Chapter 120: The Nine Sons of the Dao Sect Gather Together

The Grand Elder knew that when Daoist Buyu acted so enthusiastically, it invariably meant he was plotting something. He became vigilant.

The Grand Elder believed Daoist Buyu had reasons to harm him. When Daoist Buyu was still an infant, the Third Elder brought him up the mountain, making him the youngest disciple. From their master to their elder brothers and sisters, no one had ever cared for an infant, so they gradually learned as they went along.

The Grand Elder was proficient in dream spells. When Daoist Buyu was restless as a child and couldn't sleep, the Grand Elder used dream spells to help him sleep soundly. When Daoist Buyu grew old enough to cultivate, he would often doze off during practice. The Grand Elder then used dream spells to startle him awake. Perhaps he scared him too much, as Daoist Buyu still suffered from psychological trauma to this day.

Seeing the Grand Elder's vigilance, the seven other elders also called out to him, "Senior Brother, hurry and come in! You're the only one missing for hotpot!"

"We can't be the only ones suffering misfortune. Today, no matter what, we must gather all nine disciples of Wendao Sect!"

The eight individuals at the entrance of the cave cheerfully greeted the Grand Elder, yet dared not step beyond the threshold. To an outsider, this scene appeared exceedingly strange. In the Grand Elder's memory, his seven junior brothers and sisters had never been so enthusiastic. Two millennia of experience had made him exceptionally shrewd. He quickly made a judgment: it was an illusion!

He bit down sharply on the tip of his tongue. The Grand Elder tried to break free from the illusion's confines using a drop of blood from his tongue, but nothing changed. Could it not be an illusion?

He recalled Lu Yang saying that the Ninth Elder had been sealed in the cave by Yunzhi, but the question was, how did the Second through Eighth Elders get sealed?

"How did all of you get sealed in here?"

The Eighth Elder replied earnestly, "It's like this, Senior Brother. We heard that the Ninth Elder was sealed by Yunzhi, so we came immediately to visit him. The Ninth Elder said this seal couldn't hold smart people, and since all seven of us consider ourselves intelligent, we thought we definitely wouldn't be trapped. So we entered one by one to test it, and as you can see, this is the result."

The Grand Elder raised an eyebrow. "That's so miraculous? Let me try."

The Grand Elder walked into the cave, and everyone cheered. What the Eighth Elder said wasn't wrong. What smart person would willingly get themselves sealed?

Thus, all nine disciples of Wendao Sect were successfully trapped. It was truly a joyous occasion.

The nine of them sat around the hotpot, and the entire cave filled with steam, like a hotpot-scented paradise. The ingredients for the hotpot were all provided by the Third Elder. As a body cultivator, he frequently needed to consume rare spiritual herbs and the flesh of demonic beasts to replenish his physical energy.

When the Grand Elder heard the full explanation of the situation, his face darkened. "So, the eight of you were trapped here, not thinking about seeking rescue, but rather how to drag others down with you?"

Daoist Ba stepped forward and said, "It's not that we didn't want to get out, but the Ninth Elder said the only way was to overcome our inner demons. However, our inner demons are too powerful; none of us can defeat them. So we worked together and came up with some other methods."

"For example, the Third Elder suggested digging a tunnel with a spoon.""For example, the Fourth Elder suggested shouting for help loudly to summon Niece Yunzhi.""For example, the Fifth Elder suggested refining the spoon into a magic artifact before digging the tunnel.""For example, the Sixth Elder, she..."

The Grand Elder interrupted the Wendao Sect's nine disciples' escape plan. "How come I heard Lu Yang say that the seal would be lifted if one simply meditated for three days, and that he had told the Ninth Elder this three days ago, meaning the seal should have already been removed?"

The Grand Elder wasn't a fool. He was confident that he had walked in not because he was tricked, but because he knew the true way to leave.

Eight icy gazes slowly fixed on Daoist Buyu. Daoist Buyu calmly said, "I have contributed greatly to the sect. Before you act, could you please allow me to write a last will?"

Lu Yang, who was currently meditating, felt Tianmen Peak shake slightly. He was somewhat surprised, unsure of what had happened. Someone dared to start a fight on Tianmen Peak?

Fortunately, Tianmen Peak only shook once before returning to its usual calm. Lu Yang didn't dwell on it. He entered the formation his Senior Sister had left to isolate external disturbances, adjusted his breath, and focused on breaking through to the early Foundation Establishment stage. His Senior Sister was not there to guard him. Breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage was a natural progression for Lu Yang, with no accidents expected, so there was no need for a guardian.

A moment later, his essence, qi, and spirit all reached their peak, and his spiritual platform became clear and empty. He circulated the 'Insightful Mind, Clear Nature Art,' devouring the surrounding spiritual energy like a whale, as massive amounts of spiritual energy continuously cleansed his body. When ordinary cultivators break through the early, middle, and late stages of Foundation Establishment, they use this opportunity to cleanse their meridians and marrow, undergo a complete transformation, and mend any injuries sustained during cultivation or combat.

However, for Lu Yang, this step was completely unnecessary! He had already thoroughly cleansed his meridians and marrow during the Qi Refinement stage, leaving no impurities to be expelled! After Foundation Establishment, Lu Yang's cultivation technique could constantly maintain the purity of his body. No matter what he ate or absorbed, only the essence would remain, and all impurities would be expelled. The 'Insightful Mind, Clear Nature Art' illuminated not only the mind but also the body!

After the Foundation Establishment stage, a vortex of liquid spiritual energy forms in a cultivator's dantian. A warmth spread through Lu Yang's dantian. He inwardly observed himself and clearly felt the liquid vortex in his dantian growing larger. The vortex consumed external spiritual energy and expelled even purer spiritual energy that was more suitable for him. He circulated the Grand Cycle, and the refined spiritual energy continuously flowed through his body, strengthening every part of it, leaving no detail untouched.

The vortex spun faster and faster, spiritual energy flowed through his entire body at an incredible speed, and finally, he felt a bottleneck being forcefully broken through by the spiritual energy.

Lu Yang opened his eyes, which were bright and clear. Mid-Foundation Establishment, achieved.

Outside the formation, the puppet saw that Lu Yang had successfully advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and that his realm was stable with no hidden dangers, so it stood up and left.

"There's still one thing I haven't done," Lu Yang remembered the words in the 'Foundation Establishment Handbook.' The 'Foundation Establishment Handbook' was the Seventh Elder's notes on Foundation Establishment, later supplemented by various senior brothers and sisters, clearly listing all common issues encountered during the Foundation Establishment stage without any omissions.

Lu Yang gathered spiritual energy in his right hand, gently patted his lower right abdomen, and suddenly spat out a piece of flesh. The bloody piece of flesh appeared to be a part of Lu Yang's body. Lu Yang shot out a sword qi, reducing the piece of flesh to dust.

"What is that?" Immortal Jinghong had been observing Lu Yang's advancement from the spiritual world, refraining from speaking to avoid distracting him and interrupting the process. Now that he had successfully advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, she could finally speak. She had been dying to speak.

Lu Yang earnestly explained, "I wonder if the Immortal has ever heard the saying that one shouldn't engage in strenuous exercise after a meal. Strenuous exercise can lead to severe abdominal pain; in worse cases, it can cause one to writhe on the ground in agony, with sweat beads the size of soybeans covering their forehead, which greatly impedes cultivation."

"My senior brothers and sisters in Wendao Sect discovered through research that by simply excising a small, useless piece of flesh when advancing to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, one can prevent such incidents from occurring, allowing them to engage in any activity they wish after a meal."

"So you were just..."

"Excising my appendix."

Immortal Jinghong: "..."

She found it hard to keep up with the current cultivators' way of thinking.