Chapter 34

As the day dawned, Luo Li did not rest but went to the slaughterhouse to help again. Everyone was completely stunned; wasn't this kid supposed to be resting today? Why did he come back!

Seeing Luo Li come to help, working without any reward, the reactions were varied. Some were grateful, some were suspicious, some secretly cursed Luo Li, and some suspected he had ulterior motives. There were all kinds of thoughts.

But Luo Li didn't care. No matter what you think or say, I do what I want to do. When I see someone in need, I go to help.

Of course, Luo Li wasn't foolish. Those who were ungrateful and showed no appreciation after being helped by him, and who brought no good karma, were told to scram.

This good karma was actually the special mental waves emitted by those who were grateful for Luo Li's help. These mental waves could be absorbed by Luo Li, transforming into a strange primordial energy!

By the sixth day in the sect, Luo Li calculated the time—it was the beginning of the fourth month. When he first joined, it was said that there would be a thanksgiving banquet at Jingxiang Kitchen that evening, which would be very grand.

Sure enough, in the afternoon, the bell in Tuo She Courtyard rang, and all the disciples gathered, all wearing their robes. Led by the elder Ji An, they lined up in a V-formation and set out together.

Luo Li and Gao Peng were at the end of the line. The line was over a hundred people long, which was all the people in Tuo She Courtyard.

Outside Tuo She Courtyard, six flying cars were lined up, all of them colorful winged cars, waiting for them to board.

Seeing the flying cars, Brother Seven whispered:

"We have twelve colorful winged cars in total, and they all come out today to pick up and drop off the disciples. The cars are fast, so it's a quick trip."

Everyone got into the cars. When it was Luo Li's turn to board, many people shouted:

"Junior Brother, come here!"

"Come, come to me, I have an empty seat."

"Come to me, it's more comfortable here!"

Over the past few days, Luo Li had built good relationships within the sect, and everyone treated him very politely.

Luo Li casually chose a seat and sat down. Soon, everyone was seated, and the flying cars took off, delivering them to the main courtyard of the outer sect.

After getting off the flying cars, they followed Elder Ji An into one of the grand halls. The hall was paved with green stone, and hundreds of banquet tables were lined up, each seating ten people.

Upon arriving, everyone was silent, quickly finding their seats according to the long-established rules. Luo Li was also assigned a seat.

At this moment, Luo Li noticed that the hall had over three thousand seats, indicating that the outer sect had three thousand disciples. These seats were divided into thirteen clusters, representing the thirteen outer courtyards of the outer sect. Compared to the other clusters, Tuo She Courtyard had the fewest, with only about a hundred people.

At this time, people from the Pure Serenity Pavilion, the Weaving Hall, the Beast Taming Cottage, the Alchemy Room, and the Alchemy Hall were arriving one after another. They all remained silent, sitting down in order, waiting quietly.

Soon, all three thousand seats were filled, except for those of Jingxiang Kitchen, as they were still cooking.

At this moment, Elder Chen appeared and began the ceremony, first bowing to heaven and earth, then to the ancestors. The ceremony lasted about fifteen minutes before it was over, and then the dishes were served.

The food was simple, with each person getting a small portion: two dishes and one soup. The dishes were simple: one was stir-fried vegetables and tofu, the other was stir-fried meat, and there was a tea mushroom soup, followed by a small bowl of white rice.

The portions were small, not enough for Luo Li to eat, but he noticed that Brother Seven and the others were looking at the food with a gleam in their eyes, as if they wanted to swallow everything, including the chairs, in one bite.

The food was served, but they couldn't eat yet. The disciples from Jingxiang Kitchen also took their seats, and everyone waited. At this moment, a group of people slowly entered the hall, and the heads of each courtyard immediately stood up and bowed:

"Disciples greet the sect leader and the sect master!"

The others also stood up and bowed, saying, "Disciples greet the sect leader and the sect master!"

It turned out they were waiting for the sect leader and the sect master, the supreme leader of the Lingdie Sect!

Luo Li also hurriedly joined in, shouting and straining to see what the leader looked like. But all he saw was a ball of light, so soft, so light, and so warm. After seeing it, he felt as if he had fallen into a dream, dazed and disoriented.

In an instant, Luo Li was startled awake, his mind restored. How terrifying, just a glance from a distance could make one lose control and fall into a dream, with life and death in the hands of another.

Brother Seven whispered, "Impressive, right? This is our Sect Master Fang's Golden Core phenomenon, 'Great Illusion as Reality.'"

Luo Li whispered, "Golden Core phenomenon?"

Brother Seven continued, "Yes, after a cultivator condenses a Golden Core in their body, a phenomenon appears around them based on their cultivation method, life experiences, and personality. This is the Golden Core phenomenon. Once it appears, it has great power, and can even destroy cultivators below the Golden Core level without using spells or artifacts! Of course, it can also be retracted, making the phenomenon invisible."

Luo Li nodded and said, "Our sect master's surname is Fang?"

Brother Seven replied, "Yes, Fang Ruo Lei! His Dharma name is Hundred Illusions Immortal!"

At this moment, Sect Master Fang Ruo Lei of the Lingdie Sect walked to the main platform. He looked at everyone, and the light around him disappeared, allowing everyone to see him clearly.

Luo Li observed carefully. Fang Ruo Lei was an old man with white hair that reached his waist, with a refined face, long eyebrows, and eyes like deep pools, clear and empty.

But upon closer inspection, he appeared to be a middle-aged man, tall and strong, with a sword-like brow and a fierce gaze, exuding a sense of righteousness!

Yet another look, and he appeared to be a young man with a head of radiant golden hair, eyes as green as emeralds, and a smile that was captivating.

Another look, and his appearance changed again! No matter how Luo Li looked, he could not see Fang Ruo Lei's true appearance. It changed with every glance, no wonder he was called Hundred Illusions Immortal.

Fang Ruo Lei looked at everyone and said:

"Passing through a thousand flowers, not a single leaf sticks to the body! Greetings, disciples!"

Everyone immediately stood up and replied in unison:

"Passing through a thousand flowers, not a single leaf sticks to the body! Greetings, Sect Master!"

This was the sect's etiquette!

Fang Ruo Lei continued, "Today's banquet is a thanksgiving banquet!

"Thirty thousand years ago, the Great Tribulation of the Ten Thousand Beast Transformation Sect forced our ancestors to leave the sect and cross the ocean to the Five Spider Islands, where they established a new territory.

"At that time, the Twelve Branches of the Ten Thousand Beast Transformation Sect came here, with the Sea Bear, Black Dragon, and Golden Rhino branches being the strongest, while we, the Lingdie, were the weakest, often bullied. However, after thirty thousand years, only the Lingdie and Black Dragon branches remain, while the others have either perished or fled.

"Why is this? It is not luck or coincidence, but the result of countless ancestors who sacrificed their lives to establish our territory!

"Therefore, we must be grateful. We must thank our founding ancestor, Dao Butterfly Ancestor, for establishing the Lingdie lineage. We must thank the Ascended Ancestor, Golden Butterfly Immortal, for her protection in the immortal realm, guiding us. We must thank countless ancestors for their battles and sacrifices for us."

At this point, Fang Ruo Lei fell silent, closing his eyes in gratitude, and everyone followed suit.

Luo Li also began to express his gratitude, genuinely. Without these ancestors, he would not have been able to leave the spiritless land and achieve his current abilities. His gratitude was sincere, even if it was initially feigned.

After Fang Ruo Lei finished his gratitude, he said, "Alright, let's eat!"

With these words, everyone began to eat. The food was grown and raised by the sect, rich in spiritual energy, nourishing and beneficial to cultivators. Although not as powerful as elixirs, it was gentle and harmonious.

Luo Li began to eat. The food melted in his mouth, and with just a few bites, it was gone. He then felt a faint warmth spreading from his stomach, flowing through his body and transforming into boundless spiritual energy.

This was twice as potent as the barbecue he had eaten before. Luo Li immediately began to cultivate, refining this spiritual energy.

At this moment, the doors of the hall closed, and the array beneath their feet activated, releasing a surge of spiritual energy, ten times stronger than in the third-class refined room where Luo Li lived.

At the same time, Sect Master Fang Ruo Lei began to chant. As he chanted, the phenomenon behind him became active, and the hall was filled with a dreamlike, ethereal light.

"Movement arises from stillness, action from inaction. Inaction leads to the return of the spirit, the return of the spirit leads to the silence of all things, stillness leads to the dissipation of qi, and the non-existence of all things.

"Forgetting the eyes, light overflows infinitely; forgetting the ears, the mind remains deep and still. Forgetting both, the gate of all wonders opens.

"Nourishing the formless, the form remains; guarding the formless, the form remains true. True form and true essence support each other, leading to eternal life. Heaven gains its truth and endures, Earth gains its truth and lasts, and humans gain their truth and live long..."

As he chanted, Brother Seven took out six Qi Refinement Pills and began to swallow and refine them. He had been waiting for this day, aiming to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement!

Not just him, many cultivators were doing the same, using this opportunity to break through their bottlenecks, with the help of the spiritual food and the sect master's spell, possibly achieving a breakthrough!

Luo Li began to cultivate, slowly refining the spiritual energy from the food, storing it in his qi sea. It gradually increased, but some dissipated. In the end, he finished his cultivation, gaining 364 breaths of true qi, bringing his total to 1,087 breaths of true qi.

"Finally, I've passed the 1,000 breaths mark, and my qi sea is one-tenth full! It's only been six days, so in two or three months, I should be able to enter the second level of Qi Refinement!"

Luo Li took a deep breath, ending his cultivation, and began chatting with his fellow disciples. The first thing they did was to ask each other how much spiritual energy they had gained.

"Gao Peng, how much spiritual energy did you refine?"

"Today's harvest was great; I refined 203 breaths! What about you, Senior Brother Luo Li?"

"I refined 7 more breaths than you! What about you, Xuan Shui?"

"Damn, Luo Li, Gao Peng, you guys are amazing. I only refined 117 breaths. Sigh, having four-element spiritual roots is a waste!"

Luo Li didn't reveal the truth, only saying he had refined 210 breaths, hiding half his strength. As the saying goes, the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be cut down, and he understood this principle.

Luo Li looked around and suddenly saw a column of qi rising from beside him, reaching three feet high.

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Thank you to: Xiao Yuzhou Tiandao, Xihuan Kaixin, {Hun Chi Qiu Bu Si}, Hahaha12345, Nian Mingyue Xiaoyao, Handong Diqu, Ru Conglai/Mmeng, Zu Yan Jian Shi, and Shasharen Nv Kankan Shu for your support! Thank you all!

If a new patron is born, I must add two more chapters!

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