It was snowing heavily.

The flying snowflakes were playing an elegy.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

War drums kept sounding. The last drumbeat came and it sounded like the drum was broken. Flying snowflakes shattered.

Dongyi's army had retreated. As the large man was heavily injured, they all fled back home in their boats.

On the city tower, Yang Mu's eyes turned red at such a sight. He threw the drumstick away. The blood on his armor had frozen solid. He walked towards the parapet to lean against it.

He gazed at the man sitting in the snow with a complicated feeling and admiration in his chest.

Mo Tianyu pierced his sword into the snow. He ran towards the Master and approached him.

The Master, sitting on the battlefield full of dead bodies, looked a little tired and a little nostalgic.

“Master…”

Mo Tianyu knelt down on the ground. He felt as though a hand had grasped his heart and squeezed it hard.

The Master was sitting cross-legged. He was covered with snow which seemed to be cooling him down. Consequently, his body felt colder and colder.

Sitting upright on the battlefield, the Master looked out at the vast sea in the distance.

Snowflakes fell into the sea. A wave came and they were instantly gone.

The wooden boats were fleeing from the coast like rats, panicked and scared.

“Cultivators…” the Master said, panting.

“They are really strong.”

Mo Tianyu grasped the snow on the ground. He took a deep breath. The cold air entered his lungs, so he coughed. He coughed so hard that he even almost burst into tears.

“Master, let's go back to the Book Pavilion.” Mo Tianyu said while coughing and crying.

He felt remorseful. He should not have read that hexagram. Great blessing… That was bullsh*t.

“What are you crying for?

“I don't have many days left anyways. Everyone dies… I would rather end my life in a great victory with a cultivator than die of old age at the Book Pavilion, gazing at the banana leaves bent by the weight of snow every day. This is better. I have one less regret now.”

The Master sounded calm, and even a little resolute.

“I've done many things in my life. Visiting the Hundred Schools, overwhelming powerful people of the world… I will never regret some of them, but other things I've done made me regret very much.”

“However, what I regret the most is not fighting with Old Lv and the others against Young Master Lu,” the Master said.

“This fight kind of resolved my regret.

“At least… I proved it is possible for a mortal to defeat a cultivator.”

The Master's calm voice was a heavy blow for Mo Tianyu.

He had experienced how powerful Lu Fan was, how powerful cultivators were, all by himself.

And the Master told him that with such actions, a mortal could defeat a cultivator.

Looking into the distance, the Master felt like it had stopped snowing already. The sun rose from the horizon. Its brilliant light spilled on the Master's face.

His face was blus.h.i.+ng and s.h.i.+ning.

But in fact, the sky over the sea was overcast.

“Do you have alcohol?” the Master asked slowly.

“Yes. Yes!”

Mo Tianyu came to himself. He hurried to untie the calabash from his waist.

He loved alcohol. Of course, he always had alcohol with him.

After three rounds of drinking, he would definitely tell one fortune.

He took the calabash and pulled out the cork with care. He gave it to the Master after wiping the mouth of the calabash with his sleeve.

The Master smiled.

He raised his hand slowly.

He moved very slowly, but finally, he grasped the calabash.

His fingertip touched the inner side Mo Tianyu's finger. Mo Tianyu felt like he was touching a piece of ice. His finger felt cold.

The Master took the calabash.

He took a sip from it.

The Master let out a long sigh.

He squinted as if he was drunk.

Holding the calabash in hand, he looked up at the red sun glowing in the sky.

The old man froze there.

Cold snow fell into Mo Tianyu's collar, making an extremely cold feeling run down his back.

He leaned back and flopped onto the ground.

It began to snow more and more. The Master's body slowly covered up with a thick layer of snow.

Lake Island, Beiluo, White Jade City's pavilion.

Lu Fan let out a long sigh. He had never expected the Master to draw the curtain on the era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy in such a way.

This senior definitely deserved his respect.

Lu Fan was holding his bronze liquor cup, looking over the rail.

He extended his hand. He tilted the liquor cup and moved it in an arc before him. The wine spilled, s.h.i.+ning in the sunlight.

This wine was a toast to the Master.

Downstairs, Lv Dongxuan had been antic.i.p.ating Lu Fan's lecture eagerly. However, the eagerness on his face gradually faded when he saw what the Young Master did and watched the wine spill in the air.

He seemed to guess something. He used his Tianji Calculation Technique, and then his heart started to tremble.

He reached out to grasp the gold necklace around his neck.

The gold necklace rolled fast, chiming.

Then, his face turned pale.

Gongshu Yu, Xie Yunling, and Hua Dongliu sensed something was wrong with Lv Dongxuan. They looked over at him, frowning.

“Old Lv, anything wrong?” Hua Dongliu asked directly. He was a straightforward person.

Lv Dongxuan's lips trembled. He looked into the east. Although everything was shrouded in the Spirit Qi from Lake Island, he seemed to be able to look through the thick mist.

“Old Kong has gone to a better place,” Lv Dongxuan said.

His voice was a little hoa.r.s.e, low and emotional.

Xie Yunling s.h.i.+vered. His pupils shrank involuntarily.

Hua Dongliu lost control of his sword spirit. It went unbridled and transformed into an unsheathed sharp sword.

Gongshu Yu opened his mouth, but he had no idea what to say.

He had fought against Kong Xiu with Mo Beike his whole life. This unexpected news really shocked him.

After the shock, a helpless and emotional feeling arose in him.

Seeing the philosophers gazing at the sky in a trance, the other people around them wondered what had happened.

And seeing Young Master Lu spilling his wine from White Jade City's pavilion, they guessed that something big enough to shock the whole world must have happened.

However, they had no idea what it was.

North County.

Mo Beike looked into the east. His hands were shaking. They were shaking violently.

He covered one hand with the other hand, but he could not control himself at all.

After a long time had pa.s.sed, he felt kind of lost.

He stood up from his chair and walked out of the tent. He looked at the boundless plain covered with snow beyond Tianhan Gate. It was snowing heavily.

A snowflake fell onto the palm of his hand and melted quickly, like a teardrop.

His heavy eyebags shook.

After a while, he let out a long sigh.

They had been enemies as well as friends in their entire lives.

“Old thing, I wish you all the best in the other world.”

Capital City, Book Pavilion.

Smoke from sandalwood incense was curling up slowly.

In a Confucius robe, Kong Nanfei stood before the window looking at the banana leaves under the weight of the snow. He was in a slight trance.

He felt uneasy somehow.

All of a sudden.

Crack.

The branch of the banana tree finally broke under the weight of the snow. It fell into the backyard of the Book Pavilion.

Looking at the broken branch, Kong Nanfei fell silent.

His heart was heavy somehow.

White Jade City's pavilion.

Lu Fan's hair was blowing in the wind.

He had not paid any attention to the battle in Dongyang County. After all, he could not pay attention to what was happening in the world all the time.

However, at this moment, lines jumped in his eyes. He was watching a playback of the battle outside of Dongyang County.

The Master, a mortal, had set his will and Righteousness Qi on fire. He severely injured a strong man in Peak Foundation Building. Blood oozed from the latter's eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth and he had fled in disgrace.

“He had no Spirit Qi at all. However, he made the Origin of the World react simply by his will. The moment the Master burnt his Righteousness Qi, he almost surpa.s.sed a cultivator in the Internal Organs Realm.”

Lu Fan felt a little emotional.

Let His Qi be recorded by masterpieces…

He looked at the old man holding the calabash, seated facing the sea.

His thrumming on the arm of the wheelchair suddenly came to a halt. He pulled the Phoenix Feather arm lightly.

A loud phoenix chime came. In the next second, the Phoenix Feather Sword turned into a fire phoenix that flew into the Dragon Gate.

In the Red Dragon's Dragon Gate, Dongyang County.

The Red Dragon was sleeping. It opened its eyes all of a sudden. A red fire flared. It opened its mouth with a deafening growl.

In the Dragon Gate, a fire phoenix flew out. At the center of the fire phoenix, there was a red sword.

This sword brought forth a dreadful energy.

The Red Dragon's ferocious face froze. Its head slipped back right away.

Watching the fire phoenix disappearing, Red Dragon retreated into the Dragon Gate immediately.

The fire phoenix flew out.

It flew across the sky over Dongyang County like a flowing light streaking across the air.

On the city tower of Dongyang County, Yang Mu looked up at the fire phoenix dragging fire behind it. He was shocked and at a loss.

He saw the fire flying beyond the beach onto the boundless sea.

Bang!

With a loud chime, the fire phoenix flew down.

At the bottom of the sea, the large man wrapped in the slurry, who was cultivating and recovering from his injuries, was instantly startled.

“The Lord of the Plane?!”

He lifted his head and saw beams of bright light overhead. They devoured him in an instant.

The fire created a concave tornado in the water. It did not return to normal until a long time had pa.s.sed.

At White Jade City's pavilion, Lu Fan, who had pulled out the Phoenix Feather Sword, looked as if he had not accomplished anything important.

Staring at the crowd below, he started to speak.

It was time to tell them what he was supposed to tell them.

“Heaven and Earth have their own wills. They convert the Origin and produce elements. But cultivators can achieve impossible things. They gather Spirit Qi and strive for an immortal life…” Lu Fan said.

His voice was not loud, but it lingered in everyone's ears.

Everyone trembled. When they came to themselves, they realized that Young Master Lu's lecture had started.

“The world has different elements. They are metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, corresponding to the five treasures that have to be refined in Internal Organs Realm…

“Beginner cultivators begin with one wisp of Spirit Qi in their cinnabar fields, so their cinnabar field becomes their Qi Core. The ultimate Qi Core produces a Spirit Qi spiral, and that is the start of the Internal Organs. The Internal Organs Realm aims to explore the human body's ability to produce elements and also elemental Spirit Qi.

“There is a higher level realm beyond the Internal Organs.

“In fact, this higher level realm is quite similar to the Qi Core. In the Qi Core Realm, cultivators refine their core through Qi, which is not tangible. So, it is an invisible core. Beyond Internal Organs, cultivators combine the essence of the human body with Spirit Qi to refine a true core and this realm is called Golden Elixir Realm.”

Lu Fan's voice lingered on Lake Island. Everyone was dumbstruck at first, and then, shocked.

Cultivators beyond Beiluo Lake were listening attentively as well, but they did not hear much.

Lu Changkong and others were fascinated.

Invisible core, true core…

This completely refreshed their knowledge of cultivation.

And it was the first time they had heard about a realm beyond Internal Organs.

Ning Zhao's eyes narrowed. Golden Elixir was beyond Internal Organs?

Refining a true core in the body must be much more difficult than refining Qi Core.

After all, it was easy to make something that already existed vanish, but it was difficult to make something that never existed come into existence. That was creation. Of course, it would be difficult.

On the lake, Sima Qingshan, rocking on his ink boat, also knitted his brows.

Refining Qi into a golden elixir…

Of course, before that, it was necessary to comprehend the elemental Spirit Qi that specifically belonged to the Internal Organs Realm.

While people were lost in their thoughts, Lu Fan continued to speak.

“Certainly, the Golden Elixir method is a cultivation method from alien worlds. It is something that doesn't come naturally. However, cultivators can achieve impossible things.”

Lu Fan said slowly, “So I have another cultivation method.”

Lu Fan looked down at the crowd from the second floor of White Jade City's pavilion.

The crowd was dumbstruck. Then, they focused on his words.

“Beyond the Internal Organs is the Heavenly Lock. What is the Heavenly Lock? The number of bones of the human spine comes in the multiples of three. It is divided into nine sections, so it is also called Nine-sectioned Heavenly Lock. Refining your spine to open the Heavenly Lock will take you to the realm beyond the Internal Organs. The ninth section is the Heavenly Palace Lock. Once that is opened, a worldwide holocaust will be triggered,” Lu Fan explained. Everyone heard him because his voice drifted downwind.

They were all dumbstruck.

“Compared to the Golden Elixir cultivation method, this cultivation method is actually more complex, more dangerous, and harder to learn. But accordingly, it is more powerful.

“Of course, it is still too early to talk about these cultivation methods. You have a long way to go if you want to break through into the Golden Elixir Realm and open the Heavenly Lock.

“The anomaly of the world was the immortal's plan. Now that Spirit Qi has spread far and wide in the world, everyone has a chance of becoming a cultivator. That being said, since everyone has different talents, only a few of you can become real cultivators.”

Lu Fan continued, “There was a brilliant cultivation era in ancient times, but it too, declined. Now, Spirit Qi has rejuvenated. The immortal has shown up to pa.s.s on the cultivation methods. Everything seems to have started over again.

“The cultivation era in ancient times failed mainly because of weakness. The cultivators were too weak. The people were too weak. They were too weak to resist calamity.

“And now,” Lu Fan declared slowly, “Spirit Qi has rejuvenated and cultivation will become rampant again. As a leading cultivating power, White Jade City won't let what happened to the ancient cultivation era repeat again. That is why this lecture on cultivation is being held.”

Many people could not quite follow him. After all, they had never entered that central palace or seen the ancient battlefield Lu Fan had intentionally set up.

Lu Fan flicked his sleeve. Spirit Qi instantly gathered in the air. Soon, an image appeared in front of them.

Everyone looked up at that image.

They saw a shocking era in it.

A war between the ancient cultivation civilization and Alien Evil Spirits was depicted.

Everyone was so shocked that their calmness could not be restored for a long time after seeing it. It turned out that the land under their feet bore such a heavy history.

Seeing those ancient cultivators die one after another, many people felt pressured and threatened.

“The current world evolves with the Origin of the World at its center. Elements can be produced. All approaches to cultivation speak of immortality,” Lu Fan said, glancing over the crowd.

“Approaches to cultivation are dead, but humans are alive. Each of you can go your own way.

“Just like the era of Hundred Schools of Philosophy, which was so brilliant…

“They kept improving because of compet.i.tion.

“It is the same now, even with cultivation. The era of cultivation should be more compet.i.tive. Because only those who win will get further along the way of cultivation.

“The cultivator's world is way crueler than you've imagined, ” Lu Fan said.

His white robe was fluttering in the wind. His eyes were blazing like torches.

He continued speaking.

Then, the audience asked him about what baffled them, and Lu Fan answered all of those questions. He did not reject a single one of them.

Many people cherished this opportunity a lot because they had no idea when Young Master's next lecture would be.

It was getting dark.

The lecture lasted the whole day, from the daytime to the evening.

Finally, Lu Fan ended the lecture. He left the audience for the night to let them digest what he had said.

This lecture he had held was actually a preparation for the world to upgrade to a Mid Level Martial World.

A spectacular cultivation world could not be created by him alone. The people of this world had to be the main force to create a brilliant world.

Lu Fan was simply helping them to hasten this process and keep them on the right track.

A wisp of red light flew back from the Dragon Gate.

It was suspended before Lu Fan quietly.

The Phoenix Feather Sword gave off an ultimately brilliant light, s.h.i.+ning like a burning flame.

The last wanderer's soul was shredded. Nothing of him remained.

Lu Fan let out a sigh.

The Master's death was beyond his antic.i.p.ation but it did not seem weird to him.

The Master had never refined Spirit Qi at any Dragon Gate. Life could not be immortal without cultivation, which was to say, he did not have many days left even if he had not engaged in this battle.

Outside of Dongyang County, the Master had almost killed a cultivator at Peak Foundation Building with his own mortal body. He drew the curtain shut over the era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy with such a great feat. The Master had no regrets. It was a peaceful death.

The Phoenix Feather Sword returned to the wheelchair and turned into its arm once again.

Lu Fan was gazing out at Beiluo Lake, feeling the gentle breeze.

The morning light shone through the snow and spilled on the ground.

While the cultivators in Beiluo City were still immersed in what Lu Fan had imparted, a piece of sad news spread across the Great Zhou Dynasty.