Eight Years of Marrow Cleansing (Please Bookmark, Follow, and Vote Monthly)

Wang Ping did not attend the Apprenticeship Ceremony.

Partings were always filled with sorrow. He did not like that feeling, and the disciples at the mountain foot did not come to disturb him either. The day passed quickly, yet it also seemed to pass slowly.

The next day, Wang Kang came up the mountain again, bringing others with him this time. They were the Inner Sect's three newly appointed stewards. Since the temple's affairs had grown busy, a steward in charge of punishments had also been added.

By age, the three were ranked as Daoist Yucheng's seventh, eighth, and ninth disciples. Their names were Zhao Qing, Lu Xin, and Tao You.

Wang Ping's gaze swept over the three before finally settling on the youngest, Tao You. He could see that Tao You possessed the richest spiritual energy, which meant his Spiritual Root was the best among the four. Perhaps he might undergo Marrow Cleansing and Foundation Establishment, though cultivating secret arts would be somewhat difficult for him.

After the five exchanged greetings, they discussed cultivation. It was not until noon drew near that Wang Kang led his three junior brothers away.

From this day onward, Thousand Wood Temple had a new face...

But Wang Ping remained the same. After dispelling that faint ripple in his heart, he went to Daoist Yucheng's courtyard on the Back Mountain to brew tea until evening, then returned to his bitter cultivation.

Yet before even a month had passed, the State of Mind he had just set right was thrown into disorder again.

That day, Wang Ping meditated and cultivated as usual. At noon, the Young Disciple brought him food as customary. Just as Wang Ping was about to eat, Daoist Yucheng suddenly appeared beside him. With a flick of his Sleeve Robe, he snatched the Steamed Bun from Wang Ping's hand.

"There's poison in this!"

A streak of bluish-green light appeared over Daoist Yucheng's hand as he held the Steamed Bun. Then, visible black threads seeped out from within it.

Wang Ping's heart trembled at the sight.

"Taiyin Sect methods. Cultivators who have not entered the realm would basically be unable to detect it. After eating it, it would slowly corrode your Spiritual Root. If it were not discovered in time, it might even destroy your Spiritual Root over time!"

"Did those people from Mozhou Road come looking for me?"

Wang Ping did his utmost to appear calm.

Daoist Yucheng shook his head. "The Taiyin Sect of Mozhou Road would never regard a small figure like you as worthy of notice. Think again. Who would want to destroy your foundation?"

Since he had asked that, there was only one possible answer...

"The disciples within our temple?"

"Correct. The human heart is the most complicated thing. This old Daoist has cultivated the Dao for so many years and can see through certain truths, yet I have never been able to peer into the human heart."

"But why? Don't they know that something like this could never escape Master's discerning eyes?"

Daoist Yucheng fell silent for several breaths before saying, "Do ants know the might of humans? They simply cannot imagine what true Cultivators are like. The vision of Mortals is limited. Besides, he was very clever. He knew to act only after leaving."

As those final words left his mouth, Wang Ping's expression became somewhat incredulous. He stared at his Master for a long while before asking in an extremely low voice, "Was it the three senior brothers?"

"No, that can't be. If it were the three senior brothers, they had many chances to act..."

"To be precise, it was your Senior Brother Yu Long!"

"..."

"The road of cultivation is filled with hardships and obstacles. I told you long ago: on the road of cultivation, do not trust anyone."

"I truly can't imagine it..."

"What's wrong with you?"

Yulian leaped out of the Fur Coat onto Wang Ping, coiling around his arm.

Daoist Yucheng glanced at Yulian. "Did you not notice that Yu Long has been avoiding you since three years ago? He was actually avoiding Yulian!"

"Three years ago?"

"Time can change many things, especially a person. Do you know what he did? Using his position as a steward, he picked out disciples with good Spiritual Roots, brought them down the mountain, secretly killed them, and then studied their Spiritual Roots."

"A year ago, your Eldest Senior Brother discovered what he was doing. Not only did he not stop him, he even used the medical arts I taught him to study them together."

"You mean Eldest Senior Brother also..."

"No. The poisoning was Yu Long's doing alone."

"Where is Third Senior Brother?"

"He is already dead!"

Hearing this, Wang Ping closed his eyes and sighed. He did not wish to continue speaking, so he walked to the Huai Tree and sat cross-legged before it. Sensing Wang Ping's emotions, Yulian gently coiled around his waist and rested her head on his lap.

Daoist Yucheng watched Wang Ping as he prepared to Enter Meditation. From beginning to end, he had appeared calm, as though he were merely recounting some trivial matter.

Wang Ping was an exceptionally intelligent person. During his conversation with Daoist Yucheng, he had understood that Daoist Yucheng had known of this matter from the very beginning. Yet he had merely watched in silence—watched his two senior brothers harm others, watched them conduct inhuman experiments—and all of it had been only to teach Wang Ping a lesson.

To Wang Ping, Daoist Yucheng was a kind and amiable Master. But to the three senior brothers... Wang Ping drove those thoughts from his mind. In this world, he alone had no right to judge anything Daoist Yucheng had done!

The years left no trace.

The only change this minor incident brought Wang Ping was that it made his resolve to cultivate the Dao even firmer.

Spring departed and autumn returned. Three years passed, and another summer arrived. The Huai Tree Wang Ping had planted was already more than a zhang tall, while Yulian had completed Qi Refining and finally no longer cried hunger whenever mealtime came.

"It's so hot!"

Yulian lay limply on a branch of the Huai Tree, listlessly flicking her forked tongue.

"Today's cultivation is crucial. You need to be quiet, understand?" Wang Ping instructed her sternly.

"Got it!" As she answered, Yulian's body rapidly shrank. Then she leaped onto Wang Ping and, like when she was little, coiled around his wrist and closed her eyes, preparing to cultivate with him.

Wang Ping let out a light laugh. Keeping himself in a good mood, he sat cross-legged before the Huai Tree and took out the Jiaobei, casting it for three good divinations.

The first two were Yin Trigrams. Only the third was a Sacred Divination.

He cast it again, maintaining the Sacred Divination.

Though not entirely smooth, it was still not bad.

Once Wang Ping settled his mind, a Light Screen Panel appeared before his eyes:

[Returning Origin Art (Marrow Cleansing): Use the spiritual energy converted through Qi Refining to scour the body from within to without, increasing the body's affinity with the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth. There is no shortcut for this step. Your Spiritual Root is excellent; persist with ten Marrow Cleansings each day, and it can be completed in eight years. (Progress 99/100, today's progress 0/10)]

After eight years of bitter cultivation, he was finally about to complete this step of Marrow Cleansing.

As Wang Ping looked at the words on the Light Screen, his memories grew slightly hazy. In that daze, he Entered Meditation and completed today's ten rounds of Marrow Cleansing. The total progress of his Marrow Cleansing silently reached (100/100).

There was no change within his body, but in the World of Spiritual Energy, Wang Ping's body at that moment was like a magnet that had completed its final polishing. The spiritual energy between Heaven and Earth no longer needed to be drawn in through cultivation; it automatically gathered toward him.

When Wang Ping completed his Marrow Cleansing, Yulian sent out joyous emotions from the depths of his Spirit Sea. She could now rely on Wang Ping's body to absorb spiritual energy and grow even faster.

"Not bad, not bad!" Daoist Yucheng appeared at Wang Ping's side.

"Master!"

"The effects of your Marrow Cleansing are even better than I imagined, but your road of cultivation has only just begun."

"Yes!"

"Foundation Establishment should be very simple for you, but the final step still cannot be underestimated. According to our sect's former rules, Foundation Establishment Material had to be prepared by the Disciples themselves..."

"But now, among my Disciples, there is only you..."