Chapter 584: Immortality

While Jiang Ding was cultivating, he divided his attention to monitor the Sword Dao Hall and, seeing this scene, could not help but pause in surprise.

Perhaps, thousands of years ago, the distant Zhenjun Shenji Canghai Tianjun, Cang Hai Canghai Tianjun, and others faced their students in this very way, teaching them diligently.

As time passed,

student after student died, while student after student grew up, eventually becoming the pillars of the immortal sects: Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun, Lu Ling Master Dinghai Zhenjun, Shu Ling Master Dinghai Zhenjun, and others.

"Time seems quite interesting."

Jiang Ding thought of something and smiled faintly: "Will a thousand years from now, figures like Sword Dragon Master Dinghai Zhenjun or Sword Yuan Master Dinghai Zhenjun appear before me, become the principals of the Immortal Sect University, and cultivate a generation of talent?"

"Thinking this way is indeed quite interesting."

He withdrew his attention from the Sword Dao Hall.

He diverted a portion of his spiritual sense to silently calculate the R&D work on the Third-Grade Electromagnetic Sword Escape; occasionally, when Zhang Zhang Junsheng had new inspirations regarding the Great Sun Nascent Soul Secret Technique, the two would communicate across distances of hundreds or thousands of kilometers, sharing their thoughts with one another.

In these days, with the massive investment of Library Points, many Soul Transformation Canghai Tianjun beyond Yuan also joined the R&D work on the Great Sun Nascent Soul Secret Technique, each taking on a portion, and the R&D progress accelerated significantly.

This was quite difficult.

Just as Jiang Ding himself had to be busy daily with cultivation, refining flying swords, the Sword Dao Hall, and other matters, every Soul Transformation cultivator had their own tasks to perform and their own path to walk.

It was not that they did not care for the younger generation of the immortal sect,

but they were too busy with their own affairs.

First comes oneself, then the family, then the nation.

Anyone who demands others sacrifice for themselves is extremely selfish and utterly unreasonable.

Now, with the massive investment of Library Points, everything proceeded naturally; everyone gained benefits, creating a virtuous cycle, and the R&D of the Great Sun Nascent Soul Secret Technique advanced step by step.

Whoosh!

Jiang Ding looked up at the sky.

A deep blue flying sword tore through space and broke the air, arriving; it was the Taiqing Flying Sword, which had just returned home, delivering the Longevity Pill sufficient to extend the lives of three Foundation Establishment cultivators by fifty years, allowing them to live to the three-hundred-year Foundation Establishment lifespan limit.

In recent years, Jiang Ding had been somewhat lazy.

It was the Dundun Sect's Yan Fa Spirit Puppet Avatar that returned home once a week; if he was at the Immortal Sect, he would devote his full attention, but if he was not, he would not go.

Some information came from within the Taiqing Flying Sword: the appearances of his mother and sister, as well as some conversations.

"What?"

Jiang Ding's expression froze, and he temporarily halted his cultivation.

"My sister's child, that child named Little Bear, has died."

Just a few minutes ago, a blood relative had just passed away.

Jiang Ding's heart was complex and hard to describe.

"Little Bear suffered no persecution, nor was there any accident; he simply passed away peacefully at home. Before his end, he was surrounded by children and grandchildren, with dozens of great-grandchildren, a lively crowd gathered in a large circle, their cries of grief spreading throughout the vicinity."

"He lived to be one hundred and five years old."

Under the care of his mother, Jiang Yuan, this Foundation Establishment cultivator, he still could not live to the one-hundred-and-twenty-year mortal lifespan limit.

Jiang Ding knew the reason.

Little Bear, as a person, placed greater importance on enjoying the moment.

Since his youth, he had been like this; he could not endure the hardships of martial arts training, believing youth would last forever and old age was far away, deeming it not worth considering too much now and causing himself trouble.

In his fifties, feeling the passage of time, he strove to improve for a period, practicing the Young Eagle Takes Flight Art diligently.

However, aging and a body declining from its peak could no longer support progress in the essence of life, and he lacked the genius of a peerless heavenly prodigy capable of defying the heavens.

Therefore, his efforts at that time were utterly useless.

He could only watch helplessly as he aged bit by bit, irreversibly.

Gradually, despair took root in his heart.

From this, he abandoned martial arts, began to indulge further in wine and pleasure, lived a life of debauchery, often did not return home at night, and spent his days frequenting bars and such places, only beginning to restrain his nature in his nineties, becoming a kind-faced old grandpa.

Until a few minutes ago, when the flame of life extinguished.

His life could not be said to be a complete failure.

His house was filled with descendants; at the time of his passing, his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were all filial, serving before the hall, day and night without negligence, just as Lin Lin Wanqiu and his uncle Lin Yong had done for their grandparents back then, a family tradition passed down through words and example.

His career, though ordinary by secular standards,

yet for him, this life had moments of thrilling achievement, had cherished beautiful love, had the family affection of children and grandchildren around his knees, and perhaps had also experienced jealousy, hatred, and so on.

It was a relatively complete life.

"Good, good, all good, very good."

"Living one's life according to one's own choices, that is enough."

Jiang Ding's heart-lake returned to calm; he closed his eyes and continued cultivating.

"It is just that, in the end, he is gone."

"Such a life, though not lacking in color and variety, is, in the end, gone."

"I do not want this; I want to exist permanently, preserving my laughter, my beautiful memories forever."

"Until... Immortality."

On a remote grassland.

In the sky, a youth with an ordinary face appeared, a silver-white long sword hanging at his waist.

If any cultivator saw him, they would immediately tremble and recognize him as the Tushan Sword Cultivator bearing the title of Blood Demon Sword, who, one year ago, surpassed Blood Flow Cloud to become the number one Jin Dan demonic cultivator of the Northern Plains.

The wanted posters posted in various places across the Northern Plains stated that he had slaughtered hundreds of General General Heishi Jin Dan cultivators, and furthermore, taking advantage of the mutual injury between the Six Paths Holy Son and the Blazing Sun Sword Son, he launched a sneak attack and secretly harmed them, severely wounding the Six Paths Holy Son, the most despicable and shameless of all.

If any cultivator could take his head, the Zhengmo Alliance declared they would exceptionally reward them with a Nascent Soul Gong Fa and a Nascent Soul opportunity.

Under such heavy incentives, in all places across the Northern Plains, no one did not know, no one was unaware.

Similarly, rumors contradicting the news released by the Beiyuan family circulated among the Jin Dan scattered cultivators of Beiyuan; they spread just as rapidly, stirring longing, admiration, and expectation in the hearts of many Jin Dan cultivators.

"Hurry!"

Jiang Ding manipulated the hand seal, muttering incantations under his breath.

The ground writhed like flowing water, bulging upward; the green grass parted to both sides, revealing deep soil layers at the center, while the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around it grew restless.

Moments later,

a bulge in the soil layer shot upward, transforming into a Bai Yu box.

It was precisely the jade box sealing the Nine Yuan Spirit Ginseng.

"Little Ginseng, long time no see."

Jiang Ding stored it within his storage jade pendant.

With no base of operations yet and no post for it to fill for the time being, it could only continue resting.

Consider this period its vacation; its compensatory leave will be arranged later.

"The current situation in Beiyuan..."

Jiang Ding closed his eyes to perceive.

He commanded his own channel of information.

Namely, the Master Tushan Maidens' Corps, scattered and lying in wait across the Black Snow Great Grassland.

Relying on the Heavenly Light Glorious Sun Dao Soldier Flying Swords as the core, ultra-long-distance communication could be achieved, though the information that could be transmitted was limited to simple text messages.

"In just over a year, nothing major has changed in Beiyuan."

Jiang Ding opened his eyes.

"The Beast Spirit Immortal City has seen some changes: the direct lineage has withered, while General Heishi collateral branches such as Hei Hei Louxi have seized control of the Beast Spirit Immortal City. Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun did not pursue their crime of killing the direct lineage, nor did he execute them all."

"Rumors from the outside world claim this is a tacit acknowledgment by the Nascent Soul Ancestor that the General Heishi collateral branches have become the main branch, sharing the power of the direct lineage."

Jiang Ding quickly digested the recent shifts in the situation.

"Additionally, three maids are about to advance to Jin Dan."

"They are all maids with Heavenly Spirit Roots: the First Maid of Spring, Spring Sword; the First Maid of Autumn, Shang Gong; and the First Maid of Summer, Xia Zhi, Shang Yun."

(End of this chapter)