Watching the Mountain

The process of breaking through to the Purple Mansion was much slower than Xu Ran had anticipated. It took him fifty years after bidding farewell to the young couple, Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge, to finally complete his breakthrough.

This was twenty to thirty years longer than he had estimated.

The main reason was that smashing open the gates to the Purple Mansion proved more arduous than he had expected. He had to try over a dozen times before he could break through.

This also led him to some deep introspection. It seemed that his incredibly smooth breakthrough to Foundation Establishment had given him the false impression that as long as he met the requirements, a breakthrough would be a matter of course.

In reality, however, every breakthrough on the path of cultivation was an incredibly arduous process. Merely meeting the standard for a breakthrough did not guarantee success.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many people in the world trapped in their current Realm, unable to break through, or so many tragedies of cultivators perishing due to failed attempts.

Despite successfully breaking through to the Purple Mansion Stage, Xu Ran felt no joy. Instead, his heart grew heavier.

’Just breaking through to the Purple Mansion Stage was this arduous,’ he thought. ’Won’t breaking through to the Golden Core in the future be even harder?’

The breakthrough from the Purple Mansion Stage to the ordinary Core Formation Stage was called Condensing Dao. This involved nurturing the Dao Seed one had comprehended within the Purple Mansion until it condensed and took shape, forming a Dao Pill.

If a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator who had already comprehended a Mental Realm broke through to the Golden Core Stage, it was known as Transformation Dao.

The Dao, the spirit, and the will would merge, integrating one’s volition and beliefs to transform them into a grand path to the heavens. This was the origin of the term Golden Core Dao.

Being stronger also meant the breakthrough process was more complex and more difficult.

A Golden Core Stage cultivator’s combat power could overwhelm that of the ordinary Core Formation Stage, and the difficulty of the breakthrough was likewise incomparable.

Since his breakthrough to the Purple Mansion had taken twenty to thirty years longer than he estimated, his already limited apparent lifespan became even tighter.

He did a rough calculation. The lifespan of the Purple Mansion Stage was six hundred years. Including the three hundred years that Senior Sister Yue had previously extended for him, his remaining apparent lifespan was now only about three hundred and fifty years.

Of course, the lifespan for each Realm in the Cultivation Realm was not a fixed number. It was normal to live a little longer or shorter, but the deviation couldn’t be too outrageous.

’In other words, even if I push it to the absolute limit, I have four hundred years at most. If I still can’t break through by then, I’ll have to leave.’

This filled his heart with a sense of urgency.

However, cultivation was not something that could be accomplished in a single leap just by being anxious. Even setting aside his Comprehension, his cultivation aptitude was only average. In three or four hundred years, it would already be considered a good achievement to raise his Cultivation to the late-stage Purple Mansion.

What’s more, there were many insights to be gained and bottlenecks to overcome along the way. By that calculation, breaking through to the Golden Core Stage in four hundred years was almost impossible for him.

’But even so, I’m not willing to give up just yet,’ he resolved. ’No matter what, I’ll try first. If that time comes and I truly see no hope, it won’t be too late to consider leaving then.’

*

*

*

Not long after Xu Ran broke through to the Purple Mansion Stage, a weather-beaten old woman appeared before his Cave Mansion.

She wore plain clothes, her salt-and-pepper hair coiled with a simple bamboo hairpin. She was gaunt, and her face was etched with the hardships of a long life, yet her eyes were remarkably dark and bright.

Xu Ran had to study her for a good while before he recognized who she was.

”You are... Hao Miaomiao?” he asked, his voice hesitant.

Hearing her name, Hao Miaomiao bowed to him. Then, she smiled and said, ”For Senior to still remember a mediocre person like this old woman... I am truly honored.”

Seeing that she confirmed her identity, an image surfaced in Xu Ran’s mind: the young girl who had come to bid him farewell, determined to pursue her ideal of a world without illness.

Back then, she had seemed serene, well-mannered, diligent, and eager to learn—the kind of model student any teacher would immediately take a liking to.

In the blink of an eye, she had become an old woman who called herself ”this old woman.”

Among all the people he knew, she had probably aged the fastest. She was only in her twenties when she left, and now she was a hundred years old—about the same age he had been when he first joined the Sect.

He invited Hao Miaomiao into his Cave Mansion.

”Your Cultivation...?” He sensed the fluctuations of Spiritual Power coming from Hao Miaomiao; she was only at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer.

He remembered that her Cultivation had been at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer when she left. This meant that in several decades, her Cultivation had only advanced by three layers.

’Even slower than I was back then.’

Hao Miaomiao, however, just smiled calmly and said, ”The Spiritual Qi in the Mortal World is thin to begin with. Besides, I’ve spent all these years traveling around, collecting medical texts and treating the sick. To have reached this level of Cultivation is already quite good.”

Xu Ran fell silent at her words. He too had cultivated in the Mortal World before joining the Sect, but back then he had been very wealthy. He basically didn’t need to worry about anything and could focus solely on cultivation every day.

He was silent for a good while before he slowly asked, ”What did you gain from your travels in the Mortal World?”

Hearing this, Hao Miaomiao was quiet for a moment. Then, she gave a light chuckle and nodded. ”It was very grounding, and very fulfilling. At the very least, I came to understand that, just as you said back then, one cannot drive out all the world’s sickness with Daoist Techniques alone.”

”Over these past decades, I have been to many places, seen many diseases, and learned many medical arts. And likewise... I have also witnessed much death...”

In a slow, unhurried voice, she recounted to Xu Ran her experiences after leaving the sect gates.

Xu Ran listened in silence. Just as she had declared when she first entered the sect, Hao Miaomiao had been tirelessly working to free the world from the torment of illness. For decades, she was either saving someone or on her way to save someone, without ever stopping.

”A few years ago, I started to feel my body growing heavy, and my movements were no longer as nimble as before. I thought about it and realized my lifespan must be running out.”

”So I stopped my medical practice and returned to the sect. I plan to use my remaining time to organize and compile the medical techniques and treatment experience I’ve gathered over decades of travel.”

”I came to find you, Senior, to earnestly request that after I have compiled my medical texts, you might allow them to be included in the Scripture Pavilion.”

After speaking, she looked at Xu Ran, her expression slightly anxious. Her medical texts were only for treating mortals. Although the Scripture Pavilion contained many miscellaneous records and books from the Mortal World, it didn’t mean her own texts could be included just because she wished it.

At the very least, she didn’t have the confidence to assume so.

Xu Ran saw the unease on her face and sighed inwardly. ’Truly, those with a noble character are always humble.’

’This is a collection of medical knowledge that could bring great fortune to all the common people, yet she doesn’t even have the confidence to ask for it to be included in the Scripture Pavilion and can only come to me so humbly.’

Seeing this, he gave her a reassuring look and said in a firm tone:

”Focus on compiling your work. Once you are finished, I will help you get it formally inducted.”

Hao Miaomiao was overjoyed to hear this. She rose, gave Xu Ran a deep bow, and then hurriedly prepared to leave, as if she couldn’t wait to start organizing her medical texts.

Before she could leave, Xu Ran stopped her and asked, ”Your cultivation has been delayed because of this, and your lifespan is now far shorter than that of an ordinary cultivator. Do you have any regrets?”

’Her innate talent isn’t exceptional, but being in a Major Sect like the Profound Pure Sect, as long as she had cultivated diligently, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage and even going further would not have been impossible.’

’But she delayed it all for the sake of practicing medicine, and now, the opportunity is completely lost. Even extending her life would be of no use.’

Hao Miaomiao was taken aback for a moment. She furrowed her brow in thought for a while, then shook her head and said, ”I’m not sure. All these years, I was so busy treating the sick and collecting medical texts that I never considered this question.”

Then she smiled slightly and added, ”However, after decades of travel, I did come to understand one thing.”

”What’s that?” Xu Ran asked curiously.

She squinted and chuckled. ”That my younger self was far too naive, not knowing the immensity of the world. To think I could free everyone from illness all by myself... I really dared to dream, didn’t I?”

She looked at Xu Ran, her expression full of emotion. ”To be honest, Senior, when you told me to give up on learning the Alchemy Technique back then, I was quite indignant. I felt you didn’t understand anything and were just throwing your weight around, giving ignorant advice.”

”But now, I understand. You were right back then. That’s why I want to organize and compile the medical knowledge I’ve gathered all these years. Perhaps one day, it will be of use.”