Chapter 12: Since We’re Already Here

Chapter 12: Now That You're Here

On the sixth day of the sixth month, the Heavenly Blessing Day.

This day was an auspicious one.

From early morning, the sky was clear without a single cloud, bright and sunny—a perfect day for drying books, and equally fitting for the Celestial Spirit Sect to hold its first grand sect examination.

Although the current disciples and members did not yet understand what "examinations" meant for them, no one dared to defy the Immortal Venerable's orders. People went early to the examination, making preparations.

Even the servants who did not need to take the exam gathered before the Wordless Palace to gawk at the commotion (X) observe, whenever they had free time.

Little did they know that once they later understood the importance of the "grand sect examination," this behavior would be passed down through the long years, eventually becoming a tradition of the Celestial Spirit Sect.

However, those focused on the grand examination failed to notice that an object was slowly approaching from the sky.

It was a carriage procession.

Leading the procession were a flock of white cranes—sixty-six in total—spreading their pure white wings like a vast expanse of clouds.

The foremost twelve cranes were fitted with colorful reins, pulling three small red battle chariots arranged in a formation of one in front and two behind, with two silver-armored cultivators standing on each chariot.

Following the small battle chariots was a large silver battle chariot, carrying six golden-armored cultivators, requiring twenty-six white cranes to pull.

Behind this large battle chariot was a small, exquisite cloud chariot.

This cloud chariot was drawn by eight spirit deer, each one pure white without a single blemish. With each hoof fall, crisp deer bell sounds accompanied flashes of different colored light that drifted backward, surrounding the canopy above the delicate cloud chariot, creating a magnificent rainbow-woven halo.

Just from this display, one could tell this was not the kind of presence an ordinary cultivator could command.

And indeed, that was the case. On the several accompanying carriages behind the cloud chariot flew various banners, the largest of which bore the character "Alliance"—the emblem of the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

The envoys of the Heavenly Dao Alliance were also on that cloud chariot.

They were an old man and a young man.

The old man had leopard eyes and a grizzled beard, thickset and barrel-chested—he looked more like a warrior than a cultivator, yet he emanated the genuine pressure of a Body Integration stage cultivator.

The young man was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. He wore an eight-jeweled golden crown inlaid with night pearls, had a fair, powdered face, and was clad in brocade and jade-adorned robes. He reclined languidly by the window, attended by a group of beautiful maidservants serving tea and water—despite the cloud chariot's modest exterior, its interior was as lavish as a small hall, spacious enough to accommodate a dozen maidservants with room to spare.

Yet despite being waited on by so many beauties, the young man still looked bored.

He gazed down at the scenery below and complained, "What kind of godforsaken backwater is this? That so-called Tireless (or was it Untiring?) Immortal Venerable lives in this godforsaken place?!"

The old man immediately tensed, glaring with his leopard eyes. "Little Grandmaster, please mind your tongue."

"Pfft, what? Can he kill me?" the young man said flippantly.

The old man clenched his fists but could do nothing about the young man.

After all, as he had just addressed him, this young man was his "Little Grandmaster."

He Yong, the old man, hailed from the Household Affairs Hall of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, as a disciple of the Hall Master, Crane Cloud. Crane Cloud's master was the legendary immortal couple of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, Su Mei and Xin Zhu.

This couple was famous not only for both being Tribulation Transcendence Stage powerhouses, but also for their relationship.

They were born on the exact same day, and from childhood

, they had taken the same master, joined the same sect, supported each other through life, and pursued the Great Dao together. They both attained Mahayana, both entered the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, and on the occasion of their 8888th birthday, they were blessed with a son, named Su Xin—the young man He Yong called "Little Grandmaster."

Su Xin's seniority was terrifyingly high.

Not only was he born to a pair of Tribulation Transcendence parents, but he also had numerous Mahayana Stage senior brothers. He had over a dozen nephews at the Body Integration and Void Refinement stages like He Yong, and countless more disciples and grand-disciples at the Spirit Transformation and Nascent Soul levels.

In this cultivation world, few could control Su Xin. Moreover, Su Mei and Xin Zhu had him late in life and doted on him endlessly, spoiling him like a little ancestor.

But this little ancestor wasn't throwing his weight around at the Heavenly Dao Alliance headquarters—instead, he had come to this "godforsaken backwater" and insisted on visiting the Tireless Immortal Venerable, which gave He Yong a massive headache.

Especially since the cloud chariot had already arrived at the other's mountain. Discussing a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator here, especially uttering their title, was practically whispering insults right into their ears—impossible for them not to hear.

He Yong was naturally frantic: "A great man doesn't hold grudges against small men—he won't say anything for the sake of your parents, but discussing others' sects behind their backs is ultimately impolite behavior."

He Yong's words were actually meant for Zhou Hui to hear.

He feared that Zhou Hui might fly into a rage and smite down this little ancestor. At that point, no Tribulation Transcendence cultivator or Heavenly Dao Alliance elder could protect their son from ten thousand miles away.

Even if, worst case scenario, the little ancestor didn't die but got injured, it would be him, the "nephew," who would suffer the consequences.

He Yong could only continue to plead earnestly, "Besides, the Tireless Immortal Venerable lives simply, dislikes extravagance, and loves peace and quiet. That's why he chose the Shangri-La-like Celestial Spirit Mountain as his quiet cultivation site. We've come to seek his counsel and have already disturbed him—how can we possibly—"

But Su Xin showed no gratitude at all: "Heh, what Shangri-La? Only a rogue cultivator of no orthodox lineage would consider this godforsaken place something special."

"Su Xin!" He Yong roared.

He broke out in a cold sweat from the phrase "rogue cultivator of no orthodox lineage."

Although cultivators from various "orthodox" sects often said such things out of envy, jealousy, and resentment when mentioning Zhou Hui, none had the audacity to say it right at the Tireless Immortal Venerable's own mountain.

How was this any different from provocation?

"Hahaha, are you really that scared?" Su Xin laughed wickedly. "Don't worry, I'm not stupid. Those words just now won't be heard by that so-called Tireless Immortal!"

"Not heard?"

"Right, what do you think we're riding in?" Su Xin said smugly.

He patted the cloud chariot's frame, showing off: "This White Deer Chasing-Clouds Chariot was forged by a True Immortal from the upper realm—a genuine immortal treasure! Not to mention some backwoods rogue immortal, even if my parents attacked together, they couldn't damage this chariot in a short time, let alone break through its protective barrier to eavesdrop on our conversation with Divine Sense... Ah?!"

Su Xin let out a scream as the cloud chariot suddenly shook, making the maidservants' beautiful faces turn pale with fright.

Not only that, but cranes crying out in chaos came from outside—clearly, this "attack" wasn't limited to just here.

At this moment, He Yong instead calmed down.

"No, it's not the Tireless Immortal Venerable. If he were to act, it would be much more 'swift and clean,'" He Yong called out loudly, "What's happening?!"

"True Lord He, it seems we've been affected by the spiritual energy of the Celestial Spirit Palace!" a golden-armored warrior replied from outside.

"Celestial Spirit Palace?"

"It should... should be the Celestial Spirit Sect's palace!" the other replied, clearly flustered.

"Since when does the Celestial Spirit Sect have a palace?" He Yong asked in confusion.

As the hall master of the Heavenly Dao Alliance's Central Region Abyssal Sea Branch, he was responsible for overseeing the cultivation sects in this area. The Celestial Spirit Sect, with a Tribulation Transcendence powerhouse in residence, was a Class-A surveillance target.

This wasn't He Yong's first visit to the Celestial Spirit Sect. He thought he knew the sect's internal layout well—besides the Scripture Pavilion and the Ascension Platform, which were decent, the other buildings could only be described as bare-bones. There was no palace to speak of—unless one insisted on flattering the Tireless Immortal Venerable and shamelessly exaggerating those few large rooms in the Celestial Spirit Sect that bore the "Palace" name.

He Yong spread his spiritual power to calm the startled spirit beasts while shoving open the carriage door to look outside.

Then he just stood there, frozen in place.

There, suspended above the mountain peak under the blazing sun, hung a "silver moon." Looking closer, he realized it was a massive... sundial?

Maybe it was a sundial? It was a bit different from the usual ones, though, and He Yong couldn't quite say for sure. But what really caught his eye was the "palace" below the sundial, tucked into Tianling Mountain.

Wreathed in mist and clouds, it seemed half real, half dream. Ornate pavilions and terraces drifted hazily through the mountains—looking ghostly, yet solidly there.

"How the hell is a sea clan palace in the mountains?!"

Just then, Su Xin stepped up to the carriage door, staring at the palace in disbelief.

Su Xin quickly realized it wasn't sea clan work, so he paused and shot He Yong a weird look. "I always figured only dragons could pull off this kind of extravagance. You sure that's the palace of that 'simple-living, peace-loving' Immortal Venerable?"

"...It's Tireless Immortal Venerable," He Yong corrected flatly.

He had no idea how to explain it either—this wasn't Zhou Hui's vibe at all.

But standing around wasn't going to get them anywhere; they'd just have to go check it out.

He Yong pulled an ornate visiting card from his robe and gave it a puff of breath.

The card morphed into a tiny lark and flitted off toward the misty palace. At the same time, He Yong channeled his cultivation technique and called out clearly, "He Yong, Hall Master of the Central Domain Abyssal Sea Branch of the Celestial Spirit Sect, has come to pay his respects."

Soon, a warm, laughing voice floated down from Tianling Mountain:

"A guest is a guest—welcome, welcome!"

He Yong explained to Su Xin, "...That's Yu Wenxuan, the Chief Disciple of Tireless Immortal Venerable."

The cultivation world ran on a strict pecking order. On occasions like this, Zhou Hui—being at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage—wouldn't bother coming out to greet guests. Having his senior disciple show up was already a big enough nod to the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

As Yu Wenxuan spoke, a rainbow shot out from the mountain palace, stretching all the way under the convoy to guide them.

Su Xin clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Big deal."

He clearly hated that some "backwoods immortal" was putting on such airs.

He Yong didn't waste words on this impossible young master and just ordered the cloud chariot to follow the rainbow.

Soon enough, at the rainbow's end, they found Yu Wenxuan waiting with his two junior disciples and a few servants.

"Hall Master He, it's been a while!" Yu Wenxuan greeted him with open warmth.

You'd think he and He Yong were old pals, but they'd only met three or four times.

But Yu Wenxuan was acting like he was welcoming a long-lost brother: "Perfect timing! After grasping some heavenly secrets during the last tribulation, my master is holding a sect-wide exam to find the one destined for them!"

"Heavenly secrets? Sect-wide exam?" He Yong acted surprised, like it was all news to him.

But he'd heard about it already—half the reason for this trip was to verify the rumor. He just hadn't expected Yu Wenxuan to spill it so fast.

Could Zhou Hui actually have figured out how to ascend?

He Yong itched to ask more, but Yu Wenxuan moved on, turning to Su Xin.

"And this is...?"

"...This is the new envoy from our Heavenly Dao Alliance headquarters," He Yong said through gritted teeth.

That was the story he and Su Xin had cooked up beforehand.

After all, Su Xin's identity was too sensitive—it would blow this visit way out of proportion.

But with Su Xin's getup and his nasty temper, He Yong doubted anyone would buy it.

Luckily, Yu Wenxuan didn't seem to doubt it: "An envoy, huh? What an honor! You've got that dragon-among-men look, and the age fits. How about joining our sect exam? Maybe you're the child of destiny!"

"Hmph, you've got good taste!" Su Xin lifted his chin.

He Yong, though, was wary of how fast Yu Wenxuan jumped on it: "You let outsiders in?"

"The heavenly secrets didn't say it had to be a Celestial Spirit Sect disciple. The envoy showing up on exam day—that's got to mean something," Yu Wenxuan said. He paused, like he'd just realized he might be overstepping, and added, "But if the envoy isn't interested, forget I said anything. I've got food and wine ready in Huaixu Hall, and we can..."

"No, I'll participate!" Su Xin said.

He didn't find Yu Wenxuan's actions suspicious at all.

After all, "sect examination" was probably just the usual "sect competition" that major sects often held, and many sects would exchange participants. Su Xin almost always "won" in such events and quite enjoyed them.

Even without the heavenly secrets, he wouldn't mind showing off a bit.

As this man said, didn't he, Su Xin, look extraordinary, born with immortal bones, a dragon among men, brilliant and talented beyond compare?

Su Xin declared smugly, "Fine, let's do it. I'll show you all what this immortal venerable's got. Lead the way!"

What Su Xin totally missed were the weird looks on Yu Wenxuan's two junior disciples' faces when he said that.