46: Chapter 46 A Century of Legend

The night of Foundation Establishment, at the Spirit Spring Cave in the back mountain of the Lingtai Sect.

Su Chen sat cross-legged, the spiritual energy in his Dantian already dense to the extreme, like cloud mist about to condense into substance.

He knew the Foundation Establishment method by heart: using spiritual energy to strike the barrier, compressing gaseous spiritual energy into liquid state, this is Foundation Establishment.

Everything went smoothly.

Too smoothly.

When the first drop of spiritual liquid condensed in his Dantian, his Cyan Mysterious Dao Body, silent for years, suddenly awakened.

In an instant, it was as if all the wood-attribute Spiritual Qi of the entire Lingtai Sect was rushing toward him!

In the Spirit Spring Cave, the aura of Spiritual Plants, originally faint, grew crazily.

Vines crawled over the cave walls, wild grass sprouted from stone crevices, and even the century-old locust tree outside the cave suddenly bloomed with tiny white flowers in the deep night!

The process of Spiritual Qi flooding his body lasted three times longer than expected.

When Su Chen opened his eyes, it was already broad daylight.

His cultivation was not Foundation Establishment Initial Stage, but Foundation Establishment Initial Stage Peak.

Uncle-Master Fang stood outside the cave, looking at him with gratification and a hint of imperceptible relief.

"You have grown up," he said.

"I have nothing left to teach you."

"Uncle-Master..." Su Chen's heart surged with complex emotions.

"The Lingtai Sect is too small; the Qingxuan Dao Lineage is your true destination."

Uncle-Master Fang handed him a Jade Slip.

"This is a recommendation letter for the main sect of the Qingxuan Dao Lineage."

"I studied at the main sect in my early years and have ties with an Elder in the Inner Sect. You should go."

Su Chen did not take it.

"Uncle-Master."

"I did not Cultivate just to go to the main sect."

Uncle-Master Fang looked at him.

"I want to become stronger to protect the people who are important to me."

Su Chen said every word clearly.

"Uncle-Master has the grace of raising me and teaching me the Dao. The Lingtai Sect is my home, not a stepping stone."

The wind blew, and the white flowers of the old locust tree fell all over the ground.

Uncle-Master Fang was silent for a long time.

"Very well," he said, then continued, "Then stay."

Five years passed in a flash.

Su Chen was twenty-four, at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Peak.

He began to teach on behalf of his Master, guiding the newly initiated Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters.

Uncle-Master Fang's Lifespan, however, had reached its end.

He was a late bloomer, only achieving Foundation Establishment in his fifties, and remained stuck at Foundation Establishment Peak at two hundred.

The gate to the Golden Core was, after all, closed to him.

Before passing, Uncle-Master Fang lay on the couch, his withered hand gripping Su Chen's.

"The path of cultivating the Dao... is long and lonely..."

His voice was intermittent.

"You are exceptionally gifted... you will surely go further... but do not forget... why you Cultivate the Dao..."

Su Chen knelt before the couch, not shedding a tear.

"Disciple will remember."

Uncle-Master Fang looked at him, his gaze gradually unfocused.

"Chen'er... this name... was chosen by your parents... I just... happened to find you..."

He closed his eyes, his expression peaceful.

In the back mountain of the Lingtai Sect, there was one more new grave.

Su Chen kept watch before the grave for seven days.

He planted a Spirit Tea Tree that he had been cultivating since he first entered the sect.

The tea tree was over ten years old, as tall as a person, with lush green branches and leaves.

He rose and went to bid farewell to the Sect Master of the Lingtai Sect.

"The Qingxuan Dao Lineage main sect is indeed where you should go."

The Sect Master sighed.

"Your Uncle-Master was also a brilliant talent back in his day, unfortunately..."

"Go, there is a wider world there."

The day Su Chen descended the mountain, many Senior Brothers came to see him off.

He nodded to each of them in greeting but did not look back.

He was afraid that if he looked back, he wouldn't be able to leave.

The Qingxuan Dao Lineage main sect, located on the coast of the East Sea, occupied thirty-six spiritual islands and was one of the top cultivation forces in this realm.

Uncle-Master Fang's recommendation letter carried more weight than expected.

Su Chen was directly admitted as an Inner Sect Disciple with his Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Peak cultivation and top-grade wood Spiritual Root Aptitude, entering under the tutelage of an Elder of the Green Wood Peak.

His cultivation thereafter progressed by leaps and bounds.

The Qingxuan Dao Lineage's Cultivation Technique was naturally compatible with his Cyan Mysterious Dao Body.

The Bottlenecks that originally required bitter cultivation to comprehend often resolved themselves naturally.

Foundation Establishment Late-Stage, Foundation Establishment Perfection.

He was thirty-seven the year he formed his core.

The Golden Core phenomenon was "Ten Thousand Trees Meeting Spring."

Dead wood within a hundred miles sprouted overnight, and auspicious cyan clouds that did not dissipate for three days gathered above the spiritual island.

Thereafter, Golden Core Middle Stage, Golden Core Late Stage.

At sixty-nine, Su Chen's Nascent Soul was formed.

At the Nascent Soul Ceremony, the Sect Master personally crowned him and bestowed the title "Evergreen True Monarch."

His cultivation had far surpassed Uncle-Master Fang's by an unknown amount.

But the person who would stand at the mountain gate waiting for him to return for a meal was long gone.

After the Nascent Soul, his cultivation speed slowed significantly.

Although this world had dense Spiritual Qi, the path from Nascent Soul to Soul Transformation was a natural chasm.

Su Chen was not in a hurry.

He began to do as Uncle-Master Fang had done: taking Disciples and teaching the Dao.

The first Disciple he took was a boy with five Spiritual Roots who had tested for extremely poor Aptitude but was extremely hardworking.

No one understood why the dignified Evergreen True Monarch would take such a poor-Aptitude Disciple.

Su Chen did not explain.

He simply took the boy to work in the spirit fields every morning, teaching him to identify the medicinal properties of every Spiritual Plant, teaching him how to communicate with Spiritual Plants, and teaching him that "cultivating is like planting trees."

It took the boy three whole years to go from Qi Refining Level 1 to Level 2.

But he was never given up on.

At one hundred thirty-seven, Su Chen reached Soul Transformation.

Soul Transformation in this realm was already top-tier combat power, worthy of being called a Great Ability.

On the day of his Soul Transformation, he climbed the highest spiritual Peak of the Qingxuan Dao Lineage alone and gazed at the vast East Sea.

He remembered many things.

He remembered the old locust tree in the back mountain of the Lingtai Sect, remembered Uncle-Master Fang holding his hand before passing, remembered the five-Spiritual Root boy he brought back to the sect who was now at Foundation Establishment and still clumsily cultivating a Spirit Tea Tree he had given him.

He also remembered that very, very distant place, that dusty storage room, that dim, flickering oil lamp...

And that sentence: "Waste, you should have the self-awareness of a waste."

He remembered why he came here.

Three hundred years after Soul Transformation, Su Chen did not leave the Qingxuan Dao Lineage main sect.

He took three Disciples and wrote the "Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture," recording all his lifelong insights into wood-attribute Cultivation Techniques, Spiritual Plant cultivation, and using spiritual energy to nourish the body.

At five hundred years old, he was one of the top Soul Transformation Great Abilities in this realm.

He was only one step away from stepping into Mahayana and touching the legendary realm of Ascension.

But he stopped.

He rejected the suggestion to go into seclusion to break through to Mahayana, finalized the "Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture," and passed it to the Scripture Pavilion of the Qingxuan Dao Lineage.

One night, he sat alone by the Spirit Tea Tree in front of his Immortal Cave, sipping his homemade spirit tea.

The tea tree was over five hundred years old; he had personally transplanted it from the Lingtai Sect back then, its branches gnarled and evergreen throughout the seasons.

He put down his teacup and said softly, "It is time to go back."

The world before his eyes began to blur and fade.

Five hundred years of memories receded like the tide, but the core parts—Cultivation Techniques, insights, and state of mind—were firmly branded into the depths of his Divine Soul.

[Simulation Ended]

[Life Summary: Su Chen, died at 512, top-grade wood Spiritual Root, Cyan Mysterious Dao Body, entered the Dao at Lingtai Sect, Qingxuan Dao Lineage Main Sect Inner Sect, Evergreen True Monarch, Soul Transformation Great Ability. Authored the "Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture," started a lineage of inheritance, and had students everywhere. Before passing, the most unforgettable memory was the year of Foundation Establishment, at the Spirit Spring Cave entrance in the back mountain, under the old locust tree covered in white flowers, when Master said, "You have grown up."]

[Evaluation: A+ (Excellent talent, steady Dao Heart, extraordinary achievements, Legacy passed to future generations)]

[Inheritable Options:]

[1. Complete inheritance of "Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture" (includes Soul Transformation-level wood-attribute Cultivation Technique, secret techniques for Spiritual Plant cultivation, and methods for using spiritual energy to nourish the body and extend Lifespan)]

[2. Five hundred years of cultivation insights and state of mind (greatly improves Comprehension Ability, Heart-Nature, probability of breaking through Bottlenecks, and accelerates understanding of Cultivation Techniques and efficiency of spiritual energy circulation)]

[3. Essence imprint of Cyan Mysterious Dao Body (permanently improves wood Spiritual Root Aptitude, enhances vitality recovery speed, has excellent Fusion potential with the Longevity Dao Body)]

The night was deep, and the storage room still had only that dim, yellowish oil lamp.

Li Changsheng opened his eyes.