Yandang Mountain had become a ruin; it could no longer be called a spiritually blessed famous mountain.
Fortunately, because the Medicine-Refining Valley was located in a remote, mountainous area, the wildfire triggered by the Fire God Talisman could not reach it. It still maintained the same tranquility it had for the past decade.
Shu Han returned to the valley and found a sunny slope to bury his master.
He planned to guard the grave in this valley, and during this period, attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Shu Han’s Qi Condensation Twelfth Heaven had now reached Perfection, and his Spiritual Power was full, still showing signs of further growth.
He initially wanted to continue taking Qi-Fusing Pills to break through the Bottleneck to Foundation Establishment, but this hurdle seemed far too tall. No matter how hard he tried, he could not budge it even slightly.
Shu Han considered his own innate talent extremely poor; every layer’s Bottleneck required a pile of Pills and time to overcome.
But he had never felt a Bottleneck this insurmountably high before.
Compared to this major realm crossing, the Bottlenecks of the past were like small mounds of earth next to a towering mountain-there was no comparison.
He vaguely felt his method was wrong. Following his usual cultivation method, he would never reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime!
Anxious in his heart, Shu Han rummaged through his master’s study for information about the Foundation Establishment stage, yet he found nothing about how to break through to it!
He did not understand. If the Bottleneck from Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment was so difficult to break through, why did the texts passed down in his master’s family contain no explanation about how to break through this Bottleneck? Yet the texts recorded plenty of insights about transitions from early to middle stage, middle to late stage, and so on.
Shu Han pondered. There were only two possible explanations for this situation.
First: The Bottleneck from Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment was too simple and did not warrant written documentation.
Second: There was a conventional, widely known solution to break through this Bottleneck in the cultivation world. Since everyone knew it, naturally it did not need to be recorded.
The first possibility certainly was not valid. If this Bottleneck was too simple, his master would not have been stuck at Qi Condensation Twelfth Heaven all this time.
Shu Han closed the book and thought to himself that he apparently could not observe the three-year mourning period in the valley.
He already felt that this Bottleneck was simply impossible to cross by relying solely on his own diligent cultivation!
No amount of Qi-Fusing Pills would help!
And the Dragon Profound Three Revolutions Divine Art was already beginning to give him a warning.
If he remained stuck at this stage for too long, his Meridians would eventually rupture and he would die!
Thus, he began to pack up the Medicine-Refining Valley, properly placing the Black Jar in the Storage Bag, and storing a portion of each type of medicinal herb from the valley.
One month later, after all the disciples of the Dragon Profound Sect had been dismissed, Goudan, following Shu Han’s instructions, sent off the last disciple and came to the Medicine-Refining Valley to find Shu Han. Shu Han looked at the Medicine-Refining Valley where he had lived for ten years, feeling somewhat reluctant to leave. The experiences of the past ten years were like a dream, but compared to Shu Village, this place held more memories; perhaps this valley felt more like his home.
Before leaving, Shu Han used a Fire God Talisman to collapse the valley entrance. He did not know when he would be able to return, and he did not want anyone disturbing his master’s peace in the valley.
So the two of them boarded a carriage together and, following the same route from ten years ago, left the Dragon Profound Sect.
The carriage rocked and swayed. After traveling for two days, they arrived once again at the Emerald Bamboo Forest from that year.
The Emerald Bamboo Forest was still the same, with emerald bamboo swaying.
Looking at the bamboo forest outside the window, Shu Han’s thoughts seemed to return to ten years ago.
Back then, he was leaning against the window, admiring the vast bamboo sea just like now, with Immortal Master Zhang guarding beside him, discussing lofty topics.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Exactly like ten years ago, the sound of arrows cutting through the air suddenly came from all around, and countless arrows attacked.
The horses whinnied in agony and fell heavily; the carriage immediately stopped.
Shu Han looked at Goudan in surprise, their eyes meeting.
“Again!”
However, the arrow rain stopped after just one volley. Shu Han sighed deeply, lifted the curtain, and stepped out of the carriage.
At that moment, groups of people appeared on both sides of the road, their gleaming blades and swords arrayed in rows, truly reminiscent of that scene from ten years ago.
But Shu Han was not Immortal Master Zhang.
With a cold gaze, he surveyed the people surrounding him. The Four-Pole Heavenly Sword Formation was ready in his Storage Bag. He said sternly, “Esteemed Outlaws of the Greenwoods, I am Shu Han. The Dragon Profound Sect has now disbanded and will no longer oppress you all. Why can’t you let go of past grievances and insist on ambushing and killing us halfway? Let me guess, you would not happen to be the Hungry Wolf Gang again, would you!”
A young man stepped out from the crowd. Holding a long sword, he clasped his hands and smiled, “Immortal Master, you jest. We are people of the Chaotian Sect, not the Hungry Wolf Gang. Moreover, we are not here to ambush and kill you, Immortal Master. We merely wish to invite you to our Chaotian Sect for a discussion, to jointly discuss major matters concerning the Northern Yan martial world!”
Shu Han suddenly understood.
With the Dragon Profound Sect disbanded, the Northern Yan martial world was a group of dragons without a head. The Seven Great Factions were surely going to fight tooth and nail for dominance.
Imagine, during faction conflicts, having an Immortal Master from the Dragon Profound Sect aiding you would significantly boost both morale and strength.
Shu Han smiled and said, “My brother and I have been away from home for ten years and are eager to return. We do not wish to get involved in your martial world faction conflicts. Please, brother, do us a favor and let us pass.”
The man laughed, “Hahaha, Immortal Master, you really do love to joke. The treatment our Chaotian Sect offers you cannot possibly be worse than some remote mountain village. If you are truly homesick, I can help you, Immortal Master, bring all the people from your mountain village to the Chaotian Sect.”
“You!”
Goudan was furious, his anger surging, and he wanted to attack.
However, Shu Han stopped him.
Shu Han said helplessly, “I originally thought you were one of the reputable orthodox factions among the Seven Great Factions, not engaging in despicable acts. But I never expected your conduct to be no different from those scoundrels of the Hungry Wolf Gang. Fine then, my brother and I will follow you back to the Chaotian Sect and see how today’s Chaotian Sect differs from the past!”
Goudan whispered, “Big-Head Brother, what is there to talk about with these unruly mountain bandits? Let us just give them a taste of our power.”
Shu Han shook his head, “There is someone I know at the Chaotian Sect. Let us take the time to meet her. I believe once we see her, the Chaotian Sect will not give us trouble, and we will not need to take action.”
Hearing Shu Han agree, the green-robed man laughed heartily. All the gleaming blades were sheathed, and he brought two fine horses for Shu Han and his companion. The green-robed man personally helped Shu Han mount the horse, showing great respect. He smiled and said, “I am Xiang Zuofeng, Hall Master of the Left Leaf Hall of the Chaotian Sect! May I ask what level of cultivation you have reached, Immortal Masters? That way, I can properly recommend you both to our sect master.”
Cultivation level?
Shu Han mounted the horse and said, “We are both at the Sixth Heaven cultivation level.”
Sixth Heaven…
Xiang Zuofeng showed neither joy nor anger and said, “That is truly remarkable. The sect master will definitely treat both of you as honored guests.”
The mounted group moved eastward. Shu Han keenly detected hidden forces within the bamboo forest, vaguely resembling the ballistae that killed Immortal Master Zhang that year. He could not help but feel a chill. If he had not gone along with these people’s words, they would have likely already secretly fired ballista bolts to kill him.
Even though the Dragon Profound Sect had disbanded, this martial world still refused to let cultivators go.
Shu Han said calmly, “Hall Master Xiang, I heard the Chaotian Sect is considered top-tier among the Seven Great Factions. Why do I see your members wearing mixed clothing and using old, worn equipment, lacking the heroic spirit of the Chaotian Sect from years past?”
Xiang Zuofeng replied, “I apologize for the embarrassment, Immortal Master. Over the years, the Dragon Profound Sect’s demands became increasingly excessive and have long since drained the foundation of our Chaotian Sect! Now, our Chaotian Sect is no longer the leader of the Seven Great Factions. Fortunately, the Dragon Profound Sect collapsed, otherwise the Chaotian Sect would have had to disband.”
“Then who is the current leader of the seven factions?”
Xiang Zuofeng answered, “The situations of the seven factions are largely similar; all have suffered severe losses. However, in recent years, the one that has been thriving and doing well should be the Hungry Wolf Gang. But our Chaotian Sect’s foundation remains; the Hungry Wolf Gang would not dare provoke us recklessly!”
The Hungry Wolf Gang, huh…
“Foundation remains? Don’t make me laugh!”