After One More Round Barbecue Restaurant's headquarters closed for the night, unbeknownst to anyone, undercurrents surged beneath the seemingly tranquil building.
Tonight, the heads of three cults met here.
The Nine Nether Cult and the Shining Sun Cult placed immense importance on their meeting with the Heavenly Court Cult.
The cult masters of both cults personally welcomed them, followed by several Body Integration stage grandmasters, fully displaying the profound foundations of demonic cults.
The Heavenly Court Cult also treated the other two cults with great importance. Their Cult Master and the Southern Pole Nirvana Great Emperor were both present, seated on chairs, while standing behind them were the four Guardian Heavenly Kings.
Even Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had to stand in the back row on an occasion like this.
If one factored in the Immortal Fairy dwelling inside Lu Yang's body, one could even say Heavenly Venerable Dou had arrived as well.
Mu Baiyi and Cult Master Chi were extremely nervous. Who could have imagined that for a mere introductory meeting, the paramount figures of the Heavenly Court Cult would all turn up?
What was the point of bringing so many people of their own? All of them combined couldn't hold a candle to the Phoenix Clan's ancient ancestor alone.
The scene of the Phoenix Clan's ancient ancestor battling Ancient Dijiang had been recorded on a shadow-recording orb and was circulating wildly among the upper echelons of the cultivation world. Anyone who saw it broke out in cold sweat and felt thoroughly dwarfed.
To say nothing of the seated Cult Master of the Heavenly Court Cult, who had only ever been mentioned in conversations and had never once revealed her face.
This Heavenly Court Cult Master's strength was an enigma. According to what Young Cult Master Lu had said previously, she had fought to a standstill against Yun Zhi, who was suspected to be at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage. In other words, she too was at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage!
"H-Hello, everyone. On behalf of the Nine Nether Cult, I welcome all of you from the Heavenly Court Cult," Mu Baiyi stammered through his opening remarks, feigning composure.
After all, this place was Nine Nether Cult territory; he had no choice but to take the initiative to host.
"I am not sure if Young Cult Master Lu has introduced me to the two of you. My name is Mu Baiyi, Cult Master of the Nine Nether Cult."
"And this is Chi Dongfang, Cult Master of the Shining Sun Cult."
"H-Hello." Cult Master Chi was also deeply shaken by the arrival of the two figures. His eyelids twitched as he struggled to steady his nerves.
"I am Jiang Lianyi. You two should have seen me before," Jiang Lianyi greeted them lazily.
"Greetings, Senior Jiang," both cult masters said in unison.
"I am Yun Mengmeng. You two may address me as Cult Master Yun."
"Greetings, Cult Master Yun."
Eldest Senior Sister's disguise techniques were vastly superior even to the Nine Sons of the Dao Seeking Sect; no one could possibly see through it.
Her voice was cold and detached, carrying a desolate, boundless aura of transcending the mortal realm and looking down upon all living beings:
"Little Lu told me that two cult master–level figures wished to see him. He felt that as a mere young cult master, he was not qualified to receive figures of cult master rank. What did the two of you wish to see Little Lu for?"
Cult Master Chi forced a fawning smile. "We have long heard of the Heavenly Court Cult's illustrious reputation, its abundance of heroes, and its profound foundation. We simply wished to meet and get acquainted. We have no demands, no demands at all."
To show his sincerity, he even took out several treasures from his storage ring.
"A few modest meeting gifts, a trifling token of respect."
These were treasures he had hastily retrieved from his personal collection; the meeting gifts he had originally prepared for Young Cult Master Lu simply didn't measure up to the caliber required for an occasion like this.
Lu Yang identified the origins of these treasures one by one: a supreme-grade Ceaseless Vitality Pill, which was of immense help even to Tribulation Transcendence cultivators in recovering spiritual energy; Longevity Stone Marrow, an essence born within Longevity Stones that could extend life by eight hundred years, provided one had never consumed other longevity-extending items; Taiyi True Water, hailed as the primordial water, capable of accelerating the cultivation speed of Water Spiritual Root cultivators...
The Fourth Elder stepped forward, accepted these treasures, and retreated to his original position.
"I hear your Shining Sun Cult reveres the sun, believing it to be the origin of all cultivation?" Jiang Lianyi remarked with a slight laugh. When Lu Yang had introduced the Shining Sun Cult to her, she had found the idea novel, having never heard such a claim before.
After all, three hundred thousand years ago, the sun was actually the Golden Crow Clan. As the sovereign of all birds, even the Golden Crow Clan had to revere her.
Back then, not a single member of the Golden Crow Clan had even reached the half-immortal level. Three hundred thousand years had passed, and the Golden Crow Clan had long gone extinct.
As for what the present sun was, she had no idea.
Yun Zhi nodded. "There is indeed something peculiar about the sun. I once attempted to fly into the sun to investigate, but regrettably, it was sealed off by a peerless grand formation, making it impossible to peer into or enter."
Cult Master Chi slapped his thigh. Once the topic shifted to his area of expertise, he was no longer afraid. "Our cult has observed the exact same phenomenon as Cult Master Yun! There is a seal around the sun, cutting off all possibility of investigation."
"Someone definitely sealed the sun to prevent us from obtaining more power from it!"
Yun Zhi did not echo Cult Master Chi's speculation, continuing, "If one forcibly breaks the grand formation, unpredictable consequences may occur."
"Unpredictable consequences?" Cult Master Chi paused. After all, they lacked the capability to forcibly break through the sealing grand formation.
"The sun would shatter to pieces, plunging all living things into calamity," Yun Zhi said placidly, sending chills down Cult Master Chi's spine.
Lu Yang only just learned that Eldest Senior Sister had actually investigated the sun.
Eldest Senior Sister transmitted her voice to Lu Yang: *Judging by the style of the formation, it should be a seal left behind by cultivators of Great Yu or Great Qian. Its level is exceedingly high—at the immortal rank. The purpose behind constructing the formation is unclear. It might have been to proclaim ownership over the sun, or perhaps for protection to prevent cultivators from destroying the sun in battle. Of course, there could be other reasons.*
Lu Yang was shocked. Since Eldest Senior Sister was certain it was an immortal-grade formation and suggested it was created by Great Yu or Great Qian cultivators, that meant cultivators from those two eras included immortals!
"Don't fear immortals! If Girl Yun can slaughter immortals, this immortal can too!" Immortal Fairy thumped her chest and gave herself a thumbs-up, signaling for Lu Yang not to worry. She refused to lose to Girl Yun on this front no matter what.
Lu Yang felt that Eldest Senior Sister Imitation Fist was rather more reliable.
Cult Master Chi spoke up again. "Our cult discovered that to obtain the power of the sun, one must first gain the sun's recognition."
"Our cult's Holy Son is a prodigy who has gained the sun's recognition."
As his words fell, an upright, handsome, radiant cultivator stepped forward. The yang qi he emanated was astounding, resembling a physique recorded in legends that had not appeared for a millennium.
"Wu Qihang greets all seniors!"
Wu Qihang cupped his fists, his posture of greeting impeccable.
"This is our cult's Holy Son, Wu Qihang, who possesses the Pure Yang Immortal Physique. I wonder if he might catch the discerning eyes of Cult Master Yun or Senior Jiang? Would it be possible to allow my disciple to exchange pointers with a peer from your noble cult?"
To gain the respect of the Heavenly Court Cult, they had to demonstrate the strength of the Shining Sun Cult. Competing at the top echelon was obviously out of the question, but they could have their disciples compete.
Lu Yang looked over sideways. *Pure Yang Immortal Physique, one of the Nine Great Immortal Physiques.* He hadn't expected the Shining Sun Cult to have actually uncovered such a precious genius. Without even asking, he knew this person had to be the key focus of the Shining Sun Cult's grooming, perhaps even their sole focus.
"Haha! A Pure Yang Immortal Physique is truly rare! To think I'd run into one here—why not let me test him out!"
A man strode forward with meteor-like strides, possessing a dignified and imposing bearing. He similarly radiated yang qi that far exceeded what one of his realm should possess. Behind his head, a Pure Yang Taiji Diagram slowly rotated, making him look like an innate divine being!
"You are..."
"The Holy Son of the Heavenly Court Cult, Long Jingzhou!"
Chapter 642