Outside the shallow dyed plain, the Buddhist traveler Chu Ya and the immortal warrior Zhan Hu stood in the air, their faces grim.
"Fellow Daoist Zhan Hu, this Qingfeng Villa is truly audacious. We, from both the Buddhist and Immortal sects, have arrived in full force and politely requested an audience, yet they refuse to even acknowledge us. They deserve to die!"
"Fellow Buddhist Chu Ya speaks with reason. Then, please, Buddhist friend Chu Ya, make your move. I, this humble Daoist, shall pretend I never came to Qingfeng Villa."
"Alas~ this humble monk is small and weak, unable to shake the formations of Qingfeng Villa. Why don't you try, fellow Daoist?"
"Hmph, you bald donkey are always pretending. Let's attack together. First, we'll break this wretched formation, and then we'll hold that Yang Hong accountable."
"Heh heh~ Then let us proceed together."
One immortal and one traveler wished to scheme against the other, yet both were cunning individuals and neither achieved their goal.
Following this, dense immortal and Buddhist energies erupted from their bodies.
"Mo Ke Wen Li~"
A golden Buddha statue materialized before Chu Ya. The golden statue clasped its hands in prayer and bowed towards the seven-colored formation shield before it. The very space trembled with this bow.
It was like a piece of glass about to shatter at any moment!
This was the might of a grand technique wielded by an immortal in the cultivation world.
"Xian Ren Zhi Lu~"
Zhan Hu wielded a fiery red longsword, burning with a crimson flame. With what seemed like an ordinary sword thrust, the space before him truly cracked like a mirror, revealing lines of fissures.
The two attacks landed successively on the seven-colored shield of the shallow dyed plain. The previously calm seven-colored mist churned like a raging sea.
"Fellow Daoist's cultivation has advanced considerably."
"Heh heh, Buddhist friend, the same to you."
They exchanged a glance and simultaneously channeled their spiritual energy, preparing to shatter the shield of the shallow dyed plain in one fell swoop.
However, what they did not expect was that no matter how they channeled their spiritual energy, and however violently the seven-colored mist churned, it seemed on the verge of breaking but simply would not.
"Hmm~ Fellow Daoist, have you noticed that we can't retrieve our channeled spiritual energy?"
"Bald donkey, we're in trouble. I can't retreat even if I want to!"
"What? Not good!"
As Chu Ya attempted to recall his Dharma statue, not only could he not recall it, but he was directly plunged into the seven-colored mist.
"Explode!"
Seeing the monk Chu Ya fall into the seven-colored mist, Zhan Hu immediately realized something was amiss. Without hesitation, he detonated his immortal sword and retreated three Zhang.
But he could only retreat three Zhang, his internal spiritual energy still flowing out uncontrollably.
"Explode!"
Zhan Hu shouted again, and his entire body exploded. A silver-white Nascent Soul tore through the sky, fleeing in a desperate escape.
Following this, a massive explosion echoed from behind him, but Chu Ya's Nascent Soul was nowhere to be seen.
"Hiss! Is this sect a fourth-grade sect? Which scoundrel designated it as such? I will kill him!"
Zhan Hu left behind an angry roar as his Nascent Soul transformed into a silver streak of light and vanished into the sky!
Yang Hong, who was lecturing on the Dao De Jing outside, and the disciples of Qingfeng Villa, who were listening, were unaware of what had transpired. The mortals on the plain were even less aware.
If they had known, they might have lived in fear for another few thousand years!
The combined attack of just one Buddhist traveler and one immortal couldn't even break the first layer of the shallow dyed plain's protective shield, let alone trigger the Seven Stars Gathering Spirit Array's counterattack.
However, thanks to the attack from these two, the formation of the shallow dyed plain, after being activated and bathed in the teachings of the Dao De Jing, surprisingly developed a faint sentience.
It could be considered an unexpected, fortuitous encounter.
"Sincere words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not sincere. Those who are good do not debate; those who debate are not good. Those who know are not learned; those who are learned are not knowing. The Sage does not hoard. The more he works for others, the more he has. The more he gives to others, the more he possesses. The Way of Heaven benefits and does not harm; the Way of the Sage acts but does not contend."
Under the profound artistic conception, Yang Hong's lecture lasted for nine years. Unbeknownst to him, he had recited the Dao De Jing nine times.
And over those nine years, the mortals on the shallow dyed plain, without eating or drinking, did not starve. Instead, they became robust and healthy, in the best condition.
Meanwhile, all the cultivators with cultivation bases experienced a regression!
But this regression actually led to a significant increase in their practical strength!
The regressed cultivation was helping them solidify their foundation, a tremendous opportunity and benefit.
Many disciples of Qingfeng Villa at the Integration stage and Spirit Severing stage regressed all the way to the first level of Nascent Soul and fell into a deep slumber.
This was a result of cultivating too quickly, being sent back to re-cultivate.
Yang Hong's cultivation, however, did not regress. After being refined by the system, his cultivation growth was no longer superficial.
Furthermore, each time he used the system to imbue plants and increase his cultivation, he had to endure a trial by karmic fire, which solidified any superficial cultivation.
Not only did his cultivation not regress, but the moment he opened his eyes, his cultivation naturally broke through to the ninth-order Mahayana stage.
"Huh? This heavenly tribulation was absorbed by the seven-colored shield? Is the heavenly tribulation so dishonorable these days?"
Looking up, Yang Hong could see the dissipating tribulation clouds outside through the formation and also felt a sense of attachment and affection emanating from the formation.
"Haha~ Did I cultivate spiritual plants and grow a spiritual plant demon, and build a formation to create a formation demon?"
"You can't be called a demon. Let's call you a formation spirit."
Yang Hong had a brief exchange with the formation spirit, whose sentience was only at the level of a child, and then withdrew his spiritual awareness to begin meditating and circulating the Qingfeng Breathing technique to cultivate the Mahayana stage techniques.
With each breath, immense spiritual energy surged towards him. After lecturing on the Dao De Jing, he himself had gained some insights, the most direct manifestation being that his cultivation speed of absorbing and refining spiritual energy was now three times faster than before.
Even without the system, he could now cultivate rapidly, not inferior to the heavenly prodigies of immortal sects.
He cultivated for another half year.
The mortals of Qingfeng Villa began to wake up one after another as he started cultivating. They were greatly astonished by the changes around them!
It seemed they had only slept for a short while, yet hundreds of years had passed.
Much of the furniture and farming tools had rotted, but the houses had become more robust under the nourishment of the spiritual energy.
The crops and wild grasses around them had grown wildly, covering them. However, these plants did not harm them, instead acting like a blanket, gently covering them, rather than absorbing them as fertilizer.
"It's the Sect Leader! It's the Sect Leader lecturing the Great Dao, and we all entered a state of enlightenment."
"Quick~ Quick, pull out the wild grass and harvest the grain, otherwise, we'll starve."
"No~ I must seize this time to train my martial arts. After hearing the Sect Leader's Great Dao, I'm sure I'll be able to step onto the path of cultivation very soon."
The mortals' reactions varied, and they soon returned to their normal lives.
A month after the mortals awoke, disciples at the Qi Refining stage, Foundation Establishment stage, and Integration stage began to wake up.
While they were surprised by their regression in cultivation, their心态 remained peaceful, without complaint or excitement, only feeling that they had seen the path of cultivation clearly and had more confidence in their cultivation.
Another month later, the Golden Core stage disciples began to wake up one after another. The more talented they were, the later they woke up; those with higher cultivation also woke up later.
After waking up, everyone remained silent and continued to cultivate, not disturbing their fellow disciples who had not yet awakened.
In the plaza of the sect's main hall, the disciples, protected by the formation and being closer to Yang Hong, were the last to awaken. The first Inner Sect disciple at the Foundation Establishment stage woke up half a year later.
But it was already a year and a half before the last one, Gu Boji, finally awoke!