This Supreme Order of the Five Immortals was an invitation for Lu Yuan to go to the Wudang Immortal Sect to discuss major matters.

Undoubtedly, the major matter currently up for discussion was how to deal with the resurgence of the Demonic Path.

At the grand assembly held in the Zhenwu Hall of Mount Wudang, there were two things that brought a sense of reflection to Lu Yuan.

The first was his status as acting Sect Master. He had attended sect master gatherings before, specifically after the battle at the Divine Soul River of Qingcheng; at that time, he was merely a junior disciple. While he possessed some renown, he was still worlds away from achieving the supreme position of a Sect Master. Now, however, he was the Sect Master, presiding over a meeting of seasoned elders. To be such a young man in such a gathering naturally evoked a certain feeling of nostalgia, as if he had finally walked a path worthy of a true master.

The second was the shift in the standing of the Huashan Immortal Sect in the current era.

In gatherings of sect masters, the seating arrangement was a point worthy of note. Previously, the Huashan Immortal Sect was considered a first-tier sect; regardless of where the meeting was held, the seat immediately following the host’s was reserved for the Huashan Sect Master. Yet, when Lu Yuan arrived at the Zhenwu Hall this time, he discovered his seat was conspicuously placed in the fifth position, ranked beneath Wudang, Kunlun, Nanhai, and Qingcheng.

It seemed the other immortal sects had largely tacitly accepted the weakening of Huashan’s might.

But there was no recourse; given Huashan's severe losses in strength, a fifth-place ranking was all they could expect for now.

The purpose of this meeting in the Zhenwu Hall was essentially for the various sects to organize an Orthodox Alliance and gauge which factions would join. Without question, this Orthodox Alliance would inevitably be led by the Wudang Immortal Sect, as Wudang was currently the strongest among the five top-tier immortal sects.

Lu Yuan considered the proposal and ultimately refused to join the Orthodox Alliance.

There was no choice. Huashan’s current strength was too frail; they did not even possess a single figure at the Half-step Grandmaster realm. To join the Orthodox Alliance meant risking being used as cannon fodder, for without powerful figures, one held little authority. Moreover, Huashan had already suffered catastrophic damage; any further losses could exhaust the sect’s last vestiges of vital energy. Thus, he refused to join the Orthodox Alliance.

Inside the Zhenwu Hall, Lu Yuan announced, “Honorable Sect Masters, safeguarding the Dao and upholding righteousness has always been Huashan’s duty, and I should not shrink from it. However, as everyone is aware of Huashan’s current predicament, our losses have been severe, leaving us willing but unable. Therefore, I, along with the Huashan Immortal Sect, will not be participating in this Orthodox Alliance. Gentlemen, I take my leave.” Having bowed deeply, he turned and departed the Zhenwu Hall with Ye Qingyi, Li Qingmu, and Lu Qingtao, descending the mountain.

Lu Yuan’s resolute refusal and abrupt departure startled the remaining sect masters.

Song Qingqiao, the Sect Master of Wudang Immortal Sect, sighed, “The Huashan of today is surely not the Huashan of yesterday. An undertaking such as attacking the Demonic Wood Cliff is simply beyond the capability of present-day Huashan. Willing but powerless—very well. Let us proceed to discuss how we shall jointly resist the Demonic Path.”

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan and the Huashan contingent were making their way down the mountain after leaving the Zhenwu Hall.

On the descent, Ye Qingyi, who accompanied them, spoke, “Sect Master, by refusing the Orthodox Alliance, we risk being marginalized by the other sects, which will be disadvantageous to us.”

Lu Yuan let out a cold laugh. “Huashan’s standing is not derived from the opinions of others, but from the swords and spells we wield in our hands. During Patriarch Yan’s era, the other four immortal sects harbored jealousy toward us, yet they could never shake the status of the Huashan Immortal Sect. This is the very principle.”

“If I were as formidable as Ancestor Yan, who would dare to challenge Huashan’s position? Would we even need to settle for the fifth seat?” Lu Yuan sneered.

Lu Yuan returned to Huashan with his companions, and just then, the Orthodox Alliance was formally established. Song Qingqiao was appointed the leader of the Jin State Alliance, with Zu Qianqiu, Yan Er, Zhuge Ge, and Ren Bining serving as deputy leaders. This marked the first time in many years that the Huashan Immortal Sect was excluded from the major affairs of Jin State and held no authority within the alliance.

This would have been unimaginable in the era of Yan Cangtian, for with the Heavenly Sword present, no major event, good or ill, dared to overlook Huashan.

It would also have been inconceivable during Chu Duan’s time, as Chu Duan delighted in fame and profit, and the legacy of Yan Cangtian’s era was still plentiful, with masters intact; Chu Duan generally presided over all significant matters.

However, in Lu Yuan’s current era, this became the reality. There was no choice, as Huashan’s strength had been greatly diminished, and Lu Yuan had established recuperation and rest as Huashan’s paramount policy.

Throughout the Cultivation World, many murmured that while Lu Yuan might be a peerless genius in his personal cultivation, he was far too inexperienced to be a Sect Master.

Others lamented that Huashan, once an incredibly powerful sect steeped in legend, was now in decline.

...

What did the murmurs of decline in the Cultivation World amount to?

Indeed, Huashan had temporarily weakened somewhat.

But Huashan had once sunk to depths where they held nothing.

True glory is forged by one’s own actions.

Though Huashan was currently in decline, under Lu Yuan’s hand, it would surely be restored to a brilliance that could rival Patriarch Yan’s era. Recalling how Song Qingqiao sat at the fore in the Zhenwu Hall meeting on Mount Wudang, how the heroes heeded his every command—in the future, Huashan would see such a sight again.

Lu Yuan sat on the grass of the (Xiaoyao Residence). He always preferred practicing martial arts amidst the heavens and earth, disliking confinement in a closed chamber. Cultivating in seclusion felt like being imprisoned, utterly lacking in true exhilaration or satisfaction.

Thirty-six ancient talismans gathered above his head.

These thirty-six ancient talismans were divided into the Five Elements.

Truthfully, if these were single-element talismans, Lu Yuan would have long since unified the thirty-six into one, advancing to the fourth level of the Grand Dao Realm. But precisely because they were Five Element ancient talismans, and their numbers were equal, with none significantly stronger or weaker than the others, they remained in a state of stalemate, preventing unification.

After cultivating thus for a long time, with a sudden pa, the thirty-six ancient talismans scattered once more. This stage had once again failed.

Achieving the unification of laws in the fourth level of the Grand Dao Realm was proving extraordinarily difficult; it would likely require much more time to grind through this barrier.

Lu Yuan moved his hand, pulling out a wine gourd. Before he could even twist open the mouth and take a sip, Shi Chaoyang entered, “Sect Master, the Sect Master of the Liancheng Immortal Sect has arrived at the mountain gate to issue a challenge. He is shouting, demanding that we, the Huashan Immortal Sect, surrender our position as a top-tier immortal sect.”

Lu Yuan placed great importance on cultivating the younger generation. Consequently, he had selected one disciple from each of the original Five Peaks to stay by his side, offering them pointers when he had time. These were Shi Chaoyang from the former East Peak, Mo Qianbian from South Peak, Yun Yi from North Peak, Song Nanshan from West Peak, and Tang Jing from the East Peak. He could assign tasks to them as needed.

Upon hearing the news, Lu Yuan frowned.

How audacious!

The Liancheng Immortal Sect dared to try and seize Huashan’s position as a top-tier sect. How interesting.

Mid-tier immortal sects also varied greatly in strength.

The weaker ones included the Snow Mountain Immortal Sect, the Blood Sword Immortal Sect, and the Xuanming Immortal Sect, each possessing only four or five figures at the Grand Dao Realm. Speaking of Xuanming Immortal Sect specifically, it was the weakest among the ten mid-tier sects. Xuanming should not have been so weak; however, Xuanmingzi was slain by Yan Cangtian in the past, severely crippling the sect at the hands of Yan Cangtian. Subsequently, the sect fractured into two factions, engaging in prolonged internal strife that drastically weakened them, culminating in their final destruction by Lu Yuan.

Among the mid-tier sects, however, were some exceptionally strong ones.

For example: the Qiandi Immortal Sect and the Liancheng Immortal Sect.

The Liancheng Immortal Sect possessed an exceedingly long history, rumored to have once been a top-tier sect. Their core cultivation method was the Shenzhao Xianlong Jing (Divine Radiance Manifesting Dragon Scripture), which granted the ability to manifest the power of a dragon—a formidable achievement in the Jin State Cultivation World. Combined with the Liancheng Sword Technique, their power was immense. Furthermore, the current generation of Liancheng had produced several talents, such as the rumored Qi Bufa, known for the technique ‘Iron Lock Across the River’—a move that trapped the enemy as if stranded in the middle of a river, unable to ascend or descend.

This mid-tier sect was arguably the strongest among its peers; one could say the Liancheng Immortal Sect led the ten mid-tier sects.

As an aside, it is worth briefly explaining the rules for immortal sect stratification. If a sect wishes to advance—for example, for a top-tier sect to upgrade to a large-scale immortal sect—there are two paths. The first is applying for promotion, as Chu Duan once did, and passing various rigorous assessments set by the Central Celestial Dynasty. Once all assessments are passed, promotion is granted, though this path is extremely arduous.

The second method is simply to seize the quota of a large-scale immortal sect. This requires defeating an existing large-scale sect and taking their quota, which results in an automatic upgrade, naturally causing the original large-scale sect to be demoted.

After all, the number of large-scale and top-tier sects a nation possesses directly correlates to the number of individuals it can send to the Hundred Kingdoms Assessment, and this number cannot be easily altered. Any change requires review by the Central Celestial Dynasty. However, if the total number remains constant, and quotas are merely exchanged amongst the sects themselves, the Central Celestial Dynasty lacks the capacity to micromanage such minor affairs.

The current situation was clear: the Liancheng Immortal Sect clearly believed that Huashan’s strength had waned considerably, with very few figures even reaching the fifth level of the Grand Dao Realm. Naturally, they had come to challenge them, intending to seize Huashan’s quota.

There was another contributing factor: Lu Yuan, aiming to prevent the tenth generation from fragmenting into the division of Five Peaks and Three Sects, had restricted the movements of the eighth generation, who held deep allegiances to the Five Peaks and Three Sects concepts, confining them unless under special exemption. Their confinement led many in the Cultivation World to assume that Huashan’s Grand Dao Realm fifth-level masters had almost all perished, leaving only Patriarch Zixia and Patriarch Yuanyang as the remaining fifth-level masters.

Lu Yuan smiled coldly. Since the Liancheng Immortal Sect had come knocking, it was time to teach them a serious lesson. Otherwise, they might genuinely believe that the Huashan Immortal Sect was a soft persimmon easily crushed.

This lesson needed to be severe.

Huashan had no new disciples to recruit.

They were given the fifth seat at the grand meeting. Huashan urgently needed to establish authority, and someone had conveniently presented themselves as a target for this demonstration.

This matter was excellent news!

(The National Day holiday ends today; novel updates continue with diligent effort.)