Longzang

Chapter 53 There Will Never Be a Next Time
Zhang Sheng was somewhat bewildered.

Since he achieved the foundation of his Dao, the Immortal Sword Zhanxu has never been used to its full potential; in several major battles, a single Azure Silk Rain sword was sufficient. Could it be that Zhanxu's first use was to cut through iron?
If the Legend of Sword and Fairy had a spirit, I wonder if it would be so angry that it would run away from home.

"Please, junior brother, make a move!" Yu Zhizhu urged again.

Zhang Sheng came to his senses. At this moment, he couldn't say he was sad, but rather felt inexplicably bewildered. He couldn't understand how he, a peerless genius with overflowing talent, who had always relied on his invincible Dao heart to rise against all odds, had ended up like this in his cultivation journey.

But Zhang Sheng was a man of his word. Since he had already accepted the task, there was no reason for him to go back on his promise. He sighed inwardly and shot out a thin gray sword aura from his left eye. It circled around like a dragon and returned to Zhang Sheng's eye in an instant.

The lump of metal remained still at first, but after a few moments, it made a few cracking sounds as several pieces on the surface slowly slid off, revealing a square core material inside.

Yu Zhizhuo didn't even have time to thank Zhang Sheng. He rushed over and carefully examined the smooth, mirror-like surface of the cube, his face almost touching it.

He held onto the cube tightly, repeatedly saying "good" and then bursting into laughter, occasionally kissing it, completely forgetting about Zhang Sheng.

Fortunately, a knowledgeable disciple from the Heavenly Crafts Hall brought over a heavy silver bag, preventing Zhang Sheng from turning hostile on the spot.

After receiving the silver, Zhang Sheng turned and left.

Yu Zhizhuo then realized what was happening and quickly caught up, saying repeatedly, "Junior Brother is truly talented! Your reputation as the 'Slaying Void Sword' is well-deserved! Our Heavenly Crafts Hall desperately needs your immortal sword, Junior Brother. We will undoubtedly need your help again in the future..."

"There will never be a next time!" Zhang Sheng answered resolutely, then soared into the sky and disappeared in an instant.

A moment later, Zhang Sheng entered the Temple of Creation, handed over the silver pouch he had just received, and in return received three light bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills. After another visit to Wei Yuan's courtyard, Zhang Sheng was once again penniless.

He looked up at the moon, bewildered: What kind of immortality is this?

Wei Yuan was also bewildered, not understanding why he had been scolded when his studies had clearly improved significantly. Was it because he hadn't told Zhang Sheng's fortune?
These past few days, Wei Yuan had been diligently practicing divination, casting several hexagrams for Zhang Sheng every day, almost depleting his own vital energy. However, the hexagrams were largely the same, all indicating financial loss. Therefore, since Zhang Sheng didn't mention divination today, Wei Yuan was happy to keep quiet.

A few days later.

On the way up the mountain from Tiangong Temple, Yu Zhizhuo smiled broadly and introduced the scenery to Zhang Sheng along the way.

A moment later, the two appeared in a side hall. Yu Gong pointed to a piece of metal about the size of a palm and a finger's thickness on the table and said, "I would like to trouble you, junior brother, to cut this into one hundred pieces."

In the side hall, there were also more than a dozen curious disciples from the Heavenly Crafts Hall, waiting to catch a glimpse of the Immortal Sword.

The gray haze flashed and disappeared in the air.

Zhang Sheng said calmly, "One hundred and fifty pieces, you're welcome."

"Hey? It's too thin! I'll have to ask my junior brother to cut it again! Hey you, what are you looking at? I'm talking to you! Go to the storeroom and get another piece!"

After reprimanding his disciple, Yu Zhizhuo said to Zhang Sheng, "I'm truly sorry, it's my fault for not explaining clearly earlier. However, I have another important use for this piece, so this time I will give my junior brother double the reward! Someone!"

A knowledgeable disciple from the Heavenly Crafts Hall brought up a large silver bag.

Upon seeing the size of the silver pouch, the murderous intent in Zhang Sheng's eyes vanished without a trace.

A few days later.

Yu Zhizhuo was full of excitement, rubbing his hands together and saying, "This piece of Thunder Dragon Wood is extremely rare! I'll have to trouble you, Junior Brother, to cut it into shreds!" At this moment, a knowledgeable disciple from the Heavenly Crafts Hall naturally carried up a silver bag.

A few more days.

"Junior brother, please look! This tea leaf has been growing for 27,000 years and is a peerless treasure! Next month is the Ancestral Master's birthday banquet. Please carve this 'Spring Banquet Picture' onto it and add a peony, which is the Ancestral Master's favorite flower!"

Upon seeing the silver bag carried up by the two sensible disciples, Zhang Sheng drew his immortal sword and began carving flowers on the tea.

A few more days.

Zhang Sheng threw a bag of Peiyuan Pills in front of Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan seemed preoccupied, which naturally did not escape Zhang Sheng's keen observation, so he impatiently said, "Speak quickly if you have something to say!"

Wei Yuan knew that his teacher had been irritable lately, but since it concerned cultivation, he couldn't remain silent, so he said, "Disciple's cultivation has not been going well recently, and I feel that there are some problems."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Sheng, who had just chopped a piece of ancient dragon meat into mince, suddenly flew into a rage, raising his voice eight octaves: "What right do you have to complain about your cultivation?"

Wei Yuan was stunned, unsure how to reply. Isn't it normal to encounter setbacks in cultivation? What kind of genius would always have smooth sailing?
Zhang Sheng realized his reaction was wrong, suppressed his agitation, and softened his voice, saying, "It's normal to encounter difficulties in cultivation, don't panic. Tell me about it carefully first."

Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that this was his teacher. However, another voice rose in his heart: That was his teacher's true nature just now!
Wei Yuan quickly cleared that voice from his mind and then said, "My visualization diagram is more than eight times the size of the largest ever recorded, in every direction. According to the method taught by Teacher Tiandi Lun, I calculated that my visualization diagram is at least five hundred times larger than my classmates'. These days I have consulted many classic texts and found that the progress of cultivating the body forging technique for ten days, or taking a Qi-Nourishing Pill, is about the same as others in terms of filling the visualization diagram. However, my physical strength is only equivalent to seven or eight times that of an ordinary disciple. In other words, five hundred times the medicinal power has gone unnoticed."

"So that's what it was!" Zhang Sheng chuckled, tapping Wei Yuan on the head with a metallic echo, and said, "You're still not satisfied with a physical body seven or eight times stronger than others? What more do you want? This is the Primordial Palace! Hmm? Wait, how come your physical body is only seven or eight times stronger? What are you comparing it to?"

“A Heavenly Foundation disciple of the Mingwang Palace.” Wei Yuan said with a worried expression.

The Mingwang Hall of Taichu Palace specializes in physical cultivation techniques. Its disciples' Dao foundations are mostly mountains, boulders, or Vajra, making their physical bodies incredibly strong, comparable to those of Buddhist monks.

Zhang Sheng remained silent for a moment before saying, "Perhaps the amount of spiritual energy that leaked out wasn't as much as you think. You should be alright. I'll go ask my teacher and give you an answer in a few days."

A moment later, the Burning Sea Immortal appeared in front of Wei Yuan.

"What went wrong with your cultivation? Quickly, let Grandmaster take a look!" Master Fenhai didn't stop for a moment, carefully examining Wei Yuan's body.

However, after several hours, Master Fenhai still couldn't figure out where the spiritual energy had gone. The only thing he was sure of was that the medicinal effects of the spiritual energy were still in Wei Yuan's body.

Finally, Master Fenhai concluded that perhaps Wei Yuan couldn't digest so much medicinal power temporarily, so the excess was being stored somewhere, but this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Master Fenhai would go back and consult the classics, and if there was anything he didn't understand, he would ask True Monarch Xuanyue for guidance, allowing Wei Yuan to continue his cultivation without worrying about anything else.

As the Burning Sea Immortal left, Wei Yuan seemed to see a hint of resentment in Zhang Sheng's eyes.

With the words of the Burning Sea Immortal, Wei Yuan felt much more at ease and continued to consume pills and absorb moonlight.

In the visualization, moonlight surges forth, too much for the jade toad to consume; the excess moonlight transforms into a misty drizzle. The ground is gradually and meticulously filled in, transforming from illusion into reality.

As the moonlight shone through the air, Wei Yuan suddenly sensed something extra in the full moon. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that a shadow had appeared within it.

Extraterrestrial fortune!

(End of this chapter)