Recruit black physique to start practice in wasteland

Chapter 2417 Growth
Upon hearing this, Min Ning shook his head, both amused and exasperated. "This is truly... I've never seen anyone so unwilling to go into seclusion!"

Qu Jianlei's actions were truly unconventional. Even though the conditions for his seclusion were already excellent, he would still occasionally emerge from seclusion.

If it's just minor adjustments to the seclusion location, that's fine; he really has a lot of ideas to test.

Seeing this, Wenxian was a little annoyed: "Leave the formation to me. Get back to your seclusion and start cultivating. I've never seen anyone so irresponsible!"
He's lost interest in formations, but there's nothing he can do; Xiao Qu is just too much of a worry.

Before long, Qu Jianlei will emerge from seclusion again, bringing out the newly improved formation and asking for suggestions on modifications.

No one else knew that he was truly in seclusion, but a small lake was keeping him busy.

It's not like what people imagine, using multi-threaded divine consciousness operations; they are simply different individuals.

Qu Jianlei, however, is not yet able to completely empty his mind and concentrate on advancing to the next level. He occasionally comes out of seclusion to relax, which does not affect the overall situation.

Most importantly, he does need a lot of energy to advance his level, and the team's wealth... is indeed not much.

Since Big Head Butterfly is so enthusiastic, isn't it normal for me to cooperate as well?
There's no way around it; poverty makes people lose their ambition. Even if it's a breakthrough to the point of spiritual awakening, one still has to be frugal when necessary.

Wenxian was initially very resistant to this behavior. "To fulfill my promise, I came all the way to another world to protect the Dharma. Is it easy for me?"

However, after studying it for a while, he discovered that the formation had many strange aspects and seemed to actually have some value.

So asking a couple of questions at a later time isn't a big deal—it was Xiao Qu's own decision to leave seclusion, and since she's already done it…

Han Li, of course, saw their actions.

At first, he really couldn't be bothered to care. It wasn't the end of his seclusion yet, so it was normal not to go into complete seclusion.

But this happened again soon after, and he couldn't stand it anymore, so he went to find Wenxian.

The two of you are having these discussions more and more frequently... Xiao Qu is young and naive, but are you naive too?

Unfortunately, he also became obsessed with it, believing that the mystery of energy conversion might point directly to the true meaning of dimensional conversion!

The good thing is that Han Li has not forgotten his original intention.

When Qu Jianlei emerged from seclusion again, he was directly reprimanded by him: "You should go into seclusion properly and not waste the favors of the four True Venerables!"
Even the top disciple of the Lingyun Sect, when advancing to a higher level, would not receive the same treatment as you.

Qu Jianlei naturally knew the gravity of the situation, but he was too embarrassed to explain that it was because he was poor.

So he could only attribute it to the cultivation method—my cultivation method is like this, it's not quite the same as other people's.

Han Li had heard him mention it briefly and knew that his technique was a modified version, not any mainstream technique.

He was too embarrassed to ask too many questions, and could only say that it was good that you had some idea.

Qingkong and Minning were chatting casually when suddenly a faint ripple came from the space.

A figure emerged from the ripples, indistinct and lacking any discernible aura.

"This...it's him?" The Grand Protector was somewhat taken aback. "He's actually grown to this level?"

Through a sense of déjà vu, he could tell that the figure was Xiao Qu, who was in seclusion.

However, the aura emanating from the other party was so concealed that even he could not sense it, a far cry from the kind that he couldn't suppress before.

"That's normal, isn't it?" Min Ning said, unsurprised. "Shouldn't you conceal your aura before breaking through to the next level?"

"That should be the aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator, right?" True Venerable Qingkong countered. "To completely conceal it, one must be at the very end of a life-or-death cultivation!"

“This…” Min Ning gave a wry smile, “That’s the norm. Do you think he’s normal, or is there only one path for a True Venerable?”

Just then, a figure moved slightly, cupped his hands in this direction, and said, "So it's the Great Protector. Greetings, Your Excellency."

“No need to be so polite,” Qingkong waved his hand. “It won’t be long before you’re calling me Fellow Daoist.”

“Here it comes out again,” Wenxian’s consciousness also emerged. “How long are you trying to stall me?”

"That formation..." Qu Jianlei seemed a little embarrassed.

"It's completely perfected. You can continue your seclusion," Venerable Wenxian said helplessly. "Here, take it!"

An indistinct shadow disappeared into the figure's hand and vanished in an instant.

Then another aura emerged, and Han Li also appeared, but no divine sense was transmitted, the meaning of which was already very clear.

“Yes, yes, I’m going into seclusion,” Qu Jianlei immediately said. “This time it’s really a complete seclusion, I won’t be coming out again.”

It took about ten years to complete the formation, and he had indeed reached a critical juncture, so he definitely had to make a statement.

Then he remembered and looked at True Venerable Qingkong, "Great Protector, has something happened to Houde?"

“No,” Qingkong replied calmly, “I just missed everyone, and... I also discovered a clue to another world.”

The otherworldly clues are pure nonsense. His real purpose in coming here is to deliver some news about the Houde Realm.

However, unless he's completely out of his mind, he would never say that at this point.

Even if the Red Leaf Ridge team is wiped out, he will wait until the enemy comes out of seclusion before making any moves.

"You asked a bit late," Qu Jianlei snorted. He didn't believe that what the other party said was absolutely true—it was just the standard answer.

But at this point, worrying about these things is pointless; let's deal with the bigger issues after we leave the pass.

The figure snorted softly and disappeared, leaving only a faint trace of divine consciousness in the space, which also vanished instantly. "He really went into seclusion."

"This..." Qingkong Zhenzun glanced at Minning, "Is it true that he said he's going into seclusion for a life-or-death retreat?"

Xiao Qu isn't exactly unconventional, but he's very opinionated. It's normal for him to give a perfunctory reply for his own purposes.

Min Ning simply replied casually, "Since I've known him, it seems like he's never gone back on his word."

“Then I won’t leave in a hurry,” the Great Protector sent out his divine sense. “Fellow Daoist Han Li, how much time do you have left according to your divination?”

"About ten years," Han Li's divine sense transmitted, "but I'm warning you, from now on, stop divining about him!"

Divination can have a very slight effect on breaking through a barrier, but as one's realm increases, even the smallest effect will be magnified.

It's easy for a True Venerable to divine for others, but when it comes to divination for a Nascent Soul cultivator who has left the body, if the other party really takes it to heart, it can't be explained away by mere "curiosity."

"Could I do that kind of thing?" the Great Protector replied nonchalantly. "But, really only ten years or so?"

Han Li's divine sense swept over, radiating coldness, clearly indicating his displeasure. "If you don't trust me, then don't ask."

"This temper..." Qingkong Zhenzun shook his head dismissively, "I'm just confirming whether I want to stay or not."

"What are you going to do by staying?" Han Li's divine sense grew even colder. "I remember you didn't promise to protect me!"

“I don’t want to be watched anymore,” the Great Protector replied sullenly. “If it really takes more than ten years, I’ll just stay here and hide away in peace and quiet.”

Han Li Zhenzun remained silent for a long time before speaking, "I don't want to make things difficult for you, but you shouldn't make things difficult for me either... understand?"

The responsibility of protecting the Dharma is truly immense; he doesn't want any potential destabilizing factors to emerge.

"You're really inflexible," the Great Protector couldn't help but complain. "We've fought together before."

"How about... you swear another oath, Great Protector?" Jin Ge chimed in, "I promise not to cause trouble."

"Can't you even talk to someone?" Qingkong Zhenzun cursed angrily. "You have to swear an oath for everything? Do you really think karma isn't serious?"

Oaths involve cause and effect, but few people consider the issue from the perspective of cause and effect.

If cause and effect is a big shot, and someone keeps bothering him endlessly, wouldn't the big shot get tired?

“I have another formation here,” Wenxian chimed in. “If the Great Protector doesn’t want to leave, he can use this formation to protect himself!”

"Why the hell didn't you just say imprisonment?" Venerable Qingkong retorted angrily. "What's with the self-protection!"

“I don’t have an array that can imprison a Celestial Venerable,” Wenxian replied seriously. “Even if I did, the noise from forcibly breaking free would be enormous.”

"I just see you don't want to take an oath, so I'll give you another option."

The Grand Protector thought about it and realized he really had no other choice, so he could only reluctantly say, "Let me take a look at your formation first."

However, Wenxian's current mastery of formations is something that ordinary people cannot understand.

Even the Great Protector, a true master of many years, was completely baffled by it, and finally figured out its general purpose through a combination of guesswork and deduction.

It's a large early warning array. If he wants to launch an attack in a certain direction while he's inside the array, the array will issue an early warning and delay him for a moment.

However, even this slight delay is precious enough for the other immortals to react.

Secondly... once he launches an attack, in addition to the delay, there is a possibility of triggering random teleportation.

Unfortunately, Qingkong had actually studied this kind of formation.

His array formation skills were slightly lacking, but as a True Venerable, his swordsmanship in all the arts of cultivation would be excellent.

As for the specific areas of formations... he put a lot of effort into trigger-based defense back then!
Wenxian calmly replied, "With the Great Protector's strength, what's a little teleportation?"

This is not an exaggeration. For a True Venerable of Out-of-Body Realm, being forcibly teleported away is nothing. He can return to the battlefield in an instant.

“That was someone else’s teleportation, not yours,” Qingkong replied casually.

However, in the end, he still stepped into the great formation. "Sigh, well, I have to show some sincerity."

The Grand Protector entered the formation, but it was only a formality. Most of the time, he remained outside the formation, wandering around and looking at things.

However, the other four Grand Venerables did not stop him, as it was not a critical moment.

Even if you haven't experienced protecting the Dharma for others, you've heard of it and know when and what to pay attention to.

After wandering around for a while, Qingtian went to the residences of several other True Venerables to see what they were doing.

Several True Venerables have left behind clones or original bodies in Houde, Minning is still renovating the temple, and Jingge is perfecting the cave.

Wenxian was somewhat idle, and he and Hanli were studying the cultivation system of this world.

Even if we look down on them, we still need to study the details, since we're just killing time anyway.

Putting aside their inherent arrogance, cultivators are also willing to accept the merits of things from outside.