Reunion with Shen Yi! Chengfa Pavilion!

Hearing someone call his name, the big man turned around.

His gaze fell on Lu Yun's face, and he was stunned for a moment before raising his hand to rub his eyes, as if afraid that he had misread it.

After confirmation, his entire face lit up, and his mouth stretched to his ears.

"Lu Yun? Yun kid!"

He rushed over in two quick steps, his raging, bull-like aura pressing down on him.

Lu Yun swallowed hard. After three years apart, Brother Shen Yi's physique had become even more frightening.

They were born to the same father, so how come they are so different from that girl Shen He?

Could it be that eating too much spirit rice caused a genetic mutation?

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Examination Hall?"

Shen Yi looked him up and down, his brows suddenly furrowing. "Did someone bully you?"

Lu Yun quickly shook his head.

Shen Yi then noticed the yellow-robed figure beside Lu Yun, his expression turned solemn, and he clasped his hands in greeting.

"Greetings, senior brother from the Immortal Academy."

Senior Brother Liu nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

"I came with my senior brother to return the Dharma Inheritance Stele, and we were passing by here," Lu Yun explained.

"Alright, you go and get on with your business with your senior brother. I'll wait for you at the entrance and give you a welcome dinner!"

Shen Yi slapped Lu Yun's shoulder with his palm, which was as big as a palm leaf fan, making a loud thud.

Lu Yun grinned, his shoulder blades feeling slightly numb.

As they were talking, a burly man who was a head taller than Shen Yi walked over.

His bald head was shiny, and his beard was as thick as a dark cloud, but the aura he exuded was only around the fourth level of Qi Refining, making him seem somewhat weak and unhealthy.

"Brother Yi, the Wang family only gave us one and a half spirit stones."

Shen Yi's brows furrowed immediately, and he muttered curses under his breath.

"We agreed on two spirit stones per sparring session, what's the point of giving us one and a half?"

"I can't even afford healing pills. I'll go find him later."

He turned his head, pointed at Lu Yun, and said to the bald man, "Erhu, this is my brother, Lu Yun."

Erhu scratched his shiny bald head, looking serious. "Which brother?"

"My own younger brother!"

"How many brothers is your younger brother?"

Shen Yi took a deep breath, a vein throbbing on his forehead, and waved his hand.

"A younger brother is a younger brother, remember that, he's closer than all my sworn brothers."

Erhu seemed to understand, turned to Lu Yun, and grinned.

That smile should have been kind and honest, but paired with a full beard and a bald head, it looked fierce no matter how you looked at it.

"The eldest brother's younger brother is Erhu's older brother."

Lu Yun looked at that fierce-looking smiling face and his lips twitched. Erhu seemed to be having some trouble thinking.

He did whatever Shen Yi told him to do.

Lu Yun, too lazy to correct him, clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Senior Brother Erhu."

When Erhu saw his response, he laughed even more heartily, awkwardly clasping his hands in return, his movements resembling a bear that had just learned to bow.

Senior Brother Liu had already started walking out, and Lu Yun quickly followed.

Behind them, Shen Yi's muffled muttering could still be heard.

"Who in the Wang family are you looking for?"

"Find whoever will be your sparring partner!"

"Who's the sparring partner?"

"Wang Kai—"

"Oh, look for Wang Kai."

Lu Yun paused, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Brother Shen Yi always reports good news and never bad news. Every time he sends a message back to Zixin City, he says that he is doing very well in the Immortal Hall.

It turns out that his so-called "respectable job" was just being someone's sparring partner and having his spirit stones deducted.

Following Senior Brother Liu, we arrived at Chengfa Pavilion and entered our information into the Ascension Seal.

"The hall has been set for you, East Sixteen Hall."

Of the twenty-five halls in the East Hall, only the sixteenth hall master was a rogue cultivator; the rest were all under the control of powerful clans.

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Liu." Lu Yun clasped his hands in thanks, a gesture of sincere gratitude.

"May we meet again someday."

Senior Brother Liu waved his hand and went straight into the inner room to hand over the task.

Having done this much, he, as the senior disciple, had already done his utmost to guide his fellow disciple.

"Junior brother is so fortunate to have a senior brother from the Immortal Academy personally guiding you."

As soon as Senior Brother Liu left, a disciple on duty came up to him, his tone filled with undisguised envy.

"He's just a senior student taking the exam this term, and he gave me a ride along the way." Lu Yun shook his head.

The disciple on duty smiled but didn't respond.

He knew his senior brother's temperament better than anyone else, having spent eight years in the Immortal Hall.

On the way?

Those arrogant senior brothers from the Immortal Academy wouldn't bother to give a newly initiated spirit servant a ride along the way.

"I am Luo Chuan, a disciple on duty at Chengfa Pavilion. I have been here for eight years. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me."

"Junior Brother Lu Yun greets Senior Brother Luo."

Lu Yun handed over the Ascension Token and explained his purpose: "I have received an A grade in the assessment and have come to receive the 'Hundred Refinements Manual'."

Luo Chuan took the Immortal Ascension Seal, checked it on the duty station, and his eyebrows immediately rose.

"Grade A? Wasn't the Chengfa Stele just taken down today?"

He looked up and examined Lu Yun again, his gaze now more serious.

The Immortal Ascension Seal clearly records that the "Great Void Hundred Refinements Manual" awaits comprehension.

"So it was a hidden gem, no wonder that senior brother valued it so much."

Luo Chuan's tone warmed up a bit.

The other party was not one of those arrogant scions of noble families, so there was a natural affinity between the independent cultivators.

"Senior Brother Luo, you flatter me."

Lu Yun was also interested in making friends, and the two started chatting quickly.

In this celestial hall, as long as one is not from a noble family or a humble background, everyone treats each other with great courtesy.

Luo Chuan led him through the Chengfa Pavilion, winding his way down into the ground.

"The six floors above ground mainly contain miscellaneous notes and low-level techniques; the true inheritance is all underground."

After passing through a long, dark underground corridor, the view suddenly opened up before us.

Dozens of stone tablets stand scattered about, some as tall as a person and others no more than waist-high, just like the Chengfa Stele.

Lu Yun's gaze swept over the area, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Senior Brother Luo, are these... all true Dharma transmissions?"

"True Dharma?"

Luo Chuan chuckled. "These are all tactics."

"So many?"

A flicker of longing crossed Lu Yun's eyes.

He had originally thought that battle tactics were rare and precious, but now, seeing this scene, it was as if he had entered a battle tactics shop.

"Of the more than 20,000 disciples of Dongxian Hall, the majority are at the mid-stage of Qi Refining and are also eager for the Great Dao."

Luo Chuan nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Without battle tactics, the Great Dao is nothing but a mirage."

The two passed through one battle mound after another, Luo Chuan's feet never stopping.

Lu Yun secretly wondered if the inheritance of the "Tai Xu Bai Lian Jue" was even more precious than these battle techniques.

"Senior brother, what are the requirements for learning a combat technique?"

"Spirit Stones".

Luo Chuan answered decisively, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips.

"The Immortal Hall only recognizes spirit stones. The cheapest battle technique costs fifty spirit stones for an hour of study, while the most expensive costs two hundred spirit stones."

Lu Yun gasped.

It's calculated by the number of times, and it doesn't even guarantee you'll learn it.

If one's comprehension is lacking, wouldn't the spirit stones just be spent like water?

"How many times does it typically take to grasp the essence of something?"

"A genius only needs three to five tries, an ordinary person can do it in ten tries, and a mediocre person..."

Luo Chuan pointed to a battle strategy monument not far away and lowered his voice, "The son of the previous True Person failed to touch the threshold even after fifty attempts, setting a record for the Immortal Hall."

Lu Yun's lips twitched.

Fifty times, how many spirit stones would that cost? Just thinking about it makes my wallet ache.

But then, a thought suddenly popped into my head.

When he first comprehended the "True Dharma of Purification and Turbidity," he only briefly grasped it in front of the Dharma Inheritance Stele, and the Dharma itself manifested on his "Lingtai Guanji" (a spiritual platform for self-reflection).

Even if one hasn't mastered the basics of combat techniques, they can still manifest...

Doesn't this mean that he only needs to comprehend it once and "record" the Dharma in the "Lingtai Guanji" (a system of spiritual observation) to be able to break free from the Dharma Inheritance Stele and improve on his own?

Once the thought popped into my head, I couldn't suppress it.

Luo Chuan led him into a stone chamber that was about ten feet square.

In the center stands a stele about one meter high, with a prayer mat placed in front of it.

"Those battle strategy tablets outside are just empty shells; true understanding requires a private, quiet room."

Lu Yun nodded.

This is easy to understand; it's the same principle as the model machine from the previous life.

"Those who are rated as Grade A may study the 'Tai Xu Bai Lian Jue' twenty times, one hour each time."

"You need to make an appointment at Chengfa Pavilion before you can begin your meditation. There's no one here right now, would you like to try for an hour first?"

Lu Yun suppressed the restlessness in his heart and took out the Ascension Seal.

"Then let's contemplate for an hour."

Luo Chuan nodded and taught him step by step how to activate the Inheritance Stele, and then explained some tips for understanding it in detail.

After meditating for an hour, it's best to pause for another 15 minutes before continuing for the best results.

The placement of the meditation cushion and the angle of the sitting posture are all imbued with profound Taoist meaning and have specific rules...

Lu Yun wrote them down one by one.