Outside Double Leaves Town.
At the top level of a mountain forest Buddhist tower.
The mountain wind howled, like the wails of ghosts and wolves, whistling through every level of the Buddhist tower.
A tall figure in brocade clothes, draped in a black and purple cloak, was standing with his back to the mountain forest, gazing at the full moon.
He stood at the top of the Buddhist tower, with no one around, lonely yet exalted.
"So, how are things? Situ, Yu Lei, Shuangshuang."
Three figures suddenly erged from other levels of the Buddhist tower, climbing up silently, having arrived without anyone knowing when.
"Young Master Shan, you ca so early?" replied a man with a red scarf covering his face. "All good on my end, I’ve managed to persuade nurous from the Black Ten Sect, everything is smooth."
"I’m good, too. The Celestial Lock Teaching has agreed not to get involved." The second woman, shrouded entirely in shadows, replied without showing her face.
"I found a promising talent from the Golden Wing Pavilion, already at the Ninth Grade, capable of taking on the external dicines of the Sea Dragon, but they haven’t agreed yet." Yan Shuang’s voice erged from another place.
But unlike when eting Zhang Rongfang, her face now was a different, enchanting and alluring visage entirely.
"We need to move quickly, others are accelerating too; if we’re slow, there will be little left to divide." Young Master Shan said gravely.
"What’s the use of speed alone? If the Spirit Court discovers, all will be in vain." Situ said impatiently.
This group, composed of top young elites from various sects.
In the next few decades, it is destined that they will step up to the upper echelons, one step at a ti.
Thus, this small circle is poised to generate enormous energy in the future.
This ti, the Eastern Sect’s upheaval brought them together to gain a share amidst the chaos.
"Shuangshuang, why didn’t the person your mother wanted you to recruit agree? Did you not offer enough?" Yu Lei inquired.
"That person has decent aptitude but is sowhat naive, doesn’t wish to embark on the Spiritual Veins path.
He killed Cyan Horn and severely injured the Sea Dragon rfolk.
The lineage of Butcher Mountain will undoubtedly seek retribution.
It was fine when the Golden Wing Pavilion was strong, but now with the Eastern Sect in turmoil, he is oblivious to his precarious situation."
Yan Shuang smiled.
"I’m not in a hurry, I’ll recruit him when Butcher Mountain seeks him out, and he’s desperate."
She had previously tested Zhang Rongfang’s skills.
Indeed, he is gifted, having the qualities of a Super Grade at just the Ninth Grade.
With the addition of an Extre State outburst, killing the Snake King and severely injuring Xue Chengyu is plausible.
But that’s still far from enough.
The old monk from Butcher Mountain, before achieving Spiritual Veins, was at the peak, a formidable Super Grade having entered the second stage of inner skills.
Far superior to the Snake King rfolk, who remained in the first stage of external dicine.
Now, that old monk, having pledged to the Jade Sea Dragon God, successfully attained Spiritual Veins, his power skyrocketed further.
Thirteen years ago, she crossed paths with him once, defeated in three moves.
If she ended up like that, what more for Zhang Rongfang?
"Monk Hongyan of Butcher Mountain is indeed formidable." Young Master Shan nodded. "As for others, besides those foolish enough to remain in the Extre Realm, who else would refuse to pledge to gods to achieve Spiritual Veins?
He truly is a fool. Every year countless warriors vie for the few Spirit Guardian slots; without becoming a Spiritual Vein, they’re all ants. Even Extre Realm Grandmasters are rely hanging by a thread.
If real action occurs, even the Wandering Sword, personally, the Celestial Maiden Tong Chapter, such top-tier blacklists are rely equivalent to two inner skills."
"Extre Realm, what of it? These people are the remnants of the past, stubbornly refusing to face reality." Situ sneered.
"Now amidst the contention of a thousand sects and the competition of countless ships, the fall of the Eastern Sect’s final Extre Realm force was always a foregone conclusion.
Imperial Tutor Damir, once acclaid as the world’s top expert, relied on the favor of His Majesty the Spirit Emperor to suppress all sects for decades.
How overbearing and powerful he was then, how pitiful and declining he is now." Yan Shuang said softly.
"In the end, His Majesty only needed the Imperial Tutor as a blade." Young Master Shan sighed.
"Now, he just doesn’t need it anymore."
Everyone fell silent.
The downfall of the Eastern Sect, what are the thousands of sects vying for, led by the Western Sect?
Isn’t it the forr position of the Eastern Sect?
The shady deeds the Eastern Sect engaged in, which were none without the Spirit Court’s backing?
The Spirit Emperor leveraged the mortal grudge between the Extre Realm and secret teachings, deploying a bit of Spiritual Veins support, thus killing two birds with one stone, depleting both sides’ strength and power.
Now....
With secret teachings’ external forces greatly reduced, they submitted to the Spirit Court.
The world is fully unified.
The Spirit Emperor doesn’t need the Eastern Sect anymore....
From now on, everything is already predestined.
Just as the Confucian sects of the past, sects like the Eastern Sect that only revere humans and not gods in the Extre Realm, are inevitably engulfed by the tide.
The other sects, even if everyone knows that seizing the position ans becoming another Eastern Sect, so what?
If they don’t compete, the suppression they face in the coming era might be more severe.
*
*
*
June 7th.
Near the Great Capital — Yangshuo, a guarding city.
The capital of the Ling Dynasty is the Great Capital, with a population of millions, acclaid as the world’s largest city.
With Great Spirit’s might, myriad nations co to pay tribute, offering from all directions.
The Spirit Court is warlike, often dispatching troops so military dealings are nurous.
Thus, they supplented the surroundings with three guarding cities.
One to station troops for defense.
One to assist with agricultural affairs and logistics.
One to receive emissaries and hostages from various countries.
Among them, Yangshuo was built specifically to receive emissaries and hostages, a city with a unique purpose.
The strength of the Great Spirit Kingdom is rare in the world, having conquered hundreds of large and small nations.
Most of these countries are strongly ordered to send hostage princes to permanently reside in the Great Capital.
Among these, just the hostage princes and their accompanying attendants, maids, and servants number in the tens of thousands.
The daily expenses around these tens of thousands of people form a large daily flow.
Add to this the annual caravans from various countries transporting goods to these hostage princes, attracting nurous rchants and farrs.
Over ti, a fairly large satellite city gradually develops.
Eventually, the Great Spirit decides to throw all the skilled craftsn, doctors, and scholars it has plundered into this place.
Thus, the unique city of Yangshuo takes shape.
Strangely enough, the Celestial Treasure Palace, the Ancestral Court of the Great Dao Teaching, is situated just outside Yangshuo City on the nearby Heavenly Treasure Mountain.
Heavenly Treasure Mountain is located in the northwest of Yangshuo.
Together with the Great Capital and Yangshuo, they form a triangular shape.
However, it’s much closer to Yangshuo, so it is counted as belonging to Yangshuo.
Dawn breaks, clouds ladder the sky.
At the foot of the mountain, the long stone steps leading to the mountain gate are bustling with tourists and pilgrims coming to offer incense at the Celestial Treasure Palace.
Amid the dense crowd, a towering figure wearing a dark blue dao robe and holding identification papers climbs step by step.
Zhang Rongfang had just arrived at this place and felt sowhat disoriented.
His nostrils were not used to it.
The entire Heavenly Treasure Mountain slled too fragrant, with the white blossom of Qing Flowers everywhere.
Qing Flowers are specially cultivated by the Spirit Court, pure white and pleasingly fragrant, capable of spreading miles.
They also grow exceedingly well, covering large areas once they sprout.
Now the entire Heavenly Treasure Mountain is a sea of Qing Flowers, white as far as the eye can see.
The lightly yellow tiled Celestial Treasure Palace, its halls and buildings, barely visible within the sea of flowers, is beautifully majestic.
The vast flower sea draws countless butterflies in various colors.
At this mont, at least dozens of butterflies flutter erratically around Zhang Rongfang.
He disregards them, climbing the stone steps while recalling the information previously shared by Yan Shuang of the Taiqing lineage from the Sensing Sect.
The Spirit Court possesses the world’s strongest spiritual veins, sothing he completely did not foresee.
And the road he can walk today supposedly offers three paths.
In reality, there is only one.
The Spirit Court relates to spiritual veins, the Sensing Sect relates to spiritual veins, only the Extre Realm....
’No, the Extre Realm has serious issues too. Becoming a madman to gain power....’
Zhang Rongfang shook his head inwardly.
He suddenly recalled the Celestial Maiden, who occasionally forgot things, likely due to the effects of the Extre Realm.
’If everything is truly as Yan Shuang said, then this world.... is too despairing....’
Even now, Zhang Rongfang clearly rembers the bronze statue suddenly ejecting tal needles that pierced a gambler’s forehead.
That mont, he perhaps will never forget for a lifeti.
He absolutely does not wish for foreign objects to be inserted into his mind.
The bizarre state where even consciousness is affected, losing freedom and being controlled—anybody else can go, but not him.
’Let’s see first. If the Sensing Sect follows spiritual veins, and the Great Dao Teaching’s secret techniques are also spiritual veins....’
He truly does not know how to proceed.
Perhaps he can only find a way from his unique attributes and abilities?
Following the stone steps upward.
Zhang Rongfang looked up at the gradually approaching mountain gate.
Ready to take out his identification papers.
"Are you Zhang Ying from Tan Yang’s Mingjing Palace?"
From the mountain gate, coincidentally a Daoist erges.
The Daoist has a handso face, clear eyes, wears a fitted dark blue dao robe, a purple jade belt at the waist, and a Three Treasures White Lotus Feather Crown on the head.
Most strikingly, the Daoist is as tall and strong as Zhang Rongfang.
The mountain wind blows, making his dao robe hug tightly and highlight his robust physique.
"I am Zhang Ying. Who is this Dao brother?" Zhang Rongfang clasped his fists in greeting.
"I am Zhang Qingzhi. Previously, I saw the nas and portraits of Dao brother. Calculating, today should be about the day." The Daoist replied warmly.
"Then I trouble Dao brother." Zhang Rongfang noted the young age, similar to his own. His gentle deanor improved Zhang Rongfang’s impression of the Celestial Treasure Palace.
After all, his apparent identity is just an unknown minor manager from a small place.
At such a level, the Celestial Treasure Palace could be hosting nurous people daily.
Yet Zhang Qingzhi remains courteous, evincing good manners.
Quickly, Zhang Qingzhi led Zhang Rongfang, checked his dao badge along the way, and brought him inside the mountain gate, through corridors, passing pure white dao palaces and temples, arriving at a small hall.
Inside the hall, there are a few others, all travel-worn like Zhang Rongfang, visibly from afar.
As Zhang Rongfang entered.
Soone glanced sideways shaking their head.
"Another one arrived."
"Please be patient, everyone. We will hold a questioning ritual in the afternoon, where you can be evaluated by the Master you wish.
If you pass the evaluation, you can pay the required fee to successfully apprentice.
Of course, if the questioning fails, you can also pay a fee to have a transmitting teacher within the palace convey to you the precepts."
Zhang Qingzhi clearly introduced.
Zhang Rongfang certainly did not co rely for receiving precepts; his goal is to obtain Super Grade secret techniques.
It was clearly indicated by the Great Chong Temple. He acquired the Great Dao Teaching’s forr Super Grade secret technique "Illusion Talisman Skill," with the sole missing ingredient—Mysterious Qilin Jade Marrow.
Such an elixir is not sothing people of ordinary status can access.
Therefore....
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