The preparations for the investiture took a month, while the investiture itself lasted only a few dozen breaths. After Yulian left, a blinding ray of sunlight descended above Return to Truth Hall, adding a trace of warmth to the early spring chill.
Hong Yuan looked up at the sky, then walked down the steps and gave instructions to the nearby Taiyan Sect Qi practitioners. Cultivators below the Third Realm would be politely asked to leave the square. Though unwilling, they did not dare say much.
The remaining Third Realm cultivators still had to follow the rehearsed order, step forward to offer incense to the True Lord statues, then sit cross-legged around the statues and chant scriptures after finishing the incense offering. This process would last at least three days.
At ordinary Dharma assemblies, Qi practitioners handled this process, but this time the Third Realm cultivators had to do it personally. They were willing enough, seemingly believing that doing so might draw the True Lords' attention and let them soar into the heavens in a single bound.
Zi Luan and the other Fourth Realm cultivators headed to the Return to Truth Main Hall. Under the watchful gazes of the True Lord statues, they discussed numerous matters concerning the Ecological Zones in outer space and reached several verbal agreements.
Three days later.
The Dharma assembly on the high platform before Return to Truth Hall had ended, yet some of the Third Realm cultivators were still reluctant to leave. Wu Quan was among them. He wished to use this opportunity to increase his chances of advancing to the Fourth Realm; after all, he did not have much lifespan left.
Gan Qi, who had come with him, was far more decisive. On the day the Dharma assembly ended, he took his disciples and left