A month and a half passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, the Central Continent was exceptionally lively. City-level and provincial-level matches pitted every young genius of the Great Xia Dynasty against one another on the tournament stages in one-on-one duels. Massive upsets occurred one after another, as many unknown cultivators burst into fame overnight, leaving those who knew them dumbfounded.
Even disciples meticulously nurtured and heavily banked on by first-rank sects were occasionally defeated by obscure little cultivators.
Soon came the day for the Dao Seeking Sect's celebration.
***
Over the past month and a half, the Immortal Fairy had run wild without law or limit within the Dao Seeking Sect, with Lu Yang abetting her misdeeds—the two acting as partners in crime.
In the cave dwelling of Tianmen Peak, two Lu Yangs sat inside. One was reviewing official documents, while the other was sleeping. Both were exceptionally busy.
"Just hold out a bit longer. Once the celebration is over, this will all end!" Lu Yang encouraged himself as he reviewed the paperwork. With the festival imminent, the documents in his hands were lists of the young talents who had emerged victorious from every province, as well as representatives from various factions attending the celebration.
The Lu Yang working right now was a wood clone created via the Tree Planting Art, while the one sleeping was the Immortal Fairy, who had successfully seized his body.
"Fairy, are you sure you're helping me cultivate?"
Perhaps out of a sudden prick of conscience, feeling it was bad to repeatedly seize Lu Yang's body and monopolize his cultivation time, the Immortal Fairy had offered to cultivate on his behalf.
After all, they were both sharing the same body. Cultivating was cultivating, no matter who did it.
And then she had simply gone back to sleep.
"*Yawn—*" Woken up by Lu Yang, the Immortal Fairy gave a huge yawn and glared at him in displeasure.
"Of course I am cultivating! This is the Sleep Cultivation Method. It works on the same principle as when this Immortal sleeps to restore her cultivation. It's a supreme cultivation technique only an immortal can perform. As a mere mortal, you naturally cannot fathom its profundities."
*Haven't you immortals already reached the pinnacle of cultivation? What Sleep Cultivation Method? What use could it possibly have?* Lu Yang thought to himself.
With the Acting Sect Master's authority so vast, Lu Yang had no way to discipline her, so he could only return to reviewing documents.
***
"So this is the Dao Seeking Sect. How magnificent."
Mingtai stood before the Dao Seeking Sect's mountain gate, taking in the endless mountain ranges extending beyond it and the spiritual energy that soaked into his every pore, unable to hold back his admiration.
Representing the Sword Tower, he had fought his way through to the finals and accompanied his sect elder here.
The Dao Seeking Sect was far grander and more opulent than their Sword Tower.
Mingtai's reaction drew no special attention from passersby. Many disciples competing in the finals, and even the elders from their backing factions, were stunned by the sheer magnificence and overwhelming presence of the Dao Seeking Sect upon seeing it for the first time.
If the spiritual energy at the mountain gate was already so abundant, what wonders awaited further inside?
"Mingtai, let's go," the Sword Tower elder called from up ahead, gesturing for Mingtai to keep up.
This was not the Sword Tower elder's first visit to the Dao Seeking Sect. Needing no guide, he led the way with practiced ease through the bamboo groves to the core area of the Dao Seeking Sect—the main venue for this celebration.
The main venue encompassed Tianmen Peak, the eight elder peaks, and the commercial street. It was the liveliest and most bustling part of the sect.
"The Dao Seeking Sect has truly put in a lot of effort," the Sword Tower elder said, nodding as he stroked his beard. It was obvious that the sect was taking this celebration very seriously. An open area at the foot of Tianmen Peak had been cleared out, where an altar crafted entirely from white jade had been erected. Atop the altar stood three tall statues draped in red cloth.
Arranged across the altar were ding cauldrons, gui vessels, dou platters, zun vases, hu flagons, jue cups, small jue, candleholders, incense burners, wine trays, chime bells, chime stones, and other ritual vessels and offerings. Everything strictly adhered to the highest tier of sacrificial rites.
Several Dao Seeking Sect disciples stood guard around the altar, barring anyone from approaching prior to the start of the ceremony.
There were also various ritual utensils and ceremonial props that looked ancient beyond measure—so ancient that even he could not identify them.
"It resembles the ancestral sacrifice of the Barbarian clan, yet it's far more intricate."
As the oldest branch of humanity with a heritage stretching back to ancient times, the Barbarian clan's ancestral sacrifices were widely regarded as the closest modern recreation of ancient ancestral rituals. Many scholars visited them specifically to study these rites and piece together glimpses of the ancient era.
What the Sword Tower elder failed to recognize was that Lu Yang had asked the Immortal Fairy to recall the scenes of ancient grand clans sacrificing to their ancestors and immortals.
Unreliable though she often was, the Immortal Fairy's memory was rock-solid. She had effortlessly reconstructed an authentic ancient sacrificial protocol with absolute orthodoxy.
She could have even reconstructed an older, even more orthodox gathering of immortals, but Lu Yang had promptly vetoed that plan.
"Elder Sikong, long time no see!"
Hearing a familiar voice call his name, the Sword Tower elder turned his head. It was Lu Baqian, the Sect Master of the Corpse Driving Sect, who had been in the limelight lately. Following behind him was presumably a Corpse Driving Sect disciple competing in the finals.
"Ah, Sect Master Lu." Elder Sikong raised a hand in greeting, his motion crisp and free, fully in keeping with the typical demeanor of a sword cultivator.
"Greetings, Sect Master Lu," Mingtai followed suit.
"Haha! How did you know I broke through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage?" Lu Baqian chortled cheerfully, his eyes crinkling into narrow slits.
Elder Sikong: "..."
"Brother Sikong, you still haven't advanced to the Tribulation Transcendence stage? It seems you've been slacking in your cultivation."
As the first among his peers to reach Tribulation Transcendence, Lu Baqian was now showing off everywhere he went. To make matters worse, his cultivation was genuinely superior, meaning no one could beat him in a fight.
Elder Sikong quietly gripped the hilt at his waist, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately chose not to draw his sword.
"Is this a disciple of the Sword Tower?" Having gloated to his heart's content, Lu Baqian finally took notice of Mingtai.
"The only standout one. He inherited the Supreme's mantle." Mentioning Mingtai, Elder Sikong's expression softened slightly. Mingtai was the pride of the Sword Tower.
"The Supreme's mantle?" Lu Baqian gasped in a low voice, his pupils shrinking slightly in clear shock.
Those at the Body Integration stage could be addressed as True Monarch, Tribulation Transcendence as Venerable, and half-immortals as Supreme.
This youth named Mingtai had actually inherited the mantle of the Sword Tower's Supreme?
The Sword Tower Supreme had been a half-immortal of the sword dao who unfortunately perished before achieving immortality. The requirements he left behind for his legacy were so harsh that no one had qualified to inherit it. Lu Baqian had assumed he would never see an inheritor of that Supreme's mantle in his lifetime, yet here one was.
The Sword Tower had certainly hidden him well. To quietly produce such an exceptional successor without making a sound—had it not been for this grand assembly, they likely wouldn't have been willing to let Mingtai out into the world.
"This is Zhao Po, a brilliant disciple of our Corpse Driving Sect."
Excluding the anomaly of Huang Ming, Zhao Po was the true top talent of the younger generation in the Corpse Driving Sect. Furthermore, the battle of Hanshui City had greatly broadened his experience. After breaking through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, Lu Baqian had personally guided him, propelling his abilities through a comprehensive leap forward.
"Alright, I'll chat with Sect Master Lu. You juniors can go have fun," Elder Sikong said, waving his hand. With juniors around, he always felt stiff having to maintain an elder's dignified demeanor.
"Hello, Zhao Po. I'm Mingtai. Are you a disciple of the Corpse Driving Sect?" Mingtai flashed a brilliant smile, clearly an optimistic, cheerful, and talkative youth.
"Does that mean you experienced the Hanshui City incident?"
The Hanshui City incident was the largest-scale battle in the past century. Three Tribulation Transcendence experts had taken part, alongside a Supreme Grand Heavenly Venerable capable of suppressing all three. It had drawn massive attention from the outside world. Someone had already adapted the battle into pingshu storytelling, which spread widely among commoners, and Mingtai often visited teahouses to listen to it.
To meet someone who had personally experienced the battle of Hanshui City here—how could he not be thrilled?
Zhao Po nodded. "Yes. When the battle broke out in the skies above Hanshui City, Senior Brother Lu Yang and I were in the provincial governor's manor. We were the closest people to the fight."
"You know Senior Brother Lu Yang too?!" Mingtai's eyes sparkled, and his voice went up several pitches, even more excited than before.
What was the hottest story in the teahouses? It was none other than *Legend of the Dao Seeking Sect: Lu Yang Chapter*!
Chapter 474