Fruition

Hua Chunning had been deeply troubled lately.

By rights, she had fulfilled her wish by joining Supreme Mystery Mountain as a Registered Disciple, gaining enough protection for her Lineage.

Now she had even entered Supreme Mystery Mountain's Grotto-Heaven, where she could condense a Manifestation and increase her allotted fate.

This was a great fortuitous opportunity she would never have dared dream of.

This Grotto-Heaven was indeed wondrous.

Though it had no Spiritual Qi, it had many mortals and was not low in standing.

It was said that the sect leader's eldest disciple had condensed his Manifestation and accumulated enough allotted fate in this very Grotto-Heaven.

Though Hua Chunning was a woman, she too aspired to ascend to immortality and seek the Dao.

After entering the Grotto-Heaven, aside from taking on mundane affairs and overseeing the construction of the Supreme Mystery Mountain Lower Court, she followed a method secretly passed down in her Lineage to augment her [Yi Wood] Manifestation.

After several attempts, the results seemed negligible.

Hua Chunning could not help feeling discouraged, but she remained diligent and refused to give up.

In recent days, the mortal county magistrate with the compound surname Duanmu had come again and again, asking to see the sect leader.

The sect leader had entrusted the Grotto-Heaven's everyday affairs to her as a sign of trust, but also as a test.

If she troubled the sect leader over every little thing, wouldn't that make her look incompetent?!

Hua Chunning sent him away with a cold face.

To her surprise, Duanmu Ren, perhaps driven to desperation, actually claimed that the sect leader, a True Person, had once intended to take him as a disciple and bring him to another world to cultivate immortality. Hua Chunning was genuinely startled.

Even though she had her doubts, the sect leader's eldest disciple had set a precedent, so Hua Chunning did not dare treat the matter lightly. After thinking it over, she gritted her teeth and sent word to the sect leader.

Lijiawa Subsidence Area.

Li Chengxuan's figure flickered, and he suddenly appeared.

Hua Chunning hurriedly bowed to the ground in greeting. "Your disciple greets the sect leader."

"Mm."

Li Chengxuan nodded slightly and looked around.

In the space of a few months, the place had changed completely.

There was considerably more machinery in the distance.

Before him was a flourishing flower garden, where exotic blooms and unusual plants competed in beauty.

The Hua Household's ancestors had cultivated the [Yi Wood] Dao lineage, and tending flowers and plants was what they did best.

Li Chengxuan saw the mystery behind it at a glance and asked, "Does this method work?!"

Hua Chunning naturally knew she could not hide it from Li Chengxuan and hurriedly replied, "This is a method for shaping a spiritual atmosphere passed down by my ancestors. As for whether it works, your disciple does not know either."

"Shaping a spiritual atmosphere?!"

Li Chengxuan was taken aback, then chuckled. "Only an area the size of a country, or even a continent, can be called a spiritual atmosphere. It takes a Purple Mansion True Person to set one up."

Hua Chunning flushed, realizing she had made a fool of herself. Lowering her head, she said, "Your disciple is slow-witted. I have made a spectacle of myself before you, Sect Leader."

Li Chengxuan shook his head and reassured her, "There's no need for that. At least it does some good and no harm."

After a pause, he asked, "What matter have you been unable to resolve?"

Hua Chunning's expression turned solemn, and she told him about Duanmu Ren's request for an audience.

Li Chengxuan nodded after hearing her out. "Send word for him to come."

Hua Chunning went out and called over a young girl. After giving her a few quiet instructions, she hurried back.

Seeing this, Li Chengxuan asked, "You've been here for months. Why don't you have a phone?"

Hua Chunning answered earnestly, "At first, both the Li Household and Duanmu Ren gave me one. Your disciple tried them briefly, but felt the Mortal World Turbid Qi was too strong and feared it would damage my Manifestation and taint my Dao heart, so I stopped using them."

"I only chose a distant relative of the Li Household to stay here and contact everyone on my behalf."

Li Chengxuan made no comment. He swept two joined fingers before his eyes and examined her carefully with the [Qi Observation Technique]. Surprised, he said, "In just a few months, your Manifestation really has grown a little stronger."

Hua Chunning was overjoyed. "Thank you for your kindness, Sect Leader. My painstaking efforts weren't in vain. I haven't relaxed for a moment."

Li Chengxuan looked thoughtful. Pointing at the flower garden before them, he asked, "Besides this, what other methods have you used?"

"I wouldn't dare conceal anything from you, Sect Leader."

Hua Chunning knelt on the ground. "My Household passed down three secret methods, all said to be capable of strengthening the [Yi Wood] Manifestation."

"Your disciple has already used them all."

"Get up." Li Chengxuan's expression was calm. "Since I allowed you to come here to condense your Manifestation, I won't interfere, so long as you don't harvest Blood Qi to refine human pills."

Hua Chunning naturally knew the taboo involved and hurriedly said, "Your disciple has not learned that method, nor have I ever taken a human pill!"

Li Chengxuan smiled at that.

In other words, the Hua Household did know how to refine human pills, and had even been doing so all along.

Li Chengxuan had no time to concern himself with it. He merely sighed and asked, "What methods did you use to augment your Manifestation, exactly?"

Hua Chunning breathed a sigh of relief and explained in detail, "First was the [Spiritual Atmosphere Shaping Method]. I planted vines and thorns around the perimeter, grass on the open ground farther away, and flowers closer in. I forbade metal and fire, and carved spiritual patterns of leaves everywhere, to match the imagery of [Yi Wood]."

Although Li Chengxuan had dismissed it as useless,

Hua Chunning felt it was still somewhat useful.

Unfortunately, the central area had to be reserved for the Supreme Mystery Mountain Lower Court, and construction machinery could not be dispensed with. In the end, it fell somewhat short of perfection.

"Then there was the [Healing Method]. I went out as a traveling physician and treated people's illnesses and pain."

"Later, Duanmu Ren stopped me."

It was the first time Hua Chunning had heard the term "practicing medicine illegally."

Afterward, whenever she went out, many ordinary people gathered to watch, so she simply stopped going.

"Next was the [Water Pill Refining Method]."

"But there is no Spiritual Qi here, much less a Pill Furnace or precious medicinal ingredients. Your disciple tried several times, but ultimately accomplished nothing."

Li Chengxuan was somewhat surprised.

It had only been a few months, yet Hua Chunning had certainly kept busy.

It seemed her heart was quite resolute in seeking immortality and the Dao.

But alas...

Li Chengxuan sighed and said, "Your Manifestation has indeed grown, but only by a tiny amount. You're still a long way from having enough to enter the Dao through Qi Ingestion."

Hua Chunning froze, her eyes growing moist. But she quickly steadied herself, took a deep breath, and said firmly, "As long as there's some growth, that's enough. Your disciple still has decades to try!"

"One day, your disciple will set foot on the immortal path. This resolve will not waver until death."

Was this obsession, or a Dao heart?

Li Chengxuan himself could not tell. After a moment's thought, he said, "Arrange this Lower Court however you like. There's no need to model it on Supreme Mystery Mountain."

"Although shaping a spiritual atmosphere is out of the question, putting some thought into setting up an [Yi Wood] formation should be of some use."

Hua Chunning's eyes filled again, and she bowed to the ground once more. "Thank you for your kindness, Sect Leader."

"Get up."

Li Chengxuan shook his head and continued his guidance. "From now on, don't use the [Healing Method] or the [Water Pill Refining Method] again."

"In ancient times, [Yi Wood] was a prominent great Dao lineage. Beneath its resplendent [Fruition] were several [Subsidiary Positions]."

"Two of those respectively leaned toward medicine and pill refining."

"Your Manifestation was already too thin to begin with, and now you're dividing it among one Fruition and two Subsidiary Positions. Aren't you just asking for trouble?!"

Hua Chunning's face went pale with shock.

Despite all her painstaking efforts, had her good intentions led her to do harm, nearly cutting off her own Dao Path?!

This was the drawback of the Hua Household's Dao lineage having been severed.

Naturally, it was also an advantage of joining a sect.

Just a few words were enough to keep several generations of a Lineage outside the immortal path.

Ignoring Hua Chunning's tearful bows of thanks, Li Chengxuan recalled the many sect records he had read.

The [Yi Wood] Dao lineage was severed with the Hua Household.

The Hua Household can naturally say with a clear conscience that this was Heaven's will and lament its helplessness.

But if the [Yi Wood Fruition] were to manifest in the world, it would most likely look on the Hua Household with disdain.

For the Hua Household's descendants to condense an [Yi Wood] Manifestation would naturally be fraught with countless difficulties.

Take Hua Chunning, for example. Though her talent is exceptional, she couldn't accumulate enough Manifestation or allotted fate even in the immortal cultivation world...

Only on Earth does she have a slim chance of sufficiently replenishing her Manifestation.

Huh?!

That's not right!

Li Chengxuan frowned and pondered instead, vaguely sensing something was amiss. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he asked, "Who gave you your name?!"