Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

Furthermore, the presence of mortal aura is a constraint.

If one does not cleanse away the mortal aura, after becoming an Immortal, the practice of cultivation will become doubly difficult. Given the same cultivation environment and conditions, two cultivators of the same aptitude, the one in the Land of the Four Pillars will undoubtedly find it easier to cultivate three hundred years of Dao than the cultivator in the Mortal Realm.

In the explanation of the young girl "Alu," having mortal aura is akin to living in a barren land, while being without mortal aura means dwelling in a land of abundance.

To compare cultivation to earning money, the latter is undoubtedly easier to earn the same amount.

The former might not be able to earn it even if they exhaust every effort.

Therefore, an Immortal of average aptitude can achieve three hundred years of Dao in a thousand years in the Land of the Four Pillars, whereas in the former Shenxu Heaven, they would need five thousand years, or even more time.

Although after becoming an Immortal, even if one steps through the gates of longevity, the cultivators of the former Shenxu Heaven really did not live more than two thousand years.

Without enough time, how can one achieve the second verification and unite with the Dao?

Therefore, those who ascended in the past were basically those with the aptitude for becoming Immortals.

...

At the same time, while Tan Shuchang was pondering where to find a treasure-level Alchemy Furnace, the matter of him taking the Willingness Pill Treasure Fan had also become known to others.

On an island exuding a solemn Sword Qi, the Purple-Gold Immortal looked at his servant Duan Wu kneeling before him and frowned slightly, "My Willingness Pill Treasure Fan has been taken by Tan Shuchang?"

"Yes, Duan Wu is incompetent, please punish me, Master!" Duan Wu said, his head always bowed.

Because in the Primordial Heavenly Realm, once you kneel, you can never stand up again.

The Purple-Gold Immortal, however, did not speak at first upon hearing this. The name Tan Shuchang was not new to him; the last time, he had personally sent this person to Shenxiu Prison Earth.

The result was, unexpectedly, this mortal cultivator had made his escape.

One day in the Primordial Heavenly Realm equals one year in the Land of the Four Pillars.

"Enough, if he could take it, it is his fate. Moreover, since this treasure does not belong to the Sword Dao, it probably won't be very useful to him. At a suitable time in the future, exchange it for a Sword Dao treasure…" the Purple-Gold Immortal said, pausing there before adding with a meaningful tone, "After all, he has inherited my teacher's teachings in the Dao of the Book. I must give face to my teacher."

"Master is kind!" Duan Wu quickly repeated words he had said countless times before.

Whether the Purple-Gold Immortal was truly kind was of no concern to Duan Wu. He simply parroted what others said.

He was just a servant, without need for his own thoughts.

However, Duan Wu still felt the need to demonstrate his usefulness: "Master, as Tan Shuchang has received the Ancestor of the Dao's teachings, might he abandon the Sword Dao to pursue the Dao of the Book instead?"

"Although the Jiawu Realm has lost its designation as a Heavenly Realm, it still is the place where the Ancestor of the Dao preached. If he abandons the Sword Dao, would it not be abandoning the essentials for the trivial? The Ancestor of the Dao attained his esteemed status through practicing the Sword Dao! Thus, practicing the Sword Dao passed down by the Ancestor of the Dao will undoubtedly be blessed with the invisible favor of the Sword Dao. I don't think he's that foolish."

The Purple-Gold Immortal chuckled, thinking that if mere Book Dao could sway one's staunch Sword Heart, then in his view, Tan Shuchang would be utterly foolish.

Furthermore, the site where the Ancestor of the Dao preached, even after tens of thousands of years following his lectures, would still be influenced by them, naturally permeated with Sword Intent.

And without exception, those who succeed in cultivation in such a realm will be spectacular talents in the Sword Dao.

"It was Duan Wu being foolish! I will go and accept my punishment!"

"There's no need for that this time; let it be forgiven. Go and attend to your duties." The Purple-Gold Immortal nodded slightly, finding Duan Wu more and more to his liking the more he used him.

Perhaps when the time comes to appoint a new Sword Spirit, he might bestow this honor upon this servant.

...

Tan Shuchang had already returned to the spiritual domain within the Land of the South Gate Pillar, where he found the Red Lotus Carp Daoist and sought his advice on how to obtain an Alchemy Furnace treasure.

"Alchemy Furnace? Brother Tan, can you perform Alchemy? If you can, it's quite simple. The Nangong Family has an alchemy symposium, and if you express your willingness to perform alchemy for the Nangong Family for a hundred years, then you can receive an Alchemy Furnace treasure. Although these Alchemy Furnaces mostly have some issues, they are indeed genuine treasures," said the Red Lotus Carp.

Red Lotus Carp spoke.

"A hundred years of alchemy? That's too long." Tan Shuchang naturally would not accept, as he had never done any serious business in his cultivation life, save for setting up street stalls.

"Do you want it quickly? In that case, Three Flowers Mountain had once offered a bounty that has not yet been canceled. If you can bring them the heads of two of the Nangong Family's Immortal cultivators, then you can exchange them for many treasures at Three Flowers Mountain. Among those treasures is indeed an Alchemy Furnace," the Red Lotus Carp said after some consideration.

He was taking into account Tan Shuchang's strength.

Although he was not aware of Tan Shuchang's specific level of cultivation, he conjectured that anyone who could retreat unharmed after encountering the Yin God of Ghost Ridge must possess strength far surpassing many Immortals.

Therefore, the possibility of slaying two Immortals from the Nangong Family was there.

As for the trouble that would follow after slaying members of the Nangong Family, Three Flowers Mountain had promised to provide at least five hundred years of protection to the one who accomplished the deed. And five hundred years was more than enough time to escape to another domain.

Further, the Red Lotus Carp also shared the promise of Three Flowers Mountain with Tan Shuchang.

This was in order to prevent any misunderstandings from arising between them.

"Merely for a treasure, one has to take lives; this is not quite right," Tan Shuchang said with a slight shake of his head after listening to him.

For those in cultivation, the most important thing when dealing with others is not to easily trust the promises made by such powerful forces.

Unless one's own status and strength are on par with theirs, otherwise, one is merely prey on the chopping block. Whether true protection will be offered or betrayal will ensue after the deed is done is entirely at the whim of these forces.

As for concerns about not being hired for tasks thereafter...

Provided the rewards are sufficient, there will always be those who are "willing to let bygones be bygones." Furthermore, who would care about some unrelated dead people?

Cultivators are all selfish beings.

"Brother, your words are very true!" Hearing this, the Red Lotus Carp greatly agreed with Tan Shuchang's statement.

Furthermore, Tan Shuchang's words undoubtedly revealed some of his principles in dealing with the world, which gave the Red Lotus Carp great comfort. Consequently, he continued to strategize for Tan Shuchang: "Brother, I know of a place that is a treasure trove left behind by a True Immortal who ascended to the Primordial Heavenly Realm. This True Immortal was once famous for his Alchemy Dao, so there should be an Alchemy Furnace among the treasures. However, that place is very dangerous; several of my kin have perished there, so..."

"If it is so dangerous, then it's not feasible," Tan Shuchang replied without hesitation, knowing that while he might be invincible in Shenxu Heaven, that did not mean he would be in the Land of the Four Pillars.

Especially considering it's a cave dwelling left by a True Immortal!

Who knows what's inside?

"Then, there remains only one way to obtain it. This is the Green Lotus Order, an entry token to the Green Lotus Palace, left by the seventeenth ancestor of my Red Lotus lineage. The Green Lotus Palace was once an immortal island power in the Primordial Heavenly Realm, but it was cast down from the Primordial Heavenly Realm for disrespecting the Immortal Court. Originally, it was my turn to explore it, but I have a sworn enemy who may have stepped into the ranks of the Immortals. Therefore, if Brother would like to go, I can lend you this Green Lotus Order. All you need to do is to bring me a few Red Lotus flowers along the way, regardless of their quality," said the Red Lotus Carp.

As he spoke, he looked hopefully at Tan Shuchang.

Indeed, it was a good thing for him that Brother Tan could walk out of Ghost Ridge.

After all, they were quite familiar with each other, and secondly, they had a certain basis for trust. The third reason was that Tan Shuchang appeared to be quite powerful, which naturally meant there was a high probability of bringing back the Red Lotus flowers for him.

"Since that is the case, I thank you, Daoist friend. I shall make sure to bring back the Red Lotus flowers for you," Tan Shuchang expressed his thanks. He had only come to see if any cultivator was willing to trade an Alchemy Furnace, never expecting such an opportunity.

However, this also made Tan Shuchang realize that Alchemy Furnaces of treasure quality were indeed rare in the Land of the Four Pillars.