“May I inquire about the identity of the exalted master who graciously came to our rescue?”
The Golden Core Realm Elder looked up admiringly towards their savior.
This peerless master had slain the ferocious Yaksha King with a single sword stroke; his origins must surely be extraordinary.
Lu Changsheng swept his gaze over the Golden Core Realm Elder and several disciples, finally resting it upon a disciple surnamed Xu.
[Ding, the system has found a suitable candidate for apprenticeship… One has been located.]
[Ding, the system has identified the disciple candidate as Xu Jing.]
The Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator had not prompted him to take on a disciple for some time, which was why Lu Changsheng had ventured to this place. It coincided neatly with him saving them.
From the insignia on their Daoist robes, they seemed to be disciples from a sect in Cangyu known as the Shuiyue Sword Sect.
Like the Jing Long Immortal Temple, the Shuiyue Sword Sect was a Cangyu sect that was hostile to the Yellow Springs Sect. Lu Changsheng had heard of this sect while cultivating on Jinglong Mountain.
“I hail from the Sacred Land of Tai Hua.”
Lu Changsheng did not reveal his identity, only hinting at where he came from.
“The Sacred Land of Tai Hua!”
The Elders and disciples of the Shuiyue Sword Sect were astounded.
The Sacred Land was one of the strongest sects in the Immortal Realm, countless times more powerful than the Shuiyue Sword Sect!
“So it was a high-ranking individual from Taihua Divine Mountain who saved us; words cannot express our gratitude for saving our lives,” the Golden Core Realm Elder said, his demeanor becoming even more humbled.
The esteemed individuals from Taihua Divine Mountain possess cultivation levels high enough to reach the heavens.
No wonder that even the fearsome Yaksha King appeared like an ant before this person.
“May I ask what important matter brings the revered master to the Nine Nether Forbidden Lands?”
“I am here to seek this item.”
Lu Changsheng produced a stone stained with demon blood.
He had been searching in the Nine Nether for quite some time and had found only one piece of Demon Blood Stone.
Fortunately, now in the third level of the Immortal Emperor Realm, Lu Changsheng faced few threats in the outer reaches of the Nine Nether.
“Ah! It is that sort of object. By a fortunate coincidence, I have six of the same kind of stone. I offer them to the master as a token of our gratitude for saving our lives,” said the Golden Core Realm Elder, who produced six Demon Blood Stones and presented them all to Lu Changsheng.
Demon Blood Stones are not inherently valuable, equivalent to treasures of the thirteenth grade at best.
But for someone specifically seeking such treasures, they could be priceless.
Oh?
Lu Changsheng had not expected his act of rescue to yield six Demon Blood Stones.
Without any false modesty, Lu Changsheng accepted them all.
Then, with a flick of his finger, Lu Changsheng sent an elixir pill rolling into the hands of the Golden Core Realm Elder, “You’ve been wounded by the Yaksha King and infected with corpse poison. Use this elixir to heal.”
In the Elder’s hands was a grade seventeen ‘Cure-all Detoxification Pill’.
The Elder’s hands trembled as he received the Pill.
To Lu Changsheng, a seventeenth-grade elixir was insignificant, but for an ordinary Daluo Golden Immortal, it was an exquisite Immortal Pill that one could only dream of possessing.
Using such a pill for healing wounds was a foolish extravagance.
Yet only this type of elixir could counteract the Yaksha King’s corpse poison.
The Golden Core Realm Elder could only swallow the Cure-all Detoxification Pill with tears in his eyes and started refining its power within his body.
The wound inflicted by the Yaksha King began to rapidly heal.
“Thank you for bestowing upon us such a treasure.”
The Golden Core Realm Elder had not expected that merely handing over a few worthless stones would earn him a seventeenth-grade Immortal Pill.
Such a pity that he had to utilize the precious Immortal Pill for himself.
“Why did you all venture into the Nine Nether?”
Seeing that the group included only one Daluo Golden Immortal and the others were Heavenly Immortals and Earth Immortals, Lu Changsheng admired their courage for daring to enter the Nine Nether Forbidden Lands with such a party.
“Alas, it’s a long story…”
The Golden Core Realm Elder briefly narrated the events that had led them there.
The Sect Master of the Shuiyue Sword Sect was at the peak of the Daluo Golden Immortal cultivation, seriously wounded by the Yellow Springs Sect Master, with damage to their Three Souls and Seven Spirits. Only the Nine Nether Soul Herb could heal him.
The Yellow Springs Sect Master had already reached the Quasi-Emperor realm.
Since the Yellow Springs Sect was an enemy of Jinglong Mountain, and Lu Changsheng had once been a disciple of Qingyue Fairy on Jinglong Mountain, he also had some unresolved issues with the Yellow Springs Sect.
“Since you have found the Nine Nether Soul Herb, you should make haste to leave this place. However, this disciple must stay.”
Not often encountering a suitable candidate for discipleship, Lu Changsheng intended to take the Shuiyue Sword Sect disciple surnamed Xu as his student.
“May I know if my disciple has offended the master in any way?”
“I intend to take him as my disciple. Would you be willing to part with him? Here, take these several seventeenth-grade elixir pills as compensation.”
“The master is too kind. It is my disciple’s fortune to be taught by the master. How could I accept the master’s Immortal Pills in return?”
The Golden Core Realm Elder even wished that he could become a disciple of Lu Changsheng himself.
Xu Jing, under his tutelage, could at best grow to become a Daluo Golden Immortal. However, cultivating with Lu Changsheng promised the possibility of reaching the Immortal Emperor Realm—a destiny for an exceptional master.
“However, my disciple is somewhat special…”
The Golden Core Realm Elder hesitated briefly but ultimately decided to secretly inform Lu Changsheng of some details he was unaware of through a mental message.
“I am not entirely sure about the origins of this disciple of mine. Ten thousand years ago, while I was in the Nine Nether Forbidden Lands seeking a particular herb, I encountered him. At the time, he was naked, confused as if he were a walking corpse, and only possessed a cultivation of the Golden Core Realm. Afterward, he cultivated under my guidance for ten thousand years, reaching the Earth Immortal level. His talent is truly extraordinary. I was worried about how I could no longer guide him once he became a Daluo Golden Immortal, but now that he has met you, I can rest easy.”
“Golden Core Realm? Present in the Nine Nether Forbidden Lands?”
Lu Changsheng inwardly marveled.
This Golden Core Realm Elder had no reason to deceive him.
Therefore, according to what he said, Xu Jing was no ordinary person.
A Golden Core cultivator in the Immortal Realm is hardly different from a mortal.
A genius from a sect would form their Golden Core within a decade or two.
Yet, a Golden Core individual wandered the Nine Nether Forbidden Lands and survived to be taken as a disciple by the Shuiyue Sword Sect Elder.
