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

It's called an abandoned hall, but it's not actually a hall at all.

Several large mountains enclose a narrow valley, with only a sliver of sky overhead.

The further you go in, the more polluted the air becomes, and the more gravel and scrap metal you find underfoot.

He had just rounded a half-person-high rusted iron wall when he suddenly caught a rusty movement in the grass on his right.

"Hey!"

A gaunt old man emerged from the waist-deep withered grass, his face almost touching Zhou Lingxuan's.

Zhou Lingxuan took a half step back, still feeling lingering fear.

He didn't even notice the person so close.

Despite his eighth-level Body Tempering perception and the vigilance honed over nearly a century of training in the outer sect, he was only notified when an old man got right up to him.

The old man was hunched over, wearing a gray robe, and had very few teeth when he smiled; he looked like an ordinary old servant.

But Zhou Lingxuan didn't believe such nonsense.

To be able to get close without him noticing, this old man must either be much stronger than him or possess extremely sophisticated methods of concealment.

Neither of them is simple.

The old man rubbed his hands together, a fawning smile plastered on his face.

"I'm sorry, I startled you."

"My young master has a bad temper and was slighted just now. I apologize to you."

Zhou Lingxuan was taken aback.

son?

The half-dead young man in the office just now?

The person who came to the abandoned hall to be the manager actually brought an old servant with him?

What kind of configuration is this?

Zhou Lingxuan's mind raced for a moment, but he didn't say a word.

"You're too kind, sir. The steward has already registered me in the register, so I have no complaints."

"Well, we still need to show some basic manners."

The old man pulled out a cloth bag and a thin booklet from behind him and handed them to Zhou Lingxuan with both hands.

"These are the things you'll need after you come to the abandoned hall. Your lodging is just ahead, around the corner, a row of wooden houses. Just pick one that's not inhabited."

Zhou Lingxuan took the items, weighed the cloth bag in his hand, and found it to be soft and fluffy, probably containing bedding or other daily necessities.

The booklet cover had a few words scrawled on it: "Notice Regarding the Abandonment of the Hall".

Just as he was about to thank him, the old man suddenly moved closer.

"Oh, right..."

"So you're the one who forged a million pieces of metal and triggered the Heavenly Sword?"

Zhou Lingxuan's expression tightened.

Why is the elderly person asking this?

The old man waved his hand and laughed awkwardly.

"It's nothing, nothing. I just asked casually out of curiosity. After all, this kind of thing only happens once every thousand years."

He patted Zhou Lingxuan on the shoulder.

"Alright, alright, you can go do your thing."

After saying that, the old man turned around and disappeared into the bushes in a few steps.

Zhou Lingxuan stood there for a couple of moments before looking away.

This master and servant duo are both quite eccentric.

But that's none of his business. What he needs now is a safe, secluded place with ample resources.

The abandoned hall has taken all three things, so it can't care about the others.

After walking about a hundred steps along the path, a row of wooden houses appeared after turning a corner.

Calling it a wooden house is a bit of an exaggeration.

A few crooked wooden stakes supported a roof, and the walls were made of thin wooden planks that creaked in the wind.

There were seven or eight rooms in total, and most of the doors were covered with a thick layer of dust.

Zhou Lingxuan randomly picked one that was on the inside.

Pushing open the door, you see a wooden bed and a table with a missing leg.

There was a musty smell in the air, but it smelled much better than the miasma outside.

He threw the cloth bag onto the bed, sat down at the table, and opened the booklet.

The content is very short, only three pages in total.

The first page lists the basic rules of the abandoned hall: do not bring poisonous things to your dwelling, do not touch boxes marked with red runes, and do not approach the valley floor at night.

The second page shows the daily work assignments: moving waste materials, sorting recyclable fragments, and sending non-recyclable toxic substances and waste to the three fire pits at the bottom of the valley for incineration.

The third page features a simple map with several key locations marked.

Zhou Lingxuan closed the booklet and threw it on the table.

This job is ridiculously simple.

Given the attitude of that steward, it's unlikely that anyone will come to check up on him.

very good.

Without delay, Zhou Lingxuan got up and went out, heading towards the bottom of the valley along the route marked on the map.

The further down you go, the higher the temperature gets.

The air began to become dry and scorching, and the stone slabs underfoot seemed to carry a faint warmth.

After walking another hundred steps, the view suddenly opened up.

The three giant pits are arranged in a triangle at the lowest point of the valley.

Each pit was at least five or six zhang in diameter, with dark red flames surging at the bottom.

A wave of heat hit him, and Zhou Lingxuan could feel the scorching heat from a great distance.

ground fire.

The booklet mentioned that these three fire pits were originally dug by a powerful ancient being when he forged a sword.

They directly transformed the mountains into furnaces, drawing upon the true fire from the earth to quench the materials.

What kind of person can use several mountains as a furnace?

Zhou Lingxuan withdrew his gaze, walked around the area, and roughly surveyed the terrain at the bottom of the valley.

The three fire pits were surrounded by open space with no shelter whatsoever.

From his wooden cabin to here, there is only one narrow stone staircase connecting the two places.

In other words, it's immediately clear who came and who left from here.

"Hey—slow down—"

Several shouts came from afar.

Zhou Lingxuan turned his head and saw four servants carrying a large wooden box towards him on a narrow stone staircase.

The four people were wrapped up tightly, their faces covered with thick cloth, only their eyes were visible.

Wearing rough animal skin gloves, he moved as slowly as an ant, afraid that the box might tip over.

When they reached a point about thirty feet from the fire pit, the four of them stopped.

Then they just stood there looking at each other.

No one moved.

Zhou Lingxuan walked over.

"Gentlemen, what's wrong?"

The lead servant glanced at him through his veil.

"Who are you? New here?"

"Yes, I just reported for duty today."

"oh."

The lead servant nodded, glanced at the fire pit in front of him, and sighed.

"We're responsible for bringing the scrap metal here from outside, but the final step—throwing it into the fire pit—is not our job."

A short, stout servant chimed in.

"There used to be someone who did this all the time, but they went away about two weeks ago."

That's it?

"Yeah, being too close to the fire pit, they got roasted to a crisp."

The short, stout servant spoke these words in a very calm tone; death was an everyday occurrence for them.

"The person in charge hasn't sent anyone to take over. The four of us are only fit to go this far; any further and we'll all perish."

Zhou Lingxuan looked at the box, then at the churning fire pit thirty feet away.

No one is taking on this job, so the stuff just sits there.

And these scraps are precisely the best food for the Sky Hammer.

Zhou Lingxuan suppressed his inner thoughts and remained expressionless.

"Alright, I'll do this."

The four servants all looked at him.

The one at the top glanced at him from head to toe.

"You're new here? Don't show off, buddy. The guy before me was also at the Body Tempering Realm, and he was still roasted to a crisp."

"I have a special constitution; I can withstand fever better than most people."

Zhou Lingxuan patted his arm.

"From now on, this job is my responsibility. You just need to bring the stuff here."

The four people looked at each other in bewilderment.

He hesitated for about three breaths.

Then they put the box on the ground and all four of them said in unison.

"Alright, thank you for your hard work, bro!"

She almost jogged when she turned to leave, afraid that Zhou Lingxuan might change his mind.

Zhou Lingxuan watched their retreating figures and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

My ex-boyfriend died from the heat while doing this job.

In other words, there are very few people who can get close to the fire pit, and no one comes to this area on weekdays.

Doesn't this mean he's been given a private training ground?

No one will see you making any noise here.

Zhou Lingxuan squatted down and unlocked the wooden box.

The moment the lid was lifted, a pungent stench mixed with spiritual energy surged out.

Inside, there were neatly stacked a dozen or so dark green objects, including half-melted remnants of magical artifacts, clumps of condensed poison crystals, and several pieces of beast bones emitting a faint demonic aura.

It's all highly toxic waste that people avoid at all costs.

The purple jade hammer in his sea of ​​consciousness was trembling almost frantically.

Zhou Lingxuan smiled slightly.

He rolled up his sleeves and reached his right hand directly into the box.

The moment the five fingers touched the waste, the deadly poison seeped into the body through the skin.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the Heaven-Forging Hammer hummed, swallowing up all the toxins along with the remaining spiritual energy.