Sword Exchange Pavilion

"?"

A small question mark slowly materialized above Chu Liang's forehead. He couldn't help but say, "Master, Jade Sword Peak has the most influence among all the peaks, with nearly a hundred disciples, several of whom are renowned Golden Core cultivators. Their odds of winning the Chief Disciple title are indeed the highest. As for me... I only broke through to the Divine Intent Realm a few days ago."

The Chief Disciple was the face of each generation of Shushan, so naturally the competition for such a position was fierce.

As for the Summit Lord of All Peaks, that was the person with the greatest prestige and the strongest strength among the thirty-six peak masters. Given that the Four Guardian Elders could not become Sect Leader, it could be said that the Summit Lord of All Peaks was the first candidate in line for the next Sect Leader.

And Empress Feng...

Was notoriously known as Shushan's number one menace. She had made her name in the jianghu through drinking, fighting, and a violent temper. Back then, she had fought her way to the position of peak master with sheer brute force, but the Shushan Sect Leader had never dared to assign her any disciples, fearing she would lead them astray.

In the end, she had picked up Chu Liang, a boy with cultivation potential, while she was out performing chivalrous deeds. That was how she ended up with a single disciple, and no one could say much about it. She must have realized after trying that taking on a disciple wasn't all that fun, because she never took a second one.

Now, suddenly, she wanted this one and only seedling to compete for Chief Disciple and even go for Summit Lord... Even Chu Liang himself was a bit surprised.

How did she even dare to think of that?

Then he saw Empress Feng walk over and pat him on the shoulder. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. There should be at least half a year left. Just prepare well... If you really do become Chief Disciple, I won't treat you poorly. You can ask for anything you want..."

Hearing this, Chu Liang glanced at Empress Feng's chest.

"Eyy—" Empress Feng's gaze suddenly turned dangerous as she pointed at him. "What are you thinking?"

"Master, don't misunderstand." Chu Liang said. "I was just thinking that since you've already staked a treasure like the Phoenix Blood Jade, I will certainly do my best to prepare. That goes without saying. However... this matter does have some difficulty. If I fail in the end, I hope you won't blame me."

"Oh, you were looking at the jade." Empress Feng touched the jade pendant on her chest and chuckled.

She then added, "Anyway, just treat it as something to work toward. If you become Chief Disciple and I become Summit Lord of All Peaks, we'll both get a flood of resources... Then, you and I can split it seventy-thirty. Wouldn't that be wonderful..."

Lost in the fantasy of a bright future, she let out a trembling laugh.

"Hehehehehe..."

Chu Liang walked out of the pavilion, steadied his mood, and headed for his next destination.

Shushan's main peak, Heavenly Peak.

Among Shushan's thirty-six peaks, Heavenly Peak was where the Infinite Palace, the Sect Leader's residence, was located. It also served as something like a capital, with all the major sect offices situated there.

Chu Liang formed a hand seal, and his bracelet transformed into a flying sword. With a whoosh, it hovered before him. He stepped onto it, and in an instant, the sword light had already left Silver Sword Peak.

Sword flight!

The wind roared in his ears, and beneath his feet stretched an endless sea of white clouds. The thirty-six peaks jutted out from the cloud sea, some majestic, some steep, like ingredients tumbling in a hotpot broth.

Streaks of light darted between the mountains—Shushan disciples hurrying back and forth. Those who couldn't fly would find themselves unable to move an inch here. Occasionally, a few spirit beasts or immortal birds would swoop past, and the disciples riding their sword lights would have to yield. Anyone who could afford to keep such large creatures as mounts was likely either a peak master, an elder-level senior, or someone with a strong background. A collision would be a disaster best avoided.

Within the Shushan Sect, disciples had to complete tasks for the mountain gate in exchange for the resources needed for daily life and cultivation. The place to pick up these tasks was the "Sword Exchange Pavilion."

In the world of immortal cultivation, gold, silver, and jewels were meaningless to most cultivators. Thus, the currency circulating in the jianghu usually consisted of spirit stones used for forging and smelting, elixirs for cultivation, widely useful talismans, and other equivalents.

Among these, spirit stones were the most universally accepted.

So within Shushan, coins minted from spirit stones were used as the sect's currency. In the earliest days, the manufacturing process was quite crude—spirit stones were simply ground into rounds and cut in half, called "round spirit stones" for their shape.

But round spirit stones were too simple, and soon disciples began forging inferior imitations, causing problems. So the sect improved the process, carving spirit stones into intricate butterfly shapes, called "butterfly stones."

The problem with butterfly stones, however, was that the process was too complex, making mass production difficult. As the sect grew, supply couldn't keep up. In the end, a Shushan Sect Leader of that era came up with a solution: shape the spirit stones into simple little swords and infuse them with a trace of unique Sword Qi. This made the process simple and impossible to counterfeit. These were called Sword Spirit Stones.

Over the following millennia, this evolved into the "Sword Coins" used by Shushan, which was also the origin of the name "Sword Exchange Pavilion."

Sword Exchange Pavilion, second floor.

The imposing Sword Exchange Pavilion was only three stories tall, but its vast floor area and high ceilings gave it an exceptionally grand feel. Most affairs were handled by duty disciples, but a few duty elders were stationed upstairs each day to deal with more difficult matters.

Chu Liang arrived at the quiet chamber of one such elder.

"Elder Shen, I'm here to bother you again." He smiled as he entered.

"Ha, little Chu." Inside sat an elderly man in a loose robe. He was portly, slightly bald, but had an ethereal bearing and a genial smile. "What bother? Back so soon? Looks like the last task went smoothly?"

"Thanks to your blessing, it went fairly well. I'm here today to report in." Chu Liang replied.

"Alright, no rush. Let's have a game first." Elder Shen waved his sleeve, and a go board appeared on the table before him, along with two pots of stones, black and white.

"I won by a fluke last time, Elder Shen. Looks like you're not convinced." Chu Liang sat down without hesitation, smiling.

"Naturally. I went back and thought it over for a long time. I've already found a way to break your formation." Elder Shen placed the first stone.

"Then same rules as before. If you lose, you'll have to share some inside information with me." Chu Liang said with an innocent look.

Half an hour later.

The sunlight had shifted slightly.

The smiling young man tucked his hands into his sleeves, looking at the old man across from him, who was staring at the board in deep thought. "Elder Shen, it really is a dead end."

"Sigh..." Elder Shen scratched his bald head, glanced a few more times, then pulled his gaze away and shook his head. "You little rascal... Always smiling, looking harmless, but on the board, every move is a killing blow, every stone a blade. Truly ruthless and decisive..."

"Heh, just luck. I nearly fell apart a few times myself." Chu Liang said.

"Ah, I'm old... Can't match the sharpness of you young folks." Elder Shen leaned back, patted his belly, and added, "You're here to turn in a task, but you also want to pick up a new one, right?"

"Yes. But there are hundreds or even thousands of Divine Intent Realm tasks, and I don't know how to choose." Chu Liang said.

"Let me think... You like demon-extermination tasks. A good one..." Elder Shen paused for a moment, then raised his hand. A slip flew out from a row of sign tubes behind him and landed in his palm. "Take a look at this."

Chu Liang took the slip and saw a line of small characters.

"Demon Extermination at the Ming Manor in Xingzhou City."