Chapter 424

Chapter 424: Five Years

Five years later.

This was the sixtieth year since Zhou Luo was reborn in the world of cultivation; at an advanced age, he was still at the mid-level Foundation Establishment.

Losing the help of dual cultivation techniques, with only Seventh Grade spiritual roots, his speed did not increase much. Even in the core area of the Immortal City, over these five years, he had made little progress.

Not only did his cultivation level fail to break through, but during these five years, he had only sired three children, acquiring three draw chances.

These three draws were not satisfying, as they were all unrelated to himself: one was Qi of Innate Origins, another was a special physique suitable for setting up arrays, and the third was a Foundation Establishment blade technique.

He did not use this blade technique.

Although the rewards given by the system allowed direct perfect mastery without the need for specific learning.

But he, who was accustomed to using a sword, found it uncomfortable to suddenly switch to a blade, especially since he lacked a suitable blade handy.

So after obtaining this blade technique, he taught it to Zhou Chang Le.

Zhou Chang Le did enjoy using the blade, and his comprehension of the blade path was profound. With Zhou Luo’s guidance, he soon mastered this Foundation Establishment blade technique.

Now Zhou Chang Le’s status in the Qinyuan Sect was rising higher and higher, partly benefiting from his cultivation talent. Over these five years, his strength had improved again, almost reaching the threshold of the later stage of Qi Refinement.

In cultivation speed, bearing Fourth Grade spiritual roots, he was still much faster than his father, Zhou Luo.

That is why it was said that in the world of cultivation, spiritual roots were the key that determined everything.

Apart from his cultivation level and strength, his contributions to the sect in recent years were considerable. Especially, he had excellently completed various difficult tasks for the sect multiple times, earning deep appreciation.

It was rumored that his master, Master Ziyang, greatly adored and trusted him, making his status comparable to his direct disciples.

Additionally, under Zhou Luo’s instruction, he had established the Heavenly Alliance, which developed extremely rapidly over these five years, with internal sect disciples exceeding several hundred.

Compared to the entire Qinyuan Sect, these people remained insignificant.

But excluding those direct disciples, this could be considered the largest faction among the disciples.

Over these years, the Heavenly Alliance also aided the sect in completing many tasks, becoming thoroughly accepted by the sect’s elders and teachers.

With the presence of the Heavenly Alliance, those direct disciples who desired to bully others became far more restrained.

This caused Zhou Chang Le’s prestige among the disciples to soar straight upward.

Not only him, but his other brothers like Zhou Chang Lun were similarly elevated.

And as the "star" figure promoted by the Heavenly Alliance, after successfully establishing his foundation, Zhou Changqing too was pursued by countless disciples.

Particularly his righteous acts of assistance, which the disciples still delighted in discussing to this day.

Of course, concerning this matter, it was Zhou Luo who had provided the advice.

Since they intended him to become the representative of the Heavenly Alliance, they needed to learn to create momentum; only by having more people discuss him could his prestige continue to rise.

Over these five years, Zhou Luo also had dispatched several of his children to the Qinyuan Sect.

The talents of these children could not match Zhou Chang Le and the others, but with the Heavenly Alliance’s presence, they thrived smoothly in the Outer Sect, cultivating slowly.

After the first batch of children gradually secured their footing, the next step was to gradually send talents to the Qinyuan Sect.

Matters at the Qinyuan Sect were slowly stabilizing, and the Golden Core masters of the sect showed no reaction to it.

Because compared to this matter, they were still troubled by another issue.

In those years, the death of a Golden Core master’s direct disciple in the Longfeng Mountain range caused huge waves.

Chimagong Sect believed this was Qinyuan Sect deliberately targeting them.

For this reason, the former continually pressured the latter, targeting Qinyuan Sect in multiple ways.

Three years ago, Qinyuan Sect could finally endure no more and immediately declared they would strip Chimagong Sect of all assets in Longfeng Mountain range. Sternly, they leveled Zhen Yuan Tower to the ground as punishment.

This incident enraged Chimagong Sect beyond measure.

Both sides clashed fiercely in Longfeng Marketplace, with multiple Foundation Establishment strong persons joining the fight.

This plunged the seemingly peaceful marketplace into chaos, dragging countless cultivators into the fray. Qi Refinement cultivators suffered heavy casualties, with more than half dead or wounded.

A flood of cultivators fled to the nearest Jiang City.

Consequently, prices in Jiang City soared, which let the Lin Family reap substantial gains.

Though the battle didn’t last long, it provoked Qinyuan Sect’s outrage.

For this occurred in their Qinyuan Domain. Their enemy had dispatched numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators to forcibly intervene, plunging Longfeng Marketplace into disorder and devastating its commerce.

This was nothing less than a slap to Qinyuan Sect’s face.

Therefore, Qinyuan Sect chose not to back down, either. They immediately dispatched several Golden Core masters to lead groups across the Longfeng Mountain range, boldly invading Chimagong’s territory and obliterating one of their strongholds.

This explosion finally ignited the keg of powder between both Immortal Sects, bringing all-out war to the brink.

Chimagong Sect didn’t wait idly either. They launched counterattacks without delay, sending forth multiple Golden Core masters of their own.

A fierce battle exploded deep within the Longfeng Mountain range.

The scale of the confrontation was immense, its reach extending far and wide. Even bandits and evil cultivators hidden in remote corners had to swiftly retreat, scattering in all directions.

They never imagined that after finding what seemed perfect hideouts within the mountains, the sheer power wielded when an Immortal Sect truly acted shattered all their illusions.

Right then, they realized how utterly misguided they had been to defy a domain ruler.

When deities war, mortals pay the price.

The entire Longfeng Mountain range had become a battleground for these two Immortal Sects; countless mountain peaks collapsed, immense swaths of forests turned to ash — the carnage was terrifying.

With the Sects at war, elders had no attention to spare for trivial matters involving the youths, like those stirred up by Zhou Chang Le and his peers. This granted the Heavenly Alliance a prime opportunity to grow.

Zhou Luo was fully aware of these developments, of course.

For the conflict between the two Sects massively boosted his enterprises’ profits, and he made a handsome profit.

At last, Zhou Luo understood why so many had risked becoming war profiteers in his past life.

Profits truly did surge chaotically in times like these.

Moreover, this inter-Sect war completely overshadowed Qi Chuan’s death. Zhou Luo breathed a long sigh of relief; his own safety was finally assured.

Beyond this monumental conflict, another event concerned Long Yunshuang.

Five years prior, an urgent matter called her away from Qinyuan City. Since then, there had been no trace of her.

During this absence, Tian Xia Restaurant had appointed a new acting manager.

Reportedly, this manager was only serving temporarily, so cooperation with Zhou Luo continued as before.

As for news on Long Yunshuang herself? None surfaced at all.

Presently, however, it appeared she faced no mortal danger.

After all, had the danger been greater, Tian Xia Restaurant wouldn’t merely install a temporary steward but would likely appoint a permanent successor.