“Xiao He, it seems we underestimated the conspiracy unfolding behind the scenes…” the old man said, still staring into the horizon, his expression becoming extremely solemn.

“Huh?! What happened, Master?” Shen He asked anxiously, alarmed.

“If I’m not mistaken, a cultivator at the Soul Formation realm is approaching this place, accompanied by what appear to be the elders of the Infinite Dao Sect… Huh!” The old man suddenly widened his eyes and disappeared.

But his voice continued to ring clearly in Shen He’s mind, now with a slightly anxious tone.

“Shen He, leave this location immediately! Go into the crowd and blend in there. Somehow, the cultivator noticed my gaze and looked back… I don’t know how he did it, but don’t waste time — go!!” The old man’s voice sounded hurried, alarming Shen He.

The boy’s heart raced, and without hesitating, doubting, or asking, he ran to hide among the crowd, cold sweat dripping down his back.

‘Master, are we in trouble?’ he asked inwardly. He remembered that the first time, his master seemed to read his mind, so he believed he would likely be heard.

“Don’t panic. Even though I don’t understand how he noticed my gaze, he’s still just a Soul Formation cultivator. I managed to hide our presence from his sight. And even if he does find us, I can destroy him — even in my weakened state. But that could expose us to danger and put me in a relatively bad situation. I’m still far from my peak and could fall into a deep sleep if I make any big moves.” The old master’s voice rang out, calming Shen He slightly, but making him even more wary of the seemingly fearsome Infinite Dao Sect.

‘Master, what realm is Soul Formation? I’ve never heard of it.’ Lowering his gaze to the necklace, Shen He asked mentally, confused.

“It’s the realm after Nascent Soul,” the old man explained simply, not irritated, aware that people from the desert didn’t know much about higher cultivation realms.

‘…’

“…”

The old man’s eye twitched inside the necklace as he realized the boy’s silence.

“… You don’t know what the Nascent Soul realm is, do you?” he asked, helpless.

‘Ugh… sorry, Master. I only know up to the Golden Core realm,’ the boy replied, a bit embarrassed.

“Well, now you know the next two realms,” the old man shrugged.

‘Huh? What does this— Ah! I get it. Thank you, Master, for the teaching!’ Shen He was confused at first, but quickly understood.

“Hm. Now, calm your heart and watch quietly. Don’t run. Let’s see what they’re planning.”

The old man narrowed his eyes, suppressing his intent inside the necklace and ceasing to probe the outside to avoid exposing his presence.

…

A few minutes earlier, a massive jet-black floating ship was rapidly approaching Black Rock Mountain, cutting through the air at a blinding speed.

Inside the ship, Lie Zheng, the inner elder of the Punishment Pavilion, led the current recruitment mission.

As for the black ship, it was not the same one previously used by Aotian’s avatars to escort the disciples from Black Rock Mountain. This one was newly constructed from scratch by Aotian’s avatars. Larger, stronger, and faster, it allowed for a smooth and rapid journey under Lie Zheng’s command.

Besides him, there were nine other inner elders from the remaining nine pavilions.

Twenty-five outer elders of the sect also accompanied them. In this way, half the sect’s elders were participating in the mission.

As for the disciples, all had come — including Aotian and Rihai, who at that moment were leaning on the ship’s railing, admiring the landscape below.

Aotian had his arm around her shoulders as they enjoyed the view together.

“It’s nice to get out once in a while and breathe a bit while seeing the world,” Aotian said, contemplating the beautiful scenery.

Although referred to as a desert, this was more in regard to the spiritual energy and scarcity of cultivation resources. In terms of nature, this continent was anything but barren. On the contrary, it was incredibly beautiful, filled with lush flora and fauna.

Rihai rested her head on his shoulder, a gentle smile on her face as she observed the landscape.

“I never really stopped to see or admire the world. I think we cultivators have a very pragmatic nature and end up forgetting the small things while focusing too much on chasing higher realms. It really is beautiful… and a shame not to see such a world,” she murmured, feeling content watching the scenery and sensing Aotian’s warmth beside her.

She shifted her gaze from the horizon to Aotian, her eyes filled with affection. She was met with a gentle smile and a kiss on the nose that made her grin.

“Tian’er, I think I’ve never told you how grateful I am to have met you. I’ve never felt so alive as I do by your side. Even if I never recover and die in just a century or two, I’ll still die happy for having been with you,” she said, looking at him with peace and happiness.

Although it felt strange to hear that she might live ‘only a century or two’, Aotian understood that in Rihai’s mindset, that was a short life. And with time, that would probably be the case for him too.

“Don’t say that, Hai’er. There’s not a shadow of doubt in my heart that you’ll recover. You’ve already made it to Foundation Establishment. Soon, we’ll walk the path together to completely repair your roots and allow you to break through that realm. We’ll live countless years together. You’re not getting away from me,” he said firmly, his gaze unwavering, his voice sincere as he gently embraced her.

In the last month, after beginning to cultivate their physiques, her roots had recovered to 4%. Before that, according to Rihai, their integrity had been only about 1.5% or less, showing just how damaged they had been.

Furthermore, the biggest problem was that unless her roots reconnected, she wouldn’t be able to advance beyond the realm she was previously in — the peak of Foundation Establishment — since her roots might collapse.

Even so, with 4% integrity, her root nourishment speed had already reached the level of a medium-quality root, and it would only improve further soon.

As for her cultivation, she was already at the 9th level of Qi Refinement when she arrived at the sect. With the sect’s cultivation technique, which was a hundred times more efficient — though not exactly a hundred times faster than the decent technique she previously had — she still progressed much more rapidly. In just a month, she had already recovered somewhat and reached Foundation Establishment.

Currently, she had also reached the 4th level of Qi Refinement in body cultivation.

As for Aotian, he progressed even faster. With his avatars leading the way and his powerful minds assisting his cultivation, he advanced at a startling pace. Moreover, he didn’t suffer from the same difficulty as Rihai, whose roots were scattered.

[Host: Long Aotian

Cultivation: 3rd Level of Foundation Establishment

Body Cultivation: 6th Level of Qi Refinement

Physique: Mortal

Qualifications: Low-Grade Five Element Spiritual Root (Low Qualification)]

In one month, he reached the 6th level in body refinement and advanced one level in dantian cultivation — a significant achievement.

Even more surprising was the fact that he had asked the system to add a line for body cultivation — and it had actually agreed.

Hearing Aotian’s comforting words and how they reinforced her confidence, Rihai’s heart warmed.

But she still had doubts about his hopes.

Although body refinement was helping, since her realm could only reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, even if she refined her body to that limit with the sect’s incredible techniques, it likely still wouldn’t be enough to recover more than 50%.

It wasn’t the fault of the Infinite Dao Sect. She imagined they certainly had body refinement techniques beyond Foundation Establishment. However, since body refinement couldn’t surpass root cultivation, she was doomed to be unable to use them.

Of course, even though she wasn’t sure about his hopes, she still had a great deal of faith. Aotian and his sect had surprised her countless times, and the chances they’d invent something new were not small.

“Tian’er… thank you, for everything,” she said with sincerity in her gaze.

Her gratitude was more for the fact that he was always by her side, uplifting her and filling her with love, than for external things like techniques.

And Aotian could see that clearly in her eyes.

“I’ll always be here for you, Hai’er.” He smiled and touched his forehead to hers, gently wrapping his arm around her waist.

“I love you,” Rihai whispered softly.

“I love you too,” Aotian replied with equal tenderness.

They remained in each other’s arms for a while. Aotian was about to say something when suddenly his heart raced.

Hidden aboard the ship was Bao Wuji.

Since he and Rihai were traveling this time and were even bringing half of his avatars, it was natural that he brought Bao Wuji with him as a safeguard.

The other half of his avatars were being protected by Tian Zhu, the sect leader, who had already reached the Nascent Soul realm.

The shock came because he had just activated Bao Wuji’s radar ability as they neared Black Rock Mountain, simply to check if there was anything interesting.

And when he did, among the many points in his mind, one stood out completely — a point he had never seen before. Bao Wuji immediately looked in the direction the point should be, but the distance was too great to discern anything with the naked eye.

Little did he know that, by sheer luck, when he looked in that direction, it was almost the exact moment the old man inside the necklace also turned his gaze that way — making the old man believe his gaze had been noticed.

‘What the hell! The symbol represents a treasure, but the aura is above Soul Formation. I just don’t know if it’s only one realm higher… or more. I can test that later by calculating the distance, which should let me determine the treasure’s level. But… what is such a powerful treasure doing here?’ At first, Aotian was excited to see the treasure, but his heart soon sank. Furrowing Bao Wuji’s brows, he began to wonder whether there could be danger in this recruitment mission.

Such a treasure shouldn’t be taken lightly.

‘No, I can’t take the risk. It’s dangerous to proceed like this.’ Aotian immediately stopped the ship, deciding to act with caution.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep