The delegation from Fenghua Palace was the second group to arrive at Shouyang Hall.
Compared to the top Nascent Soul upper sects, their numbers were somewhat small—only two people.
Namely, the Grand Palace Master Fairy Fenghua and the newly ascended Nascent Soul cultivator, Fairy Fengyue.
The moment they entered the hall, hearty laughter echoed from within.
"Jiuling, I heard you lost to Deng Taiyue. That comes as quite a surprise, wouldn't you say?"
"Hmph! It was merely a clash of Nascent Soul domains. I have no idea how he cultivated, but despite having only just stepped into the late Nascent Soul stage, his domain is absurdly powerful. Even so, if it came to a fight to the death, it remains to be seen who would prevail between Deng Taiyue and me!"
"On that point, I have no doubt. Your arts of slaughter, Jiuling, far exceed what your apparent cultivation realm suggests."
"Where is Deng Taiyue? He arrived at Lingtian Pass before I did, so why don't I see him?"
For the moment, there was no answer to that question, as the two True Persons from Fenghua Palace had already stepped inside.
Fairy Fenghua greeted familiarly, "Pill Sect, it has been a long time."
"Fenghua, indeed it has been a long time. You are even more radiant than before," Luo Chen replied leisurely, his gaze then settling on the other woman beside Fenghua. "Fellow Daoist Fengyue, congratulations on breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm."
Fengyue's expression was somewhat complicated. She looked up to see Luo Chen sitting cross-legged upon the dais, his loose black Daoist robes accentuating the profound, mountain-like presence of a grandmaster.
Behind Luo Chen sat two exceptionally stunning women, quietly poised.
Flanking him to the left and right were Gu Caiyi, radiant, bright, and poised, and Fairy Canglong, noble and pure like a snow lotus upon Mount Tian.
They, too, were Nascent Soul True Persons!
To be able to sit openly and upright behind Luo Chen in formal finery on an occasion like today, their status was beyond doubt.
Fengyue bowed gracefully with composure. "That I was able to break through to the Nascent Soul realm is all thanks to Brother Daoist's grace in bestowing that pill."
Of the batch of Nascent Soul Formation Pills back then, one had indeed fallen into the hands of Fenghua Palace.
It seemed now that Fengyue had been the one to benefit from that pill.
Luo Chen smiled and casually pointed with a gesture.
"Please take your seats!"
Today, Shouyang Hall had been expanded, and the interior arrangement differed from its usual casual layout.
Rows of low tables and prayer mats stood neatly arranged, laden with tempting, fragrant fruits and pastries.
Drifting wisps of sandalwood incense coiled through the air, refreshing the mind and heart.
Xiaobai led a troupe of glamorous female ghosts weaving among the seats, placing fine wines and refreshments upon the tables.
Fenghua and Fengyue glanced at Xiaobai and could not help but sigh inwardly. For even the task of arranging the venue to be managed by a Nascent Soul ghost cultivator, the present Luotian Sect was truly formidable in strength!
They sat down beside the Nine Spirits Sect and exchanged brief pleasantries with Changxi and Meng Ye, whom Sovereign Jiuling had brought along this time.
Luo Chen did not reminisce excessively with the two old acquaintances, for more and more cultivators were entering Shouyang Hall one after another.
Among them were many old friends he knew well.
For instance, the White Crane Sect sent three Nascent Soul True Persons. True Person Xianhe and the Crane Sovereign were long-standing acquaintances, while the newly ascended Nascent Soul, Bai Yunfei, had succeeded in breaking through thanks to the batch of Nascent Soul Formation Pills Luo Chen had previously released, just like Fengyue.
Only one person came from Wan Jian Pavilion—Lin Qingxuan.
By all reason, with the combined foundations of two Nascent Soul upper sects—Wan Jian Pavilion and the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect—they should not have appeared so sparse, especially since Wan Jian Pavilion had also purchased one of Luo Chen's Nascent Soul Formation Pills from Deng Taiyue.
Yet it had failed.
Luo Chen wondered whether the pill's efficacy had been insufficient, whether that cultivator had lacked the requisite fortune, or perhaps Lin Qingxuan had deliberately suppressed them?
Without any malice, Luo Chen entertained that final possibility.
The Lin Qingxuan of today no longer possessed the impetuous arrogance of his youth, having grown mature and steady. After greeting Luo Chen, he went to find a table toward the back and sat down on his own.
Tianduzi of the Tiandu Sect arrived as well, bringing along a full three Nascent Soul True Persons!
The foundation of what was once the Eastern Desolation's premier formation sect was not to be underestimated. Even though the Tiandu Sect had been reduced to only two Nascent Souls, including Tianduzi, by the end of the human-demon war, over the century-plus since the war's conclusion, two newly ascended Nascent Souls had emerged in succession.
The moment the Tiandu Sect arrived, Luo Chen immediately had Xiaobai arrange the best seats for them, seated directly across from the Nine Spirits Sect.
No one questioned this arrangement.
It was not only out of regard for the Tiandu Sect's strength and respect for Tianduzi and Sovereign Jiuling as fellow late Nascent Soul Great Cultivators, but also because both had profound ties of friendship with Luo Chen.
The experts from the various major sects who arrived afterward were arranged in descending order.
The Hundred Beasts Sect, the Void Emperor Cult, Seven Caverns Mountain, the Dieyun Sect, Azure Pill Valley, and even the lone rogue cultivator Bohan Jun were all granted a place.
Among them were the revitalized Void Emperor Cult and the enduring, seasoned Seven Caverns Mountain.
Many had thought the Dieyun Sect was doomed to decline; after all, the sect had suffered a devastating blow when an elite force of Demon Emperors raided their rear, wiping out all three of their Nascent Soul True Persons in a single battle. Yet beyond anyone's expectations, the Dieyun Sect had quietly nurtured another Nascent Soul powerhouse.
As for Tao Wan of Azure Pill Valley and the rogue cultivator Bohan Jun, though they drew a fair amount of attention as fresh faces representing new factions, they were ultimately minor figures in the eyes of the assembly.
What truly caused a sensation was the appearance of White Deer Grotto.
A full six Nascent Soul True Persons!
Among them was True Person Pengxiang, a newly ascended Great Cultivator!
With such a lineup and formidable strength, White Deer Grotto could rank among the very pinnacle of Nascent Soul upper sects even in the peak era of the Eastern Desolation cultivation world!
Upon seeing Luo Chen again, True Person Pengxiang behaved with great ease and open-mindedness.
He felt not the slightest embarrassment over having aided the Five Elements Divine Sect against the Luotian Sect back then. With the passage of time, there had never been deep-seated enmity between them, so why dwell on it?
Furthermore, thanks to Luo Chen's Nascent Soul Formation Pill, White Deer Grotto had gained another newly ascended Nascent Soul in Kongtongzi, prompting True Person Pengxiang to take the initiative in extending goodwill.
Luo Chen also smiled and brushed past the bygone past.
Outside the hall, two voices—one old, one young—suddenly rang out, announcing the guests:
"Dongyang Sect, Grand Elder True Person Dongyang!"
"Tianyuan Dao Sect, Shi Chuanting and Lian Buwei!"
As the voices faded, three figures walked in together.
The eyes of everyone in the hall converged upon them. In particular, when looking at the two men walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Grand Elder Dongyang, an uneasy look surfaced on every face.
Back when the Tianyuan Dao Sect had taken control of the Eastern Desolation, though their reign lasted briefly—only some thirty years—they had hardly done anything commendable during that time!
They seized spiritual grounds, scraped away resources, and when dealing with the resurgent demon army, routinely forced disciples of native Eastern Desolation sects to serve as cannon fodder on the front lines.
The atrocities and grievances committed during that period were remembered by all major sects. If they kept silent under normal circumstances, it was merely out of apprehension.
Yet when confronted with them in person, who could possibly feel comfortable?
The Dongyang Sect's arrival at this moment was expected.
However, representatives of the Tianyuan Dao Sect attending the Shouyang Dao Discussion was rather hard to swallow.
The Tianyuan Dao Sect was not an Eastern Desolation sect!
Moreover, when the Pill Sect revived the Shouyang Dao Discussion this time, invitations had been limited strictly to the Eastern Desolation cultivation world.
They were uninvited gatecrashers!
Everyone instinctively turned their gazes back to Luo Chen on the dais, eager to see how he would respond.
Unexpectedly, Luo Chen's expression remained calm as he simply waved a hand. "Fellow Daoists, please take your seats!"
Yet the three did not take their seats immediately. Instead, after casting their eyes across the hall, they shook their heads.
"Luo Chen, Brother Shi and I represent none other than the Tianyuan Dao Sect. How could we possibly sit in the lowest seats?" Lian Buwei stepped forward, his attitude even more arrogant than that of Grand Elder Dongyang. He scoffed, "Do not forget, you were once a Star Gate guest elder of our Tianyuan Dao Sect!"
Luo Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, a dangerous glint surfacing as he looked at the pair.
With four Demon Emperors specifically stationed to oversee Shouyang Mountain, the deterrence was already blatantly apparent.
Every guest who arrived today had been polite and courteous.
Even a power as strong as White Deer Grotto, appearing with six Nascent Soul True Persons at once, still treated Luo Chen with utmost respect.
None were like these two from the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
"Grand Elder Dongyang, are these the men you brought?"
Under Luo Chen's gaze, Grand Elder Dongyang, despite also being a Great Cultivator, felt an inexplicable surge of dread rise within his heart.
Without showing it on his face, he stepped between Luo Chen and the two Tianyuan Dao Sect cultivators.
"Fellow Daoists, we arrived late. Let us not squabble over seats."
With that, he took the initiative and walked toward the rear of the hall.
Grand Elder Dongyang nodded slightly to the woman beside him, swished his Daoist robe, and calmly sat down.
Lian Buwei and Shi Chuanting frowned, but sensing the heavy atmosphere pervading the hall, they had no choice but to take seats toward the rear.
The place where they sat lay toward the outer edge of the hall, an area occupied by only two weaker sects:
namely, the Dieyun Sect and Azure Pill Valley.
Tao Wan was right beside them. Feeling somewhat uneasy from the tense standoff just now, she pressed her lips together tightly.
Once everyone was seated, Wang Yuan hurried inside and placed the scroll bearing all the registered names before Luo Chen's desk.
Luo Chen picked up the scroll and scanned it carefully.
Twenty-seven people in total. Deducting the two from the Tianyuan Dao Sect left twenty-five.
When it concerned an opportunity for Spirit Transformation, no Nascent Soul expert of the Eastern Desolation wanted to miss out. This likely represented the full extent of the human cultivation world's peak strength in the Eastern Desolation today!
Oh, and the Dongyang Sect had only sent its Grand Elder.
By his estimation from his past personal investigation into the Dongyang Sect, there should still be four other Nascent Soul True Persons there.
Twenty-nine... and even adding the seven human Nascent Souls of the Luotian Sect, the total was merely thirty-six.
Putting down the scroll, Luo Chen let out a soft sigh.
"Today's gathering is either a reunion of old friends or the joining of fellow travelers on the Great Dao. At such a grand assembly, this sect master should be overjoyed. Yet the names on this list are so few—not even half of what the Eastern Desolation possessed at its peak. Far too many fellow Daoists perished in that great catastrophe."
His poignant lament echoed softly through the hall.
Everyone present felt a surge of sorrow. Among those who had fallen were their friends, their fellow sect members.
Even some of the newly ascended Nascent Souls sighed with melancholy.
Attaining the Nascent Soul realm granted a lifespan of a millennium, which in the eyes of mortals was no different from being an immortal.
Yet how many paths to longevity had been cut short midway by that single catastrophe?
The world saw only the bustling grandeur of today's Shouyang Dao Discussion, but who among them remembered that at its zenith, even without counting the sacred ground of the Mingyuan Sect, the Eastern Desolation boasted fifty to sixty Nascent Soul True Persons?
Compared to back then, the present state was indeed diminished.
"Why must Pill Sect indulge in such sorrow?"
A hearty, heroic voice rang out from within the hall as Sovereign Jiuling spoke impassionedly.
"The departed are gone; dwelling on them serves no purpose. We who remain must forge ahead and scale greater peaks. What is more, there are newly ascended Daoists such as Fellow Daoist Gu of your sect, Changxi and Meng Ye of mine, and Kongtongzi of White Deer Grotto. As long as the Immortal Path endures, fellow travelers will always emerge."
These words drew widespread murmurs of agreement.
The two-century-long human-demon war had indeed wrought unimaginable calamity upon the Eastern Desolation, but once the war ended, the benefits reaped by the survivors were unprecedented.
Thus, beyond their sorrow, most felt fortunate.
Surviving a great catastrophe inevitably brought great blessing!
Was today's Shouyang Dao Discussion not the greatest fortune of all?
Someone could restrain himself no longer and asked point-blank:
"Pill Sect, have you truly refined the Enlightenment Pill?" Mister Yao from Seven Caverns Mountain was the first to impatiently ask the question on everyone's mind.
Luo Chen had not reached Spirit Transformation—this was a truth plain for all to see.
Yet his invitation had explicitly mentioned the words "opportunity for Spirit Transformation."
How then could one grasp an opportunity for Spirit Transformation without having attained it?
In truth, many had vaguely guessed the answer.
The Enlightenment Pill!
An ancient divine pill capable of aiding one into an epiphany, allowing them to comprehend the true meaning of nomological laws.
If one could truly grasp the true meaning of nomological laws while in the Nascent Soul realm, they would have firmly seized an opportunity for Spirit Transformation, making future breakthrough to the Spirit Transformation realm as natural as water flowing into a channel.
And regarding the Enlightenment Pill, Mister Yao was the most knowledgeable among everyone present.
Back then, Deng Taiyue had first placed his hopes on him, only for Mister Yao's alchemy skills to prove lacking; he had been unable to complete the pill recipe, let alone refine it.
Later, Deng Taiyue placed his hopes on Luo Chen.
It was rumored that Deng Taiyue had entered seclusion for a century, emerging with a breakthrough to late Nascent Soul and skyrocketing strength—most likely due to consuming an Enlightenment Pill.
As for whether he had comprehended the true meaning of laws, the world remained in the dark.
Yet Mister Yao would not let this chance slip by.
Even if his past relationship with Luo Chen had been strained, he had come voluntarily today, braving the risk of humiliation by Luo Chen, merely to catch a glimpse of that ancient divine pill!
Faced with Mister Yao's impatience, Luo Chen waved a hand dismissively.
"Let us set the matter of pills aside for now. This sect master has another matter of grave importance."
The crowd froze in surprise, unable to fathom what matter could possibly rival an opportunity for Spirit Transformation.
With a flash of spiritual light in Luo Chen's hand, a scroll materialized in the hall.
Placing his palm upon the scroll, he declared in a clear voice, "The demon calamity plagued the Eastern Desolation for two hundred years, claiming the lives of countless cultivators. Even if you were granted an opportunity to break through to Spirit Transformation, how can whole eggs remain when the nest is overturned should the demon race stage a resurgence?"
At these words, expressions shifted across the assembly.
"Back then, both races were originally meant to sign an armistice treaty at Mount Bikong, yet due to the Mingyuan Sect going back on their word, the armistice fell through."
"In the battle of Mount Bikong, the ancient demon Di Tian fell, and the Demon Court shattered. We humans appeared to have won that war. Yet what greeted us was an even fiercer retaliation!"
"The demon race powerhouse Monarch Qixia personally took the field and buried the Mingyuan Sect, leaving the Eastern Desolation with no human sacred ground from that day forth."
"Later, when the demons raised armies a second time to threaten the Eastern Desolation, we were reduced to relying on an external continent's sacred ground, the Tianyuan Dao Sect. How utterly wretched!"
Luo Chen spoke with eloquent fervor, laying bare the history step by step.
Though speaking of past events, he touched upon agonizing memories that none wished to revisit.
"The Eastern Desolation of today sees its upper sects withered and all things waiting to be rebuilt. It is at its most vulnerable, unable to bear the cost of another war against the demon race."
"In light of this, this sect master believes an armistice is an absolute imperative!"
Everyone knew that although the Tianyuan Dao Sect and the Eastern Desolation demon race had both withdrawn, the war was far from over.
If an armistice treaty could truly be achieved, the humans of the Eastern Desolation would finally have a genuine chance to rest and rebuild.
Yet with no Spirit Transformation sacred ground left in the Eastern Desolation today, who possessed the qualification to negotiate an armistice?
The scroll slowly unfurled before everyone's eyes.
Every gaze fell upon it, unable to pull away for a long time.
"This sect master personally entered Mount Cangwu and secured Monarch Qixia's approval. The other party took the initiative to extend goodwill, agreeing to let humans and demons conclude an armistice treaty, ensuring another thousand years of peace."
"Monarch Qixia has already signed her name. What say you all?"
Luo Chen spoke slowly, his gaze sweeping over every face.
He saw interest; he saw relief. Perhaps traces of hatred lingered, but before survival and cultivation, they were insignificant.
Concluding an armistice treaty to ensure another thousand years of peace.
A thousand years was more than enough time for them to develop.
As for a thousand years later?
Either the experts present would pass away, and the deluge after their deaths would be none of their concern, or they would break through their shackles to become Spirit Transformation powerhouses, seizing the destiny of themselves and the human race with their own hands.
Time was the most precious commodity that everyone in the Eastern Desolation needed right now.
Yet a discordant voice suddenly exploded:
"Insolence!"
"Luo Chen, how dare you collude with the demon race!"
Luo Chen's face darkened instantly, his eyes fixing upon the two men from the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
Did the title of the Shanhai Realm's foremost sacred ground give them the audacity to behave so brazenly before him time and again?
Chapter 1067