A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Sword-Forging Servant and Ascending to Immorta

The servant lowered his head and quickly picked up the money bag at his feet.

Ten low-grade spirit stones.

He opened the bag slightly to make sure there were no stones mixed in, then quickly stuffed it into his pocket and pressed it down firmly with his hand.

There was no further sound from behind the tree for a long time.

The servant waited a while longer and then tentatively called out twice.

"grown ups?"

"Is the master still alive?"

No one responded.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense back relaxed.

"Brother Zhou, I'm sorry."

"People die for money, birds die for food. We weren't really friends to begin with, and if I didn't call you over, someone else would have."

The servant clutched the pouch of spirit stones in his arms, chanting more and more fluently.

"With these ten spirit stones, I might be able to break through to the ninth level of Body Tempering. If I can save up some pills, I might even have a chance to reach the Qi Refining realm."

"Once they become official disciples, who would want to stay in the abandoned hall carrying these poisonous creatures..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure appeared in front of him.

He was dressed in black, his face was covered, and a sword hung at his waist.

The servant was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously stepped back.

"Sir, you haven't left yet?"

The man in black did not respond, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

The servant's expression immediately changed.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything! I've kept what happened just now a secret, I swear—"

The sword pierced through his chest.

The servant opened his mouth, but only muffled breaths came out of his throat.

The man in black drew his longsword, caught the man's body, checked his clothes, and then took the ten spirit stones back.

"How can we leave behind a useless person who could explode at any moment in this kind of situation?"

He picked up the corpse, walked to the edge of the giant crater of fire, and casually threw it in.

The flames swept past, and the corpse quickly disappeared below.

The man in black wiped the blood off his sword, identified the direction of the mountain path, and chased after the route Zhou Lingxuan had taken.

the other side.

Zhou Lingxuan walked along the mountain path for a while, his pace slowing down more and more.

Ahead lies the fork in the road leading to the Pill Hall.

No inner disciples passed by along the way, and even the people who were usually responsible for patrolling were nowhere to be seen.

What a coincidence!

The furnace in the alchemy hall exploded half an hour ago. The person in charge of collecting the waste pills happened to be sick, but someone else was guarding the fire pit, insisting on waiting for him to return.

Zhou Lingxuan stopped and looked back in the direction of the abandoned hall.

Going to Qin Zhaoyun now is definitely the safest option.

But if the other party really comes for him, this is also an opportunity to seize the opportunity. If he stays cooped up in the abandoned hall all day, the other party will only find another way to test him.

Moreover, the discarded pills in the Pill Hall are left unattended, and if left unattended for too long, most of their residual spiritual power and medicinal properties will dissipate.

Zhou Lingxuan reached into his storage bag, preparing to retrieve the hidden jade slip.

As soon as my fingers reached the bottom, they touched the folded soft nails.

He took the item out, and his brows immediately furrowed.

It was the protective soft armor that Qin Zhaoyun had given him.

He had clearly returned the payment when they discussed it earlier, and Elder Qin even gave him an additional two hundred spirit stones. Now that the soft armor has reappeared in his storage bag, it was most likely secretly slipped back while he was checking the pill bottle.

"These two, master and servant, are both utterly incompetent at business."

Zhou Lingxuan muttered something under his breath, found a rock to cover himself, took off his outer robe, and put on his soft armor close to his body.

The soft armor fits perfectly and doesn't restrict movement when worn underneath.

After resuming his journey, he avoided walking in the middle of the mountain path and slowed his pace considerably.

After turning the first corner, there was still no one ahead.

At the second corner, there was a half-dead branch on the ground.

Zhou Lingxuan stopped in front of the withered branch and bent down to examine it.

The broken branch was fresh, with a small amount of soil still clinging to it, indicating it had been recently broken off.

He didn't touch it, got up and continued forward.

Take five steps.

A soft sound came from behind.

Zhou Lingxuan did not turn around, but suddenly shifted his body to the left.

A long sword thrust from behind, its tip grazing his ribs and striking his soft armor.

clang!

A glint of light shone from the surface of the soft armor.

Zhou Lingxuan staggered forward from the sword, feeling a dull pain in his ribs, but the blade did not pierce him.

The attackers clearly did not expect this outcome.

The sword's momentum paused for a moment.

Zhou Lingxuan seized the opportunity to turn around, pulled a flying sword from his storage bag with his right hand, and slashed horizontally behind him.

The man in black sheathed his sword and parried.

The two swords clashed, and spiritual energy exploded on the spot.

Zhou Lingxuan's arm went numb, and he stumbled back three steps, his feet scraping the ground. The man in black didn't gain any advantage either; the long sword in his hand bounced backward, and a cut appeared on his hand.

"That's some real strength."

The man in black spoke in a low voice.

Zhou Lingxuan gripped his flying sword tightly, his gaze fixed on the other's right hand.

Spiritual energy covered his palms and the hilt of the sword.

Qi Refining Realm.

Moreover, he was definitely not a newly advanced Qi Refining Stage 1 cultivator.

The man in black glanced at Zhou Lingxuan's outer robe.

"Qin Zhaoyun even gave you his protective magic weapon; he's quite generous."

"Do you recognize this soft armor set?"

Zhou Lingxuan did not launch an attack.

There's no need to inquire about the dead.

The man in black flicked his wrist, and a three-inch sword light appeared on his longsword.

Zhou Lingxuan's shoulders slumped slightly, and he adjusted his footing by half a step.

The other party wanted to kill him to silence him.

Clan rules can only regulate overt behavior. As long as the corpse is properly disposed of, no one will investigate the matter thoroughly for a centenarian servant.

The man in black suddenly rushed over.

The sword's edge aimed straight for Zhou Lingxuan's throat.

Zhou Lingxuan raised his sword to block, and the moment the swords made contact, he pulled his wrist outwards following the opponent's force.

The black-clad man's sword deflected.

The next moment, Zhou Lingxuan pushed off the ground with his feet and his shoulder slammed directly into the impact.

boom!

The protective spiritual energy on the black-clad man's chest caved in, and he took two steps back.

"You're not at the second stage of Body Tempering!"

He had just regained his balance when Zhou Lingxuan's second sword arrived.

There were no complicated moves, just a straight thrust.

The angle was perfect, and the speed was fast.

The man in black parried with his sword, but Zhou Lingxuan withdrew his strength beforehand, the sword blade bypassing him and changing the thrust into a parry.

Stab it!

The man in black had his clothing cut open at the waist.

A white jade identity plaque detached from the belt and fell to the ground.

His expression changed instantly, and he raised his foot to stomp on it.

Zhou Lingxuan had already kicked out the rubble first.

The stone struck the identity tag squarely, sending it flying several feet before it landed in the grass beside the mountain path.

"court death!"

The men in black are no longer in service.

Spiritual energy surged into the longsword, and the sword's light increased even further.

Zhou Lingxuan showed no panic; instead, she took the initiative to greet him.

In terms of cultivation, he was a whole realm behind.

In terms of strength, a body tempered by the Heaven-Forging Hammer several times may not be inferior to that of an ordinary Qi Refining disciple.

After their two previous encounters, he had gradually adapted to his opponent's speed.

A long sword cleaved down from above.

Zhou Lingxuan did not take the blow head-on. Instead, he dodged to the side, and the blade of his sword grazed past his opponent's arm.

The man in black hurriedly withdrew his protective spiritual energy.

The sword tip was blocked outside the skin, but it still managed to cut through the sleeve.

Zhou Lingxuan stepped forward and slammed the hilt of his sword heavily into the opponent's elbow.

The man in black felt his arm go numb, and his longsword almost slipped from his hand.

"Who exactly are you?"

"The abandoned hall was used for burning garbage."

"fart!"

The man in black roared, and a talisman appeared in his hand.

Just as Zhou Lingxuan was about to retreat, the talisman exploded, and more than ten fine needles formed from spiritual energy shot towards his face.

Soft armor can only protect the body.

The face can't block it.

Zhou Lingxuan swung his sword at the fine needles, managing to block most of them, but three still managed to pierce through the sword curtain.

Just then, a thin, bony hand reached out from the side.

Pinch it between two fingers.

Three fine needles imbued with spiritual energy stopped in front of Zhou Lingxuan's nose.

"A Qi Refining Stage 4 disciple went to the entrance of the abandoned hall and bullied a Body Tempering disciple."

Old Qin stood in the middle of the mountain path, holding a pot of wine in his other hand.

"You're quite successful."

Without the slightest hesitation, the man in black threw the second talisman at Zhou Lingxuan's feet.

Old Qin raised his palm and pressed down.

Before the talisman could explode, it was enveloped by powerful spiritual energy.

In that instant, the man in black crushed a cyan jade talisman, his figure swiftly retreating dozens of feet before disappearing into the forest.

"A teleportation spell?"

Old Qin lifted his foot to chase after him, but then stopped.

He first checked Zhou Lingxuan's neck and face to make sure there were no wounds before crushing the spiritual needle in his hand.

"Weren't you here to collect discarded pills? Why are you fighting with someone?"

"Someone has arranged everything for me."

Zhou Lingxuan walked into the bushes and retrieved the jade pendant that had been kicked away.

The front of the sign is engraved with the sword-shaped mark of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, and a number is left on the back, but the place for the name has been erased beforehand.

Old Qin took it and examined it for a moment; his complexion was very poor.

"Identity badge of a formal disciple."

"Can you find the person?"

"We can find out who this plaque originally belonged to."

Old Qin turned over the jade tablet.

"However, since the name on the tag has been erased, he can easily report it lost when he gets back. A single identification tag is not enough to prove that the person who just attacked him is the owner of the tag."

"You saw his move."

"All of these are basic sword techniques that can be learned by outer disciples, and talismans can also be bought from the market."

The more Qin Lao spoke, the angrier he became.

"This person is very well prepared; he even deliberately changed his voice. Unless we subdue him on the spot, taking the warrant to the Enforcement Hall won't help."

Zhou Lingxuan took back the identity token and wiped off the dirt on its surface.

Formal disciple.

Fourth stage of Qi Refining.

The message the other party received was probably still based on the fact that he was only at the second level of Body Tempering.

This sneak attack failed; the next one will only be stronger.

Old Qin suddenly raised his hand and slapped him on the shoulder.

"You can still laugh?"

"You found something useful, why aren't you smiling?"

"What's the use of this broken nameplate? My name has already been worn down by others."

Zhou Lingxuan put the identity token into his storage bag.

"It seems it's about time I improved my cultivation level as well."

Just as Old Qin was about to speak, Zhou Lingxuan turned around.

"Brother Qin, I have a question for you."

"After becoming a formal disciple, can I still stay in the abandoned hall?"