Sect Master Xia’s words—no, Xia Meng’s words silenced the crowd. What did the leader of the Buzhou Immortal Sect mean by this? Rather, why would the Buzhou Immortal Sect disband after conquering the entire Huang Realm? Almost everyone entered a stupor, unable to process what they just heard. However, a few sharp individuals linked the legends circulating in the Huang Realm and formed a hypothesis.
Xia Meng ignored the bewildered and probing gaze of the spectators. He turned his back on them and held three sticks of lit incense in his hands. “Heaven and Earth, from henceforth, I announce the reestablishment of the Immortal Court!”
As if responding to Xia Meng’s words, the sky darkened as black clouds gathered above Primordial Mountain. The audience felt a sense of danger. This was especially so for those under the Immortal Realm. Punishment lightning crackled, as if waiting for the chance to descend and punish the former Buzhou Immortal Sect.
However, Xia Meng ignored the heavenly punishment like he ignored the crowds below. No matter who it was, today, they could only act as backdrops for the revival of the Immortal Court.
A decrepit old scroll appeared in Xia Meng’s hand. Despite its sad state, it still exuded a pressure on all those who laid eyes on it. Even Sect Master Xia felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Still, he pressured on. “Come forth, Primewood.”
“I am present.” An elderly immortal appeared under everyone’s gaze. Had he not moved, few, if any, would have noticed his presence. He had a head full of white hair, and his skin was dry like bark. He exuded an aura of an immortal emperor, but it was very weak. Stronger than his aura was the death qi surrounding him. With no accident, the ancient immortal likely only had a few years left.
“Are you willing to become the Immortal Minister of Works and wholeheartedly serve the Immortal Court?”
Primewood clasped his hand. “I am willing!”
The moment he confirmed, two events happened simultaneously. First, the scroll in Xia Meng’s hand emitted a brilliant light that entered Primewood’s body. Second, a bolt of heavenly punishment descended, but before it could land, a barrier appeared and blocked it. However, the punishment lightning dispersed and attempted to find a weak point in the barrier.
Xia Meng ignored the heavenly punishment and looked at all the immortals present. “Aren’t you going to congratulate Minister Primewood on his appointment?”
The immortals woke up from their stupor. They could sense the power of the heavenly punishment, and even a stray shot could kill the average immortal monarch. Fear and anger coursed through their veins at how the former Buzhou Immortal Sect brought such danger to them. Still, despite questioning Xia Meng’s strange actions, they still obeyed.
“““Congratulations to Minister Primewood for becoming the Immortal Minister of Works!”””
The ordinary immortal monarchs and true immortals watched in shock as the roots of Minister Primewood’s hair turned black. Like a waterfall, the black color spread, causing all the hair on his body to take on a healthy black sheen. Not only that, his skin turned ruddy and his form fleshed out, returning him to his prime. At the end, a powerful vitality emanated from his body.
An immortal emperor at the cusp of his lifespan had regained his youth and extended his vitality. Such a scene shocked all those watching.
As for those immortal monarchs close to reaching the Extremity Immortal Realm and scant few immortal emperors, they turned their head toward the sky. They almost couldn’t sense it, but they were sure that the heavenly punishment had weakened. An idea entered their mind, but they didn’t dare to finish the thought.
Xia Meng ignored the thoughts of those below. After Minister Primewood retreated and stood at one of the six pre-arrange locations, he called out the next name. “Come forth, Vastlight.”
Another immortal emperor nearing the end of his lifespan came forward. “Are you willing to become the Immortal Minister of Revenue and wholeheartedly serve the Immortal Court?”
“I am willing!”
As with Minister Primewood, a white light shot out of the glowing scroll and entered his body, while another bolt of heavenly punishment descended. However, the barrier held strong, and under Xia Meng’s gaze, the immortals congratulated the new Immortal Minister of Revenue.
The newly appointed Immortal Minister of Revenue regained his youth and stood in one of the five positions near Minister Primewood.
“Come forth, Huang Feihong.”
Unlike the previous two immortal emperors, Huang Feihong was a Seamless Immortal and the head elder of the War Hall. Still, he stepped forward and saluted Xia Meng. Obviously, everything had already been pre-arranged.
“Are you willing to become the Immortal Minister of War and wholeheartedly serve the Immortal Court?” Xia Meng asked.
“I am willing,” Huang Feihong said. Once he finished speaking, the scroll in Xia Meng’s hand released a brilliant light, but it didn’t shoot out a light and merge with the new minister. However, all the experts could sense an air of change surrounding the new Immortal Minister of War. Without a doubt, it wouldn’t take long for him to enter the Extremity Immortal Realm—at most a thousand years.
Although they didn’t know why the scroll in Xia Meng’s hand didn’t treat Huang Feihong the same, they didn’t ask, nor did they have the qualifications to know. After Huang Feihong’s appointment, Xia Meng appointed the Appointment Hall’s Head Elder Brightwing as the Immortal Minister of Rites. Like the new Minister of War, Brightwing was also a peak immortal monarch with plenty of longevity left. And like him, he would also reach the Extremity Immortal Realm within a thousand years.
“Come forth, Eternal Night.”
At Xia Meng’s words, Grand Elder Eternal Night appeared. His appearance made the eyes of the immortals that had originally been part of the Anti-Earth Alliance and Cultivator Alliance shine with brilliance. As they hoped, Xia Meng conferred him the position of Immortal Minister of Justice.
In the newly established Immortal Court, there would be six first-ranked ministers. Five had been filled, and only the most crucial and important Minister of Appointment was left. All the audience craned their necks and focused their eyes, waiting to see who would fill this important position. Alas, it was a name none of them recognized.
“Come forth, Everpast.”
Once Everpast appeared, none of the immortals present took him lightly. Like the first two immortal emperors, he exuded death qi, and was obviously reaching the end of his lifespan. But unlike them, this was an immortal sovereign. The Buzhou Immortal Sect always had immortal emperors, but they never always had immortal sovereigns, so they were able to recognize them more easily.
After Everpast accepted the position of Immortal Minister of Appointments, his white hair turned grey. Although wrinkles covered his face, his skin had become tender, like a newborn infant. After thanking Xia Meng, he took his place among his fellow first-rate ministers.
After appointing all six ministers for the six ministries, sweat soaked Xia Meng’s robes, but he soldiered on. The decrepit scroll in his hand had taken a whiter tone, and no longer looked as ancient as before. He gritted his teeth and said, “Come forth, Fiendclaw.”
An immortal monarch stepped forward, and Sect Master Xia appointed him as one of the two Vice Ministers of War. Next, he appointed the rest of the twelve second-ranked vice ministers. After that came the appointments of the third-ranked junior ministers. From there, Sect Master Xia conferred the positions of fourth-ranked officials to ninth-ranked officials. All of them were members of the Buzhou Immortal Sect or related to the Buzhou Immortal Sect, such as the Nihility Sect that had disbanded and formally merged with the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
“The Immortal Official Conferment Ceremony is now over!” Xia Meng said, his voice reverberated throughout Primordial Mountain. Not just the tallest peak, but it spread through the rest of the Immortal Court and to the rest of the continent. When he appointed each immortal, their image would resonate with all the lifeforms of the Huang Realm, be it human or beast.
However, Xia Meng’s action didn’t stop. He threw the ragged but pristine and holy scroll into the air. The scroll emitted a brilliant radiance and merged with the floating landmass. Simultaneously, the newly conferred first to ninth-ranked officials floated into the sky. They pierced the boundary of the realm and disappeared. The moment they did so, the heavenly punishment weakened and dispersed. Even a child could feel that the heavens of the Huang Realm had changed.
“I thank everyone today for attending the first conferment ceremony,” Xia Meng said, arousing the curiosity and interest of those present. “Now, aside from a few crucial positions, there are still some vacancies, such as the twenty-eight mansion star lords and the four weather lords. However, the Immortal Court is currently lacking in talent. I’m hoping that a few Daoists will volunteer and assume those positions.”
His words immediately sent a frenzy through the guest immortal monarchs and true immortals. Once those that neared their lifespan heard of this, they would immediately pay almost any cost to attain a position. Facts had already proven that assuming an immortal position would extend if not grant eternal life. For true immortals and immortal monarchs, they aimed at upgrading capabilities an official position would grant them. They had already seen how Minister Huang Feihong and Brightwing showed signs of stepping into the next realm. Disregarding them, there were many immortal monarchs who showed signs of advancing, even if it wasn’t to the Extremity Immortal Realm.
Although Xia Meng’s words seemed pleading, there was no doubt a price had to be paid. However, so what? If there were enough benefits, many were willing to pay the price. Without a doubt, the immortals present and those in seclusion would come into conflict to secure a position.
Xia Meng smiled. “The next Immortal Official Conferment Ceremony is still a few hundreds years away. No rush.”
The mouths of the immortals who heard Xia Meng’s words couldn’t help but twitch. To a mortal, a few hundred years were incredibly long, but to them, it was too short!
Regardless of their thoughts, Xia Meng had no thoughts about changing the deadline. He didn’t have a choice, and it depended on Tianyi’s speed. Just as he was about to speak his next words, he looked up. Not just him, but everyone stared at the sky.
The original argent sky transformed into two swirls, one black and one white. In the thickest part of the white swirl was a black dot and vice versa on the black swirl. Xia Meng glanced toward Tianyi, who averted his gaze and coughed into his fist.
Xia Meng’s lips twitched. “It’s already late. Once everyone has rested tonight, we can start the celebrations tomorrow. For now, I hope everyone has a good night’s rest.”
“What happened?” Xia Meng asked once everyone dispersed.
“It’s not a big problem,” Tianyi said. “I kinda started gaining insight into the Law of Yin and the Law of Yang. I'm currently attempting to merge my insights into the Huang Realm.”
“There won’t be any accidents, will there?” Xia Meng asked.
“Of course not,” Tianyi said. “If there was going to be anything wrong, I wouldn’t have done so.”
Xia Meng sighed in relief. Although he felt a bit annoyed, he was helpless. The upgrade of the Huang Realm hinged on Tianyi. They could also do another way, but they would require far more resources and time. It was just better to have Tianyi accomplish the task. “What will be the changes?”
“Maybe a few hundred or a thousand years, but the new realm should be far more powerful. Only a divine-ranked realm would be more powerful,” Tianyi said with confidence.
Xia Meng nodded. “That’s good.”
“Sect Master Xia—”
“I’ve already relinquished the position. I’m no longer the sect master. Senior Everpast will manage the Immortal Court for now,” Xia Meng said.
“Senior Xia, then,” Tianyi said. “The Young Heavens Tournament will still happen, right?”
“Of course.” Xia Meng stared at Tianyi. “What’s wrong? Did someone catch your interest?”
“You can say that,” Tianyi said as a mischievous smile appeared on his face. “Can you give me the right to control the rounds?
