Ye Chen brought Zi Menghan back to Qingyun Peak, passing through the invisible barrier of the reversal array and landing halfway up the peak.
Zi Menghan looked around, finding her new surroundings a little strange. Qingyun Peak seemed a bit different from the others - it was covered with beautiful trees, flowing streams, and waterfalls; dotted with pavilions with some caves that could be vaguely seen, and yet there was no sign of human beings, herb gardens, or animals. The whole peak looked extremely desolate.
Ye Chen saw through Zi Menghan's confusion and said, "Qingyun Peak faced a huge disaster a few years ago, and only the two of us are left."
"I see... Master, are there any rules that we need to follow?"
Ye Chen's face turned serious as he said, "We do have some rules that we must remember."
"Please tell me, Master!" Zi Menghan was ready.
Ye Chen looked into her eyes and calmly said, "First, do not fight for fame and fortune, and do not go looking for trouble. It would be best if you hide on the peak and train with a low profile. Conceal your cultivation, martial arts, treasures, and other methods to reduce your presence from others."
"What?"
Zi Menghan was a little surprised by this first rule as she cautiously asked, "Master, my previous teacher once said that cultivators must fight for both opportunities and luck! If you don't fight for it, where will you find the resources to cultivate?"
Ye Chen earnestly said, "Menghan, you must be more prudent in the way you think and behave! The human body itself is the greatest treasure. Fighting for fame and fortune is too materialistic. Don't put yourself in danger for the sake of such intangible things!
"Don't participate in any unnecessary exchanges, such as competitions between fellow disciples, sect missions, going down the mountain to train, exploring secret realms, and so on. On the surface, it might seem like you will gain something, but these will only bring you endless trouble!"
'The human body itself is the biggest treasure?'
"Yes, Master! I will remember it!"
Zi Menghan nodded. She pondered for a moment and then asked, "Master, if someone else takes the initiative to provoke us, what should we do?"
"And that's where the second rule comes in.
"If there is no way to avoid a conflict, then use lightning methods to destroy the enemy! Don't waste the opportunity to attack by talking. Anything you say would just be nonsense at this point. If you can kill the enemy with one move, then don't bother with any other moves. If you can attack from a distance, then don't engage in close combat! Everything must be done cautiously!"
"I understand, Master! Is there anything else?" Zi Menghan carefully processed the information Ye Chen had shared.
"Third, never put yourself in danger! Revealing your name must always be a last resort. Always use a sockpuppet if you can. And if you have a decoy, use it instead of showing your true form or location!" Ye Chen earnestly instructed.
"What is a sockpuppet?" Zi Menghan was a bit stunned.
"A sockpuppet is a fake name."
Ye Chen said, "In this world, there are all kinds of strange things. Some secret techniques only need to know a person's name to be able to kill them, even if they're at the other end of the world. If the enemy knows your real name, you won't even know how you died!"
Zi Menghan nodded quickly and carefully asked, "Master, if the enemy knows where the real body is, and we can't beat them, then what should we do?"
"Then we should learn a few more escape techniques and be ready to run at any time! Fighting your way through is like courting death!" Ye Chen looked at Zi Menghan as if he was looking at a retard.
Zi Menghan was speechless.
Ye Chen flipped his palm and a small jade bottle appeared in it before he handed it over to Zi Menghan. "This is a fasting pill. Eat one pill and you won't be hungry for a month. These will be enough to last you two to three years. Since your constitution is an Innate Crippled Body, I will need to ponder over the cultivation method that would suit you best. The courtyards here are all empty. Feel free to choose any to stay in for now."
Ye Chen instructed Zi Menghan simply and ignored her immediately after that as he flew to his cave by the lakeside and sat down cross-legged.
Since Ye Chen had successfully accepted a disciple, he was about to inherit a Sword Path skill. He had been excited to accept the inheritance the entire time but was afraid that he would cause a ruckus if he did so at the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony. Now that he had returned to Qingyun Peak and was concealed by the Heaven and Earth Five Elements Reversal Array, Ye Chen could finally inherit the Sword Path skill in peace.
[Congratulations, dear host. You have successfully accepted a disciple. The master-disciple interface has been unlocked. The host can determine the disciple's movements at any time.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained the Sword Path skill, Extreme Realm Sword Slash (do you want to inherit it?)]
[Extreme Realm Sword Slash: An incredibly mighty Sword Path skill. Each slash of the sword contains divine vital Qi of the Extreme Path Realm, instantly increasing one's battle power by ten times.]
Ye Chen had been so focused on checking out his new Sword Path skill inheritance that the unlocking of the master-disciple interface completely took him by surprise. But he was happy with it. This way, he could locate his disciple at any time, no matter where they go.
Now, what made Ye Chen even more excited was the benefits of the Sword Path skill that he had gained.
"Inherit it!" Ye Chen immediately exclaimed in his thoughts, instructing the system to grant him the Sword Path skill.
A sharp sword appeared above Ye Chen's head with a clear clang, emitting a domineering aura as if it could destroy everything instantly.
Zi Menghan had just chosen the courtyard closest to Ye Chen's cave when she felt the sharp sword intent as if there was an invisible sword pointing at her throat.
A sword light flashed all of a sudden and a towering tree dozens of meters away had been easily cut off. The sword light continued to shoot up into the sky with no intention of dissipating.
Then, a brilliant five-colored light appeared in the sky. The power of the reversal array activated the five elements as they surged and interweaved with each other, quickly blocking that sword light. Soon the sword light dispersed.
And with that, besides the fallen towering tree, none other could sense the sword light or its killing intent beyond Qingyun Peak for the Heaven and Earth Five Elements Reversal Array had concealed it.
It was as if nothing had happened.
"How powerful!" Zi Menghan's eyes looked on in admiration.
With a long exhalation, Ye Chen started to feel extremely weak. So he activated his Creation Dao Scripture and immediately recovered.
Ye Chen was beginning to feel extremely excited. Since he was already at the Peak Stage of Wave Realm, using the Extreme Realm Sword Slash would enable him to defeat anyone in Vision Realm. Even if he were to make a conservative estimate, his attack could already cripple Law Realm warriors.
"I need to increase my power! I have wasted a lot of time taking in a disciple today so I will need to train even harder! As for Zi Menghan's training, it was indeed a headache. None of us would be able to figure things out for her for a while. So, it would be better to break through to Law Realm first!" And with that, Ye Chen focused his thoughts on silently operating the Creation Dao Scripture and eventually sank into some kind of mysterious cultivation.
"What? The Ten Thousand Dao Harmony?! Is the empire's ancestor's comprehension of the Dao far inferior to Master's?" Zi Menghan looked over at Ye Chen's current location with bewilderment.
As time passed, Zi Menghan was involuntarily influenced by the Ten Thousand Dao Harmony and a mysterious Dao rhythm faintly pervaded her body.
Then, an illusion of an abnormally vast vision appeared in Zi Menghan's space of consciousness - the Sun rose and set, and the bright moon shone clearly next to it; numerous stars hung high in the deathly darkness; ten thousand demonic races were faintly discernible and raging flames blazed across the plains; ocean waves crashed against rocks and reached for the sky; the branches of towering trees seemed to be holding up the Heavens as astral winds whistled, lightning danced, and heavy snow fluttered.
This vision was somewhat similar to the one Ye Chen had caused the multiverse to witness when he awakened his Primordial Dao Body.
And as usual, Ye Chen had no idea about what Zi Menghan was witnessing in her mind. He had already sunk deep into the path toward enlightenment, trying his best to break through to Law Realm.