Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 97: Guest from Afar

At this moment, in the plaza, seven or eight Core Formation Elders stood at the forefront. Behind them were over forty Foundation Establishment cultivators, and further back, more than a hundred Qi Condensation disciples.

The eight elders in front were engaged in quiet discussion. Leading them was Elder Peng Buxing, Head of the Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall. Beside him stood the graceful Peak Mistress of Boundless Peak and the Peak Master Feng of Spirit Insect Peak.

The master of Four Symbols Peak was an elderly man with white hair, standing over a zhang tall, stern and solemn in appearance, exuding an air of authority. The others appeared to be elders from various peaks, though Li Yan did not recognize them. Curiously, Yan Longzi was not present, he was not only the master of Old Lord Peak but also the Sect Master.

After Li Wuyi found an open space, he led his group down and then stored away the jade slip. Turning back, he whispered a few words to Li Yan before heading forward with Wei Chituo, Yun Chunque, and Gong Chenying.

Li Yan, meanwhile, made his way toward the group of Qi Condensation disciples. As he glanced over at the Foundation Establishment cultivators, he quickly spotted the tall and graceful figure of Zhao Min.

Though they had arrived a bit later, Zhao Min had long since noticed them. When she saw Li Yan glance her way, her face remained cold as ever, but she gave him a nearly imperceptible nod.

Li Yan withdrew his gaze with a faint smile. Their exchange was so subtle that even Li Changting, standing right beside Zhao Min, failed to notice anything.

Besides, she had no reason to notice, her eyes were sparkling with excitement as she watched Li Wuyi and his group approach, clearly delighted.

As Li Yan walked to the back of the Qi Condensation disciples, several people noticed him. Some offered him polite nods, others looked on with scorn, and a few even regarded him with open hostility.

He greeted a few acquaintances with a nod, then ignored the unfriendly stares and calmly made his way to a corner.

He had already sensed several cold, unfriendly gazes among the Qi Condensation cultivators, it didn’t take a second glance to guess that they were probably disciples close to Zhou Guan’er.

Zhou Guan’er had failed to make it into the final 108 participants, and rumor had it he bore a grudge against Li Yan, claiming the latter’s poison had affected his performance.

Still, there were a few who treated Li Yan with friendliness. Among them were Du Sanjiang from Four Symbols Peak, Lu Qiutong from Old Lord Peak, the dark-skinned, horse-faced Senior Brother Wu from Spirit Insect Peak who had guided him into the sect, and the gentle Senior Brother Yu who had once tended his wounds.

At first, Li Yan was only familiar with Senior Brother Yu, as he was the first person Li Yan had seen upon waking up. In truth, Li Yan had no ill feelings toward him.

In fact, during the tournament’s rest period, they had even chatted briefly. From that conversation, Li Yan learned that both Senior Brother Wu and a chubby cultivator named Senior Brother Lu had helped rescue him.

Wu had a fierce appearance and was not much of a talker. After exchanging a few words with Li Yan, he went back to staring at his crystal slab. Li Yan felt he was a straightforward and upright type.

As for the slightly plump Senior Brother Lu, who hadn’t made it into the final 108, he struck Li Yan as being slick and shrewd.

These three were among the few who knew about Li Yan’s poisoned condition. Seeing him stagger his way into the final 108 had truly surprised them.

At the moment, each was chatting quietly with cultivators from their own peak. They offered Li Yan faint smiles but didn’t come over to speak.

In this gathering, each peak had dozens of disciples while Li Yan stood alone, he couldn’t look more isolated. So he simply picked a corner and stood there, turning his attention to the surroundings.

His gaze settled on the giant stone monument at the center of the plaza. Last time, he hadn’t even gotten a good look before suffering severe injuries. But today, the monument wasn’t actively harming anyone.

The stone stele was roughly three to four zhang wide and more than twenty zhang tall, bearing neither inscription nor design. Its original color could no longer be seen, as its surface shimmered with flowing rainbow light, giving it an almost divine aura.

A faint pressure emanated from the monument, occasionally sweeping over the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators as though unconsciously or perhaps deliberately intimidating them.

Li Yan was speechless. Just as Lin Daqiao had said, the spirit residing in the monument was like a mentally immature child, now showing off its power to those weaker than itself.

Behind the monument, the plaza stretched out as an open space. In one distant corner, a narrow path led further up the mountain, its destination unknown.

While Li Yan was surveying the area, Elder Peng and the white-haired Peak Master of Four Symbols Peak exchanged a glance. A few breaths later, the other six elders’ eyes also gleamed with sharp light.

Elder Peng barked a low command.

“They’ve arrived!”

With those words, all eight Core Formation elders simultaneously soared into the air. Only after flying several hundred zhang did they halt, hovering silently in place, their gazes fixed in the same direction.

The disciples below immediately turned their attention toward the elders. The chatter died down, and one by one, everyone released their divine senses in the direction the elders were looking.

But no matter how they searched with their divine sense or strained their eyesight, they found nothing at all.

Moments passed, it was more than ten breaths before a few among the Foundation Establishment cultivators stirred slightly. They were none other than Li Wuyi, Baili Yuan, Wang Tian, and several others in the Pseudo Core stage. The rest remained clueless, their expressions vacant.

A few breaths later, Wei Chituo, Gan Shi, and several other late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators retracted their divine sense…

Li Yan had already withdrawn his. Despite cultivating the Guishui True Scripture and possessing a divine sense far superior to his peers, it was barely on par with the tenth level of Qi Condensation. In such a vast expanse, even superior sight would be of little use.

Just then, a voice rang out.

“Someone’s coming!”

As everyone's gaze shifted skyward, a blinding orb of light shot toward them from the horizon. Its speed was astonishing, within the blink of an eye, it had grown brighter and several times larger.

Within a few breaths, the dazzling orb had flown past the rear of Little Bamboo Peak, revealing itself to be a massive sphere of light, over a hundred zhang long and a dozen wide.

As it drew within a hundred zhang of the elders of the Wraith Sect, the enormous sphere abruptly halted. The sudden stop from such extreme velocity created a visceral pressure, leaving onlookers breathless.

Then, a calm and melodious voice echoed from within the sphere:

“Forgive the delay, we've kept the fellow Daoists waiting.”

As the voice faded, the blinding light rapidly withdrew, revealing a massive floating spirit vessel in midair.

At the bow of the spirit boat stood fifteen Daoists, men and women, old and young, all clad in identical azure robes. Each exuded an overwhelming aura, undoubtedly all were Core Formation cultivators.

Behind them stood a densely packed group of younger disciples, solemn in demeanor, their spirit blazing like an unsheathed blade.

The voice earlier belonged to the central figure at the bow, a tall middle-aged Daoist with radiant features. Standing nearly seven feet tall, he had starry eyes, a noble nose, and a jade-like face. Strikingly handsome, looking around forty, with an ageless and elegant grace.

“Oh? And here I thought who might it be. Turns out it’s Immortal Hang Wu of the Grand Profound Sect. We haven’t met in decades… it seems you've reached Core Formation great perfection.”

Peng Buxing's expression remained indifferent as he glanced at the man and offered a half-hearted cupped-fist salute.

“Haha… Elder Peng, you’re still as welcoming as ever. If my cultivation could truly match yours… Your Dao has reached the heavens, and forming a Nascent Soul must be right around the corner. Let me offer early congratulations.”

Hang Wu responded with a light-hearted chuckle, clearly unbothered by the cold reception.

“Since everyone’s arrived, let us proceed to open the secret realm.”

Peng Buxing had no intention of continuing the exchange. The other elders at his side remained silent as well, merely nodding politely at the group of Daoists in azure.

Even the usually talkative beauty, Peak Mistress Li, said nothing. She simply offered a soft smile but that alone was enough to make several of the younger cultivators opposite her blush furiously. Among them were even some Core Formation cultivators. The Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation disciples behind them were even more affected.

“Hmph!”

A cold snort came from beside Hang Wu. It was an old Daoist nun, her face deeply wrinkled, her eyes narrow and filled with disdain as they landed on Peak Mistress Li.

Though her voice wasn't loud, it rang like a thunderclap in the ears of the Grand Profound Sect disciples, snapping them out of their daze. Embarrassed, many averted their gaze, no longer daring to look at the alluring woman.

Peak Mistress Li, however, simply swayed her curvaceous figure and let out a light laugh, drifting down like a willow leaf in the breeze alongside Elder Peng.

Hang Wu, still smiling as if he’d seen nothing, turned and said softly to his disciples:

“Let’s descend. I imagine the Pure Land Sect has already reached the passage by the Ten-Step Court.”

With that, he stepped off the spirit vessel and gently descended. The other Grand Profound Sect cultivators followed suit, landing in a quiet, orderly manner.

Standing below, Li Yan listened to the brief exchange overhead and quickly pieced things together. It seemed the four major sects were entering the secret realm through two different paths, Pure Land Sect had arrived via the Ten-Step Court, while the Grand Profound Sect had come through the Wraith Sect.

Li Yan, positioned farther back, couldn’t see Peak Mistress Li’s expression clearly. Thus, he felt nothing out of the ordinary.

However, as she descended, the brief flutter of her long robes revealed a flash of snow-white thigh, which made Li Yan’s heart skip a beat. A rush of heat surged within him, and he quickly steadied himself, silently cursing his own shamelessness.

But truly, it wasn’t entirely his fault. At this moment, he was a young man full of fire and blood. The fact that he didn’t get a nosebleed on the spot was already a sign of restraint and surely, he wasn’t the only one suffering.

Once everyone had landed, Hang Wu waved his sleeve and withdrew the massive spirit vessel.

What surprised Li Yan was how straightforward the process of entering the secret realm turned out to be. After a brief exchange between the Core Formation elders, ten of them, five from each sect stepped forward and positioned themselves before the great stone monument at the center of the plaza.

There was no effort made to arrange interaction between the Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivators of both sects. It seemed the leaders were eager to enter the secret realm and reunite with the other two sects.

And thankfully, there was no absurd drama, no sudden provocation, no rash shouting of insults, no immediate outbreak of battle.

(Chapter End)