Watching the Mountain

Chapter 254: Chapter 161: Fellow Disciples

Even he himself had never imagined he would come this far in the Profound Pure Sect. When he first joined the Sect with Yue Qingyu’s token, his plan was to stay for a century or so, use up his apparent lifespan, and then change his identity and continue his cultivation elsewhere.

At the time, the best he’d hoped for was to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage and stay at the Profound Pure Sect for a while.

But who would have thought that after several centuries, his cultivation would reach the Purple Mansion Stage, and he would still be here, having gone nowhere at all.

Not only that, his seniority had reached the level of a grand-master. And since he had just changed his identity within the Sect, he could stay here in peace for a long time to come, free from the worries of his next identity.

It was undoubtedly a blessing to be able to stay in one place without constantly hiding, without spending every day worrying about how to conceal his identity and secrets.

Xu Ran thought it over carefully. The person who had brought him such good fortune was, without a doubt, Senior Sister Yue. From the very beginning when she guided him onto the path of cultivation, to later when she paid a tremendous price to extend his life by three hundred years, to now, when she was helping him hide his identity.

Everything had started from his encounter with Senior Sister Yue.

And now, he no longer needed to worry about his identity. He had a feeling that as long as Senior Sister Yue was in the Sect, even if another one or two thousand years passed and his current apparent lifespan ran out, she would willingly help conceal his identity if he confessed the truth to her.

That was Senior Sister Yue—a person who could put one’s mind at ease.

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Xu Ran looked at the simple and honest-looking young man, Lu Mingchen, gave him a smiling nod, and then took out another bottle of Life Creation Pills.

This time, the gift he offered was not refused. Lu Mingchen accepted the elixir from his hand, visibly moved.

"Thank you for your gift, Grand-Master."

Xu Ran chuckled. This was a simple and sincere farm boy; it was easy to take a liking to him.

He offered a few words of encouragement to Lu Mingchen, then turned to Shen Wuchen and said,

"Your name is Wuchen, and your disciple’s name is Mingchen. That is quite a fateful connection."

Shen Wuchen nodded at his words and, perking up, began to explain.

"It is indeed. I searched all over the Sect but couldn’t find a suitable candidate. Then, I happened to meet him. When I learned his name, I felt we had a fateful connection. I asked if he was willing to become my disciple, and he agreed without the slightest hesitation."

"Mingchen’s situation is similar to my own—his Root Bone is better than his Comprehension. While his Lower Grade B Root Bone is decent, his Comprehension is a bit lacking at Lower Grade C. If he were to follow the normal path, he wouldn’’t get very far."

"He knows this, too, which is why he was prepared to follow the Flying Immortal Stream from the very beginning."

Hearing this, Xu Ran gave Lu Mingchen—who was standing respectfully to the side—a surprised look and asked,

"Did you never consider trying the normal path of cultivation first, and only switching to the Flying Immortal Stream if you found you could go no further?"

The Flying Immortal Stream might have spread far and wide in the Cultivation Realm, but very few disciples chose this path right after joining the Sect.

Even those with exceptionally poor Root Bone and Comprehension would choose the traditional cultivation path first. Only after several decades, when they could no longer progress and their ambitions had been worn away, would they consider turning to the Flying Immortal Stream.

’People are ambitious, after all. Everyone knows the shortcomings of the Flying Immortal Stream—weaker power and a shorter lifespan. So why not choose the better, traditional path first? What if you get lucky and find some fortuitous opportunity? You might go much further on the traditional path.’

In response to Xu Ran’s question, Lu Mingchen shook his head and replied respectfully,

"In response to Grand-Master’s question, while I did want to choose the traditional cultivation path, I also know that with my own talent and Comprehension, I certainly wouldn’t have gotten very far."

"When I was young, my father often taught me to be pragmatic, to not aim for things beyond my reach. He said that coveting what doesn’t belong to you never leads to a good outcome."

"So I thought about it and decided that rather than waste my years on the traditional cultivation path, it would be better to choose the Flying Immortal Stream from the start. That way, I might actually go further and cultivate to a higher Realm."

Xu Ran glanced at Lu Mingchen with approval. He was a very pragmatic young man. Everyone understood the reasoning, but very few could be so decisive and firmly choose the Flying Immortal Stream—especially a boy of only fifteen or sixteen.

Unlike Zhang Zhentian, who had simply brought Li Daoyi over to get acquainted with Xu Ran, Shen Wuchen had brought Lu Mingchen here for more than just an introduction; he had another purpose.

Shen Wuchen felt the same way Xu Ran once had: he was not particularly confident in his ability to teach a disciple, especially since Lu Mingchen was his very first.

Therefore, he hoped that he and Lu Mingchen could stay with Xu Ran for a while. That way, when he was teaching Lu Mingchen, Xu Ran could observe from the side and point out any problems with his instruction.

After hearing Shen Wuchen’s explanation, Xu Ran was rather speechless.

He had lacked confidence when he first took over the Instructor Hall because his cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Stage, and he truly did have many shortcomings in his own practice.

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