Millions of miles away from Qingshan Pass, this place is rarely visited by people and is surrounded by rolling mountains.
The overall color of these mountains, which stretch as far as the eye can see, is dark green, with dense vegetation and thick, broad leaf stems. The deep dark green color seems to be able to drip thick juice from the leaves.
The towering trees are tall and sturdy. Most of them are dozens of feet high, and it takes five or six adults to hug them. Each tree stands tall and straight.
If you stand on the top of a higher mountain and look down, you will see a canopy of trees blocking out the sky, layer upon layer, endless.
There are many monsters roaming around here. There are countless low-level monsters, and occasionally there will be high-level monsters.
But in such a vast range of mountains and forests, there is an area of mountains and forests where few monsters dare to set foot, as if they are very afraid of something.
This area is also full of steep peaks and virgin forests. On the top of a mountain that rises high into the clouds, there are magnificent buildings, pavilions and towers, small bridges and flowing water on the mountain, and magical birds flying among them.
The mountainside is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, swirling between pavilions, towers, bamboo forests and paths. When you are in it, it feels as if you can control the wind and clouds with your hands.
There is a huge platform at the top of the mountain, about ten thousand feet high. The paving stones on the platform are all made of smooth rocks. Standing on it, people seem very small, and there is no end in sight.
There is a grand palace built on the thousand steps behind the platform. The palace has penetrated deep into the sea of clouds from the eaves, but it is unknown how deep the top of the palace goes.
At this time, two people were talking inside the palace.
A man was sitting on a huge armchair in the middle of the palace. The backrest and armrests of the chair were densely carved with many unknown ferocious beasts of all sizes.
These ferocious beasts are either hideous, vicious, or gloomy. Each one emits a cold and dim light all over its body, and their expressions are so lifelike that they seem like living creatures.
The man sitting on the seat had three long strands of beard and was about thirty years old. His face was as white as jade and he had narrow eyes. He wore a scholar's hat on his head and a long green robe. He had a slender figure and gave people the feeling of a very cultured Confucian scholar.
The other person was sitting on the left side below him. He was an old man in his sixties, wearing a dark green robe. He was a little skinny, with a face like an eagle, a pair of extremely cold eyes, and his ten withered fingers were holding the armrests of the chair like eagle claws.
The two of them sat in the grand palace, looking extremely small, as if they were two ants standing in a huge palace.
"Peak Master, I have arranged for a law enforcement disciple to release a green harrier falcon to bring back a message that a pile of dry bones was found on the outskirts of a suspected cultivator's site 700,000 miles away from here.
After using secret methods to detect, the withered bones are exactly the outer sect disciple who defected from our peak seven years ago."
The old man with the falcon-like look said to the middle-aged scholar in the chair, with a hateful expression on his face and his eyes flashing with ferocity.
"Oh, the monk's ruins seven hundred thousand miles away? Can the law enforcement disciples find what the defecting disciple stole?"
The scholar in green looked down at the old man with the falcon-like figure.
"No, I only found a damaged storage bag next to the bones, but the other things..."
The old man with the falcon replied helplessly, shaking his head at the end.
“This incident has caused our peak to lose face in front of the other four peaks. Although that person only took away our peak’s entry-level skills, this is something that our disciples cannot practice.
Especially since it contains the basic bodybuilding formula, it must not be leaked out no matter what, otherwise why would we care about this entry-level technique.”
The scholar frowned and said.
He thought for a moment, tapped his thigh with his slender fingers a few times, and continued.
“Well, send some more law enforcement disciples from our peak over there to expand the search area.
We can start from the medicine shop, no matter whether it is a mortal medicine shop or a cultivator's market, we must track it down. As long as someone takes away the entry-level practice method, it is possible to practice it. I don't want Qi Condensation disciples who are not from my sect to appear in the outside world in the future."
The Confucian scholar said so.
"Yes, Peak Master! I think so too. If we find someone practicing, we will enforce the rules of our Law Enforcement Hall.
After killing him, use his soul to feed the soul-binding silkworms, making him face the dilemma of life and death, and then tell other sects about this to serve as a warning to others. "
There was a fierce light in the old man's eyes.
… …
Outside Qingshanai City, inside the valley.
With the assistance of Strategist Ji, Li Yan practiced diligently every day, and his time passed in this repetitive cycle day after day.
Li Yan also gradually felt that as his practice progressed, his teacher's piano music could no longer suppress the heat in his body.
Especially in the past two days, he basically completed his training in a semi-conscious and semi-conscious state.
He knew that as his practice progressed, the sound of the piano had begun to lose its effect on him. But for Li Yan today, this would not be the case tomorrow, because tomorrow would be the forty-ninth day of his practice.
In the early morning, when it was still light, Li Yan pushed the door open and walked out, taking a walk in the valley. He had been unable to sleep in recent days because of the irritability in his chest.
Besides, I have to practice at the pond today, so I just walk in the valley and breathe the fresh air of this autumn morning, which can somewhat relieve some of the restlessness in my heart.
About half an hour later, he returned to the room. The woman had brought him breakfast. He simply ate a few bites and lost his appetite, so he sat cross-legged in the room.
Not long after, there were several knocks on the door, and Li Yan opened his eyes when he heard the sound.
Outside the door, there came Chen An and Li Yin. They bowed respectfully to him, and Chen An said.
"Sir, the Lord asked me to place the copper furnace beside the pond."
"Then thank you both for your help." Li Yan nodded to him. Since entering the valley, Li Yan had very few contacts with other people, basically only the woman who delivered meals and these two people.
These people were usually very respectful to him. He was not used to it at first, but over time, he gradually got used to these etiquettes.
When the two men carried the copper stove out, Li Yan also followed them out of the room. Soon Chen An and Li Yin placed the copper stove near the pool.
The two of them pushed the copper furnace back and forth, and after confirming that it was stable, they turned and walked towards the second training room of Master Ji.
At this time, the door of the training room was closed, so the two of them stood there waiting without saying a word.
Li Yan stood in front of his room and did not talk to the two of them. He just stared blankly at the copper stove by the pond.
Somehow, looking at the water copper furnace and the pool, he suddenly thought of the senior brother he had never met. If he remembered correctly, that senior brother seemed to have died suddenly more than a month after entering the valley.
The words "more than a month" kept flashing in Li Yan's mind. "Forty-nine days" was also less than two months. Was it just a coincidence? For a moment, he fell into deep thought.
"Sir, Sir... The master is calling you!"
A few calls interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and saw Li Yin walking towards him, calling him softly as he walked.
In the distance, Strategist Ji had been standing by the pond without him noticing, and the familiar copper basin had been placed on the copper stove.
Li Yan didn't know how long he had been thinking about it. He shook his head lightly, as if to get rid of all those thoughts that were coming to his mind. After calming himself down, Li Yan hurriedly walked towards the copper furnace.
Upon seeing this, Chen An and Li Yin quietly left the valley.
Advisor Ji was wearing a loose black robe and standing not far from the copper stove with his hands behind his back. He was staring at the copper basin in a daze, as if he was talking to himself, or to Li Yan.
"It's the last day, it's the last day, can you make it?"
Although the words were very soft, Li Yan heard them very clearly in this quiet valley. For no reason, his heart suddenly tightened.
But now that things had come to this, he didn't say anything more and walked a few steps to the copper furnace.
The mist above the copper basin today is no longer the bluish-black mist of the past few days, but pure black mist, so thick that it seems substantial, and it keeps surging and rolling.
Li Yan saw that the copper basin was already filled with bubbling liquid, thick as boiling ink. He couldn't even see the herbs inside. Only gurgling black bubbles kept swelling and bursting...
Then waves of black air rose up, and then merged upwards into the surging pure black mist, making it even thicker...
Then countless tiny black bubbles appeared in the copper basin, and then large black bubbles swelled up and burst, emitting a puff of smoke, and the cycle continued...
It is obvious that the power of this medicine has increased many times compared to the previous period.
Li Yan took a deep breath, stood in a good posture, and then stretched his hands into the thick black air that gathered but did not disperse. Immediately, ten streams of black air drilled into his fingers.
But these ten strands of black air were by no means as fleeting as the previous thin threads. Instead, they became several times thicker and denser, almost solid, like ten iron rods, fiercely piercing into Li Yan's fingers.
Li Yan felt the same bone-deep pain in his fingers as the first time. The pain was like a surging wave that hit him and his whole body trembled violently.
Although he clenched his teeth, he continued to groan violently. The surging pain spread from his fingers, along his arms and began to attack every part of his body.
If it weren't for the training he had done over the previous few dozen days, he would have probably fainted from the pain.
Advisor Ji stood aside and looked at Li Yan, his face expressionless, only his eyebrows twitched occasionally, revealing his inner unrest. He just stared at Li Yan motionlessly.
Time passed little by little. After about a cup of tea, Li Yan looked listless. He groaned continuously and slowly retreated several steps to the edge of the pool.
At this moment, Li Yan had no thoughts in his mind, and he had even lost the thought of practicing his skills. However, the thick black energy seemed to no longer need the guidance of any skills, and it forced its way into his body, traveling through his meridians.
At this time, Li Yan's skin was completely black, his face was twisted and swollen, and there were streaks of black air on his face, which was extremely terrifying.
Li Yanjue's breath was running wildly, and his body felt like it was about to explode. Countless hot air currents seemed to burn his internal organs to ashes.
He managed to keep a clear mind, turned his head to look at Strategist Ji, and spoke with difficulty.
"Teacher, disciple, disciple"
He couldn't say any more words as his body was filled with a rush of energy, causing him to suffer excruciating pain.
Division Master Ji still stood there motionless, expressionless.
Li Yan's vision gradually became blurred and his body was shaky. After a few breaths, he fell backwards on his back and fell into the pool of water behind him.
But the ten thick black airs were still firmly tied to his fingers. Even after Li Yan's body fell into the pool and sank, they still circled and spit out on the water surface, like living pythons.
After Li Yan fell into the water, a chill came over his head, and then his body became colder, which made him a little more sober.
At this moment, there was sparkling water everywhere in front of his eyes. Looking up through the water surface, he could vaguely see a somewhat distorted but motionless figure on the shore that was reflected by the water surface.
Li Yan was no longer able to swim and sank to the bottom of the pool. Even though the cold water began to choke his mouth, it was unable to stop the hot air rushing through his body.
His consciousness became increasingly blurred. In the last bit of clarity that was left, Li Yan let out a bitter smile in his heart.
"Is this the path that Senior Brother has walked?"