Heavenly Sword Sect, Azure Cloud Tower.
Today was the annual gathering of Foundation Establishment cultivators, so Qin Changsheng, controlling Hu Nan, brought him to the Azure Cloud Tower.
Passing by the second floor, Qin Changsheng saw his fellow townsmen from Beihai County.
Their gazes towards Hu Nan were filled with envy and jealousy.
Qin Changsheng ignored them and went directly to the fourth floor.
The private room was already bustling with activity. Most were Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Heavenly Sword Sect, with a few from neighboring sects who had come for exchanges. They sat in small groups, conversing quietly, discussing cultivation insights, resource transactions, or sect news.
Qin Changsheng controlled Hu Nan to casually find a corner to sit down.
Jiang Lijuan, Wu Yong, Lin Hao, and others were already seated there.
"Sorry I'm late!" A short while later, the door to the private room opened, and Li Hu walked in.
"Brother Li, we've been waiting for you!"
"Congratulations, Brother Li, on securing the position of guardian of the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine!"
"Brother Li is truly amazing! You actually managed to snatch the guardianship of the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine in one fell swoop!"
"The Danxia Spirit Stone Mine is a high-quality mine for the sect. Senior Brother Li's strength is formidable; he is truly the only choice for the guardianship position!"
The crowd chimed in with congratulations, their eyes filled with either pure envy or ulterior motives in their flattery.
Li Hu slowly raised his hand, feigning humility: "You're all too kind. I was simply lucky to obtain the guardianship of the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine."
Hearing the conversation between the crowd and Li Hu, Qin Changsheng's mind immediately began to stir.
He had always wanted to find a spirit stone mine to mine and accumulate resources in peace; he hadn't expected the opportunity to present itself so readily.
The Danxia Spirit Stone Mine is a high-quality vein with an extremely high yield of spirit stones. If he could enter the mine and mine, with his skills, the blessing of the Heavenly Dao's "Cultivation" principle ("one part effort, ten parts reward"), and the convenience of his avatar, he would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.
An ordinary cultivator might only harvest a small amount of spirit stones after a day of mining, but with the blessing of the Heavenly Dao, he could earn ten times the profit from just one stone. With his avatar Hu Nan secretly assisting, this two-pronged approach would allow him to quietly empty the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine in no time!
This would allow him to quickly accumulate enough spirit stones, completely solving the problem of spirit stone scarcity and reaching his goal of one million spirit stones as soon as possible, laying a solid foundation for repairing the Spirit-Stabilizing Pearl and finding the remaining fragments of the Heavenly Dao.
Secondly, Li Hu is the young master of the Blood Demon Sect. His seizure of the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine to guard it is undoubtedly for the Blood Demon Sect's resource accumulation and to strengthen its power within the sect. If he could empty the mine of spirit stones, it would cut off Li Hu's escape route and severely disrupt the Blood Demon Sect's plans—a win-win situation, benefiting both himself and his enemy.
Qin Changsheng's mind raced, carefully analyzing the details: Li Hu, having just seized the guard position, would inevitably recruit miners.
Qin Changsheng could simply go to the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine and join as a rogue cultivator.
Then, he could quietly mine inside and store the extracted spirit stones through his storage space.
Li Hu glanced around, his gaze landing on Hu Nan.
In that instant, the smile on Li Hu's face froze. Deep within his eyes, an intense, almost violent, killing intent flashed like a thunderbolt, cold and ruthless, filled with a bone-chilling hatred and resentment, as if he wanted to devour Hu Nan alive.
It was the rage that had been building up for a whole year, the humiliation of having the secret treasure stolen and his subordinates brutally murdered.
But this intense killing intent lasted only a moment before Li Hu forcefully suppressed it, as quickly as if it had never existed.
A warm smile returned to Li Hu's face as he approached Hu Nan.
"Senior Brother Hu, your cultivation has improved considerably in the past year!"
Hu Nan also stood up with a smile and said, "Brother Li's cultivation has also improved a lot!"
Seeing Li Hu's smiling face, Qin Changsheng felt an even greater sense of dread towards him.
He vividly remembered that a year ago at the bottom of Qingyun Lake, he had controlled Hu Nan to seize the secret treasure from Li Hu, and even used the chaos caused by the Golden Core demon beasts to inflict the loss of fifteen of Li Hu's men, including Elder Chen, leaving Li Hu with a double blow.
This humiliation was undoubtedly a colossal disgrace for the proud and arrogant Li Hu. He must have hated Hu Nan to the core, wishing he could tear him to pieces.
But now, even though Li Hu clearly recognized Hu Nan, and even though his eyes were filled with murderous intent, he managed to suppress it all, feigning friendliness and not reacting on the spot. He even took the initiative to approach and talk to him.
This restraint and hypocrisy were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
At this moment, Jiang Lijuan raised her hand, signaling for silence: "Thank you all for gracing us with your presence at Qingyun Tower today."
Her gaze slowly swept across the room: "Every year, the Foundation Establishment gathering focuses on exchanging cultivation experiences. Firstly, it allows us to learn from each other and progress together; secondly, it strengthens the bonds between fellow cultivators, ensuring mutual support on the path of cultivation. Today, I invite each of you to share your cultivation insights and gains from the past year."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Hao stood up first.
As Lin Zhentian's son, he was always arrogant, and now that his cultivation had broken through, he naturally wanted to show off.
Lin Hao raised his hand, offering a slight bow: "Then I'll start by saying a few words. For the past year, I've devoted myself to cultivating the sect's Sword Flight Technique, refining it day and night without the slightest slackening. After countless practice sessions and reflections, I've finally achieved something—I've fortunately cultivated the Sword Flight Technique to its Great Perfection."
"What?! Great Perfection in Sword Flight?"
"Senior Brother Lin actually cultivated the Sword Flight Technique to Great Perfection?"
"This is the first among us to cultivate the Sword Flight Technique to Great Perfection!"
"Congratulations, Senior Brother Lin!"
"Senior Brother Lin, you are the most talented among us!"
As soon as Lin Hao finished speaking, a gasp of surprise rang out in the private room. The cultivators' faces showed disbelief, their eyes filled with envy and admiration.
While the Sword Flight Technique is relatively easy to learn, it takes at least several decades for an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator to achieve Great Perfection. Even for those with exceptional talent, it still requires several years, even more than a decade, to cultivate it to Great Perfection.
But now Lin Hao has mastered the sword flight technique in just a few short years. His talent and perseverance are truly amazing.
Hearing the congratulations, Lin Hao's smugness intensified. He slightly raised his chin, his gaze sweeping across the room, basking in the star-studded attention.
His gaze slowly moved, finally settling on Hu Nan in the corner, a hint of undisguised mockery and contempt flashing in his eyes.
In Lin Hao's view, although he had lost to Hu Nan twice, he still believed Hu Nan was inferior to him.
After all, the resources and talent he possessed were far beyond Hu Nan's reach.
Far away in the courtyard, Qin Changsheng also noticed Lin Hao's gaze. He paid little attention to Lin Hao's smugness.
After all, Qin Changsheng had already mastered the Sword Flight Technique to perfection.
Moreover, he had achieved perfection several years ago.
After sharing the news of his mastery of the Sword Flight Technique, Lin Hao then elaborated on his insights into sword flight.
How to condense spiritual energy and control sword intent, how to use the wind to increase flight speed, how to maneuver flexibly and avoid danger while flying at high speed—his words, though tinged with arrogance, were full of practical knowledge.
The cultivators present nodded in agreement. Occasionally, someone would ask a question, which Lin Hao answered calmly, appearing increasingly confident and spirited.
After Lin Hao sat down, many cultivators rose to share their cultivation experiences.
Some talked about achieving mastery in body refinement, greatly increasing their physical strength; others shared breakthroughs in alchemy, successfully refining high-grade Qi Gathering Pills;
Stills spoke of their insights into formations, being able to set up simple defensive formations, significantly increasing their self-protection capabilities.
Everyone shared their opinions, exchanging ideas, occasionally debating and discussing, occasionally bowing and asking for guidance.
Qin Changsheng, far away in the courtyard, silently noted down the insights of the many cultivators.
Before they knew it, the sharing of cultivation insights was drawing to a close. One cultivator changed the subject, bringing up the sect's recent activities with a tone of concern and curiosity: "Fellow Daoists, is there anything important happening in the sect?"
Upon hearing this, everyone echoed his sentiments, their gazes varying, clearly showing their interest in the sect's important affairs.