"Greetings, Lord Purple-Light Daoist Patriarch!" Li Xiaoya stood in a meticulously arranged little garden. Before him sat a table, with a young cultivator of medium build seated at it. The man was strikingly handsome, with purple hair and robes patterned in purple and white. Li Xiaoya recognized the Purple-Light Daoist Patriarch at a glance and stepped forward to greet him with the utmost respect.
"Mm! Dispense with the formalities!" the Purple-Light Daoist Patriarch said mildly. Although he had already heard that Li Xiaoya had reached the middle heaven-and-earth stage, he could not help studying him a little longer. Li Xiaoya felt as though that gaze had pierced straight through his entire body. Only then did the patriarch nod slightly and say, "Not bad! Not bad at all! Your cultivation has advanced quite quickly, lad. You've reached the middle heaven-and-earth stage in a mere hundred years! Truly remarkable!" As he spoke, he rose and clasped his hands behind his back. "Back in my day, it took me several hundred years to reach this level... And now, who knows how many tens of thousands of years have passed..." He looked rather wistful.
"It was all thanks to your generous favor, Lord Purple-Light Daoist Patriarch!" Li Xiaoya claimed no credit. He bowed respectfully and spoke from the heart. In his view, without the map showing the location of the Skyvault Secret Realm that the patriarch had given him, reaching the heaven-and-earth realm would probably have taken him considerably longer. Naturally, he was deeply grateful. Although the patriarch had used the Soul-Restoring Purple Vitality Pill as leverage, receiving such a tremendous opportunity was still a great blessing for any cultivator... With that thought, he continued, "Without your help, Lord Purple-Light Daoist Patriarch, this disciple could never have encountered such a wonderful opportunity!" He bowed