Chapter 967

Chapter 967: Vast Void

“One year costs 35,000, 100 years costs 3.5 million, 1,000 years costs 35 million, 10,000 years costs 350 million, 360,000 years…”

Upon realizing the enormity of these numbers, Xu Fan felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.

“It seems that becoming a Golden Immortal in the short term is out of reach,” Xu Fan sighed.

“I might as well focus on teaching my disciples and the sect’s disciples; that seems more realistic,” Xu Fan decided.

Considering the overall profitability of the Hidden Spirit Sect, he believed he could advance to true immortal within ten thousand years. However, the thought of transitioning from true immortal to Golden Immortal seemed utterly impossible.

At that moment, a guardian true immortal from Golden City came to visit.

“Greetings, Grand Elder,” the guardian true immortal Shangling said with a cheerful expression.

“Based on your expression, it seems the Golden Academy is doing quite well,” Xu Fan replied with a grin.

Seeing the guardian true immortal, he suddenly remembered that the academy had started enrolling students for some time.

“Thanks to the Grand Elder’s support, the academy currently has 3 million students, all drawn from the nearby Giant City.”

“As long as we teach this batch of students well and gain the recognition of the Heavenly Way’s Will, the next enrollment could exceed ten million.”

“I estimate that within a thousand years, the academy may need to expand again,” the guardian true immortal said with a smile.

She came to express gratitude for the illusion teaching celestial tool that Xu Fan provided.

Originally, she thought the illusion teaching would only cover some common Cultivation Techniques or methods.

However, after the students’ trials, they were pleasantly surprised to discover that the illusion teaching included not only techniques and methods but also artifact crafting, alchemy, talismans, formations, and various other unconventional paths.

Using this as a promotional point, she managed to enroll millions of students from the surrounding Giant Cities.

This action made a significant impression at the guardian true immortal conference in the Star Yuexian Domain.

“I came here to express my thanks to your sect and the Grand Elder, and to present the tuition profit share,” the guardian true immortal said, pulling out a storage bag.

Inside the storage bag were 3.1 million Immortal Jade, which accounted for 80% of the tuition profit.

Xu Fan took the storage bag and looked inside, surprised by the amount.

“3.1 million Immortal Jade? That’s quite a lot,” Xu Fan remarked.

“It’s not too much; since students can learn Qi Refinement, alchemy, talismans, formations, and more at the academy, the tuition fees are significantly higher than normal,” the guardian true immortal explained.

“Indeed, if you need any assistance, just let me know,” Xu Fan said with a smile, unexpectedly pleased with this unexpected joy.

“Thank you for your support, Grand Elder, but I do have a request,” the guardian true immortal said, producing several jade plates.

“These are the Golden Academy’s top techniques and corresponding methods; the Grand Elder may want to take a look.”

Xu Fan took the jade plates and examined them briefly, furrowing his brow slightly.

These techniques and methods paled in comparison to those of the Hidden Spirit Sect.

A practitioner with comparable cultivation using Hidden Spirit Sect techniques could easily overpower them.

These techniques and methods were slightly stronger than the average ones in the Immortal Realm, but only by a small margin.

“Is this what your family originally had? It’s a bit lacking,” Xu Fan said.

“So, I would like to request a slightly better technique or method from your sect, so the academy can remain competitive.”

“Of course, I won’t let your sect incur losses. This technique can be sold at the academy, and all proceeds will go to your sect,” the guardian true immortal earnestly requested.

“That sounds good,” Xu Fan said as he casually took out a few jade plates.

These contained techniques and methods he had gathered from others after arriving in the Immortal Realm; they were considered fairly decent.

“Thank you, Grand Elder,” the guardian true immortal expressed his gratitude.

The two then chatted a little longer about matters in the Immortal Realm before the guardian true immortal took his leave.

“3.1 million Immortal Jade; not bad. It should speed things up by about 90 years,” Xu Fan said with a smile.

At this point, his perspective on measurement units had changed.

At the Golden Academy, all the students were currently learning in the Mystical World of the Immortal Realm.

Some students were reviewing techniques, while others practiced their methods.

There were also students sparring using the Mystical Space.

In addition, there was another special area within the Mystical Space.

At this moment, a little boy around ten years old was concentrating hard on using his spiritual energy to ignite spirit fire to forge a piece of spirit iron in front of him.

As he hammered away, he also put all his effort into condensing a spiritual energy hammer to strike the spirit iron.

With the spirit fire blazing below and the spiritual energy hammer striking from above, a Spiritual Sword gradually took shape.

After that, the little boy pushed himself to inscribe three runes onto the sword.

Once he completed everything, the little boy collapsed from exhaustion and exited the illusion teaching world.

At that moment, a congratulatory voice rang out in the space where the little boy had been.

“Congratulations, student Guangxu, for successfully forging the academy’s first excellent-grade treasure; you are awarded 1,000 Contribution Points.”

At that moment, Xu Fan, who was supervising Number One and Number Two working in the underground space, received the news from Grape.

“Master, a crafting genius has been discovered at the Golden Academy.”

A light curtain appeared in front of Xu Fan, showing a scene of the little boy working on artifact crafting.

Xu Fan initially appeared indifferent, but as he watched the boy strike the spirit iron with the spiritual energy hammer, his expression grew serious.

“It’s his first try at crafting, and he can achieve this level.”

Although the Spiritual Sword the boy crafted was just a simulation, the difference when replicated in reality was negligible.

Xu Fan focused on the sword; finally, he raised his hands, and a dark, ethereal Spiritual Sword materialized in his grasp.

This was the first treasure he had crafted, the Tong You, which Xu Fan had kept by his side as a memento despite not using it much.

Now, the sword crafted by the little boy was nearly comparable to his own Tong You.

“The little boy’s name is Guangxu, from Changqing City. His parents are a pair of wandering cultivators…”

Grape detailed Guangxu and his parents’ experiences from childhood to the present.

“His cultivation talent is average, and his comprehension is usual, but he possesses outstanding talent in artifact crafting.”

“Indeed, he seems to be a promising prospect,” Xu Fan said, stroking his chin.

“Grape, when the little boy re-enters the Mystical Space, arrange an entrance test for him at the sect,” Xu Fan instructed.

“Understood, Master.”

Thus, just as Guangxu had recovered his spiritual energy and entered the illusion teaching world again, he fell into a dream.

Yet, when he woke from the dream, he remembered nothing.

“That’s strange, how did I lose more than half of my regained spiritual energy? Seems I didn’t rest enough,” Guangxu said before exiting the illusion teaching space, planning to return to his room to rest some more.

“Master, Guangxu passed the sect test with a perfect score,” Grape reported.

“It’s time to take on a disciple specialized in artifact crafting,” Xu Fan said, stroking his chin.