Fusheng Immortal Venerable

In the blink of an eye, another two weeks passed.

Chen Yan had also gradually adapted to life on Kongyuan Mountain.

For him, there was no real difference between being on Kongyuan Mountain or in the Outer Court.

It was just that his residence had gotten much larger, and the cuffs of his Daoist Robe now had gilded cloud-crane patterns. That was all.

The disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall had not come to cause trouble for Chen Yan.

No matter what, Song Wencheng was a Spirit 통 Realm cultivator, and some dignity was required.

To make a move against a junior like Chen Yan, who was merely in the Body Tempering Realm, would have been too unsightly.

Oh, no.

Chen Yan's current cultivation had already reached the Qi Condensation Realm.

Kongyuan Mountain, Shang Gong Hall.

An elder wearing a dark brown Daoist Robe stood behind the counter, using a brush in his hand to fill out receipts for Sect missions.

"Senior."

A handsome young man stood before the counter and cupped his fist towards the elder behind it.

"A new face?"

The elder glanced at the young man before continuing to write his receipts.

Unlike the Outer Court with its vast numbers, Kongyuan Mountain had only a little over a thousand cultivators in total.

In their daily cultivation, only disciples between the Qi Condensation Realm and the Qi Sea Realm needed to frequently interact with Shang Gong Hall.

Currently, there were about four hundred Outer Court Disciples whose cultivation was between the Qi Condensation Realm and the Qi Sea Realm.

The elder behind the counter was a supervisor disciple in Shang Gong Hall, with late-stage Martial Spring Realm cultivation.

The elder had been serving in Shang Gong Hall for over 170 years. It could be said that he recognized almost all the disciples on Kongyuan Mountain who were in the Qi Condensation Realm or above from the current generation.

"Yes, Junior was only recently promoted from the Outer Court to Kongyuan Mountain."

The young man replied.

"To have cultivated to the Martial Spring Realm in the Outer Court at this age is truly remarkable."

The elder exclaimed.

"No, Junior is not in the Martial Spring Realm, but the Qi Condensation Realm."

"Hmm?"

This surprised the elder. How could an Outer Court Disciple in the Qi Condensation Realm be promoted to the inner sect?

"Junior's name is Chen Yan. I hope Senior will guide me."

"Oh, Chen Yan."

Upon hearing the name, the elder suddenly understood.

On Kongyuan Mountain, no one was unfamiliar with this name.

Of course, it was by no means a compliment.

Fifteen years had passed since the previous Chief Disciple of Kongyuan Mountain had stepped down.

During these fifteen years, the position of Chief Disciple of Kongyuan Mountain had remained vacant.

This was because Kongyuan Mountain had never had someone like Chu Xiyao of Qingchan Peak, or Li Haowen of Yuanhua Mountain, who could look down upon all the disciples of the same generation on the mountain.

However, in recent years, the call to appoint a Chief Disciple to serve as the face of Kongyuan Mountain had grown louder.

Qi Yadong was one of the candidates for Chief Disciple.

Song Wencheng had also been consistently pushing for this process to move forward.

Until Qi Yadong was killed by Chen Yan with a single punch.

The news of Qi Yadong being killed by a punch from Lin Qifeng's disciple, who was the Sect Master's personal disciple, during the Outer Court Grand Competition, quickly spread throughout Kongyuan Mountain.

Of course, along with it spread the scandal of Lin Qifeng colluding with Chen Yan to cheat in the Outer Court Grand Competition.

This was the biggest farce that had occurred on Kongyuan Mountain, or even in the entire Empty Mountain Sect, in recent years.

Initially, the public opinion mostly targeted Lin Qifeng and Chen Yan's cheating. But later, it gradually shifted towards conspiracy theories.

For example, Qi Yadong's death was not an accident, but rather someone within the peak lineages did not want him to become the Chief Disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, and thus used Lin Qifeng and his disciple to eliminate him.

Of course, it was fine to gossip about these things behind people's backs. It was best to keep them to oneself when in front of the involved parties.

After all, there was no enmity or grudges. For those who were not involved, there was no need to slander others.

"For newcomers, you need to undergo a cultivation test first."

The elder said, then pushed a round, grey-black stone from the counter towards Chen Yan.

"Place your hand on it."

The elder instructed.

Chen Yan nodded, then did as the elder said.

He was actually a little nervous, as this was Chen Yan's first time using an instrument to check his cultivation.

The Hidden Immortal Art could deceive the eyes of any powerful cultivator, but could it deceive an instrument?

As Chen Yan placed his hand on the instrument, his palm began to sweat involuntarily.

"Early Qi Condensation Realm, you can accept some basic Sect missions."

The elder said.

Chen Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed there were no problems.

In his recent cultivation, Chen Yan discovered that the Hidden Immortal Art's effect wasn't just hiding his cultivation.

It was also a cultivation technique.

When circulating True Qi with the Hidden Immortal Art, the flow of True Qi through his meridians was much smoother than when using the Empty Mountain Art.

Moreover, the speed at which True Qi increased within his body was also getting faster and faster.

Chen Yan was certain that the Hidden Immortal Art was a higher-level cultivation technique compared to the Empty Mountain Art.

"Basic Sect missions include escorting, miscellaneous labor, and hunting some low-level Mo. Which type of mission do you prefer?"

The elder said.

"Are there any Sect missions in Taiyun City?"

Chen Yan asked.

"Taiyun City?"

"Yes, I've heard that Taiyun City is a major hub in the western region of the Qingque Kingdom, the foremost major city. Thus, I yearn to visit it while undertaking Sect missions."

Chen Yan said, cupping his hands.

"Cities of mortal dynasties are rather dull."

The elder said:

"Have you ever heard of immortal cities?"

"I have not."

"I've only heard rumors. It's said that north of the seas of the Chenping Continent, there is a solitary island, the place where Fusheng Immortal Venerable perished seventy thousand years ago."

"After Fusheng Immortal Venerable perished, his Dao charm merged with that solitary island. From then on, newborns on that island are at the Martial Spring Realm from birth."

Born at the Martial Spring Realm?

Chen Yan's eyes widened:

"Wait, seven thousand years ago, didn't Su Hongzhen also... in the Falling Sword Mountain Range..."

"Because Su Hongzhen didn't step through that threshold. However, it was precisely because he touched the threshold that he was severely wounded by heavenly tribulation and perished. Fusheng Immortal Venerable, on the other hand, was a True Immortal who roamed the Chenping Continent for tens of thousands of years. Until his death, he was the foremost immortal in the Chenping Continent. No, he still is after his death!"

The elder said.

"How did such a powerful being perish?"

Chen Yan asked.

"Due to Dao charm erosion."

The elder sighed:

"Theoretically, cultivators can live as long as heaven and earth after reaching the Ascended Immortal Realm. However, they still cannot escape the law of Dao charm erosion. As the Dao charm wears away, even an Immortal Venerable's immense cultivation will disintegrate, eventually vanishing into the heavens and earth."

This was the first time Chen Yan had heard of such a thing.

"After Fusheng Immortal Venerable perished, Fusheng City was established on that solitary island. Fusheng City is isolated from the world. It's rumored that the number of cultivators in the upper three realms within Fusheng City may even rival the combined total of the five major Sects of the Chenping Continent!"

The elder said:

"Furthermore, in recent years, there have been rumors that the secret as to why no one in the Chenping Continent has ascended to immortality since Su Hongzhen... is also related to Fusheng City."