Chapter 1005

Chapter 1005: A Thousand Years

"Thanks for the offer, Brother, but I’ll pass on the time clone," Xu Fan said, waving his hand dismissively.

He trusted the three clones working tirelessly in the underground space more than any time clone.

Over the years, he had perfected his clone technique to its absolute limit.

Even if a Great Luo Sage came after him, he was confident he’d survive.

"Are you sure you don’t need it?" the elderly man with white hair pressed again.

"Brother, if you truly believe I can help you and your disciples overcome your great catastrophe, then you should trust me on this."

"If I’m ever destined to fall, even your Hall of Time won’t be able to save me."

"So, don’t trouble yourself, Brother."

Fate and causality were tricky things, and Xu Fan worried that keeping a time clone might just invite more complications.

"Alright," the elderly man with white hair conceded with a nod.

His innate supreme treasure wasn’t infallible; in certain situations, even a time clone wouldn’t make a difference.

After some more conversation, the two went their separate ways.

Time flew by, and the years slipped away like sand through an hourglass.

After a thousand years of relentless teaching and the use of Time Treasures to speed up his disciples’ cultivation,

nearly thirty percent of the third-generation disciples in the Hidden Spirit Sect had reached the peak of the true immortal stage, just a final push away from becoming Golden Immortals.

But that final push seemed insurmountable; no matter how much Xu Fan explained or guided them along the wide road, not a single disciple could break through.

With the thousand years of teaching now behind him, Xu Fan reclined in the courtyard lounge chair.

Gazing up at the glittering starry sky, he let out a deep sigh.

"Maybe a thousand years just isn’t enough," Xu Fan muttered, stroking his chin. "Is that why no one’s reached the Golden Immortal stage?"

In that same thousand years, the Golden Academy in Golden City had become renowned across much of the human territory.

Thanks to its advanced illusion-based education system, it had produced a slew of talented individuals in various unconventional paths.

Particularly in alchemy, artifact crafting, talismans, puppetry, and formations, many masters had emerged.

There were now over ten thousand masters in alchemy, artifact crafting, and formations, with some even showing the potential to become grandmasters.

These days, the Golden Academy focused mainly on teaching unconventional paths, while the mainstream cultivation methods had taken a backseat.

Most new members joined not to cultivate but to network with those excelling in unconventional fields.

Even many Immortal Sects and sacred places sent their disciples with talent in unconventional paths to the Golden Academy for foundational training.

As a result, the Hidden Spirit Sect now received over a hundred million Immortal Jade annually, and Golden City had grown into the third-largest city in the Star Yuexian Domain, reclaiming the prosperity it had enjoyed hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Xu Fan had initially thought that with all this Immortal Jade, he could quickly advance to the Golden Immortal stage. But to his frustration, it seemed like all the Time Treasures in the Immortal Realm of the human race had been bought up or had skyrocketed in price.

Now, accelerating time for just one year cost an unprecedented 300,000 Immortal Jade, and even then, Pang Fu could only secure a small amount of Time Treasures each year.

As things stood, Xu Fan was still 100,000 years away from becoming a Golden Immortal.

He couldn’t help but feel that if he kept buying Time Treasures, the prices would only keep climbing.

So, he decided to stop the time acceleration and wait for the prices and market supply to return to their previous levels before making any more purchases.

"Greetings, Grand Elder," Zhang Xueling appeared behind Xu Fan.

"Is there something you need?" Xu Fan asked, half-closing his eyes; after a thousand years of teaching, even he felt a bit weary in spirit.

"Grand Elder, I feel like the path to becoming a Golden Immortal is blocked. Even though my understanding of the true immortal’s path has reached its peak and touched the essence of the wide road, I still can’t advance."

"So, I have a theory," Zhang Xueling said respectfully.

"Go on," Xu Fan responded, showing some interest.

"I checked the grape’s database and found that no one in the Immortal Realm has become a Golden Immortal before the age of 100,000."

"So, I think this might be a restriction set by the Heavenly Way’s Will for advancing to a Golden Immortal."

"Or perhaps, to face the Golden Immortal heavenly tribulation, one must be at least 100,000 years old."

"I also noticed that the causal power on my body has increased, as if it’s a test of fate before a great catastrophe," Zhang Xueling explained.

"Impressive! The grapes haven’t figured this out yet, and you’ve already found the cause," Xu Fan said, feeling pleased.

The grapes had similar thoughts but not as thorough as Zhang Xueling’s analysis.

"100,000 years, huh…" Xu Fan sighed deeply. Speeding up true immortal cultivation requires Time Treasures, but now most of the Time Treasures on the market have been bought by Xu Fan.

If he keeps buying Time Treasures to speed up his disciples’ cultivation, he might need to open several more academies just to cover the sect’s needs.

"Go back for now. If advancing to a true immortal requires 100,000 years of accumulation, then let’s take it slow. I’ll think of a solution later," Xu Fan told Zhang Xueling.

"As you command, Grand Elder," Zhang Xueling replied and left.

"Grapes, contact Pang Fu and go to the Tianding Merchant Association to buy the relevant data," Xu Fan instructed.

"Understood," Grapes responded.

"After working hard for 1,000 years, it feels like I’m drawing water with a bamboo basket," Xu Fan thought, sensing that Zhang Xueling’s words might indeed be true.

Just then, a Quasi-Immortal aura suddenly appeared in the Hidden Spirit Sect.

"Master, fourth-generation disciple Wu Gang has advanced to a Quasi-Immortal," Grapes reported.

"To advance to a Quasi-Immortal in just over 1,000 years, the Immortal Realm truly is remarkable," Xu Fan couldn’t help but exclaim.

Before long, a towering man over ten feet tall appeared in Xu Fan’s courtyard.

Upon seeing Xu Fan, he excitedly bowed and said, "Greetings, Grand Elder!"

"Good. You specialized in body refinement, and your foundation is solid."

"From now on, you will be the Chief Disciple among the fourth-generation disciples," Xu Fan appointed.

The Chief Disciple has different privileges from regular disciples, much like the difference between a guild leader and ordinary members in a game.

"As you command, Grand Elder."

Then, a small teleportation formation with a diameter of ten feet appeared in the courtyard, and a set of celestial tool heavy armor along with a grade-in celestial heavy axe emerged from the formation.

"This is your reward for being the first to advance to a Quasi-Immortal: the Titanium Star Heavy Armor and the Nine Mountains Heavy Axe."

"Work hard in your cultivation and strive to surpass your idol," Xu Fan encouraged with a smile.

He had previously looked into Wu Gang’s profile and learned that he had a connection with Xiong Li.

Wu Gang nodded excitedly.

"Go back; newly advanced Quasi-Immortals need to stabilize their realms."

With excitement, Wu Gang left.

"Master, the sect’s fourth Golden Immortal puppet has been successfully refined and is currently on standby," Grapes’ voice echoed after Wu Gang departed.

"We’ve succeeded in making the fourth Golden Immortal puppet. Speaking of which, it’s been over a thousand years since Old Six left; haven’t we heard any news about Li Xuandao from the Youming Immortal Realm?"

Mentioning the Golden Immortal puppet reminded Xu Fan of Li Xuandao.

"Still no news," Grapes replied.

"Let’s wait a bit longer. Not long ago, I had a divination for him; after disaster comes fortune. Hopefully, he can return soon," Xu Fan said.