The foundational principles laid down by the founding patriarch of the Wudang Immortal Sect in years past were thus: “Great abundance appears empty; great humility appears void.” It is a pity that sometimes, the path set by the founder is not the one followed by those who come after. However, if the Wudang Immortal Sect had truly adhered to the established path, then the chance for the speaker to enter this Wusheng Legacy Palace now would likely be non-existent. Sitting in the Listening Rain Lodge of the Wuling Immortal Sect on Wuling Mountain, Lu Yuan swirled the wine bottle in his hand, musing thus in his heart.

Inside the Listening Rain Lodge at this moment, besides the full assembly of the Ten Great Direct Disciples, there were also numerous elders from the North Peak—including some whose presence was rarely seen, whose cultivation was unfathomably deep, likely having reached the ninth layer of Body Tempering. These elders usually remained hidden, primarily occupied in seclusion striving to break through to the Longevity Stage, only appearing when such fortunate events warranted their attention. For figures of their stature, nothing held greater importance than advancing to the Longevity Stage. Since breaking from the ninth layer of Body Tempering to the tenth layer could still be aided by external objects, they made an appearance for this juncture. Yet, advancing from the tenth layer of Body Tempering to the Longevity Stage admits no reliance on external aids, which is why cultivators at the tenth layer of Body Tempering were absent. Oh, yes, besides these elders, a number of ordinary disciples who had shown good performance were also granted permission to participate in this expedition into the Wusheng Legacy Palace.

The emergence of the treasures within the Wusheng Legacy Palace this time caused a sensation far exceeding any scene Lu Yuan had ever witnessed. Opposite the assembled crowd stood not only the Gentleman Sword Fang Ru but also the Flying Sword Chu Fei. Given the immense significance of the Wusheng Legacy Palace matter, the North Peak had dispatched Chu Fei to assist Fang Ru.

Fang Ru spoke gravely, “The Wusheng Legacy Palace—this edifice will have the combined strength of our various immortal sects opening its entrance in one day’s time. Following that, you will be permitted to enter. Records suggest the Wusheng Legacy Palace should possess seven layers, and the Elder Wusheng was quite fond of the number seven; however, whether it truly has seven layers remains unconfirmed.” “The Wusheng Legacy Palace must hold trials on every level,” he continued. “The deeper the layer, the more difficult it will be to enter.” “You will enter the first layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace a day from now. The danger on the first level isn't particularly great, but the peril increases with each subsequent layer. Exercise utmost caution and prioritize your lives. Furthermore, the order from the Elder Council is this: within the Wusheng Legacy Palace, no killing of fellow comrades from the immortal sects is permitted; violators will be permanently banned.” Fang Ru concluded the necessary briefing for the expedition into the Wusheng Legacy Palace.

This time, Fang Ru did not impose excessively high demands on those under his command. Obtaining Elder Wusheng’s treasures from this venture into the Wusheng Legacy Palace would naturally be excellent, but there was no need to force the issue if it proved unobtainable. His own disciple, Ye Fang, still possessed limited strength, currently at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation; he shouldn't expect much performance from him. As for Lu Yuan, that fellow, he should perform reasonably well, but expecting him to secure anything significant from Elder Wusheng's legacy would be impossible. Among the cultivators about to enter the Wusheng Legacy Palace, there were quite a few at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation; Lu Yuan was still somewhat green. Fang Ru reflected internally.

Five Superior Immortal Sects and seven Middle-Tier Immortal Sects, with nearly ten thousand cultivators in total, would enter the Wusheng Legacy Palace. What a spectacle it would be! If the Wusheng Legacy Palace had no restrictions and cultivators of the Longevity Stage could enter, Fang Ru would have been very interested in going in himself. After all, Elder Wusheng was one of the paramount experts of his era; perhaps some treasure within his legacy palace would be of great use to him. Unfortunately, those in the Longevity Stage could not enter. He could only look forward to watching a good show.

It would take some time to travel to the Wusheng Legacy Palace. And coincidentally, his wine had run out.

Lu Yuan ambled off to fetch more wine. Lu Yuan was not the fastest at getting acquainted with new environments, but his speed in locating every tavern was unparalleled. After only a few days at the Wuling Immortal Sect, he had already pinpointed several wine houses—some even unknown to Meng Bai, Lu Yuan had managed to track them down. This, perhaps, was the instinct of a true drunkard. By the way, the Wuling Immortal Sect did permit the sale of wine, unlike the North Peak. Every immortal sect had its own set of rules.

This establishment, named ‘Inquiring Immortal Tavern,’ had a fitting name, and its wine was excellent, brewed quite richly. Lu Yuan arrived at the tavern: “Shopkeeper, pour me fifty jin of the Third Month Brew, and thirty jin of Jiangnan Huadiao.” His Asura Pouch was currently dedicated solely to holding wine; fetching eighty jin at once caused him no strain at all. This eighty jin of wine should last him through the duration inside the Wusheng Legacy Palace, Lu Yuan thought. After serving the wine, the shopkeeper said, “Young sir, wait a moment.”

Lu Yuan paused, stopping his steps. The shopkeeper leaned in conspiratorially, “Young sir, the Wusheng Legacy Palace is opening soon. You must know this news. By your appearance, you are clearly one of the talented young elites.” Selling wine within the Wuling Immortal Sect naturally granted some insider knowledge, so knowing about the Wusheng Legacy Palace appearing was normal. However, this opening statement was somewhat disingenuous. Lu Yuan never revealed his identity when purchasing wine here, nor did he wear any costly immortal robes; the shopkeeper was merely offering casual flattery. Anyone who took such an assertion seriously would be a fool. Naturally, Lu Yuan was too lazy to refute such pleasantries; any person with normal emotional intelligence would simply nod and smile, showing no other expression.

The shopkeeper continued, “Young sir, since the Wusheng Legacy Palace is opening, many vendors selling elixirs, magic artifacts, and flying treasures throughout Wuling Immortal Sect are preparing for the big undertaking inside. This requires defensive artifacts, offensive artifacts, and restorative pills.” “Though we are an inn, we recently acquired a set of defensive magical tools. I wonder if young sir has any interest?” Hearing this, Lu Yuan understood; this was a sales pitch for magical tools, likely mediocre ones at that. Regardless, the shopkeeper was casually trying to unload them, earning spirit stones if he succeeded, and losing nothing if he failed.

Lu Yuan naturally shook his head in refusal, taking his wine gourds and striding away. The atmosphere lately truly was buzzing; everyone was preparing for the Wusheng Legacy Palace, aiming to secure its treasures. Of course, up until this point, the greatest beneficiaries were the artifact merchants and elixir vendors who had long been prepared, capitalizing heavily on this trend. One could imagine that behind these merchants stood the shadow of the Wuling Immortal Sect.

Do not imagine an immortal sect to be so grand that it shuns all commerce and remains purely ethereal and transcendent. That is entirely wrong. Mortals in the world need to earn money. Cultivators in the world need spirit stones. And immortal sects require vast resources to maintain operations and facilitate expansion. That is simply the reality. If you cultivate alone, you can be free and easy, but when a group establishes an immortal sect, that sect cannot remain detached and ethereal; it inevitably becomes entangled in political factors. With an obvious opportunity to profit, how could the Wuling Immortal Sect let it pass?

A day passed quickly. At the entrance to the Wusheng Legacy Palace now, the crowd was immense, though order was maintained. The five Superior Immortal Sects occupied the most prominent positions, followed by the seven Middle-Tier Immortal Sects. As for the rogue cultivators hoping to sneak in, too bad—this entrance area had long been cordoned off. Rogue cultivators were simply not qualified to enter; advantageous opportunities must first cater to one's own people. The rogue cultivators would have to wait patiently. Of course, the space occupied by the five Superior Immortal Sects was far larger than that taken by the seven Middle-Tier ones.

The entrance to the Wusheng Legacy Palace was an old Daoist temple. It was a dilapidated structure; even the characters on the temple’s main plaque were blurred beyond recognition from years of wind and rain. This kind of temple, usually overgrown with cobwebs, had been thoroughly cleaned out because of the Wusheng Legacy Palace’s appearance. In the courtyard entrance, a Teleportation Array had manifested.

Spells are categorized into seven major systems, with some branches. For instance, Spatial System magic is a branch outside those seven main categories. It is difficult to classify what category Spatial magic falls into; eventually, it was grouped under the Wind System, even though Spatial magic has little actual relation to Wind magic. Spatial magic has always been quite important in the cultivation world. Spatial magic is hard to master, but if one truly learns it, one of its most useful spells is the ‘Instantaneous Shift,’ which allows for instantaneous teleportation over a short distance. This spell is incredibly valuable—practically the favorite of spell casters. What spell casters fear most is being caught by the swords of Sword Cultivators; once caught, spell casters struggle to properly execute incantations. The appearance of Instantaneous Shift was a blessing for them: if a Sword Cultivator catches up, one simply shifts away. Of course, this Instantaneous Shift has various limitations; it cannot be cast on whim. It can be said that without Instantaneous Shift, spell casters would likely be unable to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Sword Cultivators. A single spell drastically enhances the standing of spell casters, illustrating the importance of Instantaneous Shift.

Spatial magic has another major use: Teleportation Arrays. These arrays can move people to a very distant, fixed location, but constructing such an array requires immense resources. The immortal sects in the Great Jin Kingdom are reluctant to spend these resources, and moreover, using a Teleportation Array demands periodic resource consumption—a reason why such arrays are scarce in the Great Jin Kingdom today.

Returning to the current matter: this Teleportation Array before them had been analyzed by the spell casters of numerous immortal sects, and it would randomly send people to the first layer of the Wusheng Legacy Palace. The people from the Huashan Immortal Sect were the first to pass through the Teleportation Array—first a group of elders, then the direct disciples like Lu Yuan, and finally the ordinary disciples. Lu Yuan stepped onto the array, feeling as if space shattered at that moment, a wave of extremely intense dizziness washing over him.