Azure Wutong's Invitation, Hope of Immortals and Mortals

After resting for a night at the Sihai Shipping Company's compound, Li Wei gathered Chen Yuan, Wang Meng, and Sun Yun into his room early the next morning, his expression grave.

"I just received a joint announcement from the City Lord's Mansion and the Martial Alliance," Li Wei said, his voice trembling with barely contained excitement and solemnity.

"The head of Tian Nan Prefecture's top clan, the Qingwu Shen Clan—Patriarch Shen Qingshan—will attempt a breakthrough to the Qi Eating Realm in five days at the ancestral grounds on Qixia Mountain outside the city!"

"The Qi Eating Realm?!" Wang Meng gasped sharply, his eyes bulging like copper bells, his voice cracking.

"By my ancestors, that's the true Immortal-Mortal Divide—shedding the mortal shell, condensing True Essence, and gaining a three-hundred-year lifespan!"

"If Old Master Shen succeeds, our Tian Nan Prefecture will have produced two genuine 'Qi Eating Immortal Masters' within a century. That's the kind of event that gets recorded in the Prefecture Annals!"

Sun Yun's breathing quickened, a blazing light of unprecedented fervor kindling in her usually cool eyes.

The Qi Eating Realm—the moon hanging above every martial artist's head, a dream countless pursued but never reached.

It meant a leap in life's hierarchy, the first glimmer of divine power, stepping into that mysterious and unfathomable realm of transcendence, with status beyond compare.

Chen Yuan's heart churned like a storm, pounding in his chest. A Blood Changing Realm Grandmaster was already an unattainable peak in his eyes; the Qi Eating Realm was the stuff of legends. He never imagined that, fresh in the prefectural city, he'd witness such an earth-shattering event!

Li Wei nodded firmly and continued, "What's rarer is that Old Master Shen is magnanimous this time, keeping nothing hidden. Through the Prefectural Office and the Martial Alliance, he's widely distributing Viewing Invitations to all influential powers and skilled independent cultivators in the city and surrounding counties."

"First, it's his benevolence—seizing this once-in-a-millennium chance to bless the younger generation, letting low-rank martial artists witness the aura of a high-level breakthrough up close and clarify their path forward. Second..." He paused, lowering his voice with a hint of complexity, "According to inside sources, Old Master Shen is over a hundred and thirty, already past the Lifespan Limit of an ordinary Blood Changing Realm."

"This breakthrough is a last resort, and his chances... are said to be far from certain. Perhaps... there's also an intention to borrow the 'human energy' gathered from the crowd's observation—the Power of the Crowd—to gamble on that faint thread of opportunity in the unseen."

Luck Borrowing Breakthrough—profound and arcane, recorded only in fragments within ancient texts. It spoke of the sincere will of ten thousand hearts, perhaps adding a sliver of ethereal success. Such secret arts were typically passed down only among major sects and noble clans.

Though the 'Power of the Crowd' couldn't be proven, at Old Master Shen's level, he wouldn't let any possibility slip by.

"The Shen Clan has stated that invitation holders may attend the viewing, provided they strictly observe order, maintain absolute silence, and cause no disturbance."

"This is a colossal opportunity. Witnessing a Blood Changing Realm Grandmaster at perfection attempt a breakthrough to the Qi Eating Realm—the shifts in energy, the clash of wills, even the possible celestial phenomena—will benefit our cultivation more than years of Arduous Cultivation!"

Li Wei's gaze swept over the three, carrying a question. "I happen to have a few invitations from the Martial Alliance's channels. Are you willing to come?"

"Go? Only a fool wouldn't!" Wang Meng jumped up first, rubbing his hands in excitement. "A scene like this—it's like myth becoming reality. Even if I don't understand it, just soaking in the immortal aura is worth it!"

Sun Yun didn't hesitate, her words sharp as a blade. "A gift from fate must not be squandered. Thank you, Senior Disciple Brother."

Chen Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing his surging excitement, and said in a steady voice, "This disciple is willing. Thank you, Senior Disciple Brother, for the opportunity!"

An event of this magnitude, tied to the path ahead—how could he miss it?

Over the next few days, the entire Tian Nan Prefecture city boiled with frenzied excitement and anticipation.

In every street and alley, tea house and tavern, everyone talked of nothing but Old Master Shen's breakthrough.

"Qi Eating Realm," "Shen Qingshan," "Qixia Mountain" became the hottest words.

Martial artists from all over the prefecture, and even neighboring counties, flooded in. Every inn in the city was nearly full, and prices crept upward.

The air itself hummed with a tense, electric anticipation, like a storm about to break.

Five days later, before dawn, Chen Yuan and the others followed Li Wei, merging into a bustling yet eerily quiet stream of people, leaving the city for Qixia Mountain in the eastern suburbs.

Qixia Mountain, named for the lingering sunset glow that graced it each evening, was not steep but brimmed with spiritual essence—one of Tian Nan Prefecture's famed blessed lands.

The Qingwu Shen Clan's ancestral grounds and major seclusion sites lay deep within, around Qingwu Peak.

At the mountain's base, the City Guard from the Prefectural Office and the Shen Clan's Azure Guards had already set up a cordon, with sentries every few paces, the atmosphere grim and forbidding.

All viewers had to present their invitations for verification before entering. Any items that could produce noise were strictly banned. Common folk and those without invitations could only stay at the foot of the mountain, gazing from afar.

As they climbed the quiet mountain path, the closer they got to the "Dengxia Platform" halfway up, the denser the spiritual energy in the air became, along with an intangible pressure.

When Chen Yuan and his group reached the Dengxia Platform, despite their mental preparation, the sight still stunned them.

The platform was vast, comparable to a small square, yet it was already packed with a sea of people.

In the area closest to the platform's center sat three meditation cushions. On the middle one was Shen Yuexin, the manager of the Green Wutong Tower whom Chen Yuan had met days ago. For some reason, the worry in her brows seemed even deeper now.

On the left cushion sat a young man in a Brocade Robe with Cloud and Rainbow Patterns, handsome but with a haughty, indifferent look in his eyes, seemingly at the Bone Forging Realm.

On the right cushion sat a woman in a matching Rainbow Skirt, beautiful but with a cold, sharp expression, her aura no weaker than the young man's. She sat with eyes closed, as if the world around her had nothing to do with her.

Behind them were dozens of chairs, reserved for the Prefectural Office's officials, the Martial Alliance's elders, representatives from various sects and clans, and Blood Changing Realm Grandmasters. Most were already seated, occasionally glancing forward and murmuring among themselves.

"...A storm is brewing."

A voice, like a sigh, rang directly in another's ear.

"The spiritual pulse awakening on Qingwu Peak, nurturing such a treasure—it was a blessing, but it's become the spark for disaster," another voice replied, tinged with helplessness.

"Some people reach too far. Their methods are ugly."

"Quiet. This matter is understood without words. The Prefect's intent is balance, not escalation. Today, only the viewing matters, nothing else."

"It's just hard on Old Shen. At his age, he could have..."

"Perhaps this is a brilliant gamble to find a way out of desperation. If he succeeds, the sky's the limit. If he fails... it'll preserve the clan's strength as much as possible, leaving embers behind. Better than being uprooted entirely and having the foundation seized."

"Hmph. I hear that sect sent a Core Disciple to 'observe,' calling it 'learning,' but in truth..."

"Say no more. The three on those cushions are today's 'witnesses.' That Shen girl's heart is probably shattered."

"I suspect the Luck Gathering Secret Technique that the Glimmering Light Sect traded for the viewing spot was deliberate. A single prefecture can't gather enough luck to aid a breakthrough."

"Just wait and see... the might of heaven and earth—how could mortals so easily fathom or borrow it? To force it would ultimately be..."

The exchange ended there. The few great figures once again lowered their eyes, noses aligned with hearts, as if entering meditation, no further sound escaping them.

After that came the dense crowd of standing figures—at a rough glance, over ten thousand people. All kept their voices low, craning their necks toward the platform's center, their gazes brimming with awe, anticipation, and curiosity.

A solemn, reverent atmosphere enveloped the entire scene, broken only by the rustle of wind through the forest.

Chen Yuan focused his eyes, straining to see the platform's center, which had clearly been meticulously prepared.

The ground was etched with an immensely complex and profound Spirit Gathering Array Pattern, now emitting a faint white glow, frantically drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surging from the mountain's various spirit veins, making the air at the platform's center so dense with qi it nearly coalesced into a visible, thin mist.

On the high platform, an old man in coarse linen robes, with white hair and beard, his face gaunt and ancient, sat cross-legged on a rush cushion.

His eyes were slightly closed, his expression calm, his breathing long and deep, as if merged with the mountain's very rhythm.

No formidable aura leaked from his body; he looked like an ordinary elder about to drift into sleep.

But everyone knew this was merely the calm before the storm.

This man was the day's protagonist—the Blood Changing Realm grandmaster at perfection, about to attempt breaching the chasm between mortal and immortal.

Shen Qingshan!