Below Wei Chituo sat a cold-faced young man, who appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. He was dressed in a gray shirt, with a tall and slender figure and a face like polished jade. He was quite a handsome man. When he saw Li Yan look towards him, he neither nodded nor spoke, his expression as if he saw nothing. Li Yan didn't mind and still smiled and nodded at him.
Li Yan had seen this person a few times over the past few years. It was his Third Senior Brother, Yun Chunqu, who always had a cold expression. But Li Yan knew that this cold Third Senior Brother's expression would only soften and a trace of color would flash in his eyes when he looked at his Sixth Senior Sister, Gong Chenying. Li Yan sometimes imagined how awkward it would be if these two blocks of ice were to get together in the future.
These three sat in a row, while the other four sat opposite them. At the head sat two stunningly beautiful women, his Fourth Senior Sister, Miao Wangqing, and his Sixth Senior Sister, Gong Chenying. Miao Wangqing was still in a goose-yellow dress. Seeing Li Yan enter, she smiled and called out, "Little Junior Brother." The short-haired, cold and beautiful Gong Chenying just glanced at Li Yan faintly and gave a slight nod as a greeting. Both of them were at the peak of the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Li Yan quickly returned the salute.
And below these two, there were two others. One had fair skin, rivaling Lin Daqiao's, with a medium build, a long face, thick eyebrows, and slender eyes. He was leaning back in his chair in a slovenly manner, one leg propped on the armrest, the other stretched out on the ground. At this moment, he was holding the desperately struggling Lin Daqiao with one hand. This person's name was Wen Xinliang, and he was Li Yan's Fifth Senior Brother, at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. It was said that this person was skilled with poisons.
Li Yan was not surprised by this and, with a chuckle, walked over to Lin Daqiao's side.
At this moment, it was unclear whether Lin Daqiao had finally broken free from his Fifth Senior Brother's grasp or if his Fifth Senior Brother had intentionally let him go. Lin Daqiao quickly walked to Li Yan, pulled him, and then sat down in a chair that was one seat away from Wen Xinliang, muttering non-stop, "Fifth Senior Brother always bullies people. Every time we meet, he always bullies your Seventh Senior Brother. He took me to Never-Parting Peak as soon as I entered the sect. He's the worst."
Hearing this, Wen Xinliang still had that slovenly look. "Little Qiao, Fifth Senior Brother is doing this for your own good. Only after you've passed my test will you not be at a disadvantage anywhere in the future. By the way, Little Junior Brother, you should teach your Seventh Senior Brother how to kill people in the future. I heard that you were the one who killed that strategist, and you also set up some traps to trick people. To be like that at fifteen, tsk tsk, I like it, hehe."
Li Yan bowed with a smile and then sat down with Lin Daqiao. Now, as his cultivation deepened, he knew that the matter of him killing Strategist Ji could not be hidden. This Fifth Senior Brother had been very interested in him the first time they met. But after hearing Lin Daqiao and the others talk about his affairs, he had seemed somewhat disbelieving at the time. According to this Fifth Senior Brother, Senior Brother Yu from Spirit Insect Peak had said that the scene was not like that. Unexpectedly, he brought it up again today.
Lin Daqiao had Li Yan sit at the head, so that he was two seats away from his Fifth Senior Brother. Li Yan was helpless. This Seventh Senior Brother had only successfully established his foundation a year ago. It was said that in these three years, only five people in the sect, out of tens of thousands, had successfully established their foundation. This showed the difficulty of cultivation. However, from the outside, it seemed that establishing a foundation on Little Bamboo Peak was very easy. That was because most of them were veteran Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been at that stage for decades. With fewer people, the probability looked higher.
After Lin Daqiao successfully established his foundation, his temperament didn't seem to have grown at all. He was still as jumpy as before.
As soon as Li Yan was seated, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl in a green dress came to him, gave a light bow, and offered him a cup of fragrant tea. After Li Yan took the teacup, he smiled at the girl in green, and she returned to the side.
These two men and one woman were all new Outer Sect disciples of the peak, but they were not Li Yan's junior brothers and sisters. They were disciples that his Eldest Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, and Fourth Senior Sister had accepted in these few years.
Li Wuyi had accepted one from the disciples sent from the subordinate immortal sects, named Ouyang Ping, at the early stage of the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. Yun Chunqu had discovered a handyman disciple named Zhang Que on this mountain peak, at the mid-stage of the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, with very good aptitude. He had also passed his assessment and was accepted as a disciple. And this girl in the green dress was discovered by Miao Wangqing when she was out, in a small cultivation family. Both her aptitude and temperament suited her taste, so she was also accepted. This made that small cultivation family almost erect a longevity tablet for her, which she strictly forbade. She didn't want to appear so old. This girl in the green dress was now at the mid-stage of the fifth layer of Qi Condensation.
These three disciples were all about the same age as Li Yan now, but the three of them were already Outer Sect disciples of Little Bamboo Peak, while Li Yan was still just a Disciple-in-Name. But the three of them all regarded themselves as juniors. A Disciple-in-Name was much stronger than a formal Outer Sect disciple like them. That was a disciple of a great Golden Core cultivator, and also their little martial uncle. Although these three were at the same realm as Li Yan, or even higher, they didn't dare to call Li Yan senior brother or junior brother according to the rules of the cultivation world.
"Little Junior Brother, you've made progress again in the past six months. Your speed is truly fast." After sitting down, Lin Daqiao patted Li Yan's shoulder with an elderly demeanor.
Li Yan was speechless. This Seventh Senior Brother, like his Second Senior Brother, liked to pat people's shoulders. Now, as his cultivation deepened, his reaction to people getting close to him was getting bigger and bigger. Just now, he almost had the instinct to naturally dodge or block.
"Seventh Senior Brother, after you established your foundation, you're now an elite disciple of the Outer Sect. I imagine you'll be entering the Inner Sect soon. Now, only your junior brother is still a Disciple-in-Name. To reach your step, I don't know what year or month it will be." Li Yan brushed off the hand on his shoulder without a trace and smoothly sent a compliment his way.
"Hehe, Little Junior Brother, don't be so modest. Your senior brother was just lucky, lucky." Lin Daqiao was very pleased to hear this and quickly said. However, what he said was not really modest. Not everyone could successfully establish their foundation. It was already lucky for one or two out of a thousand to succeed. For example, in his original third-rate sect, a sect of nearly a thousand people had no Golden Core cultivators, and only two Foundation Establishment masters.
The Fifth Senior Brother beside him, hearing the two of them quietly complimenting each other, curled his lip but didn't say anything. He then looked up at the roof as if he were thinking about something. For a time, the room was divided into small groups chatting. Miao Wangqing and Gong Chenying were chatting in a low voice, occasionally looking at Li Wuyi. Li Wuyi seemed not to have sensed it and turned his head to talk to Wei Chituo with a serious face. As for that cold Third Senior Brother, he was silent, just occasionally sweeping his eyes over Gong Chenying opposite him.
The two male and one female disciples stood obediently behind their respective masters, occasionally refilling their tea.
In a short time, a figure floated in. When everyone looked up, the figure was already sitting in the center of the main hall. It was Wei Zhongran. Everyone quickly stood up and bowed. After the ceremony, the girl in the green dress poured tea for this grandmaster, then retreated with the two male disciples.
Wei Zhongran scanned the disciples with his gaze and nodded in satisfaction. It was just that when his gaze passed over Li Yan, he paused for a moment, a hint of surprise in his eyes. With Li Yan's Miscellaneous Spirit Root, although the sect had provided some resources, it wasn't too much. He had originally thought that it would be a blessing from the heavens if Li Yan could establish his foundation after a few decades. Unexpectedly, he had already reached the early stage of the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, and his magical power was almost comparable to the mid-to-late stage of the sixth layer of Qi Condensation. He hadn't expected the Myriad Essence Art to have such an effect. But thinking about it, it should also have a lot to do with that Fragmented Poison Body. It should have changed this disciple's constitution quite a bit.
"You've all arrived. I won't waste any more words. Next year is the period of realm-seeking and harvesting. I imagine you all know about it. In the past few days, the sect has received some information. The Ten-Pace Courtyard, the Supreme Mystery Teachings, and the Pure Land Sect are all actively preparing for battle, and it's possible they are targeting our sect. So now, the sect needs to decide who will go from each peak this time. In the near future, there will be a competition between the peaks, and in the end, forty-nine Foundation Establishment cultivators will be selected to enter the secret realm. Wuyi, Daqiao, and Li Yan, you don't need to participate this time. Wuyi has already participated three times, killed many cultivators from these three sects several times, and also got some opportunities. You don't need to go this time. Master has other arrangements. Daqiao has just entered Foundation Establishment. Although you need experience, this is not a place you can go now. But you can sign up to participate. The purpose is to compete and train with the disciples of the other few peaks in the sect. Even if you are selected in the end, you must give up. Do you understand? At that time, Wuyi will take my jade slip to explain the reason for your non-participation."
At this point, Wei Zhongran's tone became stern.
"Yes, Master," Li Wuyi shrugged and agreed.
Lin Daqiao looked somewhat reluctant, but seeing Wei Zhongran's serious gaze sweep over him, his heart trembled, and he quickly agreed.
Wei Zhongran's tone softened a little. "Li Yan, your progress in these few years has been very good. I hope you establish your foundation soon."
Li Yan also stood up and bowed.
"Well, among the rest of you, Chituo has participated twice, Chunqu has participated twice, and Chenying has participated once. You are all experienced and can guide the fourth and fifth. The two of them have no experience, especially the fourth, who is too kind-hearted. A careless mistake could lead to death inside. But cultivation must go through these things to go far. You still need to go in for training. What I said above is only if you can all enter the top forty-nine. If you can't even enter the top forty-nine in the competition of the same rank, then everything is off the table."
Li Yan listened below and couldn't help but sigh at the difficulty of cultivation. Every step was arduous, and a single careless mistake could lead to death. In these few years in the Malevolent Spirit Sect, he had not only been cultivating, but had also read a large number of unorthodox and miscellaneous studies, as well as cultivation knowledge. This realm-seeking and harvesting was a bloody feast jointly held by the four great sects. This secret realm was discovered tens of thousands of years ago by two supreme elders of the Malevolent Spirit Sect and the Ten-Pace Courtyard. After these two Nascent Soul old ancestors discovered this secret realm, they joined forces and took nearly a year to break the protective restriction. It was said that they found many ancient treasures and top-grade magical artifacts, as well as a large number of rare and precious single medicines, and peerless demonic beast cores. This secret realm should be somewhere in the outer domain, occupying a very wide area, a space of its own. It might be a holy land of cultivation that was separated in ancient times. After the changes of time, the cultivators inside were gone, leaving only many cultivation pills, and rare and precious medicinal herbs. But inside were many ancient demonic beasts, and even seven fourth-tier top-grade demonic beasts, five fourth-tier top-grade demonic beasts and two fourth-tier mid-grade demonic beasts. That was comparable to a human mid-to-late stage Nascent Soul old monster. A third-tier demonic beast could already transform into a human and have great intelligence, let alone these fourth-tier top-grade demonic beasts, which were all powerful and cunning as foxes.
When the two supreme elders of the Malevolent Spirit Sect and the Ten-Pace Courtyard entered, they only got some top-grade magical artifacts and rare spirit herbs and medicinal pills in the early stage. A few days later, they encountered four fourth-tier demonic beasts and fought with them. Later, they had to flee in a sorry state. Although the two elders were late-stage Nascent Soul old ancestors, they were obviously the weaker side. But fortunately, it was very difficult to kill a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. In addition to the many dharma treasures they had cultivated for a thousand years, if they abandoned their physical bodies, their Nascent Soul had a teleportation function. It could teleport thousands of li in an instant, a speed that no dharma treasure could match. But how could these two elders be willing to abandon their physical bodies? In addition, one was a famous poison cultivator, and the other was a sword cultivator who was known for his formidable combat power. For a time, the other side was also unable to do anything to the two of them. Just like that, they fought and fled. Not all of the seven top-grade demonic beasts had been deployed. Maybe it was because they were in seclusion or for other reasons. Only three top-grade and one mid-grade fourth-tier demonic beast were deployed. They actually managed to escape, but the two elders were also seriously injured. The elder from the Ten-Pace Courtyard's physical body almost collapsed. This was only because the four demonic beasts, after seeing the mysterious and unpredictable poison art of the elder from the Malevolent Spirit Sect, did not dare to get too close.