Volume 5 Chapter 58
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Volume 5 Chapter 58: Strength
The entire cultivation world was in chaos, with sects being destroyed daily and cultivators falling constantly. Under the mysterious methods of the "Eight Wilderness Hall," yesterday’s allies could become deadly enemies if captured, while more sects and cultivators continued to vanish, causing widespread panic throughout the cultivation world.
At the same time, in response to the arrogance and rampant expansion of the "Eight Wilderness Hall," large numbers of cultivators, led by the Righteous Alliance, launched retaliatory attacks. The main hall and seven branch halls of the "Eight Wilderness Hall" were destroyed by the Righteous Alliance, yet Man Tian and other culprits were nowhere to be found. Despite killing many of the "Eight Wilderness Hall" cultivators, they had yet to strike at the core.
In short, the entire cultivation world, and even the mortal world, was in complete turmoil.
However, no matter how chaotic the cultivation world became, it remained unrelated to Jiuhua, which was temporarily sealed off. Under the protection of the reversed "Nine Pole Array," Jiuhua remained peaceful, with every cultivator either willingly or under the guidance of their elders, dedicated to their training.
During this time, despite the arrogance of the "Eight Wilderness Hall," they did not trouble Jiuhua, as the power of the reversed "Nine Pole Array" was well-known to all.
However, four years after the catastrophe began, although Jiuhua Mountain remained peaceful, there was an underlying tension gradually emerging.
Originally, Jiuhua Mountain had nearly three thousand years of accumulation since Master Jiuhua, but reversing the "Nine Pole Array" or opening the "Jiuji Cave" required tremendous resources. Added to that were supplies for the elders, gifts for the disciples, and a portion reserved for emergencies. In just sixty years, these reserves were nearly depleted.
It is said that Jiuhua can only hold out for another year, and after that, it will inevitably be drawn into the disaster.
Thinking of the legends from previous catastrophes, even the elders felt a bit anxious. Because of this, Jiuhua Mountain has uncharacteristically set aside disputes to focus entirely on cultivating and enhancing their skills.
In some ways, this was a good thing for Jiuhua. While the Righteous Alliance was embroiled in battles with the "Eight Wilderness Hall," Jiuhua Mountain was able to recuperate, proving Liu Huaxiang’s decision to close off the mountain, despite the hit to Jiuhua’s reputation, was correct.
Meanwhile, the back mountain of Jiuhua, where Xu Qingfan’s cave dwelling was located, was even more tranquil.
By this time, Xu Qingfan’s seclusion had lasted a full eleven years. Such a long retreat was rare in the entire cultivation world. Only Mahayana Stage masters typically secluded themselves for several decades or even centuries. Generally, a Condensed Core Stage cultivator would retreat for no more than six or seven years at a time.
It is known that the longer a seclusion lasts, the greater the potential benefits, but also, prolonged seclusion intensifies feelings of restlessness and monotony, which can destabilize one’s state of mind and lead to wasted effort or the risk of Qi deviation.
Therefore, esteemed Condensed Core Stage experts usually emerge after four to seven years of seclusion to calm their minds before retreating again. Xu Qingfan’s daring retreat of over ten years without a break was extremely rare.
However, most of the time, adventure and success go hand in hand.
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Ting’er naturally understood these things, so after Xu Qingfan secluded himself for more than seven years, she remained deeply worried, often standing in front of the house where Xu Qingfan was meditating, hoping the next moment he would emerge from seclusion. But the scene she anticipated never happened throughout those eleven years.
Xu Qingfan’s sanctuary had been silent since the terrifying explosion occurred unexpectedly, with only the colorful barriers shimmering under the sunlight outside the house, indicating that Xu Qingfan had not encountered any mishaps.
Meanwhile, inside Xu Qingfan’s sanctuary, the scene was no different from any other day over the past eleven years. Ting’er was teaching Zhang Ningmei, while Bai Yu practiced martial arts on his own.
During Xu Qingfan’s eleven years of seclusion, his three disciples made continuous progress. Just three days ago, after a three-month retreat, Ting’er reached the middle stage of the Fake Golden Core Stage. On the other side, Zhang Ningmei and Bai Yu both reached the late stage of the Inedia Stage, and according to Ting’er, Bai Yu was expected to break through to the Lingji Stage any day now.
Over this period, Zhang Ningmei’s cultivation gradually caught up with Bai Yu’s, which was unexpected for Ting’er. One reason was that Bai Yu’s interest lay more in martial arts training, unlike Zhang Ningmei, who meditated peacefully every night. Moreover, while Zhang Ningmei’s natural talent was inferior to Bai Yu’s, her comprehension was higher. Additionally, both Xu Qingfan and Ting’er had overlooked that as Zhang Ningmei’s Divine Sense grew stronger, she attracted far more Spirit Qi from heaven and earth than usual. Although she retained only half as much as Bai Yu, she engaged more Spirit Qi, so the amount gathered within her was not much less than his.
Of course, the most crucial factor was the numerous and extremely precious spiritual pills that Xu Qingfan bestowed before his retreat, significantly closing the gap in their cultivation progress.
Notably, Bai Yu had mastered all the martial arts passed down by Xu Qingfan from the Xu Family Village. Some of these martial arts even Xu Qingfan couldn’t perform, not due to a lack of skill but because he hadn’t practiced them. Yet, Bai Yu, through the arts of the "Xu Family Village," invented techniques suited to him, reaching the stage of creation after only a decade, truly demonstrating extraordinary talent.
Moreover, as Zhang Ningmei’s cultivation level rises, her already extraordinary Divine Sense is growing even faster. Though she is currently only at the late stage of the Inedia Stage, her Divine Sense strength has reached the peak of the Lingji Stage. Following Xu Qingfan’s instructions from three years ago, Ting’er taught her the "Art of Annihilation." Now, Zhang Ningmei can skillfully use her Divine Sense to attack.
At this moment, Ting’er was absentmindedly explaining some methods of Spirit Qi circulation to Zhang Ningmei while frequently glancing toward the house where Xu Qingfan was.
Zhang Ningmei quickly noticed Ting’er’s unusual behavior. In fact, Ting’er had been like this since five years ago.
Understanding what Ting’er was thinking, Zhang Ningmei smiled gently and asked, "Elder martial sister Ting’er, if Master is to emerge from seclusion, it should be within this year, right? After all, Jiuhua is going to open the mountain in a year."
Ting’er nodded silently. Although Xu Qingfan was clearly in the same courtyard, and it’s normal for cultivators to not see each other for over a decade, the fact that he went into seclusion shortly after resolving his inner conflict, and stayed secluded for such a long time, made Ting’er feel a strong longing alongside some concern.
Seeing the hint of distraction beneath Ting’er’s calm expression, Zhang Ningmei’s smile deepened. She was about to say something more when she suddenly saw a dramatic change in Ting’er’s expression, who turned to look at Xu Qingfan’s house. At the same time, an extremely powerful pressure burst from Xu Qingfan’s room. With this sudden pressure, the Spirit Qi in the surrounding world became chaotic and surged toward the house. The fluctuation of Spirit Qi transformed into mystical lights, and the trembling sounds turned into celestial music, continuously circling outside Xu Qingfan’s house.
In the cultivation world, there are concepts of major breakthroughs and minor breakthroughs. A major breakthrough refers to a shift to an entirely new major stage, like moving from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Condensed Core Stage, or from the Condensed Core Stage to the Mahayana Stage, which results in a fundamental change in one’s cultivation and stage. A minor breakthrough is a shift within a major stage to a new minor stage, such as moving from the Fake Golden Core Stage to the Real Golden Core Stage, or from the Real Golden Core Stage to the full Golden Core Stage. Breaking through divisions within a minor stage is considered a slight breakthrough, like progressing from the middle of the Real Golden Core Stage to the late stage.
This scenario indicated someone had a slight breakthrough. Ting’er, Zhang Ningmei, and Bai Yu anxiously rushed to the outside of Xu Qingfan’s house, silently waiting for something.
Clearly, Xu Qingfan’s stage had broken through again, and after being in seclusion for eleven years, Xu Qingfan was finally going to come out.
After a long while, the unusual happenings surrounding Xu Qingfan’s house finally began to gently subside.
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Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan was quietly standing inside his house, with his eyes closed, carefully experiencing the changes within him.
Although the long period of seclusion was dangerous, it had great effects. After improving the "Wind of Desolation," and after eight continuous years of cultivation and meditation, Xu Qingfan’s level finally advanced from the mid Real Golden Core Stage to the late stage. Following this breakthrough, the last four Spirit Qi seals left in him by Niu Hualian were instantly dissolved and merged into Xu Qingfan’s body.
Now, in terms of the Spirit Qi within his body, Xu Qingfan was not far from reaching the Golden Core Stage.
Additionally, the enhancement of "Formula of Life and Death" had made significant progress during the eight years of meditation. Xu Qingfan’s breakthrough to the late stage of the Real Golden Core Stage was also related to his comprehension of a large amount of Heavenly Way while perfecting "Formula of Life and Death."
It can be said that the five goals Xu Qingfan set before his seclusion had now been completed, with the only remaining task being the refinement and improvement of the technique "Avatar Beyond the Body."
After a long time, Xu Qingfan finally slowly opened his eyes and stepped forward, ready to head outside. But when his gaze swept across the room, he was momentarily taken aback by what he saw.
