Chapter 57: Immortal Seedlings Take Flight

Returning to the secret realm. Su Yuan felt quite helpless. Little Li beside him asked curiously, "Su Yuan, what's wrong?" "I underestimated the severity of the situation!" Su Yuan replied. "My ultimate techniques have problems!" "What problems? You've been worrying about Senior Nan Gong being affected - that's too exaggerated! You're only at... well, what you call the Golden Sand stage!" Little Li said dismissively. Su Yuan shook his head. "You don't understand. The issues can't be explained in detail." The main problem with his ultimate techniques lay in the entries. He had included many things as self-evident, but soon realized matters weren't so simple. For example, [Dao Follows Nature] - even the simplified version of the natural array restrictions in the ultimate techniques represented incredibly profound insights into the workings of heaven and earth, extremely difficult for ordinary people to comprehend. Then there was the seemingly insignificant [Balance of Work and Rest]. While cultivating in this state, his comprehension soared to such heights that he had casually written descriptions like "easily obtained," "as the question suggests," or "easily proven" in places. Those without sufficient comprehension would suffer greatly. As for [Seven Stars Shining Bright], without the help of entries, understanding the many wondrous applications of the Big Dipper would require years of dedicated study. Thus, his ultimate techniques were actually a pinnacle synthesis combining parts of the Ten Extremes Wanderer's techniques, numerous texts from the Scripture Pavilion, and his system entries. The key issue was that the current nine volumes only represented his past classics. Once he activated [Balance of Work and Rest] again for cultivation and comprehension, he could produce another volume or more. Ahead lay an endless sea of suffering, waiting for geniuses to plunge into it. "Why worry about them? The Dao is walked individually - they'll make their own choices! If they can't understand this, why cultivate at all?" Little Li said carelessly. Instead, it urged, "Hurry up and continue the game! You transform into another creature, and I'll try to find you!" "This game isn't fun!" Su Yuan protested. "Play or not?" "Fine, let's play!" Su Yuan had Little Li close its eyes. Then he dashed into the Silverlight Lake, transforming into a spirit fish to play with Little Cai. When Little Li opened its eyes, it began searching the entire secret realm for Su Yuan. It passed by Silverlight Lake many times, but each time Little Cai would nonchalantly block Su Yuan's figure, making the search much more difficult. Su Yuan unexpectedly discovered that Little Cai's intelligence had increased significantly. Since parting with the other spirit fish last time, its intellect had grown substantially, gradually developing a mischievous side. Eventually, Little Li still found Su Yuan. "Aha! Little Cai, so you're helping Su Yuan, huh? After all those precious spirit fruits I gave you!" Little Li glared angrily at Little Cai. Little Cai covered its eyes with its fins, pretending not to see, but its wildly wagging tail betrayed its little scheme. The two small creatures immediately began frolicking in the lake. Meanwhile, Su Yuan casually contemplated the heavenly principles of the Silver Spirit Waterfall, accumulating insights while secretly observing his disciples' progress. Three months passed quickly. The disciples who had been studying diligently in Immortal Seed Valley gathered once more in the square. The seven Peak Masters descended again in a dazzling display that filled the disciples with awe and envy! Su Yuan, however, chose a low-key entrance, taking his seat among the Peak Masters. Wang Siming smiled and said, "Su Yuan, there's no need to hide anymore. The sect's reorganization is complete - you can officially announce your identity as Peak Master of Three Extremes Peak!" Su Yuan waved his hand. "Let's keep it low-key. I'm not one for showing off." Wang Siming's smile froze. He'd heard about the grand display Su Yuan had put on when opening the valley - hardly the behavior of someone who preferred staying low-key. You Chunli, Peak Master of Divine Extremes Peak, asked curiously, "Junior Brother Su, are there any promising seedlings in this batch suitable for Divine Extremes Peak? Introduce some to your elder sister?" "Sister Chunli, I know a few. But whether they're willing to join Divine Extremes Peak is beyond my control!" Su Yuan replied. You Chunli waved dismissively. "No worries about that. In Seven Extremes Sect, our Divine Extremes Peak specializes in spiritual sense cultivation. Any disciples with talent in that area will naturally join us!" Su Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Oh, alright then. Let me introduce a few. Among the top-grade spiritual roots, Li Yuexin is most suited for spiritual sense cultivation. Among the high-grade spiritual roots, there's Qian Defa and Zhong Jie." "I see!" You Chunli nodded in understanding. Next, Tao Yaoyao, Peak Master of Pill Extremes Peak, asked with a smile, "Are there any promising seedlings suitable for alchemy?" Su Yuan answered similarly, "There are, but again, I can't guarantee they'll choose Pill Extremes Peak." Tao Yaoyao covered her mouth with a laugh. "Junior Brother Su is so amusing. In Seven Extremes Sect, only our Pill Extremes Peak offers alchemy cultivation. Talented disciples will naturally come to me." "Well, that's true. Among the alchemy talents, top-grade spiritual root holder Meng Changle shows promise. As for high-grade spiritual roots..." Su Yuan proceeded to introduce them one by one. Tao Yaoyao nodded repeatedly in acknowledgment. Following this, Shi Jian, Peak Master of Artifact Extremes Peak, also inquired about potential disciples. Su Yuan answered somewhat uncomfortably. As introductions continued with Technique Extremes Peak, Spiritual Extremes Peak, and Mysterious Extremes Peak, Su Yuan's expression grew increasingly solemn. Only when conversing with Lei Ming, Peak Master of Thunder Extremes Peak, did Su Yuan's demeanor relax somewhat. Wang Siming had been observing Su Yuan's changing expressions throughout, feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding he couldn't quite place. After concluding discussions with all Peak Masters, Su Yuan addressed all the disciples: "Now I, Su Yuan, declare the exit examinations for Immortal Seed Valley officially begun! All disciples will take the tests according to their ranking from the first round of assessments!" The disciples immediately grew serious. Gu You stepped forward first to begin his examination. Wang Siming scanned the disciples, generally sensing their spiritual energy fluctuations, and exclaimed in surprise, "This batch of disciples' cultivation progress is exceptionally good!" Su Yuan explained, "Perhaps because the top-grade spiritual root holders worked so hard that the high-grade ones had to work harder, causing the medium-grade ones to not dare slack off, while the low-grade ones barely had time to sleep. When those more talented than you work harder, the average cultivation level naturally rises without anyone noticing." Wang Siming couldn't help but ask, "So why were the top-grade spiritual root holders so diligent in the first place?" "That... is hard to explain," Su Yuan shook his head. He knew the reason, and the Peak Masters would learn it eventually, but there was no need to mention it now. Gu You's examination concluded quickly. The results showed he had reached the peak of Qi Refining fourth layer! This caused an uproar among both Peak Masters and disciples! The progress was simply astonishing - just three months to reach peak fourth layer Qi Refining, an achievement ordinary disciples might not reach even after ten years of effort. Gu You's performance stunned everyone, and unsurprisingly, he was invited to stand among the Peak Masters. This time, Huang Shanbo, Peak Master of Spiritual Extremes Peak, extended the first invitation. He smiled warmly at Gu You: "I am Peak Master of Spiritual Extremes Peak. I've heard you showed exceptional talent in body refining techniques during your time in Immortal Seed Valley, with good aptitude in spiritual energy as well. Our peak specializes in these areas. Would you join Spiritual Extremes Peak as a core disciple?" Gu You asked in response, "I've heard that during the exit examination, there's a selection process where becoming a core disciple allows one to study directly under a Peak Master. Is this true?" "Correct! This has always been the tradition of Seven Extremes Sect's Immortal Seed Valley," Huang Shanbo affirmed with a smile. "In that case, may I choose a different peak instead of Spiritual Extremes Peak?" Gu You inquired. "Oh? Your cultivation path aligns perfectly with Spiritual Extremes Peak. Which other peak would you choose?" Huang Shanbo asked, puzzled. Gu You turned and bowed respectfully to Su Yuan: "May I ask which peak Valley Master Su belongs to?" Su Yuan regarded him calmly. "I am Peak Master of Three Extremes Peak." Hearing this, Gu You's eyes brightened as he immediately declared: "I wish to join Three Extremes Peak as a core disciple! I beg Peak Master Su to grant me this opportunity!" The other Peak Masters were stunned by this request. Wang Siming, at this moment, finally realized where that sense of foreboding had come from!