Fusheng Immortal Venerable

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

Chen Yan had gradually grown accustomed to life on Kongyuan Mountain.

To him, there was really no difference between living on Kongyuan Mountain and living in the Outer Court.

His residence was just a lot bigger, and his robe's cuffs now bore gilded Cloud Crane patterns. That was all.

The Law Enforcement Hall's disciples hadn't come looking for trouble with Chen Yan.

After all, Song Wencheng was a Spirit Tong Realm cultivator. He deserved at least some dignity.

Going after a junior like Chen Yan, who was merely at the Body Tempering Realm, would be rather too ugly.

Oh, no, that wasn't right.

Chen Yan's cultivation had already reached the early stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

Kongyuan Mountain, Shang Gong Hall.

An old man in a greenish-brown Daoist robe stood behind the counter, filling out a receipt for a sect mission with the writing brush in his hand.

"Senior."

A handsome young man stepped up to the counter and cupped his fist toward the old man behind it.

"New face?"

The old man glanced at the young man, then continued filling out the receipt.

Unlike the Outer Court, with its enormous population, Kongyuan Mountain had only a little over a thousand cultivators in all.

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

At present, there were roughly four hundred Outer Court Disciples whose cultivation ranged from the Qi Condensation Realm to the Qi Sea Realm.

The old man behind the counter was a Consular Disciple at Shang Gong Hall, with cultivation at the late stage of the Martial Spring Realm.

He had served at Shang Gong Hall for over a hundred and seventy years. It was fair to say that he knew almost every disciple on Kongyuan Mountain whose cultivation was above the Qi Condensation Realm.

"Yes. I only recently advanced from the Outer Court to Kongyuan Mountain."

The young man replied.

"To reach the Martial Spring Realm while still in the Outer Court at your age—that's quite impressive."

The old man praised him.

"No, I'm not at the Martial Spring Realm. I'm at the Qi Condensation Realm."

"Hmm?"

That surprised the old man. How had an Outer Court Disciple at the Qi Condensation Realm advanced to the inner sect?

"This junior is Chen Yan. I hope you'll give me your guidance, Senior."

"Oh, Chen Yan."

At the sound of that name, the old man suddenly understood.

No one on Kongyuan Mountain was unfamiliar with it.

Of course, not in a flattering way.

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

For all those fifteen years, the position of Chief Disciple on Kongyuan Mountain had remained vacant.

That was because Kongyuan Mountain had never had anyone like Chu Xiyao of Qingchan Peak or Li Haowen of Yuanhua Mountain, someone capable of looking down on every disciple of the same generation on their peak.

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

Qi Yadong had been one of the candidates for Chief Disciple.

Song Wencheng had also been pushing the process forward all along.

That was, until Chen Yan killed Qi Yadong with a single punch.

The news that Qi Yadong had been killed with one punch at the Outer Court Grand Competition by a disciple of Lin Qifeng, a personal disciple of the Sect Master, spread rapidly throughout Kongyuan Mountain.

Of course, rumors of Lin Qifeng and Chen Yan conspiring to cheat at the Outer Court Grand Competition spread along with it.

It was the biggest farce on Kongyuan Mountain—or, for that matter, in the entire Empty Mountain Sect—in recent years.

At first, most of the criticism had targeted Lin Qifeng and Chen Yan for conspiring to cheat. But gradually, it began drifting toward conspiracy theories.

For instance, Qi Yadong's death hadn't been an accident at all. Someone within the peak's lineage hadn't wanted him to become Kongyuan Mountain's Chief Disciple, so they'd used Lin Qifeng and his disciple to get rid of him.

Of course, it was one thing to whisper about these things behind people's backs. It was best to swallow them whole in front of those involved.

There was no need to provoke someone when you had no grudge against them and weren't looking for trouble.

"If you're new, you'll need to take a cultivation test first,"

the old man said. He then pushed a round, dark-gray stone across the counter toward Chen Yan.

"Put your hand on it."

Chen Yan nodded and did as the old man instructed.

He was actually a little nervous. This was the first time Chen Yan had used an instrument to test his cultivation.

The Hidden Immortal Art could fool the eyes of any mighty cultivator—but could it fool an instrument?

As Chen Yan rested his hand on the device, his palm began to sweat.

"Early stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. You can take on some basic sect missions,"

the old man said.

Chen Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed there was no problem.

During his recent cultivation, Chen Yan had discovered that the Hidden Immortal Art didn't merely conceal his cultivation.

It was also a cultivation method.

When he circulated his true qi using the Hidden Immortal Art, it flowed through his meridians far more smoothly than when he used the Empty Mountain Art.

And the rate at which his true qi grew was getting faster and faster.

Chen Yan was certain that the Hidden Immortal Art was a cultivation method of a much higher level than the Empty Mountain Art.

"Basic sect missions include escorting goods, doing odd jobs, and hunting low-level Demonic Beasts. Which kind are you more interested in?"

the old man asked.

"Are there any sect missions in Taiyun City?"

Chen Yan asked.

"Taiyun City?"

"Yes. I've heard that Taiyun City is a key stronghold in the Western Regions of the Qingque Kingdom, as well as its largest city. I've long wanted to visit, so I was hoping to do some sightseeing while carrying out a sect mission."

Chen Yan cupped his hands.

"Cities in mortal kingdoms are terribly dull,"

the old man said.

"Have you ever heard of an immortal city?"

"I haven't."

"I've only heard of it myself. The story goes that beyond the northern seas of Chenping Continent, there's a lonely island—the place where Fusheng Immortal Venerable fell seven thousand years ago.

"After Fusheng Immortal Venerable fell, his Dao Rhyme merged with that lonely island. From then on, every child born on the island was at the Martial Spring Realm from birth."

At the Martial Spring Realm from birth?

Chen Yan's eyes widened.

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

"Because Su Hongzhen never took that final step. But it was precisely because he had brushed against the threshold that he was struck down by the tribulation. Fusheng Immortal Venerable, on the other hand, was a True Immortal who had dominated Chenping Continent for tens of thousands of years. Until the day he died, he was the foremost figure in the Immortal Dao of Chenping Continent. No—even after his death, he still is!"

The old man explained.

"How did such a mighty cultivator die?"

Chen Yan asked.

"Because his Dao Rhyme wore away."

The old man sighed.

"In theory, after reaching the Ascension Realm, cultivators can live as long as Heaven and Earth. But they still can't escape the law of Dao Rhyme wearing away. As their Dao Rhyme erodes, even an Immortal Venerable's power, great enough to reach the heavens, will crumble apart and eventually vanish from the world."

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

"After Fusheng Immortal Venerable fell, a city called Fusheng City arose on that lonely island. Fusheng City is isolated from the world. It's said that the number of Upper Three Realms cultivators there is no less than the combined number in the Five Great Sects of Chenping Continent!"

The old man continued:

"And in recent years, there's been a rumor that the reason no one has ascended since Su Hongzhen—that the secret behind it—may also have something to do with Fusheng City."