The Nine Scions of the Dao Seeking Sect Gather Together

In the Grand Elder's experience, whenever Daoist Buyu acted this warmly, he was definitely plotting something. He grew vigilant. The Grand Elder firmly believed Daoist Buyu had plenty of reasons to screw him over. When Daoist Buyu was still an infant, Old Third had carried him up the mountain, making him their youngest disciple. From their master down to the senior brothers and sisters, none of them had ever looked after a baby, so they had simply figured things out as they went. The Grand Elder was a master of dream spells. Back when Daoist Buyu was a restless child who refused to sleep no matter what, he had used dream spells to make the boy sleep soundly. When Daoist Buyu grew old enough to cultivate, he constantly dozed off during his practice, so the Grand Elder used dream spells to scare him awake. Perhaps he had terrified him a little too much, because even now Daoist Buyu remained psychologically traumatized by it. Seeing the Grand Elder's wariness, the other seven elders joined in welcoming him. "Eldest Senior Brother, hurry on in! You're the only one missing for hotpot!" *We can't be the only unfortunates here. No matter what it takes today, we must assemble all Nine Scions of the Dao Seeking Sect!* Eight people beamed and beckoned to the Grand Elder from just inside the cave entrance, yet not one dared step across the threshold. To any onlooker, the scene would have appeared exceedingly bizarre. In the Grand Elder's memory, his seven junior brothers and sisters had never been this enthusiastic either. Two thousand years of life had endowed him with boundless experience, and he swiftly reached a conclusion—an illusion! He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. The Grand Elder tried to break the illusionary cage using blood from the tip of his tongue, but nothing changed. *Could it not be an illusion?* He recalled Lu Yang saying that Yun Zhi had sealed Old Ninth inside the cave dwelling. But the question was, how had Old Second through Old Eighth ended up sealed as well? "How did you all get sealed in here?" The Eighth Elder adopted a solemn expression. "It was like this, Eldest Senior Brother. When we heard Old Ninth had been sealed by Yun Zhi, we rushed over to visit him in prison. Old Ninth claimed this seal couldn't hold any clever person. Naturally, the seven of us considered ourselves clever and believed we certainly wouldn't be trapped, so we came in one by one to give it a try. As you can see, this is the result." The Grand Elder raised an eyebrow. "That miraculous? Let me try." The Grand Elder stepped into the cave dwelling, and the crowd burst into cheers. The Eighth Elder hadn't technically lied—what kind of clever person willingly stepped into a sealing array? And with that, every single one of the Nine Scions of the Dao Seeking Sect was caught in the net. Truly a cause for celebration. The nine sat around the hotpot, steam billowing through the entire cave dwelling until it resembled a fairyland smelling of hotpot broth. All the hotpot ingredients were provided by the Third Elder. As a body cultivator, he frequently needed to consume heavenly treasures and the spiritual meat of demon beasts to replenish his physical vitality. When the Grand Elder finally heard everyone explain the full story, his face turned black. *So the eight of you got trapped here, and instead of trying to call for help, your only thought was dragging someone else down with you?!* Old Ba stepped forward. "Do you think we didn't want to get out? But Old Ninth told us the only way was to overcome our inner demons. The trouble is, the inner demon is far too strong. None of us can defeat it." "So we pooled our wits and thought up a few alternative solutions." "For instance, Old Third suggested digging a tunnel with a spoon." "For instance, Old Fourth proposed shouting for help at the top of our lungs to summon Martial Niece Yun Zhi." "For instance, Old Five suggested refining the spoon into a dharma treasure before digging the tunnel." "For instance, Old Sixth, she—" The Grand Elder raised a hand to cut off the Nine Scions of the Dao Seeking Sect's prison break scheme. "How come Lu Yang told me that the seal would lift on its own as long as someone meditates quietly for three days? He even said he told Old Ninth three days ago, so the seal should have lifted by now." The Grand Elder was no fool. He had walked in with total confidence not because he was gullible, but because he knew the actual way out. Eight icy gazes locked onto Daoist Buyu. Daoist Buyu said calmly, "I have made immense contributions to the sect. Before you all lay your hands on me, could you at least let me write my last will and testament?" ... Lu Yang, currently in meditation, felt Tianmen Peak tremor beneath him. Surprised, he had no idea what was happening. *Someone actually dares to throw hands on Tianmen Peak?* Fortunately, Tianmen Peak shook only once before returning to its usual serenity. Lu Yang didn't dwell on it. He stepped into the isolation array left behind by his Eldest Senior Sister to block out external disturbances, regulated his breathing, and focused on breaking through the early Foundation Establishment stage. His Eldest Senior Sister wasn't standing guard beside him; advancing to middle Foundation Establishment was a completely natural progression for Lu Yang, free of any danger or unexpected hiccups, so there was no need for a protector. Moments later, his essence, energy, and spirit reached their absolute peak, leaving his spiritual platform pristine and clear. He circulated the Art of Illuminating the Heart and Seeing Nature, inhaling ambient spiritual energy like a whale gulping water, letting torrential streams of it wash continuously through his body. Ordinary cultivators used the breakthroughs between the early, middle, and late Foundation Establishment stages as opportunities to cleanse their sinews and marrow, shed their mortal frames, and mend injuries accumulated from cultivation and combat. Yet for Lu Yang, this step was entirely unnecessary! Back in the Qi Refinement stage, he had already completed a thorough cleansing of his sinews and marrow down to the very core, leaving behind zero impurities to expel! Ever since establishing his foundation, his cultivation technique maintained absolute bodily purity at all times; no matter what he ate or absorbed, it retained only the essence and cast out the dross. The Art of Illuminating the Heart and Seeing Nature illuminated not just the heart, but the body itself! Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, a vortex of liquid spiritual energy formed in a cultivator's dantian. A wave of scorching heat washed through Lu Yang's dantian. Directing his vision inward, he clearly sensed the liquid vortex expanding, swallowing external spiritual energy and exhaling a purer, far more compatible spiritual power tailored to himself. He guided it through the Great Heavenly Circuit. The refined spiritual power circulated ceaselessly through his body, strengthening every single inch without overlooking the slightest vessel or fiber. The vortex spun faster and faster, sending spiritual power surging through his limbs and bones at an astonishing speed until, at last, a bottleneck was forcefully shattered. Lu Yang opened his eyes, his gaze bright and crystal-clear. Middle Foundation Establishment—achieved. Outside the array, the puppet saw that Lu Yang had successfully advanced to middle Foundation Establishment with a stable foundation and no hidden flaws, so it rose and walked away. "There's still one thing left to do," Lu Yang remembered from the *Foundation Establishment Manual*. The *Foundation Establishment Manual* was a collection of insights compiled by the Seventh Elder, later supplemented by various senior brothers and sisters, detailing every single occurrence one might encounter during the Foundation Establishment stage without missing a thing. Lu Yang gathered spiritual energy in his right hand and gave a gentle tap to his lower right abdomen. With a sudden heave, he spat out a bloody lump of flesh that seemed to have been part of his own body. Lu Yang flicked a strand of sword qi, reducing the lump of flesh to fine dust. "What on earth was that?" In the mental world, the Immortal Fairy had watched Lu Yang's breakthrough in silence, terrified that speaking would distract him and interrupt the process. Now that he had reached middle Foundation Establishment, she could finally talk. It had nearly bored her to death keeping quiet for so long. Lu Yang earnestly explained, "I wonder if Fairy has heard the saying that one shouldn't engage in vigorous exercise right after a meal? Heavy activity can cause sharp abdominal pain, and in severe cases, people roll on the ground in agony with sweat droplets as big as soybeans on their foreheads, which severely hinders cultivation. "After careful research, the senior brothers and sisters of our Dao Seeking Sect discovered that by excising a tiny, useless piece of flesh upon advancing to middle Foundation Establishment, this issue can be entirely avoided. Afterward, you can move around however you want right after eating." "So what you just did..." "An appendectomy." The Immortal Fairy: "..." She really couldn't keep up with modern cultivators' train of thought.