Departure (Seeking Follow-up Reads! Begging for Follow-up Reads!)

Inside the great hall, the voice of Immortal Juhua was low, yet it echoed throughout the entire chamber.

Whoosh—

As he spoke, Immortal Juhua waved his hand, and three treasures radiating waves of energy suddenly appeared in the air.

One was a Dao talisman shaped like a verdant leaf; it looked as if it were dripping with dew, yet it emanated a profound mystery of the Dao that Lei Zhan found difficult to comprehend.

Another was a miniature glazed sword. The tiny blade was crystal clear and looked extraordinary, invisibly leaking a sky-piercing Sword Qi.

The third was a seemingly ordinary piece of green jade plaque. At first glance, it looked plain, but the ox-headed immortal sword pattern engraved upon it was exceptionally eye-catching.

It could be said that each item had its own extraordinary qualities, and each one made Lei Zhan feel joyful.

"This is..." Lei Zhan's gaze immediately fell upon the leaf-shaped Dao talisman that had appeared first, and he began to guess in his heart.

"This first treasure is a Great Teleportation Dao Talisman. You are surely no stranger to the Small Teleportation Dao Talisman. This Great Teleportation Dao Talisman is far more powerful than the small version..."

"Once you activate the Great Teleportation Dao Talisman, the power contained within will instantly envelop you. Even some Loose Immortals cannot break through it, and you can then vanish and depart immediately... Even if space is sealed, or you are trapped in a desperate situation, you can directly teleport away! You could even teleport from another space back to the Great Xia Dynasty world! It is truly a miraculous item for saving one's life!"

It really is this treasure, Lei Zhan thought to himself.

His master, Immortal Juhua, had even prepared such a treasure for him. This was a rare and precious item; there was nowhere to buy one on the outside. If an ordinary immortal cultivator were lucky enough to obtain one, they would keep it hidden at the bottom of their chest, guarding it with their life.

After all, no amount of elemental liquid or treasure could compare to the value of essentially gaining an extra life. If he, Lei Zhan, wanted to obtain one, the only current path would be through the Hall of Treasures.

Immortal Juhua continued, "This palm-sized, glazed-like sword is an offensive Dao talisman. Inside this sword is the Sword Qi I left behind, possessing roughly the power of my full-strength strike. Even top-tier Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals would be killed instantly if caught off guard."

"Master's full-strength strike?" Lei Zhan was stunned, his heart filled with even more joy. A Loose Immortal like Immortal Juhua, who had lived for millions of years, was comparable to a Celestial Immortal, and was considered quite formidable even among them.

With a casual strike, he could wipe out large swathes of the Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals outside, let alone a full-strength strike.

However, to refine such power into a Sword Qi talisman without losing a shred of its potency required an immense expenditure of mental energy.

"My full-strength strike is nothing special. If you encounter those powerful Gods and Devils at the Void Refinement level outside, they can rely on their powerful God-Devil bodies to withstand it. As long as they aren't killed on the spot by this Sword Qi, things will become dangerous."

"If this disciple is unlucky enough to encounter a God or Devil at the Void Refinement level... then that is simply a tribulation fated for me." Lei Zhan shook his head. Such a life-saving offensive measure was a great treasure for ordinary Primordial Spirit Daoists, Earth Immortals, and Loose Immortals. For a Purple Mansion-level cultivator like him, it was more than enough.

"And this green jade plaque..." Immortal Juhua looked at Lei Zhan. "In the future, if you encounter a crisis that the first two treasures cannot resolve, inject your elemental energy into this jade plaque. By then... perhaps the danger will resolve itself."

"This..." Lei Zhan felt a strange sensation in his heart. Although he did not know how a small jade plaque could resolve a crisis when he was at his wit's end, he could clearly perceive the earnest concern of his master, Immortal Juhua.

It could be said that these three treasures could resolve the vast majority of crises a cultivator might face; they could solve ninety-nine percent of problems, effectively granting him an extra life.

"Lei Zhan, these are the treasures I have prepared for you." Immortal Juhua looked at Lei Zhan, his eyes filled with anticipation and solemnity.

"These treasures can only be used once; you must use your own judgment on how to employ them. This is all I can give you; the rest you must strive for yourself."

When a child travels a thousand miles, the mother worries.

When a disciple travels far, the master also worries.

With only this one disciple under his tutelage, and with the disciple about to head out into the world to venture forth... as a master, how could Immortal Juhua not be worried?

After all, no matter how peerless a genius might be, if they haven't grown up, they still cannot defeat some of the old monsters. If he were to encounter a Primordial Spirit Daoist, Lei Zhan would naturally have no power to resist.

"Yes. Master, please rest assured, this disciple will be careful." Lei Zhan respectfully accepted the three treasures.

Immortal Juhua nodded and said, "As for that animal skin, Senior Yellow-Haired Great Bear is keeping it for you, saying it has other uses. It is the fur of an ancient ferocious beast, a White-Faced Flood Dragon at the Heavenly God level; it is an excellent material for refining magic treasures."

"However, although the item is good, you cannot use it now. When you return to the Water Mansion next time, perhaps you will be able to obtain a fine magic treasure."

"Yes. This disciple thanks Master." Lei Zhan bowed respectfully once more.

"Go. When you leave, there is no need to come back to bid me farewell." Immortal Juhua turned his back and waved his hand, his entire figure vanishing into thin air within the great hall.

"Yes." Lei Zhan bowed, watching Immortal Juhua depart.

He looked at the spot where the thin, robed figure had disappeared, feeling a warmth in his heart.

Master has treated this disciple with great kindness; I will certainly not let him down, Lei Zhan thought silently. In the future, I will surely break through the shackles of fate and become a powerhouse capable of traversing the Three Realms! In the future, I will return to guide Master to immortality!

Over these past few years, Lei Zhan had been able to perceive the changes in his master.

The Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations were a threshold for immortal cultivators.

The Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations at the level of Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals were terrifying indeed. Immortal Juhua had lived for millions of years, and these tribulations were incredibly fearsome, each one feeling like undergoing a Celestial Tribulation all over again.

Such tribulations occurred once every three hundred years.

And the next one was less than a hundred years away!

"What? Can't bear to part with this disciple?" The figure of the Yellow-Haired Great Bear gradually solidified as he looked at Immortal Juhua, who was sitting on the Nether Water Jade Bed. "Your Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations are becoming increasingly severe. More than two hundred years ago, you barely survived the third disaster, and now comes the great tribulation that occurs once every nine hundred years..."

The Yellow-Haired Great Bear looked at Immortal Juhua's calm face and did not continue. The great tribulation that occurred every nine hundred years was far more terrifying than the Three Disasters that occurred every three hundred years.

If he failed to survive this time, he would be lucky if he could rely on a sliver of his remnant soul to enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation and be reborn. If he were unlucky, his soul would scatter, and he would be completely annihilated.

"This time, I must at least try. If I succeed, I will have another three hundred years to live. Living another three hundred years is enough for Lei Zhan to break through to the Primordial Spirit Daoist level," Immortal Juhua said calmly. "By then, even if my soul returns to the netherworld, having a disciple who can grow up, I, Juhua, will not have lived this life in vain."

Having a master's protection and not having one were two different lives.

If things had followed Lei Zhan's original life trajectory, Immortal Juhua would not have survived this set of Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations. Shortly after Immortal Juhua fell, Lei Zhan, who was still only a Wanxiang True Person, would have been killed. The Water Mansion he left behind would have fallen into silence once more, waiting for a very long time before welcoming its fifth master.

"Try?" A trace of doubt appeared in the eyes of the Yellow-Haired Great Bear. "You said last time that your Dao heart was clouded, and that taking in Lei Zhan allowed your Dao heart to become clear..."

"Could it be... that your strength has improved again?"

Immortal Juhua's face suddenly held a trace of an imperceptible smile. "An improvement? You could say that! Taking in that little fellow actually untied a knot in my heart from many years ago. I can feel that my own 'heart' has likely entered a new level. That feeling is as if the lake deep within my heart has frozen into ice, without a single ripple!"

"The heart-lake has frozen into ice?" Yellow-Haired Great Bear's eyes widened instantly. "If that is truly the case, then this Nine Tribulations calamity will be nothing to you! It is quite possible that you will be able to continue protecting Lei Zhan for several hundred more years!"

Lei Zhan watched the quiet room where he had spent six years in silence, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.

After a long while.

"It is time to go." Lei Zhan whispered softly, then took one last look around the entire quiet room.

"Senior Great Bear, please send me out!"

Yellow-Haired Great Bear was the artifact spirit of the entire Water Mansion, so he could naturally hear this request.

"Outside the cave dwelling is still Qianqiu Island in the North Dark Sea, and there are still many immortal cultivators on the island who have not yet dispersed." Yellow-Haired Great Bear's voice rang out in the depths of Lei Zhan's heart. "Lei Zhan, I can teleport you to any location within a ten-thousand-mile radius of the cave dwelling. Is there anywhere you wish to go?"

"Somewhere I wish to go?" The North Dark Sea was vast and boundless, and the islands upon it were as numerous as the hairs on an ox. Qianqiu Island had only been chosen by Immortal Juhua to select disciples because it was closer to the mainland.

Lei Zhan had not yet decided where he wanted to go. "Senior Great Bear, just teleport me to the north."

To the north meant heading into the depths of the North Dark Sea.

One must know that a Purple Mansion cultivator riding a magic treasure could travel as far as two hundred thousand miles in a single day. However, a location ten thousand miles north of Qianqiu Island was still considered coastal.

Only by heading deeper, to places where human footprints were rare, could one have a greater chance of encountering ruins and cave dwellings left by predecessors, or treasures birthed by heaven and earth.

Of course, there was also a much greater chance of encountering even greater danger.

"North?" Yellow-Haired Great Bear's heart stirred.

Whoosh~~~

Instantly, within the quiet room, Lei Zhan's figure vanished into thin air.

Today's Diary of a Flop

The name Qianqiu Island was recorded in the letter Ji Ning received from a Xiantian-level clansman of the Shenrong Clan. Juhua was recruiting disciples at a place called Qianqiu Island in the North Dark Sea. He was widely recruiting Xiantian-level and Purple Mansion-level God-Devil Body Refining practitioners to participate in trials. Considering that most Xiantian beings could not travel too far, even if this was one of Juhua's methods for screening immortal cultivators, this Qianqiu Island could not be too far from the mainland. The most likely scenario was that it was close to the mainland.

At the very beginning of this book, it was mentioned that Juhua's Dao heart was clouded. After taking in Lei Zhan and pouring out his heart, his Dao heart became clear, and he gained some insights into the Sword Dao. In the original work, Juhua likely passed away after taking in Lei Zhan. Added to the fact that the Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations generally occur every three hundred years, rounding it up, this would be the time. Now, with the protagonist's involvement, things have changed to some extent.

The above content is research, so to speak. None of it is the main point.

The main point is: Please follow the updates! Please follow the updates! Please follow the updates! Following the updates is too important for a flop author!