The Grand Qingzhou Festival

Flicked away by Eldest Senior Sister's single finger, the Immortal Fairy hung upside down from a nearby tree branch, swaying back and forth. "Lu Yang, you show no respect for an immortal!" the Immortal Fairy raged. Suffering such calamity out of nowhere was sheer misfortune. To think of her glorious days in the ancient era—who would have dared treat her this way back then? Lu Yang said respectfully, "It isn't that I lack respect for you, Fairy, but rather that I have only just formed the Invincible Core and am not yet familiar with it. Just now, I was merely hoping Fairy would demonstrate how to use it. "Thanks to your demonstration, I now know how to wield the Invincible Core." "Really?" The Immortal Fairy eyed Lu Yang suspiciously, feeling that something was off. "I am merely a mortal. How would I dare deceive you, Fairy?" "Fair point." Considering herself magnanimous, the Immortal Fairy decided not to pursue the matter further. The puppet leaped up and plucked Lu Yang down from the tree branch, dangling him by the collar like a troublesome cat. Eldest Senior Sister placed two fingers on Lu Yang's wrist as though a physician taking a pulse. She gave a barely perceptible nod. "I see. My consideration was lacking. When composing the technique, I forgot that the Invincible Core carries the property of inducing blind self-confidence. The technique made you even more confident, causing you to lose your capacity for rational thought and rendering your body uncontrollable." She picked up the manual that had dropped to the ground. The manual spontaneously combusted, reduced to ashes as though it had never existed. "I will revise it again. Wait a moment." Sitting at the stone table, Eldest Senior Sister tore through space and retrieved a book with completely blank pages. Pondering briefly, she already knew how to make the modifications and set her brush flying across the pages. Before long, a new Golden Core chapter of the *Art of Illuminating the Heart and Seeing Nature* was finished. "Here. Try again." Lu Yang took the manual. Compared to the previous version, only a few phrases had changed. Could this really suppress the impulses of the Invincible Core? As before, Lu Yang circulated a great heavenly circuit, then peeked at Eldest Senior Sister, who was resting with her eyes closed, and let out a sigh of relief. This time, there was no suicidal urge to hit her. Lu Yang sat cross-legged where he was, feeling the changes brought about by the technique. The greatest change was a profound clarity in his heart. The technique illuminated the road ahead; all he had to do was follow its circulation pathways. Previously, his cultivation had merely been an accumulation of mana without any actual advancement in realm. Now with the new technique, that accumulated mana came into play, advancing him from the early Golden Core stage... to the early Golden Core stage. It seemed like he had run in place, and in truth, not much had changed. Next were the changes to his divine sense and spiritual space. The range of his divine sense had expanded slightly, and along with it, his spiritual space had grown a bit larger. Originally, the Immortal Fairy's bed had rested against the wall—which was to say, the boundary of his spiritual space. Now, her bed was about two handspans away from that boundary. The Immortal Fairy noticed this as well and pushed her bed right back against the edge of the spiritual space. She liked resting her back against the headboard while kicking both bare feet against the wall. She found the posture quite comfortable. "Is Lu Yang around?" Meng Jingzhou called out in a low voice as he walked up the mountain. With his carefree personality, he usually yelled at the top of his lungs when looking for someone. However, this was Tianmen Peak. Aside from Lu Yang, the terrifying Eldest Senior Sister was here as well. Even if someone lent Meng Jingzhou eight times his courage, he wouldn't dare make a loud commotion on Tianmen Peak. "Eldest Senior Sister, you're here too?" Meng Jingzhou bowed and scraped upon seeing her resting her eyes against a tree. Eldest Senior Sister gave a faint hum of acknowledgment. She had known the moment Meng Jingzhou set foot onto Tianmen Peak. "What are you looking for me for?" Meng Jingzhou said mysteriously, "A good thing, of course! Have you heard of the Grand Qingzhou Festival? It's about to begin." Lu Yang knew very little about typical events in the Great Xia Dynasty. "What's the Grand Qingzhou Festival?" "A grand festival held for cultivators. Led by the Qingzhou yamen and co-hosted with several first-rank sects, it takes place every year at the start of the eighth month. There are sparring matches, auctions, all sorts of things—it's incredibly lively. The main goal is to entice young cultivators to stay in Qingzhou, so a lot of the participants are around our age." Lu Yang's eyes lit up. He rarely had chances to interact with his peers; this was a prime opportunity. "Let's go! By the way, is this Qingzhou the same one the Fifth Elder mentioned, where twenty thousand years ago a Tribulation Transcendence stage provincial governor used a duel as an excuse to move a neighboring city over?" "That very Qingzhou." Eldest Senior Sister, who had been resting with her eyes closed the entire time, slowly opened them with a hint of curiosity. "The Fifth Elder told you about that provincial governor?" "You know about it too, Eldest Senior Sister?" "Naturally. After all, that provincial governor was our grandmaster." Lu Yang was speechless. Meng Jingzhou was speechless. For some reason, neither of them felt surprised by this revelation. It truly fit the Dao Seeking Sect's consistent style—logical, yet entirely absurd. "It is fine for the two of you to know about the provincial governor, but do not spread word of it outside. It would damage our Dao Seeking Sect's reputation." As the de facto Sect Master of the Dao Seeking Sect, Eldest Senior Sister took great care of the sect's reputation. Even though she had no idea what the Dao Seeking Sect's reputation was actually like out in the wider world. Meng Jingzhou asked curiously, "Eldest Senior Sister, what happened to that provincial governor later on?" "Afterward, he developed Qingzhou according to plan. The Grand Qingzhou Festival you mentioned was his idea. The festival attracted many talented cultivators with outstanding results, prompting other provincial governors to follow suit. Qingzhou grew increasingly prosperous under his governance. Once his fame and achievements were secured, he retired from office and returned to the sect." Lu Yang realized a question: "Wait a moment, can people from the Five Great Immortal Sects serve as court officials?" He had assumed that because the Five Great Immortal Sects held immense power and prestige, Great Xia's suspicion and wariness would prevent their members from holding official positions. "Of course they can." Meng Jingzhou gave Lu Yang an example. "The imperial court is thirsty for talent, and where are there more virtuous talents than in the Five Great Immortal Sects? The court even invited the Abbot of the Hanging Temple to serve as an official; had he agreed, he would have been made Prime Minister. It was only that he declined. "The Sect Master of the Prison Suppressing Sect was invited by the court as well, and he declined too. "As for young talents like you and me becoming officials, the court welcomes it with open arms. Still, we aren't like the Abbot of the Hanging Temple. If we want to become officials, we have to pass the imperial examination." Eldest Senior Sister reminded him, "Lu Yang, you cannot take the imperial examination, nor can you become an official." Lu Yang was startled. "Why?" He had no desire to become an official, but he shouldn't be stripped of the opportunity altogether. "Because of our Master." Lu Yang realized at once. Highly intelligent as he was, a single hint was all he needed to connect the dots: twenty thousand years ago, the Dao Seeking Sect was not yet the foremost of the Five Great Immortal Sects. Today, the Dao Seeking Sect was nothing like before, having become the undisputed leader of the immortal sects. The imperial court was wary of the Dao Seeking Sect growing too dominant and dared not allow disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect—or rather, a personal direct disciple of the Sect Master like him—to serve as officials, lest ties between court and commoners destabilize the Great Xia Dynasty's rule. Eldest Senior Sister continued, "Our Master has committed multiple crimes. Neither his disciples nor our Grandmaster are permitted to become officials."