Chapter Twenty-Four: Severing All Mundane Ties

  Spring has gone and autumn has come, in a flash more than half a year has passed.

  Years of cultivation in the mountains, still as before; those who get its flavor are diligent and dedicated, immersed in it; those who do not get its flavor find it dry and unbearable, painful and intolerable.

  On a mountain path, Mu Li picked up a bright red maple leaf and said to Li Muran beside him, "Unconsciously, we have been open for a year."

  "Yes, it's been a big change in just one year." Li Muran smiled slightly.

  Mu Li let out a soft sigh and said, "Zhao brother, do you know? A few days ago, Liu brother went to Master to bid farewell. He felt that he was not suited for cultivation, his progress was slow, and the process was dry and painful. He decided to give up on seeking immortality and return to the mundane world, to be a ordinary person."

  "Did Master agree with him?" Li Muran asked.

  Mu nodded: "Master saw that he really didn't have the intention to cultivate, and it was useless to keep him, so he agreed to let him go, as long as he handed over 50 yuanqi symbols. Now Liu Shixiong is drawing yuanqi symbols day and night. When Liu Shixiong leaves, there will only be three people left in our generation of disciples."

  "It's said that other Taoist temples are about the same, after a year, whether or not one is suited for cultivation can already be roughly seen. Nearly a third of the disciples choose to give up and hand over enough yuanqi symbols, from then on cutting ties with the sect and owing nothing to each other."

  "I also heard that in the past, many senior brothers returned to the secular world and relied on some magical powers and simple primary spells to make a name for themselves among ordinary people. They either became leaders of a region or heroes of a certain path, and whether they were officials or merchants, they could stand out from the crowd, which is much more impressive than the prestige gained from bitter cultivation in the sect!"

  Li Muran shook his head disdainfully and said, "What's the point of that? Without eternal life, dozens of years later it will all be just a pile of yellow earth. No matter how much wealth and glory, it is all just fleeting."

  Mu Li nodded again and didn't say anything else.

  As they spoke, they had already passed through the mountain path and arrived at the foot of Xinxiu Peak. They saw a group of 11 or 12-year-old boys playing and chasing each other among the peaks, occasionally bursting into bright and uninhibited laughter.

  "A new batch of future disciples has entered. After a few years, they will also go through the opening ceremony and become official disciples of our sect." Mu Li and Li Muran exchanged a glance, smiled at each other, both thinking back to their own past.

  The mountains and rivers change with the times, new people emerge to replace the old. It is precisely because of the continuous injection of fresh blood that the sect can maintain its prosperity. Even if some disciples give up their cultivation, it will not have a great impact on the development of the sect. After all, the young men who yearn for flying in the sky and riding swords to become immortals are never lacking.

  "We're almost at the mountain gate, Brother Zhao doesn't need to send us off anymore, please go back." Mu Li said.

  "This time you've left the mundane world behind, remember to be careful and cautious." Li Muran solemnly reminded.

  "Don't worry, with the Flame Explosion Symbol given by Brother Zhao on me, I won't be in any trouble!" Mu Li smiled and replied, then bowed to Li Muran and took big strides forward. In a moment, his figure disappeared into the mountain forest.

  "Lian Duan Fan Chen" is one of the sect tasks that almost all disciples of the four schools of Kuang Lu must complete.

  Although the Kuanglu Mountains stretch for thousands of miles, with towering peaks and wild beasts roaming free, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter its depths. However, for thousands of years, there have been rumors of immortals living in the Kuanglu Mountains that have been circulating in the nearby secular world.

  In the eyes of ordinary people, these immortals are invincible "living gods". When they encounter difficulties that cannot be solved, they will think of seeking help from these "gods".

  Just tens of miles west of the Yuanshuo Zongshan gate, there is a vast and flat mountain valley. Every year, many ordinary people rush to this place, kneeling down and asking for help from various gods.

  The Four Great Sects are not benevolent halls, and it's impossible for them to be entangled in mundane affairs like "saving the common people from water and fire" all day long. They usually have to wait until these ordinary people have kowtowed for 99 days or more before they will take their case.

  If a mortal's request is reasonable and can be done, the four major sects will send their disciples to execute it. This task is called "Lieduan Fanshen".

  Firstly, it is to cut off the worldly desires of these ordinary people; secondly, it also gives disciples a chance to temper themselves; thirdly, it can also be used to spread the prestige of the sect - after all, most of the young disciples absorbed by the sect come from nearby mortal families.

  So all four major sects have similar rules. All formal disciples who have been in the door for more than a year must complete at least one "cut off worldly dust" task.

  Mu Li's mission was to capture and kill a centipede monster. According to the villagers who came to plead for help, this centipede had been terrorizing their village, not only eating many livestock but also harming several village children. The villagers were at their wit's end and had no choice but to strengthen their defenses day and night while sending representatives to Mount Kuanglu to beg the "immortals" for assistance.

  Mù Lí planned to use that centipede to brew the Ling wine, so he volunteered for this task. According to the villager's description, the centipede wasn't particularly formidable, and with Mù Lí's grasp of a few simple spells, it would be enough to deal with it.

  "It's actually a good opportunity for combat training, and it's also a way to cultivate one's inner energy. Anyway, this task can't be avoided, so instead of waiting for the sect to assign someone, I'd rather take the initiative to choose someone myself." Li Muran thought to himself after sending Mu Li away.

  "The Night Concealment Technique has been practiced to a small extent, and the Lunar Eclipse Technique, another nighttime technique recorded in the 'Thieving Scripture', is being cultivated at a critical moment. It's better to wait until the Lunar Eclipse Technique is successfully cultivated before taking on the next sect task."

  Eclipse Moon Technique, just by the name, it's a technique that is performed at night. This technique is quite unusual and not like Flame Explosion or Stone Armor techniques where you exert your magical power to form some kind of attack or defense method. Instead, it utilizes moonlight, burning one's own magical power to greatly enhance the body in a short period of time. Not only do the movements of the feet and hands become extremely fast, but the flow of magical power within the body also becomes smoother, and even the mind becomes more agile.

  At first, Li Muran thought that the Moon Concealment Technique was useless, but the "Thieving Scripture" repeatedly emphasized that in low-level cultivators' battles, speed wasn't extremely fast. If one's body was agile, it was even possible to dodge the opponent's magical attacks, which was very advantageous in close-range sneak attacks or combat.

  At first, Qing Yuansu launched a surprise attack on Li Muran, his body moving extremely fast, like a black shadow flashing by, making it impossible for Li Muran to dodge the Soul-Sealing Charm he subsequently cast. At that time, Qing Yuansu had already employed the Moon-Eroding Technique.

  It's just that Qing Yuansu's Eclipse Moon Technique training is still at the initial stage, and he has only slightly grasped its superficial power. According to the "Thieving Scripture", when the Eclipse Moon Technique is cultivated to an extremely high level, one can instantly move their body, making it impossible for opponents to capture their position, whether it's a sneak attack or a head-on confrontation, both are difficult to resist.

  However, the cultivation of this Moon Depleting Art is truly not easy. The use of magical powers and combustion is extremely complex and fraught with danger, a slight carelessness can result in severe damage to one's magical powers; but even if Li Muran is being extremely cautious and following the proper methods, he still cannot avoid it. At the beginning of cultivating the Moon Depleting Art, on the surface, there seems to be nothing out of the ordinary, but the feeling is extremely unbearable, as if being burned by fire, and his skin feels like it's going to crack open inch by inch.

  In an accidental experience, Li Muran discovered that when practicing if some spiritual spring water is poured on the body, the unbearable situation will be slightly alleviated. Later, he simply soaked in the spiritual spring to practice and found that not only would it not be so unbearable, but also the progress of his cultivation was somewhat improved.

  That night, the bright moon was in the sky, and it was very quiet near San You Quan. This is one of the several spiritual springs shared by the four clans of Kuang Lu, where people often come to fetch water during the day, but no one would visit at night.

  Recently, as long as the night was crisp and clear with a bright moon, Li Muran would sneak here to practice Moon Devouring Skill, and tonight was no exception.

  Li Muran stood in the spiritual spring, letting the water just cover his shoulders. Then, he followed the method to urge the movement of a strand of yuanqi that had just been refined within his body, causing it to burn like a flame inside him.

  This process actually carries a considerable risk, and if it gets out of control and affects other vital energies in the body, it will be very difficult to deal with. In mild cases, there will be significant damage to the vital energy, while in severe cases, the meridians will be damaged, resulting in serious internal injuries.

  However, Li Muran had already practiced it skillfully. This strand of yuanqi burned and transformed into a scorching hot flow that traveled through his meridians to all parts of his body. Wherever it passed, intense heat waves were transmitted. Fortunately, he was soaking in the cool spiritual spring water, and also somewhat accustomed to it, so it wasn't that unbearable.

  After nine consecutive times, it can be considered that a small stage of cultivation has been completed. Li Muran was also sore all over his body and needed to rest for a while before continuing the next stage of practice.

  He floated on his back in the spiritual spring, his body almost completely submerged in water, only exposing his mouth and nose, gently breathing in and out of the heaven and earth's primordial energy. With the nourishment of the spiritual spring water and the heaven and earth's primordial energy, it could quickly restore the body's fatigue.

  Listening to the occasional roars of beasts and insect calls by his ear, looking at the numerous stars above, Li Muran's state of mind was as calm as the spiritual spring on this night. For cultivation, being neither sorrowful nor joyful, having no desires or demands, this was undoubtedly the best state of mind.

  About half a time later, faintly and vaguely, there seemed to be shouting voices coming from afar.

  Li Muran's heart skipped a beat as he concentrated and listened intently, that voice was getting closer.

  "Someone's coming!" Li Muran thoughtlessly activated his Night Concealment Technique, then quietly crept to the shore and hid behind a boulder about half a person high.

  At the same time, his hands also secretly grasped a few talismans.

  A moment later, the two men came here one after another. Li Muran relied on the cover of night hiding technique to look out from the gap between the rocks.

  "One man and one woman, the woman wearing a veil, the man was young, looking no more than twenty years old. Judging from their attire, the woman was a senior sister of Danxin Sect, while the man was a monk from Daming Temple."

  "That woman's breathing was disordered, her footsteps staggering, and she ran slower and slower, as if she were injured!"

  "Let's see how far you can run!" The young monk revealed a ferocious smile, "I haven't even taken out the paper crane yet!"

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