a gloomy expression. He slowly disappeared from Wang Lin's view.

"In this cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak…" Wang Lin pondered this deeply in his heart as he stared at the sky.

At that moment, Wang Lin had an epiphany.

The so called epiphany wasn't one where he suddenly gained understanding and his cultivation suddenly increased, but more like knowledge being poured into one's brain. What was increased here wasn't one's cultivation or soul, but one's understanding of heaven and earth.

Realizing the cruel nature of the cultivation world was his epiphany. To be a cultivator, one must have the attitude of a cultivator.

Wang Lin mumbled as he let out a sigh, "Is the strong preying on the weak really the mentality a cultivator must have?"

His body moved and he disappeared from where he was.

When he was on his way back to the herb garden, Wang Lin's expression suddenly changed as he looked at the guest rooms that the Xuan Dao Sect disciples were staying at and thoughtfully walked toward it.

Before he even entered, he heard an exaggerated voice from inside.

"I have to say, brothers of the Heng Yue Sect, this flying sword I have is one of the peerless treasures of the Xuan Dao Sect. It is called the Noon Money Sword. You guys ask around yourselves to know how much trouble I spent stealing this sword. If any of you wants to buy this, then you have to make a vow to not use this in the exchange in 3 days, or I'm not selling it."

Someone immediately asked, with doubt, "Is this treasure really as amazing as you say it is?"

"I, Li Shan, would never lie. If you guys don't believe me, then forget it. I can sell this flying sword anywhere."

Wang Lin already found this place to be unusual, as a lot of disciples from both sects were gathered here. When he walked closer, he saw a 20 something year old disciple of the Xuan Dao Sect holding a sword made of coins that was glowing blue, talking bombastically about the sword.

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The Xuan Dao Sect disciples in the surroundings all had weird expressions on their faces. One of them couldn't stand it anymore. He coughed and said, "What Junior Brother Li Shan said is correct. This Noon Money Sword is indeed a treasure of our Xuan Dao Sect, but I have to say that the one in Junior Brother Li Shan's hand is a fake. However, it still has some uses."

The Heng Yue Sect disciples talked among themselves. Then, a 5th layer disciple walked forward. Wang Lin remembered that this disciple was named Zhao. Disciple Zhao walked up to Li Shan and they talked among themselves until they made an exchange, both with smiles on their faces.

Among the inner disciples, there were people who knew about the sword and mockingly said, "It is just a simple iron sword with some broken spirit gold and someone dared to try to sell it? It seems the Xuan Dao Sect is worth only so much."

Li Shan immediately retorted, "What this brother said is incorrect. My elder apprentice-brother even said that this was a fake, but your Heng Yue Sect still had someone who bought it. This type of thing is best to buy for the sake of novelty."

The Heng Yue Sect disciple who bought the sword laughed and said, "Brother Li Shan, what you said is wrong. I didn't buy this sword to collect, but to give it to my dad. My family raises pigs, so this sword would be perfect for killing pigs."

Li Shan didn't get mad and said, smiling, "Since you already bought it, I don't care what you do with it. Ok, I still have another treasure. It's called the invincible dark stinking thunderball! This thing really is a treasure. I'm not lying. We can even do a live test."

With that, he took out a black ball and threw it at a wall. With a boom, cracks appeared on the wall. There was a dark mist on the spot the ball hit and it emitted a foul odor.

Li Shan said, with a proud and smiling face, "How is it? This invincible dark stinking thunderball is my own personal hidden weapon. Although the power isn't strong, if it lands on someone, this sludge is something even I can't wash off. Especially the smell, it's something I made after gathering dozens of beasts. Anyone would be disgusted by it."

Everyone was stunned and stared at each other with their mouths wide open. A few of the female disciples pinched their noses and took a few steps back. Wang Lin was also surprised. He sent out his divine sense and his expression suddenly turned strange.

The disciples of the Xuan Dao Sect all felt really awkward, but Li Shan was known in the Xuan Dao Sect for making weird things. No one dared to mess with him because no one wanted to get hit by one of those stink bombs.

The invincible black sludge stink bomb was really famous in the Xuan Dao Sect. Secretly, it could almost match one of the sect's real treasures.

"So how was it? This time, I'm showing you all hidden my ace, but I still have to say the same thing I said before; you can't use it in the exchange in 3 days, or I won't sell it to you." Li Shan revealed a serious expression, but secretly laughed in his heart, "You silly brats, the more I say you mustn't use it, the more likely you guys will use it in the exchange. Hehe, there will be a good show to see. The elders will definitely praise me and even give me a few magical treasures."

With that, his eyes lit up and he began to shout.

Chapter 45 - Low Life

With that, his eyes lit up and he began to shout.

"Fellow brothers of the Heng Yue Sect, there is an old saying: "Killing people only takes a nod of the head". But I have to ask everyone; how could killing people be as satisfying as disgracing them? By disgracing them, they would stink for 10,000 years. Think about it, when you are fighting with your rival and you use this, even if you don't win, you still come out with more face than them.

"Or when escaping, if you have this move, it also works wonders. If you run into a crowded area, how would he still have the face to chase after you?"

"Also, if you encounter a love rival, this could also be a deciding move. Hehe, if anyone dares to steal your woman, use this on them and then he would never have a chance as she would never want to be around the stink."

Li Shan's advertising moved a lot of the inner sect disciples, especially when he talked about how it could be used against love rivals. That really resonated with some of the disciples.

This thing was really a top quality item to get rid of love rivals.

Li Shan's gaze turned shifted toward Wang Lin in the distance. He knew that Wang Lin was considered trash in the Heng Yue Sect. People like him were big customers for Li Shan. The trash back in the Xuan Dao Sect had already been cleaned out by him, so, when he saw Wang Lin, he excitedly continued:

"This bomb is especially useful for brothers with lower cultivation. With this stink bomb in hand, who would dare to bully you again? If anyone dares to bully you, throw one at them. I, Li Shan, can promise you that you can walk tall in the sect without anyone daring to bother you." With that, Li Shan secretly laughed in his heart. No one daring to bully you was impossible. It was more like it would invite a beating.

Li Shan saw that he had almost won many people over. He quickly tried to seal the deal. "This stink bomb is a really good self defense weapon for the people with lower cultivation. Today, I'll have a sale. Buy two, get one. Consider it a gift from me. When we meet again in the cultivation world, don't forget to take care of me."

Among the disciples that were moved by everything he said, one asked, "Is this item really as amazing as you say? Take out a few more and let me randomly test one. If it's really that good, I'll buy a few to play with."

Li Shan took out a dozen of the stink bombs from his bag of holding and gently placed them on the ground, as if he was afraid they would explode, and said, "You must keep in mind to be careful with this treasure. Gently pick it up and place it down. When using it, just toss it. When it meets any resistance, it will explode."

The inner disciple that had spoken up was Sun Hao.

Sun Hao stepped up and randomly carefully picked up one of the stink bombs and examined it in his hand.

Li Shan's expression remained normal, but he quietly mocked him in his heart. "Little brat, think you can understand it? Besides the sect's elders, not even the senior brothers are able to see through its secret."

Sun Hao looked at it for a long time and wasn't able to find anything special about the stink bomb. He threw the stink bomb into a distant clearing and as the bomb flew in an arc, the moment it was about to hit the ground, Li Shan thought in his mind, "Explode!"

With a bang, the stink bomb exploded, making the ground black and filled with a foul odor.

Wang Lin's eyes lit up. No one knew that his divine sense had covered the area. When the stink bomb exploded, he detected a fluctuation of spirit power from Li Shan.

When Li Shan threw the stink bomb the first time, it was the same. Wang Lin chuckled, but he didn't point it out and kept on watching.

Li Shan said, smiling, "How was it? These stink bomb are really powerful right? But I, Li Shan, am an honest man, so I'll say the ugly stuff now. This treasure doesn't explode all the time. To make it explode requires a certain throwing technique. Once you guys have bought it, you can figure it yourself, so don't come to me about it."

Sun Hao walked up to Li Shan and whispered something to him. They walked over to the side and he took out quite a few things.

Li Shan thought about it for a while and took out 10 stink bombs to exchange.

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Li Shan whispered, "You normally only get 3 free for buying 6, but since you are the first buyer, I'll throw in one more for free."

After one person traded for them first and even tested it, a few other inner disciples came up and bought a few.

Every time Li Shan finished his sale, he would always add a few words. Things like "This thing isn't guaranteed to succeed all the time", "If it doesn't work, practice it a few more times." If there was any question, they could come and ask him and he could teach them the throwing technique.

When saying this, Li Shan laughed in his heart, "You guys will try several times and fail, then try a different one and succeed after one or two tries. I'm only going to be here for a few days, so by the time you guys suspect me, I'll be long gone."

But there were still many disciples who were cautious and didn't buy any.

After a while, there were only a few stink bombs left. Li Shan proudly looked at the Heng Yue Sect disciples and thought, "A bunch of idiots. Hmph, if you guys don't use it in the exchange in three days, then all you'll have done is get cheated by me, but if you do use it, then there will be something good to watch. These stink bombs are completely under my control. Other people can't even explode it using a hammer! I really can't wait for the exchange in three days."

His gaze swept the surroundings and he noticed Wang Lin's faint smile. He was stunned. His eyes turned and he said, "Brother, why don't you buy a few to play with? With your cultivation, these are truly fitting for you. If anyone bothers you, just throw one at them."

Wang Lin looked at Li Shan and revealed a mocking expression.

Li Shan was surprised. That look made him feel as if Wang Lin had seen through his secret. He carefully looked at Wang Lin and saw that Wang Lin was only at the 3rd layer. Being called trash couldn't have been for no reason, so he thought that it must've been his own imagination.

Wang Lin lightly smiled. He nodded and said, "Ok, I'll exchange for 2, but I don't have any treasures. Only talismans from the sect."

Li Shan hesitated for the first time. He made sure Wang Lin was only at the 3rd layer before he finally relaxed and took out three stink bombs. He smiled and said, "Brother, I'll give you face and sell them for talismans. Buy two, get one. These stink bombs will give you an extraordinary feeling, haha."

Finished speaking, he thought, "I'm wasn't lying when I said it will be an extraordinary feeling. As long as you hold on to the stink bombs, even if you don't use it during the exchange, if I ever meet you again, I'll let you know what the extraordinary feeling is like. Something you will remember for life, haha."

Chapter 46 - Strange Old Man

Wang Lin put away the stink bomb and looked at Li Shan. He said, "Brother Li Shan, I won't bother you anymore, so please continue selling."

Li Shan nodded. He revealed a friendly expression and said, "Brother, you must be careful with those stink bombs. Remember, they don't always work because they require a certain throwing technique. If you don't succeed, don't say I lied to you."

With that, he continued to tout to the other people.

"Fellow brothers, I still have another treasure. This is a keepsake from the He Huan Sect. With this, you can go to the He Huan Sect to get a beautiful girl. This is something I got through a lot of painstaking effort, but I'll sell it based on our friendship. Fellow brothers of the Heng Yue Sect, you mustn't miss out on this chance."

Wang Lin chuckled. He turned around and headed back to the herb garden. Not long after, he had arrived at the garden. He scanned the garden and found that Sun Dazhu was not there, so he sat down cross legged in his room and took out the three stink bombs to examine them.

After a long time, Wang Lin revealed an interested expression. These stink bombs appeared transparent under his divine sense, as if there were no secrets they could hide.

To say it plainly, there was a trace of Li Shan's divine sense in the stink bombs that allowed him to detonate them at will.

Wang Lin never knew that divine sense could be used like this. After carefully mimicking it, he overlapped the divine sense in the stink bombs with his

He didn't destroy Li Shan's divine sense, but surrounded it. If he wished to, he could destroy it at any time.

The use of divine sense on this stink bomb inspired Wang Lin. He pondered a little and took out the mysterious bead.

"If divine sense can be used like this, can it be used the same way on the bead?" Wang Lin's eyes lit up and his divine sense quickly gathered on the mysterious bead.

After a long time, Wang Lin frowned. The stone bead looked like it hadn't changed, and under his divine sense, it looked the same as always as well.

He pondered for a moment, then he took the stone bead and left the herb garden. At the fastest speed, he went to a secluded place in the mountains and entered the dream space.

The moment he entered, he knew that time was of the essence and he quickly spread out his divine sense.

One minute, three minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes…

There was no change. Wang Lin rubbed his chin and muttered, "Can I really not leave my divine sense inside the mysterious bead?"

At that moment, one of the glowing objects suddenly began to shine brightly, then finally dimmed.

Wang Lin was stunned. Then, like a chain reaction, other glowing objects started to dim. Soon, all of the glowing objects in the dream space dimmed, until there was no light remaining and the dream space became completely dark.

Wang Lin was shocked. He carefully observed for a long time and couldn't find anything unusual.

An old voice suddenly appeared. "I don't need to observe anymore. With your Spiritual Movement stage, trying to see through the heaven-defying bead is just wishful thinking!"

Wang Lin was startled and his pupils shrank. He had been in the dream space for dozens of years and this was the first time he had heard someone else speak.

Wang Lin took a deep breath. He suppressed the shock in his heart. He clasped his hands and respectfully said, "Junior's name is Wang Lin, and senior is?"

Wang Lin was a smart man. He didn't think that the person had suddenly appeared, but had been there all along and had observed him for the 30 years he had been in here.

"As a junior of this small country, you don't have the need to know this old man's name. You used nearly 30 years of time with my help and the help of the stone bead, and only reached the Spiritual Movement stage. That is truly disappointing. Especially your perception. You only now thought of using your divine sense to scan the bead! Hmph!"

Wang Lin pondered for a while. He had observed the stone bead with his divine sense before, but just hadn't observed for as long as now.

"Your way of doing things really annoys me. Cultivating is a heaven-defying act. If anyone goes against you, you should kill them. I have observed you in these few years that you been at this dog sheet sect. If I were you, I would have killed all of them already. Hmph. If anyone dared to insult me, I would destroy them completely, especially that Wang Zhuo. He really gets on my nerves. With my temper, I would have taken his soul and thrown it into purgatory and then wiped out his family. I really like that Zhang Hu in your sect. Quite vicious. Also, that junior Liu really suits this old man's tastes"

Wang Lin's expression became odd. He wryly smiled, "Senior, I…"

"Don't interrupt me. I haven't finished speaking. Hmph, your small sect also has quite a few good looking ladies. You really don't know how to enjoy yourself. If it were me, I would have caught them and refined them for their soul. Hehe, the taste really makes me reminisce about the past. I haven't tasted it in over 30 years…"

Wang Lin was dumbfounded and couldn't speak for a long time.

"Brat, can you work a bit harder? Hurry up and reach the Soul Transformation stage so this old man can come out. Sigh"

Wang Lin hesitated. He was somewhat confused and asked, "Senior, what is Soul Transformation stage? Also what did you mean when you said I was at the Spiritual Movement stage.?"

"Can't you think for yourself? Always asking about everything. Forget it! For a little cultivator from only a rank 3 cultivation country, even if you think until your head explodes, you won't figure it out. Hmph. Listen well brat, I'm talking about the cultivation realm of a rank 5 cultivation country. In a rank 3 cultivation country like yours, there are only 4 realms: Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation and Nascent Soul. As for the Soul Formation stage, it would be a thing of legends in your eyes."

"Once someone reaches the Spirit Forming stage, then your country's rank will be increased to a rank 4 cultivation country. With that, the country will be provided the appropriate resources from the Cultivation Alliance and the country will also gain the right to fight for cultivation stars outside the country. The country would also need to undertake missions to protect the alliance."

"Similarly, if a Soul Transformation appears in a rank 4 country, it would be raised to a rank 5 country and so on. As for the Spiritual Movement stage, it is a stage commonly used in rank 4 country or higher. It is similar to the Qi Condensation stage, but has a broader range."