Chapter Eighty-One: The Transformation of the Green Mountain

When Shu Yunyan departed, she vanished instantly, just as she had before. Lin Ze had originally assumed it was some sort of escape technique, but now his thoughts took a different turn.

He was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator and acknowledged his limited experience, so he preferred to judge by the fox's reaction. A formidable Golden Core demon, with its long lifespan, had not once questioned the presence of a third party, but had attributed the terrifying aura solely to Lin Ze himself. This, in turn, implied that in the fox's understanding, there simply was no such thing as a concealment technique of that caliber.

Either that woman’s cultivation was so high that even a Golden Core demon could not comprehend it, or she was not a living person at all.

Lin Ze gazed at the place where the Moon Immortal had departed. Only after a long while did he withdraw his gaze. Regardless of which possibility it was, he would have to exercise greater caution in all future dealings with her.

With these thoughts, he strolled back at a leisurely pace. On his way, he fished the damp fox out of the ancient well. Tossed aside without a second thought, the demon fox lay on the ground, its chest rising and falling as it watched the Daoist’s back, not daring to utter a sound, pretending to be dead.

The more it looked, the more fear grew in its heart.

Its eyes were sore from staring, yet no matter what, it could only sense the aura of Foundation Establishment from Lin Ze, utterly different from the cold and overwhelming presence it had felt just moments before. The contrast was so bizarre, it made the white fox feel as though it had gone blind.

Noticing Lin Ze’s curious glance back, it hurriedly shrank away and covered its eyes with its paws, signaling that it had seen nothing and knew nothing.

Although it could not understand why the other concealed his cultivation and lingered in this mountain hollow, nonetheless...

A little demon understands: you are merely an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, absolutely not some Nascent Soul Immortal Lord!

Lin Ze, satisfied, withdrew his gaze.

Being able to effortlessly intimidate this fox was ideal—having it help guard Little Green Mountain would solve many troubles.

He pondered for a moment, then closed his eyes and began to circulate the Innate Technique.

The bottleneck of late Foundation Establishment was loosening further. Whether this was his limit or not, he had to break through first before considering anything else.

He closed his eyes, and seven days passed.

...

A few disciples gathered around the ancient well, practicing breathing techniques and cultivation.

Yang Mu, lacking the qualification to participate in the grand competition, was the only one with enough peace of mind to train in other arts. Even with the aid of medicinal pills, his cultivation lingered in the middle stage of Qi Refining.

Wang Yao and Su Bailu, however, were different.

Both had reached the late stage of Qi Refining, focusing all their efforts on breaking through to perfection.

Of the two, Su Bailu possessed better talent and had been stuck at her current level for more than a year. With the carefully prepared pills from her master, she was on the verge of breaking through.

Wang Yao lagged slightly behind, but should reach the breakthrough within a couple of days.

Qi Refining perfection was considered the pinnacle among outer sect disciples, since the grand competition only included those who had joined the sect within the past ten years. Achieving Foundation Establishment in such a short time was exceptionally difficult.

With equal cultivation levels, superiority depended on the cultivation techniques.

On this point, neither had a significant advantage.

Su Bailu’s primary technique was the Frostfall Leaf Sword—a top tier among lesser-grade arts, though her mastery was not deep. As Lin Ze had once remarked, her understanding of the technique was far behind others. Without comprehending sword intent, she would reach at best a moderate level. The other arts she had learned in previous years might be more proficient, but their quality was ordinary.

By comparison, Wang Yao was slightly better. His Mountain-Crushing Palm was honed to perfection, and paired with the intermediate-level Ape Howl Qi, he cultivated both internal and external arts. Unless he faced the mountain sect disciples, he would not be in any real danger.

Still, he bore the greatest pressure.

Little Green Mountain had so few disciples that most of the burden fell on his shoulders. For the sect to improve its ranking, Wang Yao was expected to perform exceptionally well.

“I must break through to Foundation Establishment,” he murmured, glancing toward the cliff, steeling his resolve.

Once he reached Qi Refining perfection, he would qualify to take the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Yet, to their surprise, before any of them broke through, someone else did.

Lin Ze slowly opened his eyes.

His aura was condensed and unwavering, far stronger than before—several times over. The threshold he had touched upon since consuming the demon core was finally crossed.

Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation; he had at last acquired the strength befitting a mountain sect master, even if only at the lowest tier among the declining sects.

Sensing his aura, everyone was startled.

Especially Su Bailu—if she remembered correctly, three months prior, when she returned to Xiao Family Village, her master had only just broken through to Foundation Establishment.

Only the white fox looked on with disdain, afraid to let the Daoist notice and quickly masking its expression. It muttered inwardly: the act was convincing. Even mimicking a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s breakthrough so realistically—if it hadn’t sensed his true power before, it might have believed it.

The group continued their breathing exercises until late at night before dispersing to rest.

Lin Ze familiarized himself briefly with his new cultivation level and was about to turn away when he suddenly looked up.

A figure fell swiftly from the sky.

Still clad in the familiar black robe, Qin Hongxiu removed her hood and took a few breaths before glancing at Lin Ze. “Are you all right?”

Lin Ze was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

“That’s good. I was worried that little fox would cause trouble,” Qin Hongxiu smiled, plunging her dark sword into the ground; its edge was still stained with steaming demon blood.

Seven days, sword-riding across nineteen hundred miles, slaying two demons.

Both were Golden Core monsters dominating their own corners of Demon Mountain.

This had been her recent undertaking.

The Heavenly Demon Sect had grown stronger, paying less and less heed to the Dongyue Sect. The inner sect was busy, so Qin Hongxiu’s visit to Little Green Mountain was an effort not easily made.

Of course, she had more reasons than just the fox—there were other matters.

“Do you remember what you promised me?” Qin Hongxiu stretched, visibly weary.

Many questioned why a dignified inner sect senior would come to the outer sect time and again, but the reason was simple: as someone recruited from Little Green Mountain to the inner sect, this place was her home.

No matter how run-down, it was a source of nostalgia.

Zhang Dahai had nearly destroyed the mountain’s heritage, something Qin Hongxiu could not forgive.

“I remember,”

Lin Ze sat cross-legged on the ground, glancing at her. “But I have a question.”

Qin Hongxiu, with no airs of seniority, also sat down. “Speak.”

“If you’re unwilling, why not simply take action to protect Green Mountain?” This was Lin Ze’s first attempt at probing for information about the “enemy.”

He had been in Dongyue Sect for more than three months and had always found things odd.

Not to mention Huayang Peak.

Even those he could easily deal with—how could the previous master, Elder Zhang, now departed, have been pushed to such a state?

He guessed that, in the end, they had combed through the rosters and remembered the “abandoned disciple” Elder Zhang had sent away years ago.

It felt like a desperate, last-minute remedy.