Sect Master’s Immortal Journey

With a clear understanding in his Dao heart, Meng Zhang seemed to faintly see a path, a path that could lead to the Primordial Spirit realm. No wonder Taiyi Sect's inheritance explicitly stated that reciting the Dao scriptures and carefully comprehending the Dao secrets would aid Gold Core cultivators in breaking through to the Primordial Spirit realm.

Although Meng Zhang's current cultivation technique was incomplete, and he wasn't clear about many breakthrough points, his comprehension of the Dao secrets helped him gradually find the direction towards the Primordial Spirit realm. The road ahead was undoubtedly rugged, but at least he had glimpsed the direction, a major breakthrough he had never experienced before.

After Niu Dawei successfully formed his core, he followed the usual practice of not rushing to exit seclusion. Instead, he focused on consolidating his cultivation base and mastering some Gold Core stage spells and Divine Abilities to become a genuine Gold Core cultivator. Meng Zhang didn't disturb him and let him continue his seclusion.

Niu Dawei's achievement of becoming a Gold Core Daoist Master added pressure on the Second Senior Sister, An Xiaoran, and the Third Senior Brother, An Moran. An Xiaoran reduced the time spent on pill refinement and devoted more energy to cultivation. An Moran began cultivating assistants to help him handle Secret Hall affairs, and he also paid more attention to his cultivation.

With another Gold Core Daoist Master in Taiyi Sect, especially one who was the Sect Master's eldest disciple, the whole sect was filled with excitement. Taiyi Sect's development was thriving, producing countless outstanding talents, and its overall strength was continuously rising.

Among the various sects in the Jiuqu League, Taiyi Sect, as a Gold Core-level sect, had now gained recognition and occupied a certain position. It dared not compare itself to the Primordial Spirit sects but had established a respectable status among the Gold Core sects.

Three years later, the original Pill Hall Hall Master Zhang Yingying died during meditation. At Meng Zhang's persuasion, his second disciple, An Xiaoran, took over the position of Pill Hall Hall Master.

At Meng Zhang's cultivation base, everything related to Foundation Building was clear and well-understood. An Xiaoran's personality and foundation wouldn't benefit from solely immersing herself in cultivation. Assuming the role of Pill Hall Hall Master, although she seemingly had to deal with many tasks that would distract her from cultivation, it actually created a balance that would promote her progress.

With An Xiaoran's alchemy techniques, she outperformed everyone in the sect except Delicate Water Spirit General. Moreover, An Xiaoran practiced mainstream fire-based alchemy, allowing her to refine a wider range of elixirs. She could almost produce all common elixirs.

Her appointment as Pill Hall Hall Master earned the unanimous respect of everyone in the sect.

Of course, when she took on the position of Pill Hall Hall Master, An Xiaoran made it clear that when the time came to advance to the Gold Core stage, she would hand over all Pill Hall affairs to someone else. Meng Zhang readily agreed, but he asked her to nurture the sect's alchemists so that there would be capable successors.

The previous Pill Hall Hall Master, Zhang Yingying, had a mediocre cultivation base and weak combat power. She was among the first alchemists of Taiyi Sect. As more outstanding alchemists emerged in the sect, she found herself lagging in terms of alchemy techniques. Nevertheless, her greatest contribution to the sect was establishing Pill Hall and cultivating many outstanding young alchemists. Without her support, these successors would not have been able to surpass their predecessors.

At this point, even the usually proud and arrogant An Xiaoran couldn't help but admire her. Now that An Xiaoran had taken over as the Pill Hall Hall Master, besides ensuring the daily supply of elixirs for the sect, she also took on the responsibility of nurturing alchemists within the sect.

Returning to the sect for a few years, Meng Zhang had seen no news from the Dark Alliance and no action to reclaim the "Dark Thorn Secret Canon." Regardless of whether the higher-ups of the Dark Alliance were unaware of this matter or for other reasons, since it was the case, it was undoubtedly advantageous for Taiyi Sect. Meng Zhang kept silent on this matter and, along with the Gold Core cultivators, especially the Guardian Spirit Generals, secretly researched the secret canon.

The four Guardian Spirit Generals were experienced and discerning seniors. Once they wholeheartedly immersed themselves in the research, significant progress was quickly made regarding the "Dark Thorn Secret Canon." They gradually comprehended most of the Dark Alliance's secret techniques. They removed the excessively distinct or excessively bloody and cruel parts, extracting the essence of the useful portions. Led by Extreme Sword Spirit General, they began compiling a secret canon that suited Taiyi Sect's actual situation.

Five years after Niu Dawei formed his core, he finally exited seclusion. Meng Zhang received him immediately and offered him plenty of guidance. Then, Niu Dawei calmly accepted the congratulations from everyone in the sect. It was a significant event for Taiyi Sect, with the Sect Master's eldest disciple forming his core, and it couldn't be simply overlooked.

Under Meng Zhang's orders, Taiyi Sect held a grand celebration for the Gold Core stage to celebrate Niu Dawei becoming the new Gold Core Daoist Master of Taiyi Sect. The scale of this celebration was immense. Not only were all members of the Hanhai Dao Alliance invited, but invitations were also sent to many other cultivation forces within the Jiuqu League.

Old friends like Lu Family and Gu Yue Family from Great Wind City were naturally invited, and so were the new business partners, trade partners, and friends that Taiyi Sect had made over the years.

Having been part of the Jiuqu League for some years now, Taiyi Sect had gained some reputation, although it was relatively new compared to many other members. With this celebration, Meng Zhang formally declared Taiyi Sect's presence to all members of the Jiuqu League and displayed the sect's strength.

By the time of the celebration, many guests from various places had arrived at Taiyi Sect's mountain gate, Hundred Grass Slope.

The Hanhai Dao Alliance, an organization created by Meng Zhang, had developed rapidly over the years. Those members who were initially hesitant had completely submitted to Taiyi Sect after so many years, becoming obedient frontline troops for Taiyi Sect.

With the further development of the Demon Wind Gobi, not only were more resources produced, but the population also increased significantly. Taiyi Sect enjoyed the benefits, and these frontline troops were also rewarded accordingly.

The members within the alliance quickly recovered their vitality, and Taiyi Sect gained more and more disciples.

Apart from occupying such a vast area in the Demon Wind Gobi, Taiyi Sect also owned a sizable territory in the barren land of the Endless Sea of Sand. Developing such a vast territory would require a considerable amount of time and effort for Taiyi Sect alone.

In addition to opening doors of convenience to the alliance members and encouraging them to join the development efforts, Taiyi Sect also launched some measures to attract cultivators from the Jiuqu League.

Numerous cultivators with diverse backgrounds, including neglected illegitimate children of powerful clans and loose cultivators without much future prospect, came to Taiyi Sect's territory.

As long as they paid a certain price and were willing to pledge allegiance to Taiyi Sect, they could be allocated a certain area to establish their own family or even sect.

The membership of the Hanhai Dao Alliance increased, and Taiyi Sect gained many useful subordinates.

Of course, how to discern and control these newly joined cultivators and newly established forces was another challenging problem.

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