The Exorcism Began in America.

"Very well! Fellow Seniors, I shall take my leave now!"

The gorgeously dressed woman bowed to the others and, with a flick of her sleeve, she, along with more than a dozen female disciples, transformed into a streak of light and shot towards the sky.

After the woman left, Elder Chu Qing, holding a wine gourd, then stood up.

"Haha! I've made my selection too! My friends, I bid you farewell!"

He too flicked his sleeve at the crowd, and below, Chu Feng suddenly found his vision engulfed in darkness.

Watching the figure that also turned into a streak of light and disappeared, the black-robed elder slightly furrowed his brow.

Unable to resist, the gray-robed elder stroking his long beard teased, "That old rogue Chu, just to appease the Sect Master, actually took only one person!"

"Alright, you all start quickly! Once you're finished, send the remaining people to the Outer Gate, and this grand ceremony will be considered concluded!"

"Yes!"

...

"From now on, you will live here!"

Elder Chu Qing, alighting on the mountainside of a perilous peak, swept his long sleeve, and Chu Feng landed in a courtyard.

Looking at the surrounding courtyard that was clearly uninhabited yet free of dust and fallen leaves, Chu Feng didn't pay much attention. Instead, his gaze was drawn to his master, who was opening the gourd.

"Kid, are you wondering why I specifically chose you?" Detecting Chu Feng's gaze, Elder Chu Qing gave a faint smile and, after taking a sip of wine, he asked.

"I am indeed baffled and hope that Master can dispel my confusion."

"Hahaha!" Elder Chu Qing laughed heartily, holding the gourd. With a simple gesture, two cushioned mats appeared beside them. "Sit, let's talk!"

Once they were seated, Elder Chu Qing looked into Chu Feng's eyes and clicked his tongue twice.

"You're so much like I was!"

"Like what?" Chu Feng asked, completely puzzled.

"You're just like I was when I first joined the Sect!" Elder Chu Qing paused, then shifted his gaze to the clouds in the sky, as if reminiscing.

"Back then, I also came to Qingxuan City alone, leading a white horse. Likewise, I went to the market entrance to ask how to join the Qingxuan Sect!"

"However, I didn't have your luck! The gatekeeper back then wasn't in a good mood at all. He just said, 'Entry forbidden,' and then fell silent."

"So, what happened then...?"

"Then? Haha! After that, my luck was much better than yours!" Elder Chu Qing chuckled again, casting a smiling glance at Chu Feng, who was listening attentively.

"The second day after I arrived in Qingxuan City, the disciple recruitment ceremony had just begun. I followed the throng of people surging from Qingxuan City all the way to the Qingxuan Mountain Range. Then, after passing the three entrance trials, I successfully joined the Qingxuan Sect!"

"Ah..." Chu Feng couldn't help but chuckle, hearing of such a smooth experience.

He, on the other hand, had waited in Qingxuan City for a full year.

"Seeing you is like seeing my past self..."

"Of course, what's most important is fate!" Elder Chu Qing looked at Chu Feng and smiled. "Do you know how long it has been since I last left the Qingxuan Mountain Range?"

Chu Feng shook his head and ventured a guess, "Uh... twenty years?"

"It has been exactly three hundred and twenty-one years! If I hadn't, on a whim, decided to visit Qingxuan City that day, we would never have had the chance to meet!"

Chu Feng's eyes filled with astonishment. He'd never imagined his master was such an extreme recluse!

"So, thank your luck, kid!"

Elder Chu Qing patted the youth's shoulder beside him and handed over a book.

"Take this. This is the "Qi Training Chapter" from our Qingxuan Sect's "Qingxuan Record." Cultivate diligently. If there's anything you don't understand, come find me in the grand hall over there."

Elder Chu Qing left behind several vials of Fasting Pill before transforming into a streak of light and shooting into the distant grand hall.

"Huh..." Chu Feng looked at the few jade vials and the booklet in his hand, silent for a long moment.

"Isn't this a bit too brief!"

He shook his head, picked up the jade vials beside him, and, with the book in hand, turned and entered the house assigned to him.

...

In the first year, Chu Feng, with the help of Lin Xiao, who was suspected to be a Child of Fortune, successfully escaped from the Spirit Refining Sect and learned of the "Casting Spirit Scripture" from Lin Xiao.

In the second year, after a journey of a year and a half, Chu Feng finally reached Qingxuan City and heard about the Qingxuan Sect's grand disciple-recruitment ceremony.

In the third year, he successfully passed the Qingxuan Sect's three entrance trials and became a disciple under Elder Chu Qing.

In the sixth year, thanks to his experience of starting cultivation from scratch multiple times, Chu Feng broke through to the Perfection of Qi Training Realm in just under three years.

His rapid progress was so astounding that Elder Chu Qing, who usually spent his days engrossed in Artifact Refining and fine wine, exclaimed that he had found a treasure. He immediately gifted the "Foundation Establishment Chapter" of the "Qingxuan Record" to Chu Feng!

That same year, with the help of a Foundation Establishment Pill provided by the Sect, Chu Feng entered closed-door cultivation for a month and successfully achieved Foundation Establishment.

In the tenth year, Chu Feng entered late-stage Foundation Establishment, beginning preparations to break through to the Golden Core Realm.

Upon hearing the news, his master Chu Qing immediately prepared a Breakthrough Pill as a contingency, to prevent any mishaps during Chu Feng's breakthrough.

That same year, Chu Feng received a piece of Treasured Armor personally refined by his master as encouragement.

In the fifteenth year, after refining the True Yuan in his body for several years, Chu Feng finally began closed-door cultivation to prepare for the breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm.

In the sixteenth year, after a year of effort, a flash of golden light shone in his Dantian, and a particle formed from countless True Yuan suddenly appeared.

As long as there were no accidents, all that remained was to continuously accumulate Spiritual Power until the Golden Core fully formed, completing the metamorphosis of his realm.

In the twenty-first year, after five years of consistent day-and-night cultivation, fueled by the accumulation of countless True Yuan, the Golden Core within Chu Feng's body finally formed.

It could truly be said: 'Once the Golden Core is swallowed, henceforth my fate is mine, not dictated by the heavens.'

A Golden Core Monk, barring any mishaps, possesses a lifespan of a thousand years.

In smaller sects in the outside world, such a cultivator could undoubtedly be addressed as a Golden Core Ancestor.

Afterward, Chu Feng's cultivation speed slowed down sharply.

According to his master, Elder Chu Qing, now that his lifespan was ample, he should also begin to explore combat Cultivation Techniques and the auxiliary paths of immortal cultivation!

Artifact Refining, Alchemy, Formations...

In the fiftieth year, despite most of his time being occupied, with the support of the Sect's various precious resources, Chu Feng naturally advanced to the mid-stage Golden Core Realm.

That same year, his master Chu Qing, seeing that he now possessed some ability to protect himself, directly sent him down the mountain, ostensibly for worldly training.

Before leaving, Chu Feng received a sword, an umbrella, and a gourd.

The sword for offense and the umbrella for defense, coupled with the Treasured Armor Chu Feng wore, provided a reasonable guarantee of his safety.

As for the wine gourd, aside from holding wine, it could also be used for storage.

According to Master Chu Qing, this wine gourd would henceforth be the defining item of their lineage. If Chu Feng ever took disciples, they too would naturally be equipped with such a gourd.

In the fifty-third year, Chu Feng, after gaining experience in the outside world for three years, whether by design or chance, finally encountered Lin Xiao, from whom he had been separated for decades.