Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Zhang Tie’s Change

A boundless wilderness.

A black Escape Light shot across the sky, streaking in from the distant horizon. As it drew closer, it became clear that the light actually contained a shuttle-shaped Flying Ship.

Standing at the prow of the Flying Shuttle, Li Ping gazed at the colossal city that had appeared in the distance, a wistful look in his eyes.

After more than half a year of constant travel, he had finally returned to Fenglan Immortal City.

However, upon seeing the Immortal City, Li Ping didn’t rush to enter. Instead, he steered the Flying Shuttle toward Gaoji Mountain.

Eventually, the Flying Shuttle came to a halt in the sky above a desolate mountain.

With a wave of his hand, Li Ping put away the Flying Shuttle and flew down into the valley below.

...

Several hours later, when Li Ping once again steered the Flying Ship back toward the Immortal City, he had two additional Storage Bags in his possession.

These two Storage Bags contained the spoils from killing the Demon Cultivator: a Tier Two Top-Grade Pill Furnace, the Blood-Colored Armor Fragment inscribed with the Nine Tribulations True Spirit Scripture, and several Dharma Artifacts the Demon Cultivator had used.

After killing the Demon Cultivator, he had worried that the man might have placed some kind of tracking mark on the items—a mark his low strength at the time would have prevented him from detecting.

This could have led to the classic scenario of "kill the junior, and the senior will come for revenge."

So, he had intentionally divided the items between two Storage Bags and buried them outside the city.

Only now, after so much time had passed and he had made a trip to Jixia and back, did he finally come to retrieve the two Storage Bags.

The outcome was very satisfying. Both Storage Bags were completely untouched.

He considered the items left by the Demon Cultivator.

He would definitely keep the Pill Furnace for his own use. As for the Nine Tribulations True Spirit Scripture recorded on the Blood-Colored Armor Fragment, he planned to cultivate it as his main Cultivation Technique after reaching Core Formation.

As for the several High-tier Dharma Artifacts, he planned to find an opportunity to sell them off in the future.

’Oh? What’s this?’ As his gaze swept over the several Dharma Artifacts, which were clearly items of the Demon Dao, Li Ping’s eyes landed on a dark-colored cloak.

After picking up the dark cloak and experimenting with it, a look of delighted surprise spread across his face.

The dark cloak was named Nightfall, and it turned out to be an exceptionally rare Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact for Concealing Form.

Once donned, the wearer’s form would vanish instantly, impossible to detect even for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

’If I use Nightfall to conceal myself, I can wait for an enemy to get close and launch a surprise attack with poisoned needles.’

’Or, while Concealing my Form, I could secretly release poison with the Blood Banner when the enemy isn’t paying attention.’

’Or I could suddenly bombard them with a massive number of Spirit Talismans.’

...

In an instant, Li Ping came up with several combat strategies that incorporated Nightfall.

After a moment’s hesitation, he ultimately decided to keep Nightfall for his own use.

With this, he now possessed two Tier Two Top-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, the Blood Banner and Nightfall; two Tier Two Upper-Grade Dharma Artifacts, the Purple Shadow Flying Sword and the Red Armor Shield; and a Middle-Grade Dharma Artifact, the Bone-Stealing Needle, among others.

It was safe to say that in terms of both his life-saving abilities and personal combat strength, he now far surpassed the average Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

After stowing his various items away properly,

SWOOSH!

Li Ping urged it on, and the Floating Shadow Shuttle instantly accelerated, speeding toward the Immortal City!

Of course, he had already reverted to his original, unremarkable appearance.

...

「Immortal Peach Mountain, Cave Residence.」

Upon learning that Li Ping had returned to the Immortal City, Zhang Tie was the first to come and visit.

As soon as he stepped into the cave residence, he called out eagerly, "Brother."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Li Ping looked up at Zhang Tie.

He saw that the Zhang Tie of today was dressed in a light-blue Magic Robe. His eyes were as bright and spirited as ever, but the simple, honest look he once had was mostly gone, replaced by an air of authority.

He no longer carried himself with the same timidity; instead, he was supremely confident, his stride powerful and majestic, like that of a dragon or a tiger.

It seemed he had changed a great deal in the year since his successful Foundation Establishment.

Of course, this wasn’t surprising.

Zhang Tie was now a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and, moreover, a disciple of Fenglan Master, the lord of the Immortal City.

His strength and status had both improved by leaps and bounds compared to before his Foundation Establishment.

Before, everyone he met would call him ’Little Zhang’.

But now? Those same people had to respectfully address him as ’Senior Zhang’ upon meeting him.

Those who had once given him the cold shoulder now had to go out of their way to curry favor with him.

In such an environment, it was only natural for his mindset to change; this had nothing to do with his inherent personality.

And this change in mindset also affected his outward appearance.

He projected more confidence, his face no longer betrayed his emotions, his voice was sonorous, and his gait was majestic.

However, perhaps because it hadn’t been long since his Foundation Establishment, he hadn’t yet fully developed the haughty air of a ’senior’ in the Cultivation Realm, that attitude of looking down on Low-tier Cultivators as if they were ants.

...

"Come and sit." Hearing Zhang Tie’s call, Li Ping smiled and nodded, gesturing for him to sit down.

Zhang Tie did as bidden and sat down opposite Li Ping.

A moment later, Bai Lin served them Spirit Tea, and Zhang Tie hurriedly stood up to thank her.

Seeing this, Bai Lin giggled, covering her mouth as she departed.

Once Bai Lin had left, Li Ping and Zhang Tie continued to talk about what had happened after his Foundation Establishment.

At the time, upon learning of Zhang Tie’s successful Foundation Establishment, he hadn’t had a chance to ask for details before returning to the Jiang Kingdom with Daoist Ji.

At Li Ping’s prompting, Zhang Tie quickly recounted all of his recent experiences.

It turned out that after his successful Foundation Establishment, he had been taken to meet his new master.

Unfortunately, Fenglan Master happened to be in seclusion at that very time.

Moreover, not even Dai Sangyu, who managed the Immortal City’s daily affairs in Fenglan Master’s place, knew when she would emerge, and it was unthinkable to disturb her seclusion.

Thus, Zhang Tie was unable to leave Cyan Dragon Mountain and could only ask someone to inform Li Ping and his master, Old Man Lin, of the good news.

When he mentioned the name Dai Sangyu, Zhang Tie paused to sneak a glance at his brother’s expression. Seeing it was perfectly calm and unchanged, he continued speaking.

He remained on Cyan Dragon Mountain, cultivating to stabilize his realm while waiting for Fenglan Master to emerge from seclusion.

In the end, he waited for over half a month before Fenglan Master finally emerged and personally accepted him as her disciple.

By the time all this was done and he was allowed to leave Cyan Dragon Mountain, Li Ping had already departed from the Immortal City.

As he spoke, Zhang Tie’s expression was tinged with regret.

Li Ping smiled and nodded, encouraging him to continue.

Zhang Tie scratched his head and continued to talk about what happened after he became her disciple.

After breaking through to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, his circumstances—apart from not having a cheat like Li Ping—were much better than Li Ping’s had been at the time.

He took Fenglan Master as his teacher, becoming her thirty-seventh disciple and her ninth living Foundation Establishment Disciple.

Although he had entered her tutelage as a Loose Cultivator who had just reached Foundation Establishment and had no emotional bond with Fenglan Master, she had still been generous. With a wave of her hand, she assigned him a cave residence on the lower slopes of Cyan Dragon Mountain, one where the Spiritual Qi density reached Tier Two Upper Grade.

She also permitted him to enter the Secret Skill Pavilion and choose any two secret techniques.

Zhang Tie used one of those slots on a primary Cultivation Technique and the other on a Tier Two Artifact Refining inheritance.

This was a decision he had made after discussing it with his old master, Lin.

Zhang Tie was not yet forty-two this year, a young age compared to the long, two-hundred-and-forty-year lifespan of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

He was still very young, with plenty of time to switch his specialty.

Therefore, aside from his daily cultivation, he was preparing to study Artifact Refining and make it his main profession in the future.

From now on, he wouldn’t be some stinky Skin Maker, but a noble Artifact Refiner.

...

Hearing how easily Zhang Tie had solved the problems of a primary Cultivation Technique and a cultivation Spiritual Land, and had even managed to get a Tier Two Artifact Refining inheritance to switch careers and become an Artifact Refiner...

Li Ping couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

He recalled how much trouble he’d had after his own Foundation Establishment. If not for his cheat, he might still be scrambling for a Cultivation Technique and a Spiritual Land to this day.

Although Zhang Tie had lost his freedom by becoming Fenglan Master’s disciple after his Foundation Establishment—he was now bound to serve the Immortal City for life, to live and die with it—he wasn’t like Li Ping, whose first instinct in a bad situation was to run.

But in return, Zhang Tie had gained a powerful backer and could enjoy many perks.

It was truly hard to say which of them had the better deal.

Then another thought occurred to him. ’If it weren’t for that damned Sword Cultivator stirring up trouble, I’d probably be an Honored Guest Elder of the Immortal City right now!’

...

Li Ping’s reflection lasted only a moment.

After finishing the story of becoming a disciple, Zhang Tie kept talking.

But as he went on, his voice grew quieter, and he seemed rather embarrassed.

Li Ping, however, found it amusing.

Zhang Tie was a young Foundation Establishment Cultivator, not yet forty-two, who had started as a Loose Cultivator with no family backing.

In the eyes of the Foundation Establishment Immortal Races in the Immortal City, these conditions made him the textbook definition of an ideal son-in-law.

Ever since news of his successful Foundation Establishment and his apprenticeship under Fenglan Master had spread, more than one Foundation Establishment Cultivator had come to his door, hoping to marry a junior female relative to him.

If he agreed, he would not only get a beautiful wife but also receive a substantial dowry.

As a lifelong bachelor, Zhang Tie had never experienced anything like this and was completely flustered.

He discussed it with Old Man Lin, but as a mere Qi Refining Cultivator, his master knew nothing about the inner workings of those Foundation Establishment Immortal Races. He was afraid that if Zhang Tie married rashly, he might inadvertently get entangled in the Immortal City’s internal strife.

Therefore, he didn’t dare to give his opinion either.

In the end, the two of them decided to put things off until Li Ping returned so they could consult with him before making a decision.

Of course, they were both in agreement on one thing: he definitely needed to get married.

Now that Zhang Tie had reached Foundation Establishment, there was no longer any need to preserve his virginal pure-yang body. Furthermore, Old Man Lin was all alone, with Zhang Tie as his only family, and he longed to see the day his disciple would marry and have children.

After finishing his story, Zhang Tie looked at Li Ping pleadingly. "Brother, what should I do?"

Li Ping completely understood Zhang Tie’s and Old Man Lin’s concerns.

The internal politics of the Immortal City were far from peaceful. He knew, at the very least, that there were both open and hidden struggles between the master-disciple faction and the Heroic Clans.

For example, the unlucky Wang family had fallen into their current predicament precisely because they had been schemed against by that Cultivator with the surname Ye.

If, before this had happened, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator had married a woman from the Wang family in an attempt to gain a powerful backer...

...then not only would he have failed to gain a backer, but he might very well have been dragged down by the Wang family’s troubles.

If Zhang Tie were to marry carelessly, he could very well face a similar situation.

With this in mind, he gave Zhang Tie a suggestion: if he was truly set on marrying, he should marry a woman from the Meng family.

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