262: Comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable!

Time flew by, and when the Scripture Pavilion's great doors opened again, three months had already passed.

Lu Ming slowly walked out, his aura growing deeper and more restrained, as if Dao patterns flowed and flickered in his eyes before finally returning to serenity.

"Hoo~"

He subconsciously exhaled a breath of turbid Qi.

However, after leaving his body, this breath suddenly transformed into a white Qi vortex, crashing against the mountain walls on both sides, causing gravel to fall with a rustling sound.

Such a commotion immediately startled True Person Tianxing, who was handling affairs in the main hall.

He gazed at the back mountain, and his figure flickered, disappearing.

When he reappeared, he was already above the valley.

Seeing that it was Lu Ming who had emerged from seclusion, True Person Tianxing's tense expression finally relaxed.

"Brother Han, you've come out of seclusion... uh."

But just as he was about to step forward to greet him, his expression suddenly stiffened.

He could clearly feel the extremely condensed and vast aura emanating from Lu Ming.

True Person Tianxing's words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

This Spiritual Pressure, which was almost crossing a critical point... this, this, this... he broke through already?

How long has it been since he achieved Golden Core? At most, it's only been a few years!

However, True Person Tianxing quickly calmed down, then quickly concentrated and sensed again, only then slightly sighing in relief.

Good, good, he's still one step away... What the hell!

His magic power was full and at Perfection, his Dao Foundation was incredibly stable, and his aura was profound and long-lasting; this was clearly the manifestation of the peak of the Early Stage Golden Core!

As long as he quietly entered seclusion for ten-odd years, breaking through to Mid-stage Golden Core would be a natural progression!

For a moment, the envy and jealousy in True Person Tianxing's eyes were almost overflowing.

Look at him, then look at himself.

Alas! The more he said, the more tears would flow!

His talent was actually not bad, otherwise, he wouldn't have become a Golden Core Immortal Master as a Loose Cultivator.

Ever since he started to Cultivate, he broke through Foundation Establishment before the age of knowing fate, and then even attained Golden Core at one hundred and fifty years old!

But ever since he became a Golden Core, his Cultivation speed slowed down to a snail's pace.

It took him a full two hundred years to go from Early Stage Golden Core to Mid-stage Golden Core! Now he was five hundred years old, yet still stuck in Mid-stage Golden Core!

But what about him? He only went into seclusion for a few months, and he's already about to Break through!

Truly, comparing people only leads to frustration!

For a moment, True Person Tianxing couldn't help but think, "Is Cultivating Demonic Technique really that useful?"

In the past, he would never have had this thought.

After all, although Demonic Technique is quick to achieve, the price is well-known.

Either their Heart-Nature is corroded, making them violent and bloodthirsty, or their Foundation is unstable, leading to an endless stream of Heart Demons.

Even more terrifying are the backlash from the Cultivation Technique; minor cases result in severed Meridians, while severe cases lead to the complete destruction of the Divine Soul. In short, each outcome is more tragic than the last, truly an inauspicious end.

But look at Fellow Daoist Han; when he's not fighting, his aura is upright and peaceful, and coupled with his dignified appearance, anyone who sees him would praise him as a Righteous Path paragon. Where is there even a hint of a Demonic Cultivator?

For a moment, True Person Tianxing even suspected that the person who initially spread the saying, "Cultivating Demonic Technique makes it difficult to achieve the Great Dao," must have had ulterior motives, using it to deter later generations.

Otherwise, how could you explain this strange phenomenon before his eyes? Clearly, there's no problem at all!

Alas, it made him feel a bit tempted.

However, Lu Ming's significant increase in strength was indeed a good thing for the current situation.

True Person Tianxing suppressed his distracting thoughts, stepped forward, and sincerely clasped his hands in congratulations.

"Congratulations, Brother Han, on your great increase in Cultivation! With this, we have gained a few more points of certainty in dealing with Mu Han!"

Lu Ming waved his hand, noncommittal to the flattery, and directly cut to the chase: "What's the situation now?"

True Person Tianxing thought he was asking about the Qingxuan Sect, so he replied directly.

"With Hong Ci and the others helping, the Qingxuan Sect is basically stable. As for the original Disciples, I used some methods to win over a group of those who knew what was good for them, and divided a group of the indecisive ones. As for the remaining stubborn ones who were devoted to Cheng Qingxuan..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping towards Ji Ruge, who was shrouded in black mist, his aura even more sinister.

"They have 'suddenly' awakened and willingly followed Fellow Daoist Ji, pledging loyalty to the 'Human Emperor'."

Hearing this, Lu Ming's mouth twitched: "Good heavens, you've become humorous too."

However, he still nodded slightly, not caring about the fate of those people. He then asked.

"What about Cloud Thunder Pavilion?" Lu Ming continued to ask.

"Everything is normal on Fellow Daoist Ancestor Yun Chen's side; he hasn't detected any abnormalities here. However, how to proceed next still requires Brother Han to set a plan," True Person Tianxing replied.

Lu Ming already had a plan for this while he was still in the Scripture Pavilion.

"I plan to set up the 'Nine Palaces Spirit-Locking Grand Formation' at the old site of Ji Imperial City. However, ordinary Formations probably won't be able to trap Mu Han, so nine Magic Treasures are needed as Formation bases to stabilize the Formation.

My white jade spirit boat can occupy one position, but other Magic Treasures have their own uses, so Fellow Daoist Ancestor Yun Chen's strong support is needed."

The Nine Palaces Mountain-Shifting Formation Art originally belonged to True Person Tianxing, so he naturally knew the function of the Nine Palaces Spirit-Locking Grand Formation.

This was a third-tier top-grade trapping Formation, and its purpose was exactly as its name suggested: using the Nine Palaces as a prison to lock down true spirits.

In short: "Close the door and beat the dog!"

Once activated, it would lock down all spatial fluctuations within the Formation. Any escape techniques, Talismans, and even some Magic Treasures and Divine Abilities involving spatial displacement would be suppressed, or even completely nullified.

This was also Lu Ming's way of preventing another incident like Shen Yuan's previous "golden cicada shedding its shell."

However, the prerequisite was that the nine palace Formation bases could not use inferior Materials, otherwise the effect would be greatly reduced.

So, when he heard about this Formation, True Person Tianxing understood Lu Ming's plan, but he looked troubled and said.

"Brother Han, setting aside whether Fellow Daoist Ancestor Yun Chen possesses so many Magic Treasures, even if he does, he might not be willing to lend them..."

How much of a boost Magic Treasures provided to Golden Core Cultivators was evident from Lu Ming.

Ordinary people wouldn't be willing to lend them out.

"No matter! Go ask first, and if it doesn't work, we'll discuss it again!" Lu Ming waved his hand, then said.

"By the way, you can tell him that if he is willing to lend his treasures, then during the encirclement and killing of Mu Han, he won't need to personally intervene and risk danger. He only needs to provide the Magic Treasures, and afterwards, I will allocate him an additional 10% of the profits! And he won't have to do anything, just enjoy the benefits!"

Asking others to act certainly couldn't be decided with just a few words; the distribution of benefits definitely needed to be discussed.

So, it was agreed at the time that if the Qingxuan Sect participated in the war, then after the matter was settled, they would divide the Immortal Dynasty's territory and resources into four parts.

Now that the Qingxuan Sect wasn't participating, it would be divided among True Person Tianxing, Cloud Thunder Pavilion, and Lu Ming.

Therefore, Lu Ming further promised 10% of the resources to Cloud Thunder Pavilion, and wouldn't even require the other party to participate in the battle. He didn't believe Ancestor Yun Chen wouldn't be tempted.

Moreover, Lu Ming sincerely believed that one more Golden Core Ancestor Yun Chen might not be as practical as a few Magic Treasures!

"Ten percent? Isn't that too much... Alas, fine!"

True Person Tianxing felt a little sour, but after thinking about his own meager family fortune, he didn't say anything more.

However, he thought of something else and immediately asked: "Mu Han probably won't just stand by and watch us set up the Formation. If he runs away, wouldn't we be doing useless work?"

"You don't have to worry about that." Lu Ming's lips curved into a cold arc. "He can't escape!"

Seeing Lu Ming's confidence, True Person Tianxing was puzzled. "Why is that?"

"Because I have used a secret technique to cause his Qi and blood to become chaotic and his Heart Demons to proliferate. He doesn't have time to deal with us right now."

During these three months, Lu Ming hadn't let Mu Han have any peace.

Through the golden book, he had transferred all the numerous backlashes from devouring Cheng Qingxuan and others to Mu Han.

At the same time, he also found several extremely backlash-heavy methods in the Scripture Pavilion.

For example, the Blood Fiend Shattering Origin Finger, which required burning one's vital essence blood to activate, caused pain as if ten thousand ants were gnawing at one's heart during Cultivation.

There was also the Reverse Meridian Mountain Crushing Seal, which, though powerful in attack, caused one's Meridians to endure a reverse Power of Strike during its execution, as if being torn apart inch by inch.

He had also 'gifted' Mu Han the intense pain and chaotic magic power generated during the Cultivation of these methods.

So, at this moment, Mu Han was probably hiding somewhere in Ji Imperial City, frantically suppressing the endless hidden dangers within his body.

He was too preoccupied to care about anything else.

As for what Lu Ming called a Demonic Path secret technique, don't ask! It's just a secret technique, anyway.