344: Chapter 339 Joining the Immortal Class

The light in the Wangchuan Nether Realm does not distinguish between day and night.

Su Lin sat cross-legged on that slab of bluestone, while the outside world had quietly turned over several pages.

He had originally calculated everything quite well. A hundred years meant a hundred years, exactly, exiting seclusion right on time, without any delays. But once his mind sank into it, time became a muddled account.

The roots of the world tree within his body were inching their way into the Law veins of this pure land. This thing could not be rushed, but it was also easy to over-force; he could only be patient, like a cook watching over a slow-simmering pot, guarding it for decades.

When he lifted his head from meditation and casually probed outwards with his Divine Sense, he was completely stunned.

The milky-white space rift outside had already shifted its halo rotation frequency three times.

According to the calculation that one day in this place equals three months in the outside world, he had sat for a full three hundred years.

"Good grief."

Su Lin held his forehead and sighed silently in his heart.

What happened to the promised hundred years? One blink, and he had essentially put on two hundred years of extra fat. This wasn't seclusion; he had basically pickled himself into a jar of old salted vegetables.

But on second thought, he felt relieved.

The outside world had only passed a little over nine months at most. Those guys from the Beichen Heavenly Palace who claimed to be orthodox were probably still digging up old accounts in Tianhai City, without even figuring out where they were hiding.

Worth it, absolutely worth it.

Su Lin lowered his head and looked at his hands.

Within his palms, that originally floating Golden Immortal aura had now settled like a piece of warm, ancient jade. The seedling in his Inner World had also grown into a lush tree with a spreading canopy, its branches laden with Law leaves representing seven different Daos, each exuding the weight of a world unto itself.

Golden Immortal Perfection, his Foundation as stable as a rock.

He finally no longer needed to rely on that forcibly acquired fortune to put on a show.

Su Lin stood up, stretched his limbs—which no longer felt stiff—and then slowly spread his Divine Sense across the surroundings of the Silent Realm.

Seven auras, not one missing.

The first one he detected was Su Hongling.

That girl was still staying in the barren mountain to the east of the Silent Realm, but her vital blood was now completely restrained, devoid of her previous reckless and impulsive energy.

Su Lin could even feel that with every breath she took, the mountain would resonate gently; this was a sign that her Physical Body had truly aligned with the Laws of Heaven and Earth.

The Golden Immortal realm for a Body Cultivator never relied on accumulation; it relied on refining every bone into a vessel capable of bearing Laws.

Over these three hundred years, she had finally refined her hard-training techniques into her very bone marrow.

Su Lin nodded inwardly, and his Divine Sense turned to the west.

The scent over there was a bit pungent.

In the valley where Chu Weiwei resided, a medicinal fragrance that had been tamed into submission permeated the air. Her mad demonic cultivation method of using her body as a furnace had been polished to Perfection over these three hundred years, and her Myriad Poison Dao Body had achieved complete Perfection.

Su Lin only took a distant glance before quickly retracting his Divine Sense.

It wasn't that he feared her poison.

It was because he feared that if the girl noticed him watching her, she would immediately trot over and clamor to pay her respects to her Revered Master.

The peace and quiet he had finally managed to accumulate couldn't withstand such a disturbance.

Su Lin also observed the state of the others one by one.

Cold Moon's Imperial Dao Dragon Qi had condensed into nine substantial Ancestral Dragons, coiling around her, exuding an unimaginably majestic aura.

Mu Qingxue's ice and snow Domain could now even briefly freeze the flow of time.

Luo Ximei had mended the cracks in her Dao Foundation, and the two energies of Immortal and Demon were blended seamlessly.

Gu Qiuyue's broken Golden Abacus had also been repaired, and she had incidentally condensed her Business Dao into a unique Law of Karma.

As for Ye You.

That little Vicious Beast was curled up in a black forest in the deepest part of the Silent Realm, having barely moved in three hundred years. The aura of her ancient Bloodline had reached its peak, approaching the realm of the legendary first-generation Abyssal Devouring.

"None of you have disappointed me."

Su Lin withdrew his Divine Sense, and the corners of his mouth finally curled into a satisfied arc.

He cleared his throat, infused a wisp of his Golden Immortal Divine Thought into his voice, and projected it across the entire Silent Realm.

"All of you, come out."

Before two breaths had passed since his voice fell.

A large hole was punched directly through the middle of the barren mountain to the east.

"Old Man! You're finally awake!"

Su Hongling came sprinting over, carrying that familiar black great sword, her pretty face filled with the excitement of being pent up for three hundred years.

"My bones have been itching for ages! There isn't a single living thing in this ghost place that can actually fight. I've been practicing my punches against rocks every day; I've almost developed feelings for them!"

Su Lin looked at her impatient demeanor, as if she were ready to flip a table, and his temples began to throb faintly again.

It seemed that while others spent three hundred years in seclusion comprehending the Dao, for her, all that pent-up energy was just a desire to fight.

"Revered Master."

A soft, sweet voice followed closely behind.

Chu Weiwei drifted over, stepping on the newly grown grass. Her pure little face was even more moving after three hundred years of settling, but the obsession in her purple eyes remained unchanged.

She very naturally linked her arm with Su Lin's, tilted her head up, and looked at him as if asking for credit.

"Weiwei has been so good these three hundred years; I didn't dare to sneak near the place where you were meditating even once. You keep your word, so you can't punish Weiwei with wall-facing, okay?"

"...I know."

Su Lin twitched the corner of his mouth.

The girl had been stifled for three hundred years, and her first sentence was actually to clarify that she hadn't broken the rules; it was evident she had struggled with that rule in her heart quite a bit.

The others arrived one after another.

Cold Moon wore a purple-gold Phoenix robe, her every gesture exuding imperial majesty. Mu Qingxue remained as cold as snow, though her pale blue eyes softened slightly when she saw Su Lin. Luo Ximei waved her folding fan, her white and gold heterochromatic eyes full of the composure of one who had survived a disaster. Gu Qiuyue held her repaired Golden Abacus, smiling so wide her eyes disappeared.

The last to arrive was Ye You.

She was dragging the tail of a silver giant python that was still twitching, her slit pupils staring unblinkingly at Su Lin, before she spoke in a muffled voice after a long while.

"Revered Master, Youer wants to eat the food you make."

Su Lin looked at the seven disciples standing neatly before him, and the stone in his heart finally settled completely.

Seven Golden Immortals.

Even looking across the entire Taihuang Immortal Domain, this was a force capable of overturning half the sky.

"Sit down, everyone; Revered Master has something to tell you."

Su Lin walked over to the bluestone by the stream and sat down again, and the seven of them immediately and obediently formed a circle in front of him.

If the Immortals outside who were hunting them as prey saw this scene, they would probably doubt their lives on the spot.

"Your three-hundred-year Foundation has been solidified. From now on, you can truly be considered to have stood firm in this world."

Su Lin looked around, his expression becoming solemn.

"But our troubles have not disappeared because of our seclusion. The people from the Beichen Heavenly Palace will not let this go; the accounts with Tianhai City, the City Lord's Mansion, and the Chaotic Star Sea—they won't forget a single one."

"Why fear them?" Su Hongling curled her lip indifferently. "As I am now, I could smash their lousy fleet into scrap metal with one punch."

"Second Senior Sister, can you use your brain?"

Chu Weiwei rolled her eyes. "The Beichen Heavenly Palace dares to run rampant in the Taihuang Immortal Domain because they rely on the Heavenly Court. We can defeat a few Law enforcers, but can we really take down the entire sky?"

"Why not?"

Su Hongling retorted, sticking her neck out.

Chu Weiwei was choked speechless by her and could only turn to look at Su Lin for help.

Su Lin rubbed his brow.

Reasoning with Su Hongling was equivalent to playing the lute to a wall.

"Hong Ling isn't entirely wrong."

As soon as Su Lin said this, the disciples were stunned.

He said slowly, "But not now. We haven't even figured out the full picture of this Taihuang Immortal Domain, let alone the true strength of the Heavenly Court. Rushing in blindly is just suicide."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the milky-white Void Realm outside the Silent Realm.

"Therefore, the first thing to do after leaving seclusion is to clear up one question."

"What question?" Cold Moon asked.

"What exactly is the Heavenly Court?"

Su Lin's voice was steady, yet it carried an indescribable weight.

"Back in the Lower Realm, that so-called heavenly dao incarnation hunted us down. Later, we learned that it was merely a farmer sent by the Upper Realm to harvest the orchard. But behind the farmer is the landlord. This Taihuang Immortal Domain, with its thirty-six great Domains—Golden Immortals guard the main cities, Heavenly Immortals watch the borders, and Earth Immortals are reduced to thugs. Such a rigorous system could never be supported by just one or two Golden Immortals."

"Where the Heavenly Court that truly controls all of this is hiding, and how many trump cards they have, we know nothing about."

The Silent Realm went quiet.

The relaxation on the seven disciples' faces gradually faded, replaced by a sense of gravity.

They finally realized that what they were facing was a behemoth of unimaginable proportions.

"Does Revered Master mean to investigate intelligence first?" Luo Ximei waved her folding fan, the first to recover.

"Yes." Su Lin nodded. "In Tianhai City, I left Yan Rusi behind. If that girl hasn't betrayed my trust, she should have managed that city quite well over these nine months. After we go out, we will return to Tianhai City first. Firstly, to see her capabilities, and secondly, because it is an excellent intelligence hub."

"But what if she has betrayed Revered Master?" Chu Weiwei narrowed her eyes, her tone filled with murderous intent. "What if that little vixen took advantage of Revered Master's seclusion to sell Tianhai City to the Beichen Heavenly Palace? Then she has set a trap for us."

"Then we kill her."

Su Lin's reply was flat, without the slightest ripple.

"Do not doubt those you employ, but do not trust them without bottom lines either. If she is smart, she should know that the favor of me sparing her life is far heavier than any small benefits the Beichen Heavenly Palace could offer. If she is stupid, then this Tianhai City will just happen to use her blood to sacrifice to the flag."

Chu Weiwei nodded in satisfaction.

She loved this decisive, ruthless side of her Revered Master.

"Alright, prepare to leave seclusion."

Su Lin stood up and brushed the non-existent dust off his robes.

"Remember, restrain your auras after we go out. Although we are now Golden Immortals, in the eyes of those true Upper Realm powerhouses, we are still not enough to look at. Hide if you can, endure if you must. Until it's time to flip the table, no one is allowed to expose their strength."

He specifically looked at Su Hongling.

Su Hongling scratched her head and sullenly slung her great sword onto her back.

"Got it, got it. Just don't let me fight, right?"

"Let's go."

Su Lin took the lead and walked towards the milky-white rift.

He raised his hand, and his Golden Immortal Divine Thought probed out, resonating with that Void Realm.

The rift slowly tore open, and the familiar, heavy, and oppressive Immortal Qi from the outside world rushed towards them.

The seven disciples followed closely behind and stepped out one by one.

When everyone's figures had vanished into the rift, the entire Wangchuan Nether Realm returned to its eternal tranquility, as if no one had ever been there.

The Void-Breaking Shuttle reappeared in the Void Realm of the Taihuang Immortal Domain.

Su Lin stood in the main control room, swept his Divine Sense around, and frowned slightly.

"Something is wrong."

"What is it, Revered Master?" Cold Moon walked to his side.

"The atmosphere outside is much more tense than before we went in." Su Lin looked at the Void Realm in the distance. "Feel it—the Spiritual Qi of the entire Taihuang Immortal Domain is gathering in a certain direction. This kind of movement is definitely not something that can be caused by an ordinary event."

Mu Qingxue closed her eyes and sensed for a moment, then her pale blue eyes suddenly opened.

"It's true. All the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is flowing towards the very center of the Immortal Domain. It seems some sort of grand ceremony is being held there."

"A ceremony?"

An ominous premonition arose in Su Lin's heart.

Just then, a sudden, rapid spatial fluctuation came from the Void Realm outside the Void-Breaking Shuttle.

A stream of light sped over from afar, moving with astonishing speed, and reached the shield of the Void-Breaking Shuttle in the blink of an eye.

It was a blood-red message talisman.

The surface of the talisman was engraved with the star totem of the Beichen Heavenly Palace, and it was emitting a heart-palpitating fluctuation.

"Is it for us?" Luo Ximei narrowed her eyes.

Su Lin reached out and beckoned; the blood-red message talisman passed through the shield and landed in his palm.

"Congratulations to Fellow Daoist Su Lin, Lord of Tianhai City, for attaining the Golden Immortal Dao."

Su Lin raised an eyebrow.

This opening line didn't sound like they were trying to chase him down and hack him to pieces.

The voice continued to recite unhurriedly.

"By the ten-thousand-year convention of the Taihuang Immortal Domain, whenever a Cultivator newly ascends to the Golden Immortal realm, a banquet shall be hosted by the Co-Lord of the Immortal Domain, and an Ascension Ceremony shall be held at the central Ascension Temple to proclaim it to the thirty-six Domains and enroll them in the official register of the Immortal ranks."

"Three months from now, the ceremony will proceed as scheduled. We hope Fellow Daoist Su will bring your high-achieving disciples who have also attained the Golden Immortal realm to attend on time. At that time, all the Golden Immortals of the Immortal Domain will gather to witness the joy of Fellow Daoist's Ascension."

As the voice fell, the talisman turned into specks of red light and dissipated from between his fingers.

The main control room was silent for a moment.

"Huh?"

Su Hongling was the first to slam her great sword onto the ground, her face scrunching up into a ball.

"Old Man, did I hear that right? These guys who have been chasing our tails every day shouting to kill us, now want to host a banquet for us? And invite us to their lair to eat at the banquet?"

She scratched her messy red hair, her face full of disbelief.

"Have they been beaten silly by us, or did the Void Realm storm blow their brains out?"

Chu Weiwei was not so optimistic.

Her purple eyes narrowed, and the little hand that had been linking Su Lin's arm quietly tightened slightly.

"Second Senior Sister, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

Chu Weiwei's voice was soft and sweet, but her words were laced with ice.

"One moment they wanted to ransack our home and exterminate our clan, and the next they are setting up a banquet to welcome us. This sweet bun smells delicious, but who knows how many poisonous needles are buried inside. Weiwei dares to bet that this so-called Ascension Ceremony is cut from the same cloth as that Ascension Reception Platform in the Lower Realm."