After arranging all this, Xingming began to practice, and among the sect affairs that he entrusted to Zhu Luomu to handle, one of them was to notify him once Zhang Ming came out of seclusion.
But as the years went by and time passed, Zhu Luomu gradually almost forgot about this matter.
Unless he occasionally needed to arrange for new core disciples to enter the core area, he would think of the man named "Zhang Ming" who once frightened and frightened him.
However, he was entangled in the tedious affairs of the sect and would soon forget about this person again.
In addition, Zhang Ming had been in seclusion all the time, so naturally he would not receive any spirit stones from the "Falling Star Valley", and of course there would be no record of him. Even Zhu Luomu could forget this person, let alone others.
In the seventeenth year of Li Yan's retreat, a female disciple in the "Holy Demon Palace" eighty thousand miles away successfully condensed a golden elixir.
It is a big deal for any sect for a cultivator to be able to form a golden elixir.
But in the "Holy Demon City" where cultivators from all over the world gather, the streets are filled with golden elixirs, and the ground is full of foundation-building cultivators, even if someone heard it, they would not be surprised.
This incident caused quite a stir among some high-ranking officials within the "Holy Demon Palace", but the knowledge was limited to some top monks in the palace.
This female disciple was brought into the holy realm of inheritance of the "Holy Demon Palace" by two supreme elders to break through the realm. All the strange phenomena in the world were blocked, and no one saw the process of forming the pill.
Just this honor alone made the high-ranking officials of the Holy Demon Palace feel different emotions. Some were jealous, some were dissatisfied, some were envious, and some were speechless...
But because this was the decision made by the two supreme elders, everything seemed calm and no one mentioned it.
… …
When will the journey from north to south end? Time flies like an arrow.
One day twenty years later, in a courtyard below the hillside at the entrance to the inner valley of "Falling Star Valley", Feng Tao, who was already in the early stage of foundation building, and another cultivator were conducting spiritual root tests on the new disciples entering the valley.
Together with Feng Tao was a middle-aged cultivator in the middle stage of the foundation-building period. Looking at Feng Tao's alluring figure that seemed to be plump and attractive enough to drip water, the middle-aged cultivator's heart was moved.
He took off the jade slip on his forehead and sighed.
"Junior Sister Feng, I recall your youthful appearance when you entered the valley. Everything seems to be still before my eyes. How could things have changed so much...
It has only been twenty-two years since you joined the sect, and you have already successfully established your foundation. You deserve to be hailed as the sect's most powerful and talented child!"
At this time, Feng Tao has grown into a graceful girl with skin as white as snow. She is wearing a pink long skirt, with a slim waist and plump breasts, and her hips are outlined like a painting.
Feng Tao smiled when she heard that, as if peach blossoms were blooming in front of her. This made the boys and girls in front of her feel like she was a fairy descending to earth, and they opened their mouths wide in amazement.
The faces of those young men turned red, their bodies were trembling slightly, and there was an obsession in their eyes.
Feng Tao realized that she had lost her composure in front of her disciples, and quickly pursed her red lips, her expression returning to its previous coldness.
"Brother Wang, you are too kind. No one knows how far they can go on the road of cultivation. Brother, you may be able to make further progress tomorrow.
As for them, maybe they will be ahead of us in ten or twenty years!"
Feng Tao pointed at the young men and women in front of him and spoke, their voices sounding like the chirping of a yellow oriole in the valley.
However, when she looked at these young faces in front of her, she seemed to have returned to the scene when she first joined the sect, and she and several other young men and women walked all the way from the outer valley.
"What a pity, I am the only one left in the sect now!"
Zhang Ming had been missing since the battle, and Feng Tao had maliciously thought that he must have died in the battle, so she wouldn't have to ask her master for the "Star-Breaking Chamber" anymore.
Therefore, after returning to the sect, she deliberately did not inquire about Zhang Ming's news. As time passed, Zhang Ming never showed up again, which made her feel relieved.
She was immersed in cultivation and alchemy every day, and gradually found it difficult to remember this matter until she completely forgot about it.
It was not until more than three years later that Feng Tao encountered a bottleneck in her practice. In particular, during several sessions of practice, she inexplicably entered into some terrifying illusions and was filled with evil thoughts.
If it weren't for her amazing talent in cultivation and her solid foundation, she would have definitely gone astray and ruined her path.
At first, Feng Tao thought that he had been practicing for too long, which led to the evil thoughts, so he immediately ended his retreat and continued practicing after getting enough rest.
But after she adjusted everything and started practicing again, not long after, those evil thoughts came to her out of nowhere.
After struggling for several hours, Feng Tao finally broke free from the evil thoughts and regained consciousness, but his vitality was already damaged.
At this moment, Feng Tao panicked a little, and hurriedly found his master Zhu Luomu for advice. After asking some questions, Zhu Luomu learned about Feng Tao's cultivation process in detail, and finally frowned.
He couldn't find the reason at all. After thinking for a long time, he attributed it all to the fact that Feng Tao practiced too hastily. He either meditated or made pills every day and neglected the cultivation of his mind.
Finally, Feng Tao was sent out to carry out some tasks to temper his mind.
Therefore, Feng Tao spent more than half a year, constantly carrying out various tasks of the sect. During these tasks, his state of mind became more and more stable, and his cultivation became more and more profound.
When Feng Tao felt that his mind was as calm as a tranquil well and he remained calm despite a mountain collapse, he stopped accepting missions and went into seclusion to practice again.
What made Feng Tao collapse was that only three days into her retreat, the evil thoughts came back like a flood. Fortunately, after the previous two experiences, she had become cautious this time.
Before practicing, she had already sacrificed several "Tao" meditation talismans. When the evil thoughts just came out, light green runes with the word "Tao" flashed on them fell on her body. This time, Feng Tao finally got rid of the evil thoughts without any danger. This happened repeatedly, causing a crack in Feng Tao's strong Tao heart.
Feng Tao now became very anxious. She sat in the training room with tears streaming down her face. This unsolvable problem had completely ruined her path to becoming an immortal.
She knew that this was the appearance of an "inner demon", but for a moment she had no idea why the inner demon had appeared. She kept repeating the word "inner demon" unconsciously.
She sat in the practice room like this for an unknown amount of time before she slowly came back to her senses. She stood up stiffly and wanted to ask her master again if he could take her to see Grandmaster Xing Ming.
Only a cultivator with great supernatural powers like her master could resolve such a thing, but just as she was on her way to look for Zhu Luomu in a daze.
Just passing by a place, she took a subconscious look and saw several ancient seal characters "Small Broken Star Room" appeared in her sight. Suddenly, Feng Tao seemed to be struck by lightning.
Then, something that had been forgotten for a long time flashed through her mind like a bolt of lightning.
She immediately knew the reason why she had been suffering from inner demons for the past year - "Zhang Ming, it's Zhang Ming!" After knowing the reason, Feng Tao knew the solution.
Although she was still unwilling to face Zhang Ming, she could only take a deep breath and go to the Deacon Hall to inquire about Zhang Ming's whereabouts.
As for Zhang Ming, his whereabouts were unknown, and the courtyard where he once lived had long been taken back by the Deacon's Hall.
It was not until this moment that Feng Tao felt relieved. As long as she really faced and abided by the oath made by the inner demon, she could break it.
The oath was between both parties. Zhang Ming himself disappeared, and Feng Tao really went to look for him seriously. When everything was fruitless, the oath would somehow determine that Zhang Ming had given up.
Even the most advanced cultivator in this world cannot explain the oath to the inner demon. This should be a kind of law in the world, but no one dares to violate it.
Just like this, Feng Tao searched for Zhang Ming carefully for three months but still found no clues. And every time she tried to practice, her inner demons gradually faded away and disappeared.
His cultivation level has once again recovered to a state of rapid progress...
Looking at the boy and girl in front of her, Feng Tao sighed in her heart. Tian Denghu was dead and Zhang Ming disappeared.
Of the other three people who entered the sect with her, two of them went out for training and have not been heard from since. The last disciple, who had the same earth spiritual root as Tian Denghu, also returned to the family five years ago.
From then on, of the few people who entered the sect together with Feng Tao, only Feng Tao was left. Thinking of this, Feng Tao suddenly felt lonely, which was rare for her now.
"Junior Sister Feng, you can also see if there are any people with good qualifications. Aren't you planning to accept disciples this year?"
The middle-aged-looking foundation-building cultivator held a jade slip in his hand. This was the jade slip reported by the previous disciples after screening, and it recorded the situations of these young men and women.
Feng Tao shook her head slightly. She was now in a period of rapid improvement in her cultivation and did not want to waste her time on so-called disciples. She would not accept any disciple until she could form an elixir.
However, she still had to complete her task today, so she also took a jade slip and pressed it against her forehead.
At this moment, a gust of wind suddenly arose, and as it passed by, everyone couldn't help but look up.
Even Feng Tao and the middle-aged foundation-building cultivator were stunned at the sight. The sky above the valley, which was originally sunny, was suddenly filled with dark clouds.
All of this happened without any signs. Even with their cultivation level at the Foundation Establishment Stage, they had no sense of anything before.
And this gust of wind was just the beginning. Just when Feng Tao and others didn't know what was happening, the whole valley was filled with strong winds and flying sand and rocks.
Amidst the dark clouds, night suddenly fell in the sky above the valley. Before anyone could react, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky amid the rolling dark clouds.
A thunderous roar that resounded through a thousand miles made all the cultivators feel dazed, as if the sky had fallen and the earth had collapsed. Then, the dark clouds in the entire sky rolled and gathered towards one place in the valley.
"What happened? Is there another foreign invasion?"
Feng Tao's face changed and she looked up at the sky in fear, which reminded her of the scene when the Great Elder activated the sect protection formation before leaving twenty years ago.
At this moment, dozens of figures suddenly appeared in the sky, and then flew towards the direction where the dark clouds gathered.
Feng Tao and the middle-aged monk looked at each other, and Feng Tao immediately spoke quickly to a group of young men and women.
"You stay here and don't wander around, otherwise you will die at your own risk!"
After saying that, the two of them took off into the air and flew towards the place where the wind and clouds gathered.
The direction where the wind and clouds gathered was the depths of the "Falling Star Valley", and Feng Tao and the others were near the mountain gate, naturally farther away, so it would take more time for them to get there.
Just when a dozen figures in the center of the valley flew less than five hundred miles, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them and blocked their way.
The leader of the dozen figures was Zhu Luomu. He had just been discussing something with some deacons in the sect hall up ahead. The sudden situation left everyone confused, and they immediately rushed to the place where the dark clouds gathered.
The sudden appearance of this figure startled them. They thought something strange had happened, and everyone suddenly became aroused with spiritual light and became alert.
When someone was about to shout, the person standing in front of him spoke first, his voice full of vicissitudes.
"You stay here, and do not come any closer without my order!"