Practice begins with immortality

"Have you heard? The new town guard is a foundation-building cultivator!" Several servants in Shengxian Town gathered together to discuss.

"Is this true?" someone asked doubtfully.

"Of course it's true. My cousin is a guard at the garrison, and I heard it myself," another person retorted. He then said excitedly, "If this senior takes a fancy to you, your future as an immortal will definitely be smooth!"

"Stop daydreaming! We all have low-grade spiritual roots. Without opportunity, even breaking through to the middle stage of Qi Refining would be difficult," someone said coldly. Though the earlier person felt somewhat unhappy upon hearing this, they also understood the truth. They were all menial disciples with low aptitude. While those who could reach the middle stage of Qi Refining before the age of 30 could join the sect, everyone understood that was just a sliver of hope. Over the years, few have managed to achieve this. Furthermore, the only reason these menial disciples could stay here to cultivate was because their ancestors were cultivators within the sect, and they were under the sect's care.

On the other side, after Wang Bai understood the situation, he instructed the guards: "I am in seclusion all year round, so you can handle some things on yourselves. Every year I will come out of seclusion and call you to see if there are any emergencies. Other than that, if there is nothing serious, don't disturb me." After that, Wang Bai walked straight into the practice room.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, five years had passed in Shengxian Town, while Wang Bai had spent ten years in the Wilderness. During these years in the Wilderness, Wang Bai spent most of his time cultivating. He also refined spiritual tools and drew spiritual talismans, using some of them to trade for resources with the tribes in the Wilderness. He kept the rest for himself, and when he ran out of elixirs for his cultivation, he would return to the Luoxia Mountains and give these items to the Ziyu Sect in exchange for contribution points, which he could then use to buy resources.

After years of arduous practice, Wang Bai had made remarkable progress: he could refine a top-grade spiritual weapon, and in the art of talismans, he could perfectly draw the Golden Cloud Body Protection Talisman. Both his Dharma and Body cultivation had reached the late stages of Foundation Establishment. The Body Refining Realm was only one step away from perfecting the Foundation Establishment, and a breakthrough was imminent.

Likewise, Shengxian Town hadn't experienced any major incidents in recent years. While there were occasional minor conflicts, they were easily resolved. The only major event recently was the Purple Jade Sect's enrollment meeting, a grand event held every five years. All eligible children in the town were gathered together to have their spiritual roots examined. Wang Bai didn't take this matter too seriously, simply instructing the guards to handle the matter.

"Commander Bai, I remember that in previous conferences, the local garrison commanders would come out to welcome us in person. Why is it an exception in Shengxian Town? Don't you take us formal disciples seriously?" A woman with a somewhat harsh face asked sharply.

"Yes, this is too much of an underestimation of us." Several other disciples also echoed and expressed their dissatisfaction.

Faced with the crowd's questioning, Commander Bai's face changed slightly, and he quickly explained, "No, no, we absolutely have no such intention. It's just that the garrison commander is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and he specifically instructed us not to disturb his cultivation. I hope you all can understand."

"Foundation Establishment Cultivator!" Upon hearing this news, the harsh woman and the others were all shocked, their faces filled with surprise. They knew full well that the status and strength of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator were unattainable for Qi Refining disciples like them, so they all kept their mouths shut and said no more. After all, provoking such a person was not a wise move.

After checking the spiritual roots of all the children of appropriate age, the group hurried away with the new disciples.

Another year passed, and inside the Garrison, the former guard commander waited anxiously. He thought to himself, "According to the original instructions, the master should be out of seclusion in the next few days. With the master's help, this matter can be easily resolved."

Inside the training room, Wang Bai slowly emerged from the light curtain. Feeling the surging power within him, he nodded with satisfaction. "After twelve years of diligent practice, I've finally reached the Perfection of Body Refining and Foundation Establishment. The Perfection of Qi Refining is only one step away." Wang Bai's strength now far surpasses that of his peers, and he can be said to be unrivaled below the Golden Core stage.

Afterwards, Wang Bai walked out of the training room and immediately spotted the former guard. Seeing Wang Bai finally emerge from his retreat, the guard's face lit up with joy. He immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Sir, you've finally emerged from your retreat! I have an urgent matter to report!"

Wang Bai looked at the other person's anxious expression, and guessed something in his heart. He said lightly: "It seems that something happened in the town. Tell me!"

"In the past few months, people have been missing in Shengxian Town and other surrounding towns. Disciples from the Purple Jade Sect came down the mountain to investigate, but they found nothing. I have no other options but to wait for you, my Lord, to come out of seclusion."

After hearing this, Wang Bai nodded in understanding. He then asked, "I see. Then I'll take over this matter. Tell me, what do these missing people have in common?"

The subordinate quickly replied, "My Lord, most of them are warriors with martial arts skills and cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining. They travel together to the nearby abandoned spiritual stone veins to search for gravel or spiritual sand containing spiritual energy for cultivation."

After listening to this, the elder fell into deep thought. After a while, he asked again: "Did these people leave any clues?"

The man shook his head and said, "We didn't find any useful clues."

"In that case, I will personally investigate this abandoned spirit stone mine to see if I can find any clues."

After saying that, Wang Bai stood up and prepared to set off for the abandoned spirit stone mine.