Chapter Forty-Nine: We Will Wait Here

“Senior Brother Luo, here are my contribution points!”

“Mine too! Senior Brother, don’t forget about mine!”

Luo Tian’s identity token jingled constantly, the sound of it being triggered as over a dozen outer disciples crowded around, each transferring their contribution points to him.

“You all…” Luo Tian shook his head in exasperation, half amused and half helpless. “I haven’t even begun instructing you yet. There’s no need to be so hasty, is there?”

These faces were not unfamiliar to Luo Tian. In the past two years, he had seen many disciples, but as his strength increased, so had his memory—so much so that, in his previous life, he might have been called a prodigy.

Wang Dazhi immediately straightened his neck. “Senior Brother Luo, that’s not right. Your guidance is bound to be effective. Whether we give you our contribution points now or later, it makes no difference! Besides, if we don’t hand them over now and end up breaking through, what if we forget? That would be terrible!”

“You all think too far ahead,” Luo Tian remarked, blinking in surprise at Wang Dazhi’s words. “It’s not that easy to break through, you know. Are you all really at a bottleneck?”

At this question, the group of disciples froze for a moment, then, in perfect unison, nodded their heads.

Luo Tian was a little puzzled. “How could it be such a coincidence?”

“Senior Brother, we’ve all been taking on tasks together recently, acting as assistants for the alchemy masters on Shenyang Mountain. The spiritual energy there is denser than on Ziyang Mountain, and sometimes the masters reward us with a few pills, so our progress has been steady and not slow,” Zhao Yang explained, clapping Wang Dazhi on the shoulder. “This big guy, don’t be fooled by his simple look—he’s quite favored by Master Liu. After just a few pointers, he was the first among us to reach the third cycle of the Qi Condensation Stage. Truly infuriating!”

“On the path of cultivation, having a simple and focused mind is no bad thing,” Luo Tian nodded thoughtfully, recalling that his own rapid progress over the past two months was thanks to his undistracted focus. The concentration of spiritual energy is an external factor, but single-minded dedication to cultivation comes from within. Only by harmonizing the two can one achieve the best results. “But what made you choose to do alchemy tasks?”

Shenyang Mountain was where the inner disciples gathered. By the Meridian Flowing Stage, the disciples had branched into different paths: alchemy, weapon forging, and the like. Otherwise, the sect’s Pill and Treasure Pavilion would have no source of goods.

“You’re right, Senior Brother. We realized that, with our modest strength, taking on tasks in Shenyang Forest directly may not be wise—if we got set up, we’d really be at a loss! So, after discussing it, most of us chose alchemy tasks. Some picked weapon forging. Either way, it’s just assisting the masters,” Zhao Yang said, fully agreeing with Luo Tian. “The tasks are straightforward, and we’ll wait until we’re stronger before heading into the forest for more dangerous experience. Safety comes first, after all.”

“Indeed. You only have one life—being cautious is never a bad thing.” Luo Tian glanced at Wang Dazhi, Zhao Yang, and the others, feeling a certain fondness for them. After all, he’d given them pointers before; they were familiar faces, making the conversation more comfortable. “Where are the others?”

“Some left the sect soon after becoming outer disciples,” Wang Dazhi replied in his booming voice. “This place really belongs to the four great families; they sweep up all the rewards at every competition. There’s no point in staying. Once you hit the Qi Condensation Stage, your lifespan increases and you gain some ability to protect yourself. In villages and towns, no one would dare bully you.”

Some bandit gangs, like the Clearwind Thieves, had late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators as leaders, but many were just rabble. For a Qi Condensation cultivator, defeating a dozen ordinary thugs was nothing. If there was no hope of reaching the Meridian Flowing Stage, it was better to leave early.

Listening to Zhao Yang and Wang Dazhi’s chatter, Luo Tian couldn’t help but sigh, shaking his head with mixed emotions. “If you’re planning to train in Shenyang Forest, you might want to pay more attention to the body-refining secret arts. They’re quite beneficial for close combat.”

While Luo Tian understood the importance of these secret arts, he didn’t plan to say more. After all, not many before him could persist to the sixth cycle of the Qi Condensation Stage.

Moreover, Shenyang Sect went to great lengths to obscure the true significance of the body-refining arts, certainly for their own reasons. Luo Tian was still just an outer disciple at the Qi Condensation Stage. Faced with inner disciples at the Meridian Flowing Stage and elders—or even the sect leader—at the Core Formation Stage, he had to be cautious. Some truths, carelessly spoken, could have severe consequences, even endangering himself and others.

Most importantly, body-refining arts demanded significant resources. Even if they knew the benefits, these disciples likely couldn’t afford them—it would only waste their time.

“Yes, Senior Brother Luo!” Wang Dazhi, Zhao Yang, and the rest responded obediently, not thinking too deeply about it.

“By the way, Senior Brother, what’s your current cultivation? Why not come stay with us on Shenyang Mountain for a few months? Then we can go to the forest together and look out for each other.”

Zhao Yang pursed his lips, suggesting it out of concern. Senior Brother Luo hadn’t been an outer disciple for long; at most, he was at the second cycle of the Qi Condensation Stage, and would surely be in danger on his own. Better to help him, he thought. Luo Tian would never ask for help himself, but if Zhao Yang took the initiative, it wouldn’t be awkward for Luo Tian to accept.

A deep blue glow surged from Luo Tian, not sharp or glaring, but to Wang Dazhi and the others, it was more dazzling than the sun.

Luo Tian smiled faintly and shook his head. “I’ll pass. You all just be careful. Let’s begin now; I’ll observe and guide you. Stay calm—even if you can’t succeed in one go, don’t get agitated or anxious. Otherwise, it’ll only make things worse.”

“Yes!” The group, still reeling from shock, quickly organized themselves. After a bit of polite shuffling, Zhao Yang stepped forward to go first, followed by the others in their standing order—a straightforward arrangement.

“What’s taking so long? Have they finished yet?”

“There are over a dozen people! It’s not that quick. Besides, why are you so impatient? If you were in such a hurry, why didn’t you go in earlier?”

“How was I supposed to know if it was really that effective?”

“Enough bickering—they’re coming out!”

The slanting rays of the setting sun stretched the disciples’ shadows across the ground, forming a dense, dark patch. Aside from a few who lost patience and left, most of the outer disciples waited hopefully at Luo Tian’s door.

Truth would soon be revealed.

At that moment, Wang Dazhi swung open the courtyard gate. “Senior Brother Luo, we’ll be back in a while!” Then, striding out, his body radiated a faint yellow aura of vital energy.

Zhao Yang followed, the same yellow energy shining from him.

One after another.

A line of over a dozen cultivators, each having reached the third cycle of the Qi Condensation Stage, marched out in neat formation. Without so much as a glance at the others, they left the special area together.

“Can this really be true?” One outer disciple gulped, rubbing his eyes furiously, his voice trembling with disbelief.

“Are you blind? Look at them—their vital energy is still unstable, clearly showing they just broke through. They can’t even control their strength yet!”

“Does Luo Tian really have such skill?”

As the murmurs grew, a figure darted nimbly to Luo Tian’s door. “Senior Brother Luo, please instruct me in cultivation!”

He moved so fast!

Before anyone could react, the courtyard door swung open, and the figure slipped inside, quickly shutting the door behind him. “Haha, sorry everyone! Since you weren’t coming in, I’m not going to miss my chance!”

“Scoundrel! How could he take advantage while we weren’t watching?”

“Shameless! Despicable!”

“We’ll just wait here for him to come out, then it’ll be our turn with Senior Brother Luo!”