A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Sword-Forging Servant and Ascending to Immorta

Just as Old Qin was about to put the wine jug into his mouth, his movement abruptly stopped in mid-air.

The old man put down the wine pot and turned to stare intently at Zhou Lingxuan.

"What did you just ask?"

"After becoming a formal disciple, can I still stay in the abandoned hall?"

Old Qin circled Zhou Lingxuan halfway around, reached out and pinched his arm, then tried to feel his pulse. Zhou Lingxuan stepped aside.

"Confess honestly," Old Qin said in a low voice. "Have you reached the threshold of the Qi Refining Realm?"

Zhou Lingxuan neither admitted nor denied it.

"I knew it! You old codger, you were definitely hiding your true abilities!"

Old Qin slapped his thigh.

"With your physical foundation, plus the sword energy you forced out while forging iron today, you're not far off from reaching the Qi Refining stage, even if you haven't quite reached it!"

Old Qin stroked his beard and began to plan for him.

"If you want to stay in the abandoned hall, it's very simple."

"What the sect values ​​is the roster. As long as you don't go to the inner sect's affairs hall to exchange your outer sect wooden plaque for a jade one, and don't collect your regular disciple's allowance, who cares what your cultivation level is?"

"The inner sect elders don't even come to this godforsaken place like the Abandoned Hall once a year. As long as you don't fly around on your sword in front of people, even if you cultivate to the Golden Core stage here, you'll still be a menial servant on the roster."

Zhou Lingxuan nodded.

As long as you don't follow the official procedures, no one will investigate.

Seeing that he had taken it to heart, Old Qin took two steps closer and, in a low voice, offered a big bait.

"Brother Zhou, if you have truly reached the Qi Refining Realm, why not consider taking it a step further?"

"What step should we take?"

"The steward," Old Qin said, pointing to the depths of the abandoned hall. "My young master's sword heart has been unleashed. Once his cultivation recovers, we'll eventually leave this wretched place and return to the inner sect."

"With the young master gone, the position of steward of the abandoned hall is now vacant."

"When the time comes, the young master will just give the order to the steward's hall, and they'll promote you directly. With the status of steward, you'll not only receive extra spirit stones and pills every month, but you'll also be in charge of all the miscellaneous tasks in the abandoned hall. Isn't that better than you burning garbage by the fire pit every day?"

Zhou Lingxuan twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Not interested."

"How can you be so ungrateful?" Old Qin glared. "The manager doesn't have to do any work, and still gets the benefits!"

"The manager has to deal with the people from the inner sect. And every month he has to hand over accounts to the Weaponry Hall and the Alchemy Hall." Zhou Lingxuan waved his hand. "I find it too troublesome. I'd rather just carry out the garbage every day to keep things clean."

He turned around, picked up his outer robe that had slipped to his feet, dusted it off, and put it on.

"Alright, I have to get back to work."

Old Qin grabbed his sleeve.

"Are you still going to the Pill Hall?"

"Go ahead."

"Has your brain been damaged by sword energy?!"

Old Qin pointed to the bloodstains on the ground.

"They've even used teleportation talismans; it's clearly a dead end. If you go over there now, what if there's an ambush?"

Zhou Lingxuan pulled his sleeve back.

"There won't be any ambushes."

How can you be so sure?

"That man made a mistake and lost the jade pendant. His biggest concern now is how to salvage the situation and prevent the Enforcement Hall from finding out. He doesn't have time to arrange a second group of people."

Zhou Lingxuan pointed to the deep trench on the ground that had been cleaved by the sword energy.

"Besides, the formal inner disciples aren't stray dogs running around everywhere. The price they paid to get a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator to kill a handyman like me must be considerable. They won't find another person willing to step in anytime soon."

Old Qin was speechless after hearing these words.

That makes perfect sense. In cultivation sects, assassinating fellow disciples is a serious crime. A single failed attempt can discourage an assassin from pursuing their goals.

"Then why did you insist on going there?" Old Qin still didn't understand. "Wouldn't it be better to go back inside and rest?"

"The alchemy furnace exploded." Zhou Lingxuan said seriously. "What if there are really unusable pills over there that no one is handling?"

Old Qin was completely speechless.

They'd risk their lives for a few useless pills.

He waved his hand and turned around to drink.

"Go away, don't expect me to collect your corpse when you die."

Zhou Lingxuan didn't waste any more words and strode towards the Dan Hall.

The mountain road was very quiet.

The sky was completely dark. Only the spirit stone lamps, spaced a hundred feet apart along the way, emitted a faint light.

Zhou Lingxuan did not walk fast.

As he walked, he recalled the exchange he had just had.

He already had a direct feel for the speed and power of a fourth-stage Qi Refining cultivator. With the help of his body tempered by the Heaven-Forging Hammer and the soft armor, he wasn't at a disadvantage in a head-on confrontation.

However, he was indeed somewhat at a disadvantage when the opponent used talismans.

The cultivation world has too many methods: magic weapons, talismans, array plates. Relying solely on a sword made of ordinary iron is far too difficult to deal with.

He raised his right hand, along with his index and middle fingers.

After the pure sword intent merged into his sea of ​​consciousness, his body's instincts changed. He casually slashed at a tree branch extending from the roadside.

Without using spiritual power, it relied entirely on the speed and angle of the physical body.

Click.

As my fingertip brushed the edge of the leaf, a large leaf broke silently, leaving a smooth and neat cut.

Zhou Lingxuan withdrew his hand.

I must improve my cultivation level as soon as possible and completely digest the sword intent in my sea of ​​consciousness.

After turning two corners, the buildings where Dantang was located came into view.

Zhou Lingxuan stopped and sniffed.

It has a very strong, burnt smell.

It was several times more pungent than the one he had smelled by the roadside last time. The air was filled with a spicy medicinal odor, which caused a dull ache in his lungs when inhaled.

The oven really exploded.

The old handyman who called him back hadn't lied; he had simply concealed the fact that assassins were lying in ambush.

Following the scent, Zhou Lingxuan bypassed the main gate of the Pill Hall and headed towards the side courtyard where discarded pills were stored.

A red warning rope was strung around the outside of the side courtyard. A wooden sign hung on the rope, which read, "Poisonous gas has not dissipated, entry is prohibited."

Zhou Lingxuan looked around.

There was no ambush, not even a single disciple guarding the area.

It's estimated that the poisonous gas was too strong, so everyone in the Pill Hall stayed far away.

He stepped directly over the cordon and entered the side courtyard.

The scene in the courtyard was even more tragic than he had imagined.

Half of the courtyard wall on the left had collapsed, with broken bricks scattered all over the ground. The ground was blackened by soot, and it creaked and groaned underfoot. Even the two wooden planks of the courtyard gate were nowhere to be seen.

In the very center of the courtyard, where the alchemy furnace used to be, only a large pit remains.

The alchemy furnace cracked into seven or eight pieces, with the furthest piece embedded directly into the opposite wall.

Zhou Lingxuan took two steps closer, his gaze piercing through the billowing black smoke and landing on the center of the ruins.

There was a person sitting there.

A girl in a blue dress.

She was sitting on the edge of the huge crater that had been blown open.

His blue robe was torn in several places, the edges charred black by the fire. His hair was disheveled and loose, with wisps of white smoke rising from the ends.

She didn't cry, nor did she lose her temper.

He sat blankly on the ground, clutching half a piece of charred herb in his hand.

The dust on his face was washed away by sweat, leaving several deep furrows, making him look both comical and disheveled.

Zhou Lingxuan stopped a few steps away.

The last time this girl exploded in the oven, she was still able to curse loudly and casually toss him an antidote pill.

You look like you've lost your soul today.

Two consecutive oven explosions probably completely destroyed her confidence.

Zhou Lingxuan glanced at the discarded pills scattered on the ground.

The pills were black, some cracked, some half-melted in the soil. There were quite a few of them.

The poisonous gas in the air caused Zhou Lingxuan's skin to sting slightly. At this moment, the Heaven-Forging Hammer in his sea of ​​consciousness began to vibrate slightly.

These discarded pills are of higher quality than the last batch, and are also more toxic.

It can be used to temper the physical body.

He didn't pick it up immediately, but instead tiptoed to the side of the girl.

I stepped on and crushed a piece of charred charcoal.

Click.

The sound was clear in the quiet courtyard.

The girl didn't react at all. She kept staring at the half-eaten herb in her hand, her lips moving slightly as if she were muttering some pharmacological principles, without even blinking.

Zhou Lingxuan bent down, reached out and picked up a discarded pill at his feet, and rubbed it between two fingers.

The remaining effects of the drug were very aggressive.

He tucked the discarded pills into his sleeve and cleared his throat.

"Senior sister."

The girl didn't move, her fingers holding the herbs trembling slightly.

Zhou Lingxuan took half a step forward and raised his voice slightly.

"Senior sister, I'm here to collect the discarded pills. I'm sorry I'm late."