Chapter 913: A Life of Toil
Zhang Liang also held great admiration for that Gai Nie. When the Great Qin unified the world, he had left directly. Had he not left, given the status he held in the First Emperor's heart back then, his position would have been quite high.
If he hadn't left, his status within the Great Qin today would certainly be lofty, and with the aid of the Great Qin's destiny, breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm would surely not have been difficult.
Yet, he left with great resolve, choosing to depart from the greenhouse of the Great Qin to temper his own Sword Dao.
He intended to go beyond the Jiuzhou, to test his sword against the world and use the blood of demon beasts to refine his Sword Dao.
This temperament truly commanded Zhang Liang's respect.
Among the Hundred Schools of Thought today, there were few who earned his admiration.
He had come to the Nanzhan Buzhou continent also hoping to try his luck and see if he could encounter the former.
If that person had broken through to the Golden Immortal realm, then for the human race, a Golden Immortal Sword Immortal would indeed be a tremendous boost.
The combat power of a Sword Immortal is quite terrifying; they are absolutely among the top tier of cultivators.
There are not many Sword Immortals among the humans of the Jiuzhou. Although there are sword cultivators among the Hundred Schools of Thought, most treat it merely as an interest—much like his own students, who all possess some sword skills, and he himself as well—but these can only be considered sword cultivators, not Sword Immortals.
A Sword Immortal must not only reach the Immortal level but also be single-mindedly devoted to the sword, with a clear and enlightened sword heart, to be worthy of the title.
Once Gai Nie breaks through to the Golden Immortal realm, the human race will have gained another powerhouse, and they will have one more measure of combat strength to face the Heavenly Court in the future.
Moreover, as a friend of his, Zhang Liang hoped to find him and have him accompany him. If they accomplished great things here in Nanzhan Buzhou and received the feedback of human destiny, perhaps the former's cultivation could ascend to an even higher level.
He intended to promote chemical fertilizers here in Nanzhan Buzhou, and with Zhang Liang's wisdom, he naturally knew there would certainly be resistance.
Some sects might be willing, but others would certainly be unwilling to let go, and there were also the powers of other myriad races, and even the immortals and gods of the Heavenly Court; they would not sit idly by either.
In the Jiuzhou, they had their reservations for the time being, but in Nanzhan Buzhou, it was a different story.
Although he and Su Fan both possessed Heavenly Immortal cultivation and could even battle a True Immortal, they were, after all, only True Immortals. In Nanzhan Buzhou, Golden Immortals were the top-tier combat power.
Without reaching the Golden Immortal realm, there would still be significant trouble.
But if there were a Golden Immortal Sword Immortal, even if the Heavenly Court dispatched immortals and gods, they would have sufficient confidence.
As for whether the Heavenly Court would dispatch a Great Luo Golden Immortal, Zhang Liang did not think they would.
After all, a Great Luo Golden Immortal is already considered the pinnacle of immortals; they are true big shots on one side and are rare even within the Heavenly Court.
They would not easily leave the Heavenly Court, and furthermore, these powerhouses are watched at all times by the human race's Fire Cloud Cave.
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"Brother Su, you are quite leisurely."
Zhang Liang looked at Su Fan, who was leisurely drinking tea, and said with annoyance.
"Haha! Zifang, that is 'the capable do more work,' isn't it?"
Su Fan laughed. They had taken down the Qiyuan Sect, and the Qiyuan Sect's ancestor and sect leader had also been slain by Zhang Liang. From their own mouths, they learned that during the time of that ancestor, the Qiyuan Sect had begun making secret deals with the Wolf King of Tianlang Mountain.
Every twenty years, they would allow the wolf demons of Tianlang Mountain to descend the mountain and hunt once in the human cities under their jurisdiction.
One city at a time.
Not many in the entire Qiyuan Sect knew of this deal; only some high-level members or the descendants of high-level members.
Most disciples were still unaware.
After all, this kind of secret dealing with the demon race was truly too evil, treating mortals as goods. Regardless of anything else, the human race is currently the hegemon.
The Qiyuan Sect doing this had already committed a taboo.
So when Zhang Liang made these matters regarding the Qiyuan Sect leader public, many disciples under the sect also revealed killing intent in their eyes.
Many of them had come out of the mortal cities under the Qiyuan Sect's jurisdiction, and some disciples had blood feuds with the demon race; their own relatives had all died in the mouths of those demon beasts.
They had all been cultivating so diligently for the very purpose of raising their cultivation to take revenge on those demon beasts.
As a result, someone now told them that many of the demon attacks on their cities were deliberately allowed by the sect leader and the ancestor.
So, in the end, these people all died, and the remaining disciples did not oppose Zhang Liang and the others.
Now, Zhang Liang and his group were staying at the Qiyuan Sect.
They prepared to use this as their foundation.
Occupying the Qiyuan Sect, and with Zhang Liang as a Heavenly Immortal-level cultivator, his strength was greater than the Qiyuan Sect's original sect leader and ancestor, which also made the Qiyuan Sect disciples more supportive.
So, in the half-year they had been at the Qiyuan Sect, Zhang Liang had been constantly reorganizing the sect. Now that it was mostly finished, he breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing Su Fan just staying on the side doing nothing, he was speechless.
As for Su Fan's sarcastic remarks, he could only shake his head.
Regarding ability, having interacted with Su Fan for so long, how could he not know? It was just that the other party was too lazy, holed up in the original Qiyuan Sect ancestor's cave dwelling and rarely appearing within the sect.
"Now that the Qiyuan Sect is sorted out, what is the next step?"
The Qiyuan Sect currently had only two hundred and sixty or seventy disciples, and those who had truly reached the Primordial Spirit stage were only eight.
The rest were all in the Qi Refining and Spirit Refining realms, equivalent to the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core realms of the main world, and some had even just started Refining Essence into Qi.
"Naturally, we must expand the number of disciples."
Zhang Liang heard this and said with a smile: "The Qiyuan Sect has too few disciples, yet there are thirty-four cities under our jurisdiction and over 6.3 million commoners."
"Relying solely on these disciples is not enough. Although we slew that Wolf King of Tianlang Mountain, which can deter some demon beasts in the vicinity..."
"However, those small demons and monsters pose an even greater threat to the towns. Every city needs to have some disciples stationed there."
"But the spiritual energy in ordinary towns is scarce, and many disciples are unwilling to go there."
Zhang Liang looked toward Su Fan.
"The Qiyuan Sect needs to recruit disciples and expand their numbers, so the spiritual energy of the mountain gate needs to be strengthened."
"Furthermore, the spiritual energy in the towns also needs to be strengthened."
Hearing Zhang Liang's words, Su Fan knew exactly what this guy was planning—he wanted him to take action.
"You are treating me like a slave."
Over thirty cities all needed Spirit-Gathering Arrays to be set up, which could condense spiritual energy to the greatest extent possible for the disciples guarding the cities to cultivate.
"Isn't it what you said, 'the capable do more work'?"
Zhang Liang heard this and immediately retorted with a smile. Su Fan was left speechless and could only offer a bitter smile.
"I have already set up a great array here at the Qiyuan Sect mountain gate, and these past few days, I have also been clearing the spiritual caves underground. Relying on the array, the spiritual land within the mountain gate will become stronger and stronger, and the spiritual energy will become more concentrated."
"As for wanting to ascend to a Blessed Land, that might take several thousand or ten thousand years."
The reason Su Fan's Peach Mountain could ascend so quickly was due to Zhenyuanzi's handiwork.
Su Fan did not have that capability. Of course, if all those disciples of the Qiyuan Sect were to use secret techniques to nourish the earth veins, it could speed up the process.
But it also requires time for the land to undergo transformation.
End of Chapter
