Hua Chunning had been quite troubled recently.
By right, joining Mount Taixuan as a registered disciple was already the fulfillment of her wishes, enough to protect her family.
Now she had even entered the Mount Taixuan grotto-heaven to condense phenomena and increase her fate.
This was a great opportunity beyond her wildest dreams.
This grotto-heaven was indeed mysterious and wondrous.
Although it lacked spiritual qi, it possessed countless mortals and held a rank that was far from low.
It was said that the sect master's Eldest Disciple had condensed phenomena and accumulated sufficient fate right in this grotto-heaven.
Although Hua Chunning was a woman, she also harbored the ambition to ascend to immortality and seek the Dao.
After entering the grotto-heaven, besides taking charge of mundane affairs to oversee the construction of the Mount Taixuan lower academy, she followed her family's secretly passed-down method to supplement her 【Yimu Wood】 phenomena.
After several attempts, the results seemed mediocre at best.
Hua Chunning could not help but feel somewhat discouraged, yet she remained diligent and refused to give up.
In recent days, that mortal county magistrate with the compound surname Duanmu had come time and again, asking to see the sect master.
The sect master entrusting the grotto-heaven's general affairs to her was a mark of trust, but even more so a test.
If she troubled the sect master with every little thing, wouldn't that make her seem incompetent?!
Hua Chunning turned him away with a cold face.
Unexpectedly, Duanmu Ren might have been pushed to his limits, for he actually claimed that the Perfected Sect Master had once intended to accept him as a disciple and bring him to another world to cultivate immortality, which truly gave Hua Chunning a shock.
Even if she had some doubts, given the precedent of the sect master's Eldest Disciple, Hua Chunning did not dare to be careless. After careful thought, she gritted her teeth and sent a message to the sect master.
...
Lijiawa mining subsidence zone.
Li Chengxuan's figure flickered as he suddenly appeared.
Hua Chunning hastily bowed down in greeting. "This disciple greets the Sect Master."
"Mm."
Li Chengxuan nodded slightly and looked around.
In just a few months, this place had transformed completely.
There were considerably more mechanical devices in the distance.
Before his eyes was a lush flower bed, filled with rare flowers and exotic herbs competing in brilliance.
The ancestors of the Hua family had cultivated the 【Yimu Wood】 Dao lineage, so they were most adept at tending to these plants and flowers.
Li Chengxuan saw the subtle mystery at a glance and asked, "Is this method useful?!"
Knowing she could not hide it from Li Chengxuan, Hua Chunning hurriedly answered, "This is a method passed down from my ancestors to forge a spiritual atmosphere. As for whether it is useful, this disciple is unsure as well."
"Forge a spiritual atmosphere?!"
Li Chengxuan froze for a moment upon hearing this, then laughed in spite of himself. "Only a realm spanning an entire nation or even an entire province can be called a spiritual atmosphere. It requires a Purple Palace Perfected to arrange it."
Hua Chunning's face flushed red, realizing she had made a fool of herself. Lowering her head, she said, "This disciple is foolish; I have invited the Sect Master's mockery."
Li Chengxuan shook his head and comforted her, "There is no need for that. In the end, it does no harm and only brings benefit."
Pausing, he asked, "What difficult matter brought you to call for me?"
Hua Chunning's expression turned solemn as she related the matter of Duanmu Ren seeking an audience.
Li Chengxuan nodded after listening. "Inform him to come over."
Hearing this, Hua Chunning went out and called over a young girl, whispered a few instructions to her, and then hurried back.
Li Chengxuan watched her and asked, "You've been here for several months, why don't you have a mobile phone?"
Hua Chunning answered earnestly, "At first, both the Li family and Duanmu Ren gave me ones. I tried them briefly, but felt the Mortal Turbid Qi was far too dense. Fearing it would harm my phenomena and taint my Dao Heart, I discarded them and stopped using them."
"I merely assigned a distant relative of the Li family to stay here and contact people on my behalf."
Li Chengxuan neither agreed nor disagreed. Swiping two fingers across his eyes, he used the 【Qi Peering Technique】 to inspect her closely and said in surprise, "In just a few months, your phenomena has indeed grown somewhat denser."
Hua Chunning was overjoyed upon hearing this. "Thank you for your favor, Sect Master. My painstaking efforts and unrelaxing diligence were not in vain."
Li Chengxuan looked thoughtful as he pointed to the flower bed before them and asked, "Besides this place, what other methods did you use?"
"I dare not deceive the Sect Master."
Hua Chunning fell to her knees. "My family passed down three secret techniques that are said to increase 【Yimu Wood】 phenomena."
"This disciple has already used all of them."
"Rise," Li Chengxuan said with a calm expression. "Since I allowed you to come here to condense phenomena, as long as you haven't extracted blood qi to refine human pills, I won't interfere."
Hua Chunning naturally knew the taboo involved and hurriedly said, "This disciple has never learned that technique, nor have I ever consumed human pills!"
Li Chengxuan smiled faintly upon hearing this.
In other words, the Hua family indeed knew how to refine human pills, and had even been doing so continuously.
Li Chengxuan had no time to bother with that either. He merely let out a sigh and asked, "Which specific methods did you use to supplement your phenomena?"
Hua Chunning breathed a sigh of relief and explained in detail, "First is the 【Forging Spiritual Atmosphere Method】. We plant vines and thorns around the perimeter, grass on the distant flatlands, and flowers nearby, strictly forbidding metal and fire, while carving grass-and-leaf spirit runes everywhere to align with the imagery of 【Yimu Wood】."
Although Li Chengxuan had dismissed it as useless.
Hua Chunning still felt it was somewhat useful.
Regrettably, the core area had to be reserved for the Mount Taixuan lower academy, and construction machinery could not be completely avoided. Ultimately, it fell short by a margin and could not achieve perfection.
"Next is the 【Calabash-Hanging Method】. I once traveled outside as an itinerant doctor to relieve people's sickness and pain."
"Later, I was stopped by Duanmu Ren."
It was Hua Chunning's first time hearing the concept of "practicing medicine without a license."
Later, when she went out, she encountered crowds of ordinary people surrounding her to watch, so she simply stopped going.
"Following that is the 【Water Alchemy Method】."
"However, there is no spiritual qi here, let alone alchemical cauldrons or precious medicines. After several attempts, this disciple ultimately achieved no results."
Li Chengxuan was somewhat surprised to hear this.
In just a few short months, Hua Chunning had certainly tossed and turned through quite a few schemes.
It seemed her heart for seeking immortality and inquiring after the Dao was remarkably firm.
Unfortunately...
Li Chengxuan sighed and said, "Although your phenomena has indeed grown, it is miniscule. You are still far from being able to absorb qi and enter the Dao."
Hua Chunning froze on the spot upon hearing this, her eyes growing somewhat moist. However, she quickly composed herself, took a deep breath, and said in a resolute tone, "As long as there is growth, it is enough. This disciple still has decades of time to try!"
"One day, this disciple will step onto the immortal path. This ambition shall never change until death."
Was this obsession, or was it a Dao Heart?
Li Chengxuan could not tell either. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Arrange this lower academy as you see fit; there is no need to copy Mount Taixuan."
"Although forging a spiritual atmosphere is out of the question, spending some effort to set up a 【Yimu Wood】 array should be of some use."
Hua Chunning's eyes reddened upon hearing this, and she bowed down once more. "Thank you for your favor, Sect Master."
"Rise."
Li Chengxuan shook his head and continued to guide her, "From now on, do not use things like the 【Calabash-Hanging Method】 or 【Water Alchemy Method】 anymore."
"In ancient times, 【Yimu Wood】 was a prominent grand Dao lineage. Beneath its glorious 【Fruit Status】, there were several 【Lesser Statuses】."
"Two of them leaned toward medicine and alchemy respectively."
"The phenomena on your body is already paper-thin and insufficient. Splitting it among one fruit and two lesser statuses now—aren't you just asking for trouble?!"
Hua Chunning turned pale with shock upon hearing this.
Her painstaking efforts had actually paved the way to disaster with good intentions, almost severing her own path to the Dao?!
This was the drawback of the Hua family's Dao lineage being severed.
Naturally, it was also the benefit of joining a sect.
Just a few words cleared up what had kept several generations of her family barred from the immortal path.
Li Chengxuan ignored Hua Chunning's tearful gratitude, recalling in his heart the numerous sect ancient texts he had read.
"The 【Yimu Wood】 Dao lineage was severed in the Hua family."
"The Hua family can naturally claim with full justification that it was the will of Heaven, lamenting what else could be done."
"However, if the 【Yimu Wood Fruit Status】 were to manifest in the world, it would most likely detest the Hua family."
"For descendants of the Hua family, attempting to condense 【Yimu Wood】 phenomena is naturally difficult beyond measure."
"Just like Hua Chunning, who clearly possesses supreme talent, yet could not accumulate enough phenomena and fate even in the cultivation world..."
"It is only on Earth that she has a slight chance of supplementing her phenomena."
"Huh?!"
"That's not right!"
Instead, Li Chengxuan knitted his brows in thought, faintly sensing that something was amiss. Suddenly, a stroke of inspiration flashed through his mind, and he asked, "Who chose your name?!"
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