Third Senior Sister piloted the beast hide for five days before finally arriving at the site of the Demon Empire's founding ceremony.
Originally, this place had been an unbroken expanse of mountain ranges. Through the efforts of the Demon Clan Alliance, it had been leveled into a plain, upon which a towering imperial city had sprung from the earth, standing proudly across the flatlands.
A city cast entirely of metal was exceptionally conspicuous in the barbaric Demon Domain.
Towering peaks rose all around, encircling the grand metallic fortress that stood amidst the mountains, catching every eye.
The metal city was pitch-black throughout, a dark, looming mass that was suffocating and immensely intimidating.
With the founding ceremony drawing near, any faction with Body Integration stage cultivators had received an invitation. Most had arrived ahead of schedule. Combined with the Demon Clan Alliance tribes garrisoned here, the metallic city bustled with excitement.
Great Xia, the East Sea, the Demon Empire, and rogue cultivators from all walks had gathered here. Factions from across the entire cultivation world had come to bear witness.
Originally, after organizing the Dao Seeking Sect's anniversary celebration, Lu Yang had gotten to know all the major sects of Great Xia. This time, however, many major factions he didn't recognize had arrived.
After all, the Demon Domain had been mired in chaos for three hundred thousand years. Now that an empire was suddenly being established, everyone wanted to witness this historic moment.
The founder was even more extraordinary—Ancient Dijiang Zhu Tian, a half-immortal who had lived from ancient times to this very day!
Anyone who had studied ancient history knew of his illustrious name.
"Demon City?"
Above the metal city's gate hung two grand characters: Demon City.
Looking at those two characters, an air of boundless antiquity washed over them, bearing the dusty scent of ancient history.
"Little Lu, Little Meng, over here, over here."
As Lu Yang's group landed before the gates of Demon City, they heard the Grand Elder's voice transmission.
"Look to your left."
The two turned their heads and saw the Grand Elder and the Third Elder squatting by the roadside.
The Grand Elder and Third Elder stood out quite a bit. Passing demons glared fiercely at the two of them, but bound by the rules of Demon City, they couldn't attack and could only head inside in indignant frustration.
With the founding ceremony at hand, fighting near Demon City would be a resounding slap to the Dijiang Clan's face. Even those who held grudges against the Dao Seeking Sect dared not seek revenge or stir up trouble at a time like this.
For this reason, the Grand Elder and Third Elder dared to show their true faces.
Demon City had four gates in total. The Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Elders had been keeping watch at the other three gates. Upon learning that Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had been found at the East Gate, the three elders converged here.
"Elders, you managed to get away?"
Meng Jingzhou remembered that when the demons had pursued the five elders, they were so furious they had practically burned their blood essence. How could they have escaped under such circumstances?
The Grand Elder stroked his beard and laughed heartily. "Since the five of us dared to enter the Demon Domain, we naturally made thorough preparations! If they want to catch up to us, they'll have to reach the Tribulation Transcendence stage first!"
"Greetings, Elders. It has been a long time," Third Senior Sister greeted them politely.
"Ah, Gan Tian, it's been nearly a hundred years since we last saw each other. Looks like you've gained quite a lot in the Demon Domain. Among your peers, your cultivation is probably the highest—already at the peak of Void Refining! You'll catch up to Little Dai soon," the Grand Elder chuckled. Gan Tian was diligent and eager to learn; back when cultivating in the Dao Seeking Sect, she had often flattered them into high spirits, the polar opposite of infuriating Ye Zijin.
Both were disciples of Daoist Buyu, so how could the difference between them be so vast?
"Peak of Void Refining?" Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou both looked astonished. They had always assumed Third Senior Sister was at the Body Integration stage.
Wasn't cultivation during the Void Refining stage supposed to fluctuate wildly? Why hadn't they seen any sign of that in Third Senior Sister?
"Of course she's at the peak of Void Refining," the Immortal Fairy said lazily. "Didn't you notice that from start to finish, this little girl never made a move herself, and only used magic treasures?"
Reminded by her words, Lu Yang had a sudden realization. Along the way, Third Senior Sister had used either her guqin and beast hide or Invisibility Talismans; he had never seen her cast a spell or use similar techniques.
"This girl took advantage of the times when her cultivation fluctuated up to the Body Integration stage to pour her dharmic powers into magic treasures, storing it beforehand. That way, when her cultivation dipped, the magic treasures could still be used as usual."
Lu Yang recalled that when he and Old Meng took the sect entrance exam, Old Meng had brought along several magic treasures pre-charged with magic power, all brought from home.
"When you reach the Void Refining stage, you can try this method to protect yourself."
Even so, Lu Yang felt Third Senior Sister was remarkably bold. Cultivators in the Void Refining stage usually chose secluded cultivation, living as hermits, transforming into mortals, taking the imperial examination to become officials, doing time in prison... in short, whatever was safest.
Unlike Third Senior Sister, who ran around lively and energetic in the perilous Demon Domain and even had the leeway to take the two of them tomb-raiding for archaeology.
Lu Yang knew a bit about the Void Refining stage. He had heard that Daoist Buyu often spent the weakened periods of Void Refining inside a prison cell.
Several of the elders had stayed obediently inside the sect without stepping outside.
Quite a few senior brothers and sisters chose to pose as mortals, eating and living alongside ordinary folk, only to reveal their cultivation and act cool when facing danger.
The methods varied widely.
"Fairy, how did you spend the Void Refining stage?"
Lu Yang was curious. Given the Immortal Fairy's personality, it was hard to imagine her going into seclusion or living as a hermit.
In ancient times, the world had been in chaos, so squatting in prison or posing as a mortal probably wouldn't work either.
"Simple. I refined avatars. My cultivation fluctuated unpredictably, and my avatars' cultivation fluctuated unpredictably as well. Statistically speaking, my avatars and I couldn't all hit a trough at the same time—at least one of us would always be at a higher level."
Lu Yang considered the edge cases. "What if you and your avatars all happened to hit a low point together?"
The Immortal Fairy thought Lu Yang's question was utterly foolish and said as if it were obvious, "Refine a few more avatars, of course."
"...Makes sense."
"And this is...?" The Grand Elder had long noticed the cloaked figure following behind Lu Yang. They had been catching up just now and hadn't had the chance to ask about her identity.
From beneath the black cloak came a cold, crisp voice, answering without the slightest hesitation, "Lu Yang is my Eldest Senior—"
Lu Yang was quick on his feet and spoke swiftly: "This is a newcomer to our Heavenly Court Cult."
The concept of the Heavenly Court was something fabricated by the Five Ancient Celestials to deceive posterity, so Jiang Lianyi had naturally heard of the term.
Furthermore, with the Immortal Fairy acting as the Master of the Heavenly Court, when Lu Yang invited her to join the Heavenly Court Cult, she had agreed quite readily.
As for the issue of calling him "senior brother," the Immortal Fairy insisted that Lu Yang was an inner sect disciple while Jiang Lianyi was an unrecorded disciple, meaning Lu Yang counted as Jiang Lianyi's senior brother. Jiang Lianyi insisted on addressing Lu Yang as Senior Brother, whereas Lu Yang insisted that Jiang Lianyi was a senior.
One could only say each held to their own view.
"A newcomer?" The Seventh Elder beamed. He trusted Lu Yang's judgment; anyone he pulled into the Heavenly Court Cult was bound to be trustworthy.
The Seventh Elder paced with his hands behind his back, speaking with airs of worldly wisdom: "This old man joined the Heavenly Court Cult before you, so I can be considered your senior. If you ever encounter anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me.
"The same goes for matters of cultivation. This old man has quite a bit of insight when it comes to training."
Meng Jingzhou: "..."
Third Senior Sister: "..."
"Alright."
Chapter 602