After leaving Qixingdun, along the ice and snow mountain road under the night star until the altitude of about 1,500 zhang, the temperature warmed up slightly, and when it was 1,000 zhang, it was completely out of the range of ice and snow.

The three of them went down the mountain overnight, and most of the road was steep cliffs, and it was not easy to walk, so by the time they approached the sect, there were still three or four hundred zhang left, and the sky was already bright.

A brilliant orange-red color lit up from the east, as if at the edge of the sky, burning in the deep blue, and not long after, another brilliant fireball slowly rose from the top of the east mountain.

Xu Yan stayed on a viewing platform, watching the sunrise in the early morning shine with charming brilliance, but he couldn't help but recall the words that Zhao Bailian had said to him when he first went to this mountain, but compared to that time, after more than three months of changes, the Lotus Sect has survived from the desperate situation of being on the verge of extinction at the beginning, although it is far from a comeback, but at least it is no longer a fish to be slaughtered.

Call~

Xu Yan exhaled softly and looked at the mountains in the distance.

In his mind, he continued to think that the Lotus Sect has been established for more than 300 years, and it can be said that in the three years that he has been worshipping and practicing in the sect, it is the most dangerous time period in the entire history of the sect, if the sect loses again in the previous spring hunt, then the consequences will inevitably be unimaginable, and it is even very likely that this Sword Sect, which has been inherited for more than 300 years and left countless glorious years, will collapse in the long river of time and disappear completely.

But fortunately, in the end, through his master's endurance and humiliation in the past ten years, as well as his strategy in the selection competition, plus his own birth, their master and apprentice finally saved the fate of the sect, although no matter how you look at it, Xu Yan feels that he has a feeling of being manipulated, but for him personally, all this is going to end after all.

"Little junior brother, what's wrong with you?" Seeing Xu Yan's face, which was obviously still a little immature, revealed an extremely vicissitudes of life under the rising sun, Chen Qinghe, who was standing behind him, hesitated for a moment before asking.

When Xu Yan heard the voice, he immediately put those thoughts away from his mind, and then said with a faint smile: "Oh, it's nothing, it's just that I suddenly feel that time flies quickly." ”

When Chen Qinghe heard this answer, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, but then he smiled and continued to ask, "Why does the little junior brother have this feeling?"

Xu Yan hesitated for a moment before he said in a flat tone: "I always feel that I haven't been here for a long time, but in fact, it has been a long time since I came here in a trance, hasn't it been many years since Senior Brother came to the sect? ”

Hearing Xu Yan say this, Chen Qinghe suddenly came to his senses, indeed, after the end of this month's practice, the time is approaching June, and the year is already more than halfway, if they have to delay some trips on the way to the north, such as going home to visit relatives and the like, then the time is not particularly sufficient.

Since leaving the family and worshipping the mountain gate, Chen Qinghe has never gone down the mountain to return to his hometown, which is equivalent to practicing in the real sense, although the sect does not have any requirements in this regard, saying that he is not allowed to return to his hometown or anything like that, but as he falls deeper and deeper on the road of cultivation, Chen Qinghe also gradually realizes that not only him, but most of the disciples in the sect who are the same as him, in fact, they will only look at this kind of thing more and more lightly, after all, no matter how good the worldly red dust is, how can it be compared with one day, he can soar between heaven and earth?

Chen Qinghe sighed before he replied in a quiet tone: " Listening to the little junior brother say this, I also began to feel this way, hey, I came to the sect time, but much earlier than the little junior brother, but when I entered the sect, I was already about the same age as you are now, the master often told me, the sooner the practice is the better, it is best to start practicing from a young age, I didn't care about it before, I thought that everything in the world can be diligent and can make up for it, now it seems, especially after witnessing the practice process of the little junior brother, I also have to believe this statement, sure enough, I was born with talent, which is irreparable。 ”

Although Chen Qinghe said these words in his heart with a smile, Xu Yan could really feel the depression in his words, but for this kind of passed years, people can't do anything more about it except for nostalgia, after all, time can't go back.

Xu Yan hesitated for a moment before he replied with a smile: "Senior Brother don't have to be too sad, you are actually very good, after all, not everyone who started cultivating at the age of sixteen can break through to the Middle Third Realm before the age of thirty, and besides, Senior Brother is only twenty-four now? You have already reached the late stage of the fourth floor, and before the age of thirty, there is great hope that you will approach the Upper Third Realm." ”

When Chen Qinghe heard this, he immediately cried and laughed and said: "Little junior brother, you also think too highly of me, senior brother has a few catties and a few taels, and I know that as long as I can cultivate to the sixth floor in this life, like the master and them, I can fly with a sword and see all the mountains at a glance, I will be content." ”

Xu Yan didn't say much about Chen Qinghe's answer, after all, everyone can see different scenery in their own fantasy world, and the scenery they want to see is also different, so he naturally can't forcibly instill his experience into him.

Therefore, after Xu Yan was silent for a long time, he could only smile at him, and replied, "Actually, the senior brother can set the goal farther", and then continued to go down the mountain with them.

......

When they returned to the sect, the time was close to the time, Chen Qinghe and Gu Xueqing said goodbye to Xu Yan in front of the Liuyun courtyard, and then went back to their own sect.

Xu Yan walked into his small courtyard and was surprised to see the cardinal being busy in the patio at the moment, this is a rare scene, after all, the latter usually appears on time except for three meals a day, most of the time, she is the dragon without seeing the end, it is almost difficult to see her.

Xu Yan saw that she was very focused, so he smiled and said, "Sister Hong, I'm back, what are you doing?"

Cardinal heard a voice suddenly coming from behind her, she was concentrating on what she was doing, she was startled, and then she was a little busy hiding the objects in her hand, her face was slightly red, but she quickly lost this look, and said in a stiff tone: "What do you ask, you care so much!"

Xu Yan saw that her face was slightly red and immediately turned into an angry face, and he smiled bitterly in his heart, fortunately, he didn't know about her stinky temper on the first day, so he didn't care about it, but he was more curious about what she was doing, of course, since the other party didn't want to tell him, then he didn't dare to ask more, lest he be picked up by her when he got it, it would be more than worth the loss.

Seeing Xu Yan's face full of wry smiles and falling into silence, Cardinal seemed to realize that she was indeed a little too angry, and after hesitating for a moment, her tone softened a lot, and she directly changed the topic and said, "There is tea on the table, which was brewed just now." ”

When Xu Yan heard this, his sad face immediately turned into a smile, and he replied, "Okay", and then picked up the only teacup on the stone table, poured himself two cups of tea and poured it into his stomach.

Today, it is extremely close to the summer season, so even if the time has not yet reached noon, the temperature in the weather has long been hot, Xu Yan only felt the dryness on his mouth and tongue after drinking two cups of tea in a row, which eased a lot.

Seeing Xu Yan drinking tea like a cow, and using the same cup he had drunk before, Cardinal looked complicated, but he didn't think too much about it, just sighed slightly in her heart, and then said to him: "Your master said that when you come back, you will go to his courtyard to find him, saying that there is something important to explain to you." ”

Hearing the cardinal say this, in fact, he probably guessed this direction in his heart, so he could only nod and replied in a calm tone: "Well, I know, then I'll go over." ”

......

From returning to the small courtyard to enter and exit, Xu Yan only spent a short cup of tea, and then went to Zhao Bailian's Ruoshui Courtyard non-stop.

However, when Xu Yan entered the courtyard, he was stunned to find that this courtyard was obviously a little different from before, that is, the pavilion built in the courtyard called Guanlan Pavilion had now completely disappeared.

With the suspicion in his heart, Xu Yan didn't hesitate too much, and directly entered Zhao Bailian's living room, but before he could speak, his master's voice came from the study, only to hear the latter say: "Come directly to the study, there is still something on the master's hands, you can come in first and have a cup of tea." ”

About a quarter of an hour later.

Zhao Bailian, who was writing something, stopped what he was doing, he looked up at Xu Yan, who was sitting next to him and waiting quietly, and asked with a smile: "After this month's cultivation, what have you gained?"

Xu Yan heard the inquiry and replied truthfully: "It's just that I have improved my cultivation a little, but I haven't gained anything else." ”

Zhao Bailian nodded and replied, "It's already very good, looking at the state of your body, you should have spent some time on the top of the Seven Star Pier to temper your physique, right?"

Xu Yan knew that he couldn't hide from Zhao Bailian, who was an eight-story cultivator, so he replied directly and frankly: "Well, the last five days have been spent cultivating martial arts. ”

Zhao Bailian did not dislike his disciples not only practicing kendo, but also practicing martial arts, which he did not show any objection when he learned of this situation at the time, and even he himself shared with Xu Yan his mind after practicing swordsmanship, but it sounds like a virtue, but in fact, it is just his experience of failure.

Zhao Bailian reminded: " You are not the first person to choose to do this, but there is no doubt that no one has ever succeeded before you, so this is destined to be a very bumpy and difficult road, or even an unfeasible road, so if it really comes to the day when you have to make a choice, although the teacher will not force you to choose the way of the sword, but still look forward to the way you will eventually choose the way of the sword, of course, if you can really open up a new path of cultivation, in the case of the sword and martial arts practitioners, both break through the number of seven, it would be great。 ”

After Xu Yan heard this, he replied in a calm tone: "Thank you for the reminder, if it really comes to that day, I will think about it." ”

Zhao Bailian knew Xu Yan's character more or less, and when she saw him answer like this, she no longer continued to delve into this topic, but took out a piece of letter paper from her desk and handed it to him, saying, "This is the quota for going to Yong'an City with you to participate in the Six Sects Competition, you can take a look first." ”

When Xu Yan heard this, he immediately took the letter and glanced at it roughly, but after reading it, he found that except for Chen Qinghe, Gu Xueqing, and Qiao Mu, who came back alive with him in this spring hunt, the remaining five people were all names he had never heard of at all.

Sensing Xu Yan's puzzled gaze, Zhao Bailian understood and explained: "These five people were selected by the teacher in the past month, and they are all under the age of thirty, but they are not disciples of the sect, but some young elders. The six sects held by the dynasty are of great significance, and I have told you some inside stories before the teacher, so the other five major sects are bound to select people under the age of thirty and the most powerful people to participate, you remember to be cautious when fighting, but no matter what the final result will be, you just need to do your best. ”

As he spoke, Zhao Bailian picked up a sealed letter from his desk again, handed it to him again, and then instructed: "This letter, you can help the teacher collect it, and when you arrive in Yong'an City to participate in the Six Sects Competition, take some time to go to the Holy Mountain in person, and then help me hand it over to my mentor, remember, it must be after the Great Competition." ”

After Xu Yan took the envelope, he immediately frowned, hesitated for a moment before asking, "Who is the master's mentor? And I may not be able to successfully meet his old man, right?" unless I can get a place to enter the Holy Mountain in the big competition. ”

When Zhao Bailian heard this, she immediately smiled and said: "You just need to hand it over to the gatekeeper in front of the holy mountain, he will help you convey it, as for the quota for entering the holy mountain, it is not directly contested by the six great sects, in the final analysis, the holy mountain is a holy mountain after all, although it is inseparable from the dynasty, but the two are independent of each other, even if it is His Majesty himself after entering the academy, he must honestly act in accordance with the rules of the academy." ”

Xu Yan didn't care what it was, he just asked, "What does the master mean by this, didn't he directly select a few places in Dabili and send them to the Sword Martial Arts Academy?"

Zhao Bailian shook her head with a smile and replied: "There is no such thing as escort, but the top ten in the big competition can skip the first level necessary to enter the academy, but if you want to really enter the academy, you have to go through the next two levels, so those who can really enter the academy must have a certain personal comprehensive ability." ”

When Xu Yan heard that it was so troublesome to successfully enter the academy, his face couldn't help but become a little ugly.

Seeing him like this, Zhao Bailian continued: "Do you think that the academy uses such a cumbersome way to recruit students, which is a little unacceptable?"

Xu Yan didn't answer this, but his expression was enough to explain everything.

Seeing this, Zhao Bailian explained with a smile: "To tell you the truth, I thought so when I was a teacher, but later I was able to realize the good intentions of the academy, after all, in the entire Wuzhou Continent, there are so many people who want to worship the academy? Therefore, they chose to use three levels to screen layer by layer, in fact, it is just to ensure that the people who can enter the academy in the end are all real elites, after all, there are thousands of apprentices in the world, but there is only this one in the academy." But you don't have to worry too much, the last two of the three levels set up by the academy basically have nothing to do with your own strength, but test your personal character, with your character and cultivation, there should be no problem if you want to pass, but what the specific content is, as a teacher, I don't know. ”

When Xu Yan heard this, he asked curiously, "Didn't the master experience it once before?"

Zhao Bailian replied in a calm tone: "The level of the academy is different every time, it is funny to say, the third level that the teacher encountered back then was to write a poem. ”

Hearing this, Xu Yan was instantly silent.

Zhao Bailian saw that he had collected his letters, so he finally said to him: "Okay, what the teacher should tell you, I have told you, you go back and pack your luggage first, I have already informed you, tomorrow, all the people who go to participate in the big competition will gather in the square, you remember to arrive on time and set off with them." ”

When Xu Yan heard this, he didn't say anything more, but after humming, he wanted to turn around and leave.

And just after he turned around, Zhao Bailian hesitated for a moment before continuing to say to him: "You...... You remember saying goodbye to your red sister too. ”

After Xu Yan heard this, he immediately paused, he didn't look back, but his tone was very affirmative: "I will." ”

......

Although Xu Yan had been practicing in the Lotus Sect for three and a half years, he actually didn't have much outside his body, except for some ordinary clothes, there was nothing superfluous.

The whole process was lonely and monotonous, and even this year, he had spent far less time in the courtyard than he had spent outside, so after checking his room, he found that he didn't need to clean up at all.

Xu Yan sighed softly, and then took out a wooden box placed under his bed.

Xu Yan looked at this porcelain bottle, and after hesitating for a moment, he took out another thing from his storage bag, and then he sealed this thing in a porcelain bottle and put it back in the wooden box.

Time flies.

After he returned from Zhao Bailian, the cardinal disappeared again, and Xu Yan had no choice but to sit bored in the patio to kill time, until after twilight, the cardinal reappeared in the kitchen and began to prepare dinner.

While Xu Yan was eating, he was about to say goodbye to the cardinal seriously, but at this time, he found that he couldn't open his mouth, but the cardinal saw that he was a little speechless, so he said bluntly: "Since they are all adults, then in the future, they have to learn to be sharp like a real man, don't want a mother-in-law, don't you want to leave the Lotus Sect, what's so embarrassing to say?"

When Xu Yan heard this, he scratched his head quite embarrassedly, but he was speechless, and when he wanted to hand over his wooden box to her, he didn't expect the other party to stand up again, and left him a sentence of "If you have anything to say, I'll talk about it tomorrow", and left the kitchen.

Xu Yan can undoubtedly only sigh helplessly at this.

......

Early the next morning.

After breakfast, Xu Yan said his final goodbye to the cardinal in the courtyard, but when he looked at the other party's very beautiful and clear eyes, he didn't know what to say.

Seeing him like this, the cardinal couldn't help but roll his eyes, then handed him a storage bag and said, "I have prepared some dry food for you, and you can eat it on the way." ”

Seeing that Xu Yan was about to open it for inspection, the cardinal immediately said in a cold voice: "Before leaving the sect, you are not allowed to open it in advance." ”

After Xu Yan heard this, he immediately stopped the movement at hand, nodded with a smile and agreed, and then he also took out the wooden box that had been prepared a long time ago, handed it to the cardinal and said, "This is my gift to Sister Hong." ”

Seeing this, the cardinal did not have the slightest pretension or shirk, and directly put it into his storage bag, and then said: "The time is almost up, you go quickly, don't let them wait for a long time." ”

When Xu Yan heard this, he could only nod and reply: "Okay, then I'll go." ”

Seeing Xu Yan turn around and leave, a trace of complexity flashed in the cardinal's eyes, but immediately after, she saw Xu Yan suddenly turn around and say to her in a firm tone: "Sister Hong, don't worry, I will definitely try to come back to see you as soon as possible." ”