"The Immortal wouldn't deceive me, and the Cultivation Technique must be correct."
Jiang Taixuan raised his hand and looked at his palm, a bitter smile appearing on his face. "Since there's nothing wrong with the technique, the problem... must be with me."
"No wonder the Immortal didn't take me as his disciple."
"The Immortal must have seen that I'm not suitable for cultivating immortality at all."
Realizing this, Jiang Taixuan felt an overwhelming sense of despair.
After finally seeing a glimmer of hope, was it going to be extinguished so quickly?
Boom! A loud bang echoed.
Jiang Taixuan slammed his fist into the nearby wall. Crimson blood dripped from his hand, staining the ground, but he didn't even seem to notice.
At this moment, nothing could be more painful than having the cultivation technique right in front of him but being unable to practice it.
"No!"
"I can't give up yet."
Jiang Taixuan thought of his parents and the villagers. Their lively faces flashed repeatedly in his mind. Reviving his parents and the villagers had almost become his obsession.
Before achieving this goal, he couldn't give up, no matter what!
"The Immortal also gave me plenty of those white jade stones. They must be valuable and might help me somehow," Jiang Taixuan thought, seemingly grasping at straws.
He turned around and reached out to grab one of the spirit stones. But just as he was about to touch it, his movements suddenly froze.
He noticed a faint white glow shining from the spot directly below where he had punched the wall. The light was weak, and if he hadn't been paying attention, it would have been easy to miss.
"What's this?"
Jiang Taixuan was astonished.
He dug into the ground with his hands and pulled out an ancient mirror, covered in rust and mud.
The mirror seemed to have been buried for countless years, exuding a decaying aura. Its original appearance was completely obscured by the dirt and rust.
But due to his punch earlier, his blood had dripped onto the mirror, and after absorbing the blood, it began to show a hint of something extraordinary.
"A mirror?"
Jiang Taixuan was stunned for a moment.
He reached out to wipe the dirt off the surface. But the moment he touched the mirror, his pupils dilated, and his soul seemed to be drawn out of his body. His physical form fell backward with a thud.
<+>
Outside the Profound Sun Sect
Ye Han returned to the sect, covered in blood. After entering his shabby hut, he collapsed onto the bed.
He had spent the entire day battling fierce beasts, and his body was covered in wounds.
But fortunately...
The rewards from his trip were just as immense.
"Seventh level of Body Refinement!"
Ye Han raised his hand and clenched his fist in the air. At that moment, he felt a surge of power rising within him.
In just one trip outside the sect, his strength had soared by three levels, jumping from the fourth level of Body Refinement to the seventh, like riding a rocket!
If word of this spread, it would surely shock countless outer sect disciples.
"Your luck was quite good. During your first trip outside Profound Sun Sect, you found a 700-year-old Scarlet Fruit. This fruit will save you at least half a year of cultivation time," said an ancient voice in Ye Han's mind. It spoke with a tone of approval, continuing, "You haven't fully absorbed the energy of the Scarlet Fruit yet. If you manage to do so, you should reach the Qi Condensation Realm within two months."
"Two months, huh?"
A smile formed on Ye Han's lips.
Originally, he thought it would take him a year to become an inner disciple, but now it seemed he only needed two months. No one would believe it if he told them.
Throughout the entire Profound Sun Sect, almost no one had luck like his—or perhaps not a single person did.
After all, even Li Xun and the others had to accumulate their strength bit by bit when they were outer sect disciples, with no shortcuts available.
But Ye Han's situation was different. Finding the Scarlet Fruit was a stroke of fortune that allowed his strength to skyrocket.
"Maybe I'll soon be able to catch up to Senior Brother Li Xun. Once I become an inner disciple, I'll be able to stand alongside him!" Ye Han murmured to himself.
"Disciple, where did you get such confidence?" The elder's strange voice pulled Ye Han back to reality.
"Uh..."
Ye Han froze, then said softly, "But hasn't Senior Brother Li Xun only recently become an inner disciple?"
In his mind, becoming an inner disciple meant just stepping into the Qi Condensation Realm.
"You think that just because Li Xun recently became an inner disciple, you'll be able to catch up to him?" the elder replied calmly.
That day when Li Xun rescued Ye Han from Bai Shaowei and his group, many people, including Ye Han, thought Li Xun had just entered the Qi Condensation Realm.
But Ye Han's master was no ordinary figure. He had once been a peerless expert. While others couldn't see through Li Xun's true strength, Ye Han's master could.
Li Xun's cultivation wasn't at the early stages of Qi Condensation; he was already at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm!
"At your current rate of progress, catching up to Li Xun's cultivation level will take at least three years!" the elder said solemnly.
"Three years? How is that possible?"
Ye Han shot up from his bed, disbelief written all over his face. "Master, what realm has Senior Brother Li Xun reached?"
"I'm not afraid to disappoint you," the elder said seriously. "When Li Xun saved you that day, he was already at the peak of Qi Condensation. Now that he has become an inner disciple and received the sect's inner disciple Cultivation Techniques, he has likely already reached the early stages of the Spirit Meridian Realm."
"The Spirit Meridian Realm…"
Ye Han felt as if his soul had left his body. He sat frozen on his bed, mumbling to himself.
Just moments ago, he had been pleased with himself for advancing three levels in one go. But compared to Senior Brother Li Xun, he now realized the gap between them was vast.
He had his master's guidance and had found the Scarlet Fruit by chance, yet Li Xun's cultivation still far surpassed his.
And Li Xun hadn't had any such advantages!
If Li Xun had the resources he had, wouldn't his accomplishments surpass his by an unimaginable degree?
<+>
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