At Jade Spring Mountain's summit, the sea of clouds churned, purple qi rising from the east.
The morning bell rang nine times, its toll shaking a hundred miles, heard both within and beyond the mountain.
Upon the broad square before the Chen ancestral hall, Clan Chief Chen Tianheng, at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, stood at the forefront alongside three white-haired elders of the Tian generation, all Qi Refining cultivators.
Behind the four stood Chen Xingyuan, the current Chen Household head responsible for all clan affairs, along with the council of elders led by Great Elder Chen Xingzhou. All were late Qi Refining cultivators.
Further behind them stood nearly a hundred neatly dressed Chen descendants, their expressions either solemn or excited.
They stood in orderly ranks according to seniority and cultivation, silent as cicadas in winter. Only the mountain wind howled, stirring the emerald bamboo.
Chen Heng stood in the middle of the gathering, neither forward nor back, his expression calm.
As the saying went, he was neither delighted by external things nor saddened by himself.
Other than Foundation Establishment Ancestor Chen Tianjing, who was stationed at Little Bamboo Peak overseeing the Chen Household's spirit-mine excavation, and Foundation Establishment Ancestor Chen Tianrui, who held Southern Foothills Market and maintained order there—
Almost every Chen cultivator with a name to their name and time to spare had gathered here.
They attached such importance to this because the Chen Household's three Foundation Establishment Ancestors all belonged to the Tian generation.
Their seniority was exceedingly high, but so were their ages.
Foundation Establishment cultivators lived more than two hundred and forty years.
The three of them, however, had only a few decades left before reaching the end of their lifespan.
Chen Tianjing, the eldest among them, was already over two hundred years old. That was why he had volunteered to guard Little Bamboo Peak.
After all, with Azure Profound Sect cultivators present, the chances of mishaps such as demon upheavals or devil attacks were very small.
The Chen Household's grand display was chiefly meant to intimidate the surrounding forces.
To tell outsiders that the Chen Household had not declined.
After all, before this, not a single member of the Xing generation had reached Foundation Establishment.
Of course, in Chen Heng's view, Ninth Elder Chen Xingyuan still had a very high chance of reaching Foundation Establishment.
He merely needed more time—perhaps a few years, perhaps over a decade.
What he needed even more was a stable environment for cultivation.
Now, the Chen Household had produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had entered the Azure Profound Sect and cultivated lightning arts.
Even if Chen Xingyun would primarily serve the sect in the future, her mere existence was enough to deter many petty rats harboring designs on the Chen Household.
At this moment—
Everyone's gaze was fixed upon the eastern sky.
All at once—
The clouds on the horizon seemed to be swept apart by an invisible giant hand. A streak of silver light burst through them, swift as lightning and magnificent in momentum, trailing a long spiritual tail as it plunged straight toward Jade Spring Mountain!
A pure, vast pressure far surpassing that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators descended with a crash as the silver streak approached. Many early Qi Refining descendants found their breathing halt, their faces filled with shock and reverence.
The silver light abruptly stopped before the mountain gate archway. As its radiance receded, it revealed a female cultivator clad in the moon-white robes of an Azure Profound Sect inner disciple.
Her features were striking and bright, lightning gleaming in her eyes, her brows brimming with heroic spirit.
She stood tall as a sword drawn from its sheath, carrying an imposing air.
Her plain robes seemed cut from clouds, her wide sleeves flowing with the wind. Her aura was perfectly unified, faintly resonating with heaven and earth. It was none other than Chen Xingyun, who had successfully achieved Foundation Establishment.
She rode no artifact beneath her feet, but traveled on qi itself, graceful and unhurried.
"Congratulations to the Thirteenth Elder on successfully achieving Foundation Establishment. May your immortal path remain evergreen, and may your Dao journey be smooth and blessed!
"Strengthen our Chen Household, protect our home and land!"
Clan Chief Chen Tianheng clasped his hands in salute, his voice booming like a great bell, unable to conceal his excitement.
The rest of the Chen descendants bowed in unison. Their voices merged into a single wave that soared into the heavens, echoing repeatedly among the mountains as it was deliberately carried in every direction.
Chen Xingyun took one step forward. Silver light flashed, as though she had shrunk the earth to an inch. In an instant, she crossed dozens of yards and appeared before the clan chief, raising a hand in a gesture of support.
"Clan Chief, fellow clansmen, there is no need for such ceremony!"
"Without the Lineage's assistance, I would not have been able to gather enough contribution points to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill."
"Now that I have succeeded in Foundation Establishment, I have merely not failed the mission entrusted to me!"
Her gaze swept across every Chen descendant present. Seeing the anticipation and excitement in their eyes, warmth rose in her heart as well.
Chen Tianheng straightened, his eyes blazing. "Good! Good! Good!" He cried out three times in succession, his joy reaching its utmost height.
He then turned sideways and said solemnly, "Please, Thirteenth Elder, enter the ancestral hall and report your achievement to our forebears!"
Within the ancestral hall, the ceremony was simple yet solemn.
Incense was offered, and prayers were spoken.
A jade tablet engraved with the three characters "Chen Xingyun" was placed among the ranks of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
After the rites were complete, Chen Tianheng and the three clan elders escorted Chen Xingyun to the elevated platform in the square, where she faced all the clansmen.
Chen Xingyun swept her gaze across the excited, expectant faces below. Her voice was clear, yet every person heard it distinctly.
"By the grace of Azure Profound, the protection of the patriarchs, and the Lineage's support, I have successfully achieved Foundation Establishment and have become a true disciple of Lightning Roar Peak."
She paused briefly, and every breath below seemed to catch.
"According to sect regulations, true disciples may choose a spiritual site within Lightning Roar Peak and build their own cave abode."
The moment those words fell, a wave of hushed gasps rose from below.
This meant Chen Xingyun had entered the core ranks of the Azure Profound Sect, her status incomparably exalted.
Chen Xingyun continued, "The sect has bestowed upon me one Azure Profound Golden Token."
With a turn of her slender hand, a token the size of an infant's palm appeared. It was dark gold throughout, carved on the front with Dao patterns bearing the words "Azure Profound," while its reverse showed clouds winding around mountains. Under the sunlight, it flowed with extraordinary luster.
"Anyone holding this token may enter the Azure Profound Sect Outer Sect directly upon my recommendation, without undergoing the entry examination."
Hua—!
At last, the crowd could no longer suppress its commotion. Direct entry into Azure Profound!
What an opportunity was this! It was the path countless descendants of small families dreamed of, a single step to the heavens!
Countless gazes instantly turned scorching hot, staring fixedly at that tiny golden token.
Even Chen Heng, who had lived two lives, could not help looking at it several more times.
"Furthermore," Chen Xingyun's voice once again pressed down the commotion, "the sect has granted me two servant slots. They may enter the Azure Profound Sect with me to cultivate and attend at my side."
"Though these two will nominally be servants, they may in truth experience the atmosphere of the great sect in advance and cultivate its basic techniques. If their aptitude and temperament are outstanding, they may in the future advance into the Outer Sect, or even the Inner Sect!"
Another earth-shaking piece of news!
This was equivalent to two preparatory-class slots, likewise a shortcut into the Azure Profound Sect!
Below the platform, every Chen descendant, young or old, had flames of desire burning in their eyes.
Even Clan Chief Chen Tianheng and several elders breathed more quickly.
To the Chen Household, these two rewards were almost no less significant than gaining another Foundation Establishment cultivator!
They were the hope for the Lineage's future continuation and rise!
Chen Xingyun took in everyone's reactions and said deeply, "The candidates for the golden token and servant slots concern the Lineage's future. They must be decided only after careful discussion with the clan chief and all the elders. However!"
Her tone abruptly shifted, rising sharply with the distinctive pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. In a ringing voice, she declared, "From this day onward, the Chen Household of Jade Spring Mountain has four Foundation Establishment true cultivators!"
"And we have Lightning Roar Peak of the Azure Profound Sect as our support! Every Chen descendant must cultivate diligently without cease and bring glory to our household!"
"If any foreign enemy dares offend our clan's might or encroach upon our clan's property..."
Her eyes flashed like lightning as she seemingly casually swept her gaze across several distant directions. The divine senses secretly spying from those places were struck as if by thunder, retreating in panic at once.
"The lightning in my, Chen Xingyun's, palm, and the Azure Profound Sect's rules shall show absolutely no mercy!"
Her voice, bearing Foundation Establishment spiritual pressure, rolled outward and spread across the four wilds, reaching clearly the ears of every surrounding observer.
The square first fell silent, then erupted in heaven-shaking cheers!
"Thirteenth Elder is mighty!"
"Strengthen our Chen Household!"
"Heaven bless the Chen Household!"
The clansmen's morale soared, their faces flushed red with excitement.
The Chen Household had gained another Foundation Establishment cultivator—and one as young as Chen Xingyun, with an inner-sect Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Azure Profound Sect behind her. The Chen Household's standing would now be utterly different!
Those surrounding forces that had been eyeing them like tigers eyeing prey must surely be trembling in fear now!
Clan Chief Chen Tianheng looked at the valiant Chen Xingyun beside him, then at the boiling crowd of clansmen below. Boundless heroic fervor filled his chest, and his eyes grew faintly warm.
The Chen Household's declining momentum had finally been stopped!
And all of it had begun with the return of the Foundation Establishment cultivator upon that high platform.
Today's welcome was not merely to welcome a person, but to welcome this magnificent tide of fortune—to welcome the foundation of the Chen Household's century of prosperity!
Establishing might and name alike lay within this single welcome and declaration!
Before you continue