Sect Master’s Immortal Journey

After more than three months since Meng Zhang's return to Hundred Grass Slope, Jin LiTrue Monarch finally returned from Nine Heavens. During most of her time, Jin LiTrue Monarch resided in seclusion within the small world of Purple Gold Sect. Later, to facilitate communication with the outside world, she constructed a small Daoist temple near the center of the Deadly Sea of Sand.

When she wasn't in seclusion, she mostly stayed at this Daoist temple. Jin LiTrue Monarch disliked being disturbed and, besides her disciple Jin Qiao'er, only Meng Zhang could visit her willingly. Of course, there must have been ways for the Jiuqu League to contact her.

This time upon her return, instead of rushing into seclusion in the small world, Jin LiTrue Monarch went directly back to the Daoist temple. In a little over a year, she would attend a grand ceremony at the Jiuqu League. To avoid unnecessary back-and-forth traveling, she decided to stay in the Daoist temple during this period of time.

With ample free time on her hands, she sent a message to her disciple Jin Qiao'er, asking her to come and receive her guidance. Meng Zhang, who was often in contact with Jin Qiao'er, heard about Jin LiTrue Monarch's return from Nine Heavens and decided to visit her together with Jin Qiao'er.

At the center of the Deadly Sea of Sand, not far from the battlefield where True Monarch Tian Zhu and Fifth Rank Earth Spirit had fought many years ago, stood the Daoist temple where Jin LiTrue Monarch resided. Even after so many years, the remnants of the great battle were still evident, and traces of residual Grand Dao power lingered nearby.

With her Primordial Spirit True Monarch's Divine Ability, Jin LiTrue Monarch could easily gather sand into towers. She built a highly conspicuous Daoist temple on a hill, where she resided. Though there was no spirit vein here, Jin LiTrue Monarch deployed some simple prohibitions around to prevent unwanted individuals from approaching and to protect the temple from being buried by sandstorms.

Meng Zhang and Jin Qiao'er successfully entered the Daoist temple after arriving at the Deadly Sea of Sand. Upon meeting Meng Zhang, Jin LiTrue Monarch casually inquired about the events that occurred on his journey back. Meng Zhang briefly answered, and Jin LiTrue Monarch didn't press further since Meng Zhang had already arrived here safely, and there were likely no unexpected incidents on his return journey.

With plenty of time at hand, Jin LiTrue Monarch decided to give some guidance to Jin Qiao'er's cultivation. Meng Zhang cheekily took the opportunity to seek advice on some cultivation matters. As long as it didn't involve confidential cultivation secrets, Jin LiTrue Monarch willingly provided answers. If faced with questions she didn't want to answer directly, she would offer some broad suggestions.

With her current Cultivation Base and perspective, Jin LiTrue Monarch's casual pointers were enough to greatly benefit Meng Zhang. He was sensible enough not to inquire about Jin LiTrue Monarch's cultivation secrets, focusing on ordinary cultivation questions.

Jin LiTrue Monarch primarily devoted her energy to guiding Jin Qiao'er's cultivation. For Meng Zhang, she merely offered a few casual pointers during their conversation. At one point, Jin LiTrue Monarch mentioned that during her time in Nine Heavens, she had slain a Cloud Beast with Gold Core stage strength and obtained a thunder essence.

With her deep comprehension of the Thunder Grand Dao, she easily tamed the violent thunder power and refined the thunder essence into a Thunder Dan (Thunder Pill).

This Thunder Dan contains terrifying thunder power and has significant effects. It can be used to refine magic tools and more. Jin LiTrue Monarch herself doesn't need this Thunder Dan, and Jin Qiao'er doesn't currently require it either. She plans to exchange this Thunder Dan for some useful Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects at the Jiuqu League.

Upon hearing this, Meng Zhang's heart stirred, and he asked Jin LiTrue Monarch for the Thunder Dan. Of course, he wasn't asking for it for free; he intended to exchange it with spiritual stones or Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects.

Jin Qiao'er hasn't yet refined a natal magic tool after breaking through to the Gold Core stage. While Jin LiTrue Monarch is prepared, she still lacks some spiritual materials. Now, upon hearing Meng Zhang's request, she casually tossed the Thunder Dan to him but requested that Meng Zhang use the power of Taiyi Sect to collect the lacking spiritual materials.

Meng Zhang readily agreed and assured her that he would do his best. After receiving the list of required spiritual materials from Jin LiTrue Monarch, Meng Zhang bid farewell and returned to Hundred Grass Slope.

Once back at Hundred Grass Slope, he summoned Shocking ThunderSpirit General and handed him the Thunder Dan. As soon as Shocking ThunderSpirit General saw the Thunder Dan, his usually proud demeanor turned extremely eager. He thanked Meng Zhang profusely and, in front of him, carefully sensed the thunder power contained within the Thunder Dan. He then informed Meng Zhang that once he refined the thunder power within the Thunder Dan, he would have a chance to restore his strength to the Gold Core stage.

Without wanting to linger, Shocking ThunderSpirit General hastily left, returning to seclusion. Afterward, Meng Zhang called his senior disciple Niu Dawei and handed over the list of spiritual materials, instructing him to mobilize the entire Taiyi Sect's power and collect the materials as quickly as possible.

Even before receiving Jin LiTrue Monarch's rewards, this was the first task she entrusted to Meng Zhang. Regardless of the circumstances, Meng Zhang had to complete it neatly and satisfactorily.

Jin LiTrue Monarch chose to protect Taiyi Sect not just out of consideration for their past relationship but also because she hoped Taiyi Sect would serve her. Taiyi Sect had made significant progress over the years, becoming a force to be reckoned with among Gold Core sects. No one could ignore Taiyi Sect anymore.

After joining the Jiuqu League, Taiyi Sect's connections deepened, and they gradually extended their influence within the league, establishing contact with more cultivation powers and gaining access to more channels of communication. As long as they were willing to pay the price, acquiring some Third Rank spiritual items and materials was no longer difficult for Taiyi Sect.

Although Meng Zhang believed in Taiyi Sect's current capabilities, just to be safe, he also contacted an old friend, Jue Ying. If Taiyi Sect's channels couldn't quickly obtain the required materials, he would ask her to help collect them through the Dark Alliance's channels.

After dealing with these matters, Meng Zhang could finally focus on his cultivation. Jin Qiao'er had recently formed his core and already started refining a natal magic tool. Meng Zhang had already reached the Gold Corelate stage, yet he had not begun preparing her natal magic tool.

This was because Meng Zhang had high standards and was quite picky. A cultivator's natal magic tool was intimately connected to them and required the cultivator to invest their efforts and nurture it slowly. If the natal magic tool were damaged or destroyed, the cultivator connected to it would also suffer severe consequences.

Meng Zhang had great confidence in his own cultivation and believed that the Gold Core stage was certainly not the end of his cultivation path. A natal magic tool should accompany a cultivator throughout their growth. If the material was of low quality, it might hinder his progress when his cultivation base advanced in the future.

In the inheritances that Meng Zhang obtained, there were methods for refining natal magic tools. Depending on the materials used, the power and potential of the natal magic tool varied. Meng Zhang, however, looked down on even Third Rank spiritual materials and believed that at least Fourth Rank spiritual materials were required to refine his own natal magic tool.

Fourth Rank spiritual materials were materials even Primordial Spirit True Monarchs would find useful. Taiyi Sect currently lacked the capability to snatch such materials from Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, nor did they have other means to acquire Fourth Rank spiritual materials. As a result, Meng Zhang's plans to refine his natal magic tool were delayed.

Despite having reached the Gold Corelate stage, Meng Zhang had not started refining his natal magic tool yet, making him quite exceptional among Gold Core cultivators. Seeing that Jin Qiao'er was about to start refining her natal magic tool, Meng Zhang began to reconsider his original thoughts.

There was still over a year left before he had to accompany Jin LiTrue Monarch to the Jiuqu League. Meng Zhang temporarily set aside this matter and decided to consider it later upon his return.

Not long after, Meng Zhang received another troublesome piece of news. Taiyi Sect's War Hall Hall Master, Zheng Chao, had successfully formed his core a few years ago. After obtaining Sect Master Meng Zhang's approval, he passed the position of War Hall Hall Master to a disciple at the Foundation Building stage. Now, as an elder, although Zheng Chao still supervised War Hall affairs, he no longer needed to handle the daily affairs, resulting in more free time.

This combative individual couldn't sit still in the sect. Under the pretext of traveling, he left a letter and departed Taiyi Sect, heading deep into the Demon Wind Gobi to seek battles with opponents. The situation in the depths of Demon Wind Gobi was so tense; would Zheng Chao's actions provoke new changes and conflicts between the warring factions?

Initially, Meng Zhang planned to summon Zheng Chao back to the sect as the Sect Master. However, upon second thought, Meng Zhang realized that although Zheng Chao was combative, he wasn't someone who disregarded the overall situation or acted recklessly. The situation in the depths of Demon Wind Gobi had already been conveyed to the sect's higher-ups. Zheng Chao persisted in going there, so he must have his own considerations.

Considering this, Meng Zhang chose to trust that Zheng Chao wouldn't cause trouble and let him act freely.

In reality, the situation around Taiyi Sect had been stable over the years, maintaining prolonged peace. Gold Core cultivators in the sect no longer needed to stay within the sect all the time. With enough free time, they could take turns traveling and gaining experience.

Once Taiyi Sect dedicated itself to a task, it could unleash a surprisingly powerful force that even astonished Meng Zhang. In less than half a year, without needing to trouble Jue Ying, Taiyi Sect's efforts alone collected all the various spiritual materials Jin LiTrue Monarch needed.

When Meng Zhang rushed to the Daoist temple and personally handed these spiritual materials to Jin LiTrue Monarch, she was very satisfied and praised Meng Zhang generously. Taking advantage of her good mood, Meng Zhang boldly sought advice from her and gained substantial insights.

At this time, True Monarch Azure Mist also entrusted a message via Great Wind City, bringing the latest news. All preparations for the grand ceremony were complete, and it was scheduled to take place on the fifteenth of March next year in the headquarters of the Jiuqu League, Jiuqu City. They welcomed Jin LiTrue Monarch to join the Jiuqu League.

Jin LiTrue Monarch spent the remaining time in the Deadly Sea of Sand and set off for Jiuqu City in early January of the coming year. As Jin LiTrue Monarch's protector and Taiyi Sect's Sect Master, Meng Zhang also set out with several high-ranking members of the sect.

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