"Thump --"
The fifth chime rolled over the main peak of Qingyun, as if someone had struck the hearts of the people with a huge hammer. The air in the hall was so thick that ink could be squeezed out, and the candle flames, suppressed by the spirit, could not lift their heads, swaying and reflecting the pale and blue faces of the conservative elders.
Chu Xuan stood in the center of the hall. The stone bricks beneath his feet were cold, but he couldn't hold back the heat of the lotus seed in his dantian - it was bouncing up and down like a drum, and with each jump, the mark of the Dao Qi between his eyebrows brightened a little, and the golden and blue hallows shone like breathing, making the eyelids of all the people in the hall twitch.
"Do you see? That mark is absorbing spiritual energy!"
"Foundation Building six layers... No, seven? It's still going up!"
"It's not sorcery at all -"
As soon as the murmur began, the elder with the White eyebrow struck back with an eye knife. The old man, leaning on his crimson golden staff, his knuckles were pale, but he dared not shout "Strip of the covenant" again - just as the fifth bell wave swept past, his spiritual power slipped and he almost made a fool of himself in public. If he were to shout at this moment and if the phantom of the patriarch appeared again, he would have no place to put his old face.
Li Guanhai sat upright in the main seat, tapping the handrail with his knuckles, and the thumping sounds merged with the echoes of the bell, like a silent interrogation. After a while, he raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through the candlelight and piercing Chu Xuan: "Young man, do you know the sin?"
The voice was not loud, but wrapped in the power of the middle stage of the spirit transformation, it came crashing down like a mountain. Chu Xuan's shoulders sank, and the stone bricks at his feet cracked with a "crack" like cobwebs, but he did not bend his back. Instead, he took a half step forward and laughed, "Master, disciple only knows - if it keeps pressing down, my lotus platform will be in an explosion. When the spiritual energy runs wild and the hall is destroyed, don't make me pay for it."
As soon as the words were spoken, the Dantian Liantai seemed to echo and burst out a circle of ice and fire halos, as if putting a cloak on the young man, directly cutting the divine power in half. In the hall, a sudden gust of wind rolled back, and the candlelight rose high, making the conservative elders' faces even bluer.
Li Guanhai narrowed his eyes slightly, concealing the fleeting astonishment: In that halo, there was actually a hint... Chaos? !
He didn't show it on his face, but his tone slowed down a little: "Since that's the case, let you speak. The origin of the Dharma follows the true Dharma."
Chu Xuan shrugged his shoulders, with an expression that said "earlier," raised his hand and bowed, his voice clear but each word was loud: "Master Hui, the Dao contract is called 'All Spirits', created by the ancient divine race, with eight words - equality and coexistence, protecting the mountains and rivers together. It recognizes me because of my primordial spirit; I recognize it because it protects those whom I want to protect. It's that simple."
"Oh, empty mouth and white teeth!" The elder with the horse face jumped out and pointed at Chu Xuan's nose, "You say ancient and then ancient? Is there any evidence?"
Chu Xuan tilted his head, laughing until his teeth were visible: "Yes, but..." He deliberately prolonged his voice, his gaze swept over the conservative group, and his voice suddenly rose, "We need to use the spirit of the elders!"
Before he could finish his words, he pointed his toes and leaped up like a swallow into the middle of the hall, spreading out his hands --
Boom!
The Dantian lotus platform swelled, and the ice and fire lotus instantly expanded to about ten feet. The lotus petals, layer upon layer, were engraved with golden runes, like countless small eyes, all looking at the people in the hall in unison. In the next moment, a circle of golden blue light burst out from the center of the lotus platform. Wherever the waves passed, the spiritual pressure emitted by the elders was forcibly pulled out and turned into wisps of light mist, which was drawn into the heart of the lotus.
"Hiss - my spiritual power!"
"Is this kid sucking us? !"
"Stop!"
The conservative elders turned pale and tried to pull back the pressure, but found that the lotus platform was like a gluttonous cat that clung to it and wouldn't let go, sucking faster and more joyfully. Chu Xuan was suspended in mid-air, his robe fluttering, the mark between his eyebrows shining almost transparently, but his voice was clear and smiling --
"Don't be afraid, all of you. It's just borrowing some spiritual energy. Consider it as a red envelope for the junior!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the lotus terrace gave a sudden jolt --
Click!
A crisp sound, as if some barrier had been broken. Chu Xuan's aura suddenly surges: Foundation Building seven, eight, nine... He rushed all the way to the Great Perfection of Foundation Building and then stopped, still feeling that it was not enough. The lotus terrace retracted contentedly to the dantian, leaving all the elders on the ground pale, like eggplants with their tendons pulled out.
The hall was deathly silent. The reformist elders stared wide-eyed for a while before someone whispered --
"The Foundation is complete? ! Jump four levels in one go!"
"This... Is this really not sorcery?
"Damn it! Can sorcery give back spiritual energy? Look --"
The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the extracted spirit pressure had turned into a shower of golden blue light, falling back to the ground and seeping into the brick cracks, instantly giving rise to a patch of tender green spirit buds, swaying gracefully and full of vitality.
Li Guanhai's fingertips paused for a moment, and at last a ripple appeared in his eyes: To give back to heaven and earth, chaos to come into being - this is not sorcery, clearly... Creation!
He took a deep breath, rose slowly, and for the first time, his voice shed its might and added a bit of solemnity: "Chu Xuan, would you like to condense the elixir on the spot to prove the purity of the Dao?"
"Condensing pill?" Chu Xuan raised his eyebrows, laughing with his tiger teeth shining, "Master, I just completed the foundation establishment. Could it be too hasty?"
"Not in a hurry." Li Guanhai's gaze was deep. "I just want to see -- whether you really can coexist with the Dao."
There was a sudden commotion in the hall. A direct condensation of the foundation? Skip accumulation, skip insight, skip preparation? This is treating practice as a joke!
Chu Xuan, however, tilted his head and thought for a moment, then grinned, revealing two small tiger teeth: "All right, but -- I have to use the spirit of the sect master to press it down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he touched the tip of his foot again, and the ice and fire Lotus platform burst forth with a roar, and the lotus heart pointed straight to Li Guanhai! The master raised his eyebrows slightly, a glimmer of interest flashed in his eyes, his sleeves unfurled, and his divine power surged out like a tidal wave --
Boom!
Two forces collided in mid-air, but there was no explosion. Instead, it was like two waves converging, forming a huge golden-blue vortex. At the center of the vortex, a brilliant golden light slowly condensed --
The prototype of the golden pill!
All the people in the hall gasped, their eyes almost out of their eyes: Is that okay? !
The ripples in Li Guanhai's eyes finally turned into astonishment. He gave Chu Xuan a deep look, as if it were the first time he had truly known this young man. After a while, he waved his sleeves, withdrew his pressure, and his voice was deep but echoed throughout the hall --
"Dao Qi is not evil, Chu Xuan is not guilty. The elders will question it and set it aside for now. Six days later, the secret realm of Kunlun will be opened. Chu Xuan will go with the troops. There must be no mistake!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned away, his back a little more hurried, as if afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would see some monster that would subvert his understanding.
The conservative elders looked at each other and, in the end, gritted their teeth in anger and stormed off. The reformists, on the other hand, were overjoyed and looked at Chu Xuan as if he were looking at a glittering gold nugget.
Chu Xuan landed, stretched, and winked at Ling Qingxue: "Master, I did okay?"
The woman smiled with icy eyes, but her voice was so soft that only he could hear: "Just passable. But --"
"But what?"
"Only if the elixir is successfully condensed within six days will it be considered a full score."
Chu Xuan grinned, his teeth sharp and his mouth sharp: "Then get ready for the reward, I want to eat two bowls of Eight Treasures Duck!"
Ling Qingxue shook her head, but the corners of her mouth curved up quietly: "Greedy."
The sound of the bell had not yet faded, but Li Guanhai's figure had vanished in the corridor behind the hall. The elders who remained looked as if their souls had been drained, looking at each other for a long time without finding a sound.
Chu Xuan stretched his body, his knuckles crackled like beans, and he lifted his chin out of the hall: "All of you, the show is over. Sign your names and queue up. Don't cut in line."
The conservative elders all blackened their faces and shook their sleeves and left; The reformists, on the other hand, came around laughing and chattering -
"Boy, do you sell your lotus stand? I'll offer three thousand spirit stones!"
"It looks good. Let my apprentice show it off for two days?"
Chu Xuan clasped his hands and laughed: "Elders, the lotus terrace recognizes its master, it's going to be blown up by forced buying and selling, please have tea another day!" With oil smeared on the soles of his feet, he slipped to Ling Qingxue and whispered, "Master, if I stay any longer, I'm afraid I'll be pulled to slice."
Ling Qingxue's ice sleeves fluttered gently, and her sword intent transformed into the wind, enveloping the two of them as they rushed out of the grand hall and landed in a secluded spot at the back of the main peak. The night wind was blowing. She turned back, touched Chu Xuan's brow with her fingertip, and the ice blue spiritual energy reached in. Only after confirming that there was no problem did she withdraw: "Don't be complacent. Just now it was just taking advantage of the momentum to form the body. It's still far from the true golden Pill."
Chu Xuan grinned: "It's far, but it can't stop me running fast. Master, let's make a bet. If I succeed in condensing the elixir within six days, you will accompany me to the mortal world to eat sugar-coated haws, no flying."
"What if it doesn't?"
"Then I'll treat the entire clan to sugar-coated haws, including the mountain guard!"
Ling Qingxue was amused, the ice and snow melted, and a moment of bright colors made the young man stare straight. She turned her face sideways, covering the slightly raised corners of her mouth. "Don't be so talkative. First, go back to the forbidden area to stabilize the realm. The Kunlun bell has four chimes left, each one louder than the last."
Before she could finish her words, a voice suddenly rang in their ears --
"Elder Ling, Nephew Chu, come to the Ancestral master's hall at once. I have a matter to discuss."
It was the patriarch Li Guanhai, whose voice was old and gentle, but with an irresistible pressure.
Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow: "Just released someone and you want to see them again? Will the master go back on his word?
Ling Qingxue shook her head: "The Ancestral Master Hall is not a place for discussion. He may have other plans and just go there."
...
The Ancestral Hall is located on the back mountain of the main peak. It is simple and quiet, with blue bricks and black tiles, and the night pearl gives off a soft glow. Li Guanhai stood with his hands behind his back in front of the statue of the patriarch, listened to the footsteps, turned back and smiled, without the slightest sense of oppression in the hall, instead looked like an old neighbor: "Here? Sit down."
Chu Xuan was not polite either. He sat cross-legged and grabbed the spirit fruit on the table, munching on it to make it splash with juice. Ling Qingxue sat solemnly, her icy eyes staring intently. Li Guanhai laughed and shook his head, raised his hand to set up the isolation array, and then spoke, his voice very low:
"Chu Xuan, do you know that the Kunlun Secret Realm opens once every hundred years and requires a 'key' to enter?"
Chu Xuan blinked: "Key? Not by force?
"A daredevil is doomed." Li Guanhai pointed his finger into the void, and a virtual image of the purple-blue gate emerged. "The key is the covenant of the Dao. The mark between your eyebrows is one of the keys."
The young man was stunned and subconsciously touched his forehead. The golden-blue mark was slightly warm, as if responding. Ling Qingxue's eyes flickered: "The master's intention to let Chu Xuan enter the secret realm?"
"It's not my way; it's the will of heaven." Li Guanhai sighed, "The bell rang earlier, Dao Qi awoke, and both came together, indicating that the secret realm has chosen its master. If the key is absent, the secret will destroy itself, and the ancient heritage will be destroyed with the smoke."
He looked at Chu Xuan with a complicated expression: "I know you have a conflict with the conservatives, but the secret realm is related to the spiritual veins of the three realms. Once it destroys itself, the Taotie seal may loosen. Then Qingyun will be the first to be affected."
The young man put away his laughter, his eyes unusually calm: "What does the master think of me?"
"Within four days, condense the elixir, enter the secret realm in the form of a key, take the ancient inheritance, and reinforce the seal." Li Guanhai paused each word, "In exchange, I can open the sect's treasure house for you to choose three items and personally teach you the 'Qingyun Sword Intent'."
"Deal!" Chu Xuan, without hesitation, stretched out his fist. Li Guanhai was stunned for a moment, raised his hand to touch him lightly, and smiled on his old face: "Little guy, more straightforward than I thought."
Ling Qingxue sighed softly, "Master, the conservative side..."
"Don't worry, I'll hold it down." Li Guanhai put his hands behind his back, his eyes deep. "But Kunlun is gathering, the Heavenly Dao Pavilion, the Demon race, the Demon Realm are all here. You are facing more than just your own people."
Chu Xuan stood up, stretched his body, cracked his knuckles, and laughed with sharp teeth and a sharp tongue: "Whoever comes, chop them. It's just right for my lotus platform as fertilizer."
The young man's tone was wild, but it relieved Li Guanhai and he laughed loudly: "Good! "Go, I'll see you off in four days!"
...
The night wind is howling, back mountain forbidden. Chu Xuan sat cross-legged on the Ice and Fire Lotus Platform. The spiritual energy swirled and the lotus petals closed layer upon layer, enveloping him into a huge cocoon. Ling Qingxue stood on one side, the Cold star sword crossed her knees, and her icy eyes did not blink.