Lin Xuan went to the Young Hawks Pavilion. He had not listened to a lecture in a long time. Although he was already in the latter layers of the Spirit Condensation stage, but listening to Foundation Establishment elders talking about their experiences can still save him from certain pitfalls along the road of cultivation.
But unlike before, Lin Xuan did not select a remote corner, but instead, chose a good seat in the front. He no longer needed to worry about exposing his cultivation now that he had the green liquid refined from the Red Silk grass.
“Oh, if it isn’t junior apprentice brother Lin. Long time no see!”
A clear voice pierced through the air and over to Lin Xuan’s ears causing Lin Xuan to frown. The person this voice belonged to was called Ye Tian and was a disciple that entered the sect at the same time as him.
Ye Tian was naturally talented and possess extraordinary spiritual roots and thus made rapid progress in his cultivation. Therefore, he was only of the elite disciples of the sect. But he was a sharp and unkind type of person and enjoyed bullying others. This last couple of years, he often mocked and ridiculed Lin Xuan.
A gloomy look flashed on Lin Xuan’s face but in the next instant, it was gone. He coldly laughed in his heart. Before, when he was simply too weak, he had no choice other than to endure being humiliated by others, but now…… Hmph, if Ye Tian still dared to speak rudely, then Lin Xuan will find an opportunity to make him suffer.
If you do not offend me, then I will not offend you. If you offend me, then I will make you regret being born!
Lin Xuan would not willingly provoke others, but now that he’s had the strength, if others were to provoke him, he would also not just grin and bear it like before. He would not hesitate in the slightest when it was time to act.
“Junior apprentice brother Lin, long time no see. Have you been well?” This was unexpected. Ye Tian did not act like before by taunting or ridiculing him. In fact, he seemed to be very warm-hearted and was even inquiring about Lin Xuan’s wellbeing.
His attitude had taken a complete one hundred and eighty-degree turn. Even though Lin Xuan was shrewd, he was still shocked. But this was all in his heart. Of the surface, he still had that apathetic look. He indifferently said: “Many thanks for senior apprentice brother’s concern, I have been well.”
Having finished saying that, he turned around to leave. Since Ye Tian did not try to pick a fight with him, then he would also not try to teach Ye Tian a lesson. But Lin Xuan also did not want to be involved with Ye Tian either.
“Junior apprentice brother, what’s the hurry?” Ye Tian called out to him once again. “I still have things to say to you. We have sure clear and refreshing autumn weather today, I was wondering if junior apprentice brother wouldn’t mind joining us for some barbecue in the mountains?”
“Barbecue?”
Lin Xuan was surprised. Although cultivators were all in pursuit of the laws of heaven, but they were still people. They still had emotions and desires. Not to mention low-levelled cultivators like them, even the high-levelled cultivators that did not need sustenance, would still not stop eating. They would still satisfy their appetite from time to time.
Disciples that had good relationships with each other would band together. They would go hunting and then cooking their catches. It was a very normal and common thing.
But in the cultivation world, power was everything. In the eyes of these disciples, he was just an ordinary brat with no spiritual roots and thus he was discriminated against. He had never been invited to these group activities.
Although he did not know why Ye Tian’s attitude suddenly changed so much, but there must be a reason for him to be so nice, there must be hidden malicious reasons. Lin Xuan thought for a bit and shook his head, “Thank you senior apprentice brother for your good intentions, but I have some things to take care of today, maybe some other day.”
A look of disappointment flashed in Ye Tian’s eyes but he quickly recovered to an amiable look. “Alright, next time, next time.”
After he finished saying goodbye, he turned around. He had a sinister look on his face. Who would have thought that this brat would not appreciate his kindness? Whatever, it can be counted as him having good luck. His face changed back into a smiling expression, and after finding another target, he walked towards another disciple with lower cultivation.
Although he had already walked far away, Lin Xuan still kept an eye out and took in all of this. His expression did not change but he did start pondering about it. Why did Ye Tian deliberately approach disciples with lower cultivation, what exactly did he want?
Although Lin Xuan did not know what his goal was he knew it was definitely malicious. But presently, Lin Xuan decided not to waste time thinking about it anymore. It doesn’t matter what kind of scheme they had, it had nothing to do with him. He just needed to be more careful and stay away from the guy from now on.
As to whether other people will fall of this scheme, Lin Xuan was not a saint, he would try to be these people’s saviour. Of course, if they wanted to trick Lin Xuan, then he was also not opposed to teaching them a lesson.
An ancient bell rung. The various groups of disciples quickly stopped their discussions, assembled together, and saluted the yellow robed lecturer. “Master.”
“Alright.” The Foundation Establishment cultivator nodded. He glanced around. There was not the slightest trace of suspicion when his gaze passed over Lin Xuan. He then started lecturing.
……
Two hours later, Lin Xuan left the Young Hawks Pavilion. The lecturer did not teach any new techniques but did talk about his experiences when cultivating. Lin Xuan listened with great interest and felt greatly enlightened. This past year, with the help of the medicinal power of pills, and because of his spending ten times the effort compared to others, he was able to rapidly rise from the first layer to the sixth layer of the Spirit Condensation stage.
This could be considered very fast. But he was not very clear on the minute details of the cultivation techniques. Currently, there were no visible issues, but as time goes on and as he treads further upon the path of cultivation, there would be a lot of hidden damage.
It was such a coincidence. The insights of this lecturer just happened to answer each of Lin Xuan’s many problems, that had arisen during his cultivation practice, one after another.
After going back, as long as he corrected all of his mistakes in cultivation according to today’s insights, he would be able to increase his power by another portion.
He would also be able to come to the Young Hawks Pavilion to listen to lectures once again. With the green liquid refined from the Red Silk grass, he would not need to worry about having his cultivation exposed. He did not need to have worry about these things anymore.
It was still early so Lin Xuan decided not to go back to the waste pills storage. He had spent many long months cultivating in seclusion, therefore, it was time to take a break.
Leaving the Floating Cloud Valley, he came to a nearby mountain peak. It was a beautiful place with elegant scenery. The perfect place to relax his mind and body.
He had not even been laying on the grass for an hour yet when suddenly, his face changed. He hurriedly dove into some nearby shrubs. Someone was coming.
The previous Lin Xuan could really not be compared to the current one. With his powerful spiritual sense, he was able to see everything that happened in the hundreds of metres around him. It was Ye Tian followed by a few disciples who had lower cultivation.
He did not expect to meet him here at all. Lin Xuan did not believe that Ye Tian was here to make barbecue, it must be for some evil scheme. He did not want to meddle in other’s business, but if he was to leave now, Ye Tian would definitely notice. Therefore, he could only sit here and wait.
Note: I am using refining and purifying interchangeably. When Lin Xuan is working with pills, he uses the blue stars to push the impurities out of the pill, so purifying pills is the appropriate term to use. When working with herbs so far, his first attempt was to push out the impurities, so I think purifying in this context also makes sense. But with respect to the green liquid, one he had extracted it, the Red Silk grass wilted, so I think refining the essence out would be the more appropriate term here.