A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

The Xuan Yuan Five Elements Temple originated in the Liang Kingdom and existed in the world for tens of thousands of years. However, for some unknown reason, at its peak, it suddenly split into five, becoming the five major Xuan Sects of today.

As for the reasons for its split, there are many different opinions in the cultivation world, but in general, there are only two possibilities: one is that the invasion of foreign enemies caused great damage to the vitality of Xuan Yuan Five Elements Temple, which led to the disintegration of its internal forces.

Another view holds that the Five Elements Temple's patriarch, the Five Extremes Dao Lord, with his unparalleled cultivation at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage, bravely ventured into the Divine Transformation Tribulation with a heaven-defying treasure.

After failing to transcend the tribulation, he died and his cultivation vanished. His disciples from the five lineages were thrown into chaos. In the struggle for control of the sect, they refused to yield to each other and eventually split into five, each establishing its own sect.

The truth of these rumors has become impossible to verify over time.

But one thing is certain: the five major sects that dominate the cultivation world of Liang Kingdom today did indeed originate from the original Xuan Yuan Five Elements Temple.

These five major sects are: Qinglian Sect, Taisu Sect, Chilian Sect, Huangting Sect, and Bihua Sect.

The relationship between these five sects is extremely complex. Since their split thousands of years ago, they have been at odds with each other, and their competition is particularly fierce.

However, when resisting the immortal cultivation forces outside of Liang Kingdom, they can unite as one, with each sect contributing to the other, and work together. The cultivation techniques and secret arts of the five sects are of the same origin and have an extremely powerful combined force.

This led to a strange phenomenon: the five sects fought to the death in the cultivation world of Liang Kingdom, but in the eyes of cultivation forces outside Liang Kingdom, they appeared to be an alliance of the five sects, and no one dared to provoke them easily.

Besides these five overlords, there are some cultivation sects in the Liang Kingdom's cultivation world that are slightly weaker, and the rest are cultivation families that are dependent on various cultivation sects.

Almost all those that are well-known are included in the above categories. As for some smaller sects and forces, there are many, but most of them are not noticed by the mainstream cultivation forces and have little presence in Liang Kingdom.

For example, the Tongyang Temple, to which Tongxin Daoren was a disciple, belongs to this type of sect. It is far inferior to some cultivation families and can only barely survive in the cruel world of cultivation.

In addition, there is another type of cultivation force that transcends the five major sects. Its strength is formidable, and it is present in almost every country and cultivation world. Few dare to provoke it.

Guiyuan Dao is one of them. Its Guiyuan Pavilion is located in every corner of the cultivation world, and it has amassed a huge amount of cultivation resources for its parent sect.

As for its mother sect, Guiyuan Dao, it is extremely powerful, and even if the five major Xuanzong sects joined forces, they would still find it difficult to match.

The Guiyuan Sect, with its immense power, was able to conduct business throughout the entire cultivation world without incident. Besides its formidable strength, the most important factor was its sect's philosophy of valuing harmony and refraining from intrusion or disturbance.

Guiyuan Dao was founded on business and rarely participated in the resource competition among various sects. On the surface, it was a large, neutral sect.

Aside from matters involving the appearance of top-secret treasures from the cultivation world or treasure hunting in well-known secret realms, it rarely gets involved in disputes between a single country or the cultivation world.

Therefore, the existence of Guiyuan Dao is not offensive. On the contrary, its developed commercial system provides extremely convenient trading channels for the exchange and distribution of resources throughout the cultivation world.

Zhou Ping snapped out of his thoughts, narrowed his eyes, and stared toward the doorway.

A series of footsteps came from outside the door, and after sensing them, it seemed they were heading towards his room.

"Knock knock knock..."

A soft knock came at the door, followed by a tentative voice.

"Brother Zhou, is that you inside?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping was taken aback. After recognizing the voice for a moment, a look of realization appeared on his face.

It seems the other party recognized him after all. Although he didn't intend to acknowledge them at the time, he didn't deliberately avoid them either.

Looking back now, that fleeting glimpse at Guiyuan Pavilion has left a lasting impression on Chen Dafu.

"Young Master Chen, please come in."

Zhou Ping said softly, "Since they've come to us, it would be unreasonable to turn them away. After all, we're from the same sect, and it wouldn't be good to make things too awkward."

As for his faked death, if it were to be exposed here, he would no longer be worried.

Just now, he learned some detailed information about Guiyuan Pavilion.

Of the five floors of Guiyuan Pavilion, one floor is dedicated to providing free accommodation for cultivators from all over the world.

Each residence is equipped with a special defensive array, which will automatically take defensive measures in the event of any form of attack.

Furthermore, the high-level Guiyuan Dao cultivators stationed here will immediately detect it, greatly ensuring the safety of those who stay. Moreover, there are no listening or monitoring arrays set up, and there is no need to worry about personal privacy being leaked.

Guiyuan Pavilion's reputation resounds throughout the entire cultivation world. For countless years, it has never engaged in any despicable acts such as seizing treasures or using its power to oppress others, earning the deep trust of the vast majority of cultivators.

Moreover, each residence was specially equipped with the earth's vein fire necessary for alchemy and weapon crafting, greatly facilitating the daily alchemy and weapon crafting needs of cultivators.

Therefore, Zhou Ping had already planned that whether it was the acquisition of spiritual plants in the future or the final refining of pills, everything would be inseparable from the convenient conditions provided by Guiyuan Pavilion.

Therefore, he will soon leave this place and settle in Guiyuan Pavilion.

Even if your identity is exposed, there is no need to worry. All fighting is prohibited in Guiyuan Pavilion. Violators will be killed by high-level cultivators. This is a well-known rule in the cultivation world.

At that time, he will be residing in Guiyuan Pavilion, so even if the worst-case scenario occurs, there will be no need to worry.

Since Guiyuan Pavilion provides such convenient conditions for many cultivators, it must have something in mind; it's impossible for it to be so generous without expecting anything in return.

This brings us to the most important part of Guiyuan Pavilion: Guiyuan Auction House.

The auction house is located on the third floor of Guiyuan Pavilion, with the entire floor dedicated to the auction.

Every so often, Guiyuan Pavilion holds an auction here.

At that time, regardless of what is being auctioned, once a transaction is completed, Guiyuan Pavilion will take a commission of 10% to 20% of the transaction price, and the remainder will go to the seller.

It is said that for some extremely precious treasures, Guiyuan Pavilion also has to provide security and publicity, while also bearing great risks. The commission rate will be even more outrageous, sometimes even reaching as much as 30% of the transaction price.

With the existence of Guiyuan Auction House, Guiyuan Pavilion can truly be said to have made a fortune and amassed a huge wealth.

Therefore, the costs they paid were nothing compared to the exorbitant profits of the auction houses.