5. This practice journal is widely popular.

Upon hearing their uncle master mention the "Righteous Path Great Plan," these young disciples from Sword Mountain couldn't help but reveal looks of excitement. They all had parents or other elders cultivating in Sword Mountain and hailed from the orthodox lineage of Sword Mountain, thus despite their low cultivation levels, they had already heard about this plan many times.

Should this plan succeed, it would not only benefit countless common folk, but Sword Mountain would also possess near-immortal figures above the cultivation realm!

Currently in the Jiawu Realm, there are only cultivators at the cultivation realm, but this is not the only realm on the path of cultivation. Above the cultivation realm, there are other higher realms, within which one could resurrect the dead and rebuild flesh and bone. Even if one were to pass away due to the exhaustion of their lifespan, they could still return through transmigration using a profound technique.

Moreover, they wouldn't need to cultivate from the beginning like those who seize bodies. By retrieving their previous life's Dao Fruit, they could regain all their cultivation!

As for why possessing a near-immortal figure would be related to benefiting the common folk, that was something these disciples didn't understand, but this was what their elders had told them.

"It seems that in the end, the Heartless Old Demon was just a person without blessings," one of the youths couldn't help but say.

Another youth nodded and said, "That's better, this demon slaughtered infants, harvested human hearts, and consumed people for his cultivation. If we made him the Guardian of our Sword Mountain, just whitewashing his deeds would be exhausting, and we would have to credit some of our senior brothers' achievements to this old demon properly."

Although demon cultivators aren't despised like rats on the street that everyone wants to strike, the cultivation methods of the Heartless Old Man were ultimately disliked and even hated by many.

"Alright, since the Heartless Demon has died, let's return and report this to the Sect Leader," the uncle master of these young Sword Mountain disciples interrupted their conversation with a wave of his hand.

"Uncle master, shouldn't we investigate who killed the Heartless Old Man? Although the Heartless Old Man was despicable, he was still appointed by our Sword Mountain. His murder is no less than a great disrespect to our Sword Mountain," a young girl couldn't help but say.

"The person who left just now was Tan Shuchang, the third disciple of the Heartless Old Man. As to how to deal with it, that decision has to be made by the Sect Leader and the elders," the uncle master of the young disciples replied upon hearing her.

"He was able to kill the Heartless Old Man?" This young disciple was immediately shocked.

They had also heard about the disciples of the old demon on Black Heart Mountain, but those were only recruited by the Heartless Old Man a few years ago. And how much could one really cultivate in just a few years?

Unlike them, who started cultivating from the moment they learned to read, beginning their foundational training and commencing cultivation as soon as they reached the appropriate age.

If only counting the years of cultivation, some younger generations who started at fifteen or sixteen might have far fewer years of cultivation than these young disciples!

"I would not mistake him," the uncle master of the young disciples said, taking out a very thin booklet.

"Uncle master, what is this?"

"Tan Shuchang's Cultivation Diary. I discovered it by chance at the market, and there's even a portrait of Tan Shuchang at the end. The person who just left looked seventy to eighty percent similar to the portrait."

Upon hearing their uncle master say this, the group of young men and women immediately became intrigued.

After just a glance, however, their expressions turned odd.

"What a demon cultivator who turns black to white!"

"Uncle master, this couldn't have been distributed by Tan Shuchang himself, could it? Do you know who did it?" some scolded while others couldn't resist asking.

"I was also curious and inquired around, only to find out that Tan Shuchang's Cultivation Diary has been in circulation for some time. Apparently, many were distributed from the outset, and now many have even been sold to places like Qizhou, Greenzhou, and Luzhou."

"They sold it that far?"

The Jiawu Realm has seven mountains, five peaks, and thirteen rivers, all top-tier Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands and precious cultivation sites. These seven mountains, five peaks, and thirteen rivers also divide the Jiawu Realm into twenty-five distinct regions.

Their current location was Yuezhou, situated at the extreme south of the Jiawu Realm.

And Qizhou, Qingzhou, and Luzhou are located at the very northern extremity of the Jiawu Realm. One in the south, one in the north, the vast distance between them is, of course, needless to say.

Of course, this also indirectly indicates something—the "Tan Shuchang's Cultivation Diary" is now a best-seller.

...

Those people from the Sword Mountains, Tan Shuchang was unaware of; although he sensed something when he left, a few cultivators were rushing toward his direction, but he didn't think much of it. After all, Qinghe City was built by the Jianxia Sect.

In Qinghe City, encountering a few cultivators wasn't anything special, let alone several hundred or several thousand—it was a common occurrence.

This city was, to begin with, a city of cultivators.

At present, immortals and mortals cohabitated merely because some cultivators were either wealthy or noble before they began cultivating, thus bringing along numerous servants to attend to them.

For instance, this was the case with several of Tan Shuchang's junior brothers and sisters.

After leaving Qinghe City, Tan Shuchang made his way to Black Heart Mountain; the first thing he did upon returning was to gather all the disciples of Black Heart Mountain.

Black Heart Mountain ranked disciples based on their cultivation strength; with the eldest sister and the second senior brother gone to "advance their studies," Tan Shuchang, who was ranked third, called the assembly, and naturally, no one objected.

The disciples recruited by the Heartless Old Man arrived one after another, each assuming an extremely cautious and reverential attitude.

After all, who on Black Heart Mountain hadn't read "Tan Shuchang's Cultivation Diary"?

Before they read it, they only thought that the third senior brother was somewhat mysterious and didn't like to socialize, but was an amiable person.

But after reading it, which Black Heart Mountain disciple would dare think so!

"Junior brothers and sisters, this is our master's Sect Leader token, which I'm sure you all recognize. Therefore, I now claim the position of acting Sect Leader of Black Heart Mountain, and I suppose none of you have any objections, right?" Tan Shuchang spoke evenly, slowly stating his claim.

As his voice fell, it was like thunder from a clear sky, but after looking at Tan Shuchang, the disciples of Black Heart Mountain all lowered their heads.

They dared not object.

In the end, it was the fourth-ranked disciple who stood up and said, "Third senior brother, if our master said so, we shall naturally follow."

"Qin junior brother, rest assured, although master did not say that, he will never deny me," Tan Shuchang responded directly.

His words were blunt.

So, upon hearing this response from Tan Shuchang, the fourth-ranked Qin Shanghe, although somewhat incredulous, immediately bowed and paid respects, "I acknowledge you as Sect Leader!"

The word "acting" was straightaway dropped by him.

Seeing this, the other disciples of Black Heart Mountain hurriedly followed suit.

"We pay respects to the Sect Leader!"

"Since you all acknowledge it, that's good. I now announce that Black Heart Mountain is hereby disbanded from the Jiawu Realm. Junior brothers and sisters, everyone should return to their own homes and families. If fate allows, we shall meet again!"