The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 29 New Year
"That is to say, within a hundred years, you must condense into a demon pill!"

With “Your time is running out.”

Yang Chan spoke slowly.

The words were like a knife, bit by bit chipping away Ding Lin's pride and joy at his successful transformation.

A life span of about a hundred years.

Ding Lin looked again at the only three years of cultivation left in his dantian.

To condense a demon pill, no matter how hard it is, one must practice for at least several hundred years.

"You don't have to worry. I will help you cultivate the purified Taoism as soon as possible. Remember, if you have the opportunity to break the mirror, you must seize it decisively. Don't pursue breaking the mirror with a higher level of cultivation just for the sake of suppressing the realm of so-called foundation."

Yang Chan said with a warning.

"In cultivation, realm is always the most important. Taoism can be further improved in the next realm, but the opportunity to break the mirror sometimes only comes once. If you miss it, you may not have another chance until the end of your life. If you break through the realm, you will have more life, which means more opportunities."

"Remember, remember!"

Under the moonlight, Yang Chan looked serious.

……

The days seemed to have returned to the way they were before.

No.

More urgent than ever.

At night, Ding Lin would never waste any time as long as he could practice. And during the day, Yang Chan would still often come over in the early morning. Just as she said, every time she came, she would bring something for Ding Lin, either elixir or spiritual fruit.

After practicing the "Black Water Sutra", as the quality of mana improved, the benefits brought by these elixirs and spiritual fruits were not as great as before, but the advantage was that they were always there, and the gains were quite substantial.

Ding Lin practiced at night and refined elixirs and spiritual objects during the day, practicing almost non-stop.

In this way, the communication between Ding Lin and Yang Chan became less and less.

Most of the time, Yang Chan stood silently by the pool, while Ding Lin immersed himself in cultivation.

Also from the day when he started reading the Black Water Sutra, Yang Chan no longer used her magic power to lift Ding Lin up. He could not see anything below the mountain, and Ding Lin lost count of the time again.

Every year, Yang Chan becomes the first person to say Happy New Year.

Happy New Year, said five times.

With an almost continuous supply of elixirs and spiritual fruits, coupled with his daily diligent practice, at the beginning, Ding Lin recovered at a rate of almost a hundred years per year, and it only took him three years to fully recover.

Three hundred years of cultivation.

According to Yang Chan, after the monsters have cultivated for three hundred years, they will have the foundation to form a pill. After that, they may have a sudden inspiration and feel the opportunity to break through, and move to a higher new realm.

Or he could continue to slowly accumulate cultivation, during which the possibility of forming a pill would slightly improve, until one day, he encountered a bottleneck and his cultivation would completely stagnate.

Ding Lin never felt the breakthrough opportunity that flash of inspiration came to him.

From the fourth year onwards, Ding Lin's cultivation speed began to slow down, and he could only make progress by more than fifty years each year.

But even so, plus the previous three years.

five years.

Ding Lin's cultivation has also lasted for four hundred years.

Four hundred and eight years to be more precise.

sixth year.

Ding Lin practiced harder and harder, but the speed of his cultivation was decreasing instead of increasing. He had a bad feeling in his heart, but he couldn't say it out loud. He could only practice harder, but -

I don’t know how much of this year has passed, but the thing I was worried about still happened.

After more than ten days of hard training, his cultivation level had not improved at all and was frozen at 437 years.

"I……"

Ding Lin looked up and saw Yang Chan standing quietly by the pool. As soon as he said this, he was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized that this seemed to be the first time he took the initiative to talk to Yang Chan this year.

“You’ve hit a wall.”

Yang Chan's voice remained calm.

"Is there any way?"

Ding Lin asked.

"If there is a way, it wouldn't be called a bottleneck."

Yang Chan shook her head.

“Perhaps it will disappear after some time, or even condense into a demon pill in a flash of light, or maybe…”

Yang Chan paused for a moment and didn't say anything else, but Ding Lin could certainly hear the hidden meaning behind her words.

Maybe it's stuck here.

"You've been practicing too hard these past few years. If you take it easy, maybe there will be some results."

Yang Chan said.

Ding Lin was silent for a moment, and finally could only nod silently.

So, I experienced the days when there was no way forward for the second time. At such times, time always seemed to be extraordinarily long.

Ding Lin still devotes most of his time to spiritual practice.

Even though it was in vain.

the rest of the time.

If Yang Chan came to see him, they would chat for a while, but after all, he was preoccupied and his mind was difficult to concentrate, and he would often forget what he had said while talking.

Actually, if you want to say it is fear, there is indeed some fear, but it is far from the point of being terrified.

After all, Ding Lin is only a hundred years old.

Half of my life is left.

Although we are stuck here, a hundred years of time can always make people full of hope.

More confused.

After getting used to making progress, I suddenly feel helpless and unable to make any progress.

And a little bit of anxiety.

The days are still long, but what if...

Somewhat complicated.

Ding Lin is also gradually adjusting his mindset and adapting slowly.

……

this day.

Yang Chan held a small bowl with a wooden brush placed diagonally on it, and in the other hand, she held a rolled-up Spring Festival couplets.

"Happy New Year!"

Yang Chan said.

"Happy New Year... Is this... are we going to put up Spring Festival couplets today?"

Ding Lin's reaction was a little slow, and he was a little confused.

"I just had this idea on impulse," Yang Chan nodded, "and I haven't put up Spring Festival couplets for many years."

Ding Lin was also eager to try.

This long-lost mortal interest reminded him of the past. He felt a little emotional, and even the demonic energy in his dantian became a little more active.

"Unfortunately, I haven't practiced enough, so I can't stick it on."

Ding Lin felt a little regretful.

"It's okay, you can help me check if it's posted correctly."

As Yang Chan spoke, she put the Spring Festival couplets aside and used a small brush to evenly brush the rice paste in the small bowl in front of the archway of the courtyard. Then she put the bowl aside and picked up the Spring Festival couplets, but she was in a panic and didn't know where to start.

"I haven't posted it much. In the past, I just watched from the side."

Yang Chan looked at Ding Lin.

"I'll teach you how to stick it on."

Ding Lin smiled.

"Grab the two top corners of the Spring Festival couplet, stick it in place, and move it a little higher... OK, it's straight. Let it hang down... Yes, use your hands to smooth the two sides, it's a little crooked... Yes, just like that..."

Ding Lin gave guidance.

"Stick that one next, pinch the two corners, a little higher, good, it's even... smooth the edges... not enough glue was applied..."

"All right."

Yang Chan turned around and spread out her hands. She didn't use any magic power, but her fingertips were stained red by the Spring Festival couplets, and a stroke of it fell on her face. She didn't know when it got there.

Ding Lin had never seen Yang Chan like this before.

(End of this chapter)