Chapter 689: A Modest Accomplishment at Last

In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.

The Blood Daoist seems to have obtained from Youming Jie a method that allows one to traverse the nether, and with this method there is no need for Yan Buji to open spatial tunnels to trade with underworld cultivators.

It also let him practice peacefully for ten years.

In the blink of an eye, Yan Buji is already five hundred and sixty years old, and he has been in Zhong Tian Zhi Yu for about a sixty‑year cycle.

Sitting in the cultivation chamber, Yan Buji's magical energy rose from his pores like mist, and the surrounding space became slightly distorted.

Moreover, as Yan Buji cultivated, the magical energy within his Golden Core manifested five different attributes!

All the techniques at this moment displayed different transformations through the mist of magical energy.

Spring, summer, autumn, winter—the scenery of the four seasons constantly changed, and the spatial distortion seemed to echo the magical energy at this moment, gradually altering the environment around Yan Buji!

Even though this change is rather slow, it finally allowed Yan Buji at this moment to find the right path!

Boom!

A rumbling sounded within his body; although Yan Buji's realm made no significant progress, he successfully entered the gate of the Five Transformations Time Secrets cultivation.

"Good!" Yan Buji opened his eyes and smiled happily.

It was not a waste of those ten years to master a technique; the insight into this Way of the Universe method is rare and not limited to those ten years, for he has been painstakingly contemplating it since he obtained it, and thanks to the assistance of the Six Paths Bodhi, he finally succeeded.

"The Five Elements magical energy has already begun to transform toward Way of the Universe energy; thus the Five Transformations Time Secrets have become one of my primary techniques, with the others serving as auxiliaries. It also aligns with Heaven Gate Law, the Cosmic Way and Way of the Universe, all within it!"

Yan Buji smiled; of course the magical energy he cultivated is only at the introductory level, he has not grasped the profound depths, and there is still a great gap before breaking through the Nascent Soul stage.

At present, Yan Buji has merely integrated his previously cultivated Five Elements techniques into the Five Transformations Time Secrets and refined them, gaining only the most superficial Way of the Universe insight, naturally incomparable to the Heaven Gate Law that has accompanied his cultivation for many years.

However, breaking through the Nascent Soul stage has already opened a crack for Yan Buji, and with about three hundred years of life left, it should be enough to achieve the breakthrough.

"So many messengers?"

When Yan Buji first woke up, he found many messengers at the gate, but they didn't seem very urgent.

After all, even if the sect encounters a major incident, it cannot be handled by oneself.

He gathered those messengers, and Yan Buji opened and read each letter.

"Indeed, quite a few things have happened," Yan Buji smiled.

First, the Grand Trade Association signed a purchase contract with the sect, buying a batch of Youming Jie Spiritual Materials from the sect each month; then, after the sect assembly, every Elder was required to take disciples, but Yan Buji missed this while in seclusion; the decennial new opening ceremony is approaching, and the time to recruit disciples is near; Ye Lin from Paolong Sacred Land sent a messenger saying he wishes to meet him; and Elder Xi Men Qi from the West Gate is asking him for a delicious pill.

"Damn, I forgot about Elder Xi Men's matter, but I gave him enough for several decades back then—has he used it all?" Yan Buji was somewhat puzzled.

Never mind, I'll find a chance to go to Paolong Sacred Land to check the situation.

Looking at the sect's messengers, Yan Buji decided it would be better to go out and have a look.

After all, recruiting disciples is itself a way for a sect to expand its foundation; talent is rare, and cultivation geniuses are even scarcer. Therefore, although the Great Sinful Sect has only recently been rebuilt, it has already gone through a round of opening ceremonies and taken in many new disciples.

And the Sect Master requires every Elder to take disciples, mainly for the sect's stability; after all, it's about inheritance, and few refuse, since outstanding disciples also bring glory to their masters.

If it really doesn't work, treating them as subordinate trainees isn't impossible; they could later help handle affairs, right?

Yan Buji shared this thought; it's not easy to say he has no one under him as Hall Master of the Lian Dan Tang.

After leaving the cultivation chamber, Yan Buji walked along the sect's path, seeing many unfamiliar faces around.

The surrounding disciples, upon seeing Yan Buji's dark brocade robe, recognized him as an Elder or Hall Master and hurried to bow.

Yan Buji nodded and walked forward.

"Which Elder is this? The face is unfamiliar."

"Never seen him, perhaps he just emerged from seclusion."

"Isn't that the sign of the Lian Dan Dian? Does the Lian Dan Dian have this Elder?"

The crowd speculated further, but Yan Buji didn't mind.

Soon, on the road, Yan Buji ran into an acquaintance.

"Hall Master Yan! You've emerged from the gate?!" Huang Ji widened his eyes and approached excitedly.

"Huang Ji, long time no see," Yan Buji chuckled.

Huang Ji looked at Yan Buji excitedly: "Hall Master Yan, this time you emerged...."

Yan Buji waved his hand: "I only heard the sect is opening to recruit disciples; as Hall Master of the Lian Dan Tang, I need to take on a few disciples."

"I see," Huang Ji sighed: "What are Hall Master Yan's plans from now on?"

"No issues over at Wai Mao Tang?"

"No."

"Then you can focus on your work with peace of mind."

Huang Ji gave a wry smile: "I'm no longer with Wai Mao Tang; I've been assigned to Internal Affairs Hall as a steward."

"I see," Yan Buji said, surprised: "Was that arranged by Elder Li Wan Hua?"

"Yes, we'll discuss details later. Since Hall Master Yan has emerged, why not go together to the sect's plaza?"

"Alright."

It was clear that Huang Ji, in this way, and the group that used to be with Yan Buji had probably been largely ostracized, but since Li Wan Hua has the ability to control this matter, it also meant Yan Buji slightly underestimated the other side.

Nevertheless, this is not a big deal; Yan Buji's main priority now is to quickly break through the Nascent Soul stage, and other matters can be postponed a bit.

Arriving at the sect's plaza, Yan Buji went up and looked down at some newly admitted disciples.

Most of them already possessed cultivation, while a small portion of mortals gazed around with yearning eyes.

"Among these people, most cultivators are either new disciples at the Qi Refinement Foundation stage, or mortals of exceptionally high talent; however, most of those mortals have already been earmarked, so we definitely can't obtain them," Huang Ji laughed.

"Oh? Does the sect have people specifically go to the mortal world to collect high‑aptitude mortals?" Yan Buji asked.

"Yes, our Great Sinful Sect is already attached to several secular dynasties, but not here; they're near the remote Duan Po Mountain."

Duan Po Mountain?

Yan Buji felt he had heard of this place before, but didn't dwell on it; after all, mortal dynasties aligning with cultivation forces is quite normal, and many sects like to search for highly talented mortals within their own territories, even deliberately fostering those mortal forces.

For Yan Buji, it's just a formality—pick a few people and bring them to his Lian Dan Tang.