Chapter 94

At the main gate of Tianyin Sect, there is a building complex with a very elegant name called Qianfu Waterside Pavilion.

The "fu" in bat (蝠) is homophonous with "fu" in fortune (福), carrying a meaning of blessing.

Beside the Qianfu Waterside Pavilion, on the other side of Tianyin Lake, there is a circular white stone martial arts training ground.

That place is where many disciples train and cultivate.

Wei He walked out of his courtyard and could see the Qianfu Waterside Pavilion across the lake, and the town of Tianyin on the opposite side.

In this outer courtyard, his conditions were not bad, and he was considered to be among the better ones.

Most of the outer courtyard were new initiates with different martial arts, a few had practiced martial arts but only had one or two levels of qi and blood.

There were also those with three levels of qi and blood, but not many.

Including him, out of nearly a hundred people in the entire outer courtyard, only about ten had three levels of qi and blood from other cultivation methods.

Here, only the cultivation of the Lock Heart Seal mattered. Once the Lock Heart Seal broke through to three levels of qi and blood, one would naturally be promoted to the inner courtyard.

Wei He took a deep breath, began to slowly straighten his body, and placed his hands together in front of his chest.

The Lock Heart Seal is a very wondrous cultivation method.

Through a series of complex exercises, it can cause a person's qi and blood to undergo wondrous changes.

Wei He pressed his ten fingers together, only the fingertips touching each other.

Then, he felt the slight pulse beats transmitted from the fingertips.

Subsequently, he began to emit a low, chanting-like vibration.

The vibration started slowly, then became deeper and more resonant, gradually forming a certain rhythm.

This rhythm began to influence the qi and blood in Wei He's body, making the pulse beats he felt in his fingertips vary in intensity.

From the little finger to the ring finger, to the middle finger, to the index finger, and finally to the thumb.

The pulse strength in each finger seemed to pass on its force, gradually concentrating all the force in the two thumbs.

These two thumbs gradually turned red with qi and blood, even slightly black.

Puff.

Suddenly, Wei He felt his two thumbs tremble, with a large amount of qi and blood gathering there, making the thumbs rapidly become hot.

He quickly changed the tone of his voice.

His hands changed, with his ten fingers crossed, the thumbs aligned and pointing forward, tightly pressed against his chest.

Gradually, the thumbs became hotter and blacker.

Finally, with a muffled puff, something seemed to coalesce on the thumbs.

A large amount of qi and blood flowed back to the rest of his body. Wei He slowly stopped his voice and looked at his hands.

His thumbs were now pitch black.

"Finally broken." Wei He, with two cultivation methods that had reached three levels of qi and blood, had a deep understanding of the force.

With his good comprehension, it took him half a year to cultivate the Lock Heart Seal to the third level of qi and blood.

"Three levels of qi and blood are complete, it's time to go to the inner courtyard. If I don't go, I'll really be eating dirt."

During this time, he had been spending his own savings in the outer courtyard, where everything had to be bought with money.

Gold notes could buy other things easily; one gold note could buy a lot. But buying exotic beast meat was a different story.

Wei He spent his last gold notes to refill the realm-breaking pearl, which only lasted four months.

For the remaining time, he had no exotic beast meat to eat and relied solely on daily food for natural accumulation.

The speed was excruciatingly slow.

Fortunately, it was finally over.

"I guess you're almost there too. The last time I saw you, you were just one step away."

A familiar voice drifted from behind Wei He.

The person was tall and graceful, with a beautiful appearance, her long hair tied into a high ponytail, and wearing dark red martial attire that accentuated her slender figure.

It was Yang Guo, the tall girl who had initially received Wei He.

Yang Guo was now an inner courtyard disciple. In fact, most of the people who received visitors in the main hall were elites from the outer courtyard.

On one hand, elites were stronger, to avoid being insufficient in case of unexpected situations.

On the other hand, this was a form of training, allowing disciples who only focused on martial arts to gain some social experience.

Tianyin Sect had many such positions, and reception was just one of them.

"Long time no see." Wei He turned around and greeted her with a smile.

"Didn't we just see each other a few days ago?" Yang Guo said, speechless.

"The information you wanted, I've found out for you. The senior disciples in the inner courtyard are quite approachable," Yang Guo smiled and said, "Currently, the inner courtyard has the loosest management in the First, Second, and Sixth Halls."

She finished and became curious.

"Everyone is trying their best to get into the best halls. Why are you looking for a hall that doesn't emphasize teaching?"

She quickly looked around.

"Don't say I told you, but the nine halls indeed have very different situations."

"I personally prefer quiet self-cultivation." Wei He replied.

"Alright." Yang Guo didn't want to ask more about this topic, "When do you plan to go to the inner courtyard?"

"Right now. No time to waste." Wei He never delayed.

***

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The Third Hall, Wanqing Hall.

In Tianyin Sect, apart from the main building, Qianfu Waterside Pavilion, the rest of the large building complexes are scattered around Tianyin Lake.

There are a total of ten areas.

Among them, Wanqing Hall is one of them, owned by one of the nine Tianyin Sect's children, Wan Ling.

Wan Ling, among the nine Tianyin Sect's children, is not strong and has little fame, mostly being driven by the other eight.

But what sets her apart from the other eight is that she has a very beautiful daughter, Wan Qingqing.

Wan Qingqing is not only beautiful but also has talent and perseverance in martial arts. At just eighteen, she has already reached the third level of qi and blood and entered the realm of force.

Originally, everything was smooth and life was good. But during an outing, Wan Qingqing was noticed by the only son of Yan Junshan, one of the three major experts of Lishan Sect.

Since then, Yan Junshan has repeatedly sent people to propose marriage.

Tianyin Sect has been declining year by year, not as powerful as Lishan Sect. Wan Ling, one of the nine Tianyin Sect's children, in terms of strength and status, cannot compare to Yan Junshan.

Yan Junshan also has a close relationship with Tianyin Sect's deputy leader, Zhou Shun.

Because this matter could potentially strengthen the relationship between Tianyin Sect and Lishan Sect, Zhou Shun also agreed and sent people multiple times to persuade Wan Ling.

Under heavy pressure, Wan Ling, one of the nine Tianyin Sect's children, was forced to agree to marry her daughter to Yan Junshan's only son.

But she refused outright.

This matter has been ongoing for two years, with no resolution.

For a force realm expert, two years is not much. After entering the force realm, one's youth and beauty can last, and the lifespan is extended by twenty years.

Even Wan Ling herself, at over fifty, still looks cold and beautiful, like a woman in her thirties.

At this moment, Wan Ling, dressed in a simple white long dress, was sitting under a locust tree in Wanqing Hall, holding a letter, trembling with anger.

"Again, this again! Do they really think I, Wan Ling, am easy to bully!?"

She slammed the letter onto the stone table.

Sssss!

The paper exploded, and all the fragments, like sharp blades, pierced into the stone table.

"Too much! Zhou Shun, Lu Chengtao! If you want to send your daughters to form alliances, why don't you send your own daughters! Why must you harm my Qingqing!"

Wan Ling left a palm print on the stone table, her face pale with anger, and she stood up, pacing back and forth in the courtyard.

"Bisong!" she said coldly.

"I'm here." A handsome young man quickly entered, bowing in respect.

"From now on, any letters from Zhou Shun or Lu Chengtao, don't deliver them, just throw them away!" Wan Ling said decisively.

"Um..." Bisong was at a loss. Zhou Shun is the deputy leader, and Lu Chengtao is one of the three strongest among the nine Tianyin Sect's children.

These two big shots, could he, a gatekeeper, stop them, dare to stop them?

If he really stopped them, he might end up crippled on a dark and windy night.

Seeing Bisong's hesitation,

Wan Ling's anger flared up again, ready to scold him.

But in an instant, she understood why Bisong dared not respond. A sense of powerlessness rose in her heart.

Why must it be Wanqing Hall? Why can't it be Zhou Shun or Lu Chengtao themselves? They also have beautiful granddaughters and daughters, why don't they send them to Lishan Sect as marriage tools?

Why must they force her, a single mother and daughter in Wanqing Hall?

Wan Ling understood in her heart.

She looked at Bisong, the young man she had raised since childhood, now bowing his head, not daring to move.

She felt a deep bitterness and sorrow.

"Alright, you can go." Wan Ling waved her hand, sitting back in her chair, feeling exhausted.

She always had a soft heart.

Yes, many years ago, it was her soft heart that led to Qingqing.

Now, it was her soft heart again that made everyone think she would compromise.

She knew everyone was waiting for her to give in.

Because she has always been a gentle person, one who would always yield and compromise under pressure.

She always considered others. Even with her own disciples, she was the same.

But this time, it's different.

Wan Ling sat in her chair, watching Bisong silently leave. She suddenly felt very tired, very tired.

She sat there, resting, the cool afternoon breeze flowing through the courtyard.

She didn't move at all.

After a long time,

"Mother?" A slender and graceful figure ran into the courtyard.

"This is the list of new initiates chosen for our Wanqing Hall this year. I brought it over. This month, two from the outer courtyard have applied to join our Wanqing Hall!"

The figure stopped, revealing a pure girl in a white, tight-waisted dress.

The girl's waist was slender, tied with a black belt, the skirt daringly exposing her knees. She wore black soft leather boots that reached her calves.

From a distance, she had long hair, almond eyes, red lips, and white teeth, with a touch of charm and purity.

"Qingqing," Wan Ling wanted to say something, but she had no energy to deal with new initiates.

But as the words reached her lips, she paused.

"Two, really?" She didn't want her daughter to feel the same frustration and anger she felt, so she decided to bear the pressure alone.

"Yes, in the outer courtyard, those who can cultivate the Lock Heart Seal to the third level of qi and blood, only eight have broken through in the past two months. This time, two directly chose our Wanqing Hall. It seems the trend is good," Wan Qingqing said, slightly happy.

Because the resources each hall received monthly were allocated based on the number of disciples.

If a hall had fewer people, it received fewer resources.

"That's indeed good. Bring them here later, I'll take a look," Wan Ling forced a smile, speaking gently.

"Okay, Mother. I'll go now," Wan Qingqing nodded.

She could see her mother was not in good spirits, but at such a time, she had to take on the responsibility as the chief of Wanqing Hall, maintaining the normal operation of the hall.

She quickly turned and ran out of the courtyard.

Soon,