The sunlight was as if it had been crushed. It was soft and gentle, and it painted the whole world gold.

A gentle breeze blew, lifting Ou Yangming's clothes. Under the complicated gazes of the disciples present, he slowly walked toward the mountainside.

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Everyone watched Ou Yangming, Ling Yue, and Guan Yue leave. When their figures disappeared from sight, the crowd began to discuss like they were in a market.

"Hiss… Ling Yue has such a caster as his backing. His days will be smooth from now."A Rudimentary Spiritualist disciple revealed an envious look. He wanted to replace Ling Yue.

"Yes, he's too lucky. Besides, that fella isn't just a caster. Did you notice that his aura is as deep as the sea? He could easily fend off the longsword that flew out of a sword case. Even if Jian Chengzhe just became an Intermediate Spiritualist, given that the young fella was able to resist the sword so easily, he's at least an Advanced Spiritualist." Another white-clothed disciple nodded in agreement.

After he said that, the other disciples sucked in a breath of cold air at the same time.

Not only was Ou Yangming a caster, but his cultivation base had also reached that of an Advanced Spiritualist. Such disciples could be considered rare in the Seven Stars Sect because almost 90% of them had left to gain experience and seek opportunities. It would be very difficult to see them in the sect.

As for some female cultivators, peach blossoms seemed to be blooming deep in their eyes. The corners of their lips curled upwards, forming a beautiful arc, and their bodies also became graceful. After they returned to their residences, they searched for all the clothes that they usually could not bear to wear. The young ladies competed with each other for beauty as they tried to use their graceful bodies to get hold of Ou Yangming. Nonetheless, they did not even get to see him. Even so, the male disciples of the Seven Stars Sect managed to feast their eyes on those beautiful ladies, but this would all be for another day.

At night, the moonlight was as cold as water. As it sprinkled down, the entire Seven Stars Sect seemed to contain the mystical aura of an immortal shrine.

Ling Yue brought Ou Yangming to a small courtyard that was carved with jade. He said softly, "Big Brother Yu, it's already dark today. Master will only come out from his isolated cultivation in 3 days, so you might as well stay here for a few days. It won't delay your important matters."

Ou Yangming nodded heavily. "Many thanks, Brother Ling!"

Ling Yue smiled and did not say anything. He brought Guan Yue out of the courtyard.

In his room, Ou Yangming lit a candle. The dim yellow light flickered but when he gently picked up the wick, the candle immediately became much brighter.

He looked at the candle and sighed. "People are afraid of the darkness, so they need light wherever they go. It's just for peace of mind so that they won't fall into darkness." Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was at a loss at this moment. He did not know what he was asking for. 'Is it to stand tall? Or to be glorious for a lifetime? Or to stand at the top of the universe and look down on all living things?'

The young fellow was not like Li Xin. There was no ambition in his eyes that could devour nothingness.

He was Ou Yangming—the one and only Ou Yangming.

After a long while, he looked at the scattered moonlight outside the window and let out a long breath of cold air.

Ou Yangming began to sort out the things that had happened during the time he left Huixun City. There were not many things, but he had to sort them out because this concerned Qiu Chengwang and Ai Hongli, who was a top-grade Venerable One. The events were not separated into big or small, nor were they split into significant or insignificant ones. After going through them in his mind, he finally felt at ease.

The young fellow's eyes were tightly shut as he guarded his heart with his soul. His momentum also sank to the bottom of his heart.

Inside his spiritual world, Ou Yangming visualized the snow mountain. During his battle against the 2 top-grade Spiritualists of the Teng family, he had used the Big Avalanche to kill Teng Donglin.

Now that the snow mountain had collapsed, there was only a snow mountain of about 33 meters left. It did not have the majestic atmosphere of breaking through to heaven as it did, hence he needed to visualize it and stack it up again.

As the thought crossed Ou Yangming's mind, his spiritual world darkened. The sky seemed to have been covered by a pitch-black pot, where grey clouds hung Low while the northern wind howled. Heavy snow that looked like goose feathers fell from the sky. The snowflakes fluttered in the air, tearing the silent sky into pieces. They fell on the snow mountain, which began to rise. The process was not fast but like a squirrel gathering pine nuts without missing a single one, the young fellow persevered and worked tirelessly.

Even the air around Ou Yangming turned cold. His eyes seemed to contain a deep and cold world.

Deep yet cold, profound yet ancient.

One day, the Big Avalanche would emit the most beautiful light. The dragon would have soared and when it roared, the whole world would tremble under its feet.

In the blink of an eye, the sky brightened. As the morning light shone down. Ou Yangming stopped visualizing the snow mountain and walked out to the small courtyard to do breathing exercises.

A beautiful figure walked up along the winding path below. She was dressed in white and looked very pleasing to the eye. If this was not Guan Yue, who else could it be? Not far behind her, Ling Yue stood with a smile. They walked toward Ou Yangming one after the other. The young man cupped his hands slightly and asked, "Brother Yu, are you still used to living here?"

Ou Yangming replied with a faint smile, "I'm not very pampered. As a cultivator, there are many days where heaven becomes my blanket while the earth is my bed. It's rare and precious to have a small house as my shelter while traveling."

"No wonder Brother Yu cultivated to such a boundary at such a young age. It turns out you have a profound spiritual cultivation," Ling Yue complimented. He was very reserved, but it gave people a good impression of him.

Guan Yue was graceful. She waved her sleeves and smiled sweetly. "Brother Ling is right. The path of cultivation is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you'll fall back. If you only think of being at ease without wanting to progress, how much can you achieve in your life? To put it bluntly, life is all about being diligent. If you're diligent, you'll attain the path and by then, the heavens will help you. On the other hand, if you lose the path, the heavens won't help you."

"Miss Yue, you're indeed worthy of being a talented lady from Reborn in Paradise. You speak very differently." Ou Yangming blinked and chuckled.

Guan Yue smiled generously but did not reply to him.

Ling Yue's master—Wen Zhou—still had 3 days before he could come out from isolated cultivation, so Ou Yangming could not do anything even if he wanted the recommendation slot to enter the Big Ruins. Since he had nothing to do, Guan Yue and Ling Yue invited him to go fishing by the lake at the foot of the Ultimate Sword Peak.

Ou Yangming looked meaningfully at them. He wanted to fulfill their wish, so he did not reject them.

As soon as they arrived below the 10 arched doors of the Ultimate Sword Peak, Ou Yangming heard the sound of the wind. All of a sudden, a young man in green clothes walked toward the peak with a zither in his hands. His smile was warm and gentle, which gave people a good impression. When the man stopped and looked into the distance, his long hair by his ears was lifted by the wind. He stared at Ou Yangming for a moment.

At this moment, a strong sense of danger rumbled in Ou Yangming's mind.

It was as if he was being stared at by a venomous snake in the dark, such that every pore on his body was emitting cold air.

Despite that, Ou Yangming's good psychological qualities allowed him to calm down, and his expression did not change at all. The man in green exclaimed softly. He nodded his head meaningfully and walked toward the peak with a smile.

There was a black-robed man next to him. The man's face was pale as if he was shrouded by dark Qi. His aura was rotten and ancient, and he was like a person from a different world as compared to the man in green. Having said that, he and the green-clothed man got along. The old man glanced at Gu Gengren with a dark face and asked in a cold voice, "What's going on?"

When Gu Gengren's fingers moved the strings of the zither, a melodious sound spread out. He answered with a smile, "Nothing—I just met an interesting person."

As his laughter reverberated, the space around him seemed to brighten up without warning.

Ou Yangming pondered for a moment and remembered the person's appearance. He knew those who could make him feel a sense of crisis were not simple figures.

Not long after, Ou Yangming had a new understanding of the Seven Stars Sect's strength. Heavenly Soul Lake was surrounded by mountains, and the water was blue. The key point was that an unimaginably large spiritual spring existed at the bottom of the lake, and it caused visible spiritual Qi to drift on the lake. If one took a breath, one would feel as if a warm current was flowing down one's Tianling acupoint, causing the pores on one's body to instantly open up.

The golden sunlight sprinkled on the lake and was crushed into pieces by the blue waves that were stirred up by the water. It was as though countless golden light spots were swaying in the water. They followed the direction of the sun and extended into the distance like golden silk ribbons that were constantly changing.

Ling Yue walked to the lakeside and sat down.

He threw a stone into the lake, and the blue waves rippled. He explained softly, "The lake is rich in spiritual Qi. When the creatures in the lake breathe and absorb the spiritual Qi, the quality of their flesh is improved. If they're cooked, their flesh will melt in your mouth. For ordinary people, eating spiritual fishes from the lake can extend their lives and benefit them in cultivation. The fishes can consolidate one's foundation, cultivate one's essence, and stabilize one's boundary."

Ou Yangming smiled and expressed, "After hearing what you said, I'm starting to crave them."

Guan Yue turned to look, and her smile was as cunning as a fox. Her voice was warm as she asked, "Big Brother Ling, the Seven Stars Sect's Spiritual Vitality Tower is extremely famous. How come we didn't see it along the way?" She looked into the distance but quickly retracted her gaze.

Ling Yue looked at her gently and explained, "The Spiritual Vitality Tower is right in the middle of the lake—look." As he said that, he lifted his hand and pointed.

Ou Yangming and Guan Yue followed the direction that Ling Yue pointed and released their mental powers. As expected, the Spiritual Vitality Tower was behind a mountain. Due to bamboo trees that were intertwined together, it was faintly visible. The ancient tower was reflected in the lake water. As the ripples swayed, the spiritual Qi around the ancient tower condensed. It was considered one of the places with the most concentrated spiritual Qi that Ou Yangming had ever seen.

'It's extraordinary indeed,' Ou Yangming lamented.

His eyes suddenly focused as he walked to Ling Yue's side and sat on the ground. He asked softly, "Brother Ling, may I know what the Spiritual Vitality Tower is?"

A look of pride flashed across Ling Yue's eyes. He explained softly, "Brother Yu, you might not know this, but this is how Venerable Ones from the Seven Stars Sect's venerable reach the heavens. With the spiritual spring as a foundation, spiritual Qi from the lake is condensed and transformed into an ancient tower, which is used by the sect's disciples to break through. That said, one needs plenty of contributions to enter the tower."

"Oh..." Ou Yangming nodded thoughtfully.

Fishing could calm one's mind. The lake was calm and the wind was not strong. It was good weather for fishing.

Looking at the rippling waves, Ou Yangming recalled the ferry elder by Tianlan River. However, as soon as he thought about the elder, he felt that his mind was surrounded by thick mists as he could not even remember what the elder looked like. After becoming a Spiritualist, one would somewhat have a photographic memory, but the young fellow could not even remember the ferry elder's appearance at this time. This was worth pondering.

"The heavenly path is constant but the world is unpredictable? The world is as big as one's heart?" Ou Yangming muttered and looked into the distance. No one knew what he was thinking about.

Soon enough, the 3 of them caught 3 to 4 spiritual fish. After feeling that they had enough to eat, they stopped fishing.

In Ling Yue's words, the spiritual fish were gifts from the universe, so they must not be greedy.