The End of the Immortal Path

Chapter 270 - 176: A Young Lady Changes After Getting Married (Part 2)

Chang Qiweng held the Promotion Skill and said nothing.

As for Jiang Man?

He had no idea what Chang Qiweng was thinking.

’He’s probably happy,’ he thought.

’After all, that qualification is pretty expensive.’

’He can save it to use against a debt later, so he won’t be stuck unable to pay.’

’Xiaopang’s progress is too slow; otherwise, I could have given it to him.’

’But giving it to Xiaopang would create a new problem.’

’If Xiaopang reaches Foundation Establishment, wouldn’t Luo Xuan be weaker than him?’

’How is she supposed to suffer then?’

’Should I give Luo Xuan a hand, too?’

’No, I can’t pull everyone along.’

’Too many people.’

’I’ll think about it later. It’s not urgent.’

’Who knows how many years it’ll take them to finish their Reincarnation.’

’After all, they can’t focus solely on their Reincarnation like the students in the Outer Sect’s Qi Refining Courtyard.’

Afterward, Jiang Man spent three hundred to buy a jar of wine.

When He Huai’an saw Jiang Man, his face lit up with joy.

He had been in high spirits for the past two days.

Jiang Man’s visit that very day further boosted his pride.

The disciple hadn’t forgotten his master and even brought a jar of fine wine.

He took a sip.

’This is worth at least three hundred Spiritual Source.’

He froze the moment he finished drinking.

Reality hit him.

Then he sat up straight and looked at Jiang Man.

’He just reached Core Formation, and now he’s bringing me such expensive wine.’

’This isn’t good.’

’He’s here to fleece me.’

’I’ve been too carried away lately. I almost forgot that you can’t just drink Jiang Man’s wine.’

’Mainly, the boy has made me too proud. When he brings such fine wine this time, it’s impossible for me not to drink.’

But he still felt a sense of panic.

"Master, I’m number one in the Outer Sect," Jiang Man said.

"Just say it, how many elixirs do you want?" He Huai’an got straight to the point.

Jiang Man wasn’t surprised. "Master should know that the environment in the Inner Sect isn’t as good as the Outer Sect. The moment I go in, I’ll be at the bottom of the ladder among the Student Cultivators."

"My investor seems to have many enemies inside."

"For safety’s sake, I plan to stay in the Outer Sect for now to improve my Cultivation."

"But I don’t understand what elixirs are needed for the Golden Core realm."

"As for my arrangements, my investor has not yet negotiated with the Sect."

"The current Instructor also told me to wait a few days."

"A concrete plan should be available next month."

"But there’s still a lot of time until then, and I can’t just sit on my hands and waste it."

"So..."

"So you want to practice Alchemy?" He Huai’an declared with solemn gravity. "I will devote all my resources to training you, to make you a master of the Alchemy Dao!"

Jiang Man looked at He Huai’an and shook his head. "Master, you’ve misunderstood. I was hoping to get some elixirs for the Golden Core realm from you, to raise my Cultivation."

"It’s not that I won’t give them to you, but Golden Core elixirs require a Golden Core Technique. You haven’t obtained a technique yet, have you?" He Huai’an said regretfully.

Jiang Man thought for a moment. "Is it easy to get registered in the Inner Sect?"

"For others, it’s not easy. For you, it’s very easy," He Huai’an stated frankly. After a pause, he added a well-intentioned reminder, "But even after you’re registered, it still takes time to receive a Cultivation Skill."

"Upon entering the Inner Sect, there is an evaluation test."

"It tests the purity of your Golden Core."

"Then they distribute the Cultivation Skill and begin the lessons."

If someone else ran into a snag, the process would take quite some time.

But as the number one in the Outer Sect, it would be very easy for Jiang Man to get registered.

"That’s good." Jiang Man breathed a sigh of relief. "An Inner Sect Celestial Pride told me that I’ll be able to obtain a Cultivation Skill as soon as my registration is successful."

Hearing this, He Huai’an was astonished. "Why?"

Jiang Man recalled his Visualization Skill and said truthfully, "Maybe it’s because I’m an Unparalleled Celestial Pride."

He Huai’an was stunned for a moment.

’Well, you’re certainly direct.’

In the end, He Huai’an reluctantly handed over a bottle of elixirs.

Jiang Man didn’t even know what effect the elixirs had.

However, he still asked for his master’s opinion on whether he should stay outside or enter the Inner Sect.

He Huai’an took a sip of wine and said, "Do you know how difficult it is to advance in the Golden Core realm?"

Jiang Man shook his head.

’He had no frame of reference for it, but he understood the difficulty of Cultivation had increased more than tenfold.’

’Does that mean it’ll take thirty years to surpass a Golden Core Ancestor?’

’He felt that wasn’t the right way to calculate it.’

’For someone who can only ever score a hundred points on a test, a tenfold increase in difficulty would indeed require a massive amount of time.’

’But for a genius for whom a test capped at one hundred points is no challenge, a tenfold increase might not even touch his true limit.’

"I won’t go into the details of the lessons, but let me tell you one thing: an elixir used to raise your Cultivation in the Early Stage of Golden Core is worth one thousand eight hundred," He Huai’an said, looking at Jiang Man.

Jiang Man was stunned, shocked beyond belief.

’The difficulty really is ten times higher.’

’Never mind that it’s triple the price of an Earth Element Pill...’

’But doubling one’s income is ten times harder.’

"Master, do you know how many years the Golden Core lessons last?" Jiang Man asked.

He Huai’an held up five fingers and said, "Fifty years."

"Fifty years for Golden Core?" Jiang Man was a bit shocked.

’Isn’t that too long?’

"The Inner Sect covers two realms, and the lessons for both realms total fifty years," He Huai’an said seriously. "After the Inner Sect, an individual’s formal instruction is basically complete."

"If you successfully complete the lessons and reach a certain level of Cultivation, you can choose to take on various positions within the Sect, or be stationed elsewhere."

"You become a permanent disciple of the Sect, enjoying its resources."

"You can also choose to leave the Sect and develop on your own."

"For example, returning to their family clans or working in professions related to their Minor."

"You’re free, not bound by the Sect’s rules."

"But you are still bound by the rule of the Immortal Sects."

"You are also free to leave the jurisdiction of the Immortal Sects to claim new lands."

"Everything you learned in the Sect can be used."

"Without repercussions."

Jiang Man was a little surprised that the Sect would actually let people leave.

Then he asked curiously, "So you can’t advance any further?"

"That is another path. You must obtain the qualification, enter the Sect’s Core, and become a Direct Disciple. Those who can walk this path are few and far between."

"There is no fixed quota. As long as you meet the requirements, you can enter the core," He Huai’an said.

’’Few and far between’ still meant there were some people every year.’

After learning a bit more, Jiang Man bid farewell to the Pill Master.

’For him, the only path was to become a Core Direct Disciple.’

’What was there to gain by leaving the Sect?’

’The Sect was the only gateway to the greater world of Immortal Sects. Who would choose to leave?’

’Relying on the Sect was the safest path.’

’Besides, even if he couldn’t become a Core Direct Disciple, as long as he continued to learn, he would have a chance to take the assessment again and become a Core Disciple.’

’You could still keep getting stronger.’

’Starting from Qi Refining, even if you never passed an assessment, the path always existed.’

’It was just a much harder path to walk than the one for formally instructed disciples.’

————

「Inner Sect.」

The resting area for the Evergreen Sect disciples.

At this moment, Qin Yihan, from whom Jiang Man had extorted a Magic Robe, was looking at a letter with some surprise.

’The situation in the Wuyun Sect is so complicated.’

"Junior Sister, what are you looking at?" An Zhirou, the genius of the Evergreen Sect, came closer and asked curiously.

Qin Yihan looked at the newcomer. "It’s Senior Sister An. Something happened recently in the Wuyun Sect. Someone from the Outer Sect has formed a Golden Core."

"What’s the big deal? It happens every year," An Zhirou said nonchalantly.

’If that were a rare event, the Wuyun Sect would really be in decline.’

"It wasn’t from the First, Second, and Third Courtyards. The Golden Core came from the Sixth Courtyard," Qin Yihan said.

Hearing this, An Zhirou frowned. "So he’s got some skill. To think the Wuyun Sect still has such talent. But it just means he’s getting an early taste of the difficulties of the Golden Core level of the Inner Sect."

"The Sect will probably only pay attention to him once he makes a name for himself in the Inner Sect, right?"

"The Sect isn’t paying attention, but people like us naturally will. Of course, there’s another reason to pay attention to him," Qin Yihan said with a smile. "His investor registered him for the Immortal Mansion, which means the Wuyun Sect is trying to insert someone."

"They can’t just insert someone, can they? The Wuyun Sect itself wouldn’t agree," An Zhirou said.

Qin Yihan shook her head slightly. "Normally, for him to get in, he would need seventy percent of the people to agree. That’s one way."

"After he registered, everyone from the Wuyun Sect agreed in a single afternoon."

"Then, some people from our Sect refused."

"But that same night, those people changed their minds and most of them agreed."

Hearing this, An Zhirou was surprised. "The Wuyun Sect people agreed? Why?"

"I don’t know, but they agreed. And if our Sect didn’t agree, they would launch sneak attacks and beat us until we agreed."

"Those with weak Cultivation wouldn’t dare refuse. Those with strong Cultivation thought they had nothing to fear, but they were beaten until they changed their minds too."

"You can imagine the scoundrel behind the scenes is clearly not weak at all," Qin Yihan said with a sigh.

For a moment, An Zhirou was perplexed. "Is this person so special? Who has such prestige to make so many people in the Inner Sect work for him?"

Qin Yihan shrugged. "We’ll see him eventually. We’ll see if he really has three heads and six arms to be so capable."

————

It’s the 5th, two days left until the monthly ticket lottery.