Xuantian Immortal Cultivation Record

The Xuántiān Sect's mountain gate occupies a spiritually rich area of a thousand miles in the middle of the Heavenly Tower Mountains, dotted with immortal mountains, spiritual peaks, and blessed paradises.

The Xuántiān Sect has selected seventy-two mountain peaks as the outer gate where Qi Refining disciples reside.

The central area, spanning three hundred miles, is the inner gate, dominated by thirty-six majestic spiritual peaks. Among them, the outer eighteen peaks are inhabited by Foundation Establishment disciples, while the inner eighteen peaks are the core of the entire sect.

Nine peaks are occupied by Core Formation elders, six peaks house the spirit herb garden, alchemy room, weapon refining room, beast taming room, scripture depository, and rare物 building, and the remaining three peaks are important locations of the Xuántiān Sect.

True Unity Peak is where the sect leader cultivates and manages important sect affairs, with the Palm Control Hall located halfway up the mountain, and the Spirit Containing Hall, where the sect leader cultivates, at the summit. True Dao Peak is home to the Xuántiān Palace, the sect's heritage center. True Nature Peak is the location of the Nascent Soul cultivators' cave dwellings.

The Xuántiān Sect's predecessors used the inner gate's thirty-six peaks to construct a massive mountain protection array, shielding the sect from countless storms and dangers for ten thousand years, maintaining its unwavering grandeur and establishing its status as a great sect.

It was now the third month of spring. True Unity Peak, filled with spiritual energy, was a vast expanse from top to bottom. Amidst the green trees and cliffs were beautiful flowers and grasses, displaying a riot of color.

The sounds of geese and cranes could be heard from time to time, and deer and monkeys could be seen drinking and climbing, a scene full of vitality. Zhang Yuanjing was in a hurry and had no time to appreciate the scenery, but being in such a wonderful place still brought him some comfort.

Passing through a dense forest and a long, narrow valley only a few feet wide, the path suddenly opened up. Beneath a cliff near the summit, the Spirit Containing Hall was faintly visible amidst the maple trees and green bamboo. Towering buildings and majestic halls, vermilion railings and jade doors, painted beams and carved eaves, displayed a magnificent aura even in this secluded location.

Zhang Yuanjing was a frequent visitor to the Spirit Containing Hall. When he was at the mountain gate and not in seclusion, he would come to the Spirit Containing Hall to talk with Wu Yuankui. Of course, this was only when Wu Yuankui was not in seclusion or away.

The steward managing the Spirit Containing Hall was Li Zhengfeng, a junior Foundation Establishment cultivator. Li Zhengfeng saw Zhang Yuanjing from afar at the hall gate and trotted forward to greet him, saying with a smile, "Senior Uncle Zhang, you've come at the perfect time. The sect leader is sitting idly in the hall. I'll go in and report your arrival."

"No need, let him in," Wu Yuankui's deep voice came from the hall before Li Zhengfeng could finish speaking.

Li Zhengfeng's expression stiffened, and he bowed respectfully towards the hall before stepping aside, signaling for Zhang Yuanjing to enter the hall on his own.

The layout of the Spirit Containing Hall was very simple, divided only into a front hall and a back hall. The back hall was where the sect leader Wu Yuankui cultivated and resided, with many pavilions and terraces, while the front hall was divided into three halls: left, center, and right. The left hall was for receiving guests, the center hall was for discussions, and the right hall was for the stewards' residence.

Zhang Yuanjing walked into the left hall with practiced ease. Wu Yuankui was leaning against a golden-wheeled wooden armchair, his eyes half-open and half-closed, his usually stern square face showing a hint of softness.

"Yuanjing, Mount Shūmí, especially the alternate dimension formed within the seal, is actually a good opportunity. You should go!" Wu Yuankui said in a low voice, his tone calm but unquestionable.

"Senior Brother, you know that after that incident one hundred and thirty years ago, I can no longer trust fellow cultivators, not even fellow disciples of the sect!" Zhang Yuanjing shook his head firmly.

"This time is different. Core Formation elders from the sect will be secretly watching over you, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators going are all well-known and trustworthy. There will be no backstabbing or killing for treasure," Wu Yuankui said with some helplessness.

He didn't know much about that incident, because he was already in the Foundation Establishment realm at the time and wouldn't have participated in the Qi Refining disciples' travels. The only person involved was Zhang Yuanjing; the other two died in the mouths of demons.

According to Zhang Yuanjing, the two junior disciples, whose cultivation was below his, went with him to the Eastern Yuántāo Mountain to gather herbs. As a result, the two of them attacked him to steal a third-grade spiritual herb, severely injuring him.

He thought he was going to die, but a savage blood-stage great perfection tiger demon guarding the spiritual herb suddenly appeared, scaring the two into fleeing. Because they had taken the spiritual herb, the tiger demon chased after them relentlessly, instead of Zhang Yuanjing who was severely injured, allowing him to survive. The two who fled died in the tiger's mouth instead.

This matter later caused a great uproar in the outer gate. The elders of the two disciples believed that Zhang Yuanjing had killed them and demanded that he pay with his life.

In the end, Wu Yuankui had to ask Qi Tianxiang, who had already become the sect leader, to calm the matter down.

However, the elders of the two disciples did not give up and secretly instigated others to make things difficult for Zhang Yuanjing, causing him to be in danger several times. This was also an important reason why Zhang Yuanjing had been in seclusion for many years, unwilling or afraid to go out and travel.

"Hehe, Senior Brother, why bother pretending to be ignorant? Wasn't it the most trusted junior brothers and sisters who stabbed me in the back that time? If it weren't for the appearance of a powerful tiger demon, how could I have survived?

Fellow disciples tried to kill me, but a demon saved my life. How can I dare to trust these so-called junior brothers and sisters again!" Zhang Yuanjing became emotional, his words filled with resentment, but he quickly controlled himself and changed the subject, "Senior Brother, I'm here this time to ask you for advice." He then told him about Liu Yuanqing and Song Yuanqing giving him spiritual fruits.

Wu Yuankui listened quietly without any change in expression. The scene in the Palm Control Hall was a play he had arranged.

Liu Yuanqing's Astragalus Fruit was something he had prepared in addition to the original plan. According to the prior agreement, he should have taken out a bottle of middle-grade Spirit Gathering Powder, whose value was far less than the Astragalus Fruit.

As for the Golden Scale Fruit, it was a spiritual fruit he had recently obtained by chance. Of course, he could have directly given it to Zhang Yuanjing and let him swallow it, but that would have deprived Zhang Yuanjing of the initiative to fight for it, making it almost impossible for him to withstand the Golden Scale Fruit's devastating impact.

Helplessly, he had to use his position as sect leader, half by force and half by enticement, to "persuade" Guo Yuanmeng and Song Yuanzhen to cooperate with Liu Yuanqing in putting on this play. However, the effect did not seem to be as desired.

"Senior Brother, do you have a recipe for refining this Golden Scale Fruit?" Zhang Yuanjing asked.

Wu Yuankui pretended to ponder for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "The sect does not have such a pill formula.

Moreover, since it is a spiritual fruit consumed by demons, it will be difficult to find a suitable recipe.

If it is given to an alchemist to research, one fruit is just a drop in the bucket, and it will be impossible to test a usable formula."

"Does that mean I can only swallow it directly? Not to mention that I am not a body refiner, I'm afraid even cultivators with strong bodies can't resist the impact of this spiritual fruit!" Zhang Yuanjing said in disappointment.

"That first depends on how strong your will to survive is!" Wu Yuankui opened his eyes and glanced at him sharply.

He had always been dissatisfied with Zhang Yuanjing's soft and gentle personality, and he would severely criticize him every time, but after saying too much, it became useless nonsense.

Zhang Yuanjing turned his face away from his gaze and said somewhat unnaturally, "I finally succeeded in establishing my foundation, of course I want to live longer.

But if there is no hope at all, why bother trying? Wouldn't it be a waste of a precious spiritual fruit!"

"Hope is earned! If everything is laid out there for people to pick, that is not hope, but luxury!" Wu Yuankui's face showed displeasure, and he was truly angry in his heart.

In previous years, he was busy cultivating and had no time to care about Zhang Yuanjing's cultivation level. As a result, decades passed, his cultivation hardly improved, and a large amount of his lifespan was wasted.

The thought that he had at most fifteen years left to live, and that his cultivation was still stuck at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, made him furious!

"Why refuse to go to Mount Shūmí! Maybe there will be some opportunity to advance your small realm and extend your life by twenty years!"

"My opportunities have always been bad, and I've always been plagued by bad luck. I, I... don't want to die in a dangerous place," Zhang Yuanjing stammered.

"Your lifespan is about to end. Whether you die in a dangerous place or in your cave, what's the difference!" Wu Yuankui was furious, pointing his finger at his forehead and saying sternly.

If Zhang Yuanjing wasn't his childhood friend, and the two of them hadn't suffered misfortune together, their fates intertwined, he would have kicked him out long ago. Why would he waste time talking nonsense with him?

Zhang Yuanjing and Wu Yuankui were both from Beishan Village in Xiangshan County, Yuanyang Kingdom, a mortal nation.

One hundred and eighty years ago, Qi Tianxiang, who was still in the middle stage of Core Formation, passed through Xiangshan County and fought fiercely with a great demon. The great demon was no match for him and fled, barging into Beishan Village on the way. In his haste to destroy the demon, Qi Tianxiang inadvertently destroyed the entire village. He only found Zhang Yuanjing and Wu Yuankui, who were only four years old, from the pile of corpses. Filled with guilt, he brought the two back to the mountain gate and placed them in the outer gate.

Wu Yuankui possessed both gold and water spiritual roots, was intelligent, brave, and resolute, a genius in cultivation. His progress was very fast. Qi Tianxiang personally took him as his disciple, providing him with a large amount of cultivation resources. In just over a hundred years, he achieved the Golden Core Dao and smoothly took over as sect leader. At this time, his cultivation had reached the late stage of Core Formation.

Zhang Yuanjing had three spiritual roots: water, fire, and earth. Water and fire were too strong and conflicted with each other, while the earth spiritual root was weak, resulting in poor cultivation talent.

Moreover, this person was cowardly, had flaws in his character, and lacked the will and spirit that a cultivator should have to defy fate and advance bravely. After several adventures, he developed fear in his heart and refused to take risks, explore dangers, or seek treasures, so his cultivation grew slowly. With Wu Yuankui's strong help, he barely entered the Foundation Establishment stage at the age of one hundred and twenty-four, just before he was about to pass away.

Wu Yuankui believed that his own cultivation opportunity was exchanged for the lives of the entire village, so the more his cultivation improved and the higher his realm became, the more he felt an unspeakable sense of gratitude and guilt, always thinking about how to repay the favor.

In the end, this repayment all fell on Zhang Yuanjing, one of the only two survivors of Beishan Village.

Zhang Yuanjing lowered his head and remained silent.

Decades of closed-door cultivation had made his personality more stubborn, even rigid.

However, even though he had comforted himself many times, as a mountain village boy with poor aptitude who should not have embarked on the path of cultivation in the first place, being able to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator and live for two hundred years was already a great blessing, and he didn't need to expect too much.

However, as his lifespan gradually withered and his soul was about to enter oblivion, he still found it difficult to suppress his desire to survive and still had a strong desire to continue living.

Wu Yuankui sighed softly and said patiently, "Yuanjing, you and I are not brothers, but we are closer than brothers. I am wholeheartedly seeking the Dao, and I have neither started a family nor taken disciples. If I were to talk about relatives, besides my master, it would be you, my childhood playmate.

If providing resources alone could allow you to break through and extend your life, I would not hesitate to find them for you.

However, after Foundation Establishment, it is the true path of immortality. Realm cannot be built up by elixirs alone. You must have the will to fight against fate, the perseverance to never regret even if you die nine times! No one can give you this. You can only rely on yourself."

Zhang Yuanjing was moved and knew that Wu Yuankui truly cared about him, so he spoke to him so frankly.

However, he had always cultivated muddle-headedly and had never had the awareness to fight against the heavens. How would he know what the will to fight against fate was?

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Senior Brother, if I directly swallow the Golden Scale Fruit before my lifespan ends and try my luck, would that be considered fighting against fate as you said?"

Wu Yuankui's face immediately turned gloomy, and he said with great disappointment, "That is not you fighting, that is a helpless act when you are at the end of your rope. You have no confidence, no chance of winning. How can that be called fighting!"

Zhang Yuanjing drooped his head and dared not look at Wu Yuankui.

Wu Yuankui got up from the armchair, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked up at the gemstone lamp hanging on the ceiling, saying with some disappointment, "Do you know how many Xuántiān disciples die each year? The sect admits more than five hundred people every five years, but the total number of Qi Refining disciples remains stable at around fifteen thousand, never exceeding a hundred people even at the greatest fluctuations. This means that nearly five hundred disciples die, disappear, or leave for various reasons every five years.

And how many Foundation Establishment cultivators are there? It is maintained at around five hundred people. Considering that Foundation Establishment cultivators have a longer lifespan than Qi Refining disciples, less than two percent of Qi Refining disciples can actually advance to the Foundation Establishment realm.

Which of these Qi Refining disciples who can enter my Xuántiān Sect is not a gifted and exceptional individual! Look, how difficult it is to build an immortal foundation and embark on the path of immortality! And advancing from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation is even more difficult! If you don't fight and snatch, why should it be you who advances, and not someone else!"

At this point, he suddenly turned around, his sharp gaze like a ball of fire, scorching Zhang Yuanjing's somewhat pale face: "Do you think you are very smart, hiding in the cave to cultivate, not touching anything dangerous, not going to any dangerous places, living safely to old age and death!

Have you seen those disciples who entered the sect at the same time as you, whether they are gifted, peerless, have extraordinary opportunities, or have a prominent background and abundant resources, all dying in adventures, turning into a handful of yellow earth, or even having their corpses missing, and therefore congratulate yourself for not taking risks, living a stable life, and preserving your life, thinking that others are stupid, greedy, and unable to control themselves!

Have you ever thought about how many Qi Refining disciples risk their lives for a Foundation Establishment Pill! How many Foundation Establishment Pills did you use for your Foundation Establishment? Four! Do you really think that you can advance to Foundation Establishment by hiding in the cave to cultivate? Do you really think that the heavens only favor you!"

Zhang Yuanjing's face immediately turned red, and he felt ashamed, speechless, and dared not defend himself.

In his memory, although Wu Yuankui had also said things to him and scolded him, it had never been as serious as this time. He felt a strong sense of unease and fear.

After a long time, seeing that Wu Yuankui was no longer speaking, he asked cautiously, "Senior Brother, then tell me, what is fighting against fate?"

Wu Yuankui said word by word: "Go to Mount Shūmí and experience it yourself!"