Chapter 81
Translator: T_Fan
Wang Shulin puffed out her chest proudly.
“I also found the annotations left by the seniors and the related essential formulas in the latter part, so I included those too. I separated the overlapping lines in the visualization diagram and drew them out individually, so it should be easier to understand if you compare them with the original.”
Lee Hyun pressed the jade slip to his forehead and examined it.
Sure enough, just as Senior Sister Wang had said, the inheritance of the 《Sutra of Refining Intent into Vow》 was followed by meticulously written annotations and diagrams. The densely tangled lines had been separated into several layers, with tiny notes marking which part of the original each corresponded to.
Perhaps because she was such a gifted artist, even the copied contents of the jade slip carried an elegant artistic touch.
“…This is a precious gift. I’ll study it carefully and take every word to heart.”
Wang Shulin peered at his face, then burst out laughing.
“Look at the corners of your mouth twitching.”
“Were they?”
“Mm-hm.”
She took a step back, her jade-green robes fluttering lightly.
“Carelessly making or releasing vows can damage your primordial spirit, so work your way up from the basics. Don’t jump ahead and start practicing the essential formulas at the back first.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Wang Shulin smiled, looking a little embarrassed, then turned away. Sunlight fell across her back as she hurried off with quick little steps.
Lee Hyun remained standing there for a moment.
‘A celestial maiden…?’
It was already enough that she had obtained such a precious inheritance for him, yet she had even searched out the related essential formulas, organized them, and gone to the trouble of making everything easier to read.
She was probably still thinking about what had happened on the coast not long ago. Lu Hongyan and Li Dongsi had even used up precious talisman treasures during the fight, so Senior Sister Wang likely wanted to repay him in her own way.
‘That must be it.’
Lee Hyun put the jade slip into his storage pouch.
Wang Shulin was kind enough to make him wonder whether she might have feelings for him, but getting his hopes up only to end up disappointed on his own would leave a bitter taste.
Lee Hyun decided not to read too much into it. Even so, he took the jade slip out twice more on the way back to his residence.
…
The 《Sutra of Refining Intent into Vow》 was quite difficult.
Lee Hyun lay on a long bench reading the jade slip, only to return to the beginning several times.
Understanding the principles and actually putting them into practice were two different things.
The Sutra of Refining Intent into Vow did not depend on following prescribed rules of conduct, as a vow did.
Instead, one established a mind seal within the primordial spirit and refined it over a long period, creating a foundation from which vow power could arise on its own.
Merely picturing the form of the mind seal for a moment accomplished nothing.
The mind seal had to remain stable even when the practitioner was thinking about other things or using techniques. That was why prolonged cultivation was required to stabilize the mind seal even after it had been established.
‘Good thing I learned the Spirit-Refining Essentials.’
He was already accustomed to dividing his divine sense into several streams and controlling them without allowing them to interfere with one another. He had also continued training himself to imprint complex sacred images into his mind while practicing the Sumeru Visualization Scripture, so in terms of foundation alone, he was no worse than any other Foundation Establishment cultivator.
At the back of the jade slip was a separately copied 《Vow-Releasing Essentials》.
It described how to loosen the bond between an established vow and the primordial spirit, then gradually gather and retain the vow power cultivated through that bond
‘She even included this… I really am grateful.’
If he sufficiently stabilized the new mind seal before using this essential formula to release his vow, he would be able to preserve the vow power he had cultivated even if he later lost his primordial yang.
He had no intention of giving up his primordial yang right away, but he liked having the option available to him in the future.
…
After that, perhaps because Wang Shulin felt they had grown closer, she began visiting Lee Hyun’s residence from time to time.
At first, it was to discuss the Sutra of Refining Intent into Vow or alchemy.
…
Time gradually passed.
Lee Hyun practiced alchemy, cultivated, and occasionally visited his tunnels or the Two Heavens Society’s bases.
One thing had changed.
Whenever he returned to Baoguang Temple, his steps unconsciously became a little quicker.
For some reason, merely thinking about Senior Sister Wang made him feel strangely buoyant.
…
The first mind seal of the Sutra of Refining Intent into Vow stabilized faster than expected.
His primordial spirit and divine sense, tempered over many years, proved enormously helpful.
Afterward, Lee Hyun began studying how to release his vow.
He generated vow power from the new mind seal, used it to form Buddha-Light True Qi, cast techniques, depleted his divine sense, recovered it, and repeated the process again and again.
Only after he had tested it thoroughly did he begin practicing the Vow-Releasing Essentials.
***
One day, at Wang Shulin’s residence.
Wang Shulin, who was reclining beside Lee Hyun on a long bench, pressed a fingertip against his cheek.
“Strange.”
“…”
Lee Hyun looked at her for a moment before speaking.
“There’s something I want to show you, Senior Sister.”
“What?”
Instead of answering, Lee Hyun used the Cleansing Art to remove all his makeup, then released his disguise art.
The wrinkles around his eyes faded, while the contours of his cheeks and jaw gradually shifted. A moment later, a young man who looked not even twenty years old sat before Wang Shulin.
Wang Shulin’s finger twitched.
“…This is your real face?”
“Yeah.”
She stared at Lee Hyun’s face for a long while. Reaching out, she touched his cheek, then tilted her head slightly to inspect his profile as well.
“You were this young?”
“I happened to get a Youth-Preserving Pill when I was young.”
“Then why did you deliberately make yourself look older?”
“Hmm… because it saves me from having to explain unnecessary things?”
He still could not bring himself to reveal the secret of his agelessness.
Wang Shulin studied his face once more, then suddenly pouted.
“Then later on, I’ll be the only one who looks old….”
“You look younger than I do, Senior Sister.”
“Liar.”
“It’s true.”
The corners of Wang Shulin’s lips slowly curved upward.
…
At one of the Two Heavens Society’s contact bases in the Xu Kingdom.
Wearing his White Deer mask, Lee Hyun placed a small pouch of spirit stones on the table.
“Find me a Youth-Preserving Pill or Appearance-Preserving Pill. Something whose quality and efficacy are beyond doubt.”
Pills known as Youth-Preserving Pills or Appearance-Preserving Pills genuinely existed in the cultivation world. From the moment one took such a pill, one’s outward appearance would cease to age.
They only preserved appearance, however. They did not change one’s lifespan or bone age.
Many people coveted such pills, but most cultivators spent every spirit stone they obtained on cultivation resources and could never afford one themselves.
The main ingredients were rare, and demand was less consistent than for cultivation pills, so few alchemists specialized in refining them. That made obtaining a proper one more difficult than expected.
“How many do you require?”
“One pill will suffice. If the seller insists on selling them only by the bottle, however, purchasing several is fine.”
The cultivator across from him made a brief entry in a ledger.
“I’ll make inquiries.”
…
Some time later.
Wang Shulin accepted the small jade bottle Lee Hyun held out to her.
“What’s this?”
“A Youth-Preserving Pill.”
Wang Shulin removed the stopper. There were three pills inside the jade bottle.
Her eyes widened. After staring down at the bottle for a moment, her expression crumpled slightly, almost as though she were about to cry.
“……Where did you find something this precious? I looked around the cultivator market too, but they were incredibly hard to find…….”
“You seemed worried about it, Senior Sister. It wasn’t that difficult.”
She burrowed into Lee Hyun’s embrace.
“Thank you.”
***
Twenty years after he began practicing the Sutra of Refining Intent into Vow.
A cultivation chamber on the eastern peak of the Lotus Court.
Lee Hyun lay down while slowly guiding the medicinal strength of a Profundity-Penetrating Pill.
For some time, he had focused on strengthening his Primordial Body and mastering techniques, but recently he had concentrated on breaking through the bottleneck that had kept his lower dantian at Foundation Establishment Stage 6.
The spiritual power within his lower dantian compressed, then relaxed again.
As the pill’s medicinal strength blended into that flow, subtle changes began occurring in the place that had remained blocked for so long.
Lee Hyun did not rush. He simply repeated the same circulation again and again.
Several days later.
Hummm―
Lee Hyun’s reclining body gently rose into the air. A halo of light spread from his entire body and brightly illuminated the cultivation chamber before being drawn back inside him.
As his body slowly descended to the floor, Lee Hyun opened his eyes.
Foundation Establishment Stage 7.
His lower dantian had finally entered late Foundation Establishment!
He straightened his posture, then circulated his newly refined spiritual power through his meridians. The flow was smooth, and the same quantity of spiritual power now contained considerably more strength than before his breakthrough.
Once the circulation of his spiritual power had become natural, Lee Hyun took the stone tablet from his storage pouch.
Light flickered from his hand. Some of the characters blurred away, and new ones were engraved in their place.
【Age: 2,208】
【Realm: Foundation Establishment Stage 7 (lower dantian), Foundation Establishment Stage 4 (rest of body)】
【Spiritual Power: 7,396 → 7,460】
‘Now I can openly go around as a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.’
More than thirty years had already passed since he entered Baoguang Temple.
During that time, he had gradually raised his publicly displayed cultivation to Stage 5 and then Stage 6. Between Baoguang Temple’s excellent cultivation environment and the income he earned as a Tier-2 alchemist, rising from Stage 4 to Stage 7 was hardly conspicuous.
Lee Hyun admired the stone tablet for a moment before returning it to his storage pouch and leaving his residence.
His feet naturally carried him toward a nearby peak.
…
The restriction opened as soon as he arrived before Wang Shulin’s residence.
It happened before he could even knock.
“Finished?”
Wang Shulin hurried out from inside.
Her hair flowed over her shoulders like silk.
Her face was as youthful as when they had first met, and her expression was even brighter and more vibrant than back then, making her exceptionally beautiful.
The moment she saw Lee Hyun, she broke into a radiant smile, unable to hide her delight. Then she came to a stop in front of him and widened her eyes.
“You broke through? Stage 7?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you come to me first?”
“Where else would I go?”
Instead of answering, Wang Shulin threw herself into Lee Hyun’s arms.
Her fresh scent enveloped him as he held her.
After burying her face against his chest for a moment, Wang Shulin looked up, smiling brightly as she tugged at his hand.
“Want to have some spirit tea before you go?”
…
Three days later.
A guest came to Wang Shulin’s residence.
The restriction outside the door chimed softly twice.
After waiting for a moment, Lu Hongyan folded her arms.
“Junior Sister Wang.”
When there was no answer from inside, she spoke again.
“Junior Brother Li is in there too, isn’t he? Open the door.”
A moment later, the door opened.
Wang Shulin was hurriedly tying up her hair, her face flushed red. Lee Hyun had already used the disguise art to restore his usual face and was fastening his long robe with a dazed expression, though his clothes somehow sat rather awkwardly.
Lu Hongyan gave the two of them a sidelong look, as though she had expected exactly this.
“Good grief. So busy clinging to each other in broad daylight that you couldn’t even hear me….”
“Senior Sister!”
Wang Shulin flushed and waved her hands, but Lu Hongyan merely snickered and stepped through the doorway.
“I thought Junior Brother Li Dongsi was completely hopeless with women… I suppose the saying is true: the quietest spirit cat is always the first to sneak into the herb garden… I heard you mastered that difficult Sutra of Refining Intent into Vow in less than ten years just so you could stay close to Shulin? She never stops singing your praises, and I suppose she wasn’t entirely exaggerating.”
Wang Shulin clapped a hand over Lu Hongyan’s mouth.
“Someone might hear you! I gave you a Youth-Preserving Pill, and you promised to keep quiet!”
“Mmph… All right…”
Lee Hyun scratched his head, but he could not think of anything to say in his defense.
Lu Hongyan passed between them and entered the guest room.
While Wang Shulin prepared tea, Lu Hongyan placed a thin booklet on the table.
“The Yunzhou Dao Symposium is being held.”
Lee Hyun sat down.
“The Dao symposium?”
“It’s an exchange gathering held every sixty years by the various sects of the Nine Kingdoms of Yunzhou. This time it’ll be held in the Jing Kingdom, north of the Xuan Kingdom. Baoguang Temple has decided to send people as well.”
Wang Shulin set down a teacup.
“The Dao symposium where the disciples hold sparring matches?”
“Right. The Elders meet with other Elders, while the disciples pit their techniques and martial learning against one another.”
Lu Hongyan opened the booklet.
It contained a list of candidate disciples Baoguang Temple might send.
Lee Hyun’s gaze stopped on a familiar name.
Li Dongsi.
“…My name is here too?”
“Martial Uncle Huitan recommended you. Apparently, they’re only planning to choose two from the Lotus Court.”
Lee Hyun turned to Wang Shulin. She nodded.
“Go without worrying about me. Master said that during the next batch of Golden Core Condensing Pills, I’ll be allowed to handle the blending of the medicinal ingredients myself. I don’t want to miss an opportunity like this either. I’m going to use the chance to learn properly.”
Lu Hongyan stared at Lee Hyun and Wang Shulin in disbelief.
“You two are already checking in with each other before going anywhere? Anyone would think you were married. Junior Brother Li, do you want to go?”
“There must be plenty of people with higher cultivation than me.”
“With your skill, you’re more than qualified to be a candidate.”
Lu Hongyan picked up her teacup.
“I saw how you fought on the coast. Even twenty years ago, you managed to hold out while deflecting the attacks of a Tier-3 demon beast. Now you’ve even reached late Foundation Establishment. Even leaving aside the talisman treasure you used, that was impressive enough.”
Lee Hyun considered it for a moment.
The prospect of observing the combat methods of cultivators from unfamiliar sects at close range intrigued him.
It would be an entirely different experience from practicing techniques alone or sparring with familiar fellow disciples.
There would be no need to fight to the death either. These were friendly sparring matches held under the watch of Elders, and continuing to attack an opponent after they surrendered was strictly forbidden.
From Lee Hyun’s perspective, the only real downside was having to be separated from Wang Shulin.
Wang Shulin was beautiful. Whenever she saw him, she smiled first, and when no one else was watching, she naturally reached for his hand. Lee Hyun had grown quite accustomed to that affection.
They spent nearly every day together, so merely thinking about not seeing her for a while already left him feeling strangely empty.
But they couldn’t always be together, and from time to time, he still had duties to fulfill for the sect.
…
Huitan examined Lee Hyun’s aura and nodded.
“You truly have reached the late stage.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Good. I’ll concede that my disciple hasn’t become so blinded by women that he’s abandoned his cultivation.”
“…….”
Huitan gestured toward the stone table beside him.
A jade dish covered by a preservation restriction held dark crimson marrow fluid from a demon beast.
“Start by preparing this.”
Lee Hyun sat down and conjured a flame at his fingertips.
The pale golden fire split into slender strands and seeped into the marrow fluid.
Huitan watched in silence.
There was a difference from when Lee Hyun had first entered the temple.
Back when he had preserved his primordial yang intact, even an almost invisible wisp of flame had been enough to purge the baleful qi.
Now, he had to push his fire control a little higher. Losing his primordial yang had weakened the Clear Yang Purifying Fire.
Purging the same amount of baleful qi required more spiritual power than before, but that posed no difficulty whatsoever for Lee Hyun with his Primordial Body.
His control of the flames had also become far more precise, allowing him to preserve the medicinal potency despite the increased heat. Thread-fine flames wove through the marrow fluid, burning away only the baleful qi.
His many years of practicing the Flame-Threading Art shone through here as well.
His vow power had also been preserved completely. The mind seal he had stabilized before releasing his vow now served as its foundation, so the strength of his Buddha-Light True Qi had not suffered.
Sssss.
The dark crimson energy dispersed like smoke.
After a long while, Lee Hyun withdrew his hand. Huitan pulled the jade dish closer and inspected it.
The old monk’s eyebrows twitched briefly.
“…Excellent.”
Huitan set the dish down and looked at him.
“It is excellent, but…”
“Yes.”
“Losing your primordial yang still feels like a waste.”
Lee Hyun gave an awkward smile.
“It doesn’t interfere with Refining.”
“I know. That is why I did not stop you. It is not as though our temple has any precept forbidding Dao companions.”
Before Lee Hyun could speak, Huitan continued.
“Still, when I was young, at least I understood how precious primordial yang was. Somehow, even after falling for a woman, you continue cultivating and practicing alchemy without missing a beat, so I cannot even find anything to lecture you about. That makes you all the more irritating.”
“…It’s because Master taught me well.”
“As expected. You must be so excellent because you’re my disciple.”
Huitan stroked his beard.
He took a small jade token from a drawer, pressed it to his forehead, infused it with divine sense, then placed it on the table.
“It is time you learned some new techniques. Go to the Scripture Pavilion. If you present this token, you may study two inheritances on the third floor.”
“Thank you.”
As Lee Hyun accepted the jade token, Huitan added one final remark.
“And you should attend the Dao symposium. Before we are alchemists, we are cultivators. Seeing the methods of other sects will be useful.”
“I will.”
“You will be traveling as part of a group, so there is no need to feel pressured.”
…
The third floor of the Scripture Pavilion was quieter than the floors below.
The restrictions covering its shelves were far thicker than those on the second floor.
After checking the jade token Huitan had given Lee Hyun, the monk in charge gestured toward the shelves.
“Choose two.”
“Yes.”
Lee Hyun wandered between the shelves until he reached a section containing inheritances related to attacks on the primordial spirit.
‘Come to think of it, I know the Spirit-Guarding Essence-Protecting Method, so I can defend against divine-sense attacks. I’ve also learned the Spirit-Refining Essentials, so I’m used to stabilizing and dividing my divine sense. Yet I don’t actually have a method for attacking someone else’s primordial spirit with divine sense.’
After some time, his hand stopped before a jade slip.
《Spirit-Jolting Needle Method》
It was a Dharma teaching for infusing divine sense with vow power, condensing it into a fine point, and forming a Spirit-Jolting Needle that pierced an opponent’s consciousness.
Thanks to the foundations provided by his Primordial Body and martial arts, Lee Hyun was exceptionally strong in physical combat, while his abundant spiritual power also made him proficient in battles of techniques. Considering the three elements of essence, qi and spirit, it was now time for him to acquire an offensive method involving the primordial spirit.
Of course, defeating a powerful opponent of the same realm in a single strike with a divine-sense attack would be difficult. But such a technique did not need to destroy the primordial spirit outright to be useful.
Simply disrupting an opponent’s consciousness at the instant they formed a hand seal or controlled a magic tool would already be highly effective.
Lee Hyun reread the explanation several times before setting the jade slip aside as his first choice.
While browsing another set of shelves, he found the section containing escape arts.
He had already learned the Earth Escape Art and Water Escape Art long ago, so he had no need for them.
Among the Five Elements escape arts were the Fire Escape Art and Wood Escape Art as well, but the one that caught his attention most was the Metal Escape Art.
A technique that allowed the body to pass through metal or along ore veins where metal qi was densely concentrated.
Its difficulty was extremely high and mastering it would be far from easy, but Lee Hyun, already a master of the Earth Escape Art, found himself drawn to it.
If he learned this as well, he would be able to find paths through ore veins that were difficult to traverse with the Earth Escape Art alone.
…
Fifteen days later.
The Lotus Court held a simple sparring match to make the final selection of disciples who would participate in the Yunzhou Dao Symposium.
Mingzhen stood opposite Lee Hyun.
He was the Senior Brother who had studied the Refining of the Golden Core Condensing Pill alongside him. A late Foundation Establishment cultivator, Mingzhen was highly skilled at controlling several magic tools simultaneously.
A small bronze mirror floated above Mingzhen’s head. Lee Hyun likewise summoned the Sinking Moon Sword and deployed the Six-Leaf Shield.
As Mingzhen formed a hand seal, blue rays poured from the bronze mirror. Bands of light sealed off Lee Hyun’s left and right, while two flying blades shot through the gaps with an ominous whistle.
It was a clean, seamless combination.
Clang! Claang!
Two plates of the Six-Leaf Shield knocked the flying blades away. At that instant, Mingzhen’s mirror rotated, and blue light bound one shield plate, slowing its movement.
The moment the corner of Mingzhen’s mouth lifted―
Lee Hyun did not even consider recalling the slowed shield plate. Instead, he used it to block Mingzhen’s view and drove straight through the opening without hesitation.
Whoosh!
Frost-bright sword light erupted from the Sinking Moon Sword and shot in a straight line between the two flying blades.
“Urgh!”
Startled, Mingzhen flung out a hand. A small shield shot upward in haste and barely managed to knock aside the Sinking Moon Sword’s sword light.
Boom!
He did not even have time to feel relieved.
Amid the sword light that shattered against the shield’s edge, a single concealed strand of blue sword qi curved inward like a snake.
By the time Mingzhen hurriedly retreated, it was already too late.
A cold chill.
The sword qi, carrying a lofty, austere force without stirring so much as a breath of wind, stopped one cun (about 3.3 cm) from the nape of his neck.
The Elder watching from outside raised a hand.
“Enough.”
Cold sweat beaded on Mingzhen’s skin as he let out a helpless breath.
“I lost.”
Lee Hyun withdrew his sword qi and pressed his palms together.
“Thank you for the guidance.”
Mingzhen rubbed his chest and clicked his tongue.
“Guidance? Hardly. Junior Brother Li, your talent for combat is absurd. I’m glad you aren’t my enemy. For a moment, I thought I was fighting a ghost.”
Lee Hyun was slightly taken aback.
By now, he had completely mastered the Great Unity Heavenly Dipper Sword Art. He could conceal sword qi among countless streams of sword light and even form a sword formation with it.
What he had not expected was for a late Foundation Establishment Senior Brother to completely fail to react to a single strand of sword qi before Lee Hyun even deployed the sword formation.
‘I see. I’ve lost my sense of what’s normal for a Foundation Establishment cultivator… If I don’t want to attract too much attention at the Yunzhou Dao Symposium, I need to practice holding back.’
After the sparring matches ended, Lee Hyun and Senior Brother Mingyun, who excelled in formations, were ultimately selected to represent the Lotus Court.
…
Over the next two months, Lee Hyun went about his usual routine while learning his new Dharma teachings and preparing for the Dao symposium.
Gathering his divine sense and shaping it into a Spirit-Jolting Needle was relatively easy.
That was because he had refined his primordial spirit for many years, and the mind seal of the Sutra of Refining Intent into Vow was already stable.
What remained difficult was breaking through the divine-sense defenses of a fast-moving opponent and disrupting their consciousness at precisely the right moment in actual combat.
Even when he practiced with Lu Hongyan while both of them lowered their power and prepared beforehand, he often missed the proper timing to strike as soon as their exchanges sped up.
The Metal Escape Art was even harder.
But Lee Hyun felt no impatience whatsoever.
Most of the astonishing proficiency he took pride in with his techniques had been accumulated over long years. He had never expected himself to become immediately proficient with newly learned techniques.
He had time to spare, after all.
Before departure, he stopped by Tunnel No. 3 to check the spirit field and filled the water reservoir with the Spirit Rain Art. He also made sure to inspect the fuzzbees and Bonefuzz.
…
The night before departure.
Wang Shulin lay in Lee Hyun’s arms reading a popular novel. She stopped turning the pages, took his hand, and idly played with his fingers one knuckle at a time.
“Don’t go getting yourself mixed up in anything dangerous for no reason.”
“Mm.”
***
The next morning.
A large flying boat floated above a plaza on the eastern side of the mountain range where Baoguang Temple stood.
Several layers of golden patterns shone beneath the hull, while the image of a lion standing atop clouds was carved into the high prow.
Many disciples had already gathered in the plaza.
Cultivators from the Demon-Subduing Court had long spears and sword scabbards strapped to their backs, while others stood beside long cases containing magic tools.
Elsewhere, monks with unusually thick arms and shoulders spoke in low voices. A faint golden sheen flowed across the skin exposed beyond their enchanted robes.
They were disciples of the Vajra Court, which primarily practiced body-refining techniques.
A short distance away sat cultivators of the Concentration and Wisdom Court. Some had their eyes closed, while others rolled small prayer beads between their fingers.
The Concentration and Wisdom Court specialized in the in-depth study and practice of Dharma teachings on meditation, visualization, and spirit refinement. Its inheritances ranged from the Soul-Seizing Art, which used divine sense to shake an opponent’s soul, to methods for condensing a Dharma manifestation. As befitted a great sect of the Buddhist tradition, Baoguang Temple possessed profound foundations in Dharma teachings concerning the mind and primordial spirit.
One disciple from the Life-Release Court continuously stroked the ears of a small beast held in his arms.
The creature looked docile, but whenever it yawned, sharp demonic qi leaked from between its teeth.
‘There are beast tamers too…’
Lee Hyun looked around.
There were twenty-four participants in all.
Even though he had entered the sect more than thirty years ago, most of the faces were completely unfamiliar to him.
‘I really have spent all my time in the Lotus Court.’
Near the plaza, disciples of the Guest Reception Hall were directing the accompanying personnel as they boarded and moved their baggage.
A steward from the Discipline Hall checked the delegation roster while handing out spirit tablets.
Lee Hyun turned his gaze beyond the plaza.
Halls and cultivation grounds covered the distant peaks. Other flying boats traveled between them, while disciples who had finished their dawn practice descended the long stairways.
Baoguang Temple was enormous.
It truly was a great sect that presided over temples and frontier outposts throughout the Xu Kingdom, maintaining order across lands inhabited by countless cultivators and mortals.
His comfortable daily life in the Lotus Court was only a tiny part of it.
“Junior Brother Li!”
Lu Hongyan raised a hand from the deck.
Several cultivators from the Demon-Subduing Court stood beside her.
Lee Hyun flew up and landed on the deck, and Lu Hongyan introduced him to her fellow disciples.
“This is Junior Brother Li Dongsi from the Lotus Court. He’ll be participating with us this time.”
Several of them greeted him warmly, and Lee Hyun returned each greeting in turn with his palms pressed together.
A moment later, the formation inscriptions on the flying boat began to glow brightly.
Hummm―
The plaza slowly receded into the distance.
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