As the Universe Turns - Chapter 33

Chapter 33 Dao Practice
The Heavenly Lake Peak was a small peak under the main peak of Tianshu Peak. It was far from being as cold as Purple Night Peak. Even in winter, there were still hundreds of flowers and vegetation here. After stepping on a few green stone paths, Yi Chen could see people moving in the valley from afar. It was as if all of his senior brothers and sisters were here. Now, he was the only one missing.

The mountain valley was surrounded by clouds and mist, and it seemed to be floating a thousand feet high in the sky. It was called the “Heavenly Lake Valley”. There were many floating islands around it. The waterfalls on the islands were hanging down, and the scenery was spectacular. With the tip of Yi Chen’s foot, he started his Ling Xian Steps and flew through the waterfalls into the valley.

“He’s here. Look, it’s him …”

Quite a few disciples had already started whispering. They had obviously heard about the matter of him seizing Jade Ruyi from Liu Chengfeng half a month ago. In addition, he was the only disciple of Venerable Yao Guang. With such an identity, it was even more eye-catching.

Yi Chen landed lightly on the grass and bowed to the two Heavenly Lake Peak’s Elders. One was surnamed Song and the other was surnamed Bai. He was the Heavenly Lake Peak’s Elder. The disciples were accustomed to calling him “the Eternal Green Elders”.

Just now, the two of them saw that Xiao Yi Chen’s movements were light and elegant, surpassing many disciples. At this moment, their gazes were filled with praise. Yi Chen cupped his hands again and walked towards the crowd.

When he reached the crowd, he saw a person wearing a light red dress. He was around twenty years old, but it was the elder sister of Prince Zhao Ying’er. Yi Chen did not expect that she would also join the seven sects. It was a bit unexpected.

Zhao Ying’er naturally saw him a long time ago. Although she had great hostility towards Xiao Yi Chen three years ago because of her younger brother, her current identity was no small matter. Even if she had Lou Qingshan as her senior brother, she would not dare to show any of the hostility from back then.

Yi Chen also turned his gaze back. He was now Ling Yin’s disciple, and he was too lazy to pursue the past and those nobody.

A moment later, another figure appeared outside the valley. She was a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old. Her feathered clothes were fluttering about and her figure was as light as floating flocks. The moment she arrived in the valley, the disciples shouted, “Junior Sister Ni Shang! Junior Sister Ni Shang is here!”

It was precisely the feathered girl from the Heavenly Sect three years ago. Three years ago, she joined the Heavenly Jade Peak and became the closed disciple of the Moon Sovereign. Therefore, she was now the little junior sister that everyone in the Xuanqing Sect knew about. Even if no one had heard of Xiao Yi Chen, no one would have never heard of her before.

Seeing the immortal energy drifting towards her, Xiao Yi Chen was also stunned. He didn’t expect that three years would pass in a hurry. Now that she had grown so big, she was less childish than before, and more immortal energy and extraordinary. She probably wouldn’t go to a small place like Pingyang Peak anymore, right?

“Nichang, you’re here.”

The two Skill Transmission Elders smiled as well. Compared to Xiao Yichen, they obviously valued this girl with the most outstanding talent in Xianyuan’s ancient land in the past hundred years.

“Yes.”

The young girl nodded her head and smiled. She looked back like the Fairy of the Nine Heavens. Even the flowers in full bloom here had lost some color.

At this moment, many disciples were looking at her infatuated. However, her gaze slowly fell on the gray youth from three years ago.

Her name was Qianyu Nichang. She was acknowledged by the Heavenly Sect to be the most talented person in Xianyuan’s ancient land in the past hundred years. She was also acknowledged by all sects to have an unlimited future and was expected to participate in the mystery of longevity. Mortals ascended to immortality and reshaped the brilliance of the Azure Emperor ten thousand years ago.

Ten thousand years ago, demons were rampant in the mortal world. The Azure Emperor created an unprecedented era of Xianyuan and changed the epoch since then. However, in the following ten thousand years, not only did not there appear a peerlessly talented person like the Azure Emperor in the mortal world, but instead, he gradually went downhill, causing the Devil Dao to flourish day by day. The Battle of Righteousness and Demon more than three thousand years ago had caused an incalculable loss to the entire Righteous Dao of Xianyuan. Many experts had perished at that time, and most of the profound arts and secret techniques had been lost at that time. Only now did they finally show some signs of improvement.

At this moment, Yi Chen couldn’t help but subconsciously try to avoid the young girl’s gaze. Even though he was now a disciple of Venerable Yao Guang, he still felt that the young girl was as dazzling as before. Perhaps it was because his cultivation had been ordinary for the past three years.

Following that, the two elders began to preach. The so-called preaching was only to teach some Taoist scriptures and the difference between good and evil. It was not any cultivation method. Yi Chen had already mastered it countless times in Pingyang Peak, and he had memorized it thoroughly during the past three years. He had listened to it all day and felt sleepy and bored.

Until dusk, Only then did the two elders ask their disciples to bring over a dark green Great Black Tortoise Stone from somewhere. However, seeing that the Black Tortoise Stone was full of runes and was surrounded by layers of secret arts. It seemed that it was not an ordinary Black Tortoise Stone, the disciples couldn’t help but feel curious. They all walked forward and gently touched the Black Tortoise Stone with their fingers. They immediately felt a surge of profound energy sense their own spiritual energy.

This Black Tortoise Stone, Naturally, it was a test of how many stones the disciples had cultivated over the past three years. The two elders slowly stroked their beards. Elder Song said, “You have already entered the sect for three years or more. I believe you have a general understanding of one path of cultivation. Twenty years of cultivation can help you build your foundation, fifty years of cultivation can help you condense your Gold Core, a hundred years of cultivation can help you see your Nascent Soul, three hundred years of cultivation can help you break through tribulation, seven hundred years of cultivation can help you ascend to the Immortal Realm.”

All the disciples were dumbfounded when they heard this. It seemed too far away for them to be able to unite their primordial spirits into three.

Elder Bai, who was on the right, continued, “There are four stages of cultivation. The first stage is’ Refining and Qi Transformation ‘. Generally speaking, after ten years of cultivation, one can reach this stage.” The second stage was Qi Refining God. Most of the people in this stage had been cultivating for thirty to ninety years. “The third stage is’ Refining the Void and Returning to the Divine Realm ‘. A hundred years of cultivation will allow you to see this realm for the first time. From then on, there will be a gap between the Immortal and Mortal Realms. Only after cultivating for five hundred years will you be able to see the last stage,’ Refining the Void and Uniting the Dao ‘.”

All the disciples nodded their heads. In short, time didn’t mean anything. Dao practice was the criterion to determine a person’s cultivation level. Some people had extraordinary talent. Perhaps they had already cultivated for a hundred years in the first ten years, while others had mediocre aptitude. Even if they spent a hundred years, they might not be able to cultivate for fifty years.

Elder Song added, “It has been three years since you entered the sect. Next, you should use this Black Tortoise Stone to see how strong you are. However, you must pay attention to it. When you attack, you must condense all your Qi and use all your strength to attack the Black Tortoise Stone. Otherwise, the results will be lower than your own cultivation. Don’t blame Elder Bai and I for not reminding you.”

All the disciples were eager to give it a try. Today was the first time they had tested their cultivation. Everyone would naturally do their best. First, if they surpassed others, they would be valued by the elders. Second, they could also win honor for their own honors. Who would hide their strength at this time and wish to use it extraordinarily?

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

All of a sudden, sounds could be heard from the Void Valley. The Black Tortoise Stone emitted waves of azure light, and all the disciples stepped forward to test their cultivation.

Half an incense stick later, the two elders stroked their beards and nodded. Their faces were still satisfied. Although they hadn’t seen anyone reach the stage of Qi Refinement, most of the disciples had reached the middle stage or even the late stage of Qi Refinement. On the contrary, they had exceeded their expectations.

“Bang!”

Another sudden explosion rang out. The entire Black Tortoise Stone trembled violently. Immediately after, three streaks of azure light shot out. Many disciples were secretly shocked, “Late stage of Qi Refinement! Nearly thirty years of Dao Cultivation!”

At this moment, the person holding the Black Tortoise Stone was Zhao Ying’er and Song Bai. The two elders nodded slightly, their eyes filled with approval. Although this girl had entered the sect late, her cultivation was now above many disciples. Three years ago, she was indeed qualified to join the Xuanyang Peak.

After a while, the two elders looked at Yi Chen again. Wen Yan smiled and said, “Yi Chen, you should try it too.”

As the only disciple of ExcellencyYaoguang, the two elders naturally needed to be taken care of. However, at this moment, Yi Chen hesitated a little. In the end, he walked over and told himself again and again in his heart that there was no need to be nervous, just like in the past when he practiced martial arts.

The two elders had pleasant expressions and were filled with anticipation to see what his current cultivation was like. At this moment, on a distant mountain surrounded by clouds and mist, there were three people standing there. One was a woman in red, one was a man in green, and the other was a middle-aged man in purple.

These three were Daoist Qingxuan’s three disciples. The second disciple, Xie Chichun, the third disciple, and the fourth disciple, Jiang Nanliu, were also watching with rapt attention.

“Bang!”

A sharp sound rang out from outside the valley. Yi Chen used all of his profound energy to strike the Black Tortoise Stone. However, the Black Tortoise Stone only trembled slightly. The runes on it flickered and a faint green light appeared on the top of the stone.

“This, what’s going on …”

On the distant Green Peak, the expression between his eyebrows couldn’t help but change. In this valley, all the disciples were also stunned. They thought that he had already reached the realm of Qi Refining God. Even if he wasn’t able to reach the realm of Qi Refining God, he should be at the late stage of Qi Refining. But why was he at the early stage of Qi Refining now?

Elders Song and Bai were also slightly surprised. Their first reaction was that something was wrong with the Black Tortoise Stone. Elder Song said, “Don’t worry, wait for a moment. Let me see what’s going on with this stone.”

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yi Chen retreated backwards with a gloomy expression, “No, there’s no need …”

“What’s the matter?” Elder Bai was also surprised. He concluded that something was wrong with the Black Tortoise Stone. He walked forward to clean up the remaining spiritual energy in the stone and said, “Go up and give it a try now.”

Yi Chen’s eyebrows furrowed slightly before he finally walked forward. However, even if he used his full strength again, the azure light on the top of the stone was only slightly more than an inch.

“How could this be …”

At this moment, the crowd was completely stunned. The two elders found it even harder to believe that even an ordinary disciple of the Seven Peaks would be able to reach the middle stage of refining Qi in three years. However, he was personally guided by ExcellencyYaoguang. How could his cultivation be so low?