Chapter 7: A Year's Passage

Having comprehended the [Grass-Wood Sword Art], Lin Jiufeng's days continued as they always had.

Even with the [Grass-Wood Sword Art] at his disposal, he had no one to use it on just yet.

Outside Yuhua Sect, the ever-watchful Taishang Sect would have made a fine target — but his cultivation was still too shallow. He needed more time to consolidate.

In the days that followed, Lin Jiufeng spent each day not only stimulating the qi of his five visceral organs and condensing the Five Element Divine Beasts, but also deepening his comprehension of sword intent.

The [Grass-Wood Sword Art] was driven by sword intent — the stronger the sword intent, the stronger the art.

Lin Jiufeng had no intention of neglecting it.

Just like with the five organ divine beasts, he would comprehend a little each day, accumulating slowly, and in time it would amount to much.

Time passed quietly.

In the blink of an eye, a full year had slipped by.

Over that year, Lin Jiufeng had condensed the remaining four Divine Beasts at an average pace of one every three months.

A year later, he stood at the peak of the Fourth Seal. His five visceral organs were perfected within him, the Five Element Divine Beasts dwelling inside and forming a flawless cycle.

Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Qilin, Black Tortoise.

The five Divine Beasts had pushed Lin Jiufeng's power to the strength of ten dragons and ten elephants.

A single punch from him now was enough to kill a Fifth Seal cultivator — without even needing to rely on the [Grass-Wood Sword Art].

With the [Grass-Wood Sword Art] added on top, he even dared to trade blows with a Sixth Seal cultivator.

After all, over the past year, his sword intent in the [Grass-Wood Sword Art] had grown considerably.

During that year, Lin Jiufeng and his three junior disciples had not ventured outside, nor had anyone come in.

Yuhua Sect had truly become an isolated island, forgotten by the world.

But to Lin Jiufeng, this was of little consequence. He could cultivate in peace without ever leaving.

Inside the Canon Pavilion.

The fragrance of tea drifted gently through the air, mingling with the scent of sandalwood.

Lin Jiufeng sat together with Wen Xinyun, Zhou Tianzi, and Yue Dashan, sharing a quiet cup of tea.

The three children had trained tirelessly over the past year, pushing themselves day and night, and had finally advanced their cultivation to the Second Seal.

The Second Seal at eleven years old.

If word of this got out, it would leave jaws dropping across the entire cultivation world.

Even Taishang Sect had no genius who had reached the Second Seal at eleven.

Fortunately, Yuhua Sect was currently sealed off, and no one knew of these three. If Taishang Sect ever found out, they would have stormed in long ago.

Either defect to Taishang Sect, or be killed on the spot.

There would be no third option.

"Senior Uncle, I still need to cultivate. You called me here to drink tea, but I can't taste anything in it," Yue Dashan grumbled. A year older now, his body had grown even more powerful — his height had shot up to over six feet, and he weighed over three hundred pounds, a veritable mountain of a person.

"Senior Uncle is teaching you the importance of balancing work and rest," Wen Xinyun said, giving Yue Dashan a light tap with her slender hand. "You've been running nonstop for a whole year. You need to stop and rest, and think about the future."

Through cultivation, Wen Xinyun had blossomed as well — she had grown into a graceful young woman, her face carrying a striking beauty even without a trace of makeup. One look at her and you could tell she would grow into a breathtaking beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.

Beside her, Zhou Tianzi — with his sharp sword-like brows and bright starlit eyes — smiled faintly. "Getting Dashan to sit still and drink tea is no easy feat."

Lin Jiufeng looked at the three children and couldn't help but marvel at how cultivation truly accelerated one's growth. In just over a year, they had shed their childlike air and taken on the bearing of young adults.

"Alright, stop complaining. Finish your tea, then you can go cultivate," Lin Jiufeng said with mild exasperation.

Yue Dashan grinned and picked up his teacup, draining it in one gulp.

What a waste of good tea!

Lin Jiufeng glared at him in irritation and decided not to pour him another cup, slowly savoring his own instead.

Wen Xinyun shot Yue Dashan a look of reproach. "This tea may have grown wild in the mountains, but Senior Uncle picked it himself. The way you gulped it down like that — you really have no appreciation for fine things."

Yue Dashan didn't leave after finishing his tea. Instead, he sprawled out on the tea couch and asked, "Senior Uncle, the people from Taishang Sect have us surrounded but aren't attacking. What exactly are they trying to do?"

"Attack? Your master is still alive," Lin Jiufeng replied.

"Master is a Seventh Seal cultivator, but Taishang Sect is so powerful — would they really be afraid of a single Seventh Seal cultivator?" Wen Xinyun asked curiously.

"If they destroy Yuhua Sect but can't guarantee they'll kill your master, won't they just end up with an enemy lurking in the shadows?" Lin Jiufeng said.

"So they won't destroy us — they just keep us sealed in. That way, Master can't escape, and can't act against them either," Zhou Tianzi said.

"Your master is waiting for a Breakthrough, and the people of Taishang Sect are likely waiting too. It's a question of who gets there first," Lin Jiufeng speculated.

By surrounding them without striking, Taishang Sect had in truth already driven Yuhua Sect to the brink of desperation.

But the fact that they weren't attacking had only one explanation — they had no way to deal with Bai Yunfei at the Seventh Seal.

If they could deal with Bai Yunfei, they would have attacked long ago.

"Doesn't Taishang Sect have several Dao Ancestor experts at the Eighth Seal?" Yue Dashan said.

"Taishang Sect doesn't only have us as enemies. With the way they throw their weight around, how could they not have other enemies?" Lin Jiufeng answered.

"Then all we can do is hope Master breaks through soon," Wen Xinyun sighed.

"Go cultivate, all of you. These matters aren't for you to worry about — your master and I will handle them," Lin Jiufeng said, shooing them away. He sat alone, quietly savoring his tea.

He gazed out the window.

Beyond the towering mountains, an invisible net had been drawn.

Lin Jiufeng could feel it — over the past year, that net had been slowly tightening.

Taishang Sect wasn't simply keeping Yuhua Sect surrounded and idle; they were also advancing, inch by inch.

They were just still a little wary of Bai Yunfei.

As long as Bai Yunfei didn't appear and Taishang Sect's Eighth Seal Dao Ancestors didn't make their move, Yuhua Sect could hold on for a while longer.

For within the Seventh Seal, Bai Yunfei had already demonstrated his formidable power.

"Never mind all that. While Taishang Sect hasn't attacked yet, I need to break through to the Fifth Seal as soon as possible. Then I'll at least have some ability to protect myself," Lin Jiufeng murmured to himself.

He had already reached the peak of the Fourth Seal.

With the Five Element Divine Beasts condensed and his physical body perfected, the next step was to cultivate the Divine Soul.

The Fifth Seal — opening the Divine Soul.

To understand the cultivation of the Divine Soul, Lin Jiufeng retrieved a Daoist scripture and began studying it carefully.

The Daoist text stated that a person's Divine Soul is the union of Essence, Qi, and Spirit — the most precious thing a person possesses.

A body without a soul is nothing more than a walking corpse.

To break through the Fifth Seal and open the Divine Soul, one must gather Essence, Qi, and Spirit and forge them into a Divine Soul.

Then, one opens the Divine Soul, allows it to leave the body, and lets the spirit roam freely through heaven and earth.

But how does one leave the body?

Lin Jiufeng didn't know, but the scripture recorded that the simplest method was to step on one's left foot with the right, then leap out through the Niwan Palace.

Lin Jiufeng couldn't help but furrow his brow. Could it really be that simple?

He continued reading.

The text also said that the human body holds infinite possibilities and infinite treasures, the foremost of which is the Divine Soul.

The Divine Soul possesses many wondrous abilities that cannot be fully explored — one must activate one's imagination.

For instance, one could envision the physical body as a prison, with the Divine Soul trapped within. Then stepping on one's left foot with the right would be like a prisoner breaking out of jail.

Or one could envision the Divine Soul as a small boat adrift on the vast ocean of the physical body, floating until it finds a new continent.

Lin Jiufeng became thoroughly absorbed. These wild and fanciful ideas seemed unreliable to most, but he loved exactly this kind of thinking.

Cultivation was already beyond all reason — if you still insisted on following every rule to the letter, what were you even cultivating for?

As he read on, countless ideas collided in his mind, striking sparks.

Information about the Divine Soul was slowly opening itself up to him.

Lin Jiufeng felt as though he had touched the very threshold of understanding.

He sank deeper and deeper, unable to pull himself away.

The colliding thoughts gradually converged, crystallizing into two lines that appeared before Lin Jiufeng's eyes.

[You have read the Daoist scripture with great focus, broadening your mind. You have gained deep insight into the Divine Soul.]

[You have activated Heavenly Comprehension and comprehended the Divine Soul Transcendence Method.]