"This Dong Sheng Divine Continent is truly huge!"
After going through his welcome gift, Wu Yu was not the same person as he was a month ago.
He opened the door of the wooden hut, stood in the snow, and looked out at the endless, snowy plain. He saw the Clear Sky of Shushan, reaching into the skies. And he began to consider the path he would walk in the future.
"No matter what, cultivation and elevating one's level is the most important thing for every martial cultivator.
"If I am not capable enough, all the magnificence and abundance in the Shushan Immortal Sect will not concern me.
"Master is definitely hoping for me to win glory and status here, in the place of his dreams." Thinking of Feng Xueya and the Heavenly Sword Sect in the eastern extremities, as well as Wu You in Dong Yue Wu, he could not help but feel nostalgic.
"Ordinary dan disciples cannot leave the immortal sect for more than three months within a year, unless accompanied by disciples of the four major sword ranks. Three months is not enough for me to return to Dong Yue Wu. That is why I cannot possibly see them until I become a disciple of the four major sword ranks."
After reading The Rules of the Shushan Sect, Wu Yu knew this.
"Therefore, the most important thing now is to condense a Jindan. I should shut myself off from the world and pursue Jindan with all my strength!" Wu Yu's eyes burned hotly.
"Within the Cultivation Log, it states that there is an ordinary way in the Shushan Immortal Sect to condense a Jindan from the 10 major spiritual sources. As for more sublime methods, those must be imparted by a master, or exchanged for merits. The Jindan Condensation Art that is used will determine the quality of one's dan."
The Qi Condensation Realm needed a Qi Condensation Spiritual Art, and for the Jindan Realm, a Jindan Condensation Wondrous Art was needed to condense a Jindan.
Wu Yu was not too clear as to whether the four major sword ranks, or even the Shushan Sword Sages, would give their disciples many resources upon their initiation. But at least for now, Zhang Futu seemed to have no intention of giving him a Jindan Condensation Wondrous Art.
And if Wu Yu was inclined to spurn this ordinary Jindan Condensation Wondrous Art, then he would have to earn it himself.
However, good Jindan Condensation Wondrous Arts required a few years of toil to earn enough merits.
Of course, in the Shushan Immortal Sect, even the ordinary Jindan Condensation Wondrous Arts were superior to that of other sects.
"However, within the Great Way of Immortality Art, there is a complete set of immortality arts all the way to immortalhood. Through the Great Way of Immortality Art, I could build a Great Way Jindan. I wonder how the quality of that will be."
Normally, Jindan was divided into pale gold, gold, and deep gold as the three classifications of quality. The darker the color, the better the quality. And if there were clouds shrouding it, then the quality was even better.
After setting his heart on the goal, Wu Yu did not want to mingle with the other disciples at Futu Hall, including those three senior brothers and sister. Instead, he returned to the wooden hut, preparing to condense his Jindan.
Just as he entered the wooden hut, he had a shock of realization!
"Zhang Futu brought me here because he suspects something. If I use the Great Way of Immortality Art to condense my Jindan right under his watch, he might make up his mind to take away what I have."
Although it seemed like Zhang Futu had left, Wu Yu still felt that he had to be somewhere nearby, watching him.
He could vaguely sense it. His instincts made his hair stand on end.
"He is now curious and suspicious of me. Under his watch, I cannot be too bold."
Zhang Futu was not Feng Xueya.
Wu Yu paced in the wooden hut, thinking about what he should do.
"That's right! The Orientation Log mentioned a place like that."
He opened the Orientation Log again and finally found it. A place called the Jindan Cave.
"This is a place that the immortal sect prepared especially for Jindan disciples. A majority of the disciples preparing to condense their Jindan will go there to shut themselves off. There are countless mystic arts, skills, and experiences left behind by generations before, and everyone around will be close to the Jindan level, so it's easy to interact. More importantly, martial cultivators above Jindan are not allowed in. This means that as long as I'm there, Zhang Futu will not be able to monitor me."
After finding the location of this Jindan Cave, and reading the details about it, Wu Yu packed a little and prepared to depart from Kilovolt Peak.
In order to avoid rousing attention, he did not use the Art of Sword Flight, but instead hurried along the road, leaping through the snow-covered forests and blooming flowers.
"The Futu Mountain Range is many times bigger than the Bipo Mountain Range, but there are only 300 people or so. Some will be away, some cultivating, some training. It would be considered lively if there were a few dozen people out and about at once."
This was not just the situation at Futu Hall. The entire Common Sword Domain spanned millions of kilometers, and outside of the Futu Mountain Range, it was difficult to spot even a single person.
"Jindan Cave is under Danlan Mountain, which is between the Sky Cloud Sword Palace and the Jade Tide Sword Palace. At my pace, it will take quite a few days to get there."
After all, he could not use the sword flight at full speed, and he was still unfamiliar with the Shushan Immortal Sect. If he inadvertently trespassed on others' territory, that would be troublesome.
After leaving the Futu Mountain Range, he followed the directions to Jindan Cave. When there was nothing around him, the feeling of being watched only intensified!
"Although I cannot see anyone, Zhang Futu must not have left. He must be by my side!"
That only strengthened Wu Yu's decision to go to Jindan Cave. Once he was there, he would be safe as long as he did not come out.
He increased his speed, shifting into a beam of golden light. He flashed over the snowy ground, melting the ice in his wake.
Hu....
His body was strong and his speed over ground was faster than average.
However, even as he increased his speed, he could still feel Zhang Futu following him.
"I am a Shushan disciple now. Within the immortal sect, I can move freely. Besides, he has ostensibly left for the Clear Sky of Shushan. If he appears now, even if he says it is coincidental, he would be pushing it. Therefore, he has no idea what I am planning to do, and should not show himself."
That was why Wu Yu was not too worried that he would be called back.
After all, Zhang Futu had no leads now. He would not do anything foolish that revealed his plans to Wu Yu.
He did not know that Wu Yu was much more sensitive than he had expected.
As he advanced at full speed, Jindan Cave neared.
Along the way, he met a few Shushan disciples, mostly of the Jindan Realm. But the Shushan Immortal Sect was just too big, so it was difficult for people to remember each other. Even though they met by coincidence, no one interacted with Wu Yu.
These disciples were all very young.
One day, two days....
A few days passed, and finally Wu Yu arrived at the midpoint of the Sky Cloud Sword Palace and the Jade Tide Sword Palace. If one followed the crack between them, one would reach Jindan Cave. Lifting his head here, he could see Danlan Mountain. It was a golden mountain, a little like a treasure. Nestled between the two sword palaces, it was one of the special regions in the Common Sword Domain.
Human activity increased considerably here. Some were Shushan disciples waiting outside. Some had flown from the direction of Danlan Mountain. These were excited disciples who were flying for the first time, and they crashed and bumped their way around.
Yet some were reserved, like Wu Yu, who had reached the pinnacle of Qi Condensation, and had come from various sword palaces to condense a Jindan in the Jindan Cave.
They came in twos and threes, talking and chatting. Wu Yu, who had come alone, felt a little lonely.
However, he was already very thankful that Zhang Futu had not stopped him along the way.
Heading in, he was surrounded by lively, young disciples with sword lanyards and an impressive air about them. Virtually everyone had a look of nobility in their eyes. They were born to their advantages, and their talent was superb. It has to be said that Night Wishes for Snow was considered the most talented disciple in the Heavenly Sword Sect, but he was not even comparable to any ordinary Shushan disciple that Wu Yu came across.
These young disciples strutted with an arrogance about them, even if they were but a 10-year-old child. They also displayed great presence.
Many of those who had completed qi condensation looked to be about the same age as he was. As expected, in terms of age and ability, he was not considered special in the Common Sword Domain.
In the crowd, he entered Jindan Cave alone. There was a moment where he finally felt the pressure on him ease up.
"Finally, I've shaken him off."
Zhang Futu had not come. Perhaps he was standing where he originally was. He might not leave anytime soon.
"I will definitely stay in this Jindan Cave until I condense a Jindan. I will hold out until Zhang Futu leaves." Wu Yu made his decision.
At this time, he finally saw a whirlpool-shaped cave entrance in front. The cave was round and extremely neat. Golden light shone from within, and the entire cave was shaped like a brilliant Jindan.
"So this is a Jindan. For millions of years in the Shushan Immortal Sect, countless disciples have condensed their Jindan here. In this cohort, there must be countless godlike people. Of course, many must have also left their experiences written on the walls."
As long as one was a Shushan disciple, those at the ninth or 10th tier of the Qi Condensation Realm could all enter.
After Wu Yu reached the cave entrance, he could not feel Zhang Futu's presence at all. Standing here, he looked in and felt like he was standing on a vast sea, buoyed by the waves of history that flowed beneath his feet. There was golden light everywhere within, and it entranced Wu Yu.
"Hey, don't block the path, you," a pretty, female disciple said from behind. She looked less than 20 years old. Any girl he saw seemed at least Su Yanli's equal in looks.
Wu Yu hurried in.
The Jindan Cave was full of people coming and going. Many headed in full of anticipation, while those headed out were excited.
After entering, he realized just how enormous Jindan Cave was. It was like an underground palace. As he proceeded onwards, it continued to split into more tributaries, while the cave continued to expand. The deeper he ventured, the wider it got.
Wu Yu noticed that on the walls of each fork, there were small chambers. These chambers were not large, and within each chamber there were two or three seats, furnished with cushions.
"These small chambers are like the leaves of trees that cover the entire branch. These tunnels are like the branches, and the main thoroughfare that I just came through is like the trunk."
The entire Jindan Cave was constructed like a tree.
The middle was split into many tributaries, and Wu Yu estimated that, like the leaves on a tree, there were thousands of them.