Chapter Seventy-One Four Years

  Lying on his small cottage bed, with Wang Lin's current cultivation, he wouldn't feel sleepy at all. He sat up, gazing out the window at the moonlit night sky, and flipped his right hand to produce a gourd, taking a big swig from it.

  "To break through the Qi Condensation stage and reach the Foundation Building stage, the amount of spiritual energy required is too enormous, I must start preparing the dew water." Wang Lin muttered to himself.

  "That's right, young one, when are you going to go find wood-attribute materials to complete the Tian Ni Pearl?" asked Situ Nan.

  "First find a place nearby to seclude yourself and cultivate, strive to reach the Foundation Establishment stage. By then, it won't be too late." Wang Lin said with a moment of deliberation.

  One night without words, for the next few days, Wang Lin accompanied his parents at home and stayed with them for half a month. After saying goodbye to his parents, amidst their reluctant farewell, he turned into a rainbow and disappeared into the sky.

  As he walked away, Wang Lin felt a deep sense of melancholy in his heart. He didn't know when he would return next time, or if it would be years later, or even for the rest of his life...

  Originally, the first choice for a secluded place was the Wind Eye Cave in the cliff, but Wang Lin thought carefully and gave up on this location. His cultivation was different from others and required a water source; otherwise, even if it were a good fortune cave, he wouldn't choose it. Moreover, the most important thing was that this place was too close to Hengyue Peak, which was too dangerous.

  Wang Lin searched extensively in the surrounding area and finally found a cave under a barren mountain peak, where he discovered an underground spring. The surroundings were littered with animal droppings, indicating that wild beasts frequently visited this place. After carefully searching inside the cave to confirm there was no other exit, he immediately used his gravity technique to control some rocks and seal off the entrance of the cave.

  In this way, the place was completely sealed off, and Wang Lin began his second closed-door cultivation.

  Time flies like an arrow, and the days in the mountains pass quickly. One year, two years, three years, four years, before I know it, four years have passed.

  Outside the cave where Wang Lin was in seclusion, the originally disorderly piled stones were now covered with dense climbing plants, covering everything densely, and even if one looked closely, it was hard to discern any outline.

  For four years, this place has become a gathering place for mountain beasts, and some rare and strange beasts also often wander here, breathing in and out of the cave.

  On this day, two long rainbows slid across the sky, and three people, two men and one woman, arrived at this place on a sword light. The first person had already stepped into middle age, wearing black clothes, with eyes like electricity, his body suspended in mid-air, emitting a faintly floating aura, as if he were an immortal, with a small green sword under his feet, flashing cold light, making people tremble with fear.

  "Third Master, this time you must help me choose a more spiritual Ink Crystal Beast. Next month is the competition for the quota to enter the back mountain, and with an Ink Crystal Beast as my sword spirit, I will surely win." A woman stood beside the middle-aged man, her face was delicate and beautiful, her teeth were white and her eyes were bright, her voice was as melodious as a hundred spirits.

  If Wang Lin saw this girl, he would definitely feel familiar. She was the Xu surname girl who had a crush on Wang Zhuo four years ago. Four years later, the originally shy and inexperienced girl had become elegant and refined, with sparkling eyes that were even more captivating than before.

  The middle-aged man's expression was dazed for a moment, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. He nodded hastily and said, "Junior sister, you work hard, strive to enter the back mountain. This time I'll help you catch the Ink Crystal Beast, and then I'll also retreat to cultivate in seclusion."

  Next to the girl stood a young boy, about eight or nine years old, tightly hugging the girl. His small face was pale and he shouted loudly: "Big brother, big sister, you're flying too fast! I can't even open my eyes! Since we've arrived, hurry up and get down!"

  A woman with the surname Xu smiled and said, "Little Shidi, you didn't have to follow me, did you? I told you your cultivation isn't enough, but you didn't believe me. That's why I sped up a bit, and now you can't keep up."

  The middle-aged man looked back at the two of them and said in a low voice, "Younger brother, although your talent is exceptional, you can't even bear this little bit of hardship, how will you cultivate immortality?"

  The young man was obviously extremely afraid of his opponent and immediately said obediently: "Third Master Brother, I know I was wrong."

  A woman with the surname Xu tapped the young man's forehead and smiled: "Little Shidi, just wait a moment, we'll catch the Ink Crystal Beast and then return to the Men's Sect."

  The young man hastily nodded and said in a low voice, "Sister Master, you are the genius of our Xuan Dao Sect. In just four years, you have risen from the fourth layer of the Condensation Period to the seventh layer. This time, capturing the Ink Crystal Beast as your sword spirit will surely make you a top master of the sect. Later on, if that Li Shan dares to bully me again, you must help me."

  The woman shook her head and smiled bitterly, "If we're talking about geniuses, it's actually Brother Liu Feng. He's about to reach the cultivation level of Big Brother and is close to breaking through to the 13th layer. And then there's Sister Liu Mei, who has also reached the 12th layer. They are both original disciples of the Xuan Dao Sect, so they naturally have the qualifications to enter the back mountain. I'm different, though - I come from the Heng Yue Sect, so I must participate in the competition and win a spot."

  A middle-aged man hummed in dissatisfaction, saying: "That kid Liu Feng, isn't he only able to cultivate so quickly because he entered the back mountain? In the past, our founder didn't take over the Hengyue Sect's back mountain for nothing. If it wasn't for the founder, how could Liu Feng possibly cultivate so quickly? Even with good innate talent, without a large amount of spiritual energy, it would still take several years to break through one level."

  A woman with the surname Xu smiled and changed the subject, asking: "Third Brother, look at this place. I remember that four years ago it wasn't like this. Why have so many strange beasts gathered in these mountains in just a short span of four years?"