This was a secluded beauty spot on Terrace Peak. Not far away, a clear spring trickled by, and the water-drawing bamboo half-raised above the spring gently let the water flow past, while birds chirped softly in the surrounding forest.
A young man stood before two tombstones.
This young man held in his hand two flowers of unbearable, blinding beauty.
The Bèng Zhuó Huā!
His former Master had passed away tragically right before the Bèng Zhuó Huā.
Lu Yuan couldn't help but recall that day, that moment of tragic departure, which left him momentarily speechless.
This time, the Righteous Path Immortal Sects had completely conquered the Underworld, achieving an unprecedented great victory. Afterward, they sealed the Underworld utterly using grand translocation magic. The Underworld had become a thing of the past. It had once been said that the Radiant Demon Emperor, Fang Xie, was fond of the Bèng Zhuó Huā. Upon smashing Bright Summit’s Radiant Palace this time, they obtained quite a few Bèng Zhuó Huā. Lu Yuan usually disliked flowers, but remembering his Master’s affection for the Bèng Zhuó Huā, he requested some.
And now, he was here again to pay respects to his Master.
He inserted one flower at his Master’s tombstone, and the other at his Mistress Madam Zhou’s.
The pale blue, beautiful as a fragile dream, Liáo Zhuó gently swayed in the breeze.
Gazing at the Bèng Zhuó Huā, Lu Yuan’s thoughts grew muddled. He seemed to recall the old days when his Master first taught him the foundational sword techniques. That, too, felt like a dream—but had that dream awakened yet?
“Master, the Underworld demons have been utterly pacified. From now on, there will be no more talk of the Underworld,” Lu Yuan murmured. “Although some demons linger down there, their base is lost; they are merely surviving remnants.” He continued, “This must be one of your wishes fulfilled. As for the chaos among the Three Sects you worried about, Master, rest assured, your disciple will do his utmost.”
“The Tí Zhuó Huā are here. Master and Mistress must like them very much. But these are likely the last Bèng Zhuó Huā; the Underworld is destroyed now… there will be no more Bèng Zhuó Huā from now on,” Lu Yuan said with emotion, yet aware that time changes things; once something passes, it’s simply gone.
After paying his respects, Lu Yuan departed.
However, just as he left the area, he immediately received an urgent dispatch.
“The Assessment Envoy from the Jin State” has arrived.” The message was just that brief.
The Assessment Envoy had come!
Lu Yuan was startled. The dispatch also instructed Lu Yuan to gather at the East Peak. Lu Yuan first went to the Central Harmony Peace Study to speak briefly with the current Peak Master, Fang Ru, before soaring off on his sword toward the East Peak, the Morning Sun Peak.
On the Morning Sun Terrace, when Lu Yuan arrived, he found quite a few people already assembled: the East Peak Master, Venerable Yuanyang; the South Peak Master, Venerable Huifeng; the West Peak Master, Venerable Zixia; the Central Peak Master, Venerable Yuzhen—and one other person he didn't recognize—as well as the Sect Leader, Chu Duan.
Lu Yuan noticed that besides himself, everyone else currently on the Morning Sun Terrace possessed an astonishing aura.
Chu Duan announced, “Good, the last person has arrived. There are six of us from Mount Hua representing you to participate in the assessment established in the Jin State by the Central Celestial Dynasty. There’s no need to introduce these others; they are all familiar faces. Lu Yuan, you are the only one of the tenth generation, so I will introduce these esteemed figures to you.”
It turned out that the six going, besides the four Peak Masters, included one other person from the East Peak, known as Venerable Lieyang.
Venerable Yuanyang, Venerable Lieyang, Venerable Huifeng, Venerable Zixia, Venerable Yuzhen, and Lu Yuan—six in total.
Among them, three belonged to the Sword Sect, two to the Qi Sect, and one to the Sword-Qi Sect.
Five were of the ninth generation, and one was of the tenth generation.
In truth, the Venerables like Yuanyang and Huifeng felt a strange mix of emotions. They vividly remembered when Lu Yuan first stunned everyone during the Five Peak Grand Competition, reaching the Body Tempering stage. On Morning Sun Peak, he had defeated the true disciples of both the Sword and Qi Sects at that time, claiming first place.
Although Lu Yuan’s performance then was undeniably dazzling, they had still regarded him as a junior, estimating that it would take a few centuries for such a junior to truly mature.
Yet here they were: Lu Yuan was now qualified to participate in the Jin State Assessment for the Central Celestial Dynasty. How could they process this?
A former junior could now participate in the same event as them, the Venerable Peak Masters.
A wave of emotion washed over the assembled Venerables.
Of course, while they could participate in the same event, they did not believe Lu Yuan was particularly strong. Many of them were figures at the second, third, or even fourth layer of the Great Dao Realm, whereas Lu Yuan was merely at the first layer, making him the weakest among them.
Speaking of which, some developments had recently occurred in the Mount Hua Immortal Sect regarding Lu Yuan’s title. Originally, Lu Yuan was called the Wine Sword Immortal, but what should he be called now? Achieving the Great Dao Realm warranted the title of Venerable, but after much debate and definition, no truly fitting moniker had emerged. ‘Sword Immortal’ carried a sense of freedom and spontaneity; that suited the Wine Sword Immortal.
‘Venerable’—a person above others—implied authority and majesty. Having such a young man called Venerable hardly seemed appropriate.
In the end, what should they do?
This posed quite a dilemma.
Well, setting aside idle talk, Chu Duan boomed, “Esteemed figures, you are the pillars of our Mount Hua Immortal Sect. This journey to participate in the Central Celestial Dynasty’s Jin State Qualification Assessment—if you pass, so much the better. If, by some chance, you can enter the Central Celestial Dynasty, it will further enhance your strength, allowing you to return later and bring great merit to our Mount Hua Immortal Sect.”
Thus, Chu Duan personally led the contingent. Seven figures in total soared toward the Imperial Capital on their swords.
That’s right; this assessment was to be held in the Imperial Capital.
Whether Mount Hua was ranked first, Wudang Immortal Sect second, or whatever—the Central Celestial Dynasty paid them no mind. These superior immortal sects were simply too weak for the Central Celestial Dynasty to bother distinguishing; they were all uniformly assessed in the nation’s capital. The seven flew through the air on their swords.
Among them, Lu Yuan’s spiritual power was the weakest, and his sword-flying speed was slightly slower. However, it was only slightly slower; by applying his White Emperor Sword Dao, he wasn't lagging far behind. The six figures beside him secretly thought, What an astonishing talent the North Peak has truly produced in Lu Yuan.
The large group arrived in the Imperial Capital.
He had visited the Imperial Capital not long ago; at that time, it had seemed vast, magnificent, and ancient.
The Imperial Capital remained the same now.
This assessment was taking place in the Five Wheels Palace in the Imperial Capital.
The Five Wheels Palace usually served as the meeting place for the five superior immortal sects. It had naturally been vacated. When Lu Yuan and the Mount Hua contingent arrived, they found quite a crowd had already gathered. Several members from the Wudang Immortal Sect were present—the Wudang Seven Sons were all of the ninth generation. However, the head of the Wudang Seven Sons, Song Qingqiao, had inherited the teachings of the previous Wudang Patriarch and possessed strong personal fortune, reaching the Grandmaster Realm. The strength of the other six was not as exaggerated as Song Qingqiao’s; they mostly hovered around the second, third, or fourth layer of the Great Dao Realm. Participating this time were the other six of the Wudang Seven Sons: Yu Qingzhou, Yu Qingdai, Zhang Qingxi, Zhang Qingshan, Yin Qingting, and Mo Qi.
The Kunlun Immortal Sect had also sent five figures under a thousand years old who were in the Great Dao Realm. However, Lu Yuan recognized none of them. As they arrived, circles of precious light radiated above their heads, indicating numerous magical artifacts concealed within their bodies.
The Qingcheng Immortal Sect had sent four Venerables under a thousand years old who were in the Great Dao Realm; Lu Yuan recognized none of them either.
The Nanhai Immortal Sect had sent four Venerables under a thousand years old in the Great Dao Realm; Lu Yuan did not recognize a single one.
In truth, these Venerables held considerable fame in the cultivation world, but Lu Yuan was young and hadn't spent much time in the cultivation world, mostly sequestered on the North Peak, hence his unfamiliarity with these individuals.
Furthermore, people from several mid-tier immortal sects had also arrived.
The sect leaders of the seven mid-tier immortal sects were all present. Lu Yuan had already met the leader of the Wuling Immortal Sect, Venerable Hailing, and the leader of the Snow Mountain Immortal Sect, Old Ancestor Xueshan. Besides them, the leader of the Iron Sword Immortal Sect, Jing Qiuzhi; the leader of the Heavenly Mystery Immortal Sect, Li Fudao; the leader of the Liancheng Immortal Sect, Tang Shichuan; the leader of the Shallow Earth Immortal Sect, Fu Qian; and the leader of the Azure Medicine Immortal Sect, Gongyang Ci—he hadn't met these five much, although he vaguely recalled seeing them once during the Five Sect Alliance meeting at Qingcheng, but they hadn't left much of an impression then.
Moreover, Lu Yuan spotted someone who made him inwardly gasp: Old Ancestor Blood Sword had actually come! That fellow usually hid like a mole; why was he showing himself now? It was strange. Lu Yuan only understood after asking someone nearby: during the Central Celestial Dynasty Assessment, no immortal sect was allowed to cause trouble, and all grievances had to be set aside.
Although Old Ancestor Blood Sword was universally reviled, his presence here ensured that no one dared to act recklessly during the Central Celestial Dynasty’s Jin State Qualification Assessment.
Oh, right, among these gathered figures, the one with the most ostentatious display was not the leaders of the superior immortal sects, but a certain group over there.
“Star Constellation Old Immortal, unmatched across the expanse!” “Star Constellation Old Immortal, peerless in the world!” “Star Constellation Old Immortal will surely pass the assessment!” “Who can contend with Star Constellation Old Immortal?” Who was this person? This was the renowned Star Constellation Old Immortal of the Jin State, the leader of the Seven Kill Star Sea. Legend claimed this man possessed peerless poison skills, was ruthless and cruel, and presided over the Seven Kill Star Sea. His reputation surpassed even that of Old Ancestor Blood Sword. He was white-bearded and white-haired, his face filled with smug satisfaction as he casually fanned himself, seemingly as if he were already invincible in Jin State.
Besides these prominent figures, there were several reclusive Great Dao Realm experts. In this world, there were quite a few Great Dao Realm cultivators who did not belong to any immortal sect; many were hermits. Usually, no matter how significant the event, they would not emerge, but this time was different. The Central Celestial Dynasty’s assessment promised tremendous benefits, naturally compelling them to appear.