After resting for a night at the Sihai Shipping Company's residence, Li Wei gathered Chen Yuan, Wang Meng, and Sun Yun in his room early the next morning, his expression grave.
"I've just received a joint notice from the City Lord's Mansion and the Martial Alliance." Li Wei's voice carried barely restrained excitement and solemnity.
"The head of Tian Nan Prefecture City's foremost great lineage, Old Master Shen Qingshan of the Qingwu Shen Clan, will attempt to break through to the Qi Eating Realm at the clan's ancestral grounds on Qixia Mountain outside the city in five days!"
"The Qi Eating Realm?!" Wang Meng sharply sucked in a breath, his eyes widening as large as brass bells, his voice changing pitch.
"Good heavens, that's the true Immortal-Mortal Divide! Shedding the mortal body, condensing True Essence, and living for three hundred years!"
"If Old Master Shen succeeds, Tian Nan Prefecture will have produced two true Qi Eating Immortal Masters within a century! This is a momentous event worthy of being recorded in the Prefecture Annals!"
Sun Yun's breathing suddenly quickened, unprecedented fiery light blooming in her cool eyes.
The Qi Eating Realm was the bright moon hanging above every martial artist's head, the dream countless people pursued all their lives yet could never reach.
It signified a leap in one's level of life, the first emergence of divine abilities and mighty power, a true step into that mysterious and unfathomable transcendent realm, where one's status would be exalted beyond compare.
Chen Yuan's heart, too, was roiled by towering waves. His heart hammered in his chest. Blood Changing Realm Grandmasters had already seemed impossibly lofty to him, while those in the Qi Eating Realm were figures from legend. He had never expected to encounter such a heaven-shaking event so soon after arriving in the prefectural city!
Li Wei nodded heavily and continued, "Even rarer is that Old Master Shen is broad-minded this time and has not kept things to himself. Through the Prefectural Office and the Martial Alliance, he has broadly distributed Viewing Invitations to every notable force in the prefectural city and surrounding prefectures and counties, as well as capable Rogue Cultivators."
"First, Old Master Shen is benevolent and wishes to use this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity to bless the younger generation, allowing low-level martial artists like us to witness the phenomena of a high-level breakthrough up close and clarify the road ahead. Second..."
He paused, lowering his voice even further, a trace of complexity in it. "According to internal information, Old Master Shen is already over one hundred and thirty years old, beyond the Lifespan Limit of an ordinary Blood Changing Realm cultivator."
"This breakthrough is truly something he has no choice but to attempt. I've heard his certainty of success is far from absolute. Perhaps... he also intends to borrow the 'human vitality' gathered by the crowd of spectators, using the Power of the Crowd to gamble on that sliver of life hidden in the unseen."
Luck Borrowing Breakthrough was mysterious beyond mystery. Ancient records contained only scattered mentions of it, saying that the sincere thoughts of tens of thousands united as one might increase the faint, ethereal chance of success by a thread. Such secret methods generally circulated only among great sects and Aristocratic Clans.
Though this "Power of the Crowd" could not be proven, at Old Master Shen's level, he would not let even the slightest possibility slip away.
"The Shen Clan has made it clear that anyone holding an invitation may go and observe, provided they strictly maintain order, remain absolutely silent, and cause no disturbance whatsoever."
"This is a heaven-sent opportunity. To witness in person a perfected Blood Changing Realm Grandmaster charging toward the Qi Eating Realm—the changes in his aura, the clash of his will, even the possible heavenly phenomena—will benefit our cultivation more than years of bitter training!"
Li Wei swept his gaze across the three of them, his eyes questioning. "I happen to have several invitations obtained through Martial Alliance channels. Are you willing to go with me?"
"Of course! Only a fool wouldn't go!" Wang Meng was the first to leap to his feet, rubbing his hands in excitement. "A scene like this is practically myth stepping into reality. Even if we can't understand it, we can at least go soak up some immortal aura!"
Sun Yun did not hesitate in the slightest. "This opportunity has been bestowed by heaven. We cannot afford to miss it. Thank you, Senior Disciple Brother."
Chen Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart. "This disciple is willing to go. Thank you, Senior Disciple Brother, for making it possible!"
How could he miss such a grand event, one that concerned the path ahead?
Over the following days, the entire Tian Nan Prefecture City fell into a boiling fervor of excitement and anticipation.
On streets and in alleys, in teahouses and taverns, everyone discussed Old Master Shen's breakthrough.
"Qi Eating Realm," "Shen Qingshan," and "Qixia Mountain" became the hottest words on everyone's lips.
Martial artists from all across the prefectural city and even the surrounding prefectures and counties swarmed in. Nearly every inn in the city was full, and prices quietly began to rise.
Even the air seemed steeped in the tension and excitement of a mountain rain about to descend.
Five days later, before dawn had broken, Chen Yuan and the others followed Li Wei out of the city, moving with a bustling yet strangely silent stream of people toward Qixia Mountain in the eastern outskirts.
Qixia Mountain had earned its name from the beautiful sight of evening clouds lingering there at every sunset. Its terrain was not especially steep, yet it was blessed by the spirits of heaven and earth, one of Tian Nan Prefecture's renowned spiritual lands.
The ancestral grounds of the Qingwu Shen Clan, along with its important cultivation seclusion grounds, lay around Qingwu Peak deep within the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, the City Guard from the Prefectural Office and the Shen Clan's Azure Guards had already set up a cordon. There was a sentry every five steps and a guard post every ten, the atmosphere grim and murderous.
Every observer had to present a verified invitation before entering. Carrying any object that might create noise was strictly forbidden, while ordinary people and those without invitations could only remain at the foot of the mountain and gaze upward from afar.
As they followed the tranquil mountain path upward, the closer they came to Dengxia Platform halfway up the mountain, the more they could feel the dense Spiritual Essence in the air and an invisible pressure.
When Chen Yuan and his group arrived at Dengxia Platform, even though they had prepared themselves mentally, they were still shaken by the sight before them.
The platform was extraordinarily vast, comparable to a small plaza, yet it was already packed shoulder to shoulder with people.
In the area closest to the center of the platform were three meditation cushions. Seated on the middle one was none other than Shen Yuexin, the proprietor of Green Wutong Tower whom Chen Yuan had met several days earlier. For some reason, the worry between her brows was now even deeper.
A young man and woman sat on the other two cushions. On the cushion to the left sat a handsome young man dressed in a Brocade Robe with Cloud and Rainbow Patterns. His gaze carried a measure of arrogance and indifference, and he appeared to possess Bone Forging Realm cultivation.
On the cushion to the right sat a woman in a Rainbow Skirt of the same style. She was beautiful, her expression cold and stern, and her aura was not the slightest bit inferior to the young man's. Her eyes were closed as if all things around her had nothing to do with her.
Behind them stood several dozen chairs, prepared for important figures such as officials from the Prefectural Office, elders of the Martial Alliance, representatives of various sects and lineages, and Blood Changing Realm Grandmasters. More than half were already occupied, their occupants occasionally looking ahead and whispering to one another.
"...A mountain rain is about to descend."
A voice like a sigh sounded directly in another person's ear.
"Qingwu Peak's Spiritual Essence has revived and birthed such a treasure. It should have been a blessing, yet it has become the spark that kindled disaster." Another voice responded, tinged with helplessness.
"Some people have stretched their hands too far. The way they eat is ugly."
"Quiet. It is enough that we understand this without speaking of it. The Prefect Lord's intention is balance, not escalation. Today, we observe the ceremony and discuss nothing else."
"Only, poor Old Brother Shen. At such an advanced age, he could have already..."
"This may not be a brilliant move to seek survival from a desperate corner. If he succeeds, the sea will be broad and the sky vast. If he fails... he can still preserve the lineage's vitality to the greatest extent and leave behind a spark. Better that than being uprooted entirely and having their foundation seized."
"Hmph. I hear that clan sent a Core Disciple to 'observe.' They call it 'drawing lessons,' but in truth, hmph."
"See through it, but do not say it aloud. The three on those cushions are today's 'witnesses.' That Shen Clan girl must have her heart twisted to pieces."
"I think the Luck Gathering Secret Technique that the Glimmering Light Sect used to trade for an observation spot was deliberate as well. In a mere prefecture, there is simply no way to gather enough luck to aid a breakthrough."
"Just watch... How can the might of heaven and earth be so easily fathomed and borrowed by mortals? To force it is ultimately..."
The exchange came to an abrupt stop. The several great figures once again watched their noses and contemplated their hearts, as still as if in meditation, with no further sound emerging.
Beyond them stood a dense, black mass of people. A rough estimate put their number at over ten thousand. Everyone kept their voices low and craned their necks toward the center of the platform, their eyes filled with reverence, anticipation, and curiosity.
A solemn and dignified atmosphere blanketed the entire scene. Only the faint rustling of wind passing through the trees could be heard.
Chen Yuan focused his eyesight and looked toward the center of the platform, which had clearly been carefully arranged.
The ground was inscribed with incomparably complex and profound Spirit Gathering Array Patterns. They emitted a faint white radiance as they frantically drew in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth flowing from the mountain's spiritual veins, making the Spiritual Essence at the center of the platform so dense that it had nearly formed a thin mist visible to the naked eye.
Upon the high platform, an elderly man dressed in coarse hempen robes sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. His beard and hair were entirely white, and his face was lean, ancient, and unadorned.
His eyes were lightly closed, his expression serene, his breathing long and deep, as though it had merged with the rhythm of the entire mountain.
No powerful aura leaked from his body. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary old man about to fall asleep.
Yet everyone knew this was merely the stillness before the storm.
This man was the protagonist of the day, a perfected Blood Changing Realm Grandmaster about to attempt to knock upon the heavenly chasm between immortals and mortals.
Shen Qingshan!
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