Chapter 658 447: 3 Years (2)

"It was just a bit of luck. Ye Cang, you seem to be doing well for yourself. I see your cultivation has reached Qi Cultivation Perfection. Why haven't you prepared for Foundation Establishment yet?"

Lou Yuan glossed over his own journey to Foundation Establishment. Harboring a secret, he generally avoided talking about his personal affairs.

"If this were a while ago, I'd definitely be following your example and seeking a Foundation Establishment Opportunity on my own. But recently, the Sect Leader somehow managed to procure a batch of Purple Crystal Spirit Fish. They're miraculously helpful for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Best of all, they're being offered as a sect benefit at a very low internal price. I was thinking of using the merit points I've saved over the years to trade for one. That should increase my chances of success by more than twenty percent."

"Purple Crystal Spirit Fish? That's incredible stuff! But aren't they meant to increase a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's cultivation base? How can they also help break through bottlenecks?"

Lou Yuan was thrilled to hear this. He had only just reached Foundation Establishment, and he could already feel how difficult cultivation at this stage was.

His Spirit Root talent wasn't considered particularly good. He had only reached Foundation Establishment so quickly thanks to the Master of Ten Thousand Spiders, who was both a mentor and a friend. But with the Master of Ten Thousand Spiders now in a deep slumber, Lou Yuan was left to cultivate alone. Only now, relying on his Middle-grade Spirit Root talent, did he truly appreciate the bitter struggle of increasing his Magical Power during the Foundation Establishment Stage.

He would often meditate for days, only to wake up and find his Magical Power had increased by a negligible amount. With his current talent, he couldn't even dream of advancing from the First-Layer Foundation Establishment to the Second Layer in less than fifteen years.

While striving on his own out in the world, a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator like him was nothing special. That was why, after stabilizing his realm, he had immediately rushed back to the Qingyuan Sect—partly because he missed his family, and partly because he hoped to rely on the sect's resources.

'I just never expected the sect's resources to hold such a wonderful surprise. Purple Crystal Spirit Fish! At outside auction houses, they're usually the final, most valuable items. But in the Qingyuan Sect, it looks like you can trade for them with just merit points. Isn't this a heavenly benefit for the Sect Disciples?'

Seeing Lou Yuan's shock, Ye Cang smiled mysteriously and gestured for him to lean closer.

"I'll let you in on a secret. This batch of Purple Crystal Spirit Fish is a variant. Not only can they increase your cultivation base, they can also help you break through bottlenecks. Haven't you noticed all the outside cultivators flocking to our Land Realm lately? That True Disciple from the Xiling Sect just now—why else would he travel thousands of miles to this remote corner of White Mountain if not for this?"

Now that Ye Cang mentioned it, Lou Yuan realized that many of the visiting cultivators were indeed at the apex of their respective realms. There were those at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage Realm, the peak of the mid-stage, and even many cultivators at the peak of Late-stage Qi Cultivation.

After processing this news, Lou Yuan's gaze fell upon the Foundation Establishment Bear Beast behind Ye Cang. Sensing its immense physical power, he voiced another one of his questions.

A short while later, Ye Cang had patiently finished explaining everything that had happened in the Qingyuan Sect over the past three years.

As Ye Cang rose to attend to his tasks, Lou Yuan walked back toward the sect gate in a daze. He looked up at the sky, his heart filled with shock and an inexplicable, sour feeling.

'Our sect has Nascent Soul Battle Power now. The number of Golden Core cultivators has swelled from just the Sect Leader to five. In these three years, the sect's Foundation Establishment Cultivators have ballooned from around ten to seventy or eighty. And while the Foundation Establishment Bear Beasts make up the majority of that number, new Foundation Establishment Disciples have also been popping up like mushrooms after a spring rain.'

'I thought that after reaching Foundation Establishment, I'd at least be among the top dozen or so figures in the Qingyuan Sect. I never imagined that in just three years, I'd already be struggling to keep up.'

Watching the lively, bustling crowd of cultivators, Lou Yuan couldn't help but wonder, 'If I hadn't gone out to find my own Foundation Establishment Opportunity and had just stayed in the sect, would I have reached this stage even sooner?'

"Junior Brother Lou? Junior Brother Lou!"

Lou Yuan hadn't gotten far from the docks when he was hailed by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. He turned to see the man striding quickly toward him.

"The Sect Leader knows you're back, so he had me come get you. The Ancestor happens to have some free time today, so this is your chance to go pay respects. If you play your cards right and please the Ancestor, any little thing he might casually bestow upon you would be worth more than a decade of your own struggle."

"So it's you, Senior Brother Gu. It's been years! You've reached Foundation Establishment, too. As your junior brother, I..."

The newcomer was none other than Gu Changfeng, the young attendant who had once served by Fang Qingyuan's side. He now carried a heroic air, dressed in the bright red robes of a Qingyuan Sect True Disciple. With a jade pendant at his waist and a Magical Jade Hairpin in his hair, he looked every bit the part of a refined, handsome young master.

"We can catch up later! The Ancestor rarely emerges from seclusion. If you miss this chance to see him, you'll have to wait for the grand sect assembly six months from now. Time waits for no one, so hurry up!"

Dragged along by Gu Changfeng, Lou Yuan had no choice but to use an Acceleration Technique, and the two of them created a scene as they sprinted through the sprawling dockside Marketplace.

The two quickly reached the main sect gate. But no matter how rushed they were, they still had to have their identities verified before being allowed to enter.

Lou Yuan had no time to appreciate the changes the sect had undergone over the years. He sprinted all the way to the summit, stopping before the Qingyuan Sect's magnificent Grand Council Hall.

Barely moments later, a young child emerged from the hall, walked up to Lou Yuan, and stated in a very serious, formal tone:

"You must be Martial Uncle Lou Yuan, correct? The Ancestor summons you. Remember, answer only what the Ancestor asks. Do not speak out of turn."

Staring at the young child before him, who couldn't be more than six or seven years old, Lou Yuan was utterly astonished. He had discovered that this child's cultivation had already reached Mid-stage Qi Cultivation.

'This is absolutely absurd! A Mid-stage Qi Cultivator this young... I've never seen anything like it in my life. How did our sect produce such a prodigy?'

His confidence taking yet another blow, Lou Yuan lost whatever pride he had felt from harboring the Master of Ten Thousand Spiders. He walked silently into the vast hall.

The hall was immense, covering hundreds of yards, with only a few massive stone pillars standing within. From the moment Lou Yuan stepped through the door, every gaze inside converged upon him.

At the head of the great hall, on the highest seat, a young man in a wide Daoist Robe turned his gaze upon him.

In that instant, Lou Yuan felt as if he had been seen through completely. That gaze was like a sharp blade, dissecting him from the inside out and inspecting every last part of him.

"You're not tainted by anything unclean, nor have any hidden marks been left on you. It seems you managed to stay out of trouble during your years away. However, your Yin Qi is a bit heavy, and your vitality is somewhat lacking. So, take these two Purple Crystal Spirit Fish. Consider them a congratulatory gift from the sect for achieving the Foundation Establishment Stage. Take them."

Fang Qingyuan's voice had just echoed in his ears when, an instant later, Lou Yuan felt a weight in his hands. Two three-inch-long Purple Crystal Spirit Fish were flopping in his palms.

At that moment, Lou Yuan felt a cold sweat begin to form. 'If I had truly colluded with Demon Fiends or associated with Demon Cultivators and Ghost Cultivators out there, wouldn't I have been exposed the second I returned?'

'Thankfully, that wily old Master of Ten Thousand Spiders was deep in slumber, his presence no more significant than that of a Qi Cultivation Little Spider. If he'd been awake, Lou Yuan worried he wouldn't have been able to hide the secret from the Golden Core Ancestor standing right before him.'

"What are you standing there dazed for? Kneel and thank the Ancestor for his gracious gift!"

Liu Xun's timely reminder from the side snapped Lou Yuan out of his stupor, and he knelt to pay his respects as if waking from a long dream.

"Enough. You haven't been back in many years, and your family has been worried sick. I'll grant you one month of leave. Go be with them. Afterward, find Liu Xun. He will arrange an assignment for you. And you must remember, no matter how long you're away, the Qingyuan Sect will always be your home."

Fang Qingyuan waved his hand, dismissing him. Hearing his words, Lou Yuan respectfully kowtowed three times before slowly turning to leave.

Just as Lou Yuan was about to exit the great hall, Fang Qingyuan's voice sounded once more, though the topic no longer concerned him.

"Report on this year's sales of the Spiritual Silkworm Silk. And another thing—the Weavers I asked you to recruit. Why are we still short on numbers? There's a war going on out there; is it really that difficult to bring people in?"