"You’ll know once you get there, Senior Brother!" Cyan Pine winked mysteriously. "Master is waiting for you in Qingwei Hall. Even Cui Peak Leader of the Punishment Hall is there!"

Seeing the young Daoist child trying to be mysterious, Xu Yunfan shook his head and chuckled. He casually hung the pair of hammers from his waist. "Lead the way. If you’re trying to trick me, I’ll ask Master to punish you by making you copy the *Scripture of Quietude* ten times."

Cyan Pine scratched his head and put on a silly grin. "Please don’t tease me, Senior Brother."

"..."

Inside Qingwei Hall, Bi Yuan was speaking in a low voice with Cui Yu when he suddenly heard a soft sound from the entrance.

He looked up, but the smile on his face froze the instant he saw Xu Yunfan clearly.

WHOOSH! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The candlelight in the hall dimmed as Bi Yuan’s figure appeared before Xu Yunfan like a phantom.

The Daoist Sect Leader, having lost his composure, seized his disciple’s wrist as his Pure Yang True Qi surged in like a tide to probe him.

"The Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill... at Great Success?!" Bi Yuan’s voice trembled, a rare occurrence. "Jade Marrow Golden Bone, Mercury Blood Silver Network... How is this possible!"

Hearing Bi Yuan cry out in shock, Cui Yu crushed the teacup he had just lifted. KRAK! He didn’t even notice the tea dripping between his fingers.

He stared intently at the faint golden sheen flowing beneath the exposed skin of Xu Yunfan’s neck. That was the "Pure Glass Body," a state that took generations of Taoist Sect geniuses countless years of bitter cultivation to achieve!

And what Xu Yunfan had cultivated was the Golden Body Jade Glaze, an even superior state from Mituo Temple’s Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill.

"Three months..."

Bi Yuan released his grip, his eyes filled with a shock as if he were seeing a ghost. "Back then, I used up all my Dragon Tiger Golden Cores and still spent eight years just to touch the threshold of Great Success. You... you did it in only ninety days?!"

He recalled how he had swallowed twelve Dragon Tiger Golden Cores and endured eight years of torment, day and night, in the Cold Jade Cave, just to barely reach the threshold of Great Success. Yet, the jade-like resonance he felt from his disciple’s body could not be faked. This disciple had compressed what would take an ordinary person half a lifetime of bitter cultivation into just ninety days and nights!

Xu Yunfan asked in surprise, "Master, it took you eight years to break through to the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm?"

Cui Yu added grimly from the side, "And that’s considered fast. In the entire history of the Taoist Sect, your master’s cultivation speed ranks in the top five."

Xu Yunfan’s heart instantly settled. The memories flowing through his mind just now had made him start to question reality.

He was resigned. ’Although I used the Dragon and Tiger Hibernation Skill to conceal my aura, how could I possibly hide it from Bi Yuan, the creator of the technique itself?’

"So, Master... did I do alright?"

He deliberately feigned ignorance, yet the golden glow flowing beneath his skin flickered with every breath, like distant stars winking in and out of sight.

"You little rascal, always putting on an act."

Bi Yuan cursed with a laugh before continuing, "More than just ’alright’?!"

Bi Yuan suddenly burst into laughter, his expression one of pure joy. The force of it shook the beams, causing accumulated dust to rain down. "The head of Mituo Temple achieved his Golden Body only after twelve years of ascetic meditation, and you did it in three months! Not even the ancient sages with their Innate Dao Bodies were this monstrously talented!"

Cui Yu was also questioning his own existence. Standing before Xu Yunfan, he felt as if he had wasted his entire life.

"Flesh and blood like mercury, bones chiming like stone... This is the ’Leakless True Body,’ something only seen at the Perfection stage of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

His expression was a storm of complex emotions. He recalled all the hardship he had endured on his path to the Nine Realms Qi Cultivation, a struggle only he truly knew. Yet here was Xu Yunfan, breaking through realms as easily as breathing.

’Do you have any idea what I’ve been through all these years!’

Cui Yu screamed internally, but his face remained a taut, silent mask.

A mixture of complex emotions and wild joy swirled in Bi Yuan’s eyes.

If Xu Yunfan could maintain this pace, the shackles of the Ninth Realm would likely be meaningless to him.

Thinking of the prophecy of the Celestial Demon’s arrival, the Sect Leader’s fists clenched inside his sleeves. ’This disciple... he might truly be the Taoist Sect’s final True Dragon, the one who will see us through this calamity.’

At this thought, Bi Yuan’s fists began to itch. ’When I get back, I have to find a chance to give Bi Sheng another good thrashing. If he hadn’t gone to the Five-Colored Altar on a whim and met Xu Yunfan, I would have truly missed out.’

After a thorough examination, even Bi Yuan couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement.

Xu Yunfan relaxed his stance, and the steaming Blood Qi around him slowly receded back into his body.

Bi Yuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze as sharp as a torch while he studied his disciple. Great Success in Washing Marrow in three months, undefeated across the Thirty-Six Peaks, and even obtaining two Divine Weapons from the Sword Burial Abyss... such talent far surpassed any prodigy in the history of the Taoist Sect.

For him to appear at such a critical time was truly a blessing for the Taoist Sect.

"Next, when you break through to the Organ Cultivation Realm, you must pay attention to three crucial points."

Bi Yuan condensed a wisp of Pure Yang True Qi at his fingertip and sketched a diagram of the human meridians in the air, which lingered without dissipating.

"First, the five major organs must be tempered simultaneously using the ’Five Elements Reincarnation’ method; you cannot neglect any one of them. Second, the Jade Marrow Golden Liquid within your bone marrow must be guided to your internal organs to form the ’Inner Viscera Golden Bell.’ Third..."

He suddenly flicked a finger. The True Qi transformed into the phantom of a Red Flood Dragon and lunged at Xu Yunfan’s chest, only to be shattered by the faint golden patterns that automatically surfaced on his skin. Seeing this, Bi Yuan nodded in admiration.

"Not bad. The Protective Golden Pattern from the Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill has already become instinctual."

’That’s enough!’

Xu Yunfan fought back the silent complaint in his heart. ’That little trick was just Bi Yuan being unable to resist testing whether my three-month Great Success in Washing Marrow was real or just a dream.’

"Thank you for your guidance, Master!"

Xu Yunfan performed a disciple’s formal bow. These crucial points were very important; they would allow him to shorten the initial cultivation time for the Ten Extremes Martial Arts on his Attribute Panel.

Just then, a scroll slid out from Bi Yuan’s sleeve. "The reason I came is that an opportunity has arisen. A once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity."

When the scroll was unfurled, it revealed a Geomancy Map of the Great Zhou’s territory.

Bi Yuan’s fingertip tapped above Jade Capital City. "That madwoman on the dragon throne—the one who blood-sacrificed the Sixteen States to forcibly restart the revival of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit—suffered a backlash. Now, she is finally at death’s door."

His finger moved slightly, pointing to a blood-red mark where Jian Nan Dao bordered Jade Capital Dao. "The end of Jian Nan Dao connects to Jade Capital Dao, and the Imperial Court Secret Guard has lost nearly half its members over the years... If the Taoist Sect doesn’t make a move during this chaos, wouldn’t we be spurning the will of Heaven?"

Xu Yunfan instantly understood his master’s plan.

As the central hub of the Great Zhou, Jade Capital Dao not only controlled ancient secret manuals like the Profound Celestial Treasure Talisman, but also concealed the Profound Yellow Pool, where twelve Dragon Veins converged.

If they could seize the initiative during the transition of imperial power...

He looked up and met Bi Yuan’s direct gaze.

"Yunfan, when the Empress blood-sacrificed the Sixteen States and massacred thirty-six million people, the Taoist Sect never stood idly by. It’s just that some things can only be done in the shadows. The Incense and Candle Sect that was in Jian Nan Dao has already been wiped out by our Taoist Sect."

"It’s not just the Empress who needs the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit. The Six Great Sects of the Great Zhou need it, and so do those undying old monsters sleeping in the shadows, extending their lives with all sorts of Secret Martial Techniques... If the Taoist Sect had acted openly, even more people would have died than already have..."

Bi Yuan said softly, "I hope you can understand. On the surface, it may seem like the Six Great Sects of the Great Zhou are just malignant tumors, feeding on the common folk. But with the Celestial Demon hanging over our heads like a sword, we are not willing to become mere fodder..."

Xu Yunfan was silent for a moment before nodding slightly. "I understand."

’As for the rights and wrongs of this matter, history will be the final judge. Since I’ve encountered this situation and now have the power to act, I will naturally do something about it.’

(I don’t want to whitewash the Six Great Sects in this passage. We’ll see what happens later...)