"Hmph! I'm talking about you, and you still refuse to admit it?" Yellow-Haired Great Bear glared. "With all the opportunities your master left behind, you barely made it through the seventh level of the War God Hall even with your Qi Refining cultivation."
"Do I have to expose your embarrassing past in front of your new disciple before you'll be satisfied?"
"You..." Immortal Juhua could only sigh. The Magic Treasure Spirit of this Immortal Mansion had hit him where it hurt.
Back when he'd been an Earth Immortal, he hadn't even been able to get through the seventh level of the War God Hall. With the Water Mansion's help, he still hadn't survived the tribulation and had become a Loose Immortal instead.
Only after spending countless years as a Loose Immortal, gradually comprehending nine complete Dao paths and reaching profound depths in the Sword Dao, had he finally made it through the seventh level of the War God Hall.
"Master." Lei Zhan shook his head.
These two...
One was a Loose Immortal of a million years' renown throughout Great Xia, and the other was the spirit of a top-tier Xiantian Spirit Treasure. Yet here they were, bickering like this.
Lei Zhan looked at Immortal Juhua and smiled. "Earlier, Master said you would bestow upon me a profound Qi Refining method..."
"Mm." Immortal Juhua couldn't be bothered with Yellow-Haired Great Bear. "I have two Qi Refining methods that have reached the Immortal rank. Immortal-rank methods can be cultivated all the way to the Celestial Immortal level. Though tribulations are a calamity for cultivators, deeper methods will always lay a stronger foundation."
"But..."
"But?" Lei Zhan's heart leapt.
He wasn't at all surprised that his master, Immortal Juhua, had Immortal-rank Qi Refining methods. A Loose Immortal who had lived for millions of years was bound to have some good things in his possession.
But the "but" that followed made Lei Zhan curious.
Immortal Juhua continued, "Though these two Immortal-rank methods are profound, they aren't the most suitable for you. I have an even more wondrous Qi Refining method. It's only a fragment of a profound method, but it will still take you all the way to the Return-to-Void Earth Immortal level. In fact, it's even more powerful than those two Immortal-rank methods."
Immortal-rank Qi Refining methods were naturally profound, but they were also difficult to cultivate.
These difficult, profound methods were hard to start with. You had to take each step steadily, one footprint at a time, but they could carry you ever higher.
Shallow methods, on the other hand, made it fairly easy to open the Purple Mansion at first. With all their strength, cultivators might even have a chance of reaching the Myriad Phenomena level.
But becoming a Primordial Spirit Daoist? Or even an Earth Immortal or Celestial Immortal?
With a weak foundation, the ground would shake beneath you.
That was harder than climbing to heaven!
That was why Immortal Juhua had no intention of taking out any of the many Earth-rank and Heaven-rank Qi Refining methods he possessed.
He was willing to bring out this fragment only because he believed it was even more powerful than the Immortal-rank methods, and so had chosen to present it alongside them.
"Mm? It's a fragment... yet even more powerful?" Lei Zhan fell into thought.
He knew that in the Three Realms, there were Qi Refining methods beyond the Immortal rank: Pure Yang methods and Great Firmament methods.
"A Qi Refining fragment that only goes as far as the Return-to-Void level... yet Master thinks it's more suitable for me than those two Immortal-rank methods..." Lei Zhan mused.
A moment later, he looked up. "Master."
"May I take a look at these three different Immortal-rank Qi Refining methods?"
"Of course."
Immortal Juhua smiled faintly, then gave a thought.
Whoosh...
Three shimmering beams of light suddenly appeared in midair. Two shone a brilliant golden color, while the third was a deep, profound purple.
The light bobbed in the air, then gradually faded.
Two books with golden covers and a purple jade slip floated in midair, drifting slowly toward Lei Zhan.
"These two golden books contain the Immortal-rank Qi Refining methods. The purple jade slip contains the fragment of that profound Qi Refining method." Immortal Juhua pointed toward the methods in the air, a hint of a smile on his face.
Lei Zhan nodded and reached out for the golden book closest to him.
"Sunlight Buddha Lecture Sutra?"
He opened the book and discovered that this Immortal-rank Qi Refining method was a Buddhist Sect technique, an Immortal-rank method named after the Sunlight Buddha.
"This is a Qi Refining method I obtained alongside the divine soul visualization method Inner Contemplation of Sun and Moon Bright Buddha. Though cultivating it is righteous and dignified, it inevitably entangles you in some Karma with the Buddhist Sect in the future," Immortal Juhua explained.
"The Buddhist Sect's conversion methods are terrifyingly powerful. In ancient times, the Buddhist and Daoist paths fought each other. I never experienced it firsthand, but I've heard how brutal those battles were."
Yellow-Haired Great Bear shook his head too. "Still, it's much too early for little Lei Zhan to worry about such things. He'll only make himself a laughingstock. The Buddhist Sect is a great power in the Three Realms. Countless Celestial Immortals want to study under one of its mighty figures, but can't even find a way in."
"Let's keep the Sunlight Buddha Lecture Sutra as a backup for now!"
"The Buddhist Sect..." Lei Zhan murmured to himself.
"The Buddhist Sect is powerful, with experts as numerous as the clouds beneath it, and Buddha Tathagata, a mighty figure at the level of a leader. But its powerful figures are also divided among countless factions. It isn't the best fit for me."
"And now, Daoist Sanshou's divine ability, the Star-Plucking Hand, is right before me. If I can obtain it, I'll have a great chance of studying under Patriarch Bodhi in the future. That would be far better than joining the Buddhist Sect."
"At the very least, the Buddhist Sect doesn't have Hou Yi's Heart Power method, Hou Yi Archery."
Daoist Sanshou had many old brothers among the True Gods born from Chaos, but he also had plenty of enemies.
Lei Zhan remembered that among all the mighty figures in the Three Realms, Patriarch Bodhi was one of the ones closest to Daoist Sanshou.
Besides, Patriarch Bodhi was renowned throughout the Three Realms for his skill at teaching disciples.
Lei Zhan flipped through the Sunlight Buddha Lecture Sutra in his hands. The method was indeed wondrous, and the elemental force it produced was incomparably pure.
"Then I'll keep this Buddhist Sect Qi Refining method as a backup for now." Lei Zhan looked up at Immortal Juhua and Yellow-Haired Great Bear with a smile.
"Mm." Immortal Juhua nodded. "We'll keep it as a backup."
Lei Zhan picked up the other Immortal-rank Qi Refining method.
"Mysterious Origin Sword Manual?"
He skimmed the golden book's cover, then began reading carefully.
"This Immortal-rank Qi Refining method is exceptionally suitable for cultivators who follow the Sword Dao."
A moment later, Lei Zhan put down the Immortal-rank Qi Refining method, the Mysterious Origin Sword Manual.
If he had followed the Sword Dao, he would have chosen this Immortal-rank method without hesitation. It seemed to have been created specifically for sword immortals. Cultivated to its depths, it could even complement the Sword Dao.
Unfortunately, Lei Zhan was more skilled in the Way of the Spear, both in his previous life and this one.
"That leaves just one method." Lei Zhan's gaze settled on the jade slip radiating an intense purple light.
His master, Immortal Juhua, had said from the beginning that this fragment was more suitable for him than the two complete Immortal-rank methods.
"Nine Directions... Fragment?" Lei Zhan's heart pounded.
"Nine Directions? Nine Directions! Could it be that Nine Directions?"
When it came to the name Nine Directions, only the thirty-six stone steles of the World Prison lost by the Nine Directions Chaos Kingdom had any connection to it in the entire Three Realms.
"If that's really what this is, then this Qi Refining method may be a fragment, but it's extraordinary. Master says it only contains a method for cultivating up to the Return-to-Void Earth Immortal level, yet it's even stronger than Immortal-rank methods. I wonder if it's a Third-Grade Golden Core method, or..."
The thought made Lei Zhan even more impatient. He eagerly examined the jade slip. Though he couldn't easily distinguish the differences between the methods, having read the Sunlight Buddha Lecture Sutra and the Mysterious Origin Sword Manual, he knew enough to make a rough assessment.
After a long while...
"Mm. Master, I've decided to cultivate the Nine Directions Fragment." Lei Zhan turned to Immortal Juhua and said solemnly.
"You're going to cultivate this one?" Immortal Juhua gave a slight nod. "Then cultivate this one."
As he spoke, Immortal Juhua waved his hand. With a whoosh, the two golden books containing the Immortal-rank methods vanished from the air.
Lei Zhan hadn't yet passed his tribulation or formally taken charge of Star-Plucking Mansion, so for now, we'll call it the Water Mansion.
The name Water Mansion came about because Ji Ning mistakenly thought Star-Plucking Mansion was an immortal's ruins beneath the waters of Winged Serpent Lake, so he named it the Water Mansion.
In truth, Immortal Mansion or Water Mansion made no difference, but everyone might be more used to the name Water Mansion.
The new book is underway, so I'll shamelessly ask for monthly tickets, recommendations, and follows!
This is my second time writing a book, so I've gained a little experience. Before it goes on sale, I'll try to find my rhythm and build up a stock of chapters.
Let me explain: if you think this book is good, I hope you readers will show it some love!
Here's a little goal:
If it gets the first round of recommendations, I'll release one extra chapter when it goes on sale.
If it gets the second round of recommendations, I'll release the launch chapter plus two extra chapters.
If it gets the third round of recommendations, I'll release the launch chapter plus three extra chapters.
The fourth round gets four extra chapters.
They can stack!
Of course, this may be a bit of a pipe dream. But it's good to dream! If you all manage to get it into the fourth round of recommendations, I'll immediately owe you ten chapters.
I hope you'll continue to support the book.
As for my old book, Ji Clan Prodigy, it has this problem and that, but I still hope to find a chance to pick it back up and update it. At least so many readers have supported it. Though the numbers are even more dismal after such a long hiatus, as long as you still enjoy it, I'll find a chance to update it bit by bit!
Thanks again for all your support! Thank you, everyone!