Visit from the Five Elements Sect

A flying boat belonging to the Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce shuttled through the clouds. Having emerged from a dense bank, the passengers were on deck basking in the sunlight, savoring this moment of tranquility. Just then, an immense shadow engulfed them. Looking up in astonishment, they discovered an abnormally colossal flying boat looming directly overhead. The Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce's flying boat was already considered massive, yet before this ship, it seemed as tiny as an infant. The vessel's exterior was adorned with five-colored gemstones that gleamed brilliantly, clearly of extraordinary make. "Whose flying boat is that?" people murmured in low voices, having never seen such an enormous craft. Someone sharp-eyed noticed, "Look at the emblem on the side! That's a flying boat from the Five Elements Sect!" "The Five Elements Sect?" People had only ever heard of the Five Elements Sect's name and rarely saw them travel abroad—let alone with such an ostentatious display of force. "Could some peerless archdemon have emerged, requiring the venerable elders of the Five Elements Sect to set out in force and eradicate it together?" In the cultivation world, the Five Elements Sect's reputation was several tiers above that of the Dao Seeking Sect. "Judging by its heading, is it going to the Dao Seeking Sect?" "Then are they off to eradicate a great demon, or to pay a visit to the Dao Seeking Sect?" ... "The purpose of our trip is to wipe out those fiends and monsters in the Dao Seeking Sect and show them the might of our Five Elements Sect!" Aboard the Five Elements Sect's flying boat, Sect Master Qiu Jin'an rallied the crowd: "Last time was a strategic mistake on my part! I forgot that Yun Zhi was Daoist Buyu's disciple and eligible to compete, which resulted in a minor loss for our Five Elements Sect! "But this time is different! I've already investigated thoroughly: that rascal Daoist Buyu has gone missing, and Yun Zhi has officially become the Acting Sect Master. She can be considered of the same generation as me and will no longer participate in activities reserved for disciples! "This is our chance! Without the threat of Yun Zhi, a mere Dao Seeking Sect poses no challenge! "Haven't we endured hardship and bided our time precisely for today's victory—for the honor of the Five Elements Sect?!" Qiu Jin'an was utterly ruthless in his resolve, determined to wipe away their past humiliation no matter what. In order to flaunt his might before the Dao Seeking Sect, he had even brought out the sect's most luxurious flying boat, specifically to show off in front of them. Aboard the vessel, one genius disciple after another listened to Qiu Jin'an's speech, the flames of battle igniting in their eyes. They were all prodigies handpicked by the Five Elements Sect, each possessing unique strengths and profound mastery over five elements spells, with scarcely any rivals among peers of the same realm. Since youth, they had been taught by their elders that when descending the mountain for missions, they should avoid dealing with people from the Dao Seeking Sect as much as possible. Those from the Dao Seeking Sect were notoriously difficult to handle and defied all common sense. Youths always harbored a rebellious streak. Now that they finally had an opportunity to clash with the Dao Seeking Sect, they were determined to shine brilliantly and let the Dao Seeking Sect see what true genius was. Among them were disciples who had taken part in the previous exchange, but back then only Yun Zhi had stepped forward, which revealed nothing of the Dao Seeking Sect's overall strength. Knowing very little about the Dao Seeking Sect, they merely saw this as a chance to show off. A bright-eyed young girl gazed at Qiu Jin'an with blazing eyes. Clenching her fists, she shouted, "For the honor of the Five Elements Sect!" The girl's words were like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, stirring ripples of enthusiastic responses among the Five Elements Sect disciples. "For the honor of the Five Elements Sect!" "For the honor of the Five Elements Sect!" When Qiu Jin'an saw the girl, his expression changed drastically. "Why are you here? You're not on the delegation list!" The girl feigned indignation. "Why can't I come? It's not easy to get a chance to visit the Dao Seeking Sect. How could you leave me out of something so fun!" "How can you describe coming to the Dao Seeking Sect as 'fun'? The right word is 'dangerous'!" Qiu Jin'an corrected her flawed logic. Some younger disciples did not recognize the girl and sent voice transmissions to a senior brother: "Senior Brother, who is she?" "All I know is that her name is Shangguan Yu, background unknown. She was already by the Sect Master's side before I even joined the Five Elements Sect. Rumor has it that she was favored by the previous Sect Master and is his illegitimate daughter—the Sect Master's half-sister. The Sect Master is quite permissive toward her antics." With the Dao Seeking Sect nearly in sight, Qiu Jin'an couldn't very well send Shangguan Yu back—and in all likelihood, Shangguan Yu wouldn't listen to him anyway. Rather than lose face in public, he decided to yield. As they spoke, the flying boat arrived before the mountain gate of the Dao Seeking Sect and docked alongside it. In front of the mountain gate, Acting Sect Master Immortal Fairy and the eight elders had already hung a banner welcoming the Five Elements Sect's visit. Leading the crowd down from the boat, Qiu Jin'an let a faint smile touch the corner of his lips as he observed the Dao Seeking Sect's reactions. This lot from the Dao Seeking Sect had definitely never seen such a luxurious flying boat. The Grand Elder stepped forward and reached out a hand toward Qiu Jin'an. Just as Qiu Jin'an was about to shake it, he heard the Grand Elder say, "Berthing fee." The Grand Elder hadn't come to shake hands; he was here to collect a fee. Typically, during visits between the Five Great Immortal Sects, the leaders would use their own dharmic powers to conjure clouds or mist, which would disperse upon arrival—very convenient. Rarely did anyone arrive in a flying boat like Qiu Jin'an. Parking such a massive flying boat in front of the Dao Seeking Sect's mountain gate naturally incurred a charge; this wasn't a free parking lot or dock. Qiu Jin'an said in a deep voice, "I am visiting on behalf of the Five Elements Sect." The Grand Elder pondered for a moment and found Qiu Jin'an's point reasonable. "Twenty percent off, then." Qiu Jin'an took a deep breath, telling himself that as a magnanimous man, he shouldn't stoop to arguing with these Dao Seeking Sect lunatics. The flying boat Qiu Jin'an piloted was enormous, making the berthing fee dozens of times higher than that of an ordinary vessel. Qiu Jin'an's heart was bleeding. Yet at the thought of soon flaunting his might before the Dao Seeking Sect, he decided not to sweat such minor details. Immediately after, Qiu Jin'an saw the Dao Seeking Sect's welcoming party, as well as the banner hung overhead. The reception for the Five Elements Sect could hardly be called anything but top-tier: the banner had been personally penned by an immortal, a treasure unrivaled under the heavens. Though Huang Doudou appeared unreliable, she possessed excellent calligraphy; the characters on the banner were vigorous and sweeping, brimming with majestic presence. The words on the banner were simple—merely "Welcome Five Elements Sect"—except they were not written in modern script. Qiu Jin'an narrowed his eyes, recognizing it as ancient script. Was the Dao Seeking Sect showing off its cultural heritage? Laughable. Did they not know that he had once been infatuated with the Ancient Era and had extensively researched its culture? Smiling, Qiu Jin'an uttered a stream of archaic, obscure phrases—the spoken tongue of the Ancient Era, understood by only a rare few. If ancient characters still left traces to follow, the pronunciations of the Ancient Era were notoriously impenetrable—or rather, completely lost to time. After all, while written scripts could endure, spoken sounds could not. This was an echo he had chanced upon in a ruin. Judging by the arrangement of surrounding relics and surviving inscriptions, it must have been a sacrificial altar to an ancient immortal who had accepted and enjoyed the offering. The lingering sound had been grand and ancient. Presumably, it was praise bestowed by the immortal upon the priests after accepting their sacrifice. Qiu Jin'an felt it was exceptionally fitting for the current occasion. This also explained why the sound could be preserved through the ages: because it was the voice of an immortal. Lu Yang whispered to the Immortal Fairy, asking what Sect Master Qiu was saying. The Immortal Fairy looked completely bewildered. "His accent is so heavy, I can barely make it out. It sounded something like, 'O Great Immortal, please accept the humblest offering of your servant.'" "Could it be that he recognized my identity?" The Immortal Fairy felt rather pleased. Finally, someone recognized her identity as an immortal, and with such humility too—far better than Yun Zhi and Lu Yang! She would appoint him Vice Cult Master of the Immortal Cult! Noticing everyone's baffled expressions, Qiu Jin'an nodded in satisfaction: *Can't understand what I'm saying, can you?*