Chapter 40 Part 2

“These array hubs don’t even go directly; you have to transfer back and forth,” Wei Mingyi complained. This was her first long journey, making her quite dizzy. The number of people traveling via the Teleportation Array was extremely small. She could faintly hear murmurs of “more money than sense.” Well, this was the cultivation world; besides teleportation arrays, there were other traveling artifacts, or if push came to shove, one could set aside time to depart early. In comparison, this method was indeed not very cost-effective.

“Where exactly is Supreme Peak?” Wei Mingyi looked up. In the distance, mountain ranges lay like crouching dragons, their peaks thrusting toward the sky like long spears.

The city they’d landed in had none of the grandeur of a former great sect—it was even less well-equipped than Cangwu City. Wei Mingyi couldn’t sense any nearby spirit veins and guessed the original ones had long been drained. If not for the Heavenly Dao’s Paragon Debate, this place would probably be a total wasteland.

Wu Chongyun said, “Come.”

Wei Mingyi seized the chance to probe: “Is Shizun familiar with this place?”

Wu Chongyun ignored her question, merely guiding her toward the uniquely beautiful mountain peak to the east.

Cultivators gradually appeared in Wei Mingyi’s field of vision, but still far fewer than she’d imagined. The Heavenly Dao’s Paragon Debate was a major event for the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Looking across the entire Nine Provinces, were there truly not even a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators? This wasn’t even a competition for Nascent Soul Daoists. Could it be that they arrived early, registered, and simply didn’t come out again?

At the foot of Supreme Peak.

There were only four long tables, with four Deacon Daoists.

Ahead, roughly a hundred people were divided into four queues.

Wu Chongyun said flatly, “We’re here to collect tokens for entering the mountain.” The queues were divided based on the Cloud Realm, Spirit Mountain, Shifang Celestial Palace, and Heavenly Evolution Mountain. As for the master-disciple lineage, the Heavenly Dao Alliance Daoists didn’t even consider that. Whichever power’s territory your sect was located in, that’s where you went. Whether you were a subordinate to that power or not, the Heavenly Dao Alliance Daoists didn’t care.

“What happens if you don’t go through one of these four?” Wei Mingyi muttered.

Wu Chongyun glanced at her and gave a cold snort: “Die.”

Wei Mingyi: “.”

Better not to risk her life just to stand out.

Staying at the tail end of the line, she could hear fragments of conversation from various directions. Most of the people here were from 3rd or 4th-Rate Clans. Some had only one or two elders as Dao Protectors, while others had brought an entire extended family. But when the time came to distribute tokens, each person was only allocated two—meaning only one Dao Protector could enter Supreme Peak.

“Cloud Realm, Rogue Cultivator, Wei Wuwang.”

When her turn arrived, Wei Mingyi reported her alias.

That Deacon Daoist, upon hearing the words “rogue cultivator,” frowned. He tossed down two tokens directly and waved his hand impatiently.

“Why are they a different color from the others?” Wei Mingyi fiddled with the tokens, muttering.

“Inside Supreme Peak, there is another world entirely. These tablets serve both as proof for entering the mountain and as a token for lodging,” Wu Chongyun explained calmly. “A nameless nobody receives only the worst.”

Wei Mingyi: “…” How long would these hierarchical distinctions chase her?

Once inside Supreme Peak, the number of Daoists Wei Mingyi saw increased significantly. There were youths in their teens, as well as those appearing middle-aged or elderly; all were at the Foundation Establishment stage. They were all competitors for the Heavenly Dao’s Paragon Debate. As for their Dao Protectors, they were presumably cultivating at their respective training grounds.

Climbing the mountain stairs toward the peak, Wei Mingyi spotted two familiar faces. She unconsciously touched her own face and, recalling she had the “Thousand Transformations” in effect, felt a little relieved.

Both individuals were from outside Yangchun Terrace. One was Ji Tianhe of the Jade Emperor Sect, and the other was that annoying person from the Pure Clean Sect, named something like Yan Luo. At this moment, they stood with arms folded, confronting another group of youths dressed in extremely luxurious attire. Between them was a Daoist with a terrified expression. Despite having cultivated to the 3rd Layer, he was utterly spineless, a pitiful sight.

“You are of my master-disciple lineage. Once inside the Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm, naturally you’ll walk with us.”

“With your natural talent, it’s more than enough to join a 3rd-Rate Clan subordinate to my family.”

“The Heavenly Realm is life or death. Fellow Daoist, you’d best consider carefully.”

…

What reached her ears was blatant threats.

Needless to say, those speaking were from the aristocratic families.

Wei Mingyi had no desire to meddle, but as she prepared to walk around them, someone from the master-disciple lineage’s side spotted her. Not seeing any clan insignia on her, they assumed she was also from the master-disciple lineage and raised their voice to call out, “Fellow Daoist, wait.”

The speaker was an unfamiliar Daoist. But the first person to stride up to her, looking down at her with a gaze as though surveying the world, was that infuriating Yan Luo.

Forget exchanging greetings with her; she didn’t even offer a junior’s courtesy upon seeing her master, a Nascent Soul Perfected Person. Wearing an utterly arrogant expression, she declared, “Since the esteemed one is not from an aristocratic family, if you wish to survive within the Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm, report to the Three Sects.”

“Three Sects? What sort of sects are those?” Wei Mingyi feigned ignorance.

Her words drew a burst of jeering laughter. Someone from the aristocratic families’ side had already answered first: “The Fence-Sitter Sect, the Big Talk Sect, the Mixed-Blood Sect.”

Wei Mingyi was speechless.

Truly, the aristocratic families had a knack for nicknames.

Yan Luo had a bad temper, but she didn’t direct it at the aristocratic family Daoists. Instead, she glared at Wei Mingyi with dissatisfaction and said coldly, “Is the esteemed one doing this deliberately?” Everyone in the world knew of the Nine Provinces’ Four Great Clans, and likewise, no cultivator had never heard of the Master-Disciple Lineage’s Three Sects.

Wei Mingyi, utterly composed, asked again, “What benefits come from walking with the esteemed one?”

The laughter from the aristocratic families’ side grew even louder: “What a pity, Fellow Daoist, you’re only at the 1st Layer. Otherwise, we’d all like to invite you to join us.”

Wei Mingyi laughed.

Invite her? To a feast of family scions?

Wu Chongyun watched this dispute expressionlessly. Her expression only shifted when several flight-lights descended, a strange light flickering in her eyes.

Wei Mingyi didn’t recognize those Perfected Persons who arrived, but she could deduce something from their clan insignias. Why did these people have more than one Dao Protector?

Only after catching up to Wu Chongyun’s footsteps and putting some distance between them and those people did Wei Mingyi say, “Wasn’t it supposed to be just one person?”

“That’s merely the passage at the foot of the mountain, set for the very lowest ranks,” Wu Chongyun said, looking up at the drifting clouds. “The Four Great Clans, the Prosperous Clans, and the Three Sects all have their own entrances.”

Wei Mingyi gave a fake smile.

Damn it all, there was a VIP entrance.

“If I win the Head Champion title, after I land, will the Penglai Purple Qi I collected be snatched away?” Wei Mingyi asked again.

Wu Chongyun cast her a sidelong glance: “There is no open robbery within Supreme Peak.”

Wei Mingyi nodded.

No open robbery meant there was coercion and bribery.

“If you join some major clan, the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the family Daoists might even escort and protect you,” Wu Chongyun said, her voice cold and carrying a hint of mockery.

“I look down on them,” Wei Mingyi snorted, then added with great enthusiasm, “In the future, it will be the family scions coming to pay their respects to me.”

Wu Chongyun: “…” She said, “If you encounter danger, withdraw. Don’t force it. I will find a way to gather the things you need for cultivation in the future.”

Wei Mingyi stared at Wu Chongyun; this promise unsettled her. If her master truly had such ability, why hadn’t she first gathered a cure for her own Wither and Flourish poisoning? Would there be a price to pay for her to obtain these things? “I don’t need external items to help me break through realms,” Wei Mingyi said, and silently added in her heart: If I have enough Talent Points, I can perfect my cultivation without external medicines or internal alchemy. “What I care about most is Shizun’s health.”

The Soul-Restoring Pills were effective, but after all, they were only a temporary reprieve. Occasionally, she could hear the pained murmurs her master unconsciously let slip. Afraid Wu Chongyun would worry, she softened her voice and added, “Since I’m going to obtain medicine for Shizun, I must come back completely intact. I know the importance of preserving my life.”

Wu Chongyun was silent for several breaths, then said, “There’s nothing I can do for you.”

“How can that be?” Wei Mingyi fixed her gaze on Wu Chongyun. “Shizun has taught me so much. When Shizun gets better and breaks through to Grotto-Heaven in one go, with Shizun as my backer, I will rampage across the Nine Provinces without fear!”

Wu Chongyun let out a short laugh. She flicked her whisk and said, “You have the ambition. Go and try. When you bring back the Penglai Purple Qi, within Supreme Peak, no one will dare stop you.”

Within Supreme Peak.

Daoists socialized and made connections everywhere. Wei Mingyi remained immersed in diligent cultivation.

Time passed extremely quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the first day of June.

The sea of clouds in the sky was stirred by a hurricane, revealing a colossal, seemingly boundless vortex.

Within the vortex, endless heavenly light poured down like a waterfall. The cultivators standing beneath the heavenly light on Supreme Peak were lifted by a gale of astral wind, carried upward toward the funnel-shaped dome of the sky.

The Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm had opened; it would last for three months.

At the end, whoever obtained the most Penglai Purple Qi would win. Besides the Purple Qi obtained within the secret realm, the Heavenly Dao Alliance also had generous additional rewards.

During the debate, if a cultivator could not endure, they could withdraw early. The Heavenly Dao Alliance would not take away what the Daoist had already gathered, but the post-competition rewards would be forfeit.

On the surface, the rules didn’t seem strict. Yet in truth, the Heavenly Dao Alliance hoped cultivators would persevere to the very end. According to public opinion across the Nine Provinces, Daoists who withdrew halfway, though they might save their lives, would afterward be looked down upon by their peers and punished by their families. In the future, any positions within the Heavenly Dao Alliance would likely be out of reach. This point didn’t hinder the master-disciple lineage or rogue cultivators, but aside from the Three Sects, who among them could even manage to get their hands on Penglai Purple Qi?

It felt as if she had been tumbling within the vortex for a long time, or perhaps only for an instant.

The moment Wei Mingyi landed, she cautiously surveyed her surroundings. She was in a barren forest and had yet to spot any other Daoists.

Her eyes flickered. Wei Mingyi called upon her cheat item: “System, reclaim!” To her, every competitor was a red-named enemy.

The Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm was a genuine existence, created using the Taiyi Ruins. Reclaiming it shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Naturally, given Wei Mingyi’s current cultivation base, it was impossible to crush the thousand Foundation Establishment Daoists who had entered the Heavenly Realm. “Reclamation,” first and foremost, was a test to see if there was a chance to seize control of this land. If she could, she could then use it to map out the enemies’ movements. When facing formidable opponents, the cheat item’s progress would “get stuck.”

Supreme Peak.

The Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm was shaped from the legacy of Tai Yi, jointly controlled and activated by the Four Great Clans, each holding a piece of the key.

At this moment, the Perfected Persons from the Four Great Clans perceived a subtle vibration from the keys. But when they opened their eyes to investigate, it was soundless and motionless once more.

The Daoist from Spirit Mountain’s Wu Clan present was the “Sword Paragon” among the Four Paragons of Spirit Mountain, Wu Jianhuan. She asked gently, “Is there an issue?”

The Daoist from the Yu Clan of Heavenly Evolution Mountain calculated for a moment, then said, “No.”