Chapter 275: Meeting the Great Cultivator Yunyi (Seeking Subscriptions)

Walking through the deep arched gateway, I arrived on the streets of Yunyi.

Du En looked up and immediately saw the inner city towering in the distance; it was a non-uniform "hui" character structure, like a high mountain piled up on flat ground, with the inner city wall serving merely as a ring of isolated cliffs surrounding the City Lord's Mansion at the mountain's peak.

Lowering his head to look around, the buildings of the outer city were also quite dense, becoming taller the further in one went, resembling rows of watchtowers and fortresses, with a monochromatic, cold, and hard tone that carried an intangible sense of murderous intent.

As a major city, and a hub city at that, its functions were clearly different, so the flow of people on the streets was not sparse; there were always vehicles and convoys transporting various supplies rushing about everywhere, appearing as an endless, rather tense stream.

"Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be like this; it would show a scene of prosperity and tranquility, but now that the rectification is almost finished and the convicts are about to be gathered, all kinds of supply rations must be prepared together to be sent to Lin-dong City, which is why it has entered this state of combat readiness."

Ren Li was afraid Du En would misunderstand and think this formation was set up specifically to target him, so he explained it this way.

"I know, I've read about it in books."

"Uh, tsk, sigh, you've suddenly soared to success, and I still have no real sense of it; I never would have imagined back then that you would one day be like this."

Ren Li sighed with emotion; taking advantage of this stretch of road, they could finally catch up, perhaps the last time they could do so, so he began to chat.

"You guy, you clearly saw that my direction of realization was wrong back then, but you insisted on waiting until the moment I left to make it clear; you wanted to show off in front of me, didn't you?"

"It was mainly to give you time to adapt; telling you that you were going down a blind alley would have been a huge blow, and if I had explained everything on the night of the monster attack, I was afraid you would be distracted while refining artifacts and waste all my good materials."

"……Fine, fine, I admit that might have happened, and being able to use a phenomenon to reach Foundation Establishment and rank among the top-tier elites is indeed thanks to you, so I won't mind your words and thoughts."

Ren Li quickly regained the feeling from back then, sighing that this kid really hadn't changed, while shrugging and asking: "So, after that reply letter was tampered with back then, how did things develop on your end?"

"It actually worked out just as I wanted; I had originally intended to use He Bo and the others as shields, and it was quite troublesome to truly break free from house arrest at the time, mainly because there was an evil cultivator actually operating in the shadows named Li Jian, and I had to rely on luck to steadily defeat him until I reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment and my spirit body was formed."

"Is that so? Was he that strong? You should have been at a strong top-tier level back then, right?"

"Mm, he could be considered top-tier even among the strong top-tier; in fact, even if he bumped into weak geniuses of the same rank, those who had just stepped over the threshold, he would have a chance of winning, and perhaps not a small one."

"Oh? That powerful... speaking of which, how do you think it's easier to cross the boundary between top-tier and genius?"

Times had changed and the roles were reversed; now it was Ren Li's turn to take the initiative to ask for advice.

It was mainly because he felt that if the previous topic continued, he would definitely be overwhelmed by Du En's calm, natural, and matter-of-fact showing off.

"Divine soul—to put it specifically, it means finding a way to glimpse the Divine Palace during the Foundation Establishment stage, then using a state of realization to touch it through the wall, and then working a bit harder so that when breaking through to the Golden Core stage, you can activate it with divine sense; if you do that, you should be able to ensure a strong top-tier level, and perhaps by doing something else when breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, you could approach the stature of a genius?"

As for what came after that, Du En had no practical experience yet, so he only made a slight guess.

"Although it's not great to say this, but, doing it this way only gets you to strong top-tier, so how did you become a genius directly back then?"

"Dao foundation fully built, spirit body cultivated, cultivation technique pushed to the limit, dual palaces resonating together..."

"Stop, stop, stop, I get it, I get it."

Ren Li felt his teeth ache from listening, and then he couldn't help but start calculating: "My Dao foundation is only over fifty percent, at most seventy percent when perfected, I can't even see the spirit body yet, my cultivation technique is only barely mastered, hmm, the only thing I might be able to pull off is opening the Middle Palace."

The Middle Palace, the middle dantian, the Crimson Palace.

His requirements weren't high; he would strive for the best he could, climbing up step by step, just like in the past, working hard to fight for a better future.

For example, if he could open the Middle Palace later, his Dao foundation should increase by half a percent to one percent, the gestation of the corresponding spirit body would also be faster, and the progress of his cultivation technique would be the same.

Then, trying the method Du En mentioned to ensure a strong top-tier level, he would be considered a standout among his peers at the Golden Core stage, and then step by step continue to make up for his deficiencies...

"I have truly been greatly instructed; I have a framework for what comes next!"

Approaching the inner city gate, Ren Li began to intentionally act exaggeratedly.

Simply put, asking so directly just now was for his master to see.

Du En didn't think too much of it; it was just some insights, plus a set of methods for embedding parts of the Firm Spirit Art, which he had organized.

Compared to the content he was gradually comprehending as his proficiency in the Green-Yellow Canon accumulated, it wasn't a big deal; since an old acquaintance was asking, he just answered directly.

He didn't think this kind of thing would change the attitude of the Great Cultivator Yunyi; at most, it would just ease it up a tiny bit.

After all, the other party could actually provide such guidance, even up to the Nascent Soul stage; one could see that by looking at those three, Zhao Hong and the others, who were all strong top-tier.

After this intentional performance was over, what followed were some trivial matters.

Such as the situation with Wei Ming and the others, his wife's current aspirations, and the daily operations of Yunyi City, as well as what Ren Li had seen and heard when he was a laborer here.

Chatting as they went, they walked into the inner city.

Ren Li also shut his mouth, becoming solemn, as if he were about to go to the battlefield to fight.

The two walked up the long stairs, straight to the mountain peak, and arrived at the unique City Lord's Great Hall.

A cloud bed was placed high up, and the old man was lean and refined.

His gray-blue Daoist robe was neat and tidy, his hair bun and hairpin were steady and secure; he sat upright in the main seat, meticulous, with two Nascent Soul cultivators standing in attendance on his left and right.

There was no coercion or suppression, just a silent air of seriousness.

The situation wasn't quite right!

Ren Li silently stepped aside and stood in attendance; facing this situation, the speech he had prepared was suddenly unfathomable, and he felt anxious and uneasy.

"I have long admired you, Great Cultivator; it is good to see you."

Du En performed a greeting, neither humble nor arrogant, remaining calm as ever.

"Yunyi is both my name and my Daoist title; Cultivator Du may address me as such."

This Great Cultivator replied as such; his voice was not gentle, nor was it stern or angry, but carried a sense of earnestness, more like a natural state, very relaxed.

However, referring to himself by his name and title rather than his position—although he wasn't pulling rank, was he trying to cast aside his status?

Du En pondered this secretly, but just replied with a "good" and said nothing more.

After all, he was the guest here and the other party was the host; furthermore, with one old and one young, one must always respect the elderly, so him not speaking first was a choice without error.

And so, a brief silence fell within the hall.

(End of chapter)