The Raptor's Nest Pavilion was a majestic building, with the Qi Training Hall alone covering several thousand square meters, serving as the training grounds for disciples at the Spirit Movement stage. At this moment, the spacious hall was filled with the vague shapes of dozens of people standing around.

It was still early, and the Foundation Establishment cultivator responsible for teaching had not yet arrived. Disciples gathered in small groups, discussing topics of interest.

Li Bai silently moved to a quieter corner, sitting cross-legged, intending to use the remaining time for some additional cultivation. Just then, a set of footsteps reached his ears.

"Hehe, isn't this Junior Brother Lin?"

"I heard you recently went into seclusion for cultivation, yet still failed to break through to the second level?"

The teasing was laced with sarcasm. Li Bai frowned slightly but showed no change in demeanor. To ordinary people, cultivators seemed like ethereal beings, free from the world’s troubles, but this was just a façade.

The world of cultivation was harsher, more realistic, and more merciless than the secular world!

Here, power, not money, determined status. Whoever had the higher realm, the better magical implements, or more pills was deemed superior, and their words were considered truth.

Despite Li Bai’s tireless efforts over the past three years, the lack of a spiritual root left him trailing far behind his peers, drawing cold stares and ridicule.

"Humph, just a rootless mortal. No matter how hard you try, you'll never compare to us. Instead of embarrassing yourself in the sect, it would be wiser to descend the mountain."

"Indeed, three years and still not past the second level of the Spirit Movement stage—useless."

...

Faced with such mockery from his senior brothers, Li Bai didn't even blink, his expression unchanged. They were just a few bored individuals, not worth his attention. With a cold glance, Li Bai moved away.

He didn't react because he was neither cowardly nor fearful; it was just that such shallow individuals were unworthy of affecting his state of mind.

Sitting cross-legged, he began to absorb spiritual energy. Time passed, and after about half an hour, a bell rang out, causing the previously chatting disciples to fall silent and line up in formation. Li Bai joined them at the back.

A middle-aged man entered. Though he looked to be in his forties, he was likely much older. As a cultivator's realm improved, their lifespan extended, and aging slowed.

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"Master!"

The disciples bowed in greeting. According to the rules of Misty Cloud Valley, every instructor who taught them techniques was addressed with this respect.

"My name is Zhang Yu. I will teach you the secrets of the Spiritual Shield."

The Spiritual Shield, as the name suggests, involves deploying spiritual energy over the body to form a protective barrier—one of the most basic defensive spells for cultivators.

The disciples instantly grew excited, whispering to each other in hushed tones.

Except for Li Bai, the disciples with spiritual roots had mostly mastered techniques up to the third or fourth layer after three years, moving into the mid-stage of the Spirit Movement phase, and they could learn some simple minor spells.

"What’s all the noise? Quiet!" Zhang Yu’s face darkened at the disorder below.

Seeing the instructor's anger, the disciples quickly fell silent.

Zhang Yu then began to explain in detail how to circulate spiritual energy and the key points to pay attention to. Li Bai listened intently, knowing that with his current cultivation level, he couldn't yet use the Spiritual Shield. However, it was important to memorize the cultivation method for future practice.

"Alright, now it’s up to you to practice," Zhang Yu said after finishing the lecture and then left the Raptor’s Nest Pavilion. Whether the disciples could succeed now depended on their comprehension.

Li Bai also departed, returning first to his dwelling, a simple wooden cabin. High-level cultivators had their own abodes, but for low-level disciples like him, accommodations were quite basic.

Inside, there was only a table, a chair, and a wooden bed. Li Bai opened the desk drawer, taking out pen and paper, and recorded the method of cultivating the Spiritual Shield he learned today.

This had been his habit over the past three years. Without a spiritual root, his cultivation progress lagged behind his peers, so after each teaching session, Li Bai would record what he heard. Many things he couldn't practice now, but they would be useful for future study. Writing them down ensured he wouldn’t forget.

After finishing his notes, Li Bai carefully stored the notebook filled with techniques, then headed again to the Heart Refining Path at the back mountain. Following the passage down, he arrived at the spot he trained at two days prior.

The spiritual energy grew increasingly rich. Li Bai stopped walking—this was as far as he could venture safely; further along, the illusions would become more terrifying.

Suddenly, the scene changed. Before him spread a white world, frozen for a thousand miles, snow flying everywhere, with fierce winds howling.

Snow quickly buried his ankles, and in an instant, he felt frozen solid. A shiver ran through Li Bai’s heart. Was it true that the illusions were random? Last time, he endured the pain of being burned by fire; now it was endless cold.

He sat cross-legged in the snow without expression, beginning to absorb the spiritual energy around him.

He was soon frozen stiff, with his hair turned into icicles, yet he remained motionless in the snow. After twenty minutes, he left the illusion for a short rest, moving his body a bit, and as soon as he slightly recovered, he plunged back into cultivation.

...

The icy winds howled, and snowflakes coalesced into countless sharp ice blades flying toward Li Bai, but the youth remained steadfastly meditating on the ground like a rock.

Two days later, Li Bai stood up expressionlessly. After a moment of hesitation, he continued deeper into the Heart Refining Path. The purity of spiritual energy here was still insufficient to break through his bottleneck; he needed even purer spiritual energy and resolutely headed towards even more terrifying illusions...