A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Songzhu Peak, Tianzhu Hall.

As the central building of Qingzhumen, it is the most magnificent and imposing building in the entire Qingzhumen.

At this moment, several figures were sitting quietly in the main hall. On the throne in the center, an old man with white hair sat upright, his calm face showing a slight daze.

"Sect Master?"

Liu He, the chief elder of the Green Bamboo Sect who had been stationed at the Golden Bamboo Hall for many years, called out in a low voice.

Inside the Heavenly Bamboo Hall, many elders of the Green Bamboo Sect gathered together, all staring at the old man in the center. The white-haired old man was none other than Jin Yunfeng, the sect leader of the Green Bamboo Sect.

"Elder Liu, is the information from the outer sect accurate?"

"Reporting to the sect leader, the news was brought by Elder Ma's shadow guard, so it should be true. We should be able to see the child in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

Jin Yunfeng nodded and slowly closed his eyes, but the slight trembling of his hands on the armrests of the throne betrayed his inner turmoil.

The Azure Origin Technique has finally been mastered by someone...

Zhou Jing followed quietly behind Ma Liuyun. Just now, amidst the envious gazes of everyone, he was led out of the Transmission Pavilion by Elder Ma.

Although the reason is unknown, it must be related to the Qingyuan Gong he cultivates.

Ever since he learned that Elder Ma had cultivated the Azure Origin True Qi, Elder Ma had become a completely different person, acting strangely, which made Elder Ma feel uneasy.

"Young one, I just heard the other disciples call you 'Carefree' Boy? Why is that?"

Seemingly wanting to alleviate the boredom of the journey, Ma Liuyun asked curiously.

"Elder, because I became a blacksmith's apprentice in the Weapon Pavilion, I have a lot of free time, which has caused a lot of criticism."

Zhou Ping explained to the old man in front of him with a slightly helpless expression, unaware that Ma Liuyun, who was walking ahead, was trembling with fear.

"Hehe... Interesting, very interesting!"

Ma Liuyun awkwardly stroked his beard and quickly changed the subject.

"Baby, when we get there, just answer whatever they ask you. Don't be afraid, and you will receive your reward."

"Yes, disciple will remember."

Although Zhou Ping didn't quite understand, he was still excited after thinking about it. The reward Elder Ma was referring to must be becoming a formal disciple, right?

Imagining the martial arts treatment and salary of a formal disciple, Zhou Ping's mouth almost stretched to his ears. It was a blessing in disguise that his hard training during this period of time had not been in vain.

.........

In the Heavenly Bamboo Palace, Jin Yunfeng carefully examined the young man before him. After sensing the strange true energy within the latter's body, his eyes revealed deep admiration.

"Hahaha! Not bad, not bad at all. It's unlike any of the true qi in our sect. It must be the Azure Origin Technique!"

Inside the main hall, the elders had varying expressions as they watched the sect leader laughing heartily. Some were surprised and doubtful, some were puzzled, and most were curious.

The Qingyuan Technique originated from the Jin Clan deep in the mountains decades ago. It circulated within the inner sect for over a decade before being passed down to the outer sect, where more disciples had mastered it, due to the lack of success in its cultivation.

This knowledge has been passed down for decades. Throughout the entire Green Bamboo Sect, including its high-ranking members and ordinary disciples, everyone knows that there is a strange cultivation technique within the sect, passed down from an elder of the Jin Clan, yet no one has been able to master it.

Not only were the disciples and followers extremely curious about this, but even many elders and hall masters were not immune to it.

These elders and hall masters were all martial arts masters, each with their own unique martial arts skills. Naturally, they would not miss this unique technique from the Jin Clan.

After trying, everyone discovered that no one made any progress whatsoever, as if they were trying to master a celestial scripture.

These high-ranking officials were dissatisfied and questioned the Jin clan's intentions, wondering why they would create a "fake book" that could not be cultivated to fool their disciples.

Therefore, the elders of the Jin clan appeared at Songzhu Peak and listed in detail all the taboos associated with this skill.

Moreover, everyone learned from him that this skill had existed in the Jin clan for a hundred years.

Since the time of the Supreme Ancestor, no one from the Jin Clan has succeeded in cultivation. Their tragic fate is even worse than that of the high-ranking members of the Qingzhu Sect.

What exactly can this cultivation technique bring to the Jin Clan? Why would the clan spend over a hundred years searching for someone to cultivate it?

Now that someone has succeeded in cultivating it, it has naturally aroused the curiosity of everyone.

Zhou Ping stood straight in the main hall, the thump-thumping sound of his heart clearly reaching his ears.

From the conversation just now, he already knew that the white-haired old man in front of him was actually the famous sect leader of the Green Bamboo Sect!

"Don't be nervous. Once you've mastered this skill, according to the rules, you'll become a formal disciple of my Green Bamboo Sect."

Jin Yunfeng patted Zhou Ping on the shoulder, signaling him to relax, his admiration impossible to conceal.

"Thank you, Sect Master!"

Zhou Ping excitedly bowed to him as a disciple, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Seeing this, Ma Liuyun, who was standing to the side, gave a slight bow and hurriedly said,

"Sect Master, since that's the case, I intend to take this boy into my Flying Shadow Hall. What do you think?"

Before Jin Yunfeng could even speak, various dissenting voices arose from the surrounding crowd.

"Old Ma! You're quite the sly one. Why should this kid be in your Flying Shadow Hall? I think he's more suited to my Mad Blade Hall!"

A red-faced old man, with a fierce glare, immediately jumped out to stop him.

"Bah! You two shameless old bastards! The Qingyuan Gong is for cultivating one's character and prolonging life; it's perfectly suited to my Pharmacist Hall!"

"One of you is a brute who shouts for violence every day, and the other is a den of thieves who plots and schemes against people. How are you related to self-cultivation?!"

An elegant old man with a refined and otherworldly air, dressed in flowing robes, pointed at the two men and launched into a tirade of abuse, his words a stark contrast to his appearance.

Seeing that more people were about to join the scramble, Jin Yunfeng frowned and raised his hand in a gesture of suppression.

"Alright, alright, you're all getting on in years, why are you all acting like children!"

"None of you should interfere with Zhou Ping's future, not even the Jinzhutang!"

Why?

The old men were stunned when the sect leader spoke, and looked at him in confusion.

"Why? I'm afraid the clan will be coming soon, and this child will eventually have to go to the mountains."

Jin Yunfeng uttered a single word about the clan, and everyone present fell silent.

The Jin Clan, the rulers of the Green Bamboo Sect, are a powerful clan that has been in seclusion for many years, and the entire Green Bamboo Sect is under their control.

Even Jin Yunfeng, the leader of the Green Bamboo Sect, a powerful figure who could control everything in the martial arts world, was only from a branch of the Jin clan, and his status within the clan was only average.

These shrewd people naturally knew that Zhou Ping, who had mastered the Qingyuan Technique, must be involved in some unknown secret. The Jin Clan had been planning this for over a hundred years and would never allow anyone else to get involved.

"well......"

Ma Liuyun sighed deeply. He was the first to discover the matter, but he had no way to keep it a secret.

First, the Transmission Pavilion is full of people and spies, and there must be some spies planted by the Jin Clan in order to control the sect.

Furthermore, the secrets of the Qingyuan Technique are unknown to the entire Qingzhu Sect, including its leader Jin Yunfeng. Even if they secretly kept this boy, they would be guarding the treasure but unable to utilize it.

Jin Yunfeng seemed to have read his mind and secretly shook his head at him.

"There is no need to discuss whether this child should stay or leave. I sent someone to inform the mountain as soon as I received the news."

"After all, whether the cultivation technique is successful or not will ultimately be determined by the clan's assessment."

Jin Yunfeng gestured to his disciples to temporarily arrange for Zhou Ping to wait in a side hall.

Seeing that the outcome was decided, the elders and hall masters all rose to take their leave.

Only Ma Liuyun was left behind. After everyone else left, only two old men remained in the main hall, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Sect Leader, should we activate the hidden agents?"

"No rush. We must not act rashly before this matter is fully clarified."

"You've had the most contact with this boy, so go and give him a few pointers later. This is our only chance to make the first move, so we should do something about it."