Chapter 3 Leaving the Sect

  Fang Yu Yao, the ninth disciple of Lian Hua Valley and also the only female among the top ten disciples. Her cultivation has reached the late stage of Qi Refining Eighth Layer, just one step away from entering the peak.

  As one of the top ten disciples, Fang Yu Yao was not only outstanding in her cultivation but also extremely beautiful. With her cultivation of the Murong Heart Sutra, she looked like a fairy in the rain, breathtakingly beautiful.

  That's why many disciples in Lianhuadong like Fang Yuxiao, including Ding Yan. Of course, this Ding Yan refers to the previous one.

  Fang Yu Yao stood alone on the mountain top, her jade-like fingers touching the water droplets on the leaf tips, lost in thought.

  "Yu Yao, you're back." A young man in white clothes appeared silently behind Fang Yu Yao.

  Fang Yu Yao didn't turn back.

  Here, apart from the seniors of the sect, only the top ten disciples can come and go freely. And now in the valley, among the top ten disciples, except for Ding Yan who was seriously injured, there is only San Shixiong Gu Yu who returned two months ago.

  Fang Yu Yao seemed to have not heard the sound of the approaching person, and was fully focused on connecting the water droplets to the leaf tip with her fingertips.

  A water droplet was quivering on the tip of her index finger, crystal clear and extremely beautiful. Fang Yu Yao stared at the water droplet, her long eyelashes slowly closing as if she were conversing with it.

  "This time I went out to gain experience, and had some strange encounters. This Tian Xin Lan is specially prepared for you." After finishing speaking, Gu Yu waved her sleeve, and a white, fragrant flower spun through the air towards Fang Yu Xiang.

  Gu Yu, ranked third among the top ten disciples.

  Nine-layered alchemy is a perfect cultivation. Among the contemporary disciples, he can be considered one of the most outstanding ones.

  Fang Yu Yao let out a slow sigh.

  "San Shixiong's kindness, Yu Yao understood." As she spoke, the raindrops on Fang Yu Yao's fingertips fell silently.

  Fell on the ground, splashing a small amount of water.

  In an instant, a faint mist dispersed around Fang Yu's body, making her look hazy and indistinct, like a fairy in the fog.

  The spinning flower touched the mist and floated back into Guyu's hand along its original path.

  Looking at the flower in her hand, Gu Yu fell silent for a moment.

  "Why him?"

  Fang Yu Yao remained silent.

  "What's wrong with me compared to him?" Gu Yu angrily asked.

  Fang Yu Yao still didn't speak.

  Gu Yu saw this and clenched his fist with five fingers.

  It was as if she had directly pinched the flower in her hand into powder, a petal silently and quietly falling.

  "In eight more years, the elder will come out of seclusion. During this period, I will be in closed-door training. Before the elder comes out of seclusion, I will definitely succeed in transcending the ordinary. At that time, I will use actual actions to prove that I am stronger than him!" After finishing speaking, Gu Yu's figure silently and quietly disappeared.

  Rain and fog, reconnected once again, as if no one had ever been here before...

  Watching the ancient jade disappear, Fang Yu Yao let out a sigh.

  "I heard that Fifth Brother is also back, I don't know why he didn't come over this time... I heard that he was seriously injured, not sure how severe it is..."

  。。。。。。

  At the sound of the words, her eyes narrowed slightly.

  Yun Feng continued, "I heard that Third Brother has prepared a Heavenly Heart Orchid for Yu Yao's world. But thinking about it, Third Brother's cultivation is profound, and the Heavenly Heart Orchid isn't considered a precious object to him. On the other hand, Fifth Brother, if he hadn't been injured this time, I'm sure his gift wouldn't be inferior to Third Brother's."

  Yunfeng pretended to be regretful.

  Ding Yan's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a hint of cold smile.

  "Eleventh younger brother, don't speak in riddles in front of others. You've come today, it must be for this thing." As he spoke, Ding Yan directly took out a jade token from his waist and placed it on the table.

  The jade plaque was only the size of a palm, with cloud-like patterns on both sides, and in the center, written in ancient script, was a single character: Five. This jade plaque was the symbol of identity for the top ten disciples.

  Yunfeng was taken aback and hastily said.

  "Fifth Brother is right. Fifth Brother has only suffered some external injuries, and with the passage of time, he will naturally recover. At that time, in Lotus Valley, no one will dare to question Fifth Brother's identity token."

  What Yunfeng said is exactly what he has been considering in his heart.

  If Ding Yan was seriously injured and unable to recover, he would have taken the opportunity to seize the position of one of the top ten disciples. However, if Ding Yan had only suffered minor injuries, then after his recovery, he would still have to return the jade token he had seized, and might even suffer further humiliation.

  "If I told you that this time I was seriously injured and all the meridians were broken, it would take at least ten years to recover?" Ding Yan suddenly said.

  Yun Feng's face stiffened upon hearing this, and his eyes flickered.

  Start pondering the truth and falsehood of Ding Yan's words.

  Time passed minute by minute, second by second. In a flash of Cloud Peak's gaze, Ding Yan's words sounded again.

  "Do you believe it?"

  Yun Feng's hands trembled again, and he hesitated once more.

  Ding Yan's mouth corner revealed a hint of cold smile, and he opened his mouth to say "I can give this thing to you, and promise you that I will never return to Lianhua Valley again. You can safely occupy the position of one of the top ten disciples, as long as you help me with one thing..."

  In these three months, Ding Yan had already flipped through more than half of the classics in Lianhuagu, and he had memorized all the books related to crossing the tribulation. As for some cultivation experiences, secret manuals and other books, Ding Yan didn't take them seriously yet.

  Because of his previous life, he was a master in crossing tribulations!

  Having gained an understanding of the Scattered Immortal Tribulation, Ding Yan's top priority was to find a place to seclude himself and cultivate.

  "You said." Yunfeng also stopped pretending and said directly.

  With his current cultivation, if he could enjoy the treatment of the top ten disciples, Yunfeng dared to confirm that before the elder came out of seclusion next time, he would definitely be able to reach the peak of Qi refining and even successfully transcend mortality. In that case, he would have a chance to return to the mortal world once again.

  As for taking action to seize, Yunfeng had thought about it. However, among the top ten disciples, none of them were easy to deal with. Since Ding Yan dared to openly communicate with him, he must have a backup plan. With only eight years left until the elder's release from seclusion, if they were to engage in a fierce battle and both end up severely injured, it would undoubtedly benefit others.

  "Prepare three portions of the medicine on top for me." As he spoke, Ding Yan took out a prescription from his sleeve and handed it to Yun Feng.

  "Is that all?" Yunfeng was taken aback.

  I didn't expect Ding Yan's request to be so simple.

  "It's too difficult, you can't do it either." Ding Yan said expressionlessly. "You just need to help me prepare this prescription, and I will give you the jade token. Moreover, I will also make a vow with my Dao heart, never to compete with you for the position of one of the top ten disciples."

  Yun Feng was still a bit hesitant at first, but after hearing that Ding Yan was willing to make an oath with his dao heart, he nodded in agreement.

  "Many thanks, Brother Ding!" Yunfeng bowed his hands.

  He no longer called Ding Yan "Fifth Shixiong", but instead changed to calling him "Ding Xiong", it can be seen that he has been eyeing the identity of the top ten disciples for a long time.

  He flipped through the prescription in his hand, and Yun Feng scanned it at a glance. He found that most of the medicinal materials were collected by himself, only a small part was not available to him.

  "What is this Lingcao medicine?" Yunfeng's eyes scanned to the end and he asked in surprise.

  He has been practicing Taoism for many years, although it's not a long time, but after all, it's more than ten years. As for the books on medicinal materials in the sect, he has also read a lot, but this Lingcao, he really heard of it for the first time.

  Ding Yan slightly furrowed his brow.

  The herbs he wanted were basically from the memories of his past life. In his past life, these medicinal materials were not particularly precious and could be found in ordinary sects. Because this herb is a necessary medicine for refining the foundation-building pill.

  Zhū jī dān, for Ding Yan, isn't some kind of difficult-to-refine elixir.

  Although this world is based on the Scattered Immortal Tribulation, under the Great Dao, different paths converge. With Ding Yan's experience, he naturally saw through the mystery at a glance, so he prepared to directly refine a Zhu Ji Dan, relying on the medicinal power of the Zhu Ji Dan to increase his cultivation.

  As for the state of mind, the current DIng Yan doesn't need to consider it at all. Because his previous life had the cultivation before the tribulation.

  "Alright, I'll draw this herb for you." With that, Ding Yan flicked his sleeve.

  A white sheet of Xuan paper landed on the desktop, and at the same time, an ordinary brush flew from the side and fell into Ding Yan's hand.

  Ding Yan quickly drew a picture of the Ling Grass on the paper with his sleeve raised.

  He put away his brush and handed the rice paper on the desk to Yunfeng after rolling it up.

  "Three days later, Brother Ding and the others waited for my news. I only hope that at that time Brother Ding will not go back on his word...………." After taking the rice paper, Yunfeng glanced at Ding Yan, left a sentence behind, turned around and left...……….

  After Yun Feng left, Ding Yan waved his sleeve and closed the door.

  Yunfeng's threat, in Dingyan's view, was completely ignored. What he is thinking about now is whether he can cultivate Yuanying and follow the path of Huashen in this world, just like his previous life.

  Compared to the cultivation methods of this world, the original cultivation path is naturally more convenient. After all, Ding Yan is extremely familiar with the first type of cultivation method, and if he cultivates according to that method, he will have less trial and error, which means his recovery will also be much faster. However, this is currently just Ding Yan's speculation, as no one in this world has ever preserved their physical body for cultivation before.

  Three days later, early in the morning.

  Ding Yan was sitting cross-legged in his house, cultivating and nourishing his soul.

  More than a decade of wandering had left Ding Yan's soul with extremely severe trauma, and even attaching itself to that ancient well had only restored a little. Now that he once again possessed a physical body, Ding Yan naturally would take good care of his soul.

  Ouch...

  Yunfeng, dressed in white, pushed open the door and entered.

  Ding Yan opened his eyes with his legs crossed.

  "Ding brother, this is the medicine you need. This last piece of Huan Yuan grass was a lot of trouble for me..." As he spoke, Yun Feng's sleeve fluttered and a palm-sized storage bag flew over, landing on the table.

  Ding Yan's five fingers closed together, and the storage bag was sucked into his palm.

  After confirming the herbs, Ding Yan nodded and took out his own identity jade card, wiping off the mark on it, and put it away, while putting the storage bag into his sleeve. What Yun Feng meant by saying this was nothing more than increasing the weight, but fortunately, Ding Yan didn't take these so-called top ten disciples seriously either.

  "The jade identity card has been given to you, and my mark on it has been completely erased. From now on, you are one of the top ten disciples of Lianhuagu. Of course, whether or not you can keep this position is none of my business. After nightfall, I will leave Lianhuagu." Ding Yan said.

  "What will you do without your identity jade pendant?" Yun Feng looked at Ding Yan and asked.

  "You don't have to worry about this." After finishing speaking, Ding Yan closed his eyes and seemed to enter a meditative state.

  Yun Feng looked at Ding Yan, and after a while, he withdrew his gaze, turned around, closed the door and left.

  The next morning.

  In Lotus Valley, a stunning piece of news came out.

  Among the top ten disciples, the fifth-ranked Fifth Brother Ding Yanzheng was defeated, and his identity jade card was taken away by Cloud Peak, who ranked eleventh. However, Cloud Peak didn't have the jade card for long before he was defeated by the returning tenth-ranked disciple, and their identities were swapped.

  Immediately following that, there were several changes among the top ten disciples of Lotus Valley. And Ding Yan, who was originally one of the top ten disciples, went missing.

  Some people say that Ding Yan closed himself off because he was defeated by his own junior and lost face.

  Some people say that Shi Xiong Yunfeng was afraid of Ding Yan's revenge and secretly killed him.

  Some people say that Ding Yanxiu was a violent retreat, and even the apprentices who entered the door couldn't compare with him. He was expelled from the school by Gu Zhu...

  All sorts of legends spread throughout Lotus Valley at once.

  Just as everyone was guessing where Ding Yan had gone, Ding Yan, dressed in a green robe, had quietly left the Lotus Valley.

  Thirty miles east of Lianhuagu, on top of a solitary peak, Ding Yan stood with his hands behind his back. The mountain peak was blown by the wind, and his green robe fluttered, making a rustling sound. From afar, he seemed to have entered a state of harmony between heaven and man, perfectly blending in with his surroundings.

  The protective array of Lianhuagu was naturally not weak, but for Dingyan who had traversed the tribulation in his previous life, it was still very easy to find the key point of the array's transformation. He then took advantage of the moment when the array's power weakened during its conversion, and easily left Lianhuagu.

  "What am I nostalgic for......" Ding Yan muttered to himself, looking in the direction of Lotus Valley.

  Perhaps influenced by the memories of his previous master's flesh, a beautiful figure flashed through his mind.

  That's Fang Yu Yao!

  "Let's go and take a look at this world, the grand array that isolates all things..."

  A sigh, a lingering attachment.