Three Books

Upon hearing the suggestion to join the Mountain Stronghold, Lin Qing's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he extended his hand, saying, "Welcome, Brother Yuan, to join Mountain Stronghold in our great undertaking!"

He turned his head and said, "Sister Tang, your husband and I have something important to discuss. Would you like to make some tea?"

"Yes!" The girl who had been huddled in the corner immediately stood up, no longer crying or looking pitiful.

However, judging from the slight upturn at the corners of her mouth and the way she couldn't help but smile, she must be extremely satisfied with this marriage.

Come to think of it, the Qi Refining Eighth Layer is a remarkable cultivation level in the lower realm, but in the upper realm, where immortals roam freely, it's definitely just commoner status.

Even though Yuan Jian has just ascended, he is already firmly in the immortal realm.

Marrying a celestial being is no less than becoming a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Moreover, Yuan Jian was born with rosy lips and white teeth, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and his eyes shone like stars.

She had never seen such a beautiful person in her entire life!

However, the thought that this marriage was arranged by deception made the girl worried again. She only hoped that Yuan Jian would not abandon her when he found out the truth in the future.

The two girls left, leaving only three men in the room.

Lin Qing cupped his hands and said, "I'm sorry, Brother Yuan. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I had no other choice!"

"What do you mean?" Yuan Jian asked.

"Sigh!" With a long sigh, Lin Qing began to recount the story.

It turns out that the selection of the City Lord of Qingyuan City, which takes place once every three thousand years, is about to begin, and there are also quotas for the Mountain Stronghold where Lin Qing is located.

The selection of a City Lord requires not only the strength of the participants but also the strength of their subordinates.

Lin Qing believed he had some strength in the True Immortal Realm and even had Heavenly Immortal Realm under his command, but newly ascended cultivators were extremely rare.

He also had an ascension platform, which he had been watching for over two thousand years, but no one had ever ascended to it.

This is actually quite normal. Although there are many cultivators in the lower realm, there are also many ascension platforms in the upper realm. If you expand the data, one ascension platform really can't accommodate many ascendants.

He was about to give up when, as luck would have it, Yuan Jian ascended to heaven!

"So that's how it is!" Yuan Jian nodded. "But if you want me to participate in the war, just tell the truth. Why pull this stunt? Aren't you afraid I'll deliberately hold back during the battle?"

"Alas! I had no choice but to do this!" Lin Qing sighed. "My Fengyun Stockade is just a Mountain Stronghold. It's incredibly difficult to retain talented people. Besides, I don't know your character, so I had to resort to this. I only spoke these heartfelt words to you because I see that you have noble aspirations and can communicate with me."

"I see!" Yuan Jian nodded. If a smaller force was forced into this situation, it was understandable.

Lin Qing continued, "Of course, I also believe that my brother won't hold back!"

Yuan Jian was about to nod when Lin Qing said, "Tang Wan carries the Heart-to-Heart Concentric Jade Seal that I planted on her. Look at your chest; you should have one too! This seal can sense your emotions. If you try to hold back, Tang Wan will sense it, and then I'll kill Tang Wan. You, with the Heart-to-Heart Seal planted on you, will naturally not survive either!"

"Huh?" Yuan Jian was taken aback. He immediately lifted his clothes and found that there was indeed a bluish-black mark shaped like a crescent moon on his chest!

"Of course you can go easy on me!" Lin Qing smiled gently. "At that time, I will only lose the position of City Lord, but you will lose your life. Why don't you reconsider?"

This person has a kind face but a dark heart; he's quite ruthless!

Yuan Jian tried to flick the Heart Seal with his Immortal Power, but found that it was like hitting an impenetrable wall.

But thinking about it, it's normal. He's only at the Earth Immortal level, while Lin Qing is a True Immortal. There's still a Celestial Immortal level between them, so it's normal that he couldn't break through. It would be strange if he could.

"Alright!" Yuan Jian could only nod; he was under someone else's roof and had no choice but to bow his head. "I understand!"

This wasn't all bad; at least it showed him that the celestial realm and the mortal world were not so different—both were full of deceit, treachery, and ruthlessness.

He is no longer the powerful being who attained Buddhahood and became an ancestor in the lower realm, able to do whatever he pleased!

"Hmm!" Lin Qing nodded in satisfaction, then said, "Of course, since you've joined my Fengyun Village, I won't leave you empty-handed. I'll give you the [Washing Origin Scripture] and the [Sword Control Technique]!"

"Oh, right, there's also a book called [The Ethereal Immortal Path], a travelogue written by a powerful figure. It can help pass the time!"

"You should focus on your cultivation and improve your strength as soon as possible. It's understandable that you can't beat others in the arena, since you ascended later. But if you lose because you didn't work hard enough, that won't make sense!"

"I'm awake!" Yuan Jian nodded and took the three books.

Lin Qing nodded, then left with Tang Bao.

As he left, he instructed Tang Wan, who was standing outside the door and hadn't even bothered to make tea, "Your husband is going to cultivate, so don't come to see him before the City Lord selection. Xiao Meng can take care of him!"

The Heart Seal can kill Yuan Jian in the same way that Tang Wan is killed, but Tang Wan may not necessarily die even if Yuan Jian dies.

After all, the seal was placed by Lin Qing; he could both place it and remove it.

If Yuan Jian dies on the arena, Tang Wan will still have to stay and continue seducing men.

What? You say that's too heartless?

Stop joking! They've all cultivated to the level of True Immortals, where are the simple, honest, and kind-hearted people they used to be?

The three left, leaving Xiao Meng to walk in tremblingly. If Tang Wan was from the commoner class, then she was from the slave class. Not only was she not qualified to Qi Refining, but she could also be easily killed by Yuan Jian or forced into a situation with no recourse.

Even though she's very young, nobody cares.

Yuan Jian has just been deceived and is probably seething with anger. She is prepared to offer herself to him, and it's not impossible that she might even be toyed with to death.

However, when she came in, she found Yuan Jian engrossed in a book, seemingly not paying any attention to her at all.

She didn't dare to speak, and could only stand cautiously to the side until Yuan Jian spoke up, "Your breathing is too loud, go out, stand further away!"

"Oh, oh." Xiao Meng felt as if she had been granted a pardon and ran out of the room as if she were escaping.

Yuan Jian shook his head. It really is.

Xiao Meng was just a mortal, and Yang Ning could see right through her thoughts. But he was an immortal, so why would he look down on a mortal covered in filth, especially one under the [Great Insight Technique]?

I wonder what kind of cultivator would be so indiscriminate in their hunger.

First, [Washing Origin Scripture].

It turns out that this is a Cultivation Method to cleanse the body of worldly dust and impurities, and transform it into an immortal body.

Earthly Immortals have only cultivated one immortal Principle, but the Law Power within their bodies is still constructed from Spiritual Qi. This Spiritual Qi, demonic energy, and stellar power are collectively referred to as mortal mundane energy in the immortal realm, and they all need to be gradually dissolved.

Some people do this in the mortal realm, but the celestial Immortal Qi there is not abundant, so doing this in the mortal realm is a huge waste of time. It's better to do it Ascension After.

Then comes [Sword Control Technique].

The Sword Control Technique is something that Yuan Jian has seen at least 80,000 to 100,000 times in the lower realm. It can be said that any sect, even if it doesn't have other Divine Ability, must have at least one Sword Control Technique.

Although he didn't have Sword Control Technique among his major supernatural Divine Ability, his sword control skills were still quite good.

So what's so special about the [Sword Control Technique] in the Celestial Realm?

After studying it, Yuan Jian confirmed that it did indeed have something special about it.

This [Sword Control Technique] controls neither ordinary swords nor celestial swords, but rather Sword Origin.

It is the sword immortal essence constructed by using special techniques to build the Immortal Power in the body. This process of constructing the sword immortal essence is irreversible. Once the first Sword Origin is born, the other Immortal Power will be sensed by this Sword Origin and begin to generate more Sword Origin. In the end, all the immortal essence in the body will be transformed into true sword essence.

This is a sword path technique that transforms cultivators into Sword Immortal!

"He wants me to switch to Sword Immortal cultivation?" Yuan Jian frowned. The intention was not exactly straightforward, but it was certainly obvious.

However, it's easy to understand. Sword cultivators are known for their strong attack power. Since Yuan Jian's goal is to be selected as the City Lord and participate in the martial arts arena, it's natural that the stronger the attack power, the better.

Of course, I must become Sword Immortal!

As for whether Yuan Jian and the path of Sword Immortal are compatible, and whether there are any follow-up Cultivation Method, Lin Qing wouldn't care about so much.

Moreover, this might not be what Lin Qing wanted.

Without further Cultivation Method, Yuan Jian can only rely on Lin Qing. Right now, he's just a temporary subordinate. Once Lin Qing becomes the City Lord, he might become a permanent servant!

"These people are truly ruthless!" Yuan Jian gritted his teeth.

He didn't dislike Sword Immortal immortals at all; on the contrary, he longed for them. If given the chance to become a Sword Immortal, he would definitely give it a try.

After all, a single sword can create a world, shatter all laws, and chill nineteen provinces with its light—how awesome is that!

But that would only be if he did so voluntarily.

Now that he was being forced into this opportunity, Yuan Jian immediately felt a bit resentful.

Setting aside the [Sword Control Technique], Yuan Jian picked up the [Ethereal Immortal Path] again.

This book is not thick, but it includes the Meso-Sumeru Technique, so it actually has a lot of pages.

However, [Great Insight Technique] not only makes people see more clearly, but also makes them read books faster.

It's a type of reading that's faster than quantum speed reading.

Yuan Jian only needed to read it once, but he already knew the entire contents of the book by heart.

This is an autobiographical novel, but the author clearly doesn't know how to write a novel, so it's written like a diary, and it's written in the first person.

However, precisely because the writing is straightforward and the content is narrated in a plain manner, lacking much rhetoric, the novel's content is genuine and free of any fabrication.

Furthermore, this great man's extensive travels and vast knowledge, coupled with his extensive research into graves and historical records, have resulted in a book that is truly all-encompassing.

Elixirs, metals, Immortal Arts, mountains and rivers, cultivation levels in the immortal realm, and the management structure of the immortal realm—this book covers it all, making it a veritable encyclopedia of the immortal realm.

So much so that after it was published, nobody considered it a novel; instead, it was regarded as a popular science book.

Any novice in the immortal realm will gain a basic understanding of it after reading this book.