Familial Bonds

Li Dalong was stunned. This Dantian-Replenishing Pill was extraordinarily precious; one would be hard-pressed to find even a few in the entire cultivation world. His master must have endured a thousand hardships and paid a steep price to obtain it. High-grade Qi-Gathering Pills were also precious in the Righteous Qi Sect. Low- and mid-grade ones were easy to obtain, but high-grade ones were rare. The pills his junior brother had brought today were probably ones he had saved up, unwilling to use them himself.

The value of the Dantian-Replenishing Pill, in particular, was beyond imagining! The dantian was where qi gathered, the foundation of cultivation. Once it shattered, a person essentially lost the ability to cultivate. Only a Dantian-Replenishing Pill could restore it. Yet refining one was extraordinarily difficult. It required more than ten primary ingredients over a thousand years old and dozens of supplementary ingredients over five hundred years old. The older the ingredients, the better the effects. Moreover, only an alchemy grandmaster or someone of even greater skill could refine it, and the success rate was extremely low. Only a major power could undertake such a task.

There was no telling how great a price his master, Dongfang Leng, had paid to obtain this pill for him. He might even have exhausted his entire fortune.

Li Dalong's eyes suddenly grew moist. Since transmigrating here, he had yet to meet this master of his, who was also the sect leader. The crippling of his cultivation and the death of his second junior brother must have dealt his master a heavy blow as well. Presumably, his master had had no choice but to order his cultivation crippled at the time. Yet the care and affection he showed for this body moved Li Dalong deeply.

But he could hardly tell his junior brother and master about his current condition. If anyone found out, another storm would rise, leaving the three of them with endless troubles. He would wait until he was powerful enough to fear no one before telling them.

Li Dalong wiped his eyes, then smiled. "Thank you and Master for your concern. I'll accept these, then."

"But unless something important happens, don't come to see me so readily in the future. Don't put Master in a difficult position, either."

"Especially now that you're the sect's Dao Son, not an ordinary disciple. Countless eyes are watching you from every level of the sect. Be more steady, put cultivation first, and help Master more when you have time."

"Yes, senior brother."

Zhou Yong nodded in acknowledgment.

"Don't worry about me. With your pills, I'll certainly recover."

"Go back! Don't linger here too long."

Li Dalong waved a hand at Zhou Yong.

"All right, senior brother. I'll be going, then."

Zhou Yong spoke to Li Dalong, then reluctantly left the forbidden grounds.

Li Dalong watched the retreating figure of this youngest junior brother, who had grown up alongside him, and saw him off. Remembering the days when he had lived and cultivated with his master and his two junior brothers, he felt a trace of warmth well up in his heart.

After leaving Back Mountain, Zhou Yong returned to the Righteous Qi Hall to see his master, Dongfang Leng. In little more than a year, Dongfang Leng had aged considerably. Several conspicuous streaks of gray threaded his once thick, jet-black hair. His tall frame looked slightly stooped, a few more wrinkles had appeared at the corners of his brows, and his face bore a trace of weariness.

"Greetings, Master." Zhou Yong bowed to Dongfang Leng.

"Master, I've seen eldest senior brother."

"He's doing fairly well. I've given him the pills, too."

"As expected of a disciple of mine, Dongfang Leng."

"Even this hasn't broken him, and his state of mind is still so sound. The price I paid this time wasn't in vain. I believe he'll go even farther after this."

After hearing Zhou Yong's report, Dongfang Leng's eyes shone, and he spoke in a deep voice.

"Master, is there really nothing even you can do?"

"You're the sect leader, with full authority. Can't you pardon eldest senior brother?"

"Back Mountain has little spiritual energy and no resources. Eldest senior brother has already been confined there for a year, which is detrimental to his future cultivation. I truly hope he can be released sooner."

Zhou Yong dropped to both knees and pleaded earnestly.

"Yong'er, you're now the Dao Son of the Righteous Qi Sect. In the future, you'll inherit the position of sect leader."

"From now on, you must be cautious in everything you say and do."

"Your master has little lifespan left. The Righteous Qi Sect will need you to set its world to rights in the days ahead."

"If you can lead the Righteous Qi Sect back to its peak, your strength and prestige will be enough to convince everyone. Pardoning your eldest senior brother will then take no more than a word."

Zhou Yong drew a deep breath and said earnestly, "Master, I understand. I'll work twice as hard and live up to your expectations."

"Good. I'm glad you've come to understand this."

Looking at his beloved disciple, Dongfang Leng nodded slightly.

Compared with before, Dongfang Leng was very pleased with Zhou Yong's current performance. After what had happened to Li Dalong, he had shed his former rashness and become much steadier. Though he had only recently been chosen as Dao Son, he already handled matters in an orderly fashion. His gentle manner in dealing with others also made him well loved throughout the Righteous Qi Sect.

Most importantly, the talent for cultivation Zhou Yong displayed was no longer inferior to Li Dalong's former talent. Even across the entire cultivation world, he was exceptionally outstanding.

"By the way, disciples have reported recently that the Demon Race and the demonic path are stirring, with designs on our Righteous Qi Sect."

"You'll be responsible for this matter. Send more people at once to investigate thoroughly so we can take precautions in advance."

Something occurred to Dongfang Leng, and he gave these instructions.

"Master, I'll see to it right away."

Zhou Yong nodded, then immediately left the hall.

Meanwhile, after his junior brother Zhou Yong left the forbidden grounds, Li Dalong immersed himself in cultivation once more.

Time flew, and several more years passed in the blink of an eye.

During those years, Li Dalong continually obtained rewards by checking in through the system, and his strength rose rapidly.

In just a few short years, he advanced from early Gold Core through middle and late Gold Core, becoming a cultivator at Golden Core Realm Completion. He was now only one step away from the Nascent Soul Realm.

His speed of advancement had even broken the cultivation world's previous records. According to its documented history, the shortest time taken to advance from early Gold Core to Golden Core Realm Completion belonged to Feng Fei, a cultivation genius of the Daoist tradition six thousand years earlier. He had taken forty-six years to cultivate from early Gold Core to perfected Gold Core. Ordinary cultivators commonly spent one or two hundred years doing so.

Yet with the system's help, Li Dalong lacked neither talent nor resources. His cultivation soared like a rocket, progressing more than ten times as fast as an ordinary cultivator's.

While raising his cultivation realm, Li Dalong also practiced the Yin-Yang Ninefold Splendor Sword-Controlling Art.

The third level was the tai chi realm. Though the sword techniques of the first two levels were formidable, only upon completing the third level did one truly master sword control and cross the threshold into its inner halls. A cultivator could command a sword through the air and turn qi into swords, flying either upon a sword or by riding qi.

The fourth level was the limitless realm, where one's inner cultivation reached its peak. A sword controller brought mastery of the heart and qi to their fullest expression: guiding the heart along the path of chivalry, guiding qi along the kingly path, and guiding the sword along the Heavenly Dao. Through effortless action, one governed the entire body, surrendering body and mind to all things and becoming one with heaven.

The latter two levels were far more difficult than the first two, and he had spent over two years mastering them. Golden Core Realm Completion—today, I'll test just how powerful this sword art is.