Eternal Life Starts from Tai Chi

Chapter 398: Chapter 398: Immunity to Chicken Soup, A Cunning Rabbit Has 3 Burrows

Yang Chan watched the vast crowd leave through the gates of the Cyan Yuan Sect. There were over a thousand people in total. While not a huge number, every single one of them held a high status.

Over the years, the number of Servant Disciples leaving the Cyan Yuan Sect annually far exceeded this, sometimes by more than tenfold, yet their departure never caused a ripple. Now, the exit of these thousand people left many of the Sect’s disciples with mixed feelings.

Mostly, it was envy.

Before leaving, Sect Leader Liu Xuan spoke for more than an hour. His words were incredibly inspiring, enough to make one’s blood boil with passion, but Yang Chan had already forgotten everything he said.

To him, those words were irrelevant. They had no effect on him.

The others were genuinely fired up, but he was just putting on a show, acting like everyone else so as not to stand out. He didn’t feel any of that passion.

After being exposed to enough pep talks and psychological manipulation, one naturally develops an immunity. So, while Liu Xuan’s speech was inspiring, it failed to stir any emotion in him.

’Compared to pep talks and manipulation, I prefer tangible things. Giving me a couple of Spirit Medicines or increasing my Sect Contribution Points—that’s far more practical. It would even make my gratitude more sincere.’

The departure of over a thousand people still left its mark, as many of those who left held high-ranking positions.

There were Hall Masters from various halls, Elders, Direct Disciples, and Elite Disciples. Even the Official Disciples among them were the best of the best. Each one of them was exceptional, so their departure naturally drew more attention.

After the group left, the arrangements within the Cyan Yuan Sect remained the same as usual. Aside from a change in leadership, not much else was different.

Under Gu An’s management, the Cyan Yuan Sect slowly returned to normal, operating as it always had.

Sect Leader Liu Xuan and the others had arranged their successors before leaving and had even overseen the transition for a period. As a result, the entire process was relatively smooth. Even the few errors that arose were gradually being resolved.

With a little more time, everything would be back to normal again.

Of course, replenishing the ranks of Inner Masters and External Refining Experts would take a very long time.

After all, experts of this level were the ones who stood out from the crowd. Cultivating such masters naturally required an accumulation of time.

Take Han Bingyu, for example. She had decent Talent and ample Cultivation Resources, yet it would still take her a long time to break through to External Refining. She was only now on the verge of a breakthrough.

Although her abundance of Cultivation Resources was a recent development after she started following Yang Chan, she originally had some support from the Han Family. Compared to most ordinary people, her situation was already much better.

For anyone else, the time required to reach External Refining would be even longer, unless their cultivation Talent was superior to hers.

Such people existed, but most of them were in the group Sect Leader Liu Xuan had just taken away. If the Cyan Yuan Sect wanted to find more disciples with such superior Talent, it could only select them from the vast pool of Servant Disciples or from its Affiliated Forces.

Even so, all of this would take time.

A few years might only restore a fraction of their strength. However, if Sect Leader Liu Xuan and the others could establish a firm foothold in the Merak Sacred Land, gain access to its vast Cultivation Resources, and train numerous experts, they could simply send some people back to preside over the Cyan Yuan Sect.

Although the loss of their core strength had an impact, as long as their top-tier power remained, the Cyan Yuan Sect’s status wouldn’t change. Besides, the Sect faced few threats at the moment.

The Three Major Sects they had previously dealt with had been the greatest threat. As for sects from other states, like the Celestial Sword Sect, if they wanted to move against the Cyan Yuan Sect now, they would have to consider the Merak Sacred Land backing it.

At a time like this, having the backing of a Holy Land was crucial. It was a deterrent that made other forces wary.

Liu Xuan and the others were able to leave with peace of mind because they knew this.

Of course, they were also eager to join the Merak Sacred Land as soon as possible.

That was the most critical part.

"Pharmacist Yang, is there anything else you need us to move over?"

A Steward asked, looking at Yang Chan.

After Sect Leader Liu Xuan and the others left, the vacated courtyards were naturally reassigned.

Yang Chan’s residence was also moved. He was directly assigned to Elder Hua’s former place. Although Elder Yan’s prospects were grim, his residence was being kept for the time being.

’The Sect isn’t completely heartless. They’ll probably wait a few more years.’

The Steward brought some Servant Disciples to help Yang Chan move. The new courtyard was much larger than his old one. Yang Chan had someone bring the name plaque along; he didn’t plan to change the name of his new residence and would still call it Yuanqing Courtyard.

Elder Hua’s courtyard was far larger than Yang Chan’s previous one, with numerous pavilions, several gardens, and an ornamental lake. It was extremely grand.

’It’s quite nice.’ Now, however, it belonged to Yang Chan. And because the courtyard was so large, it naturally required more Maids.

Even though Yang Chan didn’t want too many, he would need at least thirty, which meant he had to find nineteen more.

Some people offered to send him Maids, but Yang Chan politely declined.

The people they sent might come with trouble, possibly even involving some of the Sect’s internal struggles.

With his current status, he didn’t need to fear getting involved in the Sect’s internal conflicts, but he still had no desire to do so. He was staying in the Cyan Yuan Sect to develop in peace and slowly increase his strength, not to get mixed up in messy affairs.

With the departure of pharmacists like Elder Hua and Xu Gaocen, his importance in the Cyan Yuan Sect had risen again, and naturally, more people wanted to curry favor with him.

Yang Chan was in no hurry to recruit more Maids. Although he was a bit short-staffed now, it was manageable for the time being. It was fine to leave some of the pavilions empty.

He would find the Maids he needed slowly.

There weren’t many things in Yang Chan’s original residence. The only thing he needed to deal with was the secret room he had dug himself, which he used for covert matters, breakthroughs, and as an escape route.

He had no choice but to seal the secret room, along with the special Magic Array that concealed one’s aura. He would soon be able to use it again.

Since returning to the Cyan Yuan Sect, his Cultivation progress had been extremely steady. After spending Potential Points over the past few days, his Sixth Lungs and Spleen was about to have a breakthrough.

Once his Cultivation broke through again, his Martial Arts Cultivation would catch up to Gu An’s. At that point, in terms of Cultivation alone, no one in the Cyan Yuan Sect would be stronger than him, which would give him a great deal of peace of mind.

Before long, he would become the strongest in the Cyan Yuan Sect in terms of Cultivation.

This was a small goal Yang Chan had been working toward. Liu Xuan’s departure allowed him to achieve it ahead of schedule, which was good news.

The new residence was truly massive, and the architecture was extremely luxurious. Elder Hua had already arranged for people to take everything portable; what remained was everything that couldn’t be moved.

This also implied that Elder Hua had basically no intention of ever returning to the Cyan Yuan Sect.

People strive for greater heights, just like that.

Yang Chan walked through the courtyard, passing through the garden, study, living room, and bedroom. There was a secret room inside, but Yang Chan still planned to spend some time digging a new one.

’It has to be well-hidden, not easily discovered, and it shouldn’t affect my Cultivation. Ideally, it should lead directly to the outside.’

The courtyard was large, and there were quite a few suitable locations. However, Yang Chan was in no hurry. He would observe for a while, and if need be, he would just dig in several places.

’A clever rabbit has three burrows.’ It wouldn’t be excessive for him to dig three more secret rooms and passages.

These were all precautionary measures. It wouldn’t be a waste if he needed to use them, and it would be even better if he didn’t.

’I can afford for them to be useless, but I can’t afford not to have them. Otherwise, I won’t feel safe.’ This was especially true now that most of the Sect’s experts were gone, including their strongest combatant, the Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster.

The Sect’s greatest protection was its title as an Affiliated Force of the Merak Sacred Land, backed by a major power like a Holy Land. Under normal circumstances, no one would provoke the Cyan Yuan Sect at this time. After all, attacking them right after they became an affiliate of the Merak Sacred Land wasn’t just targeting the Cyan Yuan Sect; it was also a direct challenge to the Merak Sacred Land.

For a Holy Land like that, reputation was paramount. If anyone dared to provoke them at such a time, they would surely retaliate fiercely. Otherwise, the Merak Sacred Land’s reputation would be ruined.

Despite this, someone like Yang Chan still preferred to take precautions, because the Cyan Yuan Sect’s strength had been significantly reduced.

He would never bet his safety solely on the name of the Merak Sacred Land. Digging a few tunnels gave him a greater sense of security.

As Yang Chan walked through the courtyard, others saw him as simply familiarizing himself with his new residence. Han Bingyu was beside him, doing the same, while Princess Lan Yue followed behind, her steps slightly offset.

She had found out these past few days that Yang Chan had the option to go to the Merak Sacred Land but had chosen not to go immediately. Instead, he was temporarily staying in the Cyan Yuan Sect with Gu An, who had helped him.

This period wouldn’t last forever—only one to three years. This also meant that her time was limited.

Although she could refine Elixirs for Yang Chan, teach him Alchemy, and even possessed a Cultivation Technique like the Emperor’s Shocking Book, she couldn’t guarantee that Yang Chan would take her to the Merak Sacred Land when the time came.

She knew that there was some kind of agreement between the Merak Sacred Land and the Great Zhou Imperial Family, which was why the Cyan Yuan Sect could continue to be the hegemon of Qing State. In this situation, her identity remained a ticking time bomb, a potential liability at any moment.

’If someone finds out about me, it will be very troublesome.’

She knew that Yang Chan disliked trouble and was extremely low-key, so she still felt she was at risk. To mitigate that risk, she had to try another path.

Princess Lan Yue was well aware that this woman, Han Bingyu, had received numerous benefits after becoming one of Yang Chan’s people. Her Martial Arts Cultivation was even on the verge of a breakthrough.

At the same time, Yang Chan trusted her deeply and had even promised to take her to the Merak Sacred Land. Now, she could only try to follow the same path.

Having followed Yang Chan these past few days, she naturally understood his potential. Coupled with his low-key personality, he was bound to go far. This kind of person had enormous potential. By following him, she might even have a chance at revenge.

Of course, her first priority was to avoid being abandoned by Yang Chan. Although she was still useful now, she felt extremely uneasy, constantly worried that Yang Chan might suddenly make a move, and she would inexplicably disappear.