Two days later.

Yuan Ming returned to the Sect and did not go back to the Fire Refining Hall but directly headed to the Execution Hall, planning to find some suitable tasks to accumulate some contribution points.

However, when he arrived at the square outside the Execution Hall, he found it unexpectedly bustling with people.

At least a hundred disciples from various halls were gathered around a notice board on the square, intensely focused on some captivating news that had them all discussing it with great enthusiasm.

Driven by curiosity, Yuan Ming finally squeezed through the crowd, tiptoed, and looked at the notice board, only to see a conspicuous red paper posted on it, which turned out to be a notice issued by the Sect.

"White Deer Hill Conclave?" Yuan Ming skimmed through, but a huge question arose in his heart.

He turned to a round-faced disciple beside him, brimming with excitement, and asked, "Senior Brother, could you kindly tell me what this White Deer Hill Conclave is about?"

"You don't even know about the White Deer Hill Conclave? Have you been cultivating so hard that you've become foolish?" The man looked him over with a slightly disdainful tone.

"I've just recently joined the Sect, indeed I'm not familiar with it; I would appreciate it if Senior Brother could enlighten me," Yuan Ming replied with a smile.

Seeing that Yuan Ming was fairly polite, the man, eager to show off, cleared his throat and prepared to impart his knowledge.

But before he could begin, someone else from the side beat him to it.

"The White Deer Hill Conclave is an exchange event held jointly by the Five Great Sects of the Southern Border and the Northern Territory, occurring once every ten years. It gathers the young elites of the Five Great Sects; having just joined the Sect, you probably won't have the chance to participate," said a lanky disciple from the Refining Furnace Hall.

The round-faced disciple, upon being cut off, immediately glared at the man and scoffed, "You aren't new here, yet you speak as if you have a chance to participate? Attendance at the conclave is based on strength."

"And how high is your strength? Not only do you lack the strength, but I doubt you even have the courage to participate…" the tall disciple retorted, unwilling to back down.

"What abilities do you have, relying on your master's connections for every good opportunity?"

...

Seeing the two red-faced and about to fight, Yuan Ming quietly slipped away from the crowd.

The notice only mentioned that the White Deer Hill Conclave would be held in half a year, and those interested should sign up with the steward of their respective halls; beyond that, there wasn't much else provided.

Although Yuan Ming was somewhat curious about the White Deer Hill Conclave and wanted to learn more, his primary focus was on quickly improving his cultivation strength; otherwise, knowing more would be futile.

After making a round inside the Execution Hall and not finding any suitable tasks, he headed back to the Fire Refining Hall and went straight to the Fire Workshop to concentrate on refining embryos.

Artifact Refining is ultimately a skill of the hands, and not practicing for a long time would inevitably lead to rustiness.

Since the time had already passed for early class, almost all the disciples had left the Fire Workshop. Yuan Ming then started the fire pit himself, beginning to noisily refine the embryo.

At this point, whether in terms of strength or skill, he had matured, and completing a thousand hammer strikes posed no difficulty; he found his rhythm quickly and soon finished refining the embryo.

When he put down the final hammer, a standard longsword was already forged.

"Clap clap"

At that moment, applause sounded from behind. Senior Brother Fang Ge had walked over at some point.

"There's improvement; the patterns on the sword are very nice, and its form is quite symmetrical," Senior Brother Fang Ge complimented generously.

"Senior Brother, you flatter me. I haven't practiced for quite a while, and have gotten a bit rusty, please give me more guidance," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

"Don't be modest; I noticed quite early on that while the process of learning might not be shorter or faster than others, once you've mastered it, your performance is very stable," Fang Ge waved his hand and said.

Yuan Ming thought about it and suddenly realized that was indeed the case.

Whether it was refining embryos or drawing talismans, as long as he truly grasped the method, the success rate was always high.

"Have you visited our master yet?" Fang Ge inquired.

"I just returned to the Sect today and haven't had the chance to pay a visit. Is there any instruction from the Three Cave Masters?" Yuan Ming asked somewhat surprised.

"Yesterday, Sister Chen Wan came looking for you, saying our master wanted you to go to the back mountain. Unable to find you and in a hurry to enter seclusion, she entrusted me to pass the message once I saw you," Fang Ge explained.

Yuan Ming paused briefly, guessing it was mostly regarding taking care of Huo Chan'er.

"I'll go to the back mountain shortly. Before that, I have something else I'd like to discuss with Senior Brother," Yuan Ming said.

"Feel free to speak," Fang Ge nodded.

"Senior Brother, do you know what the White Deer Hill Conclave is all about?" Yuan Ming questioned.

"You've been to the Execution Hall, haven't you? Counting the time, it's also about half a year away," Fang Ge queried.

"Indeed, I saw quite a few disciples gathered around the notice, talking about some sort of decennial grand event," Yuan Ming said.

"White Deer Hill is a forbidden place within the Ten Thousand Mountains, perpetually obscured by lethal poison miasma. Every ten years, the miasma in certain areas of the Hill dissipates for seven days, during which time the five great sects of the Southern Border and Northern Territory jointly enter White Deer Hill for exploration. This alliance serves as an exchange event for Qi Refining disciples of the five great sects, and also as a test of the strength of each sect's newer generation. After all, the five great sects share the same root," Fang Ge explained in detail.

"Exploration?" Yuan Ming felt a stir in his heart.

"It involves searching for various spiritual materials within White Deer Hill," Fang Ge said.

"Are there many spiritual materials in White Deer Hill?" Yuan Ming pressed on.

"Naturally. White Deer Hill is a unique existence within the entirety of the Ten Thousand Mountains. Due to the shield of deadly poison miasma, ordinary cultivators cannot enter, and numerous fierce beasts are also kept out. Consequently, it contains a large number of exotic beasts and many unique spiritual materials not found elsewhere, providing substantial benefits to the five great sects," Fang Ge explained.

"Exotic beasts? It seems it's not exactly peaceful inside," Yuan Ming said.

"There are indeed dangers. The perennial poison miasma in White Deer Hill breeds a variety of toxic beings and various strange fierce beasts, so casualties are inevitable. Moreover, with such a meetup, there's always some danger as the sects subtly compete with each other to measure their respective harvests and rank them. Therefore, competition between them is inevitable, and conflicts may arise," Fang Ge explained.

Yuan Ming nodded, deciding not to ask any further.

"What about it? Junior Brother Yuan, are you also interested in participating?" Fang Ge asked.

"Forget it, I've just joined the sect recently and my strength is still shallow. I better just focus on my cultivation," Yuan Ming said.

He had been somewhat tempted, but after talking with Fang Ge, he temporarily shelved the idea of participating. After all, he still had half a year's time, and he could make a decision based on the circumstances then.

"Mmm, steadily cultivating is indeed the correct path. Moreover, since you have just joined, and since you are not in a rush to achieve Foundation Establishment, it's not necessary for you to participate," Fang Ge nodded approvingly of Yuan Ming's pragmatic approach.

"Are you saying that it also involves Foundation Establishment?" Yuan Ming asked, puzzled.

"The sect highly values the output from White Deer Hill and to motivate Qi Refining disciples to select those with potential, various additional rewards are given to participating disciples. All treasures obtained in White Deer Hill can be exchanged for sect contribution points, which can be used to acquire various magic artifacts, spiritual materials, elixirs, and even cultivation techniques. For particularly outstanding disciples, the sect might award the opportunity for Foundation Establishment. But, you should not entertain that thought," Fang Ge continued.

When the matter of Foundation Establishment came up, Yuan Ming's eyes noticeably brightened.

Although he was just beginning his path of cultivation, he understood that for cultivators, Foundation Establishment was the first major hurdle on the long road of cultivation, and whether one succeeded in Foundation Establishment dictated two dramatically different life paths.

The reason was nothing else but life span.

Ordinary mortals live their lives with a lifespan of merely a few decades; those who live to be seventy are already rare in ancient times, yet, stepping onto the path of cultivation and with proper cultivation techniques, one could significantly extend one's life span.

Thus, most Qi Refining cultivators, if they do not die prematurely due to accidents, are not unusual to live to over a hundred years old.

But that is the limit; though much stronger than ordinary mortals, if they are fortunate enough to achieve Foundation Establishment, living more than two hundred years is no problem.

And a prolonged life span means more time to cultivate to higher levels and obtain a longer life span.

Yuan Ming had already advanced to the Ninth Level of Qi Refinement, with only a step away from the Tenth Level. Once he reached the Tenth Level of Qi Refinement, he would initially be eligible for Foundation Establishment, making this opportunity for Foundation Establishment substantial for him.

With this realization, Yuan Ming immediately changed his mind—he would participate in the White Deer Hill meetup.

He decided not just to participate but to prepare thoroughly in advance to strive for that precious opportunity for Foundation Establishment.

Because without the support of sect resources for a successful Foundation Establishment, no matter how he cultivated by himself, it was impossible to succeed.

After saying goodbye and leaving the Fire Workshop, Yuan Ming headed straight to the back mountain.

As he arrived at the courtyard of the Three Cave Masters, Yuan Ming straightened his clothes and called out respectfully, "Disciple Yuan Ming, greeting the Three Cave Masters."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a sharp little head peeked over the courtyard wall, two black eyes, round like beans, swiftly turned and fixed on Yuan Ming with a shrill cry.

Following this, a red shadow leaped out from inside the courtyard, climbed onto Yuan Ming's shoulder in an instant, and affectionately rubbed against Yuan Ming's neck with its head.

Yuan Ming plucked it from his neck and gently stroked its head.

At that moment, the door of the courtyard creaked open by itself.

"Come in," the voice of the Three Cave Masters came from inside the courtyard.

Holding Huo Chan'er, Yuan Ming quickly stepped inside and immediately saw the Three Cave Masters sitting by the stone table.

"Yuan Ming greets the Three Cave Masters," Yuan Ming said as he placed Huo Chan'er on his shoulder and bowed.

The Three Cave Masters looked at the intimately behaving Fire Mink, nodded, and spoke, "Fang Ge mentioned that you had been out for secluded cultivation?"

"Yes, disciple just returned to the sect today," Yuan Ming responded.

"I will be entering seclusion again soon. Huo Chan'er will need you to take care of it for a while longer," the Three Cave Masters said.

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