# Chapter 90: Cultivation (III)
The little servant boy assigned to sweep Yuanting Pavilion swept the fallen leaves from the white marble ground with meticulous care. He swept slowly from one side to the other, his movements thorough and attentive, not a speck of dust escaping his notice.
This was not because the powerful cultivator living in this palace was particularly demanding. On the contrary, the master of this palace was almost always in seclusion, rarely ever coming out. Even when the Sect Master and Grand Elder came personally to invite him, the cultivator inside still refused to see them.
The reason he swept so slowly was simply that this was the most spiritually energy-rich place in the entire sect. The longer he stayed, the more beneficial it would be for his cultivation advancement.
The boy swept at a leisurely pace when he suddenly heard a very distinct sound. His young face immediately froze.
The powerful cultivator inside particularly enjoyed quietude, so this entire area was terrifyingly silent. Even when sweeping, he had to control his movements, trying his best not to make any sound.
Who could it be? Who would dare to act this way?
The boy turned toward the source of the sound, and was astonished to discover that the sound had come from inside the palace itself.
The door that had never been opened for years was pushed open.
A young man in a moon-white robe walked out. The man's aloof eyes swept toward the boy's direction. The boy felt a chill throughout his entire body, an indescribable pressure almost forcing him to his knees.
By the time he managed to breathe normally again, the young man's figure had already vanished from his sight.
The boy seemed to react after a moment, then suddenly let go of the broom in his hand. He pulled out a talisman paper, his tone urgent as he said, "Sect Master! Master Lian has gone out!"
---
"This is where we will conduct the first test." The old man pointed to two podium-like structures ahead that resembled those made of crystal. "In a moment, each of you will stand on them in turn. The one on the left measures your spiritual root, while the one on the right measures your physical constitution. Once you've completed the measurement, we will assign you assessment tasks based on the results. If you successfully complete the task, you may become an outer disciple of the sect. At that point, you will be considered a probationary disciple."
"But this does not mean you can enter the sect after that. Three days later, all probationary disciples from this recruitment cohort must go to Jianjiao Mountain. If any of you are fortunate enough to catch the eye of those important figures, you may become outer disciples. If not..."
The old man's eyes swept across the young men and women before him. The breeze lifted his sleeves. "You will have to leave."
"But I heard that probationary disciples can also cultivate within the sect. If one achieves a decent ranking in the sect's grand competition three years later, they can also be promoted to outer disciples." A dark-skinned youth scratched the back of his head with a simple expression.
"There is indeed such a rule within the sect. But this only applies to those admitted through normal recruitment—you do not qualify." The old man swept his sleeves, and a bamboo scroll appeared in his hands, white and delicate as a child's. His voice turned cold, cutting off what the simple youth was about to say. "First one, Zhang Qing."
The youth whose name was called immediately stepped onto the left podium. The moment he stood on it, faint five-colored light scattered from the platform.
"Mixed spiritual root. Go stand on the one on the right." The old man's voice rang out at the appropriate moment. Disappointment instantly washed over Zhang Qing's face as he mechanically walked to stand on the right podium.
"Low-grade physical constitution." The old man seemed to write something on the bamboo scroll, then looked up at the clearly discouraged youth. "Your trial task is to climb to the five-thousandth step before sunset."
"See that mountain?" The old man pointed to his right. All the young men and women present looked on in astonishment as another peak suddenly appeared where the old man pointed. This peak was extraordinarily tall, rising straight into the sky. From where they stood, they couldn't see the end of this mountain. "The very top of this peak is where our sect is located, and these steps are the path leading up. The steps you need to climb are these ones."
"However, I must remind you of one thing. These steps are somewhat different from the ones we walk on daily." Although the old man appeared to be speaking to Zhang Qing, his gaze fell upon every candidate about to take the assessment. "Be careful."
Qi An squinted unconsciously as he and the rest of the group looked up at that peak.
This peak had a total of ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine steps. It was not simply a set of stairs—each step was actually a component formation of the sect's protective array.
The higher one climbed, the greater the difficulty. Not only did the surrounding air pressure increase, but one would also gradually fall into illusions.
These illusions within were both real and fake, and many people could not distinguish the truth from them.
The testing continued. The young men and women waiting in place paid attention to those being tested while also watching those who were climbing the stairs.
The longer they watched, the more complicated their feelings became.
All those tested had mixed spiritual roots, with the highest constitution being only intermediate. And those climbing the stairs were already stuck at the ninety-ninth step. For some reason, no one had been able to cross the hundredth step.
"Next, Zhao Bo."
The old man's voice was businesslike. He had witnessed countless candidates leave in disappointment after their assessments, so before each assessment, he would give these young people a warning first.
He was just about to call out "mixed spiritual root" when the old man's voice suddenly hitched. The left podium suddenly emitted an extremely dazzling red glow, like a ball of flame. Everyone present instinctively closed their eyes.
"...Superior Fire Spiritual Root." The old man's voice immediately changed. His gaze toward Zhao Bo was filled with uncertainty. "Go stand on the one on the right first."
Just like on the left, when Zhao Bo stepped onto the right platform, it too emitted an extremely brilliant white light.
"Superior physical constitution. Your surname is Zhao—no wonder, no wonder." The old man exclaimed several times in succession. His subsequent words became noticeably more amicable. "You only need to climb thirty steps."
"Why is his so few?" The moment the old man finished speaking, a youth voiced his objection.
The old man's amiability vanished. What he said next turned cold and indifferent again. "Your qualifications are different, so the assessment you face is naturally not the same either. The difficulty of cultivation for you and Zhao Bo is vastly different. What he can accomplish easily, you might exhaust all your strength trying to achieve and still be unable to do. This principle—I hope you understand the moment you enter the sect."
"If you cannot match others inborn, you can only make up for it through后天努力."
The elegantly-dressed youth began his ascent up the steps with graceful movements. Qi An heard his name being called.
He stood on the left podium just like everyone before him. Ice-blue light burst forth instantly. "Superior Water Spiritual Root."
The old man's gaze became even more incredulous. He had just been about to tell Qi An to move to the right. But when he noticed the light sheen of sweat on the young man's brow, he carefully examined the youth again, then lightly furrowed his brow. "Has your physical constitution been like this since childhood?"
"Ah, yes." Qi An nodded.
"Go measure it first." A note of regret appeared in the old man's tone.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the youth stood on the right podium. The platform again produced an especially intense light. However, the color of this light was different from everyone else's—it was a black color.
It looked unmistakably sinister and诡异.
Black as a mass of ink that could never be erased.
"Low-grade physical constitution. And..." The regret in the old man's voice became even more pronounced. He looked at the youth enveloped in dense black, sighing. "Your constitution makes it impossible for you to cultivate. Your spiritual root is the fastest at cultivation among all roots. No matter what you do, your body will automatically absorb天地灵气. But your constitution is like a balloon with holes punched in it—the spiritual energy in your body will all leak out. It really is... a waste of such a good spiritual root."
"Your trial task..." The old man seemed to fall into deep contemplation. His eyes moved back and forth between Qi An and that peak. "You need to climb thirty thousand steps."
"So many?" Zhao Bo, who had just finished his ascent, came down from the peak very quickly. Besides his superior qualifications, he also seemed to have learned some cultivation world techniques. These thirty steps were effortless for him.
"En. This is the rule. Generally, those with such a constitution would never have a spiritual root at all, and would absolutely have no possibility of stepping onto the path of cultivation." The old man explained in detail in response to Zhao Bo's question. "You are an exception. What a waste of such a good spiritual root, truly. Sigh."
"En." Qi An nodded lightly, then began walking toward the stairway.
"Is thirty thousand steps very difficult to get through?" Seeing that the old man's attention was entirely on that seemingly delicate youth, Zhao Bo's gaze darkened slightly.
"Of course. Our family has been responsible for this recruitment for generations. Among these, trial tasks requiring ten thousand steps were always extremely rare. As far as I know, only one person has ever successfully climbed above the ten-thousandth level."
"Who?" Zhao Bo asked reflexively.
"Du Ning." The old man sighed. "When he entered the sect back then, it was extremely glorious. Only..."
"Only what? Besides... isn't Du Ning the young master of the Dark Tower? How could there be an event of him climbing the sect's stairs?" Zhao Bo pressed further.
The old man knitted his brows. The look of沧桑 in his eyes seemed to deepen. He actually didn't want to continue speaking, but thinking of this youth's qualifications and the Zhao family behind him, he lowered his voice and said to him, "Du Ning was previously from our Xuantian Alliance, but later some things happened and he left our sect and went to the Dark Tower."
"Then why isn't this matter recorded? The information about Du Ning circulating in the world now covers his entire life, and it never mentioned him coming to Xuantian Alliance." Zhao Bo's voice was also very low.
"Some important figures didn't want this deed to be spread, so they deliberately erased these things." The old man looked toward the youth standing at the foot of the mountain. He watched that thin figure take one step up.
The youth seemed to put in tremendous effort, struggling hard to climb. His difficulty was obviously much greater than anyone before. With his excellent cultivation and formidable strength, the old man could clearly see the beads of sweat on the youth's brow. "What a waste of such a spiritual root."
His gaze returned to the bamboo scroll. The old man's cold, indifferent voice sounded again. "Next, Sheng Wenhao."
The time for testing spiritual roots and constitutions passed quickly. In no time, the densely scattered young men and women on the halfway point of the mountain gradually disappeared. The old man and Zhao Bo stood in place, watching those candidates still struggling with their trial tasks. The highest climber among them had barely reached the five-hundredth step.
The old man glanced at this, then lightly shook his head. "It seems this cohort also has no one capable of successfully entering the sect."
His gaze shifted again, landing on that youth at the very end. His clothes were already soaked through, faintly outlining his slender figure. It was obvious he truly wanted to become a cultivator and was climbing very hard. But his progress was still very short.
"Shameful." The old man sighed again.
"Let's go first. I'll take you to handle the probationary disciple registration and arrange your dormitory. When the time comes, the candidates still on these steps will be automatically sent back down the mountain." The old man took out a small object resembling a boat from his chest. He murmured something, and the boat expanded many times over.
The old man stepped on and said to Zhao Bo, "Come up. This is a Spiritual Vessel, a special transportation tool of our Xuantian Alliance. Every outer disciple will be equipped with one. You should encounter it many times in the future."
When Zhao Bo came aboard, the old man prepared to depart. The moment his finger touched the control panel, the old man suddenly felt an extremely powerful pressure approaching.
His hand paused as he saw a young man in a moon-white robe suddenly appear at the foot of the stairs.
"Who's that? Is he also an inner disciple of our sect?" Zhao Bo's gaze followed the old man to that young man. Even without the old man saying anything, he could tell this young man's status should be extremely high.
The old man's brow furrowed. "Should be, I think. His face seems very familiar. I should have seen it many times before."
But in the next second, the old man's expression instantly changed dramatically. He saw the young man teleport from the foot of the stairs to the eighty-third step.
This step was an important component of the sect's protective grand formation. When anyone stepped on it, their spiritual energy would be suppressed. They could only climb step by step like ordinary people, slowly going up. Because of the加持 from the Sect Master and various Grand Elders, along with countless superior spirit stones supplied day and night, this suppression effect was especially strong. The time needed to go up and down the mountain was therefore especially long. Otherwise, the sect wouldn't have特意 created the Spiritual Vessel as a transportation tool for ascending and descending.
But this young man had shattered his understanding of these steps.
The old man saw the young man run to Qi An's side, then take a robe from his spatial storage and drape it over the youth whose clothes were already soaked through.
Then the old man felt several more powerful pressures that made one's heart tremble. A cloud in the sky rapidly approached. This cloud also landed on the ground just before reaching the stairs.
Five people descended from it—three men and two women. The old man's expression changed sharply. He grabbed the still-dazed Zhao Bo and teleported before the five, then directly knelt. "Disciple pays respects to the Sect Master and the five Grand Elders."
"En." The middle-aged man at the front nodded lightly, then stepped onto the stairs first. The other four followed closely behind. The old man thought for a moment, then also silently followed.
The candidates' climbing speed naturally couldn't compare to theirs. In an instant, they reached where the young man was.
The leading elder was about to speak when he heard the young man say, "I've finally found you, my destined partner."
"!"
"I've been distracted lately, always feeling that something that could change my life would happen. So I've been divining my future continuously." Due to the cultivation of the无情道, the young man's voice had always been like plain water, completely without emotion. But when he spoke now, there was obvious tenderness in his voice, and the terrifying pressure that had been surrounding him also dissipated in an instant.
"Just now, I suddenly divined what this matter was—Heaven hopes we can become道侣." Lian Ruoyu's expression was cold and indifferent, like some kind of ice that couldn't melt. "Look, the red thread of fate has already bound us at our wrists."
The people watching nearby stared in amazement as the young man very carefully lifted one of the youth's wrists.
The white palm, larger than the youth's by a whole size, traced through the air above the wrist. A black thread of fate, tightly connecting them, was revealed between Qi An and Lian Ruoyu's wrists.
The youth was clearly stunned. Lian Ruoyu still spoke with his usual poker face, coldly saying, "We're already bound together. You need to..."
"Take responsibility for me."
"I..." A troubled expression appeared on Qi An's face. He even reached out to touch this thread of fate.
[Aaaah, when did this thread appear?! An'an, did you notice it? Red thread of fate, red thread of fate—didn't your previous fate thread break? How did it suddenly get repaired, and竟然还 connect to this man?!]
"You came here to become a disciple, right?" Lian Ruoyu seemed to have completely ignored Qi An's expression, speaking on his own. "First, become my disciple. I guarantee that whatever problems you encounter in your cultivation path, I can help you solve them. As for the matter of our feelings... we can discuss it slowly."
"Sect Master, wouldn't you say so?" Seeing that the youth hadn't agreed for a long time, Lian Ruoyu's emotionless gaze turned to the Sect Master, who had been standing there blankly.
"Ah, right. Qi An, your constitution is special. The only one qualified to teach you is Lian Ruoyu." The Sect Master immediately agreed.
The entire cultivation world was shocked by one matter.
Lian Ruoyu, the number one expert of the cultivation world, had accepted a personal disciple. And he had publicly sworn a poisonous oath that he would only take this one disciple in his entire life.
Moreover, according to circulating rumors, the person accepted as a personal disciple was actually just a lucky person who might not even be able to cultivate.
But just such a person, from being an ordinary person, had risen directly to become the Little Uncle of Xuantian Alliance.
[An'an, weren't you planning to first reunite with Zhang Zhaoqi and then complete the world's mission? Why did you suddenly change your mind?] Seeing its young master being led by an inner disciple who clearly harbored ill intentions toward an increasingly remote place, the system quietly observed the surroundings while忍不住 asking.
[I did originally plan this way, but Tongtong, you should have sensed it too, right? There's the aura of Dark Tower people here. Based solely on the world background introduction given by headquarters, we can conclude that the Dark Tower must have some important role in this. So, if we can successfully stay here, there's a good opportunity to complete the mission.]
[An'an, is it really like this?] The system反问了一句。
Its host absolutely wasn't changing their mind for this reason. Ever since they entered that peak, Qi An had sensed some extremely familiar auras. But Qi An's speed climbing the stairs was very slow.
At such a speed, he absolutely would not have been accepted as a disciple of Xuantian Alliance.
And unless necessary...
An'an rarely said so much.
As the youth walked on the winding path, his footsteps seemed to pause. The inner disciple leading him forward immediately stopped, turned to look at Qi An with concern, and asked, "Little Uncle, are you alright?"
"Nothing, I just didn't watch my step." Qi An smiled apologetically at him.
[...En.]
"En, that's good. Otherwise, Master Lian would definitely blame me." This inner disciple scratched his head, then pointed in a direction. "Little Uncle, do you see that? That's our sect's most spectacular Spirit Beast Garden. I've heard that even Du Ning's pet is raised there."
"Du Ning's?" Qi An glanced at the inner disciple and顺着他's words skillfully.
"En, our sect being called the number one sect naturally has its own merits." After finishing speaking with Qi An, the inner disciple patted the shoulder of another disciple responsible for guarding the Spirit Beast Garden. "I was showing Little Uncle around our sect, so I introduced the Spirit Beast Garden to him. Little Uncle was indeed interested, so he wanted to go inside and take a look."
"Wants to go inside and take a look." This guard disciple unconsciously knitted his brow. He exchanged several glances with the inner disciple before finally nodding. "Alright, Little Uncle, you may go in."
"Let's go." The inner disciple patted the guard disciple's shoulder again, smiling at Qi An. "It's really quite interesting inside. If we're fortunate enough to encounter Du Ning's spirit beast, it would truly be不虚此行."
All spirit beasts in the Spirit Beast Garden were free-roaming. Every few steps, one could see creatures that only existed in legends. If an ordinary person saw this scene, they would definitely feel admiration. Qi An pretended to be amazed and followed the inner disciple, constantly walking around.
There were many other cultivation disciples inside.
They all felt strange when they saw Qi An, but everyone respectfully came before him to bow.
"This is the area where that legendary spirit beast is most likely to appear. Little Uncle, do you want to go in and碰碰运气?" The inner disciple pointed to an area resembling a small jungle.
"You're not coming with me?" Qi An looked at this smiling, harmless-looking youth with his black eyes.
"En, I don't want Little Uncle to miss seeing this legendary spirit beast because of me. I've come to this Spirit Beast Garden countless times, and walked through this area many times too, but I've never successfully seen this legendary spirit beast. I and it probably really have no fate." The inner disciple seemed郁闷 as he scratched the back of his head. "So I'll wait here for Little Uncle. I'd hate to传染 my bad luck to Little Uncle."
"Alright."
Qi An nodded obediently and walked toward the depths of the jungle. The moment he left, other disciples ran to the inner disciple's side. "How did you bring Little Uncle here? He hasn't received his disciple talisman yet. Inside the Spirit Beast Garden, those spirit beasts will definitely attack him. If he dies in the Spirit Beast Garden, how will you explain to Master Lian?"
"I know, which is why I brought him here. The spirit beasts living here are Du Ning's." The inner disciple smiled lightly. "Bringing him into the Spirit Beast Garden can be said to be his own request. And if he dies here... do you think Master Lian will still be in the mood to investigate other matters?"
"Master Lian likes Du Ning. All these years, no one has dared mention that name in front of him, including... all matters connected to him."
"You..." That disciple knitted his brow. "Forget it. Manage yourself, but definitely don't implicate us."
[An'an, you should have sensed it too, right?] Walking over those leaves, Qi An's footsteps were particularly noticeable here.
[En, many people are gathering here.] Qi An answered the system's voice淡淡地. He thought for a moment, then continued to add, [These energy fluctuations all carry a sense of familiarity, and are隐隐ally connected.]
[Then why are they suddenly gathering here, and these energy fluctuations all dissipated when they entered Xuantian Alliance. They should have had many people reach the interior of Xuantian Alliance, but nothing major has happened yet. Are they plotting something big? Should we prepare in advance?] The system very proactively offered suggestions to its host.
The black-haired, black-eyed youth's walking direction was very purposeful. He walked along a certain determined direction. His footsteps paused somewhat, perhaps unconsciously surveying his surroundings. Whether it was the system's illusion or not, it felt that the jungle had become even quieter.
[No need. They...] The youth's pace moved forward slowly. [Won't cause us harm.]
[An'an, do you know who these people are?] The system's voice was clearly懵的。
[En.]
These潜伏 people were doing something they considered very important. In the densely packed jungle, countless hidden eyes watched this youth who was slowly walking inside.
Qi An微低着头, looking at the ground, when he suddenly felt a fluctuation. He looked up to find what kind of异常 had occurred. Then he discovered that a relatively inconspicuous stone had been moved from his planned path to another place.
"......"
Qi An blinked and, pretending not to have noticed, lowered his head again.
Then he discovered this phenomenon became more and more frequent. At first, only large stones were moved away. Then smaller stones, branches all disappeared from the path Qi An was walking on.
Even a strong gust of wind suddenly arose, blowing all the leaves from the path Qi An was walking on, leaving only bare, flat yellow ground. And an observant person could tell at a glance that a strong wind had blown here, but Qi An felt nothing.
It was as if this wind deliberately avoided him.
"......"
"Do you feel like something's not right?" That disciple couldn't help but ask the inner disciple again.
"It's... too quiet in here." The smile finally vanished from the inner disciple's face. "Not right, far from right. Not only are there no sounds the spirit beasts should make, not even the sounds of eating or... tearing prey."
"It's as if they received some danger and didn't dare make even a tiny sound." The inner disciple thought for a long time before finally uttering a description he considered relatively accurate.
"Then should we go in?" That disciple's expression turned somewhat ugly.
The inner disciple gritted his teeth. "Yes."
The two of them walked in. It was truly extremely quiet inside. The spirit beasts that could be seen every few steps before were all gone. And both of them felt the environment was particularly cold and gloomy. They had just taken a few steps when the inner disciple tripped and fell, his buttocks thunking onto the ground.
"There... why did a stone suddenly appear here? I didn't see it just now!"
This was just the beginning. During the subsequent walk, the two of them kept tripping. By the time they were about to reach the depths of the jungle, the inner disciple couldn't help but curse, "So eerie! Did someone curse us?"
"Little Uncle, are you here?" The inner disciple called out while taking a step forward. When he clearly saw the scene ahead, all expression on his face froze.
At the depths of the jungle was a lake.
That delicate youth was sitting by the lake. And right now, something that resembled a person was intimately embracing him. That human-like existence seemed to be acting spoiled toward the youth, its head constantly moving. Water droplets were continuously splashing from the lake. The inner disciple saw... a tail.
It seemed to notice their arrival, slightly tilting its neck to look toward where they were.
In their line of sight appeared a face of breathtaking beauty. Its eyes were deep blue, as if containing a vast ocean.
The two intruders couldn't help but swallow simultaneously. Of course, they recognized it—a merman.
And Du Ning's legendary spirit beast was precisely a... merman.
Their necks僵硬地 turning, they looked at the surrounding scene. Circling around this area were countless spirit beasts. The guard disciple secretly counted and discovered that all the spirit beasts residing in this area were now gathered around.
Even those that had been unseen for years, or were timid, had all gathered together.
Their gazes all fell on the youth right in the center. In their non-human pupils, intense human-like emotions appeared.
That was... adoration.
Everything here was picturesque. But on another side of Xuantian Alliance, a scene that could be called惨烈 was unfolding.
The Spiritual Artifact Pavilion had been occupied. The Dark Tower people had rushed into the Spiritual Artifact Pavilion without any warning from Xuantian Alliance. Not a single person inside the Spiritual Artifact Pavilion could escape. Blood flowed like a stream, filling the entire pavilion.
"Why did you abandon your previous promise? How could you attack our Xuantian Alliance!" An old man whose chest wouldn't stop bleeding tremblingly pointed his finger at the figures hidden in the darkness. "Didn't Du Ning say... he said he would never make a move against Xuantian Alliance!"
"We know. Otherwise, why would we have spared your sect back then." The speaker's voice was particularly hoarse. "But now it's different."
"You hurt him. I cannot allow you the possibility to hurt him again." This voice continued. "We will create a... very, very beautiful world for him."
"You! You! Do you still have the样子 of cultivators?!" The old man vomited a large mouthful of blood. Black bloodstains dyed his entire garment red.
"We have already... fallen into魔." This voice seemed to冷笑.
The old man opened his lips as if to say more, but his body fell weakly.
"Let's go quickly. We've wasted quite a bit of time here." Another shadow said somewhat urgently.
"En." The previous voice lightly agreed.
"Master, master, why did your expression suddenly change?" A plainly-dressed youth asked a old man holding a pot of wine with a simple expression.
Unlike the youth's neat appearance, the old man was clearly much messier. His originally white clothes had become yellow from use, covered with various oil stains. His hair was also messy.
"Something happened." There were wine stains on the old man's clothes from his unsteady hand just now. He rubbed the youth's head with one dirty hand, making the latter's hair messy too.
"It's a very important matter, right?" The youth stared blankly at him.
He knew his master was very skilled. He had stolen wine from many people, including those who sounded very powerful immortal lords. But his master had never been caught by anyone.
But just now, for the first time, his ever-joking master showed gravity on his face. Even his beloved wine, which he treated like his lifeline, had been spilled.
Something very important must have happened to make his master change like this.
"Keke, do you worship Du Ning?" The old man asked with a smile.
"I do. Don't all cultivators in the cultivation world worship him? I also regard him as my偶像. Unfortunately, I'm born unable to cultivate." At the end, the youth's tone became somewhat hurt.
"En, then do you know about the Dark Tower?" The old man's eyes narrowed as he continued to ask with a smile.
"I know. It's a force composed of魔 cultivators, bringing great threat to our cultivation world. Now all major forces are seeking ways to deal with them."
"The truth is, the Dark Tower was previously a force of the cultivation world, even called theHoly Land of the cultivation world. Every cultivator took entering this organization as their goal." The old man raised his wine pot and drank another bottle. Turbid yellow wine flowed down from the corner of his mouth. The old man seemed slightly drunk, his head swaying. "Everyone inside was saintly and elegant, always taking the mission of守护 the cultivation world as their duty. So this sect and its disciples were especially loved by cultivators. Only, something happened."
"What happened?" Keke一边用力拽着老人把他往房间里面拽，一边顺着他的话问。
"One person died."
"What?" Keke couldn't tell if the old man was telling the truth or speaking nonsense after getting drunk.
"It was someone very important to them. In the first moment after his death, everyone in the Dark Tower... all fell into魔. They began to hate this world they had always protected."
"One person?" Keke finally dragged the old man onto the bed, but in his heart, he was very dismissive. Countless people died every day. Cultivators mostly had firm hearts and淡薄的 emotions. How could the death of just one person cause such a change in them.
"That was their...心中的光明."
"Keke, haven't you always wanted to see the cultivation world? You've reached the age when you can travel now. Go!" The old man, whose eyes had already closed, seemed impatiently to wave his hand.
Keke always knew his master's temper, so he reluctantly walked out the door. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard what sounded like the old man's sleep-talking.
"Maybe, you can even meet your师兄."
"Do I have a师兄? Why have I never heard master you mention him? What's his name? Where is he now?"
"That was a very good person..."
---
On the vast snow plain, a cold-faced youth walked continuously on the snow. It was Zhang Zhaoqi, who had been separated from Qi An the moment they arrived in this world.
His footsteps paused. He suddenly looked up toward a certain direction.
"An'an, you deserve to receive...万千宠爱."
---
In merely a short morning, the闭关 elder received dozens of messages sent from various sects.
And the content of these letters was extremely similar.
The Dark Tower people had looted the Spiritual Artifact Pavilions and Treasure Pavilions of every force, and looted them clean.