Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

"Elder!"

"Elder Zhu!"

The Xi siblings couldn’t hide their excitement, clasping their hands in a salute.

"Mm."

Zhu Ju nodded.

"I have traveled far, and with the recent upheaval in the Ten Thousand Mountains, I must thank you two young friends for guiding me. Otherwise, who knows how long it would have taken to find my way back to the Sect."

"You’re too kind, Elder," Xi Chen said respectfully.

"It was our good fortune to be able to help you. More than that, you are the one who saved our lives."

...

"Elder!"

He grit his teeth and dropped to his knees with a THUD.

"I beg you to take me as your disciple, Elder! I, Xi Chen, am willing to serve you faithfully, to be your humble servant."

THUD!

Beside him, Xi Youyue blinked, then knelt as well, knocking her head on the stone slab.

The sound of their kowtows went THUMP, THUMP, as if the stone slab itself might crack.

"You want me to be your master?" Zhu Ju chuckled.

"I recall you vowing to join the Profound Clarity Sect."

"With your Talent, it’s not just the Profound Clarity Sect—most Immortal Sects in the Immortal Alliance would take you. The Bright Void Sect has fallen so far; it’s not necessarily a good choice."

"Elder." Xi Chen looked up, his face flushed.

"In the past, I was ignorant and didn’t know my own limits. Only after meeting you, Elder, did I understand what a true enlightened person is. To be able to become your disciple... even the Profound Clarity Immortal Sect can take a back seat."

"Haha..." Zhu Ju laughed heartily.

"You little rascal. If you can’t say something flattering without looking like a thief with shifty eyes, then don’t say it at all."

He didn’t think there was anything wrong with Xi Chen’s approach.

As the number one Major Sect in the Immortal Alliance, with one of the Immortal Alliance’s three Nascent Soul True Men presiding over it, the Profound Clarity Immortal Sect boasted more than ten Golden Core Grandmasters. Such a behemoth was far beyond what the Bright Void Sect could ever compare to.

If there was a choice.

Anyone who wasn’t a fool would choose the Profound Clarity Immortal Sect.

Never mind that the Bright Void Sect had long since declined; even in its prime, it couldn’t compare to the Profound Clarity Sect.

"Elder."

Xi Chen scratched his head and gave a dry laugh.

"The Profound Clarity Immortal Sect is great, but it’s not easy to get in. And even after joining, you have to pass all sorts of tests to learn the True Inheritance. There are so many Sect Disciples that resources are scarce. With my personality and no backing, it would be hard to achieve anything even if I did join."

"It would be better to become your disciple."

"Hah..." Zhu Ju shook his head lightly.

"In the end, it all comes down to personal gain."

"Elder." Xi Chen’s face paled, and he said hastily,

"Ever since I met you, Elder, I’ve felt a strong affinity for you. I sincerely wish to become your disciple."

"Sincerity or self-interest, it doesn’t matter," Zhu Ju said slowly after a moment’s thought.

"I didn’t originally plan on taking disciples. And while I do now, I don’t have much time to teach."

"If you truly wish to be my disciple, you must be mentally prepared. You might not gain much from it."

He had taken four apprentices in the Otherworld. Among them, Qingfeng and Ming Yue could barely be said to have received some of his legacy.

The other two were disciples in name only.

It would be the same here.

He had too many secrets he couldn’t afford to reveal, and he didn’t have that much time to spend teaching apprentices.

"Master!" Xi Chen’s eyes lit up, and he kowtowed hastily.

"To become your disciple is all I could ever ask for! How could I dare presume to ask for anything more?"

"Master, please accept your disciple’s bow!"

"Mm."

Zhu Ju allowed Xi Chen to kowtow a full nine times before lightly raising his hand. An Invisible Force lifted the young man to his feet.

"From now on, you are my first disciple in the Bright Void Sect. Later, I’ll have Nephew Ma register you and get you a set of Inner Sect Disciple robes. Once you reach the Late-Stage Innate realm, you can become a Core True Inheritance disciple."

"Yes."

Xi Chen replied with the utmost respect.

"Master," Xi Youyue blinked.

"What about me?"

"You..." Zhu Ju chuckled.

"You haven’t reached the Innate realm yet. You’ll be an Outer Sect Disciple for now. We can discuss it again when you advance to the Innate realm."

"Oh!" Xi Youyue nodded, looking a little unwilling.

The main reason Zhu Ju accepted Xi Chen—or rather, the Xi siblings—was that they were of good character.

Secondly,

He had no foundation in the Bright Void Sect and needed some help, for instance, with the wine-brewing business, which he definitely couldn’t let Xu Hanzhi control entirely.

It wasn’t a matter of mistrust, but of taking precautions.

Xi Chen’s reasons for taking Zhu Ju as his master were similar. Their personalities were compatible, and he needed the guidance of a Dao Foundation Cultivator.

The crucial point was this.

Although the Bright Void Sect had declined, its legacy was still strong.

If he joined another Immortal Sect, he certainly wouldn’t be able to learn a top-tier inheritance in a short time, and it would be difficult to study under a famous master.

The two of them hit it off immediately.

*

*

*

To resist the invasion of the Demon Dao, the Immortal Alliance had established a defensive line several thousand miles long in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Each Immortal Sect had set up a garrison along the line.

If one was in trouble, aid would come from all directions.

Between the garrisons, a large Marketplace could be found every hundred miles or so, making it convenient for Cultivators from all walks of life to trade.

The Marketplaces near the two great Immortal Sects, the Profound Clarity Immortal Sect and the Celestial Yu Immortal Sect, were the largest and most prosperous.

Seeking Immortal Tower.

It was a shop that specialized in buying and selling all kinds of Refining Materials, and it was also a business owned by the Seeking Immortal Sect.

"I’ve heard recently that a Fellow Daoist from the Bright Void Sect has returned from the East Sea. I have been wanting to pay a visit, but alas, I have been too busy with affairs to get away."

Qiao Bai emerged from behind the counter, smiling and clasping his hands.

"I never imagined that Fellow Daoist Zhu would come here himself. This is truly a joyous occasion."

"You’re joking, Fellow Daoist," Zhu Ju said.

"I’m here to sell some materials."

"Oh?" Qiao Bai’s eyes lit up.

"The East Sea Cultivation World may not be as prosperous as Dazhou, but the sea is vast and holds no shortage of hidden Rare Treasures. Since you’ve made a trip through the East Sea, Fellow Daoist, your gains must have been substantial, yes?"

Zhu Ju’s expression stiffened.

He had indeed once reaped a great harvest—so much so that his storage bag could barely hold it all. He had even obtained a Magical Treasure as a trophy.

Alas... it had all been used up while he was on the run.

This was especially true for the Magical Treasure known as the Trident. When used in the sea, its power was comparable to a Middle Grade Magical Treasure.

But then... while holding it, Zhu Ju had encountered a Tier Three Demon Beast. The Demon Beast had attacked him madly, chasing him for half a year. No matter how he fled, it would always catch up to him soon after.

If Zhu Ju hadn’t been able to take refuge in the Otherworld, he would have perished long ago. Even so, it was a series of perilous encounters.

Only at the very end did he discover the truth. The materials used to refine the Trident were the spine and sharp horns of one of the Demon Beast’s own kind—and there was a high probability they were even related by blood. It was only after he threw the Trident into the deep sea that he finally escaped the creature.

He had gained nothing from that experience; on the contrary, he had consumed a great many resources.

"Don’t even mention it."

Sighing, Zhu Ju gave a slight wave of his hand and took a dark, metallic slab from his storage bag.

"It’s this. Fellow Daoist, please give me an estimate."

"Oh!" Qiao Bai’s eyes lit up.

"Primordial Magnetic Meteorite Iron! This is good stuff."

He rubbed his hands together, and a rosy light emerged from his palms, sweeping back and forth over the Primordial Magnetic Meteorite Iron.

"High Grade!"

"It’s been crudely refined, and there are even some Elemental Magnetic Spirit Patterns carved into it, but unfortunately, they’re incomplete."

Qiao Bai shook his head with a look of regret.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, this should be one half of a greatsword. A complete one would be even more rare."

"It is," Zhu Ju said. "How many Spirit Stones can Seeking Immortal Tower offer?"

"Hmm..." Qiao Bai thought for a moment before speaking.

"To be honest with you, Fellow Daoist, there’s a Cultivator from the Profound Clarity Immortal Sect who has been collecting Primordial Magnetism items for Artifact Refining. This should meet his requirements. I can offer to buy it for two hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones."

"You can go ask around at other places, Fellow Daoist, but no one will offer a higher price than this."

Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up, and he smiled.

"No need. I’ll sell it to Seeking Immortal Tower!"

He had already inquired at other shops; the highest price they offered was one hundred and sixty Middle Grade Spirit Stones.

The price Qiao Bai offered was indeed quite high!

...

Walking out of the Seeking Immortal Tower, Zhu Ju patted his now-full storage bag and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

’Indeed, money makes a hero bold.’

’It wasn’t a waste of effort to smash the Primordial Magnetic Heavy Sword in two. At least it’s solved my financial crisis.’

Unless there was truly no other choice, no one would break their own belongings apart to sell them.

Gazing at the sky, Zhu Ju’s expression suddenly became extremely complicated. With a soft sigh, his body transformed into a streak of Tunneling Light and shot into the heavens.

「A short while later.」

Near the location of the Celestial Yu Immortal Sect’s Outer Sect.

Zhu Ju descended from the sky, dispelling his Tunneling Light. He clasped his hands in a salute toward the gatekeeper of a manor.

"Zhu Ju of the Bright Void Sect, here to pay a visit."

The gatekeeper was merely a Mortal. How could he have ever encountered a Dao Foundation Cultivator descending from the heavens? He froze on the spot, only snapping back to his senses after a long pause. He hurriedly opened the gate and, forgetting all etiquette, roared toward the inside of the manor.

"A Dao Foundation Elder is visiting!"

...

WHOOSH...

The entire manor instantly erupted into a commotion. Soon, a crowd of people swarmed into the front courtyard, and an old man leaning on a cane emerged, trembling, from the group.

When he saw Zhu Ju, the old man’s cloudy eyes flared with a piercing light. His voice trembled as he spoke:

"Uncle?"

Uncle? Everyone was stunned.

"Luu Di?" Zhu Ju looked at the old man before him, his expression complex. He sighed and nodded.

"It’s me."

"Uncle!" The old man’s body trembled as he began to wail loudly.

"It really is you, Uncle!"

...

"After you disappeared back then, Uncle, Mother was grief-stricken for months. She fell gravely ill. Fortunately, Father managed to get some Spiritual Medicine from the Sect to ease her pain, but she still didn’t last for many years."

Luu Di, supported by others, sat on a chair. He watched the wisps of smoke curl up from the Burning Incense before him and spoke slowly:

"I remember, I had just turned eighteen that year. My younger brother was sixteen, and my little sister was only ten when we lost our mother."

It seems the older one gets, the more nostalgic one becomes.

As he spoke, tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Second Mother was very good to us, but we children were a disappointment. I only reached the Innate realm at fifty, and in my whole life, I’ve only opened One Acupoint."

"My younger brother’s Talent was better than mine, but he ran into some Demonic Demon People and died at thirty."

"My sister married into the Huang Family. Thanks to Second Mother looking after her, her life was decent. She passed away from an illness last year. It’s a pity she died so young and didn’t get to see you return, Uncle."

...

Luu Di rambled on, speaking of past events in a disjointed way, occasionally bowing his head to wipe away tears.

"A few years after Mother passed, Father joined an Immortal Sect Patrol Team. He was injured in an accident, and not long after he retired, he followed Mother."

"From then on, Second Mother became depressed. After working tirelessly for the family for a few more years, she passed away too."

Zhu Ju’s older sister had married Luu Pu, who was an elite in a Mortal gang established by an Inner Sect Disciple of the Celestial Yu Immortal Sect.

Luu Pu later married Wan Wenxin, the "Second Mother" Luu Di spoke of.

Later on.

When the Dazhou Demon Dao ran rampant, their entire family fled to the Ten Thousand Mountains. As a result, they missed Zhu Ju, who had gone searching for them, and they never saw each other again.

Sixty years passed.

Not only were Zhu Shuang, Luu Pu, and Wan Wenxin gone, but even few of their children’s generation remained.

It was easy to say, but the thought of so many partings and deaths brought a heart-wrenching pain.

"Huu..."

Zhu Ju closed his eyes and said slowly:

"Where are my sister’s and brother-in-law’s graves?"

"On the back mountain," Luu Di said.

"We were worried about the Demonic Demon People of the Celestial Corpse Sect practicing Corpse Refining, so they were cremated after death. We only made cenotaphs for them."

"I’ll take you there, Uncle."

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