Five Years! What a World of Difference!

With the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon fallen and the hidden danger on the Heart-Refining Path eliminated, the guard around the back mountain naturally began to relax.

The elders and chief seat-holders within the sect, however, did not dare lower their guard. They investigated it carefully several more times.

Only after confirming that there was indeed no danger left did they finally announce that the Heart-Refining Path was reopening.

The news drew a burst of excitement and cheers from the sect's disciples.

When Lin Xiaoyao heard about it, he smiled as well.

However, he did not join the excitement and head to the back mountain, because the Heart-Refining Path was a location where one could not sign in twice.

At that moment, he was still inside the Founder's Shrine, quietly sweeping as he silently said, "System, sign me in!"

"Congratulations, Host, on successfully signing in. You have received two hundred years of cultivation."

"Two hundred years?"

Lin Xiaoyao was delighted. It was not much, but it was enough for him to break through the bottleneck that had held him back for more than ten days, climbing another hundred feet atop the pole.

He would step into the Spirit Transformation Realm.

As the thought passed through his mind, the system's notification sounded in his ears again. "Would the Host like to claim it now?"

"No!"

To everyone's surprise, Lin Xiaoyao chose to refuse.

That night.

He quietly left the Feathering Sect's headquarters.

The restrictions and guards along the way remained utterly unaware.

Strolling as if through his own courtyard, Lin Xiaoyao arrived at a valley several hundred li away from the Feathering Sect's headquarters.

Few people ever came here. It was far enough from the headquarters' core that years could pass without anyone visiting.

The so-called transformation of Qi into spirit.

This was further divided into five realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation.

Thus, once a cultivator reached the Spirit Transformation stage, they would undergo a major metamorphosis. They could communicate with the primordial qi of heaven and earth, and their strength would make a tremendous leap.

That was why advancing from Nascent Soul to Spirit Transformation was exceedingly difficult.

Out of a hundred Nascent Soul Cultivators, perhaps not even one would ultimately cross that threshold.

Lin Xiaoyao, of course, was an exception.

With the Saint Fruit Position, he faced no bottlenecks or difficulties in cultivation.

He merely needed to raise his cultivation and spiritual power.

That said, upon reaching the Spirit Transformation stage, one could communicate with the primordial qi of heaven and earth.

Lin Xiaoyao was also worried that he might accidentally cause too great a commotion.

That was why he had not claimed it immediately.

Only after arriving in this desolate, secluded valley deep in the night did he issue the command to the system. "Claim!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Lin Xiaoyao felt a warm current appear in his dantian and Purple Palace, then flow through his extraordinary meridians and eight channels to every part of his body.

It felt warm and comfortable.

About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later.

Lin Xiaoyao opened his eyes.

He looked at his hands.

He had already broken through to the Spirit Transformation stage.

Though he had long known there would be no bottleneck, it had still been easier than he had imagined.

And it had not caused any commotion at all.

It seemed he had been overly cautious.

Had he known, there would have been no need to come to this barren valley in the middle of the night.

Even if he had broken through in the Founder's Shrine, presumably no one would have noticed.

Of course, that was merely a passing thought. He did not regret his decision. After all, one could never go wrong with being careful.

Lin Xiaoyao clenched his fist.

Spirit Transformation cultivators could communicate with the primordial qi of heaven and earth, but this so-called communication was actually rather forced.

Even if Spirit Transformation cultivators gave it their all, they could only mobilize the primordial qi within a few li. Stronger ones could manage no more than ten li.

Moreover, even within such a small range, though they could command the primordial qi, it was still difficult to wield it as easily as one's own arm.

But Lin Xiaoyao was different.

He could sense that as long as his divine sense reached somewhere, he could mobilize all the primordial qi of heaven and earth within the range covered by his divine will.

His divine sense was far stronger than that of ordinary cultivators at the same level. Though he had only just entered Spirit Transformation, it could already cover a thousand li.

In other words.

He could now effortlessly mobilize the primordial qi of heaven and earth within a thousand li.

And unlike ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivators, who could only barely control it.

This primordial qi was incomparably obedient before him. Without the slightest effort, he could wield it as easily as his own arm.

Therefore, though they were both in the Spirit Transformation stage, it was no exaggeration to say that Lin Xiaoyao's strength was simply on a completely different level from theirs.

Even if ten times or a hundred times as many cultivators of the same realm came to besiege him, he could wipe them out with a casual wave of his hand.

Lin Xiaoyao was very satisfied.

Now that he had broken through, he turned to leave.

But just then, Lin Xiaoyao's brow twitched.

He looked toward the valley ahead.

He had only passed by here by chance before, so he had paid it no attention.

But this time, perhaps because his cultivation had recovered to the Spirit Transformation stage, Lin Xiaoyao noticed something different.

There seemed to be a bottomless cave within the valley.

And inside that cave were several extremely ancient auras.

The auras were declining.

It was as though their owners' lives were candles in the wind, with little lifespan remaining.

Yet even so.

Lin Xiaoyao could still sense that their strength was not weak.

They were even stronger than Sect Master Master Green Feather?

Great Vehicle Realm cultivators?

No, they had probably not yet broken through to the Great Vehicle Realm. They seemed to be one final step short.

Lin Xiaoyao could not help thinking of the Heart-Refining Path again.

Could some monster be sealed here as well?

But he soon shook his head.

No. The cultivation techniques practiced by those inside should share the same origin as the Feathering Sect's inheritance.

Could this also be a sect forbidden ground, with some senior expert living in seclusion here?

But why had no one warned others not to come here?

There were no formations or restrictions set up nearby, either.

Lin Xiaoyao was puzzled.

But he did not investigate further.

He merely gave the cave in the valley ahead a deep look. It was very well hidden; even if cultivators passed by nearby, they would find it difficult to discover.

Beside the cave were three large characters.

Perhaps because too much time had passed and wind and rain had worn them away, they had become somewhat blurred.

Fortunately, they could still barely be recognized.

"Sitting-Delusion Cave?"

Lin Xiaoyao muttered the words to himself.

Then he did not linger. With a flash of his body, he left the place.

Time passed like a white colt flashing through a crack, and more than three years went by in the blink of an eye.

This was also Lin Xiaoyao's fifth year since joining the Feathering Sect.

Time flew like an arrow. Over these five years, Lin Xiaoyao neither showed off nor stood out, quietly keeping a low profile in the Founder's Shrine.

Originally, sect chores were assigned by drawing lots, but everyone avoided the Founder's Shrine assignment like the plague.

He had volunteered to take it on.

Naturally, no one objected.

As for whether doing so would draw the attention of someone with ulterior motives?

What a joke.

Who would pay attention to such an insignificant nobody?

People merely thought he lacked ambition.

Nor did anyone pity him. The aptitude Lin Xiaoyao displayed was not the worst, but it was utterly ordinary.

Over these five years, no one caused him any trouble either.

Everyone in the sect was busy cultivating. No one was so bored that they would wait around for someone to show off and be slapped in the face.

Thus, Lin Xiaoyao lived very comfortably.

Every day, he swept, signed in, and collected heavenly treasures, staying out of worldly strife. His strength advanced by leaps and bounds, and in the fifth year after joining the Feathering Sect, he finally became a cultivator of the Mysterious Mastery Realm.

Only one step remained before the Great Vehicle Realm.