As soon as Chu Huaian returned to the sect, he saw a rainbow light swiftly heading towards him, accompanied by an urgent voice.
“Senior Brother Chu!”
Chu Huaian stopped and saw Yun Xiang rushing towards him in a flurry, about to pounce on him without a word.
Chu Huaian extended his hand to hold her head, his face full of dark lines as he said, “What’s going on?”
“Oh, just a hug…”
Yun Xiang struggled hard, and after realizing it was useless, she pouted and grumbled, “You won’t even give me a hug, how stingy!”
“Didn’t you return to the sect with Senior Jing Yuan?” Chu Huaian asked, puzzled.
“Hmph, my master told me to go back into seclusion to prepare for breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage.
I thought, then I can just go into seclusion here with you, but Master said you all need to cultivate your minds recently and shouldn’t be disturbed.”
“Then why did you come here?” Chu Huaian released his hand and asked, confused.
“Isn’t it because I missed you? Who knows how long I’ll be in seclusion, I want to see you more before I go into seclusion, hehe…”
As Yun Xiang spoke, she was about to pounce on Chu Huaian.
“Watch your image, watch your image.” Chu Huaian extended his hand and again held her head.
At this moment, one large and one small figure walked out from the Scripture Pavilion, greeting Chu Huaian who was not far away.
“Master…” Xia Ling happily waved to Chu Huaian.
Chu Huaian nodded in acknowledgment, his gaze involuntarily falling on the white figure.
Xia Ling had already flown over and pounced on Chu Huaian, “Master, I want to go out and play…”
“You are not allowed to go anywhere these next few days, stay with your Senior Sister Luo Xi and cultivate obediently.” Chu Huaian rubbed her little head and held her in his arms.
Yun Xiang looked at Chu Huaian, then at Xia Ling in his arms, pouted, and said discontentedly, “Senior Brother Chu, I’m going back now, I’ll come find you after my seclusion ends.”
“Go, cultivate with peace of mind, and break through to the Nascent Soul Stage as soon as possible.” Chu Huaian exhorted.
“Got it, remember to miss me.”
Yun Xiang waved reluctantly, then glanced at Luo Xi below before turning and leaving.
As soon as she left, Xia Ling jumped out of Chu Huaian’s arms and whispered, “Master, I’ll tell you a secret.”
“What secret?” Chu Huaian was a little curious and couldn’t help but lower his head.
“Just now was…” Xia Ling was about to explain, but then Luo Xi’s voice came.
“Xia Ling, it’s time for your homework.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Ling stuck out her tongue and reluctantly ran to Luo Xi’s side.
Chu Huaian looked at Luo Xi and said softly, “After a while, you two will come with me to Central Continent to find someone.”
“Mhm…” Luo Xi showed a serene smile and nodded slightly.
A gentle breeze blew, lifting her hair, like a beautiful painting.
Chu Huaian withdrew his gaze and flew back to the back mountain.
“Senior Sister Luo Xi, I want to go play with Sun Yiyi…” Xia Ling tugged at Luo Xi’s hand, pleading.
“Be good, Xia Ling, everyone needs to refine their inner demons these days. How about we go find your Senior Sister Yiyi to play in a few days?”
“Got it…”
…
In the following days, the entire Hua Xia Sect was extremely quiet; except for the handyman disciples, other players rarely appeared within the sect.
Those new players, after receiving their rewards, spent every day immersed in the Vitality Secret Realm.
The old players stayed in their rooms every day, cultivating the mind-cultivation method given by Chu Huaian.
During this period, at the Hua Xia Sect’s mountain gate, people came every day to seek apprenticeship.
In just five days, over a hundred thousand people had gathered at the foot of the mountain.
To avoid chaos, Chu Huaian personally led more than a dozen handyman disciples to select them.
The assessment difficulty was significantly higher than before; it took a full day, and only two hundred people were selected.
Many people cast envious glances at them.
A young man who passed the assessment excitedly ran to his family, weeping with joy, “Father, I did it! I’m no longer the good-for-nothing people called me!”
A portly middle-aged man, adorned with jewels, wiped tears from the corners of his eyes and said with a trembling voice:
“Good, good, cultivating immortals is good. Unlike your father, who toiled his whole life, only to be surrounded by fish and meat, tormented by your thirty-eight concubines every day…”
“Master…”
A group of women surrounded the middle-aged man, calling him ‘Master’ one after another, which left Chu Huaian stunned.
He had an urge to kick this young man out of the sect; this family’s conduct, at a glance, was not proper.
“Father, please take the concubines back quickly. Once you’re back, tell the Murong family: thirty years of prosperity west of the river, thirty years east of the river, do not bully a young man in poverty. Regarding the annulment of the engagement, I, Xiao Feng, will one day make them regret this decision!”
The young man clenched his fists, his eyes filled with determination, and he abruptly turned to follow the team.
Chu Huaian couldn’t help but take another look at the young man.
His talent was a mid-grade spiritual root, with no special abilities, just a lot of spirit stones.
Chu Huaian didn’t know the Murong family’s strength; he only knew that if this young man didn’t work hard, he might end up only being able to shout, ‘Do not bully a middle-aged man in poverty.’
The older batch of handyman disciples in Hua Xia Sect are now far from what they used to be; they are a group of people who have experienced the baptism of war. These newly admitted disciples will likely face considerable pressure to catch up.
After Chu Huaian handed this group over to a female handyman disciple, he no longer paid them any mind.
When the tenth day arrived, many players emerged from seclusion, and the entire sect became lively again.
Many players flocked to the Demon Subduing Pagoda, beginning a new round of challenges.
Currently, the sect disciple rankings are:
First place: Luo Xi, Golden Core Peak.
Second place: Zhao Shijie, Golden Core Peak.
Third place: Li Taibai, Golden Core Peak.
Fourth place: Chu Heshan, Golden Core Peak.
…
All the way to the twentieth place, everyone was at the Golden Core Peak.
Almost all of the older batch of players had advanced to the Golden Core Stage, while most of the new batch of players were hovering around the Foundation Establishment Stage, and a small portion were still in the Qi Refining Stage.
Advancing from the Golden Core Stage to the Nascent Soul Stage is a watershed; some cultivators spend their entire lives unable to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage, which is very common in the cultivation world.
But for the players, with the enhancement of blood crystals, plus the Demon Subduing Pagoda, Vitality Secret Realm, and personal secret realms, breaking through is only a matter of time.
It’s just that the players simply couldn’t endure the solitude; after only a few days of seclusion, they began to challenge the Demon Subduing Pagoda.
This time, Shen Qinghan, Chu Heshan, and Lin Ye successively succeeded in their challenges, each choosing a divine-grade cultivation method.
This made many players incredibly envious, and they frantically holed up in the Demon Subduing Pagoda, challenging it non-stop.
After Fang Yuan and a few others failed several challenges in a row, they grumbled and went arm-in-arm to the night market.
At night, the sect was brightly lit, and the area around the plaza was bustling with people flowing in and out.
The number of people in Hua Xia Sect had now exceeded one thousand; there were figures everywhere.
Recalling a few months ago, the entire sect was just a few thatched huts, and the number of people was only about ten. Now, looking at it, it is vastly different.
Of course, all this credit belongs to the players’ hard work, so their feelings for the sect, to some extent, are even deeper than Chu Huaian’s.
One thing the handyman disciples looked forward to most was hoping for night to fall quickly every day, and then visiting the night market.
Playing with their senior brothers and sisters was the happiest part of their day.
