Chapter 25: A Comparison Spanning Three Thousand Years

Bai Yunfei's plan was simple.

Although he had broken through the Eighth Seal himself and was cultivating the Yuhua Ascension Scripture, breaking through the Ninth Seal was unlikely in the near future — so he had placed his hopes on Lin Jiufeng.

Over the past few years, he had witnessed with his own eyes how Lin Jiufeng, a man over a hundred years old, achieved sudden enlightenment and surged from below the First Seal all the way to the Seventh Seal, like a ship riding the wind and waves.

And it was a Seventh Seal of terrifying power at that.

So he believed that as long as Lin Jiufeng was given time, he would surely break through the Eighth Seal — and perhaps even the Ninth.

As long as Lin Jiufeng broke through the Ninth Seal, the pressure from the Taishang Sect would amount to nothing.

This was also why he had no intention of taking on disciples for the time being, and instead sought alliances to hold the Taishang Sect at bay.

After hearing all this, Lin Jiufeng looked at Bai Yunfei and said, "You trust me that much?"

Bai Yunfei smiled casually. "If not for the Yuhua Ascension Scripture that Senior Brother comprehended, Yuhua Sect would have been destroyed long ago. How could I not trust Senior Brother?"

"I don't know how long it will take to break through the Eighth Seal, let alone the Ninth," Lin Jiufeng said honestly. It all depended on inspiration — when inspiration struck and his Heavenly Comprehension activated, breaking through was simple enough.

But inspiration was an elusive thing.

Lin Jiufeng could make no guarantees.

Bai Yunfei smiled. "Senior Brother, please set your mind at ease. The Ninth Seal Supreme Patriarch of the Taishang Sect is in seclusion, attempting to break through the legendary Tenth Seal. Right now, the Taishang Sect only has a handful of Eighth Seal Dao Ancestors left. As for myself — I won't boast about other things, but ever since I began cultivating the Yuhua Ascension Scripture, I dare say there are few who can match me within the Eighth Seal. I will help Senior Brother buy more time. We need not contend with the Taishang Sect for supremacy right now."

Lin Jiufeng looked at the confident Bai Yunfei and suddenly smiled. "During the time you were in seclusion, I comprehended a few more techniques. Would you like to learn them?"

Bai Yunfei stared at Lin Jiufeng in astonishment. "A few techniques? What kind of techniques?"

"Some of them are no worse than the Yuhua Ascension Scripture." Lin Jiufeng raised his teacup and took a sip, saying it as casually as if commenting on the weather.

Bai Yunfei shot to his feet in shock, staring at Lin Jiufeng, wondering if his ears had deceived him.

No worse than the Yuhua Ascension Scripture?

One had to understand — the Yuhua Ascension Scripture was already a supreme technique of the highest order. Even the Taishang Sect possessed nothing of that caliber.

And Lin Jiufeng had several more like it?

Bai Yunfei's mouth went dry. He wanted to say something, but Lin Jiufeng suddenly reached out and pressed a finger to the center of his brow, transmitting all the techniques he had comprehended directly into his mind.

[Endless Life], [Dragon-Elephant Power], [Grass-Wood Sword Art], [Divine Soul Transcendence Method], [Ten Kings of Hell]…

All of these techniques flooded into Bai Yunfei's mind, leaving him utterly dumbstruck.

In particular, [Dragon-Elephant Power], [Grass-Wood Sword Art], and [Ten Kings of Hell] — these three techniques were in no way inferior to the Yuhua Ascension Scripture in depth or breadth.

And all of these… had been comprehended by Senior Brother himself?

Bai Yunfei stared blankly at Lin Jiufeng and asked, "Senior Brother, with so many powerful techniques, you're just handing them all to me like this — aren't you afraid I might pass them on to others?"

"A technique is created to be passed down — only then does it have meaning," Lin Jiufeng said. "If only I alone cultivate it, wouldn't it just sit on a shelf forever, unknown to the world?"

"But Senior Brother, aren't you worried that someday someone who has cultivated these techniques might turn around and use them against you?" Bai Yunfei asked with concern.

"Not at all." Lin Jiufeng shook his head calmly.

Bai Yunfei looked at him in puzzlement, unable to understand why Lin Jiufeng was so untroubled.

"I pass these techniques to you because I hope you will carry them forward, so that the effort I've poured into this stage of my life will not be buried and forgotten."

"As for what you said — that someone in the future might use the techniques I've created and comprehended to come after me — I'll give them the time to catch up. By then, they'll still find themselves unable to see even my shadow in the distance."

Lin Jiufeng was composed and unhurried, without a trace of worry. He had never once believed that anyone who cultivated the techniques he passed down could ever become his equal.

Bai Yunfei's breath caught in his throat, utterly overwhelmed by Lin Jiufeng's towering confidence.

Was this the self-assurance of a peerless prodigy?

After a long moment, Bai Yunfei came back to himself and said solemnly, "Senior Brother, I will pass these techniques to Yuhua Sect's Core Disciples and carry them forward. In the future, our disciples of Yuhua Sect will surely come to dominate this world and become the standard-bearers of the cultivation world."

Lin Jiufeng waved his hand. "That's your business. I have no desire to concern myself with such trivial matters. Quietly cultivating in the Canon Pavilion, contemplating the Dao, and deriving new techniques — that suits me far better."

Bai Yunfei nodded. Seeing that the morning glow had already appeared on the horizon, he decided not to linger further and rose to take his leave. "Senior Brother, I must go out for a while. During my absence, I ask that Senior Brother keep watch over Yuhua Sect."

Lin Jiufeng waved him off, letting Bai Yunfei depart without worry.

Having broken through the Seventh Seal, Lin Jiufeng now felt a great surge of confidence. As long as no Ninth Seal expert came calling, he would pay no one any mind.

Time flowed like a song, and the clouds shifted like a white dog in the sky.

A full month had passed since Lin Jiufeng and Bai Yunfei had each broken through and joined forces to slay the wandering rogue Santong.

During that month, life within Yuhua Sect continued as usual — quiet and peaceful.

The three young disciples were working hard toward their own breakthroughs. Lin Jiufeng would occasionally sense their auras and could tell that all three had reached a critical juncture, standing just one step away from breaking through. So he left them undisturbed, quietly reading, cultivating, and contemplating the Dao.

Bai Yunfei had been gone for a month and had yet to return.

But Lin Jiufeng occasionally caught wind of news about him.

After all, when he finished cultivating, Lin Jiufeng would extend his Divine Soul power to its fullest extent and listen to the conversations of people within range.

He had heard a few things concerning Bai Yunfei.

For instance, news of Santong's death had already spread.

For instance, word of Bai Yunfei's breakthrough to the Eighth Seal had become known.

For instance, his visits to various factions at odds with the Taishang Sect had also become public knowledge.

Bai Yunfei made no effort to conceal his movements. On the contrary, wherever he went, he would deliberately let slip certain pieces of information, drawing the eyes of the world onto himself.

That way, the world's attention would not fall on Lin Jiufeng, who remained hidden within Yuhua Sect.

In response, Lin Jiufeng could only focus on his cultivation, keeping his daily schedule tightly packed.

For most of that month, he had spent his time inside the hidden Small World, where many books he had never read before awaited him.

He read diligently, and in the process comprehended two more techniques — though they offered little help in advancing his current cultivation level.

On this particular day, Lin Jiufeng was reading inside the Small World.

He held in his hands a book that chronicled the cultivation world of three thousand years past.

The book stated that three thousand years ago had been a golden age of cultivation — talented practitioners were as numerous as fish crossing a river, too many to count, and even an Eighth Seal cultivator could not be considered truly formidable.

To be called truly powerful, one had to start counting from the Ninth Seal.

Lin Jiufeng read this and drew a sharp breath. "Three thousand years ago, the Eighth Seal wasn't even considered impressive — you had to start from the Ninth Seal. Then the truly powerful experts must have been at that legendary Tenth Seal?"

Lin Jiufeng couldn't help but compare the world of three thousand years ago to the present.

Today, the Eighth Seal was already revered with the title of Dao Ancestor. A sect with even one Eighth Seal cultivator could be rated as a second-tier faction.

Take Yuhua Sect now — everyone knew that its disciples and elders had all departed, leaving only three disciples behind. Yet with Bai Yunfei's breakthrough to the Eighth Seal, none of the surrounding powers dared to look down on Yuhua Sect any longer.

At the very least, no other faction dared to lurk and spy near Yuhua Sect's mountain gate anymore.

"So — what exactly happened in that great battle three thousand years ago, to have set the cultivation world back so far?" Lin Jiufeng couldn't help but voice the question aloud.