Chapter Thirty-One: Ling Tian Sect

  "See the elder." Along with Sun Ming's sighs, the group finally arrived at their destination, Zero Boundary Star, which was also the planet where the Ling Tian Sect was located.

  Ling Xiao waved his hand and two low-ranking disciples who were kneeling in front of the interstellar transmission array retreated.

  "Lingming, this is our Lingtian Sect's Zero Boundary Star. Today, let Tiankui and Yunlei accompany you to take a look around. Hehe, don't worry, this entire planet only has our Lingtian Sect, we won't encounter anything like what happened on Haixuan Star." Lingxu said slowly, seemingly still feeling embarrassed about the matter.

  "Hehe, I'm really sorry to have let you handle the matter of Ling Xuan's Sea of Mystery, Elder Hai. Ah, one can't be too kind to enemies, or it'll lead to big trouble." Sun Ming said thoughtfully.

  "What a benevolent person! It's clear that your own cultivation is not up to par, yet you let someone escape and still try to explain it away. How shameless!" Cloud Middle Child said.

  "Alright, Master, I'm just not good enough at learning the skills, don't say that, Master. Although they can't hear us, you saying this to me will still hurt my young heart." Sun Mingxiang said with a flattering tone.

  "All right, all right, you'd better get familiar with the environment here. I reckon you'll be living here for a long time, so it's best to get along well with them." said Yun Zhongzi.

  "Alright, Master. Even if you didn't arrange this for me, I would still do it anyway. Besides, I'm a Refining Master, and a 5-star one at that. They can't even keep up with trying to curry favor with me." Sun Ming said proudly.

  "You wouldn't have reminded me, I had almost forgotten. Be careful not to reveal your Refiner identity unless absolutely necessary, as it seems that Refiners are extremely scarce talents in this world. Although being a Refiner can bring you convenience and glory, everything has two sides to it. Do you remember the elder of the Haixuan Star Tian Shui Sect?" Cloud Middle Child said.

  "Got it, Master. I'll be careful."

  "Lingming, let's go. The two of us will take you to the Zero Boundary Star and show you around. We'll also pay our respects to the master of the land," said Tianku.

  "Alright, then let's take a stroll around. I also want to see what else is different about this cultivation planet besides the high density of spiritual energy. But what is this 'landlord's convention'?" Sun Ming asked, turning his head.

  "This landlord's nonsense, is it...? Lingming, are you fooling me? You don't even understand this?" Tiankui said with a speechless face.

  "That, I really don't know." Sun Ming said with an innocent face.

  "Never mind, let's go." Tiankui flew up with a gloomy face, stepping on the flying sword.

  "Hehe, it's good that you're getting used to it. Although I, Tiankui, have a bad temper, I'm actually quite nice to people. You'll find out slowly." Yun Lei said with a smile.

  "Hehe, let's go too, or we'll lose each other in a moment." Yun Lei stopped his flying sword in mid-air and waited for Sun Ming.

  "Lingming Shidi, didn't you have a mid-grade spiritual sword flying sword? Why are you using this one now? Although I'm not a refiner, I can still tell that this treasure is of high quality, but it's clearly only a mid-grade treasure?" Yun Lei said with doubt, looking at the flying sword under Sun Ming's feet.

  "Haha, you don't understand this, do you? This is called 'wealth not showing off'. Why did I personally go to Hai Xuan Star to kill someone? Wasn't it because of that flying sword? So, although the grade of this flying sword isn't as high as that one, its flight speed isn't as fast as that one, and its attack power isn't as fierce as that one, but it has an advantage. Do you know what it is?" Sun Ming laughed.

  Yun Lei shook his head in confusion, Sun Ming smiled and said

  "It won't attract attention, you can't even guess, you and your senior sister are really worlds apart." With that, he sheathed his sword and left.

  "Wait for me." Yun Lei said loudly.

  In the central land of the Zero Boundary Star, an island that could be considered a minor continent in the ocean's reflection appeared exceptionally beautiful. The island was filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, with towering mountains stacked upon each other. Through these majestic mountains, a not-too-large-or-small basin appeared at the center of the island. The dense spiritual energy made one feel as if they were underwater. In this basin stood building after building, magnificent in their grandeur. An elderly man stopped in front of the largest structure, adjusted his clothes, and walked inside.

  "See Master's senior brother," Ling Xū cupped his hands and said to the person sitting upright in front of the main hall.

  "Heh heh, Ling Xiao, my junior brother, must we still go through so many formalities between us? Come over here." the middle-aged man said.

  "Ling Ji Shixiong, as the current leader, you should still observe these formalities." Ling Xiao said while sitting cross-legged.

  "Alas, I'd rather not be the sect leader, I'd rather be carefree like you. A difference of just one step back then." Ling Ji said with a hint of melancholy.

  "Hehe, brother, let bygones be bygones. After all, it's been so many years, no need to remember it year after year like this, it's a loss for your heart." Ling Xuan said helplessly.

  "Alright, what's the point of saying all this? You've returned from your journey today, brother, and shouldn't be talking about unhappy things. Come on, tell me why you're so happy - did you invite Tianyi, the elder of Qilingshan?" Ling Ji asked with a smile.

  "This is nothing, but it's also considered inviting a refiner, I guess it's not much different from the sect's requirements." Ling Xū thought to himself and said with a smile.

  "Oh? This Qī Líng Zōng is said to be the number one alchemy sect in the Xiū Zhēn Jiè, it must be famous for a reason. Ling Xū shī dì, you're satisfied with this person's selection, they must be excellent, hehe. Is that Qi Líng Zōng elder's disciple? What's their name?" Líng Jí asked with great interest.

  "Hehe, I'm not a disciple of any elder, just an ordinary disciple, with the Daoist name Lingming." Ling Xiao smiled.

  "Junior brother, I have to say that you too... Although I, senior brother, haven't visited the Qiling Sect before, but I still know their generation ranks. I didn't think our sect was so open-minded. The Qiling Sect has many restrictions on Dao numbers. Ling, Xuan, Tian... This Lingming is clearly just a junior disciple of the Lingzi generation. To be considered a Xuanzi generation in the Qiling Sect, one must at least reach the Yuan Ying stage; otherwise, even if you're a direct disciple of the sect leader, you can only be considered a Lingzi generation. And this Lingming hasn't even reached the Yuan Ying stage yet... How did you invite someone with such low cultivation here?" Lin Ji was indignant.

  "It seems that Master Ling has a good understanding of the Qilingshu Sect." Ling Xiao saw Ling Ji's expression and held back his laughter, clearing his throat as he spoke.

  "Junior brother, what are you smiling at? I just have a little understanding of the Qilong Sect, that's all. I'm not someone who likes to pry into other sects' secrets. These things were only seen in our sect's classics. If you don't believe me, tomorrow I'll take you to see for yourself." Ling Ji said with a tense face.

  "Look at you, getting all flustered. You're the master now, Brother Shifu, don't be like before, always getting embarrassed so easily. This Ling Ming is someone I had a hard time inviting over, it's not as simple as you make it out to be." Ling Xiao said with a smile.

  "Golden Elixir stage? What can a Golden Elixir stage alchemist do? No matter how talented, it's only up to three stars at most. This time the sect needs an alchemist of around three to four stars, what use is a Golden Elixir stage alchemist? Brother, you're confused, aren't you? If the Sect's Supreme Elder blames me, I won't be able to protect you." Ling Ji said worriedly.

  "Hehe, don't worry about it, Master Palm Door. This Lingming is a rare talent in the field of alchemy, one that the Qiling Sect hasn't produced in a hundred years. If he hadn't asked to come down from the mountain for trial by fire, I wouldn't have been able to invite him back. Even so, I still had to promise the Tianyi Elder of the Qiling Sect a bottle of top-grade Hundred Flower Wine in order to guarantee Lingming's safety before bringing him here. Don't be fooled by his appearance as a mere Golden Elixir stage cultivator - his alchemy skills have already passed the test of the Qiling Sect's Master Palm Door, and he possesses a Five Elements Alchemist's Spirit Badge."

  "Five stars?" Ling was so shocked that he even pulled out a hair from his beard, which made him wince in pain.

  "Wasn't the leader of that small sect we used to be in only at the 5-star level? It seems that these large sects are indeed powerful, and even a junior disciple's strength is not inferior to someone else's leader. Impressive! This Equipment Spirit Sect doesn't seem as simple as it appears on the surface." Ling Ji said thoughtfully.

  "Hehe, it's not as exaggerated as what Shixiong said, but Qiling Zong really is a rare talent that appears only once in several hundred years. However, I must say that as the number one sect of the Tianxia, their strength is indeed astonishing. Some ordinary mountain-guarding array techniques are beyond my comprehension."

  "It seems I must report this matter to the Supreme Elder of our sect after all. It's necessary for us to strengthen our cooperation with the Qixing Sect, especially since the Artifact Refining Alliance is making a ruckus in the Pianxing Domain." Ling Ji said seriously, displaying quite the demeanor of a sect leader.

  "Well, you tell the senior elders that our sect has gained another grandmaster-level artifact refiner." Ling Xiao said.

  "Great Master? The great master-level artifact refiners in the cultivation world either ascend to immortality or go into seclusion. Being able to obtain the exact location of a great master-level artifact refiner has always been the wish of our inner sect elders, all those old undying ones want to refine immortal artifacts, can immortal artifacts be that easy to refine? Not to mention wasting materials..."

  "Lingji, come to the back mountain for a trip." A faint voice came over.

  "How did the sect leader offend Elder Taishang again? Could it be that he secretly drank Elder Taishang's Hundred Flower Wine?" asked Disciple A of Lingtian Sect.

  "What's this? The sect leader was caught sleeping during meditation by the elder when he first started practicing." said Ling Tian Sect disciple Yi Dao.

  "Junior brother, see? This is the benefit of being the sect leader. You're always being watched by these old fossils. Why don't you go back first? The disciples from nearby sects are coming to our sect for a star-exchange learning experience tomorrow. You can arrange their cultivation locations after they've had enough fun on the planet."

  "Alright, don't worry, Shifu. I'll take care of everything properly. But what about you, Shifu..." Ling Xuan was obviously referring to the matter with the Taishang Elder.

  "Ah, nothing much, it's not like it's the first or second time, these old guys just won't die." Ling Ji said.

  "Come to the back mountain immediately." Before Ling Xiao could respond, the voice rang out again. Ling Ji smiled helplessly at Ling Xiao and got up to fly towards the back mountain.

  Although the college entrance examination application has made me anxious and disheartened, I still managed to muster up the energy to write a chapter.

  I hope everyone will continue to support, try to collect as many as possible, and write more book reviews. Alas, my book review section is almost invisible except for advertisements and editors from other websites who come to promote their own books, it's frustrating.