At the foot of the mountain, the three stood facing each other. Ye Tianyi wore a grim expression, at a loss for words.
Lin Po could only shake his head helplessly.
"Changsheng, your senior brother has just returned from traveling with your master after ten years. You must listen to his guidance from now on!"
"Don't worry, Uncle!"
Lu Changsheng waved his hand with a serious look.
Ye Tianyi didn't know how to respond.
Judging by his attitude, maybe he wasn't completely hopeless. Ye Tianyi's expression eased slightly.
He thought for a moment, preparing to have a proper conversation with him.
But before he could say anything, a loud sound echoed from within the sect.
Clang…
A deep, muffled bell rang throughout the area. Lu Changsheng's expression lit up instantly.
Without a word, he grabbed a large sack and dashed down the mountain.
"Senior Brother, I've got something to do. I'll give you a proper welcome later!"
With that, he vanished from sight.
Ye Tianyi frowned. "Where's he going?"
Lin Po hesitated, then sighed.
"The sect is distributing spirit herbs to the inner disciples today…"
"I…"
Silence fell.
Ye Tianyi recalled the massive sack Lu Changsheng had just picked up—taller than a person—and fell deep into thought.
"Tianyi, I know you're anxious, but don't be in a rush!"
Lin Po didn't say much more. He couldn't help in situations like this.
Just as he was leaving, he seemed to remember something and turned back to speak.
"One more thing I forgot to mention—don't walk around alone at night."
"Why? Are there ghosts?" Ye Tianyi was puzzled.
"Ghosts? It's worse than that!" Lin Po frowned, his expression serious.
"About eight or nine years ago, the sect began experiencing visits from a night demon. Every so often, this person would appear and beat someone up. At first it was inner disciples, then core disciples, and in recent years… even the Peak Masters have become targets."
Lin Po's words grew more exaggerated the longer he spoke. Noticing that it was getting late, he quickly said goodbye and left.
Ye Tianyi didn't pay much attention—his thoughts still lingered on Lu Changsheng.
He calmed himself and reaffirmed his resolve to properly discipline this junior brother.
Still, everything he saw today gnawed at his peace of mind.
What exactly did quota spirit stones mean? Protection money? Was he using his status as a core disciple to bully mortals?
Soon, Lu Changsheng returned, carrying a sack taller than himself on his back. A brief scan with divine sense confirmed—it was filled with spirit herbs.
Inner disciples only received one or two spirit herbs per month. Yet Lu Changsheng carried an entire sack...
Seeing this, Ye Tianyi's face darkened even further. What kind of outrageous nonsense was this? He was utterly embarrassing Qingyun Peak!
Just as he was about to scold him, a graceful figure flew over on a sword and landed in front of them.
"Greetings, Senior Sister!"
Ye Tianyi quickly reined in his emotions and bowed respectfully.
Lu Changsheng, meanwhile, smiled.
"It's only been half a month, and Senior Sister has grown even more stunning and ethereal!"
"You and your sweet mouth!"
The woman giggled, clearly fond of her junior brother.
Her name was Liu Qingcheng, the senior sister of Liuyun Peak. Just as her name suggested (Qingcheng meaning "city-toppling beauty*"), she was breathtakingly beautiful—her every expression stirred the soul.
"Junior Brother Ye, when did you return?" Liu Qingcheng noticed Ye Tianyi.
"Just today," Ye Tianyi replied.
"Ten years of traveling must have been hard."
"Not at all." Ye Tianyi remained respectful.
"Senior Sister, are you here late at night to speak with our senior brother?"
"No, I came to see Junior Brother Changsheng. I need a favor from him."
"He can help?"
"There's an issue with a formation. I'd like him to take a look."
"Formation… and you want him to look at it?"
Ye Tianyi stared blankly at Lu Changsheng, still carrying his sack.
Liu Qingcheng raised her hand gently and took Lu Changsheng with her, flying off toward the rear of the mountain.
The sight left Ye Tianyi speechless.
A moment later, Liu Qingcheng returned, a soft smile on her face.
"Senior Sister, was the formation issue resolved?" Ye Tianyi asked tentatively.
"Yes, it's solved."
"My junior brother resolved it?"
"Of course!"
"But he…"
Ye Tianyi wanted to protest, but Liu Qingcheng cut in:
"It seems you've been influenced by the sect's rumors and misunderstood Junior Brother Changsheng. He's not what you think."
"You think differently?"
"Get along with him and you'll understand eventually. Be good to him—you won't regret it." Liu Qingcheng left it at that.
Ye Tianyi was confused.
"I'll go have a word with him."
"Another time—he went off to cultivate," Liu Qingcheng said.
That brought some relief to Ye Tianyi. So he was cultivating—maybe he wasn't entirely hopeless.
But just as he turned to leave, Lu Changsheng came rushing out from behind the mountain in a panic.
He ran straight to the old pine tree and dropped his sack.
"He's done cultivating already?" Ye Tianyi asked Liu Qingcheng.
Liu Qingcheng didn't answer. Instead, she called out to Lu Changsheng:
"Junior Brother, slow down! Don't trip!"
"???"
Ye Tianyi stood frozen. From the time she said he went to cultivate until now, it had been just a few words' worth of time.
He was done already? Even a bathroom break would take longer.
Liu Qingcheng didn't seem to think it odd. Instead, she smiled warmly at Lu Changsheng.
"Junior Brother Changsheng should be done developing by now…"
"Huh?"
Ye Tianyi was stunned. What does that mean?
Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng reached the pine tree. His brows were tightly knit, face pale and dripping with sweat. His body trembled as if enduring intense pain.
His forehead was drenched in sweat, soaking through his clothes.
A gentle breeze stirred the pine tree above, scattering starlight through the branches. Only then did Lu Changsheng's expression ease slightly.
"Can I just not have this Ten-Thousand-Tribulations Immortal Body? Every time I break through, it's like dying all over again. What kind of disgusting constitution is this…"
Lu Changsheng sighed helplessly. Before he began cultivating, he thought himself destined for greatness—surely one of a kind.
And indeed, he was: his body constitution was the Ten-Thousand-Tribulations Immortal Body.
While others absorbed spiritual energy, circulated it through their bodies, and converted it into cultivation base with ease, his process felt like swallowing blades, crushing stones on his chest, or diving into boiling oil.
Every breakthrough felt like torture—just as the name of his constitution implied. It truly felt like enduring ten thousand tribulations.
Not only that—his body required several times more spiritual energy than others. As his cultivation rose, that number increased exponentially.
However, his magical power was also several times stronger than others in the same realm.
It had already been ten years since he began cultivation.
The standard path of cultivation began with Qi Refinement, then Spirit Gathering, followed by Essence Condensation, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and finally Void Transformation.
Currently, Lu Changsheng had reached the eighth level of Core Formation.
He turned to look at a distant mountain—that was Cangyun Peak, where the sect leader resided.
"I heard that after the Sect Master broke through to Core Formation level eight, he got lazy. I wonder if I could beat him now..."
Lu Changsheng mused aloud. Then he changed into a black robe and stepped into the air, flying skyward in a single bound.