Seeking Immortality

Outside the "Baicao Garden", the night is getting darker, and the stars and moon are still there.

Standing on the top of Jiuhua Mountain, it seems that these stars and moon are within reach, but until I reach out, I realize that the stars and moon in front of me are still far away.

When Xu Qingfan led "Wanli Yun" back to his cave in the back mountain, he was now in his own house, with the shadow of the sun removed and the house densely packed with people.

Slightly startled, Xu Qingfan immediately pressed the cloud button and walked quickly into the house, only to find that Jin Qinghan, Li Yuhan, and Sheng Yushan, who had left with him before, had returned at some point and were sitting in the house waiting for him. . Ting'er, on the other hand, sat quietly aside, looking at the books left by Xu Qingfan, looking calm and well-behaved.

In addition, there are two other people waiting for Xu Qingfan. One is Lu Qingshang, but I don't know why he did not continue to accompany his master whose consciousness was seriously damaged, but instead came to find Xu Qingfan.

The other person was Dongfang Qingling. Perhaps because of the large number of people, she was caught by too many people and came to Xu Qingfan alone. Her cheeks were slightly red. After seeing Xu Qingfan enter the house, the blush on her face became even stronger, and she was completely gone. Delicate and savage.

But she was too preoccupied. Jin Qinghan was cold by nature, Li Yuhan was steady, and Sheng Yushan was a man of few words. Even Lu Qingshang, who was usually unruly, was not in the mood to joke because he was worried about his master, so although there were many people in the room , but no one would make fun of her at this time.

Previously, Dongfang Qingling was left on Zhantai by Zhang Xusheng, and then came to Jiuhua Mountain with the elders and disciples of various sects who conquered Jiuhua Mountain, but did not participate in the Jiuhua Rebellion. After coming back, I listened to the sisters describing the dangers during the Jiuhua Incident. Although I already knew that Xu Qingfan was fine, I still couldn't help but worry, so I secretly came to find Xu Qingfan. But the timing was wrong. She came right after Xu Qingfan left, but she was the one who waited the longest among everyone.

Seeing Xu Qingfan come in, everyone stood up to greet him. Only Ting'er glanced at Xu Qingfan and continued to lower her head to read.

"Senior Brother Xu, why are you back now? Does Uncle Liu have anything to do with you?" Li Yuhan asked.

Xu Qingfan smiled and said: "It's not that I came late. It's that you came too early. I thought it would take you a long time to escape."

With that said, Xu Qingfan turned to Lu Qingshang, who had been frowning, and asked: "Brother Lu, how is Elder Hou's injury? Is it important?"

Lu Qingshang shook his head sadly and said in a deep voice: "It's very bad. Although the telepathy spell has been lifted, after being forced to use the telepathy technique, after all, his consciousness was seriously damaged and he is still unconscious. According to the therapist, Elder Ma said that whether Master can recover is only a 50-50 decision."

As he said that, Lu Qingshang's eyes became even more sad.

Hearing Lu Qingshang's words, Xu Qingfan also felt sad, and hurriedly comforted him: "Senior brother Lu, don't worry too much. Good luck has its own destiny, and with Elder Hou's profound cultivation, he will definitely recover quickly."

"Yes, I have a lot of secret elixirs in Jiuhua, and many of them are effective for spiritual consciousness. If I take them every day, Elder Hou will definitely recover quickly." Li Yuhan also comforted him.

Lu Qingshang smiled. Reassuring everyone, he said: "What I know is that the master is so seriously injured, but I can't not worry at all."

Seeing that the worry in Lu Qingshang's eyes was still there, Xu Qingfan quickly changed the subject and said, "Senior Brother Lu, in that case, why don't you accompany Elder Hou and come here to find me?"

Lu Qingshang explained: "Junior Brother Xu, it's like this, I'm here to say goodbye to you."

Hearing Lu Qingshang's words. Xu Qingfan was slightly startled and asked hurriedly: "Senior Brother Lu, what do you mean by saying this? Do you want to go down the mountain to travel?"

Lu Qingshang shook his head and said slowly: "No, my master arranged for me to go into seclusion in Jiuji Cave to practice. I'm afraid I won't be able to come out in a short time. Not only me, but also Junior Brother Jin, Junior Sister Dongfang, Junior Nephew Li, Sheng My nephew and Junior Brother Feng are going to the Jiuji Cave to practice in seclusion. I think they are here for the same purpose as me."

"Jiuji Cave" is one of the legends of Jiuhua Mountain. But it is not a cave or underground cave in the true sense, but a spiritual energy vortex formed by the powerful spiritual energy movement when the nine-pole array of the Jiuhua Mountain "Mountain Protection Formation" reverses operation. However, although it is composed of pure spiritual energy, the internal It is extremely stable. And the aura inside. It is dozens of times more pure and dense than the place with the strongest spiritual energy in Jiuhua Mountain, and practicing there is ten times faster than usual.

But also because of this. Therefore, very few disciples will enter the "Nine-Pole Cave" to practice. First, once the "Nine-Pole Cave" is formed, the "Nine-Pole Formation" must be reversed. The huge number required for the "Nine-Pole Formation" to be reversed Let's not talk about the Earth Spirit Stone, but reversing the "Nine Extremes Formation" means that Jiuhua Mountain will face the dilemma of closing the mountain, which will affect the access to Jiuhua Mountain and is not conducive to the communication between the Jiuhua lineage and the world of immortality.

More importantly, it is precisely because the spiritual energy in the "Jiuji Cave" is so dense and pure that it is almost transformed into a qualitative state. Therefore, if you do not have enough cultivation to practice in the "Jiuji Cave", you may end up with too much spiritual energy pouring into your body. If you fall into an obsession, you will lose more than you gain.

In the history of Jiuhua, there have only been five cases where monks entered the "Jiuji Cave" to practice, but those five monks were all Jiuhua elders who had been unable to break through after entering the late stage of Jindan for hundreds of years. Relying on the special circumstances in the "Jiuji Cave" to break through to the Mahayana stage, they only stayed in seclusion in the "Jiuji Cave" for two to three years.

And now, Zhang Hualing is going to reverse the "Nine-pole Formation" and create a "Nine-Pole Cave"? What's more important is that this time, it's not the elders with advanced skills who enter the "Jiuji Cave" training ground, but ordinary disciples like Jin Qinghan and Lu Qingshang? What should I do if I get possessed? Why did Zhang Hualing do this? Doesn't he care about the impact of Jiuhua's mountain closure, and isn't he afraid that these Jiuhua elite disciples will go crazy?

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan looked at Jin Qinghan, Li Yuhan and others with questioning eyes. Seeing Xu Qingfan's questioning eyes, Jin Qinghan and others also nodded, indicating that they were indeed going to enter the "Nine Nine" as Lu Qingshang said. Cultivated in "Ji Cave", this time I came to look for Xu Qingfan and say goodbye to Xu Qingfan.

Seeing that all his former partners were going to the "Jiuji Cave" to practice, but he was the only one left in Jiuhua Mountain, Xu Qingfan felt sad and couldn't help but feel a little unbalanced.

It was sad because Xu Qingfan felt that he was the only one of his former friends in the Jiuhua Mountains, so he would be lonely. The imbalance was because Xu Qingfan found that he was the only one among the people who was not arranged to enter the "Jiuji Cave" to practice. I feel like I am being ignored and looked down upon.

Xu Qingfan knew that he could not retain the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in his body. Even if he entered the "Nine Extremes Formation" to practice, he would only reach the peak of the spiritual silence stage early, and then he would never be able to advance further. Therefore, it is understandable that the master did not arrange for Xu Qingfan to enter the "Jiuji Cave" to practice, but even so. The feeling of being looked down upon still makes Xu Qingfan very uncomfortable. This has nothing to do with selfishness or wanting Xu Qingfan to enter the "Jiuji Cave" to practice. It's just that people are group animals and always don't want to be ignored. That’s all.

But after experiencing so much, Xu Qingfan had already been able to control his emotions, and this trace of sadness was hidden by him in the blink of an eye.

Since he has been ignored, Xu Qingfan can only choose to be self-reliant and bless his friends.

In fact, this time it was Xu Qingfan who thought wrong. Although with Xu Qingfan's qualifications, it is unlikely that Zhang Hualing would arrange for him to enter the "Jiuji Cave" to practice, the biggest reason why Zhang Hualing did not arrange for Xu Qingfan to enter the "Jiuji Cave" to practice this time was because of Li Xuhan Said that he would personally teach Xu Qingfan.

Xu Qingfan didn't realize that his luck was actually better than that of Jin Qinghan and others in some aspects. After all, although he practiced very quickly in the "Jiuji Cave", having a Mahayana master personally guiding him made him even more capable. And cannot be asked for.

So now Xu Qingfan is still feeling sad. Qiang smiled and said to everyone: "Oh? Are there so many people entering the Jiuji Cave this time? It's just that as far as I know, the spiritual energy in the Jiuji Cave is too strong and pure, so practicing inside is more difficult than outside. It’s easy to get carried away. Please be careful.”

No one noticed the reluctance in Xu Qingfan's smile. After all, in everyone's impression, Xu Qingfan was a happy-go-lucky person. Compared with endless cultivation, Xu Qingfan preferred to make a cup of tea and hold a book. Read the book carefully.

Little did they know that after the sudden change in Jiuhua, Xu Qingfan's thoughts had quietly changed, although he still longed for the leisurely life of drinking tea and reading books. But Xu Qingfan also hopes that he will become stronger, at least to have the strength to protect himself and those around him.

Among the crowd, Jin Qinghan, who was never good at observing people's expressions, looked at Xu Qingfan with his eyes changing constantly. He had known Xu Qingfan for the longest time and understood Xu Qingfan best, so he could see all the changes in Xu Qingfan's expressions.

After hearing Xu Qingfan's settlement, Li Yuhan smiled and said: "This time it is not just a few of us, all the uncles and uncles in Jiuhua Mountain who have reached the spiritual silence stage will enter the Jiuji Cave to practice hard. According to the leader, Said there were about thirty-three people.”

And Lu Qingshang continued: "As for the issue of going crazy. Junior Brother Xu, you don't have to worry. There are more than ten Jiuhua elders who will enter the Jiuji Cave with us this time. They will watch our changes at any time. Once anyone If there are signs of going too far, they will stop them immediately.”

Hearing what Li Yuhan and Lu Qingshang said. The bitterness in Xu Qingfan's heart became stronger.

All Jiuhua disciples who have reached the spiritual silence stage will enter the "Jiuji Cave" to practice. But am I the only one who doesn’t?

But Xu Qingfan still suppressed the emotional changes in his heart and smiled at everyone: "Really? That's not bad. I think your strength will be greatly increased after you come out, right? But I don't know how long you will have to enter the Jiuji Cave to practice. ?”

Li Yuhan replied: "According to the master uncle, the initial setting is ten years. If the effect is not good, then we will continue to practice in Jiuji Cave until some of us reach the pill formation stage. After all, we only have time Thirty years."

Hearing Li Yuhan's words, Xu Qingfan was slightly startled and asked in surprise: "Ten years? And it is very likely to be extended? Doesn't that mean that Jiuhua Mountain will be closed for ten years or even longer? Isn't it afraid that it will be cut off from the world of immortality? Also, what if a disciple wants to go down the mountain? Also, what do you mean by only thirty years? "

Hearing Xu Qingfan's series of questions, everyone couldn't help but look a little sad. After a long time, Li Yuhan said slowly: "Senior Brother Xu, don't you know? In view of the serious damage caused by this change, Jiuhua, in order to prevent someone with ulterior motives from taking advantage of the situation, , the leader has decided to close the mountain for at least a year, until our Jiuhua strength recovers or the spiritual stones in the mountain are used up. As for the thirty-year time limit, that is because we, Jiuhua, have nearly forty elders. Half have only thirty years to live.”

"What!!??" Li Yuhan's words were no less than a thunderbolt to Xu Qingfan.

Xu Qingfan knew that Jiuhua Mountain was seriously damaged this time, but Xu Qingfan did not expect that half of the Jiuhua elders who were the pillars of Jiuhua had only thirty years to live. For a moment, he forgot the bitterness in his heart just now and hurriedly asked what happened.

Then, Li Yuhan and Lu Qingshang told Xu Qingfan in detail about Zhang Xusheng's trick and how Zhang Xusheng gave the "Tianling Pill" to Zhou Huahai. And how Zhou Huahai forced the elders who surrendered to him to take these "Tianling Pills", and then explained the dangers of the "Tianling Pills".

"According to the judgment of Elder Ma, who is the most knowledgeable person about elixirs, this heavenly elixir is indeed a chronic poison that improves the cultivation of immortals at the cost of corroding the vitality of cultivating immortals. And once it is taken, it must be taken continuously, and the result will be a deeper poisoning. And Judging from the properties of this heavenly elixir, those elders only have thirty years to live," Li Yuhan concluded sadly.

And Lu Qingshang added: "With the consent of the elders who have taken the Tianling Pill, before they die, they will each find a disciple with good qualifications to pass down their lifelong cultivation through initiation*, so as to restore and strengthen the nine powers as soon as possible. The strength of China’s next generation.”

Hear the two people’s explanations. Xu Qingfan was suddenly enlightened, but also horrified. He did not expect that Jiuhua Mountain would now be in such a dangerous situation. In the world of cultivating immortals, a sect whose strength has been greatly damaged is likely to be attacked by unknown sects overnight, and all the collections of the sect will be robbed and then quickly disappear in the world of cultivating immortals. A sect like Jiuhua Sect, which has accumulated rich savings over thousands of years, is even more dangerous. No wonder Zhang Hualing is so anxious.

"Initiation*" is a technique commonly used by cultivators, which is to pour the lifelong cultivation of one cultivator into the body of another cultivator. Then these spiritual energy are sealed in the monk's body, and every time the monk deepens his skill, he will unlock a layer of seal, and his skill will grow faster.

However, this technique has three flaws. First, the effect is too low. A monk who performs "Initiation*" can only seal 20-30% of the spiritual energy in his body into another monk's body, while most of the other They were all wasted in the passing stages of initiation.

Second, this kind of power transfer and initiation can only be carried out among fellow practitioners. Monks in the Foundation Establishment stage can only give initiation and transfer to monks in the Foundation Establishment stage, and monks in the Alchemy Stage can only initiate and transfer power to monks in the Alchemy Stage. The same goes for Mahayana monks.

The third reason is that once a monk is initiated and passed on by another monk, he himself can no longer perform the "initiation*". Moreover, a person can only receive one initiation and transmission in his lifetime.

It is precisely because of these three reasons that although "initiation*" is extremely common in the world of immortality, few people use it.

But this time, Jiuhua's strength was greatly damaged. Apparently Zhang Hualing planned to use the characteristics of the "Jiuji Cave" to create a group of monks in the alchemy stage within thirty years, and then use the "Initiation*" to strengthen these disciples in the alchemy stage as quickly as possible Strength, in order to strengthen Jiuhua's strength as soon as possible, so as to have enough strength to deal with future twists and turns in the world of immortality.

Although he felt that this method was a bit eager for quick success, Xu Qingfan had to admit that this was the best countermeasure in the face of Jiuhua's situation.

I forgot the original bitterness in my heart. Xu Qingfan asked Li Yuhan again: "Is this why the head master asked you to go this time? Is there any news about your master?"

Li Yuhan nodded and replied: "My uncle, the head master, met me and Junior Brother Sheng this time to talk about this matter, and told us not to feel psychological pressure because of our master's affairs. As for our master..."

Having said this, Li Yuhan frowned slightly, and then continued: "As for my master, my uncle said that he committed suicide out of fear of crime. But the strange thing is that his body disappeared after that."

After hearing Li Yuhan's words, Xu Qingfan always felt that things were not that simple. But after all, these things were not something that ordinary disciples like him should consider, so Xu Qingfan just wrote down the matter without thinking too much about it.

Then, everyone chatted about other things, encouraged each other, and then dispersed. Dongfang Qingling seemed to have something to say to Xu Qingfan alone, but after seeing everyone leaving one after another, he did not Not wanting to stay longer, he just took a deep look at Xu Qingfan, and then left with everyone.

Jin Qinghan said to Xu Qingfan before leaving: "How big your heart is will largely explain how far you can go. External help is just external help after all. Brother Xu, I believe that when I come out of seclusion, you will Give me a bigger surprise.”

Xu Qingfan was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood that Jin Qinghan saw the unhappiness in his heart just now, smiled and said: "I know, don't worry, I won't let you leave me far behind."

Jin Qinghan nodded, but without saying anything more, he followed the others and left.

Xu Qingfan walked to the door and watched his former partners leave with complicated eyes.

But at this moment, Ting'er appeared silently next to Xu Qingfan, reaching out her hand for the first time and holding Xu Qingfan's hand tightly, as if hoping that the warmth in her hands would penetrate into Xu Qingfan's body.

He looked down at Xu Qingfan in surprise. Seeing Ting'er's gaze, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but smile. He didn't expect that besides Jin Qinghan, Ting'er could also see what he was thinking.

My partners all have their own goals and are working hard for their goals, so I will work harder.

Xu Qingfan thought secretly.

Help is help, conditions are conditions, and the future is just the future. Although the three are connected, the final decision is still up to oneself.

"When you come out of Jiuji Cave, I will definitely not be left too far behind by you."

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan lowered his head and said to Ting'er in a gentle voice: "Ting'er, starting from tomorrow, you will go to the top of the mountain with your uncle to practice, okay?"

Hearing Xu Qingfan's words, Ting'er looked up at the top of Jiuhua Mountain, but found that it was covered by the dark night of Jiuhua, and it seemed to be an unknown area, just like the future of everyone. A trace of doubt flashed in her eyes, but Ting'er still nodded very obediently.