seeing the determination in his gaze made her heart feel slightly relieved."When did you find out" The female ghost asked as she looked at the approaching man.The moment the man’s eyes revealed a hint...Chapter 712: Grotto

After hearing the old man's question, Xiao Yu understood his confusion. The more he knew about the current cultivation world, the clearer he became about what his age and level of cultivation represented in this realm. Therefore, Xiao Yu was not at all surprised by their astonishment.

To understand, according to Zhong Kui’s memory, Xiao Yu’s cultivation back then was merely a beginner stage. But now, he had become one of the top figures in China's cultivation world, which couldn't help but make him marvel.

Thus, after hearing Li Qiong’s words, Xiao Yu nodded slightly to confirm it.

When Li Qiong saw Xiao Yu admit it, he couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. Even though Wang Xiong had said that Xiao Yu was in the peak stage of refining qi, there was a big difference between others saying it and him admitting it himself. He could not see through Xiao Yu's cultivation level at all, let alone Wang Xiong and the rest. Hence, when Wang Xiong initially mentioned this, he still harbored some doubt in his heart. However, now that Xiao Yu confirmed it himself, things were different. At such a high cultivation stage, one wouldn’t lie about their actual level.

"Secret techniques, secret methods for concealing cultivation levels It must be!" After a while, Li Qiong reacted, muttering to himself in surprise.

Thinking of this, his gaze shifted between Xiao Yu and Dai Yuxin. Only such a thing could explain why he couldn’t see through their cultivation levels.

In the past at Kunlun Sect, although some secret techniques were available for disciples to learn, not all secret techniques were taught. Such concealment techniques, because of his status as an acknowledged disciple, he had no chance to study them. But now seeing Xiao Yu and Dai Yuxin, it made him wonder if the major sects are starting to emerge.

However, this was clearly impossible. One of the main reasons for him cultivating here was waiting for the major sects to open up. When he reached his current level of cultivation, outside advancements were unlikely. Especially now that he's in his advanced years, no matter how hard he works on cultivation, it’s difficult for him to progress further. But once these major sects are opened, things would be different. He just needs a few years cultivating within the blessed land of heaven, and with the high concentration of primordial qi there, who knows if he might break through.

But after waiting nearly seventy years, not even a hint that the mountain gate is opening appeared to him. This made him abandon all hope. Moreover, he felt the primordial qi absorbed into his body was gradually dissipating, meaning his physical condition was deteriorating day by day. Although he's now close to 150 years old and isn't considered an early death, not seeing the mountain gate open up, he really couldn't bear it. Therefore, he stayed at this high altitude of Mount Everest, while waiting for opportunities, continuing his arduous cultivation. If he could cross into the peak stage of refining qi, then he might still have several decades left to live.

However, Li Qiong never imagined that Xiao Yu possessed secret techniques. Thinking about this made him more cautious. If Xiao Yu was a disciple from a major sect, it would be better, but if not, it's terrifying, what kind of talent does he need! Also where did his secret technique come from All these left him puzzled.

But at this moment, he knew that wasn't the time to ask questions. Therefore, Li Qiong invited Xiao Yu and the two old men into the cave behind him.

Although there was no light inside the cave, it posed no visual obstacle for Xiao Yu and his companions. The lowest cultivation level among them was late-stage Condensation Realm; such individuals cannot be stopped by darkness.

Dai Yuxin's cultivation level was a bit low, but she had lived in the basement for several months and thus had some familiarity with darkness. Moreover, Xiao Yu had opened her Heaven’s Eye for her before, so she could faintly see things inside the cave.

After walking through a passage nearly twenty meters long, they suddenly found themselves in an open space as large as a football field. This space was located within the mountain's interior and was about ten meters high. It was also very flat without any big rocks or clutter, resembling a smooth square. Furthermore, it was extremely dry inside the cave, unlike some other caves that were often very damp.

On one side of this cave, several stone chairs and tables were placed there. Xiao Yu noticed that the Heaven and Earth primordial energy here was much denser than outside. He also observed that many talismans were embedded into the cave walls to form arrays.

The cave's dryness and abundant primordial energy were clearly due to these talismans and array formations.

"Please take a seat, everyone!" After entering the cave, Li Qiong gestured towards Xiao Yu and his companions and said.

Any ordinary person who came here wouldn't be able to see anything. But they were different; it was as bright as day for them inside this cave. Thus, after hearing the old man speak, they walked over and sat down on the stone chairs.

"Daoist Brother Xiao, is that golden eagle yours" After sitting down, an elderly person asked curiously of Xiao Yu.

Upon hearing this voice, Xiao Yu turned to look. Recognizing the old man as Liu Qianjun from Hunan North, he responded with a chuckle, "Hehe, Daoist Brother Liu, I've only met that golden eagle once!"

"Ah... Only once" After hearing Xiao Yu's words, an expression of astonishment appeared on Liu Qianjun's face. Such a magnificent creature wouldn't let anyone near it unless they were its owner or had some special relationship with it. That’s why he asked Xiao Yu—earlier that golden eagle had brought Xiao Yu here, and this was quite perplexing.

A creature of such magnificence, especially one in the wild, would be wary of everything around it—even members of its own species. Yet now, a mere acquaintance like Xiao Yu could ride on its back; this alone seemed unbelievable.

The other elderly people, after hearing Xiao Yu's words, looked at each other with surprise and doubt. They couldn't fathom why this was happening; such an occurrence was almost impossible, yet it was now unfolding right before their eyes.

"Daoist Brother Liu, what’s going on" Li Qiong asked with a look of shock when he heard Liu Qianjun's words.

"Senior Li, here is the situation......" Upon hearing Li Qiong's question, Liu Qianjun recounted the scene that had just occurred to him. As Li Qiong listened, his expression was one of surprise and doubt as he looked at Xiao Yu.

He had seen that golden eagle before and not just once. However, it seemed like the golden eagle knew how dangerous he could be because whenever it saw him, it would always stay far away. He also witnessed a battle between this golden eagle and a snow leopard.

Back then, when he went up to the snowy mountains to collect Snow Lotus, he happened upon this scene. If not for his sudden appearance that scared off the golden eagle, the snow leopard might have met its doom.

This particular golden eagle was also one of the largest things he had seen in over a hundred years living in the Tibetan region. The biggest golden eagle he had previously encountered would be about two-thirds smaller than this one. Furthermore, it must have lived here for at least seventy years because when he first moved to settle here, he saw this very golden eagle.

Seventy years! Keep in mind that the longest lifespan a golden eagle can reach is around eighty years, but few ever live that long. Yet, this particular golden eagle showed no signs of weakness whatsoever over seventy years and had doubled its size since he first encountered it—without showing any signs of aging. This was already quite strange.

Moreover, when he saw this golden eagle seventy years ago, it had already reached adulthood; how long it lived before that, he could not know for certain. It basically grew to maturity right under his nose.

He also understood the golden eagle's habits well: no stranger was allowed near him, and any intruder into its territory would be seen as an enemy.

Yet now, this golden eagle had actually given Xiao Yu and company a ride. This in itself was somewhat unbelievable.

Hence, after listening to Liu Qianjun's recounting of the events, Li Qiong looked at Xiao Yu with confusion as well.

Xiao Yu saw their puzzlement but did not explain anything; instead, he pretended not to notice their questions.

After seeing Xiao Yu's expression, Li Qiong realized that he didn't want to talk about it, so he instead turned his gaze towards Wang Xiong and the others: "Daoist Brother Wang, fellow Daoists, we have reunited after ten years. Fortunately, nothing major has happened in these past ten years; opposing forces haven’t invaded again. We've managed to complete what our predecessors entrusted us with!"

"Indeed! Alas..."

"Alas... I hope for peace to prevail! We are all getting old, and over the past twenty years, only Daoist Brother Wang Tao has reached the later stage of Qi Condensation. Furthermore, I feel that breakthroughs are becoming increasingly difficult. Nowadays, with society’s material desires on the rise, cultivators can no longer endure the loneliness of ascetic practices. Looking at our juniors’ cultivation levels, it's uncertain if anyone will break through in another twenty years. That would truly be a crisis!"

After hearing Li Qiong’s words, Wang Xiong and others also began to express their thoughts. By the end of the conversation, they were all deeply moved, as not only has the primordial energy from heaven and earth become increasingly scarce, but people's minds have also grown restless, making breakthroughs ever more difficult.

In the past twenty years, apart from Wang Tao, no one else has reached the later stage. According to their observations, it is unlikely that anyone will break through again in the next twenty years. This is what truly worries them.

Should they fail to breakthrough within another twenty years, there would not only be no possibility of further advancement but also likely mean that their lifespan has reached its limit. Without new cultivators stepping up, this would mark a genuine crisis for Chinese cultivation circles.

"Indeed, I too have sensed it; if I don’t break through soon, my life limit will probably come within the next couple of years!" Li Qiong said with a trace of melancholy on his face after hearing Wang Xiong and others’ words.

Although it appears that the balance of primordial energy in his body has been maintained, he knows that his internal energy is now depleting faster than he can absorb through cultivation. In this cave with a small array formation that gathers spirit symbols, his loss of energy would be even more rapid if he were outside.

Li Qiong understands that these are signs of approaching the end of his life and fears that it will come within two years. Although living nearly 150 years can certainly be considered long-lived, when thinking about how most senior cultivators like him have little hope of breakthroughs, he cannot rest easy.

After all, foreign cultivation circles always eye China with covetousness, and it's hard to imagine what the situation would be without these elders twenty years from now.

In this thought, silence fell in the cave. Xiao Yu sat on a stone chair without speaking; it was his first time attending such gatherings, and although Wang brothers had introduced him to their purposes of existence, he wasn't entirely clear about many details upon arrival and thus did not interject.

"Haha... Daoist friends, Senior Li, I believe you are overthinking things. In twenty years Now, in his twenties, Daoist Xiao has already achieved such a level of cultivation; by then, he might very well have broken through to the peak of Qi Condensation!"."Really" Upon hearing the man's words, Deputy Director Gu immediately stood up from his seat in a state of shock, exclaiming.Deputy Director Zhang from後勤部看到郭台長驚訝地看著他，堅定地點了點頭。The same scene was unfold...