On Green Crest Peak, an elder was leading a group of a few dozen Outer Sect disciples as they trained in sword techniques. When he looked up and saw Bai Xiaochun, he sighed and said, “All of you, look up there. See that cultivator strolling along surrounded by golden light? That’s who I was telling you about earlier, the greatest Chosen in the Spirit Stream Sect, Bai Xiaochun!”
The surrounding Outer Sect disciples looked up in awe, their eyes shining with enthusiasm.
“That’s Sect Uncle Bai?!”
“Sect Uncle Bai is a mighty warrior, and a Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert. I heard that he outshone all of the other disciples in his generation!”
“Everyone in Sect Uncle Bai’s generation is extraordinary. I heard that Sect Uncle Ghostfang, Sect Aunt Zhou Xinqi, Sect Uncle Shangguan Tianyou, and Sect Uncle Beihan Lie were all monstrously talented Chosen. It’s too bad for them that they were born in the same generation as Sect Uncle Bai.”
These Outer Sect disciples had just recently joined the sect, and had cultivation bases scattered between the third and fifth levels of Qi Condensation. They had heard a lot of stories about Bai Xiaochun; for example, the acid rain incident, the story of lightning striking the sect, and the disaster of 10,000 Snakes Valley. Of course, they took such stories to be mere exaggerations. As for him reaching Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, that was recent news that seemed much more believable.
As Bai Xiaochun flew along, he could see the reactions of the disciples down on Green Crest Peak, and felt all the burning gazes fixed upon him. Moved, he decided that he definitely couldn’t treat these young disciples coldly, nor could he allow them to think that he was some distant cloud floating high above their heads.
Coughing lightly, he changed directions and flew down toward the group of Outer Sect disciples.
The Green Crest Peak elder quickly rose to his feet and clasped hands in greeting. The surrounding Outer Sect disciple followed suit, looking very excited.
“Greetings, Sect Uncle Bai!”
“Sect Uncle Bai, you’re my biggest role model!”
“I love you, Sect Uncle Bai!” The female disciples looked particularly smitten, and stared at him with flushed cheeks and eyes burning with excitement.
Bai Xiaochun was very moved, and couldn’t help but think that everything he had done for the sect really had been worth it. The adoring gazes of these youngsters was already a huge motivating force to him, and as such, he smiled warmly, and proceeded to give them a bit of encouragement.
“Focus well on your cultivation.”
“Keep up the good work, you guys are great!”
“You love your Sect Uncle Bai? Ahem. Work hard at your cultivation, and remember, anything is possible.”
Bai Xiaochun patiently stood there and exchanged a few words with all of the disciples present. Considering how excited they all were, he gave them a bit of advice about matters, and then, feeling increasingly moved, gave them some more advice.
After giving ten rounds of advice, and repeating himself on more than one occasion, the Outer Sect disciples’ eyes began to go blank. They had all addressed him as Sect Uncle Bai at least a few dozen times, to the point where they were starting to wonder what exactly was going on.
The elder wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, and couldn’t help but think about what it had been like back when Bai Xiaochun was promoted to the Inner Sect, and went around forcing people to address him as Sect Uncle.
Sometime in the afternoon, Bai Xiaochun finally felt satisfied, but instead of going to Mount Daoseed, he headed to Violet Cauldron Peak and Fragrant Cloud Peak, where he was received with great enthusiasm. More excited than ever, he proceeded along to the four mountain peaks of the north bank.
Eventually, it was late in the night, and the Outer Sect disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect were really starting to form a strange opinion of Bai Xiaochun. It was at this point that he recalled something important. Clearing his throat, he headed toward Mount Daoseed.
His immortal’s cave on Mount Daoseed was very large. In terms of the spell formation and the décor, it vastly exceeded the immortal’s cave from his Qi Condensation days. As for the spiritual energy within it, it was shockingly strong to say the least.
There was no hot spring. However, it had a lake inside, upon which swirled mist and fog that made the entire place seem like a celestial paradise.
The area outside the immortal’s cave was alive with the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. If he wanted to, he could ask for Outer Sect disciples to wait on him and take care of the cave itself. Both outside and inside, the place belonged to him, and was his own personal domain. At the moment, he was sitting at the edge of the lake, looking around in satisfaction.
“I’ve finally reached Foundation Establishment!” He was also thinking about a bit of information he’d gleaned from a jade slip. Considering his current status, he now qualified to accept an apprentice, and was thinking of doing just that. It would probably be a lot of fun.
Soon, word spread that he had arrived on Mount Daoseed, and his immortal’s cave was virtually trampled by the crowd of Foundation Establishment cultivators who came to offer greetings and see exactly what Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment looked like.
Of course, people would never come to offer formal greetings without bearing gifts. Bai Xiaochun was shocked over and over again, and eventually, his hands started to twinge with pain from accepting so many gifts. However, the smile never left his face, and he always took time to chat with his visitors.
As for the cultivators who had reached Foundation Establishment in the Fallen Sword Abyss with his help, they were especially grateful.
Half a month later, things finally calmed down. After the visits stopped, Bai Xiaochun decided that it was time to stop fooling around. He couldn’t stop thinking about what his Elder Brother, Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong, had told him about the island in the middle of the Heavenspan Sea. From there, it was possible to step out into the heavens and live forever.
“If I want to get to the Heavenspan Sea, I’ll definitely have to have a powerful cultivation base. That means I need to work hard at cultivation!” He got up early the next morning. Taking a deep breath, and eyes shining with determination, he headed in the direction of the Ancestral Darktunnel, where he would be able to select the technique he would cultivate in the Foundation Establishment stage.
The Ancestral Darktunnel was a long tunnel in the middle of Mount Daoseed. Upon entering the tunnel, one would find over a hundred shafts leading off in different directions, each one of which represented a different legacy.
Generally speaking, one would bring an authentication device into the tunnel, then activate it, whereupon some of the legacy shafts would light up.
It was a very miraculous thing, and word had it that although the cultivators came to select legacies, sometimes a legacy would select a cultivator!
Of course, things like that were rare. Bai Xiaochun remembered Xu Baocai telling him that when Ghostfang came to select his technique, more than twenty of the legacy shafts had lit up to select him.
Bai Xiaochun wasn’t very impressed by that. “What’s so amazing about that? So what if twenty legacies selected him? I’ve reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!”
According to the sect rules, only someone with an authentication device could enter the Ancestral Darktunnel. Anyone who didn’t have such a device, but tried to enter anyway, would be instantly killed by the spell formation inside.
Because of that, there wasn’t anyone assigned to guard the location. When Bai Xiaochun arrived, nobody was there. After looking around hesitantly for a moment, he walked into the cave-like entrance. A moment later, he was in the beautiful tunnel entrance, facing over a hundred tunnel-like shafts.
Although the shafts didn’t look like anything special, Bai Xiaochun knew that once he activated the authentication device, then at least one of the shafts would emit a bright light, which would indicate that he could enter.