Mysterious mirror hanging high

"Master Bai, you're wrong. Why do most of our disciples recommend the Lotus Step as their entry-level escape technique? This escape technique isn't just for escaping quickly, it also has the wonderful effect of widening the leg meridians and nourishing the Dharma body. Long-term practice can enhance your foundation in the immortal way."

Ye Jinyuan shook his head and retorted, "If one can truly cultivate to the highest level of [Breath of Lotus], the meridians in the legs will be connected, which will be of great benefit to even a Foundation Establishment cultivator in absorbing and releasing spiritual energy and circulating the Qi."

Bai Jian frowned and said, "What advantage does the benefit of widening the meridians have when it comes to building a foundation? Compared to the heavenly gift and the purification of the body when building an immortal foundation, the benefits brought are negligible. It would be better to meditate and practice for a few more cycles instead of wasting a large amount of life on such trivial secret techniques!"

"Qi training cultivators already have a short lifespan, how could they possibly withstand such torture? Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"

Ye Jinyuan said softly, "Not all cultivators in the world have such good aptitude as Junior Brother Bai. When you hit a bottleneck, you have plenty of time to practice secret techniques. Any additional improvement in your foundation is a good thing."

Bai Jian shook his head and laughed, "Even so... has anyone really cultivated this [Lotus Step] to the level of [Lotus Blooms with Every Step]? In all the years I've been practicing, I've never heard of any Qi training and foundation building disciple with such perseverance, determination, and talent... Uncle, please don't mislead me."

Ye Jinyuan thought to himself, "Alas... I was favored by Master for no reason back then. Over the years, I've enjoyed abundant spiritual resources, but my cultivation level has risen very slowly. This has aroused the dissatisfaction of many elders and true disciples in the sect. Junior Brother Bai is pointing fingers at me."

Just as they were talking, nine bells rang from the top of Fugui Mountain and spread throughout the island.

Bai Jian's expression changed. "The [Morning Bell] has rung nine times. This is the Sect Master summoning all the elders and true disciples to discuss important matters!"

He instantly turned into a sword light and flew towards the top of the mountain.

Ye Jinyuan's expression also changed slightly, and lotus flowers emerged from under his feet. He actually flew in the air. Although he was at the initial stage of foundation building, his speed of escape was not much slower than Bai Jian who was at the late stage of foundation building!

The many Qi training disciples in the martial arts arena were in an uproar. Some sharp-eyed ones had already recognized Ye Jinyuan's escape method and exclaimed:

"It is the highest realm of the Lotus Step... a lotus blooms with every step!"

Bai Jian turned around in shock upon hearing this, and was also shocked, but then he thought to himself:

"Did he really master it? That's all... He was just practicing the Qi escape technique. It turns out he hasn't made any progress in his cultivation over the years. He's wasted his time on this escape technique!"

The two flew one after the other to the top of Fugui Mountain, where they saw hundreds of disciples already waiting. Acting headmaster Yun Ji Zhenren, the headmaster's pet Zhao Yuankong, and several other Jindan elders were standing in the front row. Jing Yu, dressed in a gray robe, was suspended in mid-air, with his hands behind his back, looking towards the southwest, silent.

Bai Jian stood in the team of the true disciples of the foundation-building stage. Ye Jinyuan, due to his frighteningly high seniority, squeezed into the team of the Jindan elders.

"Is everyone here?" Jing Yu, who had originally turned his back to the other cultivators, turned around and said slowly:

"I've had a feeling recently. I've had a flash of inspiration in my cultivation. I've vaguely touched the edge of the middle stage of the Nascent Soul. I'm going into a state of seclusion to break through the bottleneck. I won't be coming out for a hundred years. I'm letting you know."

Several Jindan elders looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

The master in front of him had conceived his Nascent Soul only seventy or eighty years ago, less than a hundred years ago. Cultivating his magical power is a very slow process. At the moment, he probably hasn't even accumulated enough magical power to meet the standard, so how can he say that he has reached the threshold of the middle Nascent Soul stage?

Moreover, even if the master has really reached the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, the bottleneck of the middle Nascent Soul stage is not as big a threshold as the late stage of the Spirit Transformation stage. He can just hone it slowly in his spare time. Why does he need to go into seclusion?

Faced with Jing Yu's lame excuse, no one dared to refute it and all nodded in agreement. Jing Yu glanced at the elders and true disciples below and pointed his finger:

"Yun Ji, Yuan Kong, Jin Yuan, the three of you follow me into the cave. I have a few things to tell you."

The two people and the demon followed Jing Yu into the cave, and Yun Ji spoke first:

"Master, you..."

Jing Yu said, "Yun Ji, my clones will be of great use in the next hundred years. I am also tied up and unable to take care of the sect. You no longer need to regularly consult me ​​on matters related to the sect. You can make all the decisions with just one word."

"If you encounter any problems that cannot be solved, you can go to the Ye family or seek help from your master, Xuan Ce Zhenjun."

"If all else fails, you can always take this sword talisman I gave you and head east to Zhongzhou to ask Ling Xiao for the sword!"

After saying that, Jing Yu had an ancient sword talisman in his hand, on which the word "Xiao" was clearly engraved, and handed it to Yun Ji.

Yun Ji took the sword talisman and bowed, "I will obey the Master's orders."

"Yuankong..." Jing Yu turned to look at Zhao Yuankong. The tall ape demon with golden hair and blue eyes quickly came forward.

"Sir, please speak."

"When I'm away, you should practice diligently and take care of Jin Yuan."

Jing Yu closed his eyes slightly and said calmly, "I just felt that many disciples in the sect have a slight hostility towards Jin Yuan. But are they dissatisfied with Jin Yuan?"

Zhao Yuankong said awkwardly, "It's true... Jin Yuan, after all, hasn't been able to improve his cultivation. The disciples in the sect generally believe that he's wasting his spiritual resources and isn't capable of great things..."

Jing Yu said angrily, "Jin Yuan's spiritual resources for cultivation were paid for out of my own pocket, and I didn't touch the secret storehouse of our sect. Do they have the right to complain?"

"Besides..."

He waved to Ye Jinyuan: "Jinyuan, come here."

Ye Jinyuan immediately walked over. Jing Yu grabbed the disciple's shoulder and after a careful inspection, a look of joy appeared on his face.

"Indeed, you have a solid foundation and are making rapid progress! Good disciple, you have not disappointed me."

Zhao Yuankong and Yun Ji exchanged glances obscurely, feeling somewhat unsure of Jing Yu's intentions.

Ye Jinyuan has been building his foundation for nearly fifty years and is still lingering in the early stages. They always feel that the words of the head master are quite sarcastic.

However, they did not know that people with the fate of "late bloomer" would practice as fast as a turtle at the beginning of each major realm. In addition, the magic power of "Turtle Breathing Method to Avoid Disasters" that Ye Jinyuan practiced was not very active in nature, so it was natural that he would have a hard time in the early stage of building the foundation.

Even under these unfavorable conditions, Ye Jinyuan has achieved his current level of cultivation, which shows that he is extremely diligent. At least he is much better than Jing Yu who worked for three days and rested for two days. That is why Jing Yu praised him.

Ye Jinyuan had known for years that he had a strange destiny and had anticipated this. Knowing that his master was truly praising him, he breathed a sigh of relief and bowed, saying, "I'm just doing my best. I dare not bring disgrace upon my master."

Jing Yu shook his head and said, "You're not practicing for me, so what does it matter if you bring disgrace upon my reputation? The true path to heaven is to achieve it... Cultivation isn't about who can go faster, but who can go further. Those with true lofty ambitions don't need to pursue momentary gains. Just wait until thousands or even millions of years have passed, and see how many will still be able to enjoy the world freely!"