Watching the Mountain

Chapter 19: Chapter 14: The Choice, Ye Shan’s Demise

Yue Qingyu saw Xu Ran’s reaction and took the initiative to explain:

”Actually, the Sect planned to tell you about this right after you comprehended the Will of Death. However, Qing Xuan Master and the Grand Elder of Celestial Sea Peak temporarily suppressed the news. They felt you still needed to be tempered a bit more, lest you get conceited. In any case, your cultivation is still some ways from the Foundation Establishment Stage, so they never told you.”

”Of course, they were also the ones who reported your comprehension of the Will of Death to the Sect. They’re also the ones who fought for your reward, since your age and cultivation level made the Sect a bit hesitant.”

”Also, after you comprehended the Will of Death, the Sect stopped deducting my Contribution Points. Your treatment is now the same as that of an ordinary disciple.”

Xu Ran was stunned. ”Senior Sister, you mean the Sect rewarded me just because I comprehended the Will of Death?”

Yue Qingyu chuckled lightly. ”What, did you think comprehending a mental realm during the Qi Refining Stage is a simple matter?”

She then explained, ”The Golden Core Stage and the Core Formation Stage are within the same major Realm. The difference lies in whether one has comprehended a certain mental realm. After achieving Golden Core, a person who has comprehended a mental realm will have truly forged their own path. They can practically crush an ordinary Core Formation Stage Cultivator.”

”Even though you’ve only reached the Qi Refining Stage at your age, the fact that you comprehended the Will of Death—no matter how you did it—shows you have the potential to become a true expert. And no matter how slim the chance, the Sect doesn’t mind supporting and nurturing you for a while. At worst, it’s just a waste of a few Foundation Establishment Pills, a loss the Sect can easily bear.”

”It is precisely because of your particular talent that the reward is a Foundation Establishment Pill. If it were a more typical prodigy, the support offered would have been even greater.”

”Of course, if you can continue to demonstrate your potential in the future, the Sect will continue to increase its support for you.”

”So, please continue to work hard.”

After hearing Yue Qingyu’s explanation, understanding dawned on Xu Ran. ’So that’s how it is.’

He had simply been unwilling to accept mediocrity, which was why he had experienced death again and again under Ye Shan’s sword. Afterward, he developed a special feeling about death, and it wasn’t until he saw Ning Caique grievously injured and on the verge of death that he fully grasped that emotion.

’I never thought comprehending the Will of Death would come with such a pleasant surprise.’

’According to Yue Qingyu, I’m now considered an Official Disciple of the Sect. What’s more, I’m a potential-filled disciple receiving the Sect’s focused support.’

’In that case, I’ve managed to win some face for her, right?’

’She recommended an old man who everyone thought was just here to live out his days, but now he’s suddenly shown unexpected potential. This should prove her judgment was sound.’

Then, he thought about Qing Xuan Master and the Grand Elder of Celestial Sea Peak, who she had mentioned. He couldn’t help but grumble inwardly about how they had deliberately withheld this news from him.

’Those two just love to put pressure on the younger generation to temper them.’

’Especially the Grand Elder of Celestial Sea Peak. Just look at what that wild child Zhang Zhentian was suppressed into.’

Zhang Zhentian had mentioned his grandfather’s sigh and turn on many occasions. He said it would have been better if his grandfather had beaten or scolded him then. But instead, he said nothing at all. That one sigh remained etched in his mind, impossible to erase.

Xu Ran put the voucher away and calmed himself. Then he took out a Jade Scroll he had prepared earlier and got down to the real business of his visit.

”Senior Sister, I’ve been carrying out tasks on Spirit Stream Peak for years, looking after the Spirit Fields and the Spirit Medicine Garden. Over time, I’ve had some insights and realizations, especially when it comes to preventing pest infestations. I’ve compiled my findings, and I was hoping you could trouble yourself to submit this to the Elders who specialize in Spiritual Plants. They can see if the methods I’ve outlined are feasible.”

He was submitting the fruits of his research over the years. He had named it the ”Heaven, Earth, and Human Talents Pest Control System.”

It was a system he had summarized and created after years of studying the habits of Spiritual Insects, combining the Cultivation Realm’s existing pest control experience with pest control methods he had seen in his past life. Its core principle was a combination of reform and treatment.

Yue Qingyu gave him a somewhat surprised look, then took the Jade Scroll from his hand with great interest and placed it against her forehead.

When she finished reading its contents, the surprise on her face deepened.

Although she wasn’t a Spirit Plant Master, she had dabbled in the field and could understand the contents. Her intuition alone told her that this method would be very effective.

She gave Xu Ran a complicated look. Back then, she had only arranged for him to enter the Sect to cultivate because of a past promise; she hadn’t actually held any expectations for him.

Her deepest impression of him was that one sentence he had said at the time: ”There is nothing wrong with a heart that seeks the Dao.”

’I never imagined that after all these years, this person would continue to exceed my expectations.’

”Did you research all this by yourself?”

”Yes.”

”Aside from the contents mentioned here, did you have any other thoughts during your research?”

Xu Ran hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully:

”I feel that our Sect’s pest infestations are a bit too frequent, especially in the Spirit Fields where Spirit Rice is grown. The frequency is far beyond normal, which seems unreasonable.”

Yue Qingyu nodded slightly. Hearing this, she was now certain that Xu Ran had researched the contents of the scroll himself.

Then, she said calmly, ”That’s normal, because those infestations are man-made.”

”Man-made?”

”That’s right. Although I don’t know who specifically is behind it, it’s likely one of the Ten Major Sects, or perhaps a joint effort by all of them.”

”Hmm?” Xu Ran was startled. He then asked hesitantly, ”Is our Sect a threat to them?”

Yue Qingyu shook her head. ”Not the Sect. I am the one who threatens them.”

Her expression was calm, betraying not the slightest ripple of emotion.

Xu Ran stared at her, shocked. He knew Yue Qingyu was powerful, regarded by the Sect as a Divinity Transformation Seed, but he never thought she was enough of a threat to make the Ten Major Sects act against her.

Yue Qingyu saw his reaction and mentioned casually, ”There is an elixir that requires no supplementary spirit medicine. It is refined from a massive amount of Spirit Rice essence. If taken at the moment a Golden Core cultivator breaks through to the Nascent Soul realm, just as the Nascent Soul is formed, it can save one to two hundred years of bitter cultivation.”

”However, the amount of Spirit Rice needed for this elixir is colossal. Even a top-tier Major Sect can’t afford that kind of consumption.”

”The Sect began preparations for it when I reached Golden Core.”

’An elixir like that actually exists?’

Xu Ran’s mind reeled as he watched Yue Qingyu in silence.

Yue Qingyu didn’t elaborate further. She put away the Jade Scroll Xu Ran had given her and said:

”I will submit this to the Sect, but verifying its effectiveness will take some time. You’ll have to wait patiently.”

Xu Ran naturally had no objection. He then made a request. ”If it proves effective, could you ask the Sect not to mention my name?”

Hearing this, Yue Qingyu gave him a deep look and nodded lightly. ”I understand. I will speak to the Sect about it.”

She didn’t ask for his reasons, content to let him have his way.

*

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A few days later, Yue Qingyu left the Sect and headed for the Secret Realm.

Her departure sparked heated discussions within the Sect.

Many people were curious if Yue Qingyu’s performance could match Ye Shan’s in suppressing the Four Major Sects.

They also looked forward to seeing how the Sect’s situation would change with both of its top prodigies in the Secret Realm at the same time.

Meanwhile, Xu Ran, who had returned from his visit with Yue Qingyu, had been in a complicated mood for the past few days, wrestling with a difficult decision.

According to his original plan, he was going to leave the Profound Pure Sect once his cultivation reached the late Qi Cultivation Stage.

This was the path he had decided on from the very beginning. He couldn’t expose the matter of his Longevity Dao Fruit, so it wasn’t wise to stay in one place for too long. At the very least, the time he spent anywhere had to be within the range of a normal person’s lifespan.

But now, because of the Foundation Establishment Pill, this plan had been disrupted. He felt he could try to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage in the Profound Pure Sect before leaving, depending on the situation.

His current cultivation was still some distance from Foundation Establishment. He didn’t know if he could reach that threshold within a ”reasonable” lifespan.

He should have been using this time to focus on his cultivation and raise his level, lest he miss out on the Profound Pure Sect’s Foundation Establishment Pill.

But after Yue Qingyu mentioned the elixir needed for breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, he felt that perhaps there was something he could do.

That elixir required a massive amount of Spirit Rice. Perhaps the hybrid rice technology from his previous life could help with this.

But researching high-yield Spirit Rice would inevitably take up a great deal of his cultivation time.

If he did that, it would be uncertain whether he could reach the threshold for Foundation Establishment and use the Profound Pure Sect’s Foundation Establishment Pill before his ”reasonable” lifespan ran out.

After wrestling with the dilemma for several days, Xu Ran finally made a decision.

’Without a doubt, Yue Qingyu is a great benefactor in my life. Without her, I might never have been able to set foot on the path of cultivation.’

’This is a monumental debt of gratitude that I must repay. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to face my own conscience, let alone talk about cultivation.’

’Besides, I have an endless lifespan. So what if it’s just Foundation Establishment?’

’Without the Foundation Establishment Pill, I can still break through by just grinding it out over time. It’s no big deal.’

Having made up his mind, Xu Ran didn’t hesitate for a moment and ran toward the Spirit Fields.

*

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*

The disciples of the Profound Pure Sect thought that with both Yue Qingyu and Ye Shan entering the Secret Realm, the Sect’s situation would undergo a world-shaking change.

Perhaps they could even use this opportunity to drive out the other Four Major Sects and claim the Secret Realm for their own.

But events did not unfold as everyone had anticipated.

Although in the early days after Yue Qingyu arrived at the Secret Realm, frequent reports of victory came back, allowing everyone to witness the prowess of the Profound Pure Sect’s number one genius.

However, after just a few years, the situation within the Secret Realm took a drastic downturn. Several Elders and True Disciples suffered heavy losses.

Most importantly, Ye Shan—whom they regarded as the Sect’s pride and hope—had his Dao Foundation destroyed and was left comatose from his injuries.

When this news reached them, the people of the Profound Pure Sect felt as if the sky had fallen.