The entire younger generation had left the outer sect; they were nearly out of the territory of the entire sect itself. The atmosphere was extremely jovial. People laughed with each other, and made jokes.

“This feels so great!” Ferjuz said to his brothers. “We finally got one over on those bastards.”

Johan laughed. “Just think about it. Right now they’ll be hunched over some holes, wishing they had never gone against us.

“They deserve it.” Tybalt said. “Think about how many times they took advantage of us. Really, I have to thank you Dalian. If it wasn’t for you, we would still be suffering.” he continued.

Dalian shook his head. “Thanks aren’t needed between brothers.”

“Right.” Tybalt said, mentally chastising himself.

The four continued to banter about whilst leading a crowd of nearly fifty through the forest, onward to their destination.

—

On their third day of travel, they settled to cultivate, as they had done every day. Just because they were on a mission didn’t mean that Dalian intended to allow them to slack off.

What had been the purpose of scamming the senior generation out of their points? It wasn’t so that he could have a big number on his card. No. In fact, his point card had nothing on it at the moment. He had spent it all at the treasury.

The first thing he had bought was the 1000 point qi enhancer. His generation desperately needed it in order to advance to the senior’s level. Still, Dalian wasn’t confident whether that would be enough to close the gap, so he had gotten some other items as well.

Firstly, for Johan, he had bought the Sonnet Sword. He had been over the moon when he received it, and had immediately set out to practise his light infusion technique.

For Tybalt, he had gotten something a little special. It was a ring that could store qi to be used at one’s will. But rather than letting him put his own in, Dalian inserted his own life qi. This meant that his training speed in the body cultivation manual wouldn’t be limited by his body’s recovery rate, and he could instead keep going as long as he desired. Of course, he would have to come back for Dalian to fill it up; but that only took a couple of minutes to create a charge that lasted two days.

Then, for Ferjuz, he had also gotten him a ring. It restricted the amount of qi which could leave his body. Originally meant for keeping cultivators captive, it was perfect for allowing him to practise his Light Shot technique without becoming gassed out after only two.

Finally, for the rest of the group, he had gotten them some qi gathering pills. They weren’t too helpful, but combined with the qi enhancer, they would hopefully be able to make a serious dent in opening their second gate.

Speaking of the second gate, as Dalian brought his mind back to cultivating; he noticed something peculiar. Within his spirit root, the Immortal Creation Orb was emitting… a feeling. Thinking that strange because an inanimate object couldn’t possibly be alive, Dalian realised what was happening. Rather than an emotion, it was sending out a signal. One which he was understanding meant he was ready to advance.

Looking at the qi within his neidan, it had certainly reached the point that the Nine Life Scripture demanded before opening the next gate. It was dense enough that it should be able to break through.

Thanking the heavens for giving him the opportunity to come across such a blessed treasure. Dalian began gathering qi and vital energy within his neidan. Unlike using a technique, breaking through was a simple accumulation of power. If you had enough, you could advance. If not; well, you were out of luck, and would have to try again when you had recovered.

There was also a factor that one could only attempt to break through so many times. After the first attempt, your neidan would begin to be damaged with each go. Failing once wouldn’t hinder someone’s chances of reaching foundation building, but more? They would never be able to reach it in their lifetime. Of course, that was for the regular person. If you wanted to reach past core formation, as Dalian did, you couldn’t fail a single time.

He was afraid of ruining his chances, perhaps it would be best to give it a week to make sure he was definitely ready. However, he cast aside his fear. It was time to trust in the treasure which had brought him this far.

Gathering every bit of energy he had into his neidan, he took a deep breath and pushed his qi into the second gate as hard as possible. In one motion, it crashed through, destroying the gate. In the attack, most of his qi faded away, leaving only a few scraps. Even those began to grow more diffuse as they spread through the newly acquired space.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Opening his eyes, he saw the rest of the group looking at him with reverence. He locked eyes with the boy sitting next to him.

“Dalian.” said Johan, “Did you just advance?”

Dalian nodded curtly.

The group immediately had looks of shock appear on their faces, before they began cheering. Relief was spreading through, now that they had someone at the second gate who could protect them

“Alright, calm down!” Dalian shouted. “If you have energy to celebrate, then you have energy to cultivate. Imagine the feeling when you open the second gate, and use that to motivate you.”

They listened to his words, and excitedly set back into cultivation.

—

It took ten days, but they finally reached the Wood Spirit Union Sect. Or at least the borders. It was very clear that their journey was over; where there were normal oaks, they suddenly became very different. With ash trunks, and purple and green leaves, it was evident that the biome had changed.

Dalian stepped over the delineating line of soil and was immediately met by an intense freshness. It was slightly minty, but also had the aroma of flowers. He felt himself relax in the atmosphere. As the others entered, they too had similar reactions. It reminded him of the life-attuned area. Though, it lacked the abundant life qi of that place.

Just as he was shutting his eyes to really feel the ambience, a few branches from the trees suddenly moved. With a crack, they whipped the disciples!

As their momentum swept through, the group was sent flying. Dalian and a few others were able to brace themselves and only be pushed back a few metres, but the rest had been put out of action.

Dalian cursed inwardly, of course it couldn’t be simple. The journey had been too easy for them so far. He looked around at those still on their feet; about thirty. They had all begun to activate their techniques, and the battlefield immediately erupted as flashes of light appeared all around.

The branches were coming for their second attack, and the disciples released their techniques. Arrows, daggers, and other shapes of light were sent out. As they met the wood, they fizzled into nothingness. Dalian looked at his brothers to see how they were.

Tybalt had bent his knees and was holding a branch in place. As it was motionless, Johan swung a glowing sword over his head, cutting cleanly through it.

To the left of them, Ferjuz shot an enormous ball of light at the base of a branch. A huge chunk of the wood was immediately burnt away. Unfortunately the qi construct faded away before it could completely dismember the wooden limb. However, it could only floppily hold on, and was basically out of commission.

Dalian nodded. They could still win this fight and leave the forest to regroup.

Perhaps he had thought too early, because he suddenly felt something tighten around his legs. He looked down and saw thick roots ensnaring him. Trying to move them gave no result.

Shit. Was he really going to have to use the technique Alano had given him? He hadn’t practised for long, with everything which had been going on. So he couldn’t completely control it. If he used it, then his allies might be affected as well.

As he internally debated it, the branches began to pull back to go for another swing; and this time there would be no defence. He clenched his teeth and decided to use it.

He quickly made some hand signs, and bent down to grab the roots. Immediately a gargantuan amount of life qi flowed into his arms. It was too much for his meridians to bear, and he promptly began venting it into a sphere outside his body.

Although it seemed like pure life qi, it was really mixed with nature qi, making it impossible for him to absorb into his dantian.

The branches began to swing, but they were rapidly decelerating, until they came to a stop just in front of him. They began to wither, and the people around Dalian collapsed to their knees, their faces pale.

He was going to continue to be safe, but he heard a shout. “Stop! Don’t kill them!”

Several men and women wearing green robes jumped down from the trees.

Still, Dalian didn’t stop yet.

“You’re a part of the Azure Light Sect? We’re allies, why are you attacking us?” A woman said.

“Attacking you? I’m defending my allies from these murderous trees.” Dalian replied, monotone.

“They are under our control. Just stop and this can all be sorted out.” She replied quickly.

Dalian weighed the options. For some reason they had decided to attack him and his friends. That was unacceptable. Still, he was on a mission, and he represented the sect; he couldn’t continue when it had been made clear the trees were the property of the Wood Spirit Union Sect.

Letting out a sigh, he let go of the roots. He stood up and put his hands to the massive sphere of qi.

“You had better give me a good reason for why you attacked us, or well…” He looked at the ball. “You don’t want to find out.”

“Why did we attack you? Maybe it was because you came to our borders with a war party fifty men strong.” She said.

Dalian let out an ‘ahh’, as he realised what had happened. “I can see there’s been a mistake. We aren’t here to attack your sect, rather we are all completing one mission.”

The woman seemed to understand, before a look of confusion covered her face. “One mission?”

Dalian laughed. "I guess this won’t be needed.” He said, before launching the sphere into the sky. Once it was fifty metres high, it exploded in a brilliant cloud ten metres across.

Everyone was speechless, leaving Dalian to continue. “Do you have a place we can talk?”

The woman was still in shock, before she hurriedly spoke. “Of course! Please come with me!”