The arrival of the middle-aged man immediately prompted everyone to rise to their feet.
They might have been the leaders of the Six Sects, but they knew that there was a disparity in their positions compared to the middle-aged man before them.
The Six Sects were like six massive empires, each of them governing large swathes of land. However, the Ethereal Hall was an existence that covered the entire world. Wherever one could find humans, there was an Ethereal Hall and Ethereal Tokens.
Despite not possessing any land, its influence had already permeated the entire Forsaken Continent.
Not to mention, no one knew just how powerful the middle-aged man standing before them truly was.
Ordinary cultivators had a limit to their lifespan, but the concept of aging did not seem to apply to the middle-aged man before them. He first made his name several thousand years ago, such that there was no one in the world who did not know of him. Yet, he did not seem to have changed a bit since then.
Even though the few of them were powerhouses standing at the very top of the world, they still naturally deferred to him.
They clasped their fists and greeted him. “Paying respects to Hall Master Kong!”
“There’s no need to stand on ceremony!” Hall Master Kong chuckled as he took his seat.
“The reason we have troubled Hall Master Kong to make a trip here is to discuss the matter concerning the Azure Bridge. Should we continue with the agreement that we made previously, or should we reshuffle the cards and negotiate a new arrangement?” the old man known as ‘Brother Han’ asked.
“Indeed. Four thousand years ago, you barged through the Azure Bridge and defeated the experts of the Hall of Gods, thus acquiring a single ‘神 (Ethereal)’ character. With that character, you created the Ethereal Hall. You have a greater understanding of the Hall of Gods than anyone else here, and there’s no one more suitable than you to clarify our doubts!” Sect Leader Qin said.
“I did enter the Hall of Gods, but the horrors that lie within aren’t something that can be summarized in just a few words. The Azure Bridge appears once every hundred years, but no one has succeeded in the past several thousand years. It’s about time to shake things up a little,” Hall Master Kong said with a chuckle.
He was just about to continue speaking when Brother Han suddenly flicked his wrist, and a jade token appeared in his hands.
Lowering his gaze to take a look, Brother Han’s eyes lit up.
“What’s wrong, Brother Han?” Sect Leader Qin asked.
“I just received a report from my sect members. A genius who has comprehended the Sword Intent left behind by the founder has just appeared!” Brother Han said with a chuckle.
“The Sword Intent left behind by your founder? You don’t mean… the Gods’ Sword Intent?” Hall Master Kong was slightly taken aback.
“Indeed!” Brother Han nodded in response.
“It’s said that the Gods’ Sword Intent can only be executed and comprehended by the gods. The person who has comprehended it is bound to achieve great things in the future!” Hall Master Kong’s eyes lit up as he asked with a smile, “May I know what’s the name of the sect member?”
“Well… I’m afraid that my elders are still looking into the matter at the moment. So far, they have only detected a resonance with the Sword Intent left behind by the founder,” Brother Han replied.
“I see!” Hall Master Kong nodded. “Since such a figure has appeared, I think there’s a greater need to change the rules concerning the Azure Bridge. Of course, we should discuss this matter only after you find that talented sword practitioner, Brother Han. We have to find out who the person is and what kind of abilities he wields in order to make concrete plans, right?”
“We concur.” The others nodded in agreement.
“Very well. We shall adjourn the meeting till further notice!” Hall Master Kong said.
“Un!”
Thus, the leaders of the Six Sects quickly went on their own ways.
Brother Han was just about to head back to the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion when he suddenly heard a gust of wind coming his way. The next moment, Hall Master Kong was already standing before him.
“Hall Master Kong!” Brother Han clasped his fist and bowed.
“Brother Han, there’s something that I wish to pass on to you. The person who has comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent is bound to play an essential role on the Azure Bridge. While I have no idea how powerful he is at the moment, as an elder, I would still like to bestow a gift upon him. This is a token representing my identity. If you find the person in question, please do give it to him. With this token, he’ll be able to purchase anything in the Ethereal Hall without spending any money!” Hall Master Kong smiled as he passed a jade token into Brother Han’s hands.
“Allow me to thank you on behalf of our disciple!” Brother Han clasped his fist and bowed grandly.
The Ethereal Hall was a power with influence all over the world. The fact that this jade token could purchase any cultivation resources for free meant that its value was inestimable!
It could be said that as long as a cultivator had this jade token in hand, all of the resources of the Forsaken Continent would be in their possession. They would have no need to worry about money and the like anymore.
There was truly no greater gift than this!
“You’re too courteous,” Hall Master Kong replied with an amiable smile. “You should also know that the purpose of the Ethereal Hall’s existence is to strengthen cultivators. I view it as my responsibility to nurture the experts of the world.”
“Hall Master Kong, you are truly a magnanimous person. I am truly in awe. Pardon me, but there are some matters I have to attend to back at my sect. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave.” Brother Han clasped his fist before flitting away swiftly.
Hall Master Kong placed his hands behind his back as he looked at Brother Han’s departing figure. It was impossible to tell what was running through his mind.
A moment later, he raised his head and looked into the sky. He could have been talking to another person, or perhaps it was just mumblings to himself. “I’ve waited so many years, and finally, my patience has paid off… Do come out soon. I don’t know how much longer I can wait…”
Hu!
With a gust of wind, Hall Master Kong vanished from sight.
…
Zhang Xuan was completely oblivious to what had happened at the Elder Council or the mountain. At that moment, he was looking right at Cao Chengli with a terribly displeased look on his face.
He had dispatched the latter to gather some news, but that fellow had ended up returning with a swollen face. If not for the surge of Heaven’s Path zhenqi that he had infused into the other party’s body previously, the other party might have died.
“I told you to gather news regarding the Ethereal Token, didn’t I? Just what did you do to land yourself in such a state?” Zhang Xuan asked in vexation.
Even his previous butler, Sun Qiang, was more capable than this. He knew that any task that he entrusted to Sun Qiang would be accomplished impeccably. While Sun Qiang did love to brag, at the very least, he had never ended up getting pummeled so badly within an hour after heading out!
“This… I…” Cao Chengli’s face turned incredibly awkward.
After hearing Cao Chengli’s explanation, Zhang Xuan was rendered completely speechless.
In the end, Cao Chengli was still true to his nature as a bandit. While he was trying to gather information, he had seen a beautiful menial disciple and tried to flirt with her.
As a result, he had nearly gotten killed on the spot.
“Cao Chengli, I made an exception back then by taking you in. No matter how you were before, I expect you to keep yourself in line as long as you are under me. I don’t need someone unprincipled under me,” Zhang Xuan said sternly.
Cao Chengli was truly far too brazen!
The menial disciples of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion were at least at Great Sage 3-dan, and to dare to flirt with them with his current cultivation realm… he was courting death!
If others did not know that he was Dan Xiaotian’s servant, all that would have been left of him was just a cold, hard corpse.
“But Young Master, you also know that I have held it in for more than ten days. Furthermore, I didn’t lay my hands on her at all! I asked her as gentlemanly and politely as I could…” Cao Chengli’s face reddened in embarrassment.
He had always been an unrestrained man with a powerful libido, and his record of taking down seven women together with him at the brothel back then spoke a lot about him. Asking him to hold back for ten days was really pushing him.
He had thought that with his dashing looks, he could at least seduce one of the female menial disciples to get together with him. Yet, who could have known that he would be pummeled as soon as he started speaking?
Seeing how Cao Chengli was still adamantly insisting on his point on view, Zhang Xuan covered his head with his hand.
Dan Xiaotian was right; he should not have accepted this fellow.
He felt like his reputation was slowly being sullied by him!
“Enough! I don’t want to see such things happening again, understood? How did the matter I have entrusted to you go?”
Seeing that he had caught the Young Master’s ire, Cao Chengli did not dare run his mouth anymore. He quickly bowed slightly and reported, “Young Master, I have already looked into the matter, and the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion’s Ethereal Token is on sale in the inner disciples’ market. The price is roughly twenty Sword Pavilion Coins!”
“Twenty Sword Pavilion Coins?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
It did not sound like a lot of money, but he did not know the purchasing power of Sword Pavilion Coins either.
“How many Sword Pavilion Coins is a Basic Immortal Pill worth here?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“Ah… I haven’t looked into that yet!” Cao Chengli replied with an embarrassed chuckle.
“Where is the inner disciples’ market then?”
“This…” Cao Chengli tilted his head and asked, “Should I look into that too?”
“What did you look into then?” Zhang Xuan’s face was growing more and more livid by the moment.
“The young lady who beat me up earlier is the subordinate of an inner disciple called Liu Lujie. She’s 1.7 meters tall, and her three sizes are 85, 74, 88. Her legs are at least a meter long, and they are fair and smooth. More importantly, their proportions are truly the work of a god. Young Master, let me tell you, I have seen a lot of women in my lifetime, and this lady definitely ranks among the top on my list.” Cao Chengli’s eyes lit up in excitement.
“Enough!” Zhang Xuan waved his hands furiously.
What the heck was that?
Instead of properly accomplishing whatever that was asked of him, he had spent his time uncovering such nonsense.
Just what the heck are your priorities?
Remember your responsibilities! You are here to serve us, not flirt with girls!
“Right now, head out and find where the inner disciples’ market is. If you dare return without finding it, I’ll have you castrated!” Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly.
With a flick of his finger, a surge of sword qi gathered above Zhang Xuan. It rumbled loudly as if it was ready to lay devastation upon something.
“Y-yes!”
Feeling a cold air around his crotch, Cao Chengli’s face paled as he immediately slammed his thighs shut in fear.
“And if you can’t find it by tonight… I’ll tame a stallion and let it have its way with you!” Zhang Xuan threatened menacingly.
Cao Chengli immediately clenched his bottom cheeks together in horror.
He had thought his new master to be a very prim and proper person. How could he have known that he would actually have such vile thoughts in mind?
To actually think of taming a stallion and using it against him…
All of a sudden, Cao Chengli remembered the horse that night who could use martial arts and was able to serve Zhang Xuan tea. If his master put his mind to it, he would really be able to do it!
No, I can’t allow that to happen! I’ll never be able to raise my head high as a man ever again!
“I’ll head out right now!” Without daring to utter a single useless word, Cao Chengli ran out of the room so quickly that it seemed as if he was fleeing from a monster.
This time, under Zhang Xuan’s threat, Cao Chengli quickly returned with the necessary information.
“Young Master, the inner disciples’ market is located at the foot of this mountain. I have also looked into the price of the Basic Immortal Pill, and a single one of them costs around two Sword Pavilion Coins!” Cao Chengli replied formally.
“A single Basic Immortal Pill is worth two Sword Pavilion Coins whereas the Ethereal Token costs twenty Sword Pavilion Coins? This… Isn’t the disparity in price simply too huge?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
Back at Starlight City’s Ethereal Hall, a Basic Immortal Pill was worth 100,000 Ethereal Coins whereas the Ethereal Token was only worth 20,000 Ethereal Coins!
Yet, the Ethereal Token was actually worth ten times more than a Basic Immortal Pill here!
This inflation was a little too frightening!
“I’m not too sure about the details, but these are the prices I have gathered so far,” Cao Chengli explained as he squeezed his thighs tightly together, fearing that Zhang Xuan would make a move on him in a fit of anger.
“Bring me to the inner disciples’ market! I want to take a look at it myself!”
Knowing that it was meaningless to waste his time on words, Zhang Xuan stood up and walked out of the room.
Allow me to clarify, the character ‘神’ basically means god, but it has many other meanings too. Take the Ethereal Hall for example, its name is 通神殿, which has the ‘神 (God)’ character in it as well. However, in this context, ‘神’ refers to one’s spirit or consciousness instead, and its interpretation would be to connect consciousness together or bringing consciousness somewhere.
That’s why I went with the word ‘Ethereal’, which has the meaning of something spiritual, divine, and seemingly nonexistent, which kind of encapsulates what kind of existence the Ethereal Hall is. I felt that it would be incredibly awkward to force the word ‘God’ into the name, and it would be bringing it out of context too.
