Endless Renewal

An autumn rain brought a spell of cold.

Outside the Scripture Pavilion, a fine rain pattered down.

Autumn weather was the most fickle, shifting between sun and cloud without warning.

Just moments ago, the sky had been clear for miles; now, a light rain had begun to fall.

The icy rain fell beyond the Scripture Pavilion, like a curtain of rain lowered between Heaven and Earth.

The world had been washed anew.

The mountains and forests appeared even more verdant, streaked with red and yellow. The moss grew slicker, while streams babbled past.

Inside the Scripture Pavilion, Lin Jiufeng quietly brewed tea.

Across from him sat a bored youth, propping his cheek up with one hand.

At first glance, they looked like grandfather and grandson, but in truth, there was little difference in their ages.

"This breakthrough has given Senior Brother another dozen years of life. Perhaps you will live to see the Feather Transformation Sect's downfall," Bai Yunfei said with a sigh.

Lin Jiufeng frowned. He poured a cup of tea and handed it to Bai Yunfei. "Why do you say that?"

Bai Yunfei took a light sip of tea. "Doesn't Senior Brother already know?"

Lin Jiufeng furrowed his brow. "The Supreme Dao Sect?"

"That's right. Ever since what happened with Senior Zhou Sheng over a hundred years ago, the Supreme Dao Sect has been relentlessly targeting the Feather Transformation Sect—sanctioning us, blocking us at every turn, and crushing us with all its strength. Our situation has become extraordinarily difficult."

"Ever since that battle three hundred years ago, the Feather Transformation Sect has been grievously weakened, and we even lost the Feather Ascension Scripture. Then came what happened to Senior Zhou Sheng, followed by more than a century of sanctions from the Supreme Dao Sect. By now, the Feather Transformation Sect can no longer hold on."

"During this year's recruitment, we had originally found several promising talents, but the Supreme Dao Sect poached them all with extravagant offers. Not only that, many elders and outstanding disciples have also left. Now, including me, the Sect Master, there are only around ten disciples left, plus Senior Brother. This is all that remains of the Feather Transformation Sect."

Bai Yunfei gave a helpless smile, his expression desolate.

When he had taken over as Sect Master of the Feather Transformation Sect, it had already been a complete mess. Over the years, he had done everything he could to patch it back together, but faced with the Supreme Dao Sect's frenzied suppression—a sect a hundred, even a thousand times stronger than his own—the pressure upon him had been immense.

Lin Jiufeng's brows drew tightly together. He knew that the Supreme Dao Sect had always been sanctioning the Feather Transformation Sect, but he had not expected them to be so ruthless.

They lured away disciples with high prices, poached the sect's elders, and used every possible means to suppress the Feather Transformation Sect, until only a few strays remained.

No wonder Lin Jiufeng had felt that fewer and fewer disciples had been visiting the Scripture Pavilion lately.

So that was why.

Bai Yunfei drained the tea in his cup in one gulp, then found a powerful cultivation technique and bid Lin Jiufeng farewell with it in hand.

His departing figure looked utterly resolute.

Watching Bai Yunfei leave through the rain, Lin Jiufeng felt rather helpless.

If the Feather Transformation Sect fell, what would become of him?

He would never find another job as leisurely as guarding the Scripture Pavilion, where he could read books and cultivate in silence.

Watching the autumn rain gradually intensify, Lin Jiufeng sighed helplessly. What could he do?

As he brewed tea and watched the rain, he slipped into an ethereal state.

Gradually, his thoughts emptied, and his perception expanded without limit.

It felt as though his soul had left his body, gazing down upon everything from the high heavens.

He saw rain filling the sky, falling from the firmament onto grass and trees, onto roof tiles and rubble, into streams.

The mountains and rivers were cleansed; Heaven and Earth were purified.

The autumn rain was faintly cold.

Yet to all things beneath Heaven, it was nourishment for survival.

Lin Jiufeng saw green grass breaking through the soil, flourishing beneath the rain's watering.

He saw flowers nourished by the rain, blooming even more brilliantly.

Then his vision shifted, and he saw the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy hidden behind the rain.

Countless raindrops fell, bringing with them countless strands of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. They blanketed Heaven and Earth, and every drop carried the Breath of Life.

In Lin Jiufeng's eyes, all of it came alive.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter.

His thoughts erupted.

You gained insight while watching the rain, activating Heaven-Defying Comprehension and comprehending endless renewal.

Only then did Lin Jiufeng's consciousness return to his body. He raised a finger slightly and pointed at the curtain of rain outside the window.

Boom!

The rain throughout Heaven and Earth suddenly froze for an instant, then crashed swiftly down upon the ground, the grass and trees, and the streams.

Afterward, a vast surge of the Breath of Life poured forth from the earth, the plants, and the streams, entering Lin Jiufeng's body.

Boom!!!

That enormous surge of the Breath of Life flooded into his body and directly shattered the threshold to the Second Forbidden Realm.

By contemplating the rain, Lin Jiufeng comprehended endless renewal and, in passing, broke through to the Second Realm.

Endless renewal was a special cultivation technique. If Lin Jiufeng fought someone and exhausted his True Qi, he could use this technique to draw new energy from all things beneath Heaven and Earth, restoring himself to his peak.

Just now, Lin Jiufeng had drawn energy from the soil, the plants, and the streams, allowing him to break through to the Second Forbidden Realm.

That was the greatest effect of endless renewal.

Lin Jiufeng said with feeling, "From now on, when I fight others, even if I can't defeat them, I can wear them to death. Not bad, not bad."

With his unexpected breakthrough to the Second Forbidden Realm, Lin Jiufeng's body underwent further changes.

His once completely white hair was now streaked with gray and white. His complexion was rosy, his face free of wrinkles. At a glance, he looked no more than a fifty-year-old old Daoist priest.

"My lifespan has grown longer, but it seems the Feather Transformation Sect is about to disappear," Lin Jiufeng said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He had lived in the Feather Transformation Sect for a hundred years and naturally felt deeply attached to the place. Moreover, the Scripture Pavilion was quiet and peaceful, gathering books from across the world. If the Feather Transformation Sect fell, these scriptures would not be preserved.

"Junior Brother, come to the Scripture Pavilion." After considering it carefully, Lin Jiufeng sent word to Bai Yunfei.

He wanted to give the Feather Ascension Scripture to Bai Yunfei and revive the Feather Transformation Sect.

Only then could the Feather Transformation Sect continue its legacy, and only then could he remain in the Scripture Pavilion, cultivating quietly and seeking his own Dao.

After experiencing enlightenment amid the rain just now, Lin Jiufeng knew that his future held limitless possibilities.

A single Feather Ascension Scripture was nothing at all.

Before long, Bai Yunfei arrived at the Scripture Pavilion and looked at Lin Jiufeng in surprise. "Senior Brother summoned me here. What is the matter?"

Lin Jiufeng did not beat around the bush. He recited the Feather Ascension Scripture aloud and told Bai Yunfei everything.

The more Bai Yunfei listened, the more astonished he became. He stared at Lin Jiufeng in disbelief, utterly unable to believe that the person before him was the Senior Brother he had known for eighty years.

Once Lin Jiufeng had finished, Bai Yunfei swallowed and stammered, "S-Senior Brother, where did you obtain the Feather Ascension Scripture?"

Lin Jiufeng smiled. "I comprehended it."

Only then did Bai Yunfei notice that Lin Jiufeng had actually broken through to the Second Forbidden Realm.

He had not broken through when they were drinking tea just now.

"Senior Brother, you have achieved sudden enlightenment and risen to the blue clouds from level ground," Bai Yunfei said with emotion.

"The Feather Ascension Scripture is yours. Tell the outside world that you comprehended it yourself. I do not wish to draw attention. I want to continue cultivating quietly within the Scripture Pavilion," Lin Jiufeng instructed.

"Mm. With the Feather Ascension Scripture, I am confident I can break through to the Eighth Forbidden Realm and protect the Feather Transformation Sect. I will absolutely not disturb Senior Brother's cultivation," Bai Yunfei said firmly.