"Senior Sister." Wu Yu ushered her into Great Sage Palace. The place was well kept and decorated. It was expressly used for receiving guests.

The visitors at Wu Yu's door would only increase in the future.

Su Yanli was like an immortal from a dream, with her flowing clothes and snow-white skin. She floated in with lithe bearing, her luminous eyes darting about. "It's only been a few days, and you've already decorated this place superbly. I was prepared to ask if you needed my help."

"I would not trouble Senior Sister with such trivialities."

In Wu Yu's heart, Su Yanli was a little like Wu You. Like his sister, she took care of him, but they were also different. Su Yanli was closer to Feng Xueya in nature. She was calmer, and radiated a sense of distance.

Wu Yu decided to focus and measure Su Yanli. He found her spiritual power extremely vigorous, far surpassing that of Jiang Junlin's. He even felt a sense that he was being completely suppressed!

It seemed like he had underestimated Su Yanli's level.

After they sat down, Su Yanli fixed eyes on Wu Yu. "I heard from Master that you beat even Jiang Junlin, the son of Sect Leader Jiang. That means that the distance between you and I is not great at all. It's not even been two years. Your improvement is truly unbelievable.”

Even for someone as calm as her, she was very surprised upon hearing what Wu Yu had achieved.

"To be able to bring two spiritual sources to this level, it seems like you have your physical power to thank, which surpasses mine by five times." Su Yanli's sharp eyes sized up Wu Yu's musculature, to the point where Wu Yu was a little embarrassed.

Clearly, Su Yanli's heart was fixed on the dao, and she did not care about the affairs of men and women. But Wu Yu was younger, and it was difficult not to get ideas when they met so often. Especially since she was outstanding in looks, talent, quality, and character.

"Aiyee, you're falling for her?" Ming Long roared with laughter.

With others around, Wu Yu was not disposed to talk to Ming Long. However, he understood that family and lovers were often considered impediments to martial cultivators. Su Yanli had always treated him as a younger brother, and he held her in the highest regard as well.

"Wu Yu?" Seeing Wu Yu space out, Su Yanli prompted him lightly.

"Speak on, Senior Sister. I'm listening."

Su Yanli smiled slightly. "Master really likes you. He takes very good care of you. This time, he escorted you back personally because he was worried about your safety. He would even fight with the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts on your behalf."

"Master fought them?" Wu Yu was stunned. Feng Xueya had merely said that he had paid them a visit.

"Mm. It was a battle of epic proportions. Master faced all seven alone, and neither side could win the upper hand. But the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts did not seem willing to let the matter rest, which was why Master hurried to bring you back."

"I see."

He had not thought that he would fight the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts on his behalf and not even tell him about it. If not for Su Yanli, he would still be in the dark.

The fact that the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts had actually fought Feng Xueya to a draw meant that they were extremely powerful people.

"Presently, with the spiritual qi spring appearing in the Bipo Mountain Range, we as disciples must redouble our efforts to cultivate. Otherwise, troubled times are ahead." As she spoke, Su Yanli's face became a bit more rigid, and she bit her lip.

"Why does Senior Sister say that? Is the spiritual qi spring not a huge boon?"

Su Yanli shook her head. "The spiritual qi spring can be good, but also extremely bad. If we can protect it, the Heavenly Sword Sect will surely become many times stronger in the future. But the journey of cultivation is marked with murder and plunder. Our borders are strong, but they do not stop the jealously and covetry of others. If we are not vigilant, the Heavenly Sword Sect will pay a heavy price!"

Wu Yu understood now.

With such a bonanza, they needed to have the ability to protect it as well!

"Who might be the enemy in the shadows?"

Su Yanli said, "There are many possibilities. The closest would be the Zhongyuan Dao Sect, which is always up to no good. That Jiang Xie is also a sanctimonious old man. And as for the Scarlet Sea's Seven Ghosts, they are even less human. Let alone all the other powerful demons that have discovered the change in the spirit veins. Although we might be fine for now, we never know when trouble may emerge."

Wu Yu already understood. The path to immortalhood was savage, and one had to fight many other creatures in addition to fighting nature itself. When one went against the natural order of things, challenge was inevitable!

"I digress. What I wanted to say was that since you have already taken your revenge, then you must set aside your hate in the future and focus on the Immortal Dao. Throw yourself completely into cultivating. The Heavenly Sword Sect has given us a new life, and is our common home. Even if we cannot defend it in the future, we must give it our best shot."

"Alright."

"Your time here has been short, so you haven't developed much emotional attachment. I grew up here. I was born to the sect, and I'll die with the sect...."

Wu Yu understood these mutual ties very well.

It looked like Feng Xueya had hurried to call back his disciples outside in order to mount a defense in response to the changes that the spiritual qi spring represented. This was definitely a big thing. A big thing was not exactly a good thing. When good things had a risk to them, then it was a big thing.

"Of course, you're at the second tier of the Qi Condensation Realm. The most important thing is to cultivate. Our enemies have even stronger elders and disciples. We of the Heavenly Sword Sect are prominent and have little to fear from the stragglers."

Su Yanli, deep down, had a streak of pride just like Feng Xueya.

Wu Yu and the others were now only the reserve strength of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Even if disaster struck, they would not be of much use. At most, they would be responsible for a new start.

"Speaking of cultivating, there's something that I must caution you about." Su Yanli changed the topic. She did not wish to dwell on such heavy matters.

"Please speak, Senior Sister."

"You have always been relying on that physical prowess to see you through tough times. Now you're at the second tier of the Qi Condensation Realm, but you actually defeated someone at the fourth tier. This is a testament to your physical advantage. You still lack spiritual power. In truth, the most important thing in the Qi Condensation Realm is spiritual power. Which is why you cannot let your guard down. As your opponents' spiritual power becomes stronger and stronger, you will find that the physical advantage diminishes, and you will not have the upper hand...."

This, too, Wu Yu understood.

He could defeat Jiang Junlin as a result of the combined efforts of the Invincible Vajra Body and the Fixed Body Art. But if the Invincible Vajra Body continued to remain stagnant, its utility would indeed decrease. If Wu Yu met an opponent at the fifth tier or higher, they could suppress him with spiritual power alone.

That was why his next step would be to elevate his spiritual power and activate more spiritual sources.

"Senior Sister, what tier is your qi condensation?" During their conversation, Wu Yu brought this up.

"After you left for Dong Yue Wu, I broke through to the fifth tier of the Qi Condensation Realm."

As expected, she had improved.

It was said that there was a clear difference between the fourth tier and the fifth tier. Upon hearing her mention the fifth tier, Wu Yu hastened to follow up. "Then Senior Sister has already laid down her immortal roots?"

He would naturally remember the Lifegiving Fruit!

Su Yanli nodded. "I have."

"Senior Sister, please tell me about the origins and marvels of the immortal roots."

Wu Yu was very curious about the immortal roots. At their level, the most important thing was to condense qi and lay down immortal roots. At present, he was familiar with qi condensation, and his knowledge only lacked in the realm of immortal roots.

He would be able to lay down immortal roots after activating just three more spiritual sources. That was why it was important to understand now.

Su Yanli was very patient, and she began to explain.

"Immortal roots are a wondrous thing. They might be a form of immortal essence, such as the Lifegiving Fruit that Jiang Junlin took away, the Redflame Flower or Windswept Fruit. It can also be a precious treasure, such as the Coldheart Soul or the Gold and Jade Sword Core. Immortal roots are classified into either immortal essences or precious treasures. They could be used as either, condensed into pills, or forged into immortal treasures. But most do not usually do so. If there is a spiritual mark on it, then the value of the immortal root is ten times that of ordinary immortal essences. And the most marvellous thing about immortal roots is this: it is a seed for cultivating the dao. It can meld with the human body and put down roots of life, becoming one with our bodies."

Wu Yu was listening carefully with no interruptions.

Su Yanli quickly raised an example. "I previously acquired an immortal root that suits me. It's called the Gold and Jade Sword Core, and is a type of core that came from the Gold and Jade Boulder. It assumed the shape of a sword, and is an extremely rare immortal root. Actually, it's very difficult to determine if an immortal essence or precious treasure is actually an immortal root. All the immortal roots we discovered came at the cost of our ancestors' lives. Once you lay down an immortal essence that is not an immortal root, you will lose a huge opportunity. Master should be keeping your future immortal root safe, so you need not worry.

"Immortal roots are very important. When I first reached the fifth tier of the Qi Condensation Realm, I used the Immortal Root Planting Secret Art to plant the immortal root within my Sea of Breath Meridian. It allowed my body to combine with the Gold and Jade Sword Core. From that moment on, the Gold and Jade Sword Core became a part of my body. It's special abilities will be amplified by me. For example... behold."

As Su Yanli spoke, she extended a finger. Suddenly, the finger turned into golden jade! And then it changed again, her finger assuming a sword's shape!

"I am the Gold and Jade Sword Core. The Gold and Jade Sword Core is me." Su Yanli smiled slightly, and her finger reverted to its normal state. But Wu Yu could not forget the powerful sword aura that had emanated from her finger in that moment!

Who would have thought that the immortal roots were such mystical things!

"There are billions of types of immortal roots in this world. Some are good and some are bad. For example, the Lifegiving Fruit that Jiang Junlin snatched can bring tremendous regenerative abilities to the body. Broken limbs can even grow back. The Windswept Fruit, for example, can make the martial cultivator move like the wind. Movement speed is greatly boosted, far surpassing other martial cultivators of a similar level. There are many unimaginable powers. I don't understand many of them as well. But truly, the immortal roots that suit you best will increase your dao cultivation quality exponentially, and elevate your fighting ability."

At this point, Wu Yu basically understood.

Immortal roots were such wondrous things!

Acquiring a good immortal root was basically like having a second life.

"In truth, I am only just now experiencing the wonders of this Gold and Jade Sword Core, and I haven't explored its depths yet. Master told me that the things the Gold and Jade Sword Core can uncover are just too many."

Hearing Su Yanli say this, Wu Yu also felt his anticipation growing. What would his immortal root be like?

......