Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 740 - 735 Rest and Recuperation I

Chapter 740: Chapter 735 Rest and Recuperation I

Many guests arrived to offer congrats. Most of them were from the networking circles of the Jiuqu Immortal Elder.

Some old friends from the Dragon Serpent Realm came too, some of whom lived too far to rush over in time when the incident occurred. Now, they all came forward to offer their congratulations.

There were also those who brought their nephews and nieces, hoping to take them on as disciples.

Yet, they were all politely refused by Dragon Serpent for the time being. It could be discussed later.

Achieving the status of a Heavenly Immortal greatly increased the demand for offerings from the creatures of the Land for God Worship, but it was not as simple as it was for an Earth Immortal.

The ascension ceremony of Dragon Serpent was dull and sleepy, devoid of any excitement, which also indicated that his realm had become thoroughly transparent.

He had even surpassed the threshold for advancing to the status of a Heavenly Immortal.

There were a total of only twenty Heavenly Venerables in Green Lake Mountain, which had been the status quo for tens of thousands of years.

Now, with one more, there were twenty-one Heavenly Venerables, intimidating the Myriad Realms.

Soon, the six departments would send down a title.

They titled Dragon Serpent as the Puhua Flame Heavenly Venerable, honoring him as one of the twenty-one Heavenly Venerables.

He was appointed the Vice President of the Scholar’s Grand Academy, one of the six departments.

He was given authority over the management of all kinds of research projects in every world under his jurisdiction.

As the only two disciples who stuck by him through thick and thin during troubled times, Lin Xin and Oro suddenly became highly sought-after shining cultivators.

The Immortal Banquet had just started, and dozens of invitations for future banquets had already been delivered to Lin Xin and Oro.

The two fellow disciples looked at each other and shared a wry smile.

Sitting at his seat, Lin Xin watched the mingling cultivators, with the personal attendance of two Heavenly Venerables and dozens of Earth Immortal Realm Masters coming together.

There were also a large number of accompanying disciples at the level of Human Immortals.

This could truly be considered a real Immortal Banquet.

They communicated with each other through spiritual thoughts, and the topics discussed were mostly related to the practice of Taoist Arts, incomprehensible to outsiders and likely to make them doze off.

"What’s the matter? Daoist Lin seems uninterested in the Immortal Banquet? This is the best opportunity to build connections."

Wei Yan came over with another delicate and beautiful female cultivator.

"Let me introduce her. This is my sister, Cave Master of the Everlasting Spring Cave, Fairy Chunmian."

Lin Xin smiled politely and started chatting with the two female cultivators.

When he mentioned that he was only a few hundred years old and had already broken through the threshold of the Earth Immortal Sect,

Fairy Chunmian’s eyes suddenly lit up as if she became more proactive.

Lin Xin inwardly sighed. Turning to look at his fellow disciple, Oro, the lava giant’s side was also surprisingly accompanied by two female Taoist cultivators cloaked in fierce flames.

Their presence suggested they were self-recommending as pillow companions, seeking dual-cultivation partners.

He couldn’t help but think of Lin Yaoyang and wondered how she was doing now. After this event was concluded, perhaps he could inquire about her situation through the Chanting Star Cult.

"Is Daoist Lin aware of the matters in the Qing Shan Realm?" asked Fairy Chunmian with a smile, her voice soft.

"The Qing Shan Realm?" Lin Xin had been unconnected from his subordinates and sealed in the main sect to recover from injuries, completely isolated from the outside world.

"That’s right."

Wei Yan also smiled.

"The Qing Shan Realm Master’s position was stripped, and he perished just a few days after returning. Now, the Qing Shan Realm is ruled by a cultivator named Shen Tang. That was where Daoist Lin started as a beginner. If interested, you might want to go have a look."

"Oh?"

Lin Xin was momentarily stunned, sensing an implication in her words.

"I’ve heard that even Qing Shan Realm Master’s eldest disciple died on the battlefield of the Void," said Fairy Chunmian softly. She knew that this kind of news would definitely interest Lin Xin.

********************

Six months later...

Qing Shan Realm.

"That’s all the elixirs for this month. Fairy, it’s not that we are making things difficult for you, it’s just that..."

Inside the research institute, Qiao Yu’s expression was somewhat sullen as she accepted the elixirs in her hand.

They were even fewer than the previous month.

Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, she managed a forced smile at the other party.

"It’s okay, thank you very much."

"Ah..." Within the research institute, the cultivator distributing the elixirs also sighed, feeling a sense of regret as he watched Qiao Yu, who was queuing to get her medicine.

Ever since Realm Master Shen Tang took power, he drastically reformed many local projects.

The entire Qing Shan Realm was quickly restaffed, with key positions taken over by the Shen Family.

All unnecessary expenditures were successively cut down.

In just over ten days, the entire Qing Shan Realm had completely undergone a massive turnover of personnel.

Old-timers like him were a rarity to keep their original positions.

Realm Master Shen Tang once promised to take good care of Fairy Qiao Yu, but now it seems that he had no intention of doing so.

Qiao Yu carried the elixirs and walked out of the institute, heading towards the outskirts nearby.

She lived not far from the institute, for the convenience of picking up her medicine.

Ever since she was revived by her Honored Master, her entire cultivation had disappeared, leaving only a trace of Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Her father’s Immortal Soul had also vanished.

The cultivation she had as a Human Immortal had gone without a trace.

And the fellow disciple who had long cherished her, perhaps having not seen her for a long time, also did not know if he was...

She didn’t know that the eldest senior brother had already died in battle on the Void battlefield, due to a massive demon spirit surprise attack.

The medicinal pills needed for her monthly cultivation practice were something she could barely afford now.

And the supply quota was being reduced again and again.

Clearly, Shen Tang had no intention of fulfilling the promises made to the Honored Master.

Things have changed beyond recognition...

After dying once, Qiao Yu felt as if reborn, no longer possessing an ounce of her former arrogance.

Each time she wanted to get angry, the image of that fierce figure crashing into the courtyard would surface in her mind.

And the anger in her heart would be doused like cold water being poured over her, falling silent.

After dying once, she also saw the true nature of this world.

Without cultivation, without her Honored Master and senior brothers, she was nothing at all.

Therefore, she began to strive hard, engaging in arduous cultivation. Sadly, her talent was too poor; despite taking the medicinal pills, her progress was slower than some Foundation Establishment Cultivators who didn’t use medicinal pills.

This pace of progress left her in despair.

Returning to her own courtyard, Qiao Yu stared blankly at the empty yard filled with fallen leaves. The Honored Master’s and senior brothers’ belongings had all been taken by Shen Tang.

In need of resources for cultivation without any source of income, she had sold everything she could sell from her home.

Now she couldn’t even afford enough medicinal pills...

At the thought, her heart suddenly felt sour, and waves of sadness overwhelmed her, tears streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Sometimes she wondered if she hadn’t skimmed off Lin Sherie’s medicinal pills and purposefully opposed him, what would the outcome be now.

Perhaps the Honored Master wouldn’t have suffered such a great loss of his life force in trying to save her...

She herself wouldn’t have fallen to such a state.

Thinking of the Honored Master, Qiao Yu wiped away her tears and dried her eyes.

"I still need to offer incense to the Honored Master..." But buying things to burn as offerings also requires money.

With her colossal monthly expenses, she had to carefully consider what to offer when burning incense for the Honored Master.

Having never suffered such deprivation from childhood to adulthood, Qiao Yu found her tears flowing uncontrollably once again.

What she didn’t know was that Shen Tang had been spying on her ever since he assumed power, suspecting that Qing Shan Realm Master had left her some treasures.

As a result, most of the things Qiao Yu bought were priced as extortionately as possible.

Many items were even sold at tenfold the price. Completely unfamiliar with this aspect and accustomed to living a life of privilege, she was fleeced without even realizing it.

Adding to that, her past reputation was so poor, and she had offended so many, that some even participated willingly in fleecing her.

Otherwise, how could the wealth and resources left to her by the Qing Shan Realm Master be depleted so quickly?

As the days passed with increasing hardship, Qiao Yu experienced both anger and pain, but no one was willing to entertain her complaints anymore.

Shen Tang was cold and ruthless, completely disregarding the trust placed in him by the former Qing Shan Realm Master, not even granting her an audience.

After a forceful attempt to see him, Qiao Yu was directly injured by the guarding Taoist soldiers and sent back to her courtyard.

She then cried for an entire day and night, her eyes swollen from weeping.

Eventually, she resigned herself to her fate.

Initially wanting to diligently pursue her cultivation practice, to improve her strength and avenge her Honored Master and senior brothers, she also fantasized countless times about dismembering Shen Tang in various torturous ways.

But that beautiful dream soon ended.

With her poor talent, advancing back to Human Immortal, without an extraordinary stroke of fortune, was something she might as well not even consider for her lifetime.

"I can’t stay in the Qing Shan Realm any longer." After crying for a while, she finally came to a realization. In this place, she was too ashamed to stoop to the tasks a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would take on. Every time she thought of doing something, she would be compelled to lower her head, cheeks burning under the gaze of familiar eyes.

"Continuing like this, without a source of income, I’ll be depleted. One day I’ll be penniless."

The Honored Master was gone, and the eldest senior brother was nowhere to be found.

Many of the cultivators in the Qing Shan Realm also made things difficult for her due to her past reputation. She could feel that something was off with the pricing.

The more Qiao Yu thought about it, the more certain she became. She began packing her belongings immediately.

That very day, taking her last bit of Spirit Jade, she silently left through the Qing Shan Realm’s long-distance Teleportation Formation, heading to the Mortal Realm.

Shen Tang later received the news, but he was currently swamped with a mess of affairs and couldn’t care less about what happened to Qiao Yu. Having been fleeced for so long without any treasures surfacing, he had lost interest. Killing her would not be savory, and her departure was actually a relief.

*********************

Lin Xin’s advancement to the Earth Immortal Realm spread rapidly among the cultivators keeping an eye on the Dragon Serpent Realm.

This disciple, who had switched from the Qing Shan Realm to the Dragon Serpent Realm, broke through to the Earth Immortal Realm in just a few hundred years.

Moreover, it was not the Dragon Serpent Realm he inherited that helped him ascend, but rather the Land for God Worship he had established on his own. This achievement already qualified him to be called a genius.

The Earth Immortal threshold was insurmountable for many cultivators.

Countless cultivators died trying to break through this barrier. But many more never even had the chance to attempt the breakthrough, failing to accumulate enough for the Land for God Worship before their time was up, dying and their Tao dissipating.

Human Immortals have a lifespan of just a few thousand years, while Earth Immortals can live beyond ten thousand years.

Ordinarily, to reach Human Immortal, one would need at least a thousand years, to reach Fifth Rank Perfection, several more millennia, and afterward, cultivating the Land for God Worship was a long and arduous task.

With only a few thousand years of life, promotion is impossible for anyone but a genius.

Lin Xin’s advancement drew many cultivators, seeking to visit and learn from him.

Becoming the disciple of a talented Earth Immortal was a commendable choice.

But Lin Xin only symbolically accepted a few post-kin of Daoist friends, whom he couldn’t refuse.

As for the rest, he already had enough disciples; taking on more would only waste his energy and time.

Lu Li, Wang Kongyan, and Wei Qing were the most outstanding among his disciples.