Inside the great hall, Immortal Juhua's deep voice echoed throughout.
Whoosh!
As he spoke, Immortal Juhua waved his hand, and three treasures appeared in the air, each radiating waves of power.
The first was a Dao Talisman shaped like a verdant leaf. Lush and green, it radiated profound Dao mysteries that Lei Zhan could barely comprehend.
The second was a tiny Glazed Small Sword. Crystal-clear and extraordinary at a glance, it silently spilled out a sword aura that shot into the heavens.
The third was an apparently ordinary green jade token. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but the engraved image of an immortal sword bearing an ox head was especially eye-catching.
Each one had something extraordinary about it, and each filled Lei Zhan with delight.
"This is..." Lei Zhan's gaze fell on the leaf-shaped Dao Talisman that had appeared first, and he began to guess what it was.
"The first treasure is a Great Teleportation Dao Talisman. I imagine you're familiar with the Small Teleportation Dao Talisman. This Great Teleportation Dao Talisman is even more powerful..."
"Once you activate it, the power contained within will instantly envelop you. Even some Loose Immortals won't be able to break through it. Then you can disappear in an instant... Even if space is sealed, even if you're trapped in a perilous place, you can still teleport away! You can even teleport from another space straight into the world of the Great Xia Dynasty! It's a wondrous treasure for saving your life!"
"So it really is this treasure." Lei Zhan thought to himself.
His master, Immortal Juhua, had prepared such a treasure for him. It was a rare and precious treasure, one that couldn't be bought anywhere. If ordinary cultivators were lucky enough to obtain one, they'd keep it locked away at the bottom of a chest, guarding it with their lives.
After all, no amount of Essence Liquid or other treasures could compare to the value of practically having an extra life. If Lei Zhan wanted one, his only option for now was the Hall of Treasures.
Immortal Juhua continued, "This palm-sized sword, which looks as though it's made of glaze, is an offensive Dao Talisman. It contains a sword aura I left inside it, with roughly the power of my full-force strike. Even a top Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal caught off guard would die and have their soul scattered."
"My master's full-force strike?" Lei Zhan froze, his delight growing. A Loose Immortal like Immortal Juhua, who had lived for millions of years, was powerful enough to rival a Celestial Immortal. Even among Celestial Immortals, he was considered formidable.
A casual strike from him could wipe out a whole swath of the Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals out there, let alone a full-force strike.
But preserving the full power of such an attack in a sword-aura Dao Talisman required an immense expenditure of effort.
"My full-force strike is nothing special. Those powerful Fiendgods at the Void Return level out there could withstand it with their mighty Fiendgod bodies. As long as the sword aura doesn't kill them on the spot, you'll be in danger afterward."
"If this disciple really is unlucky enough to run into a Void Return-level Fiendgod... then I suppose that's a tribulation written into my fate." Lei Zhan shook his head. Such an offensive means of preserving one's life would be a great treasure to an ordinary Primordial Spirit Daoist, Earth Immortal, or Loose Immortal. For a cultivator at the Purple Mansion level like him, it was more than enough.
"And then there's this green jade token..." Immortal Juhua looked at Lei Zhan. "If one day you encounter a crisis that even the first two treasures can't resolve, pour your elemental energy into this token. Then... perhaps the danger will pass on its own."
"This..." Lei Zhan was at a loss. He didn't know how this little token could resolve a crisis when he was at the end of his rope, but he could clearly feel his master Immortal Juhua's heartfelt concern.
These three treasures could resolve the vast majority of a cultivator's crises. They could handle ninety-nine percent of his problems, practically giving him another life.
"Lei Zhan, these are the treasures I prepared for you." Immortal Juhua looked at Lei Zhan, his eyes filled with hope and solemnity.
"Each of these treasures can only be used once, so you must use your judgment when deciding how. This is all I can give you. The rest is up to you to earn for yourself."
A mother worried when her child traveled far from home.
A master worried when his disciple journeyed into the distance.
He had only one disciple, and that disciple was about to venture out into the world... How could Immortal Juhua, as his master, not worry?
After all, even the most peerless genius was no match for certain old monsters if he hadn't yet grown up. If Lei Zhan encountered a Primordial Spirit Daoist, he'd have no power to fight back.
"Yes. Rest assured, Master. I'll be careful." Lei Zhan respectfully accepted the three treasures.
Immortal Juhua nodded. "As for that hide, Senior Big Bear is keeping it for you. He says it has another use. It's the pelt of an ancient savage beast, a White-Faced Flood Dragon at the Celestial God level. It's an excellent material for refining magic treasures."
"Though it's a fine item, you can't use it yet, even if I give it to you now. When you return to the Water Mansion next time, perhaps you'll be able to obtain a fine magic treasure."
"Yes. This disciple thanks Master." Lei Zhan bowed respectfully once more.
"Go. When you leave, there's no need to come and say goodbye to me again." Immortal Juhua turned away and waved his hand. His figure vanished from the great hall.
"Yes." Lei Zhan bowed, watching Immortal Juhua depart.
He gazed at the slender figure in Daoist robes as it disappeared, his heart warmed.
"Master has shown me such great kindness. I swear I won't let him down." Lei Zhan thought silently, One day, I'll break free of the fate that's haunted me and become a powerful figure who can roam the Three Realms! And one day, I'll guide Master back to immortality!
Over the past few years, Lei Zhan had sensed changes in his master.
The Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations were a formidable hurdle for cultivators.
The Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations at the Earth Immortal and Loose Immortal level were even more fearsome. Immortal Juhua had lived for millions of years, and his Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations were terrifying beyond measure. Each time, it was like enduring a heavenly tribulation all over again.
Such a tribulation came once every three hundred years.
And the next one was less than a hundred years away!
"What is it? Can't bear to part with your disciple?" Yellow-Haired Great Bear's figure gradually took shape. He looked at Immortal Juhua, who was seated on the Nether Water Jade Bed. "Your Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations are growing more and more severe. More than two hundred years ago, you barely survived the third disaster, and now the great tribulation that comes once every nine hundred years is upon you..."
Yellow-Haired Great Bear watched Immortal Juhua's calm expression and said no more. The great tribulation that came once every nine hundred years was far more terrifying than the Three Disasters that came once every three hundred.
If he failed this time, then with luck, he'd be left with only a wisp of his soul and enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation to be reborn. With less luck, his soul would scatter and he'd die completely.
"This time, I have to try. If I succeed, I'll have another three hundred years to live. That'll be enough time for Lei Zhan to reach the Primordial Spirit Daoist level." Immortal Juhua spoke calmly. "By then, even if my soul returns to the netherworld, I won't have lived this life in vain if I have a disciple who can grow into his own."
Having a master's protection and having none were two entirely different lives.
In the original course of Lei Zhan's life, Immortal Juhua failed to survive this round of the Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations. Not long after Immortal Juhua's fall, Lei Zhan, still only a Myriad Phenomena True Person, died completely. The Water Mansion left behind fell silent once more, waiting through an immeasurably long stretch of time before welcoming its fifth Mansion Master.
"Try?" A trace of confusion appeared in Yellow-Haired Great Bear's eyes. "You said before that your Dao Heart was clouded, but after taking Lei Zan as your disciple, your Dao Heart became clear..."
"Could it be... that your strength has improved again?"
An almost imperceptible smile appeared on Immortal Juhua's face. "Improved? You could say that. Taking that little fellow as my disciple instead resolved a knot in my heart that had troubled me for years. I can feel that my 'heart' has entered a new realm. It feels as though the lake deep inside me has frozen into ice, without the slightest ripple!"
"Your heart-lake has frozen into ice?" Yellow-Haired Great Bear's eyes widened. "If that's truly the case, then this ninth tribulation won't be much of a threat to you! Perhaps you'll be able to protect Lei Zhan for several hundred more years!"
Lei Zhan silently looked at the quiet room where he had spent six years, his heart a tangled mess.
After a long while,
"It's time to go." Lei Zhan murmured softly, then took one last look around the entire quiet room.
"Senior Big Bear, please send me out!"
As the Magic Treasure Spirit of the entire Water Mansion, Yellow-Haired Great Bear could naturally hear him.
"The area outside the cave abode is still Qianqiu Island in the North Dark Sea. Many cultivators haven't left the island yet." Yellow-Haired Great Bear's voice sounded in Lei Zhan's mind. "Lei Zhan, I can teleport you anywhere within ten thousand miles of the cave abode. Is there somewhere you'd like to go?"
"Somewhere I'd like to go?" The North Dark Sea was vast and boundless, its islands as numerous as cattle hairs. Immortal Juhua had chosen Qianqiu Island as a place to select disciples only because it was relatively close to the mainland.
Lei Zhan hadn't yet decided where he wanted to go. "Senior Big Bear, just send me north."
North meant setting out toward the depths of the North Dark Sea.
One had to understand that a Purple Mansion cultivator riding a magic treasure at full speed could travel two hundred thousand miles in a day. Yet ten thousand miles north of Qianqiu Island was still considered coastal waters.
Only by venturing farther in, to places where people were rarely seen, would he have a greater chance of finding the ruins and cave abodes left behind by his predecessors, or treasures formed by heaven and earth.
Of course, he'd also have a much greater chance of encountering danger.
"North?" Yellow-Haired Great Bear's heart stirred.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Lei Zhan's figure vanished from the quiet room.
Qianqiu Island was a name recorded in a letter Ji Ning had received from a Xiantian Being of the Shenrong Clan. Immortal Juhua was taking disciples on an island called Qianqiu Island in the North Dark Sea. He was inviting God-Devil Body Refining cultivators at the Xiantian and Purple Mansion levels to take part in his trials. Since most Xiantian Beings couldn't travel very far, even though this was one of Immortal Juhua's ways of selecting cultivators, Qianqiu Island couldn't be too far from the mainland. Most likely, it was near the coast.
At the beginning of this book, I mentioned that Immortal Juhua's Dao Heart was clouded. After taking Lei Zhan as his disciple and speaking his mind, his Dao Heart became clear, and he gained some new insights into the sword Dao. In the original work, Immortal Juhua probably died soon after taking Lei Zhan as his disciple. Add in the Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations that came once every three hundred years, and, rounding things off, this is the one he faces now. With the protagonist joining the story, things have changed a little, one way or another.
The above is just speculation. None of it is important.
The important thing is: please keep reading! Please keep reading! Please keep reading! Continued readership is incredibly important to a struggling author!