In a bamboo house, Xu Shan lay on his bed, gazing fixedly at the deep purple pill held between his two fingers.
So much had happened today, but he had finally made it into the Inner Sect.
The benefits were quite good; he was given a private residence as soon as he arrived.
The bamboo house was fully furnished, and outside there was even a small courtyard with a flower garden, giving it a certain rustic charm.
The treatment of Inner Disciples was indeed far, far better than that of the Outer Sect.
But if he wanted to truly settle in and live here peacefully, he still needed to break through to Foundation Establishment.
Unfortunately, the mysterious Qing Seal in his sea of consciousness, aside from being able to conjure up weirdo items, seemed to be of no help to his cultivation.
Xu Shan put away the pill and summoned the white towel into his hand.
He had already witnessed the washing machine's unexpected effects and had a faint idea in his heart, but he couldn't be certain yet.
As for what was so special about this towel, he still had no clue.
He probably wouldn't get a chance to test these two items in the Inner Sect. As his trump cards, they couldn't be revealed so easily.
He could only wait for an opportunity to leave the mountain and try them out.
Two days... His wounds would be mostly healed in another two or three days. Then, it would be time to break through to Foundation Establishment!
.....
Two days passed quickly. Just as Xu Shan had expected, his injuries were about seventy or eighty percent healed.
Aside from the deeper wounds on his ankle and right arm, which hadn't fully recovered, the other minor cuts had already healed completely.
Beside a stream in the Inner Sect, Xu Shan stripped naked and sat cross-legged, holding the Foundation Establishment Pill in his hands.
He circulated the Outer Sect's Qi Refining art several times before letting out a long breath.
He picked up the pill and, with utmost caution, placed it in his mouth...
Xu Shan was completely focused, concentrating on the inside of his body.
As the pill's medicinal power slowly dissolved, a warm current flowed from top to bottom, then dispersed into all his meridians.
The medicinal power spread with increasing intensity. The once stable and peaceful spiritual energy in Xu Shan's dantian began to throb like a heart.
With each throb, a large amount of spiritual energy was pumped out, surging through his meridians along with the medicinal power.
A wondrous sensation gradually arose within Xu Shan's body.
For the first time, he felt he could control the spiritual energy within him—a feeling he had never experienced before.
It was like how an ordinary person can't control their pectoral muscles, but a fitness guru with well-developed pecs can master this rather showy skill with simple practice.
Before, his spiritual energy wasn't profound enough and remained hidden in his dantian. Now, boosted by the pill's power, the fortified spiritual energy was easily within his control.
The medicinal power was still surging, and a piercing pain began to appear inside Xu Shan's body...
......
Inside the main hall of the Xinglan Sect.
Ye Qingbi sat in the master seat, with all the sect's elders present.
"Sect Master, all the surrounding sects have replied after receiving the invitations. Twenty sects have agreed to visit our mountain gate, and they have arranged to come together in five days."
Ye Qingbi nodded gently. "My emergence from seclusion serves two purposes. First, to announce to our fellow cultivators that the Xinglan Sect now has someone in the Nascent Soul Realm. Second, to declare our sect's participation in the Water Realm's centennial grand competition. This is the first time our sect has participated in such a contest, and it will be inevitable that our disciples will spar with those from other sects."
"The Xinglan Sect is small and has always had little interaction with other sects. We must use this opportunity to gather more intelligence and strive for an advantage in the grand competition."
"Furthermore, the guests from the various sects are all honored guests. The spirit fruits and pills must be prepared meticulously, with no negligence."
As soon as Ye Qingbi finished speaking, Elder Xu, who was in charge of cultivation resources, spoke up. "Sect Master, to help you break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, the sect has traded away many of its decent resources... I'm afraid what we have to entertain the guests might not be very presentable."
The hall instantly fell silent.
Poverty... was a topic the Xinglan Sect could never seem to escape.
Ye Qingbi's small, cherry-like lips parted. She looked a little lost, but mostly embarrassed.
"Can't we squeeze something out?"
"We can, but... then there will be less for our own people. It's not worth sacrificing substance for the sake of face. Besides, I'm waiting to collect gifts from *them*," Elder Xu said bitterly.
"I have a way!" Jin Yangqiu stood up and waved his hand grandly. "I say we don't need to prepare any spirit fruits or pills. We can't bring out anything decent anyway, and what we consider decent, others might not even look at."
"So, why don't we just find a cook and have them make some beautiful dishes? Although our guests have all long since reached the state of Inedia, the desire for good food still remains. This way, we lose neither face nor substance. What do you all think?"
"Good! That's a good idea. Old Jin has some good ideas."
"That's right. I haven't eaten a proper meal in many years. Now that you mention it, I'm starting to crave it."
"Won't that seem a bit too shabby?"
"There's nothing to worry about. The moment they arrive at our mountain gate, they'll probably already think we're shabby."
The elders all expressed their approval.
Ye Qingbi's eyes lit up, but then her brow furrowed. "Where do we find a cook? Are you suggesting we find one from the mortal world? If word of that gets out, I'm afraid we'll be a laughingstock."
"Doesn't the Outer Sect have a cook!" Jin Yangqiu said. "Elder Cao, you should know who the Outer Sect cook is, right? Summon him in and have him practice his culinary skills over the next few days."
Elder Cao glanced at him and sneered, "The Outer Sect's cook is that beloved new disciple of yours. What kind of master are you? You don't even know what your own disciple used to do?"
The expression on Jin Yangqiu's face gradually froze.
Xu Shan... was also a cook?
For the past few days, all the elders had known he had taken in a low-grade Spiritual Root disciple with extremely good luck, and many had been laughing at him for it.
And now, he had just proposed a plan that aired his own dirty laundry?
Before he could think any further, Ye Qingbi made the final decision. "Elder Jin, it's settled. Remember to go back and supervise your disciple's culinary practice. Everyone is dismissed!"
......
Pain!
An unparalleled, excruciating pain had already spread throughout Xu Shan's entire body.
Rampaging spiritual energy shot uncontrollably through every part of him, violently stretching and scouring all his meridians.
His dantian was the epicenter of the disaster, feeling as if a bundle of razor blades had been stuffed inside and was being constantly churned.
Xu Shan bit his tongue, his pupils and lips trembling violently. Sweat streamed down his forehead, and his whole body began to shake uncontrollably!
His left hand dug fiercely into the wound on his right arm; the pain from the wound helped to alleviate the torture within his body.
Lu Xiangjun had told him it would be a little painful. This wasn't a little painful, this was agonizingly painful!
It was nothing short of extreme torture...
Before long, he could no longer maintain his seated posture and slowly collapsed to the ground, curling into a ball.
He let the tears and sweat stream down his cheeks.
He held onto a single thought... There was no turning back!
At the same time, a dark, viscous substance began to seep from his entire body...
High above, Jin Yangqiu stood on his flying sword with his hands behind his back.
He observed Xu Shan's reaction below with a solemn expression.
He had originally come looking for him to discuss something, but he hadn't expected to catch him during his Foundation Establishment breakthrough.
When breaking through to Foundation Establishment, the higher one's aptitude, the easier the process.
For Xu Shan... to be in such agony during his breakthrough, as if he were suffering death by a thousand cuts.
It was clear how poor his aptitude was; the process of cleansing his sinews and marrow was far more difficult than for other Inner Disciples.
However, to not have passed out yet and to not have made a single sound, his willpower was truly impressive...
After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the pain in Xu Shan's body began to recede like the tide.
As if he had just been fished out of a mud pit, he collapsed on the ground, motionless.
......
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