The next morning, before the sun had even risen, Wan Yunting was already meditating and practicing his skills in a cross-legged position on a large rock behind the wooden house.
However, he wasn't practicing the internal energy cultivation methods of the Snow Mountain Sect. Instead, he was focused on the Ba Huang Divine Art and the Minor Formless Divine Art of the Carefree Sect.
The cold-attribute internal energy cultivation methods of the Snow Mountain Sect were not very suitable for Wan Yunting. In contrast, they were only suitable for those with innate cold constitutions like Senior Nun Jin Yu.
Of course, it wasn't an absolute rule. It was just that people with innate cold constitutions could achieve greater heights faster when practicing the Snow Mountain Sect's internal energy cultivation methods.
Although he couldn't practice the internal energy cultivation, Wan Yunting had practiced all the other skills of the Snow Mountain Sect, such as the Snow Mountain Swordplay, the Bone-Piercing Finger, and the Wu Wang Divine Art.
As the saying goes, "More skills don't weigh you down." Wan Yunting could even find similarities between these Snow Mountain Sect skills and those of the Carefree Sect. He had even created a few of his own sword techniques.
All martial arts in the world, though varied, share the same fundamental principles!
Therefore, regardless of the sect's skills, they all revolved around a point of balance. Recently, Wan Yunting had been deeply researching and gaining insights into the Wu Wang Divine Art. Coupled with the Minor Formless Divine Art and the incantations from the advanced internal energy cultivation methods of the Snow Mountain Sect, he naturally comprehended the Dao of heaven and earth!
Natural laws are inseparable from the Dao, and the changes in the Dao are inseparable from a certain point!
The door of the small wooden house slowly opened, and Senior Nun Jin Yu, dressed in a simple, long, flowing dress, her black hair cascading down her chest and back. Her stunningly beautiful face was serene, and her phoenix eyes, as calm as still water, seemed to bring peace to anyone who looked into them.
"Sister Jin Yu is awake. How did you sleep last night?"
Chen Qiuyun, who was already busy in the small kitchen preparing breakfast, asked with a smile as she saw Senior Nun Jin Yu emerge.
"Yes, I slept very well."
Senior Nun Jin Yu smiled gently and went to help Chen Qiuyun with her work. She then asked, "Where did he go?"
"He's meditating and practicing behind the house," Chen Qiuyun replied.
Senior Nun Jin Yu nodded. Seeing that she couldn't offer much help, she went behind the house and found Wan Yunting sitting cross-legged on a large rock, meditating and practicing. She didn't disturb him, but simply watched him quietly, as if sensing signs of Wan Yunting's breakthrough.
As the morning sun rose, its rays reflected on Wan Yunting's face. However, he was immersed in a state of self-forgetfulness. He could clearly hear the myriad sounds of birds chirping and rustling in the surrounding mountains, the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, and even the sound of the flow of heaven and earth's energy in the air...
He felt the flow of blood in his veins through his meridians and acupoints, the powerful beat of his heart, and sensed everything around him with incredible clarity, as if the surroundings were bringing comfort to his entire being.
In that moment, Wan Yunting felt as if he were flying through the air, his hands gently stroking the white clouds, bathed in the refreshing breeze, as if he were an infant rolling and tumbling in soft clouds...
"Hmm, why is it taking so long today?"
Ji Ruxue had changed into her red dress. She was preparing to bid farewell but found Wan Yunting still sitting cross-legged on the large rock meditating. She wondered why he hadn't finished his practice yet. In previous days, he usually finished meditating by 8 o'clock and then started his physical training.
"He's comprehending!"
Senior Nun Jin Yu had been standing by the courtyard fence, watching Wan Yunting, who was immersed in his self-comprehension.
Ji Ruxue's pretty face stiffened. Her foxy eyes widened in surprise as she glanced at Senior Nun Jin Yu and said, "Comprehending? Is he going to break through again?"
Senior Nun Jin Yu nodded slightly and said, "It's not a breakthrough in martial arts, but a self-breakthrough in artistic conception!"
"Artistic conception breakthrough..."
Ji Ruxue was astonished. Her foxy eyes gazed at Wan Yunting, who was meditating, and after a long while, she smiled and said, "This guy is truly a prodigy in martial arts..."
"Breakfast is ready."
Chen Qiuyun, who had finished preparing breakfast, didn't pay much attention to this.
Senior Nun Jin Yu and Ji Ruxue went over and sat on the small stools. Then, they silently began to eat the noodles prepared by Chen Qiuyun...
After eating, Ji Ruxue saw that Wan Yunting had not yet finished his meditation. She stood up and said with a smile to Chen Qiuyun and Senior Nun Jin Yu, "Sister Qiuyun, Senior Nun Jin Yu, please tell him for me that I'm leaving."
Senior Nun Jin Yu, holding her bowl with unfinished noodles, did not look up. Chen Qiuyun looked up at Ji Ruxue, nodded, and said nothing.
Ji Ruxue returned to her room to collect her belongings and then came out. As for the martial arts manuals of the Snow Mountain Sect, she had already taken photos of them with her phone and memorized them in her mind. Looking at Wan Yunting, who was still meditating and lost in his own artistic conception, Ji Ruxue's foxy eyes revealed a complex gaze. Finally, she resolutely chose to leave...
Nine-thirty in the morning.
"Hoo..."
Finally finishing, Wan Yunting opened his eyes. Two sharp beams of light shot out. His bright and piercing gaze indicated that this comprehension had led to a breakthrough. He jumped off the rock and stretched his body, muttering to himself with a smile, "I feel much lighter all over."
"Breakfast is on the table. Help yourself."
Chen Qiuyun, who was already busy in the field, called out to him. Senior Nun Jin Yu, with her skirt tucked up, was also learning from Chen Qiuyun and helping with the farming.
"Okay."
Wan Yunting smiled and returned to the courtyard. He looked at the breakfast left for him on the table by the small kitchen, picked it up, and began to eat. He didn't see Ji Ruxue, so he called out to Chen Qiuyun and the others, "Where is Ruxue? Where did she go?"
"She left."
Chen Qiuyun replied without looking back.
Wan Yunting's expression froze. His action of eating noodles stopped, and his heart tightened. He asked, "She left?"
"Yes, she has departed," Senior Nun Jin Yu also said, as if by some strange impulse.
Wan Yunting stood frozen on the spot. After a long time, he came back to his senses and swallowed the noodles in his mouth...
Ji Ruxue had said last night that she would leave today, but he hadn't expected her to leave without even saying goodbye. This left Wan Yunting feeling complex, unsure of what to say.
After a long while, Senior Nun Jin Yu returned to drink some water. Seeing Wan Yunting sitting on a chair, lost in thought and smoking a cigarette, she said, "I plan to stay here for a while longer. You can call Tingxia and tell her to go back by herself."
"Oh..."
Wan Yunting finally came back to his senses, threw away the finished cigarette butt, and stood up to go back into the house to get his phone. He called Li Zihang, informed him about the matter, and also asked him to find a way to get a batch of peach tree saplings...
The following days passed peacefully. Wan Yunting began to fell trees in the back mountain and built a new wooden house next to the original small wooden house. Chen Qiuyun, after planting the crops, was also helped by Senior Nun Jin Yu...
A week later, Li Zihang did indeed bring a batch of peach tree saplings. Senior Nun Jin Yu personally planted them, as she was very familiar with peach trees...
Another week later, with the help of Chen Qiuyun and the others, Wan Yunting finally finished building a small wooden house. The next day, he bid farewell to Chen Qiuyun and Senior Nun Jin Yu and entered the mountain valley of Kunlun alone to go into seclusion for cultivation...
When he left, he called his family and also told Fang Yanxi and Gu Luotang that he would return to the capital in three months.
On this day, Senior Nun Jin Yu and Chen Qiuyun prepared his daily necessities. Wan Yunting wore a coat, held the Junzi Sword in his hand, and with his backpack on his back, he bid farewell to Senior Nun Jin Yu and Chen Qiuyun and entered the mountain alone.
This time, he did not ask Chen Qiuyun and Senior Nun Jin Yu to accompany him. Wan Yunting wanted to go into seclusion alone for cultivation, to break through his artistic conception!
At his current level, although his physical body had not yet reached its peak, if he wanted his internal energy to break through, he needed to achieve a breakthrough in his artistic conception to enter a different realm.
Now, Wan Yunting seemed to have grasped a crucial point in his artistic conception!
Therefore, in order to achieve a breakthrough, he chose to return to the valley alone to go into seclusion for cultivation, wanting to avoid any disturbances...
Returning to the valley again brought back memories of the days when he had brought women here for seclusion cultivation. The scenes of the past flashed before his eyes, but Lu Xiaodie and Zheng Rong were gone forever...
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
It was now September of the year. The outside world had not changed much. For ordinary people, the Earth continued to spin regardless of whether any individual was present or not. People were just fleeting figures, and society had long forgotten Wan Yunting's past events.
However, the major martial arts sects had been searching for Wan Yunting for three months. They had even sent people directly to the Boundless Daoist Temple to look for him, but Yang Jingyi and Master Wu Wei had directly closed the gates, refusing to see anyone.
This was because it had already been made clear that Wan Yunting was no longer the Abbot of the Boundless Daoist Temple.
The temple was now managed by Yang Jingyi and Master Wu Wei, with only Duan Yingying, Li Zihang, Xu Lingwei, Qi Wu, and a few other disciples like Xue Xinghe remaining.
The Boundless Daoist Temple was closed to the outside world for ten years, unable to intervene in martial arts affairs, and even forbidden from taking in new disciples.
And the people from the various sects, in order to find Wan Yunting as quickly as possible and retrieve the Snow Mountain Sect's martial arts manuals from him, had martial arts association members frequently visiting the Boundless Daoist Temple to look for Wan Yunting during this period.
This was because they all believed that Wan Yunting must be hiding within the Boundless Daoist Temple!
"Madam, Uncle-Master Wu Wei, those people are here again!"
Li Zihang entered the main hall of the Boundless Daoist Temple and announced.
Yang Jingyi, sitting in the main seat, wore a blue Daoist robe, her brow furrowed. Master Wu Wei, sitting beside her, also frowned, not expecting the martial arts association members to come again. This was the third time.
They came once every month. The first time, Yang Jingyi and Master Wu Wei had met them, but the second time, they had made an excuse to send them away. However, they hadn't expected them to come a third time.
"Those people are really something. We've already said that Abbot's junior brother isn't here, so why are they still looking for him?" Qi Wu glared, saying with great dissatisfaction.
"Then just find an excuse to send them down the mountain, won't that do?"
At this moment, Duan Yingying, dressed in a long dress, walked in, carrying a plate of washed fruit and placing it on the table between her mother and Uncle-Master Wu Wei. She took one for herself and said with a huff, "That guy is really something. He's been gone for three months and still hasn't returned."
Master Wu Wei asked Li Zihang, "Is it the same group of people as last time?"
Li Zihang replied, "No, there seem to be a few new faces. Judging by their demeanor, their status is not ordinary."
Master Wu Wei turned to Yang Jingyi and asked, "Jingyi, should we meet them? If we don't meet them, it's not a solution, as it's not good for us to offend the martial arts association people now."
Duan Yingying said disdainfully, rolling her eyes, "Uncle-Master Wu Wei, why should we meet them? We've already closed the mountain for ten years and don't interfere in their martial arts matters. Why meet them? Besides, Brother Yun Ting isn't at the temple."
"Exactly, let's not meet them," Li Zihang and Qi Wu also chimed in.
However, Yang Jingyi waved her hand and said, "Let's invite them in to meet them."
Duan Yingying disdainfully rolled her eyes. Li Zihang nodded and turned to go out, but then he heard a loud bang from outside, which made Yang Jingyi, Master Wu Wei, Qi Wu, and the others suddenly startled. They immediately shouted, "Quick, go out and see what's happening..."