Inside a mansion on one of the floating mountains of Nine Heavens Peak, a young lass, who appeared to be around fourteen to fifteen, opened her eyes from her meditation. She looked incredibly delicate and cute, almost like a porcelain doll. “Why is Master summoning me and Senior Brother?”
She stood up and walked out of her mansion and saw a woman with similar features as her. Only, the woman appeared to be in her late twenties. “Xingyun, didn’t you say that you wouldn’t exit until you reached the Mortality Shedding Realm?”
Ming Xingyun shook her head. “Big Sister, Master summoned me and Senior Brother Jinshu.”
“If Grand Elder Nine Heavens summoned you, you should quickly go. Don’t keep him waiting,” Ming Yayun said.
Ming Xingyun nodded. With a slender sword strapped onto her back, she flew towards Ninth Peak.
On another floating mountain, there was a mansion surrounded by orange-barked, red-leaf trees. Even the ground was a dull red. It didn’t just look hot, but was actually blistering. Qi of the fire element gathered around the mansion and made it appear hazy, like a mirage.
The heat was even more intense at the core of the mansion, where a man in white robes with a red overcoat sat in a lotus position. His hair reflected red and his figure appeared illusionary. However, when he opened his eyes, the heat dissipated instantly.
Jinshu’s pupils flashed red for a moment before it returned to black. “Master is summoning us? I wonder what it is about.”
Unless he or Ming Xingyun sought their master’s advice, he generally didn’t summon them, preferring to let them do their own things. Still, he stood up and made his way toward Ninth Mountain, like Ming Xingyun.
“Junior Sister,” Jinshu said, upon seeing Ming Xingyun land after him.
“Senior Brother,” Ming Xingyun said.
The two nodded to each other before ascending up the steps to the Nine Heavens Palace at the peak of the mountain. Neither of them could fly aside from stepping onto the entrance point of the Ninth Mountain. Forget them. Not even immortal monarchs could fly on Ninth Mountain. The only ones capable of flying on the Ninth Mountain were immortal emperors.
Just as the Nine Heavens Palace entered their view, the gates opened to let them in. It wasn’t the first time the two entered, so they did not show any unfamiliarity. From what their master said, it used to be an immortal emperor-ranked artifact known as the Concealed Palace before conversion into the Nine Heavens Palace.
They entered the main hall and saluted the man sitting in the principal seat, Xi Tianyi.
“Disciple Xingyun greets you, Master.”
“Disciple Jinshu greets you, Master.”
Tianyi waved his hands. “You don’t have to be so formal. Tell me, how is your cultivation coming along?”
As the senior brother, Jinshu spoke first. “Answering Master, I’ve currently reached an impasse in my comprehension of the Law of Fire. I’m planning to temper myself by hiding my identity and wandering the Huang Realm.”
“Normally, I’d agree, but if possible, you should wait until the Huang Realm finished upgrading. There are still some unstable locations, and if you’re not careful, you might be expelled into the Vast Void.”
“I’ve made up my mind,” Jinshu said.
“I accepted you as my disciple after you’ve already experienced many situations. If you judge that you can leave the sect to temper yourself, then go,” Tianyi said.
“Thank you, Master.”
Next, Ming Xingyun reported her progress. “Master, I’m still focusing on advancing to the Mortality Shedding Realm. Once I’ve done so, I’ll attempt to master more concepts related to the Laws of Earth. I’ll master as many as I can before starting my Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation.”
Tianyi nodded. “The worldly laws of the five elements are the most common laws cultivators gain insight into. However, although many cultivators gain insight into them, it does not mean they are weak. Don’t be distracted and focus on other concepts unless you have the talent.”
He was more assured with Jinshu. However, for Ming Xingyun, Tianyi had to spare more effort. Although she had the Condensed Mountain Physique, she hadn’t experienced enough. He had to guide her progress and make sure she didn’t encounter any accidents she couldn’t handle.
Tianyi already hid one of his conduits on her body. Although the maximum power it could burst out was that of a true immortal, it was more than enough to teleport her into the Nine Heavens Universe.
“Yes, Master,” Ming Xingyun said. Then, she snuck a peek at the unknown man garbed in green. Was he Master’s new disciple, but aren’t disciples usually accepted before they become immortals?
“This guy here can also be considered my disciple. He was originally a cultivator from a low-rank world. Don’t ask, I won’t tell you how I met him,” Tianyi said upon seeing Ming Xingyun’s curiosity. “He just crossed his Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation and entered the Huang Realm. Since he’s here, the rankings between the three of you will have to change.”
Tianyi mostly said this for Jinshu’s benefit. There are some heaven-defying saints that could defeat true immortals, but Ming Xingyun wasn’t one of them.
““Greetings, Apprentice-Brother,”” Jinshu and Ming Xingyun said.
That broke Leng Junfeng out of his daze. He wasn’t completely unknowing of what occurred while in a daze, which only made him look at Tianyi with complicated emotions.
“If you continue to look at me like that, I’ll gouge out your eyes.”
Leng Junfeng averted his gaze. He had a feeling that Tianyi was lying, but it still didn’t stop the sense of danger he felt. Still, he was unwilling to accept Tianyi’s words. “Is Master really your clone?”
“Do I need to yank her from the lower realms to show you?” Tianyi asked with exasperation.
“Then, can you tell me how she is right now?”
“She’s currently a mortal.”
“What?!”
Tianyi glanced at Leng Junfeng. “Don’t get too excited. Fenghua is wandering the lower realms to comprehend the worldly laws. She already reached the Nascent Soul Realm, but her body is mortal. If she is already a true immortal, you might not be her opponent now.”
Leng Junfeng found it a bit difficult to accept. After his many adventures, he learned of Juedai Fenghua’s actual strength in the Allfist Realm. Although she could contend with a soul nourishing grandmaster as a core formation master, he also accomplished the same feat.
“You probably don’t know, but she’s already a soul cultivator. With her current comprehension, you aren’t her opponent,” Tianyi said. “Enough, I didn’t bring you here just to talk about my clone. These two are your apprentice-brother and sister. You will have a match with them to determine seniority. Win against Jinshu, you will be the eldest senior brother under me. Lose, and you’ll be the second brother.”
Leng Junfeng glanced at Jinshu and Ming Xingyun. The latter could not arouse any sense of threat from him, not to mention she hadn’t become a true immortal yet, so his only opponent was Jinshu. “Are we going to fight now?”
Tianyi rolled his eyes. “Hold your horses. I’m only introducing you three today. You’ll fight in a week. Before then, don’t you want to bring your family and friends here?”
“Huh? But I heard that only the most powerful immortals could do so,” Leng Junfeng said. Naturally, he wanted to bring his friends and family with him. He originally planned to find his master and slowly increased his strength until he could do so.
“I just so happen to be an immortal emperor,” Tianyi said. He grabbed a teacup that happened to appear without anyone realizing and took a long, slow sip.
Leng Junfeng stared at Tianyi. His master’s main body was a legendary immortal emperor? His master had said that her main body was still a mortal cultivator before they parted. He understood that the cultivation environment was a million times better than lower realms, but it shouldn’t be enough for his master’s main body to become an immortal emperor, right? Not to mention that time flowed faster in the lower realms. Didn’t this mean that he was several times older than Tianyi? He thought that Tianyi would have been an immortal monarch at most.
Tianyi ignored Leng Junfeng’s suspicious gaze and waved his hand. A portal depicting a bustling city appeared in front of everyone. Leng Junfeng recognized this scene. Wasn’t this the most prosperous city of the high-rank realm he had ascended from?
“Go on, tell me which of them are your family and friends.”
Although Leng Junfeng still doubted Tianyi’s words, he believed them a little now. In his opinion, Tianyi had to ask the Buzhou Immortal Sect to bring his relatives and friends up. Still, he obediently pointed to the people he wanted to bring to the Huang Realm.
“Over twenty people?”
“Is it too many?”
“No, I just need to expand the hall a bit.”
The ground rumbled, and the hall expanded. Originally, it could only fit around twenty to thirty people, but now, it could hold over a hundred. Under his astonished gaze, Tianyi reached into the portal.
To the people of the city, a giant hand hundreds of meters large just appeared above the sky. They wanted to scream and flee, but they discovered that it was as if amber had encased them. It was the same for the hundreds of saints in the city.
They could do nothing but watch as the giant hand reached out and grabbed something before returning to the heavens. Despite the large commotion, they discovered that nothing had been damaged, even the formations. However, they discovered a few missing people, but that wasn’t Tianyi’s problem.
Before Leng Junfeng noticed, twenty more people had appeared in the hall.
“Junfeng!”
“Brother Leng!”
“Brother Feng!”
All sorts of calls rang as the twenty plus people saw Leng Junfeng. Among them, three beauties stood out. One was Li Qiu’ai, a princess from the Allfist Realm that had ascended to follow Leng Junfeng. The two others were other women Leng Junfeng met. One was from a middle-ranked realm while the other was from the high-ranked realm he ascended from.
Leng Junfeng stopped explaining to his friends and relatives and shivered as he sensed a malice-filled gaze. He turned around to see Tianyi looking down at him. He wanted to speak, but Tianyi had already started talking. “You have unclear relationships with three women and you still want to pursue Fenghua? Your guts are quite big.”
“No, it isn’t what it looks like!” Leng Junfeng shouted. Only, Tianyi didn’t know if he had spoken for him or the people behind him.
“Enough.” Tianyi waved his hand. “Come in, Bojing.”
A man wearing white clothes entered. He was Su Bojing, Tianyi’s first subordinate. After hundreds of years, he had already become a transcending mortality saint for decades, but because of his lack of confidence, he hadn’t started his Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. He saluted Tianyi. “Grand Elder.”
“Take these people and find them a place to stay in one of the cities controlled by the Cultivator Alliance. And bring Leng Junfeng—” Tianyi pointed at said person. “To the Ministry of Rites. He’s my disciple. Oh, and prepare a Xiyi Talisman for everyone here.”
Su Bojing blinked and stared at Leng Junfeng. He originally thought Leng Junfeng was an immortal elder seeking Tianyi’s aid. But now, it turned out he was the grand elder’s disciple. Su Bojing sighed. The grand elder’s ability to teach is unrivaled. Of his three disciples, two are already immortals.
He smiled toward Leng Junfeng and the people behind. “Please follow me.”
After everyone except Ming Xingyun and Jinshu left, Ming Xingyun turned toward Tianyi. “Master, who is Fenghua?”
“We don’t talk about her,” Tianyi said. “You two should prepare for your spar against Junfeng. Don’t look down on him just because he became an immortal recently, he already has the power of an immortal lord.”
At his words, Ming Xingyun became excited and grasped the handle of her sword. Jinshu gave a more serious gaze, thinking that maybe the battle might help him break the bottleneck stumping him.
