Inside Elder Yuan's cave mansion, two people sat together.
In the main seat, a young Taoist man wore a purple Taoist robe, his appearance only somewhere in his twenties or thirties, exuding an ethereal and refined aura.
The Taoist smiled gently, and even without speaking, people felt as if spring breeze washed over them.
Yuan Mobai.
The closed-door disciple of the previous Celestial Master, and the junior brother of the current Celestial Master.
Speaking of which, Wang Guiyuan, off to the side, looked about thirty years old. Judging by appearances, he actually seemed older than his own master, Elder Yuan.
*Should one say Elder Yuan knew the secrets of preserving youth, or that Senior Brother Wang simply seemed old before his time?*
Unlike the cave mansion's host, as gentle as spring, the other side of the cave was the complete opposite.
On the guest seat, a young girl was completely wrapped inside a black cloak, only her small pale face exposed, skin so white she hardly looked alive.
Thankfully, she didn't act like the guest trying to steal the show, and whatever chill she carried stayed on her side of the cave, not affecting the overall mood.
After Lei Jun and Wang Guiyuan came forward to greet, Elder Yuan smiled at Lei Jun, "A divine thing hides its brilliance, edges kept within, truly a top-tier talent."
His tone was mild and warm, making Lei Jun feel the same warmth he had felt when he read Elder Yuan's letter.
Elder Yuan looked over at Xu Yuanzhen, "Yuan Zhen, good eye."
Xu Yuanzhen, "I didn't pay attention to his talent at first."
Lei Jun, "…"
Wang Guiyuan, "…"
Elder Yuan kept smiling, "Then why did you bring him back to the mountain at that time?"
Xu Yuanzhen, "…As much as I hate to admit it, I just found him agreeable."
The purple-robed taoist nun, typically calm—almost indifferent—showed a rare change in expression, her brows furrowing as she again sized up Lei Jun, her look nothing like someone seeing a person they found agreeable.
The issue wasn't Lei Jun himself.
She simply disliked that sort of feeling with anyone she interacted with.
Lei Jun, "First time I saw Senior Sister, I thought you were familiar, too."
Xu Yuanzhen, "Give me a break."
*Lei Jun smiled in gratitude for the very first lot he drew upon arriving in this world…*
It seemed Elder Yuan and his disciple weren't surprised by Xu Yuanzhen's attitude.
Wang Guiyuan sighed, "Honestly, I really worried Brother Lei started late with his entry. Seeing him now, I was just overthinking."
This was not the first person to express concern about Lei Jun's late start, entering the sect at an older age.
Lei Jun could understand.
After all, cultivators in this world found their cultivation realm not just linked to talent, will, or strength, but also tightly bound to their lifespan and physical condition.
As the realm grew higher, a cultivator's life-state became distinct from ordinary people.
But, just like the sun, moon, and stars, which seemed eternal but actually have lifespans and decline, eventually dying out.
Cultivators here also went through a vigorous youthful period, a slower-paced prime where they mainly maintained their state, and then a gradual decline into old age, finally tumbling quickly in their twilight years.
Qi Refinement cultivators in the First Heaven Layer had especially urgent time, their lifespan similar to common folk, seldom living past a hundred.
If they wanted to extend life, their best shot was to break through to Foundation Establishment, the Second Heaven Layer.
If Foundation Establishment was successful, then their lifespan could reach two hundred years.
Yet for Qi Refinement cultivators, time was already running short.
The best window for cultivation mostly made up only around a quarter of one's life.
That is, before twenty to twenty-five years old.
After twenty-five, advancement in cultivation started to slow down a lot.
Qi Refinement cultivators older than twenty-five could try forging magic artifacts, refining combat techniques, and accumulating experience so their fighting ability grew stronger.
But progress in realm became increasingly hard-won for less reward.
This prime period, from twenty-five to fifty, was about the peak of real combat power for Qi Refinement practitioners, but speaking of improving realm, it was more like a plateau.
There was some hope still, with possibilities to keep pushing upward, even if the chance dropped dramatically—it wasn't totally gone.
But, for anyone still at Qi Refinement at fifty without building the foundation layer—congratulations, you'd spend this life at that realm, and the hundred-years deadline waited for you.
What's more, by fifty, your personal state would begin to quietly slip down the slope.
By about seventy-five, twilight years began, and things nosedived precipitously.
Those managers and shopkeepers met earlier on Qingyun Shoal Riverside, some had also once been Tao Boys under the Celestial Master Mansion.
The reason they left Dragon Tiger Mountain and stopped pursuing cultivation, and got assigned other jobs by the mansion, was because age caught up, their realm stopped rising, and in the end, they had to give up the Taoist path.
Lei Jun came to Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion with Xu Yuanzhen at eighteen. Luckily, in the year since he entered, his cultivation improved without stop, advancing rapidly, outpacing many Tao Boys.
Wang Guiyuan sighed, "No matter what, Brother Lei has impressive insight and steadfast will, and now his roots and talent are truly showing—his future is bright."
He smiled slightly, "If the Hidden Dragon Spirit Body keeps transforming upward, maybe there's the Soaring Dragon Holy Body, and even the legendary Imperial Dragon Immortal Body."
"Of course, if Brother Lei gets some other opportunity, the Hidden Dragon Spirit Body just might evolve into some other, even greater cultivation constitution."
Lei Jun, "I won't hope for too much, but thanks for the blessing, Senior Brother Wang."
Xu Yuanzhen, "It's less than two months till the Transmission Ceremony, but Master still isn't out of seclusion."
Elder Yuan, "The Sect Leader sent out instructions earlier—he'll come out for the New Year this time, so don't worry."
Xu Yuanzhen nodded, then looked at Lei Jun,
"Since Master will be coming out, do you want to give it a try?
Now that your Hidden Dragon Spirit Body is awakened, your odds are better."
*In other words, without the Hidden Dragon Spirit Body, the chance was actually tiny…Lei Jun wasn't surprised at that conclusion.*
*Such a remote possibility, only possible thanks to Xu Yuanzhen's support and the Celestial Master's own inclinations.*
After all, being a direct disciple of the Celestial Master really meant something.
Not only was the Celestial Master himself the top expert on Dragon Tiger Mountain, one of the great pillars of the Taoist world, his personal guidance was incomparable to any other Elder.
All kinds of resources for training would be preferentially stacked, and the various Blessed Land Cave Heavens under the Celestial Master Mansion would open first to the Celestial Master's direct disciples.
For example, the Azure Thunder-blanketed immortal realm at the peak of Dragon Tiger Mountain, called Supreme Pure Thunder Mansion Cave Heaven.
Li Clan members had been acting increasingly high-profile, but still could not enter at will.
But direct disciples of the Celestial Master could.
Some might think such arrangements were unfair.
However, those direct disciples had always been the cream among their generation inside the mansion.
Looking at the whole world, they were geniuses among geniuses.
Their true comparison was with the leading figures of other great families and sacred lands.
It was natural for the sharpest steel to be used for the edge of the blade.
Lei Jun's roots had been ordinary before; getting the Celestial Master to make an exception was clearly hard.
Now that he had advanced to a Spiritual Body, things were different.
Lei Jun focused his gaze on Elder Yuan.
The other remained gentle as ever, showing no sign of concern, with even a bit of encouragement in his eyes.
Just then, a light orb in Lei Jun's mind flickered again, and words appeared,
[Foundation accomplished, once again meeting a crossroads of fate—rise ever higher, or ride the waves, all depends on heart.]
*Lei Jun agreed with that sentiment.*
*Life was mostly like that.*
*Step right once, feel ready to soar, then stumble at the next and fall short.*
*One needed a string of right choices for fortune to truly gather momentum.*
When the orb went dim, this time it shot out two lots, shown clearly in Lei Jun's sea of consciousness,
[Moderately good lot, keep your feet on the ground, choose the nearby famed teacher, receive a Fourth-Rank opportunity, seize the moment, devote yourself to cultivation, slow accumulation leads to a breakthrough—but cause and effect entangle, caution needed in future, lucky.]
[Moderately unlucky lot, eyes set high, striving for a one-step-to-heaven chance, but like a flower in the mirror or moon in the water, the road is rough, unlucky.]
Lei Jun was surprised.
The lots, vague as before, were now crystal clear when matched to his current reality.
Moderately good lot, pick the right teacher…So the subtext was that the best teacher wasn't necessarily the most suitable?
Moderately unlucky lot, flower in the mirror, moon in the water…So, failing to become the Celestial Master's direct disciple, and things could get rocky ahead.
*…Could it be that the current Celestial Master, a pillar of the Taoist sect, was about to fall from grace or meet disaster?*