First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 68: Housewarming Banquet

"When did you advance to the Gathering Qi Realm? You didn't inform me immediately about such a big matter. You waited until the housewarming to let me know!"

Just as Shen Mo and Guo Zhao took their seats, Chen An's hearty laughter echoed through the place.

He arrived before anyone else, his voice preceding him.

"It was just yesterday that I passed the verification and obtained the qualification for the Inner Sect."

Shen Mo explained, "Since the housewarming is approaching, I decided to wait until then to inform Uncle Chen and celebrate together."

"Hahaha." Chen An complained with his mouth, but deep down, he was genuinely happy for him. "Now that you've entered the Inner Sect, your parents can finally rest in peace."

He had watched Shen Mo grow up, and over the years, he had secretly worried about his lack of progress in cultivation.

But in the past few months, Shen Mo's cultivation had skyrocketed like a triple jump, which surprised and delighted him.

"Oh, who is this?"

As he spoke, his gaze suddenly fell on Guo Zhao, who was seated on the right.

"This is my good friend from the sect, Senior Brother Guo."

Shen Mo introduced him and whispered in Chen An's ear, telling him about his feelings for Chen Mengze.

"Oh~"

Chen An's expression became strange upon hearing this.

Finally, a pig has come to court his daughter, who is as beautiful as a tender cabbage.

As a father, he had mixed feelings about this. He was happy for his daughter, but as a father, he instinctively felt the need to be cautious.

As for Guo Zhao, the person in question, he felt quite nervous under Chen An's scrutiny and evaluation.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

"Uncle Chen, why hasn't Mengze come?"

Shen Mo took the initiative to break the awkwardness.

"That girl? Don't mention her." Chen An shook his head and said, "She just returned to the sect recently and went into seclusion again."

In just five years since entering the Inner Sect, Chen Mengze had advanced from the Gathering Qi Realm to the fifth level of the Gathering Qi Realm.

Her cultivation level had caught up with Chen An, who was nearly sixty years old. The most important reason for this was her fanatical dedication to cultivation.

Chen An also understood the purpose of her cultivation. He could only lament his own incompetence as a father, which had led to the burden of past grudges falling on his daughter's shoulders.

"Let's not talk about that."

Chen An waved his hand and said, "Today is your housewarming day. We should celebrate this joyous occasion."

As he spoke, he took out a prepared gift from his storage bag.

"Here, I don't have much to give you, but I heard from that girl Mengze that you are interested in spiritual tea and wine, so I searched for some in the market."

"Thank you, Uncle Chen."

Shen Mo felt warm in his heart as he accepted the gift and invited Chen An to take a seat together.

"What delicious food did you prepare?"

"It smells so good."

Soon, Cao Ren also arrived.

The gift he prepared was a collection of many pill formulas that Cao Shanyue had collected in recent years, including some top-grade pill formulas that Shen Mo had not yet mastered.

"You're thoughtful." Shen Mo looked at the gift and was quite satisfied. "When you move, I will definitely give you a big gift in return."

These miscellaneous pill formulas seemed to have little value, but for Shen Mo, they were a timely help.

After this period of training, he had already made some progress in alchemy, and the few pill formulas he had learned before were not enough.

With these formulas now, he didn't have to go to the market to buy them.

Shen Mo didn't plan to make a big fuss about this housewarming banquet. He only invited a few people in total.

Once everyone arrived, they began to drink and celebrate.

Cao Ren didn't stay for long. After drinking two cups, he bid farewell and left.

His father was waiting for him to return so that he could teach him some unique techniques to deal with the upcoming competition among the new disciples.

As for Shen Mo, Chen An, and Guo Zhao, they drank a lot.

After three rounds of drinking, Chen An, who was slightly drunk, patted Shen Mo's shoulder and said, "Shen Mo, you can't relax just because you've entered the Inner Sect."

"Even in the Inner Sect, you still need to work hard to go further."

"Take this time to prepare well and strive for a good ranking in the competition among the new disciples."

Chen An reminisced about his own experience when he first entered the Inner Sect and felt some regret. "The competition among the new disciples is the first stage for the newly promoted disciples of the Inner Sect. The experts from the three peaks of the Inner Sect will all come to observe."

"If one can stand out among them and be valued by the peak master, there is a chance to directly become an inner disciple of the peak and gain a backing within the sect."

There are thousands of disciples within the Linjiang Sect, but there are no more than a thousand practitioners who can enter the Xuri, Mingyue, and Xingchen Peaks.

This is also an opportunity to leap through the dragon gate.

Although the disciples who have entered the peak and those who have not are both considered inner disciples, those elite geniuses who have entered the three peaks often achieve much greater accomplishments on the path of cultivation compared to the ordinary inner disciples.

"Back then, I, Chen Shu, was too mediocre. I was knocked down in the first round, let alone the opportunity to practice in the peak or even qualify for practicing in the Mountain and River Realm."

Chen An mentioned this with deep regret.

Apart from the Xuri, Mingyue, and Xingchen Peaks selecting disciples from within the Linjiang Sect, there is also a reward for the top fifty disciples in the competition among the newcomers.

That is the qualification to practice in the unique Grotto-Heaven space of the Linjiang Sect for ten days in the Mountain and River Realm.

"I heard from people in the sect that the Mountain and River Realm is a treasure land for cultivation, with numerous spiritual beasts and abundant spiritual herbs. Practicing there for a day is equivalent to half a month in the outside world."

"I wonder if it's an exaggeration."

"I have been to the Mountain and River Realm before, and the spiritual energy inside is indeed abundant."

Guo Zhao took a sip of wine and took the initiative to continue the conversation.

"You have been to the Mountain and River Realm too?"

Chen An was slightly surprised and looked at this suitor of his daughter with more interest. "In the year you entered the inner sect, what was your ranking in the competition among the newcomers?"

"Seventh."

Seeing Chen An showing interest in him, Guo Zhao quickly answered.

"Senior Brother Guo is not an ordinary person."

Shen Mo also joined the conversation and introduced, "He comes from a prestigious family and joined the Xingchen Peak only seven years ago. At this moment, his cultivation has already reached the eighth level of the Gathering Qi Realm, and he is also a second-grade weapon refiner."

"So impressive?"

Chen An was amazed and looked more favorably upon Guo Zhao.

"Such a talented young man is interested in my daughter. It seems that I worried too much about her not finding a husband."

As the conversation between Guo Zhao and Chen Shu continued, Shen Mo remained silent, intentionally letting Guo Zhao have a good impression to repay him for his care.

After a night of drinking and chatting, the housewarming banquet finally ended.

After bidding farewell to Senior Brother Guo Zhao, Shen Mo accompanied the slightly intoxicated Chen An back to his cave.

"It's over."

Standing in front of the cave, the cold wind blew on his face, sobering him up a bit. "Entering the inner sect is like entering a new stage."

"The next goal is to compete for a place in the newcomer competition."

"There is still half a month to prepare. During this time, I will strive to master the 'Purple Mansion Heart Sutra'."

With these thoughts in mind, Shen Mo returned to his cave and fell asleep peacefully.

In the following five days, Shen Mo secluded himself and continued to diligently cultivate the "Purple Mansion Heart Sutra".

[You have practiced for five hours, attempting to master the 'Purple Mansion Heart Sutra', but your attempt failed.]

[You have practiced for a day and a night, attempting to master the 'Purple Mansion Heart Sutra', but your attempt failed.]

[During your cultivation, you unexpectedly obtained a chance and gained the favor of destiny. Destiny Points +1.]

The constantly appearing messages recorded Shen Mo's diligent efforts in the past few days.

However, mastering the "Purple Mansion Heart Sutra" proved to be difficult. Despite Shen Mo's tireless cultivation, his limited aptitude prevented him from achieving mastery.

Unable to make progress for a long time and unable to increase his proficiency in destiny, Shen Mo became a little impatient and temporarily put aside the cultivation technique.

Instead, he turned his attention to the Qiankun Bag left by the demonic cultivator.

"The divine consciousness imprint on this Qiankun Bag can prevent me from prying into it. To open it, I either need to find someone with a divine consciousness far surpassing the imprint to erase it."

Shen Mo immediately ruled out this option.

After all, to achieve this, he would need the help of a powerful cultivator in the Linghai Realm.

Shen Mo didn't know such a person, and moreover, the contents of the Qiankun Bag were not suitable for casual exposure.

Therefore, it was better not to rely on others to open the Qiankun Bag.

"At the table before, I heard Senior Brother Guo mention a kind of talisman called the Boundary-Breaking Talisman. If you encounter an unopenable Qiankun Bag, you can forcefully open it with this talisman."

The greatest function of this Boundary-Breaking Talisman is to break through spatial barriers and is mainly used to break forbidden barriers.

The Qiankun Bag can also benefit from this item.

Let's go and see in the market. It should be available for sale!

(End of this chapter)