"Niu'er, once you go into the demon race's territory, rember to be cautious and careful!"
"Master, why was I able to establish my Foundation peacefully and without much danger? Actually, it's very simple... it's to run!"
"At the slightest sign of trouble, running is the best option. Only return after the dust has settled, or perhaps simply find a new region to cultivate in. The Cultivation World is vast and boundless, don't hang yourself on one tree!"
Zhou Yi took out a jade slip, "Niu'er, I'm leaving this jade slip with you. Inside, there are the insights into Escape Skills that I've gathered over the years."
Moo moo moo!
The ox swallowed the jade slip into its stomach and mooed a few tis to show it had rembered.
"Niu Niu, you are kind-hearted and gentle by nature, which makes it very difficult to survive in the Cultivation World. Rember, when you encounter demons too powerful to fight, it's best to yield. Wait until your power surpasses them, or they et with misfortune, then strike the final blow and trample them to death..."
"In your spare ti, go celebrate and find yourself a few female demons. It is said that fox demons, snake demons, tsk tsk..."
Zhou Yi earnestly instructed for a long ti. Having lived with the yellow ox for decades, they had already beco like old friends.
Zhou Yi still vividly rembered how the yellow ox had sacrificed itself to repay the kindness of an old farr, and he knew that demons with a sense of gratitude were far more trustworthy than those with tricky minds and ghostly guile!
Moo!
The yellow ox walked around Zhou Yi a few tis, then knelt on its front hooves with a thud, tears streaming down from the corners of its eyes.
Zhou Yi stroked its horns, "Don't be like this. If I can't get by one day, I'll co and seek refuge with you."
The thousand-year-old Spirit Ginseng wriggled out of his embrace, sighing and hesitating before painfully spitting out a mouthful of its essence.
Round and gleaming like a dewdrop, as soon as it appeared, it started diffusing thick spiritual energy, causing the grass and trees around to grow at a visibly rapid rate. The essence of the dewdrop fell onto the yellow ox's forehead, quickly seeping in, and transforming into vigorous vitality.
Zhou Yi glanced at the Spirit Ginseng, "You sly thing, hiding tricks up your sleeve! If you had used this earlier, why would I have to trim you down to a sphere?"
"Venerable Immortal, I am so sleepy!"
The thousand-year-old Spirit Ginseng, unsure of how to justify itself, simply closed its eyes and nestled back into Zhou Yi's embrace, pretending to be fast asleep.
Just as the atmosphere reached this level and Zhou Yi was about to say a few moving words, a furious shout ca from afar.
"Who is this little thief who dares to steal this True Monarch's ox!"
A streak of escaping light ca flying angrily from more than twenty li away, cursing as it approached. When it got closer, it turned out to be an elderly Taoist in a purple robe.
The old Taoist was about to activate his magic artifact to teach the ox thief a lesson, but on seeing the figure standing next to the yellow ox, who was actually a giant three to four Zhang tall.
With horns of gold on his head and arms strong as beams, legs like pillars, and a fierce aura rushing forth.
The escaping light halted briefly, then zood forward even faster, all the while continuing to rant.
"You, the ox thief, think you can run! If you don't stop now... This True Monarch is going to get serious!"
On the ground.
Zhou Yi watched as the True Monarch from Da Qian clumsily passed overhead, and the heartfelt mont was ruined.
"Niu'er, for now, we part ways."
"May the mountains rise high and the streams run long, until we et again!"
With that said, he reverted to human form and steered his escaping light in the direction of the northwest.
In the north of Da Qian lay Qing Kingdom, and in the northwest, there was a marketplace built amidst a thousand-mile marsh that was a poisonous and deadly place, owned by the Pill Cauldron Sect.
Zhou Yi, hailing from Da Qian, chose not to use Xuan Kong's recomndation and also held a grudge against Xuan Yu, so he sought a new unfamiliar place where no one could track his past, believing it to be safer.
...
Three thousand li to the east of Cloud Continent.
Thousands of mountains competed in greenery, and tens of thousands of peaks stacked upon one another, with many rare and strange beasts living within the mountains.
On this day.
Two streaks of escaping light flew from the east, cutting across the sky and disappearing into the mountains.
"Junior Brother Zhu, the main division of our sect is not far ahead."
Xuan Yun served as the marketplace overseer at Daze Marketplace. A year ago, a Foundation Establishnt cultivator by the na of Zhu Gang sought entry into the Dan Ding Sect, his request granted amidst great comndation, filling him with joy.
Zhou Yi's eyes flickered with a keen light as he gazed from the heavens toward the distance of several dozens of miles ahead, only to see ordinary mountain peaks and deep valleys, without a trace of Formation and Prohibition.
"Brother Xuan Yun, my understanding is limited—could it be that our sect is hidden within a blessed land within a cave heaven?"
Three years prior, Zhou Yi had hurried to the Qing Kingdom and lingered outside the Daze Marketplace, having learned that Xuan Yun was mild-mannered and known within the Dan Ding Sect as a thoroughly good fellow, which put him at ease to ask for Xuan Yun's introduction.
"The concept of blessed lands within cave heavens cos from ancient texts, never having been truly seen by anyone—perhaps it's nothing more than fanciful words."
Having been born in the Dan Ding Sect, Xuan Yun spoke of this topic with pride: "However, after thousands of years of arrangent by the sect's headquarters, although it is not a cave heaven, it surpasses one!"
Having said this, Xuan Yun stood aloft in the sky and retrieved a golden True Disciple token from his storage bag.
Mana poured into it, and the token radiated luminous spiritual light.
Not far in front of them, ripples appeared in the void, and monts later, a portal opened, through which the scenery inside could be seen.
"Brother Zhu, please."
Xuan Yun stepped through first, and after a mont of hesitation, Zhou Yi followed close behind.
As soon as he entered the cave heaven, Zhou Yi felt the thick spiritual energy hitting his face and looked up to see the blazing sun hanging high, with the ti outside appearing the sa. In the distance, a thousand-zhang-tall peak shot up into the sea of clouds, while the mountain ridges stretching east and west resembled an Azure Dragon sprawled out.
The sea of clouds was boundless, and mountain shadows lood.
"The founding master arranged the supre Formation and Prohibition, condensing the three-thousand-li spirit vein into a speck of dust, akin to a cave heaven…"
Xuan Yun excitedly explained that the first towering peak hidden among the clouds was Divine Fire Peak, also the core area of the Dan Ding Sect. The mountain ridges flanking Divine Fire Peak undulated with varying heights, each with its own na. Within the several hundred li of the realm laid plains, lakes, towering peaks, and rivers.
Zhou Yi observed the nearby grounds—a clear mountain and beautiful waters—with nurous Daoist temples and palaces built upon it, while from ti to ti, lights of cultivators using Escape Skills flew past.
"May I ask Brother, is the three-thousand-li spirit vein a Heavenly Grade?"
"There is only one Heavenly Grade spirit vein in the world, and that is the Ancestral Vein; the sect's spirit vein is but below it. Brother, follow quickly to descend; although the sect doesn't explicitly enforce rules, few people look down from high above."
"Should we draw the attention of the old ancestors from Divine Fire Peak and they rember our appearance when Divine Sense sweeps by, a casual remark from them will make life difficult in the future."
Xuan Yun descended to the ground three or four zhang high in a trail of light, leading the way. After flying for more than a hundred li, there was a three-storied palace not far ahead.
The placard on the palace bore the words Qing Ning.
"Disciples here register themselves, including assignnts for missions, rit exchange, and other miscellaneous duties—all handled here, commonly referred to as External Affairs Hall."
There were many cultivators at the entrance of External Affairs Hall, gathered in groups of threes and twos, so whispering softly, others transmitting sounds with mana.
Zhou Yi did not carelessly probe with Divine Sense but instead judged from the aura that the majority were cultivators in the Qi Refinent Realm, with less than one in ten being Foundation Establishnt cultivators.
Upon entering External Affairs Hall, it was surprisingly similar in layout to the marketplace's service area; the connection was apparent.
True Disciple Xuan Yun had a significant reputation within the sect. When the disciple currently attending the counter saw him, they hurriedly stood up to greet him.
"Greetings to Uncle-Master Xuan Yun. May I know what business brings you here?"
Xuan Yun introduced him: "This is Real Person Zhu Gang, a Loose Cultivator Foundation Establishnt, who admires our sect and seeks to join."
"Greetings to Uncle-Master Zhu."
The disciple said respectfully: "Within the sect, elders from the various peaks accept disciples without requiring teaching. The ones that co to mind are the Ming Zhu Peak and Yun Dragon Peak. May I inquire which True Monarch Uncle-Master Zhu is planning to take as a ntor?"
When Zhou Yi arrived, he already knew that the peaks on either side of Divine Fire Peak were overseen by Golden Elixir True Monarchs.
Disciples without a Heavenly Spiritual Root could choose a ntor after breaking through to Foundation Establishnt. Depending on the preference of the True Monarks, the requirents varied.
After taking a ntor, one could receive the teaching of the Dao from the True Monarch. If one was lucky, had good aptitude, or pleased the ntor sufficiently, one could acquire precious cultivation techniques and spiritual objects without expending any rits.
Zhou Yi pondered for a mont before shaking his head and saying,
"Let's talk about this matter later; for now, I shall cultivate alone."
There was no shortage of solitary cultivating disciples in the Dan Ding Sect, who after accruing enough rit could exchange it for a True Disciple spot. The cultivation techniques and Divine Skills they learned were no different from those taught by ntors. The only distinctions were the True Monarch's teaching, support, and unique secret transmissions.
Zhou Yi knew that he could not possibly ascend even as a True Disciple, for fear that the soul jade slip he left behind would endure for hundreds or thousands of years.
To take a ntor was even less likely, for constantly being under the observation of True Monarchs, who's to say his secret of age wouldn't be revealed soday.
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