A Whale's Fall

"This old servant, Yu Haozhen, has walked the path of cultivation for over sixty years. Ever since the Sect met with sudden disaster, my bridge was broken and my path severed. I have spent my days sighing and my nights tossing and turning..."

Elder Yu stepped out of his cave dwelling, looked toward the Song Mountain main estate, and dropped to his knees. Two streams of clear tears flowed down his aged cheeks.

Ever since his Sect was destroyed, he had not revealed his true name to a single soul.

Even Yang Guanfeng only knew his surname.

But today, after Chen Yang transmitted the Dharma to him, Yu Haozhen finally spoke his true name aloud.

"The Immortal Venerable's great grace in mending my Dao is beyond repayment. I can only serve with all my might, until the day I die!"

Elder Yu then summoned Xie Chuan, handed over the valley's affairs, and entered Secluded Cultivation.

The next day, Zhao Qi, Wu Tong, and Liang Yi each received a copy of the Twelve-Level Qi Gathering Ascension Essentials, personally transcribed by Chen Yang. Of course, it only contained the early and middle-stage contents.

This transcribed secret manual consisted only of text. It was far inferior to the immersive insights Yang Lingqing and Elder Yu had received through the transmission of true heart-soul thoughts.

Yet for these foreign-surname cultivators, this transcribed manual was more than enough for them to comprehend and digest.

Subsequently, Yang Liu, Dai Wei, Liu Zihao, and Xie Chuan each received a transcribed fragment of the secret manual personally written by Chen Yang.

Over the following month, three members of the Yang family successively achieved breakthroughs.

Yang Lingqing reached the fifth level of Qi Gathering, Elder Yu broke into the seventh level, and Yang Liu condensed a Qi Mansion.

Aside from these three, the rest of the Yang family's cultivators also made progress in their cultivation, causing the family's overall strength to experience another surge.

This was enough to show the sheer value of Li Yuande's insights!

Moreover, this was only the transformation brought about by a single ascension manual.

If combined with the subsequent insights regarding the cultivation of myriad arts, the heart-soul, and even core condensation, it would be enough for all cultivators of the Yang family to undergo a complete baptism and achieve a qualitative leap!

Myriad Transformations Sect, Heavenwalk Peak.

This place was the cultivation retreat of Mo Xian, the Myriad Transformations Sect's secluded Elder at Condensed Origin Perfection.

Since the founding of the Myriad Transformations Sect, only three people had ever permanently resided here. But after the Sect opened its mountain gates to recruit disciples this time, it welcomed a fourth.

Since stepping onto the peak, Yang Lingshu had only met Mo Xian once, on the very first day when he paid respects to his master.

This old Senior's teaching method was extremely simple. He tossed him a Spirit Communion art named the Water-Wood Heavenly Heart Art and told him to cultivate it to the sixth stage before seeking him out again.

Yang Lingshu set aside the Nether-Spirit Dao-Seeking Scripture he had previously cultivated at home and switched to this path.

The higher the quality of a cultivation art, the stricter its requirements for a cultivator's comprehension.

Although Yang Lingshu had refined a spirit pearl and possessed sufficient aptitude and talent, he still lacked slightly in comprehension.

Mo Xian silently observed his early cultivation from the shadows for seven days. Seeing that he failed to reach Novice mastery, Mo Xian felt a trace of disappointment.

Back then, Xiao Yize had reached Novice mastery in this art in just three days.

However, considering that Yang Lingshu did not hail from a prominent clan and was switching his cultivation foundation mid-way, Mo Xian patiently observed him for a few more days.

Then, on the tenth day, Yang Lingshu suddenly seemed to undergo an epiphany, achieving Novice mastery in the Water-Wood Heavenly Heart Art within a few short hours.

"I knew it! How could the person I set my sights on be a mediocre talent!"

Mo Xian rejoiced inwardly.

Because this was a direct disciple quota arranged by the Wangchao, he had noticed Yang Lingshu on the very day of the entry examination.

The little fatty appeared somewhat foolish and simple in the eyes of others, but Mo Xian, who had read countless people in his lifetime, saw through his disguise at a glance.

Later, when Yang Lingshu displayed his Brilliant Purple Talent, Mo Xian was certain the child was extraordinary.

Coupled with the fact that his dual water and wood spiritual affinities perfectly matched his own cultivation art, Mo Xian was moved to take him as a disciple.

"He is slightly slower than Yize, but Lingshu switched his cultivation mid-way. Reaching Novice mastery in ten days is well within reason."

Mo Xian was deeply satisfied with Yang Lingshu's performance. After that, he ceased observing the boy's cultivation, trusting that within a few years, Yang Lingshu would meet his requirements.

The day after Mo Xian returned to his cave dwelling, Yang Lingshu slowly opened his eyes.

His cultivation had experienced a surge overnight, and he was on the verge of breaking through to the fourth level.

"Twelve-Level Qi Gathering Ascension Essentials, Treatise on Cultivation Insights into Myriad Arts-the Immortal Venerable's bestowed Dharma is truly extraordinary!"

Yang Lingshu praised inwardly.

Yesterday, he had been exploring a certain Dharma formula within this Spirit Communion art. After agonizing over it for a long time without grasping the key, he suddenly felt several strands of Intent transmit into his mind.

Chen Yang had actually transmitted his Intent to Yang Lingshu on the very first day he obtained the insights. However, because the distance was so vast, this strand of Intent had drifted for several days before arriving.

Upon receiving the Treatise on Cultivation Insights into Myriad Arts and comprehending its contents, he experienced a sudden flash of enlightenment.

Pushing forward in a single breath, he overcame several bottlenecks in rapid succession and cultivated the Water-Wood Heavenly Heart Art to Novice mastery!

Without Chen Yang's assistance, relying solely on himself to reach Novice mastery would likely have taken another month.

Had that truly been the case, Mo Xian probably would have given up on him entirely and left him to his own devices on the mountain.

At the same time, another tiny strand of Intent was traversing thousands of mountains and rivers, drifting toward the eastern border of the Zhuhu Wangchao.

The beneficiaries of Li Yuande's legacy extended far beyond the Yang family.

The young cultivators from various families who had witnessed the Dharma demonstration that day all reaped tremendous benefits.

In the years following this event, several leading figures among the young disciples-including He Shenglai, Su Lingyun, and Shen Yue-began returning to their homes and Sects to enter Secluded Cultivation.

Li Yuande's death was like a whale's fall, scattering his world-shaking talent and lifelong comprehension to the masses.

From the perspective of later years, this Qi-Fall Condensed Origin Dharma demonstration had a profoundly far-reaching impact. It became an essential turning point that allowed the national strength of the Zhuhu Wangchao to rise to an entirely new level.

In the near future, it would forge an unprecedented and utterly unique golden era in the history of the Zhuhu Wangchao-an age where Condensed Origin cultivators roamed the land and brilliant geniuses never fell!

...

Zhuhu Wangchao, Eastern Border, Wanghai City.

It was currently dusk, the sky just slipping into night.

The city guard commander saw a master and servant pair approaching in military tunics and prepared to step forward to halt them for questioning.

But as he closed the distance and caught sight of the black tiger pattern on their shoulders, his body abruptly stiffened. A profound reverence, laced with panic, surfaced in his eyes.

"This lowly soldier greets the two lords!"

The guard commander stood straight and saluted.

He recognized that the two men before him belonged to the fiercely renowned Black Tiger Battalion from the front lines.

The border battleground was currently locked in a brutal slaughter, and the engagements borne by the Black Tiger Battalion were the most horrific of all.

Anyone who could walk out alive from that meat grinder was a ferocious warrior who had treaded over mountains of corpses and seas of blood, passing through the gates of hell more times than one could count!

As the two stopped before the guard commander, an undeniable, faint stench of blood drilled into his nostrils.

When he lifted his gaze and took in their appearances, the terror in his heart intensified.

To begin with the servant walking a half-step behind: he had lost an arm and was crippled in one leg. He moved with a heavy limp and stood with a crooked posture.

He made no attempt to conceal his cultivation, allowing his fourth-level Qi Gathering aura to radiate naturally.

The guard commander was a martial cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Gathering, yet the instant his eyes met the servant's, a chill shot down his spine, as though he had just been locked onto by a savage beast of the deep woods.

At that moment, the guard commander also noticed faint glimmers of cold light subtly radiating from beneath the man's crippled foot.

"These are our entry documents for the city. Please review them, Commander."

The middle-aged man walking in front came to a halt and handed over a document stamped with the golden seal of the Zhuhu Wangchao.

Under the laws of the Zhuhu Wangchao, any frontline soldier returning to the city without official documents would be branded a deserter.

"There are no issues. Please follow me, my lords."

The guard commander hastily accepted the papers. After verifying their authenticity, he immediately led the way, guiding the two men into the city.

He covertly observed the middle-aged man. His posture was as straight as an unsheathed sword, and his profound cultivation aura was perfectly restrained-without a doubt, he was in the late stages of his realm.

Across his face lay a centipede-like scar that crawled vertically down from his right eye socket, trailing all the way to his collarbone.

The wound was terrifyingly deep, fully sunken into the flesh and bone.

The guard commander could not help but swallow hard, thinking to himself, A direct strike to the face... with such a horrific wound, how did this lord manage to survive?

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