After more than a month, I practiced ink painting with peace of mind, as usual.
One day at noon, while eating in the dining hall where his disciples lived, Cheng Mo kept staring at the ink paintings.
Mo Hua was puzzled, "What are you looking at?"
Cheng Mo touched his chin, "It's nothing. I just feel that, little senior brother, you won the first place in the formation, and you seem to be the same as before you didn't win. Nothing has changed."
He still remembered that at that time in the Formation Dojo, Mo Hua had an indifferent look on his face, and he carried out a massacre with ease, and with an unrivaled appearance, he passed the Formation Examination.
The last sentence, "Is there anything else?", three simple and plain words, made a group of examiners tremble.
That cold and invincible look is simply so handsome that it makes one's head go numb.
Now...
Cheng Mo silently looked at the ink painting.
As if nothing happened, he was in the dining hall again, gnawing on chicken legs...
He always felt that the two scenes before and after this young senior brother were a bit disconnected.
"Senior brother, you are number one in terms of formation and the leader of the formation, shouldn't you show some dignity?" Cheng Mo said.
Mo Hua curled his lips and said, "I am only ranked first in the formation discussion and the leader of the formation path, what does it matter? The formation method is profound and profound, and I cannot delay my progress just because of this small achievement."
The leader of the formation, what does it mean...
A small achievement...
Not only Cheng Mo, but also all the disciples around him were shocked.
But this was what Mo Hua said, and they couldn't refute it.
Cheng Mo sighed: "Senior brother, please don't say this outside, otherwise there is no chance that someone will lose their mind and fight against you..."
Mo Hua nodded, "Don't worry, I'm very humble outside."
Cheng Mo couldn't quite figure it out for a while, what was the standard of "modestness" in ink painting...
Afterwards, everyone ate in silence.
Mo Hua gnawed on the chicken legs for a while, and suddenly noticed something. He was stunned for a moment, looked at Cheng Mo, and said, "Are you in the late stage of foundation building?"
Cheng Mo nodded, "Well, we just made a breakthrough in the past two days."
He turned his head again and asked Situ Jian and the others, "Are you all about to break through?"
Situ Jian nodded: "Well, I still have seven or eight days..."
Hao Xuan also said: "Senior brother, I am the same. I can break through to the late stage of foundation building in as fast as three days or as slowly as ten days..."
Mo Hua suddenly felt pressure.
Until now, he has not yet sensed the bottleneck in the later stages of foundation building...
It takes a lot of time to sense the bottleneck, break it, break through the late stage of foundation building, increase spiritual power, and stabilize cultivation.
And there are only a few months left in this school year.
"Hurry up!"
Mo Hua felt a chill in his heart.
After that, he concentrated more on his practice, but his progress was still very slow.
Especially when he saw Cheng Mo and other "junior brothers" reaching the late stage of foundation building one after another, the sense of urgency in Mo Hua's heart became even stronger.
Logically speaking, foundation building is not difficult - at least for the disciples of the Eight Gates.
Refining qi and laying the foundation, building the foundation and solidifying the path, reaching the golden elixir is the real watershed.
Before the golden elixir, what we were fighting for was actually spiritual roots, inheritance and cultivation resources.
No matter how stupid you are, as long as you persist in practicing, have the guidance of a famous teacher, and feed you with various heavenly materials, earthly treasures and spiritual stones, you can still reach the later stage of foundation building.
After the golden elixir, there are more variables.
In addition to the hard conditions such as spiritual roots, spiritual objects, and inheritance, it also pays attention to illusory things such as understanding, fate, including luck.
Therefore, most sects only teach Qi refining and foundation building courses before the Golden Pill.
These can be taught together in a large class, and the progress can be easily controlled.
When you reach Jindan, there are too many changes, the situation is complicated, and the cultivation methods are more profound. It is time to enter the inner gate, become a one-on-one disciple, and receive specialized cultivation guidance.
As for the disciples of various sects in the Qianxue Prefecture, almost all of them have high spiritual roots, and almost all of them are from aristocratic families. They have family support, sect rewards, and no shortage of resources.
Although aristocratic families are also divided into three, six or nine levels, those who can become disciples of more than a hundred sects of Qianxue, no matter how poor they are and how little their cultivation resources are, are still much richer than the vast majority of casual cultivators in the world.
Therefore, it is not difficult before the golden elixir until the late stage of foundation building.
What is difficult is to cultivate to perfection, to cultivate to excellence, to cultivate to the point of being outstanding, far beyond the foundation of others.
But ink painting is different again.
According to strict standards, he is not actually a "genius".
His spiritual roots are too weak and his physical body is too weak.
When he was refining his Qi, he was very poor. He had no treasures from heaven and earth to nourish him, and no cultivation inheritance to polish the foundation of his blood Qi or spiritual power.
The speed of his Qi refining is not slow, that's because the real geniuses are polishing their foundation, strengthening their foundation and cultivating their strength.
He skipped this step and just kept up with the progress, so he repaired quickly.
But when it comes to foundation building, things are a little different.
If your spiritual roots are poor, you will have less spiritual power to cultivate, and the progress of your spiritual practice will also be slow.
In the early stage of foundation building, it is not obvious yet.
In the middle and late stages of foundation building, the speed of ink painting practice has obviously slowed down, and the further you go, the more so.
In addition, he spent a lot of time and effort on the formation conference.
However, cultivating the Divine Sword, parasitizing evil fetuses, and self-destructing souls consumed a lot of his divine marrow, and his level of spiritual enlightenment also declined to a certain extent.
Mo Hua made an estimate and found that he probably wouldn't be able to reach the late stage of foundation building within this year.
And the late stage of foundation building cannot be reached within this year, which means...
"Want to repeat a grade?"
Mo Hua immediately felt a chill in his heart.
It's over... I am a dignified junior fellow from the Taixu Sect and the leader of Qianxue. I am not really going to repeat the grade, am I?
That would be really embarrassing.
After that, I worked harder and harder on my ink painting practice.
But practice requires that every drop of water penetrates a stone, and it is not something that can be achieved overnight.
And if the spiritual root is not good, it cannot be changed.
The progress of his cultivation is still not very optimistic. Not only has his cultivation not increased much, but he is also far from reaching the bottleneck in the later stages of foundation building...
Mo Hua's heart was completely cold.
But since the problem has occurred, it is a fact and must be faced face to face. There is no point in lying to yourself.
Mo Hua thought for a while and then went to find Mr. Xun.
The elders were in the middle. Mr. Xun was chatting with the head of Taixu. He was a little surprised when he saw Mo Hua.
Mo Hua tactfully told Mr. Xun that because he was preparing for the formation discussion conference and was concentrating on learning formations, his progress in practice had been delayed and he might not be able to break through the late stage of foundation building before the end of the year.
Old Mr.
He didn't say it clearly, but Mo Hua understood.
This means that if you practice hard, even if you cannot break through to the later stage of foundation building, you will not be allowed to repeat the grade.
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief, and then silently looked at the leader of Taixu on the side.
The leader hesitated for a moment, looked at Mr. Xun, and nodded: "Don't worry, I will guarantee you."
Even if you break the rules, it doesn't matter.
As the leader of the formation, he deserves this preferential treatment.
Mo Hua was completely relieved, bowed, and left.
After Mo Hua left, the head of Taixu was thoughtful.
Mr. Xun asked him: "What are you thinking about?"
The head of Taixu muttered:
"Ancestor, I suddenly had an idea..."
"If Mo Hua, a kid like this, has been in the middle stage of foundation building, unable to break through, kept repeating grades, and never graduated, wouldn't it mean... that he would be able to continue participating in Taoism conferences?"
"One day when Mo Hua is here, all the four major sects, the other eight sects, and the twelfth stream can only look at his face and compete for second place?"
"In this way, our Taixu Sect, will we be able to always take the first place in the discussion formation? Will the leader of the discussion be weak?"
Mr. Xun said angrily: "What nonsense!"
But after he finished speaking, he was stunned. After thinking about it carefully, he discovered...
It seems feasible...
As long as Mo Hua is there, he will be number one.
And he is only in the middle stage of foundation building. As long as he doesn't reach the late stage of foundation building, he doesn't have to graduate.
If they keep taking the first place in the discussion formation, wouldn't it mean that the Taixu Sect can dominate the discussion group?
This temptation was so great that Mr. Xun was temporarily greedy, thinking that it would be good if Mo Hua kept "repeating the grade"...
Then Mr. Xun immediately shook his head, suppressed the greed in his heart, and said quickly:
"No, no. If you do this, you will actually harm the child. It's absolutely not allowed..."
The head of Taixu also knew that this was not good, so he only talked about it.
Moreover, if he really does this, the four major sects will definitely jump over the wall and wonder what dirty tricks they will use.
Other sects will also yell at their Taixu sect for being shameless.
Old Mr.
What does the leader of the formation look like..."
"Yes." Head Taixu said.
After finishing talking about Mo Hua, they continued to talk about business.
"That matter..." Mr. Xun's eyes narrowed slightly, "Are you ready?"
The head of Taixu calmed down his expression and said solemnly: "We have already begun to contact you, and we have leaked a little bit of information over there, but..."
Head Taixu frowned, "...the other side is very repulsive."
"Is it just rejection?"
"Not only..." the head of Taixu said helplessly, "They feel that our Taixu Sect is just adding insult to injury and ridiculing them."
"Yeah." Mr. Xun was not surprised.
This is normal. Taixumen would also think so if they were in a different place.
The head of Taixu frowned and said: "It seems there is little hope and there are many obstacles. Ancestor, do we still want to persist?"
"This is natural." Mr. Xun nodded and said, "This is not a family matter, and when planning and doing things, don't look at what others say, but look at their specific situation, gains and losses, life and death, and interests."
"Most of the things you say are not true."
"Most of the opinions you hear are probably like duckweeds on the water, far from the real truth."
The leader of Taixu suddenly understood, nodded and said: "Yes."
"You are just giving some air to let their ancestors hear the news and be mentally prepared. The real decision is still in the hands of their ancestors." Mr. Xun said.
When the head of Taixu heard this, he felt a little relieved, then he cupped his hands and said:
"Everything is as the ancestor said."
…
All plans are being pushed forward in an orderly manner.
A few days later, he rushed to Xumen.
In the cave in the back mountain.
The ancient pine screen covers the cause and effect, and there is no one around.
Ancestor Linghu who rushed to the Xumen was sitting alone in the cave.
In front of him, there was an ancient stone table with three tea cups on it. The tea in the cups was full of steam.
The table is old, the tea cups are old, and the system is old.
This is an ancient tea party that has been held for a long time, but it has also been a long time since it was held again.
At this time, Ancestor Linghu was drinking tea and waiting quietly.
After a while, in the empty void, the space suddenly split open, and sword energy overflowed.
A tall old man with a dark face came out. He walked straight to the table, picked up the tea cup and drank.
This person is wearing Tai'amen, the highest-status Taoist robe, and he is the ancestor Ouyang behind Tai'amen.
Patriarch Ouyang sat down to drink tea and did not talk aloud.
Because both people in the room knew that the person in charge had not arrived yet.
Another incense time passed, and the cracks in the void unfolded again, smoothly and steadily, and the traces were faded.
Mr. Xun, a man with white hair, walked out and went straight to the table. He picked up the teacup, signaled to Tai'a and the ancestor of Chongxumen, and drank it all in one gulp.
Patriarch Ouyang was originally angry, but when he saw Mr. Xun's gray-haired appearance, he couldn't bear it and sighed:
"Brother Xun, among the three of us, you will age the fastest."
Mr. Xun said calmly: "There is no way, I think too much and work too much."
Patriarch Ouyang shook his head, "I just said, you are already an ancestor, why bother to teach and preach in person? It's a waste of time..."
Mr. Xun said: "I'm used to the ancestral rules, and..."
Old Mr.
As soon as these words came out, the ancestors of Tai'amen and Chongxumen felt a little uncomfortable.
If there hadn't been a monster from Taixu Sect, the current situation might not be better than those two sects.
After a while, Ancestor Linghu rushed to Xumen and said:
"Okay, let's get down to business..."
He didn't hold back and went straight to the point: "I heard some rumors about that matter. I think it was Brother Xun who came here specifically through the mouths of these elders to inquire about it."
"Let me express my attitude first: I don't agree with Xumen on this matter."
Patriarch Ouyang also nodded and said, "I don't agree with it either."
Although the three sects are from the same ancestors, since they are separated, they live their own lives.
Now that both of them have their own foundations, how can they just say they can work together?
There are too many entangled interests and personnel conflicts involved, and they are so complicated that ancestors like them feel a headache just thinking about it.
Moreover, once the three sects merge into one, there must be a "leader".
Who will be the head?
Judging from the current situation, it must be Taixu Sect.
Tai'amen and Chongxumen are even less likely to agree.
To put it nicely, it is called "the merger of the three sects", but to put it more unpleasantly, it is called "annexation". The Taixu Sect took advantage of the situation and swallowed up their Tai'amen and Chongxu Sect!
When he thought of this, Patriarch Ouyang felt resentful and said to Mr. Xun:
"Brother Xun, the three sects are connected together. I don't expect you to help us in times of crisis, but you also don't want to add insult to injury..."
Ancestor Linghu also nodded and said: "This is indeed chilling to our hearts."
Mr. Xun drank tea silently and did not speak.
Ancestor Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu looked indifferent, but they did not rush, waiting for Mr. Xun's reply.
After a while, Mr. Xun slowly spoke and asked the other two ancestors a question: "Do you think the foundation of our three families can be preserved?"
As soon as these words came out, the two ancestors Ouyang were a little startled.
Patriarch Ouyang said: "It's hard to tell between my Tai'amen and Chongxu Sect, but your Taixu Sect has a deep blessing. You have an evil disciple, and you are already ranked third among the eight gates. It also coincides with the sect's restructuring. From then on,
If we are prospering, what else can we do to keep our foundation?"
Old Mr.
Ancestor Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu looked at each other, and then both looked a little confused:
"Brother Xun, please speak clearly."
Mr. Xun hesitated for a moment and slowly said two words:
"Evil God..."
The expressions of Ancestor Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu changed, and then they frowned.
Mr. Xun said: "These two words should be familiar to you."
"You mean..." Ancestor Linghu said.
Mr. Xun sighed: "An evil god has penetrated into the border of Qianxue State, and the penetration is deeper than you and I expected..."
Ancestor Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu remained silent.
Mr. Xun glanced at them silently and said slowly:
"I know that you may not be aware of it, but if you don't study the cause and effect, you have no idea how serious this problem is."
"Not only you, but also the other old guys."
"Either you stay in seclusion and don't care about things, or you only care about the interests of the sect and the development of the sect. The disciples are doing wrong. As long as they don't touch the foundation of the sect, they will turn a blind eye."
"This is wrong..."
Mr. Xun said in a deep voice: "The corruption of the Taoist heart is more terrifying than anything else."
"Once the Taoist heart is corrupted, the evil gods will take the opportunity to get in. No matter how powerful the force or the prosperous sect is, once it is corroded, sooner or later it will become corrupt, or even completely rotten."
"And the evil god resides in the human heart, and his methods are cunning and unpredictable."
"We monks who cultivate our qi and strength but not our hearts, no matter how high our cultivation is, we will never be the opponent of the evil god."
Patriarch Ouyang frowned, shook his head and said, "Brother Xun, you are a bit alarmist..."
Mr. Xun said: "Isn't Yan Zhizhou's lesson profound enough?"
This matter is more acute.
Ancestor Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu both looked unhappy.
"This matter is due to the poor discipline of my Tai Amen and Chongxu Sect. I don't deny it, but to say that this is the work of evil gods is probably... a bit far-fetched..."
Mr. Xun raised his eyebrows slightly:
"Aren't you curious? Why can this matter be hidden until now? Why can you ancestors see it wrong? Why should such filthy things be put on the Yanshui River?"
"The Dragon King Temple in Yanshui River has a history."
"Why did the Dragon King Temple disappear immediately? Who hid it? What happened inside?"
"Nowadays, in the Dragon King Temple, water bandits kill people as sacrifices. What are they worshiping?"
"Is there someone who is tempting the disciples of the sect to commit crimes and raise that thing?"
The expressions of Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu changed a little.
They are all ancestors. They not only have to practice, but also plan the overall situation, and occasionally retreat to meditate. They generally don't care about the "little things" that are trivial between the second-level state boundaries and foundation-building monks.
In addition, the evil fog shrouded the cause and effect.
If Mr. Xun hadn't mentioned it at this time, they would not have realized the mystery hidden in it.
No, in other words, they had realized it and had a little guess, but then they forgot about it, intentionally or unintentionally...
Forgot...
They Dongxu Ancestors have forgotten...
Thinking about it at this time, the two ancestors were shocked and felt a little chill in their hearts.
What existence can make these ignorant people forget one thing?
Ancestor Linghu thought for a moment and said: "I will check this matter..."
Old Mr.
Put this matter behind you..."
Ancestor Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu frowned even deeper.
After a while, Patriarch Ouyang said: "Brother Xun, among the three of us, you are the one who has learned the most profound knowledge of the secrets of heaven. I don't think you can tell lies. But it is a bit rash to ask us to believe you completely without proof."
Already."
"What's more, anything involving the fate of the sect is a major event."
"We also understand what you mean."
"But it is impossible for us to agree to this major event that is apparently a 'merger of three sects' but is actually a 'annexation of sects' just because of our unfounded fear of the so-called 'evil god'..."
Ancestor Linghu also said: "Hearing with the ears is false, seeing with the eyes is belief. We must seek verification before we can make a decision."
Mr. Xun said: "If the evil god is born, it means that people's hearts are in chaos, and the great ways of heaven and earth have begun to decline. By the time you figure it out, it will be too late..."
Ancestor Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu were obviously a little doubtful.
Mr. Xun sighed slightly.
This is where the difficulty lies.
People can only recognize what they can recognize.
The longer people live, the more this happens.
The existence of the evil god is illusory and illusory, born from the thoughts of gods.
Ordinary monks, no matter how high their cultivation level is, may not be able to see it.
Even if you see it, you may not understand it; if you understand it, you may not really understand it; even if you do understand it, you may not know what to do.
Even if you know what to do, when you really want to do it, you will be full of worries and difficulties, making it difficult to implement it firmly.
This is also a shortcoming of human nature.
It is already difficult to "know", and it is even more difficult to "unify knowledge and action".
But opportunities wait for no one and are fleeting.
Once the best opportunity is missed and the situation deteriorates, there will be no hope of recovery.
Old Mr.
And if the three sects can merge, it will be a great opportunity.
However, it is not easy to convince these two old antiques who have lived too long and are stubborn.
Mr. Xun was silent for a moment and said slowly: "Have you forgotten... the 'Great Demon Tribulation' in the history of the three sects?"
As soon as these words came out, both Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu shrank their pupils and their minds were shaken.
Mr. Xun continued: "This kind of ancient secret, all the words have been erased long ago. Except for us ancestors who have lived a long time, even the current head of the family has never known it."
"But, I think you won't forget it either."
"When the Heavenly Demon Tribulation lasted for a long time, how many people in my Taixu lineage died and how many swords were broken?"
"My senior brother, with such cultivation, his swordsmanship has reached the pinnacle, but he cannot go any further. He can only call himself a god and stay in the Taixu Sword Tomb. He uses the tomb as a prison and cannot leave even one step for the rest of his life."
"The heavenly secrets of the three sects, the evil causes and effects, and the murderous intentions of the gods, are all silently guarded by the Taixu Sect."
"There are countless corpses buried in the sword tomb today."
"These include seniors who died in the catastrophe of demons, as well as geniuses who died in the process of killing evil spirits..."
"Perhaps this is the fate of the sword transformed from spiritual thoughts. I won't say anything, and I don't want to bargain, but you should know that you do owe my Taixu Sect something."
Mr. Xun’s eyes were profound.
Ancestor Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu looked silent, but they also felt guilty.
People are selfish.
On weekdays, they only think about themselves, but that doesn't mean that they don't understand some things.
Tai'a casts the spiritual sword, and Chongxu cultivates the sword energy. These are all tangible and can be seen. The actions of the two sects can be seen.
But the intangible things are the most dangerous.
Over the years, Taixu Sect has made the greatest sacrifices and sacrifices in secret.
If they are at the level of the sect leader or elder, they may not know much about the secrets of heaven, and they may be able to quibble a bit, but they are ancestors and are well aware of the elusive terror of the world of spiritual thoughts.
It’s not like they have never been to the Sword Tomb at Taixu Sect.
They also know how many people are buried there.
Mr. Xun glanced at the two of them silently for the last time and said in a deep voice:
"The three sects merged to advance and retreat together to cope with the great calamity and preserve the foundation of our three sects."
"To put it bluntly, it can also be regarded as compensation for the losses that my Taixu Sect has suffered in the path of spiritual thought over the years."
"What's more, I don't need to say more about the situation of your two sects now. Do you really want to watch the foundation decline?"
"But my Taixu Sect is different. If nothing else, at least there is an ink painting on top of the formation. One handsome person can cover up all the ugly ones."
"I put my words here, the number one in the next formation will definitely be from my Taixu Sect!"
"This is the situation. There is only one chance."
"Now I can still give you a hand. If you miss this opportunity and really encounter a catastrophe, even if I want to give you a hand, I have the will but can't."
"You should understand how to choose..."
Mr. Xun's expression was stern and his tone was decisive.
Ancestor Ouyang and Ancestor Linghu were silent in thought, speechless for a long time, and finally they could only sigh deeply.
…
An hour later, Mr. Xun returned to Taixu Gate, and a huge stone slowly fell in his heart.
Anyway, it's finally started.
These days of planning are not a disappointment.
Mr. Xun breathed a sigh of relief.
An hour later, Mo Hua came to see Mr. Xun for routine advice on formation formations.
Seeing that Mr. Xun never slacked off in ink painting and was still so diligent, he nodded with pleasure.
After asking for advice, Mo Hua stopped talking.
"What's wrong?" Mr. Xun asked.
"I..." Mo Hua whispered, "Are you really not going to repeat a grade?"
Although he had asked before, he still wanted to confirm again.
Mr. Xun naturally would not let him repeat the grade, but at this time, he happened to be a little leisurely, so he asked curiously:
"You don't want to repeat the grade so much?"
"Yeah." Mo Hua nodded.
It's a bit embarrassing to repeat a grade, mainly because...
"If I repeat a grade, my junior brothers will become my 'senior brothers'."
The title of "Little Senior Brother" is hard-earned, and I still value it very much in ink painting.
Mr. Xun sighed slightly: "Don't worry..."
He thought for a moment, then suddenly his heart moved, and he said with a smile but not a smile:
"Once a little senior brother, you will always be a little senior brother. You can't change it. And maybe after a while, you can be a little senior brother to more people..."
"Little senior brother of more people?"
Mo Hua was startled, a little confused, and didn't understand what Mr. Xun meant.
For no reason, where can you find someone to be your junior disciple?
Chapter completed!