Cultivating To Immortality

Zhang Zhuang lay on the arena, his eyes wide with terror, and he stammered, "Uhh, how is this possible?"

Everyone watching the battle fell into a dead silence at this sudden turn of events.

Everyone’s eyes were wide, mouths agape, their expressions mirroring Zhang Zhuang’s — filled with disbelief.

"Wh-what happened? Why did Zhang Zhuang suddenly collapse?"

"What just happened? I didn’t even see that person’s movements."

"What ultimate move did he use? How did he defeat Zhang Zhuang in the blink of an eye?"

Everyone discussed animatedly, trying to figure out what had transpired in that fleeting moment.

Just then, a disciple with sharper eyesight suddenly thought of something, his face changing drastically as he cried out in alarm, "It’s Aurora Sword Technique He used Aurora Sword Technique."

"What? Aurora Sword Technique?"

At these words, everyone looked at that disciple in shock, as if they couldn’t believe their ears.

"Are you mistaken? Isn’t Aurora Sword Technique a fourth-grade Immortal Art that only Golden Immortal Cultivators can master?"

"Exactly. That Immortal Art has extremely high requirements for cultivation and Comprehension Ability; no one in the True Immortal realm can master it, right?"

"He’s only at True Immortal eighth-layer. Did he really master Aurora Sword Technique?"

The watching Cultivators looked at Fang Hong with awe; their previous sympathy had long vanished, replaced by deep reverence.

Lying on the ground, Zhang Zhuang’s body trembled violently when he heard the words Aurora Sword Technique. He looked at Fang Hong’s back and stammered, "You, you actually mastered Aurora Sword Technique."

Only at this moment did he finally understand why Fang Hong had been so composed and confident from the start.

It turned out the other party had already mastered such a powerful Immortal Art.

Once Aurora Sword Technique is mastered, one can almost be said to be invincible in the True Immortal realm.

He had just been mocking Fang Hong’s Immortal Artifact, and now, thinking back, it was an enormous joke.

Fang Hong turned around, looking down at Zhang Zhuang lying on the ground, his eyes cold, and calmly said, "The competition is over."

"The meridians in your hands and feet have been severed by my Sword Qi. If you don’t receive timely treatment, you’ll become a cripple."

Zhang Zhuang met Fang Hong’s icy gaze, and his heart trembled violently. A chill shot straight to his head; all battle intent vanished, leaving only intense fear.

He dared not linger for another moment, enduring his injured body, retrieving his spear, and flying frantically towards the Battle Peak teleportation array.

Everyone watching the battle let out a collective sigh as they saw Zhang Zhuang flee in such a sorry state.

"Where did this expert come from? Zhang Zhuang, ranked tenth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, couldn’t even withstand a single move from him."

"It seems there are quite a few hidden experts in the sect; not everyone likes to participate in the Hidden Dragon Ranking assessment and pursue rankings."

Due to Zhang Zhuang’s escape, the puppet Elder directly ruled Fang Hong the victor and handed Zhang Zhuang’s one hundred thousand Immortal Stones to Fang Hong.

Fang Hong put away the Immortal Stones, easily gaining another one hundred thousand Immortal Stones.

After Zhang Zhuang returned, he would certainly inform Wang Hu’s Elder brother about today’s events immediately.

Fang Hong was not worried. Even if Wang Hu’s Elder brother wanted revenge, he wouldn’t dare openly attack the Immortal Cave. If he damaged the Immortal Cave, the sect would surely punish him severely.

Fang Hong also dared not be careless. After this incident, Wang Hu’s Elder brother would definitely secretly monitor his movements.

Once he left the sect and went to places outside where there were no sect rules to restrain him, the other party would very likely seize the opportunity to act.

Therefore, when going out in the future, he must be more cautious and not give the other party an opening.

Afterward, Fang Hong left Battle Peak via the teleportation array, not returning directly to his Immortal Cave, but instead going to the Hall of Merit.

The Hall of Merit is a place specifically for everyone to accept missions, and many disciples usually come here to find missions.

Especially Outer Sect Disciples, who almost daily check the mission board here, hoping to find suitable missions for themselves.

As long as a mission is completed according to its requirements, a corresponding reward can be obtained, some being Immortal Stones, others Immortal Pills, Immortal Artifacts, and so on.

Fang Hong came to the Hall of Merit to accept missions, naturally not for those mission rewards.

With his current wealth, he certainly wasn’t lacking in these few Immortal Stones.

Fang Hong’s true purpose was to fulfill the requirements for promotion to Inner Sect Disciple.

The sect has a clear rule: to be certified as an Inner Sect Disciple, in addition to one’s cultivation having to reach the Golden Immortal realm, one also needs to complete at least three missions issued by the Hall of Merit.

This is the path all Outer Sect Disciples must take to advance to Inner sect, and Fang Hong was naturally no exception.

Sometime later, he planned to go out for some experience, and while he was at it, complete these three missions to prepare for his promotion to Inner sect.

He absolutely had to enter the Inner sect; this concerned whether he could enter the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion and obtain the core cultivation techniques of the Eastern Luo Sect.

Fang Hong stepped into the Hall of Merit; the space inside was far more spacious than he had imagined.

As far as the eye could see, dozens of counters were neatly arranged vertically, and behind each counter sat a Cultivator dressed in Outer Sect Disciple attire.

These disciples behind the counters had a special title — Steward disciples.

Their main responsibility was to handle the transfer procedures for missions for the sect’s disciples in the Hall of Merit.

Whether it was registering information when a disciple accepted a new mission, or submitting results and collecting rewards after completing a mission, all required their registration.

Steward disciples could also earn stable Immortal Stones from the sect by handling these affairs, using them as daily Cultivation expenses.

At this time, quite a few disciples had already gathered in the main hall, with figures in twos and threes moving back and forth between the counters.

Some disciples stood before the counters, their fingers pointing at mission entries on jade slips, conversing in low voices with Steward disciples.

Other disciples rushed back to hand over missions, hoping to receive their rewards quickly, making the entire hall bustling with activity.

Fang Hong scanned the hall, then walked to an unoccupied counter.

The Steward disciple saw Fang Hong approach and proactively greeted him, "Senior Brother, are you here to accept a mission?"

After speaking, the Steward disciple took out a light green jade slip from under the counter and handed it to Fang Hong, his movements practiced and fluid.

Fang Hong took the jade slip, and his Divine Sense probed into it; a large amount of mission information flooded his mind, detailing all sorts of missions.

For example, guarding a medicinal garden, assisting Elders in alchemy at the alchemy Pavilion, raising Immortal Beasts in the Immortal Beast Garden, and so on.

These missions were almost all issued by the Elders in the sect based on their own needs or sect affairs, covering all aspects of cultivation life.