The spring rain drizzled, drifting like mist over Yin Yang Peak.
The annual Yin Yang Peak internal meeting was held in the main hall of the main peak.
Zhou Fan attended the meeting on behalf of his Master, who was still in seclusion. He unceremoniously took the main seat, listening calmly as the six Core Formation Stage Elders of Yin Yang Peak argued amongst themselves.
Each of these six Elders occupied an affiliated peak. The former Peak Lord, Nangong Wan, never took Disciples, so all Disciples recruited by Yin Yang Peak were distributed among these six Elders.
These affiliated peaks had numerous Disciples, with basically each peak having over a hundred Disciples.
When there are many people, conflicts of interest naturally arise.
Internal conflicts within affiliated peaks were resolved by the Elders themselves, while conflicts between affiliated peaks were discussed at this annual meeting.
The causes of conflict were varied, but the ultimate goal of the arguments and negotiations was only one: to secure more benefits for themselves.
The Dao of Immortals values privacy.
Although the general environment of the Cultivation World is gradually improving, with the concentration of Spiritual Qi and Origin Qi increasing daily, this has also led more people to embark on the Immortal Dao. As long as one wishes to become stronger, resources are always insufficient.
Zhou Fan was not concerned about the outcome of the arguments, as long as the offerings from these six individuals to the main peak did not decrease.
After the six Elders had divided the benefits, Zhou Fan spoke, “From now on, matters concerning the division of Lingjian Peak will be handled by our main peak. Do any of the Elders have objections?”
The six Elders saw the Personal Disciple of the Peak Lord, who had been silent, suddenly issue a command. After exchanging glances, the most senior Elder among them spoke first, “Young Peak Lord has given an order, so naturally, we have no objections.”
“However, we wonder if this order is the Young Peak Lord’s personal intention, or an order from the Peak Lord?”
“This is my personal intention, and has nothing to do with Master,” Zhou Fan said with a steady tone, choosing not to borrow his Master’s authority.
Upon hearing this, a gaunt middle-aged Elder among the six Elders immediately said, “Since it’s not the Peak Lord’s order, isn’t it somewhat inappropriate for the Young Peak Lord to act in such a manner so suddenly?”
“That’s right, Young Peak Lord, after many years of our efforts, Lingjian Peak has almost been completely divided.”
“Now, only two pieces of prime territory and one Legacy remain on Lingjian Peak. It’s truly a bit underhanded for the Young Peak Lord to want to take over at this time.”
The six Elders spoke one after another. Although they didn't openly protest, their refusal was clearly expressed.
Zhou Fan did not engage in a war of words with these six individuals.
Only after they finished speaking, and silence fell over the inner hall, did he remove the concealment of his cultivation from his protective Magical Artifact, immediately revealing the profound aura of the Core Formation Stage and Condensing Qi Realm.
The six Elders sensed this aura, which was several times stronger than their own, and their faces all showed surprise.
As they exchanged glances, they quickly communicated through Divine Sense transmission.
“I didn’t sense wrong, did I? This child actually has a cultivation of both Qi Refining and Body Refining at the third stage! Wasn’t he just Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage and became a Disciple of the Peak Lord a month ago?”
“This cultivation speed is truly Heaven-Defying. Compared to this person, I feel like I’ve lived my old age in vain.”
“Even if his cultivation speed is Heaven-Defying, we also have some crooked Evil Path methods for quick cultivation in our Yin Yang Peak. The key is that this Young Peak Lord’s aura is upright and peaceful, as unfathomable as a heavenly abyss.”
“Such a profound and solid aura, I’m afraid he, like the Peak Lord, only Breakthrough after both Body Refining and Qi Refining reached Perfection.”
“How terrifying! Such a true Dragon could actually emerge from a small place like the Fan Realm!”
After a brief transmission among the six, the more they discussed, the more incredible it seemed.
The middle-aged Elder among them even thought that the cultivation Zhou Fan displayed was fake, perhaps a third-stage aura forged with a Magical Artifact.
But the other Elders were old and shrewd, rich in experience, knowing that some things were better believed than disbelieved.
Moreover, this Young Peak Lord had a frank demeanor, and his words and actions were full of confidence. The third-stage aura he displayed was also genuinely real; at least, they found no flaws.
So the most senior Elder immediately expressed that he would follow the Young Peak Lord’s arrangements, and at the same time, presented Zhou Fan with a gift to congratulate the Young Peak Lord on entering the third stage.
Zhou Fan took the Storage Pouch handed over by the Elder, and with a sweep of his Divine Sense, discovered that it contained dozens of precious herbs that could be used to refine third-stage Medicinal Pills.
He smiled with satisfaction. Given how sensible this Elder was, once he obtained the Pill Formula for the third-stage Golden Core Medicinal Pill, he could give this Elder a batch.
The subsequent Elders followed suit, each presenting third-stage gifts to show goodwill.
Finally, the middle-aged Elder also verbally expressed his willingness to comply with the arrangements, but did not offer a gift, merely stating that he was currently short on funds and that anything he could offer would likely not impress the Young Peak Lord.
Zhou Fan didn't care; this person was merely a passerby on the Immortal path, not worth his effort.
The annual Yin Yang Peak internal meeting quickly concluded successfully.
Since Zhou Fan did not ask these Elders to conceal the news of his cultivation Breakthrough, it wasn't long before the entire Luoyun Temple learned that Zhou Fan, the Personal Disciple of Yin Yang Peak's Peak Lord, had, in just one month after stepping into the Cultivation World, broken through two Realms in both Qi Refining and Body Refining, advancing from the first stage to the third stage.
On Gu Xuan Cliff, Dao Xuan Peak.
The Master of Luoyun Temple, Ruthless Fairy, Yun Wuxin, sat amidst the sea of clouds.
Listening to the shocking news from the spiritual crane, a slight ripple appeared on Ruthless Fairy's usually calm face.
Is this the cultivation speed of a person with great Luck, as legend has it?
Ruthless Fairy once again recalled the day she took a Disciple. If she had been able to approach that young man one step before Nangong Wan, would this dazzling Genius now be her Disciple?
Yun Wuxin felt a touch of emotion.
Perhaps everything was a mysterious will of Heaven, destined to be.
...
After revealing his cultivation and securing the right to oversee the division of Lingjian Peak and Chao Duan Peak, Zhou Fan quietly awaited the fermenting discussions within Luoyun Temple regarding him as a Prodigy with great Luck.
Five days later, seeing that the time was ripe, Zhou Fan seized the opportunity and went to each of the other seven peaks to negotiate.
After giving up a portion of benefits and promising future compensation with top-grade third-stage Medicinal Pills, the representatives of the other seven peaks pleasantly half-sold and half-gifted their shares of the Ninth Peak's division to Zhou Fan.
At this point, whether Chao Duan Peak remained or was dissolved, and whether Lingjian Peak could still exist as a separate peak, all rested on Zhou Fan's single thought.
Sword Immortal Bu Yu, Luo Ningshuang, who resided deep within Lingjian Peak, also learned of this news.
Most people within the sect believed that Zhou Fan's desire to monopolize Lingjian Peak was to enhance Yin Yang Peak's foundation and influence, allowing Yin Yang Peak to surpass Dao Xuan and become the foremost peak of Luoyun Temple as soon as possible.
Initially, Luo Ningshuang also thought so, but as time passed, Zhou Fan acquired the division shares of one peak after another.
This Sword Immortal Bu Yu, who had always possessed a clear Sword Heart, felt a faint ominous premonition.
She seemed to see that in the near future, her clear Sword Heart would be shrouded in layers of gray mist.