Mythical Cultivation

Chapter 262 4 years

Repeated failures only fueled his inner unyielding spirit. By constantly summarizing his experiences and lessons and adjusting his refining techniques, he finally achieved some success—he successfully accumulated over ten second-tier talismans! Among them were the powerful Fire Bird Talisman, the miraculous Thunderbolt Talisman, the indestructible Diamond Talisman, and many more.

Of course, Wu Ming knew that working in isolation was unwise. The path of cultivation was long and arduous, and if one simply focused on hard work without drawing on the experience and wisdom of others, one could easily go astray.

Therefore, whenever a deacon from the sect gave a sermon, as long as he wasn't in seclusion, he would go and listen without hesitation. From the deacons' in-depth and easy-to-understand explanations, Wu Ming gained a lot of valuable knowledge and insights, which broadened his horizons and deepened his understanding of the path of cultivation.

It is this kind of unremitting efforts and open and inclusive learning attitude that will enable us to walk more steadily and further on the path of spiritual practice.

Huang Hao truly lived up to everyone's expectations. Just a few months later, he resolutely chose to retreat and cultivate. A few days later, Huang Hao successfully broke through his bottleneck and entered the coveted Foundation Establishment realm. This news exploded like thunder in the outer sect, instantly causing a huge uproar.

One must know that being promoted to an Inner Disciple within just ten years of entering the sect is an achievement that is extremely rare. For a time, various legends and stories about Huang Hao were passed around among the Outer Disciples, becoming a hot topic of discussion.

Huang Hao also invited Wu Ming, Zhao Xiaohai, and Mei Lingshuang to a gathering. At that gathering, the four of them sat together, enjoying fine wine and delicious food while freely exchanging their insights and opinions on the path of cultivation.

When discussing Huang Hao's rapid success in building his foundation, everyone's faces lit up with admiration, but at the same time, a fierce competitive spirit ignited within them. They knew that if they didn't redouble their efforts, they would be left far behind by Huang Hao. So, after this gathering, Wu Ming and the others worked tirelessly, burying themselves in diligent cultivation, determined not to let Huang Hao outdo them.

However, even as everyone was still reeling from the shock of Huang Hao's performance, another major event quietly unfolded. It turned out that during this period, the Qingyun Sect seemed to be experiencing a surge in foundation-building enthusiasm. Many outer disciples reported successive successes in foundation-building, earning them the chance to join the inner sect. Furthermore, these disciples weren't just newbies, but rather veterans with twenty years of experience.

In just a few months, thirty or forty such disciples had successfully transitioned from outer sect to inner sect. The emergence of so many successful foundation builders had stirred up considerable turmoil within the previously tranquil Qingyun Sect.

However, the number of disciples attempting to establish their foundation this time was astonishing, reaching over sixty! This number was truly astonishing. Sadly, however, nearly twenty of them met with the misfortune of failure. Not only did these disciples waste the invaluable foundation-building pills, but they also suffered severe physical trauma from their failure, leaving them with a host of difficult-to-recover injuries.

The one-third failure rate for foundation building was like a heavy alarm bell, hammering home to the other disciples. It clearly revealed a harsh truth: foundation building was no easy task, and without absolute confidence, one must not act rashly.

Because of this, among the more than eighty cultivators who successfully broke into the top 100 in this outer sect competition, more than a dozen of them would rather give up the enviable status of Qingyun Sect disciples and go all out to improve their chances of successfully building their foundation to a very high level before they dared to embark on the path of foundation building again.

This decision was undoubtedly filled with frustration and difficulty. Although they effectively avoided the tragic consequences of a failed foundation-building attempt, they also bid farewell to the Qingyun Sect, a land once situating their dreams and hopes. Whether this choice was right or wrong is difficult to simply judge. After all, it's often difficult to have the best of both worlds. As the old saying goes—you can't have your cake and eat it too!

As these veteran outer disciples advanced, the more than 300 disciples who had failed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage after twenty years were left dejected and heartbroken. Without the solid support of the Qingyun Sect, they embarked on a journey of cultivation with an uncertain future.

In the days that followed, a new group of faces entered the Qingyun Sect. Filled with longing and anticipation, these newly arrived young people followed their inner sect brothers to the Newcomer Academy, becoming the next batch of reserve disciples.

At this time, Wu Ming and others, after ten years of tempering and growth, have transformed from the green and immature new disciples to experienced veteran outer disciples in the eyes of everyone.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, four years have passed since the eye-catching outer sect competition.

It was a sunny day, with a gentle breeze. Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew through the outer disciples' quarters. Amazingly, as this breeze blew, the vital energy of heaven and earth within a radius of several hundred meters surged wildly toward the same spot, as if drawn by some mysterious force.

This abnormal phenomenon immediately attracted the attention of the disciples living nearby. They stopped what they were doing and felt the rich fluctuations of the vital energy of heaven and earth around them in surprise.

Among them, a young man who had just left the Novice Academy and successfully been promoted to an Outer Sect disciple happened to witness this spectacular scene. His eyes widened, and he muttered to himself in confusion, "What the hell is going on? Could it be that some rare treasure has appeared?"

As the young man muttered to himself, a rather steady-looking young man standing nearby, dressed in a white robe, overheard his words. The young man smiled faintly, then put on a condescending air and said, "What treasures are there?! This is clearly someone building their foundation! I just wonder which senior brother is so powerful as to cause such a commotion." He then looked enviously toward the direction of the surging vital energy, his eyes filled with longing and anticipation.

"Indeed, this person's foundation-building movement was quite big, and it was no less spectacular than the scene when Huang Hao and the others built their foundations before!" A thin young man said from the side.