The Undying Immortal System

Chapter 460 – Life 119, Age 21, Martial Master Peak

As we approached our stronghold in the mountains east of Whistling Arrow City, it was clear that our week-long absence hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Along the compound’s perimeter, long furrows scarred the earth, each one packed with the mangled remains of some sorry excuse for a cultivator. It was a gruesome sight, but it left no doubt about the effectiveness of our Mountain-Protecting Formation. While we were gone, dozens of intruders had tested our defenses. Not a single one had made it past the outer walls.

This did leave us with a rather large mess to clean up. However, before assigning the Disciples such a grim, thankless task, I wanted to give them their reward for their work in the Shattered Blades Realm. So, I marched everyone down to the basement and pulled them into my inner world.

They appeared at the center of what would one day become my Plane of Light—though, at the moment, it hardly deserved such a lofty title. For now, it was nothing but an empty, black expanse that swallowed both sound and distance. The only ‘light’ came from the storms of energy that still raged above the nine stolen formation plates.

I formed an avatar at the center of the arc of formation plates and faced the members of my sect.

“Some of you hid it better than others, but none of you were happy that I didn’t allow you to enhance your affinities in the Shattered Blades Realm. Well, now you see the reason for this decision.”

I spread my arms wide, gesturing to the formation plates that surrounded me.

“Thanks to the bold efforts of Revered Elders Shi and Meng, we now control the Bureau’s Infusion Formations.” I swept my gaze over the gathered Disciples, letting my expression turn to steel. “Do not share this. Don’t even talk about it. If the Bureau learns of what we’ve done, they won’t just reclaim their formations. They’ll tear our sect apart to find out how we acquired them.”

In truth, we would likely face nothing more than a few hours of paperwork. However, the Bureau would inevitably ask us questions about how we acquired these formations, and those were questions that I preferred not to answer.

“This formation contains guandao essence,” I continued, turning to the center of the arc. “I do not yet have as much control over these formations as the Bureau, so we’ll keep things simple. The guandao essence will be split twenty-five ways, with each of you receiving an equal share. The essences of the other eight weapons aren’t as valuable to our sect, but they may prove useful in your professions. Therefore, you will each be allowed to absorb a portion of essence for two additional weapons, with each portion equal to the share of guandao essence you absorb.”

This instantly piqued everyone’s interest. However, since no one knew how much their affinities would actually improve, their excitement was somewhat muted. To fix this, I decided to start with a Disciple from Kan’s group.

“Suliang Xin, present yourself.”

A young woman stepped forward, shoulders squared. Over the past week, she had endured endless days of non-stop combat, but her stride remained crisp and forceful.

I flexed my will, and an affinity testing orb pedestal appeared directly in front of her.

Suliang Xin didn’t need any instructions. She placed her palm on the orb and infused it with qi without even needing to be asked. A few seconds later, the faint, brassy image of a guandao shone from its center.

“Mid eight-star,” I said, giving her a measured nod. “You’ve done well for someone so young.”

At my gesture, she entered the guandao formation and sat down, posture crisp and disciplined.

I injected a thread of qi into the formation, and Suliang Xin was immediately struck by several beams of light, each one drilling into a different acupoint. The beams held for a few breaths, brightening as the formation forced the essence into her soul. Then, they snapped off, and new beams shot essence into different acupoints.

This continued for several minutes, with Suliang Xin’s expression constantly cycling between pleasure and pain. When exactly one twenty-fifth of the essence was used up, it abruptly ended.

Rising on unsteady legs, Suliang Xin stepped out and placed her hand back onto the affinity testing orb. This time, a fainter, silvery guandao appeared.

“A low six-star guandao affinity,” I announced, projecting my voice to ensure the result reached every ear.

One of our strongest Disciples had just improved her guandao affinity by nearly two whole stars. This result finally got everyone excited, though the reality of the situation wasn’t nearly as dramatic as it appeared.

Everyone in Kan’s and YuLong’s groups had been blessed with an exceptional talent for the guandao. A low six-star affinity was nothing. Given time, Suliang Xin would have been able to climb far higher all on her own. This formation had only saved her a few years of effort.

Our Disciples weren’t aware of this, however. To them, such an immediate, dramatic boost to Suliang Xin’s affinities might as well have been a second blessing.

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“Line up,” I ordered, raising my voice and gesturing toward the formation. “One at a time. No rushing.”

Over the next hour or so, each of our Disciples filed through the formations. I kept track of everyone’s guandao affinities, while Meng LuYao and YuLong noted their affinities for the other weapons.

Unsurprisingly, despite wildly different starting points, everyone ended up with low 6-star affinities. After all, compared to the amount of essence needed to go from low six-star to mid six-star, the amount needed to go from low nine-star to peak eight-star was trivial.

Once everyone was through, I sent them all back to the basement of our stronghold. The Infusion Formations, however, remained where they were. Though temporarily out of essence, once recharged, they would serve as a powerful incentive, encouraging our Disciples to continue contributing to our sect.

With the Shattered Blades Realm behind us, our stronghold sank into a deep, watchful silence. Instead of concocting pills or sparring in the practice yards, our Disciples sat in the cultivation halls, motionless, each one racing to break through to Martial Master before the onset of stagnation.

I, meanwhile, was holed up in the stronghold’s library, poring over everything that I had learned in the Heroes Treasury.

The techniques that we had purchased were impressive, but they didn’t quite suit our needs. And, since most of them had been purchased in an alternate timeline, using them directly would have raised a few too many eyebrows. However, by combining these techniques with ones that were locked away in my mental library, I created new techniques that I could confidently claim as my own.

That said, while helpful, these techniques only represented a small boost to our knowledge base. The real prize was what I had learned about formations and refined weapons.

The Heroes Treasury had been packed with weapons from some of the best refiners in the domain—a domain renowned for its high-quality weaponry. These weapons had only been illusions, and I hadn’t been allowed to touch them, but I had still learned a lot about how the domain’s top refiners approached formations and weapon design.

So, whenever I got bored with developing new cultivation techniques, I took out a blank scroll and sketched out a few designs for our sect’s Rank 3 weapons.

As the Disciples completed their advancements to Martial Master, the stronghold quickly came back to life. Excited to test the strength of their improved cultivation bases, the new Masters spent long hours in the workshops and training yards. The practice was valuable in its own right, but the elders and I did our best to steer everyone toward work that would also earn contribution points.

Bao Ming and Ye Sheng devoted themselves to cultivating high-quality Rank 2 herbs, while the Sulan cousins worked on learning how to refine those herbs into patterned pills. Shi TieWen, meanwhile, partnered with JiuLi to develop Rank 2 refined clothing.

With the Li Clan’s invasion underway in the north, these products, all of which were useful in the war effort, earned far more contribution points than normal. As a result, the number of contribution points earned by our crafters surged. At the same time, though, the number of contribution points earned by our warriors plummeted.

At first, this was because they were still learning how to use their new Rank 2 techniques. However, when Kan and YuLong deemed them worthy of setting out on a few simple training missions, we discovered that the Bureau had significantly reduced the number and value of random hunting missions. If our warriors wanted to earn a meaningful number of contribution points, they could only do so by going north and joining the fight against the Li Clan.

I didn’t want to send our people against Emperor Li’s disciple too early, but the Bureau’s actions were a clear signal that this conflict was far larger than I had originally anticipated. They wouldn't have canceled so many bounties just to fight off a few groups of scattered cultivators. The only plausible explanation I could think of was that things had escalated into an all-out war.

Dangerous as this was, it presented us with an invaluable opportunity. As long as our people stayed near the outer edge of the war zone, they could sharpen themselves against real opponents while remaining relatively safe. They would also get to observe the invading army directly to learn how it fought.

Still, I didn’t want our people going in unprepared. I insisted that everyone remain in the stronghold for another full year, practicing relentlessly, learning techniques, and advancing as far as their foundations would allow. In the meantime, our crafters worked to earn contribution points as quickly as possible.

As soon as we had enough points, I crafted a set of six Rank 3 weapons and handed them to YuLong and five Masters of his choosing. They left for the north that same day. A few months later, we had enough materials to repeat the process. I crafted another set of weapons and gave them to Kan and five Masters of his choosing, who soon set out to join YuLong.

Back in our stronghold, Meng LuYao continued training the rest of our fighters, ensuring that we could still defend the place should it ever come under attack.

Years slipped by in a steady rhythm of study, training, and war.

At the sect, cultivation and professions advanced side by side. Our workshops never went quiet, and our cultivation halls were never empty. Our primary focus was on crafting items that would directly benefit our fellow sect members. We still needed contribution points, and the Bureau’s wartime prices were too good to waste, but our priority was to be as self-sufficient as possible.

Up north, Kan and YuLong fought a slow, brutal war of attrition that refused to end. The invaders were weaker and less numerous than the warriors from the Heroes Domain, but according to Kan, fighting them was like fighting phantoms. They struck where the Heroes Domain was soft, then vanished before anyone could respond. Every time the Domain shored up one weakness, the enemy found a new one to exploit.

The only real victories came when detachments from the Nine Rivers Domain got greedy. Occasionally—and seemingly against orders—one of their detachments would win a small skirmish, then press forward instead of retreating. These rare moments allowed the Heroes Domain to turn likely defeats into bloody victories.

These hit-and-run tactics led to neither side gaining much ground, but with each passing year, the forces from the Nine Rivers Domain grew stronger. Before long, higher-Rank warriors would need to step in. Otherwise, the situation would likely spiral out of control.

For us, however, these details were of little importance. I had no intention of confronting Jon until he, I, and my entire sect were much stronger. As long as I advanced faster than he did, I would be able to protect myself from any tricks his blessing might try to pull. And, more importantly, the further Jon advanced, the better the reward I would receive when he died.

With all this in mind, once everyone was at least Martial Master 5 and had a solid understanding of Rank 2 fighting techniques, I summoned Kan and YuLong back to the sect. It was time to upgrade our sect.