The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone into the cave, Li Changsheng slowly woke up from his deep sleep. There was an unfinished smile on his face, as if he was still reminiscing about the happy gathering last night. This was the first time since he entered the spiritual path that he had indulged himself so much and immersed himself in worldly happiness.
In the past, Li Changsheng always maintained strict cultivation discipline and never dared to relax in the slightest. But last night, in the company of Xin Mingyue, Huang Daozhong, Sun Miaoyin and Fengling Fairy, he felt unprecedented happiness and relaxation. They drank wine together, tasted delicious food, and talked about each other's experiences and interesting stories, as if they had completely integrated into the secular world.
"My little friend, I haven't been this happy for a long time. I am deeply envious. I just lament that I was never lucky enough to meet a spiritual monk like you on the road of spiritual practice. It is really a great regret in my life."
"Hahahahahaha..."
"Indeed, as Senior Lingxu said, I haven't experienced this kind of carefree feeling for a long time. When I get along with them, I don't need to put up any guard, I only feel pure joy. Unfortunately, good times are always short. Yes, each of us has his own path of spiritual practice to take and his own avenue to pursue."
"I know very well your persistence and determination in the way of practice, but I hope you can keep one thing in mind: nothing can be too forced, and the same goes for the way of practice. I think back then, it was precisely because I failed to understand this that I This has led to the current situation.”
"Senior Lingxu, please rest assured that this junior will remember your teachings in his heart and will not dare to forget them."
"Don't blame me for being nagging. Sometimes, missed opportunities should be missed. The important thing is to keep moving forward and look for the next possible opportunity. I hope you won't follow in the footsteps of me. One more thing, I I must remind you that to practice Taoism, you need to maintain a clear mind and not be trapped by external things."
"Junior will remember it."
"By the way, there is one more thing. I just give you a suggestion. You already have three ancient fragments. You only need to find another one to put them together. If one day you really get them together, I suggest you bring them with you. Fairy Fengling will go together. The Ice Phoenix clan is a trustworthy ally, but more importantly, I am worried that the place where the fragment is located may be full of unknown dangers. With a powerful assistant like Fairy Fengling, this trip will definitely be successful. Get twice the result with half the effort and go much smoother.”
"Senior Lingxu, regarding the ancient fragments, I have been considering whether to disclose the relevant information to Fairy Fengling. After all, hundreds of years have passed, and we still have not found any clues about the fourth fragment. And like Bing A race with a long history like the Phoenix Clan may know some information that we don’t know. Therefore, I am considering whether I should seek help from Fairy Fengling to see if she can provide us with some valuable clues.”
"My suggestion is to wait until you return safely from the Nine Heavens Star Palace before revealing the relevant information about the ancient fragments to Fairy Fengling. At present, the bond between you is mainly based on Xin Guliang's friendship, but this level The relationship is not strong enough yet. By experiencing the challenges of the Nine Heavens Star Palace together, I believe you will have a deeper understanding and evaluation of each other. At that time, the trust between you will be more solid, and it will be the best way to share information about ancient fragments. opportunity."
"Junior, remember!"
"Okay, I won't disturb your practice anymore, I'm going to sleep for a while."
Li Changsheng knew that Taoist Lingxu's time was short. Although he was heartbroken with grief, he tried hard to conceal his emotions and pretended that everything was normal. Because he understood that Taoist Lingxu did not want him to show too much sadness and sympathy.
For hundreds of years, Li Changsheng has been trying his best to find a way all the time, hoping to allow Taoist Lingxu to successfully seize his body and extend his life. However, despite his great efforts, he was unable to find any effective solution. Even if he turned to a powerful and resource-rich organization like Jiuzhou Trading Company, he could not get substantial help. As Taoist Lingxu himself said, if there was a way to do it, he would have already thought of it.
The only thing Li Changsheng can do now is to stay silently at the Six Shadows Sect and accompany Taoist Lingxu on his final journey on the road to immortality. On the day they met, Taoist Lingxu had clearly told Li Changsheng that their separation would come sooner or later.
Although Li Changsheng spared no effort over the years to find many places with rich spiritual energy to extend Taoist Lingxu's life for hundreds of years, he ultimately failed to find a way to extend Taoist Lingxu's lifespan. Facing this unchangeable fact, Li Changsheng was filled with helplessness and regret.
When Li Changsheng decided to start practicing the Jinxiao Sword Art in seclusion, he found that it was difficult to calm down, and various thoughts were disturbing him, making it impossible for him to concentrate. So, he sighed deeply and began to recite the Jingxin Jue silently, trying to calm the turmoil in his heart. After an hour of patient adjustment, he gradually succeeded in dispelling the distracting thoughts in his mind and entered the state of concentration required for retreat practice.
Huang Daozhong has now become the busiest person in the Six Shadows Sect, but he deeply enjoys this process, as if every busy job brings him endless satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. This attitude may stem from his early experience. When he was still running a materials store, he was already used to taking care of everything in an orderly manner. This kind of rigor and meticulousness has become a part of his life.
Recently, Huang Daozhong is busy with two important things. The first task is to prepare for Nanzhou Continent’s Centennial Resource Competition. This is an unprecedented event in which all sects are eligible to participate.
What is different from the past is that this competition no longer requires each sect to spend millions or even tens of millions of spiritual stones as entry fees. As long as the sects in Nanzhou Continent have official records in the Six Shadows Sect, they can participate in this grand resource competition. This change undoubtedly provides more sects with opportunities to demonstrate their strength and compete for resources, and also makes this competition more fair and open.
When Huang Daozhong spread the news that he could participate in the Nanzhou Continent Centenary Resource Competition for free, the entire Nanzhou Continent immediately became excited. Whether it is a large sect or a small sect with only a few people, they have all signed up enthusiastically, eager to show their talents at this grand event.
What’s even more interesting is that in order to participate in this competition, some casual cultivators even temporarily formed sects to register. Regarding all this, Huang Daozhong was very open-minded and tolerant, treating all applicants equally. He issued a Six Shadow Sect token to every sect that signed up. As long as they hold this token, any sect is eligible. Participate in this century-old resource competition in Nanzhou Continent.
In this resource competition, Huang Daozhong made a major change. He abandoned the previous tradition of holding it next to Jinyang City, and instead set the location of the competition directly near the Six Shadows Sect. For this competition, Huang Daozhong carefully built a super large arena with a length of 4,900 feet and a width of 4,900 feet on a hilltop next to the Six Shadows Sect.
This is not only to host the fierce competition between various sects, but also to allow each participating sect to have a hundred free viewing places. This arrangement gives the young monks the opportunity to observe the exciting duels of their seniors at close range, thereby gaining experience and improving their own practice level.
Although this arrangement may allow other sects to grow rapidly and even threaten the status of the Six Shadows Sect to a certain extent, this is exactly what Li Changsheng, Huang Daozhong and others expect to see. They know very well that if a sect is like the Jinyang Sect and does not want to make progress and only relies on the protection of the divine ancestors to maintain its status, then such a sect will not be able to gain a long-term foothold in the world of immortality.
