Yangchun Baixue Creates Rainbow Bridge, Myriad Immortal Qi Gathers at Divine Peak

It was dusk, the setting sun casting its glow over layered peaks, its radiance spilling across the Myriad Mountains.

Not far from the Ice Wind Forest, within a lush, towering mountain, two groups of people had gathered. The two leaders sat facing each other on a cliff, gazing into the distance at the sunset, chatting and laughing with ease.

"Brother Shaoyu, have you looked into the origins of that group?"

"Not yet. I lost a good man to them—his death was gruesome, likely from snake venom. The methods resemble those of the Five Poison Sect."

"The Five Poison Sect? Since the Five Poison Lord died, they've been nothing more than a few stray cats and dogs. How could they even have an invitation?"

"It might not be the Five Poison Sect."

"Oh?"

The goat-bearded Old Man's eyes flashed with a sharp glint. He turned to look at Shao Yu Feng, whose hair was thinning but whose features remained handsome, and gave a faint smile. "In the Martial World of the Nanxun Kingdom, when it comes to gathering intelligence, no one surpasses the Solitary Forest Villa you built, Brother Shaoyu. It seems you already have some guess about that group's origins?"

Shao Yu Feng, elegant and carefree, waved his feather fan calmly. "Two months ago, Chen Dengming, the head of the Chen family, vanished from the Chen estate without a trace. Before that, a group of skilled fighters who had never appeared in the Martial World suddenly showed up near the Ice Wind Forest. All of them came from the south. Among the southern martial forces capable of training such people, there are three families. One of them is your Nangong family, Brother. Another I know quite well. Only the Chen family..."

The Old Man narrowed his eyes. "The world's eighth, Chen Dengming."

Shao Yu Feng gave a faint, flat smile. "The world's first may not be first, and the world's eighth may not be eighth. Everyone says Chen Dengming earned the ruler's praise, was granted the title Nanxun Saber King, and serves as the Grand Tutor—a man at the height of his glory. But who knows if this Hidden Dragon is willing to bow to the True Dragon? He ascends the peak, surveys the mountains. Silent until he strikes, then startling the world. Chen Dengming has kept a low profile for years, rarely acting, and when he does fight, he wins by only a narrow margin. Though he's called the Nanxun Saber King and seems most skilled in the Blade Dao, his martial arts are incredibly diverse—yet diverse and refined. He's someone I can't see through."

The Old Man was taken aback, then laughed. "In all the world, few earn such praise from you, Brother Shaoyu. And someone you can't see through is even rarer. It seems this world's eighth is no small matter. If he has an invitation, we'd best not set our sights on him."

"Not necessarily."

Shao Yu Feng sighed. "If he really has an invitation, it seems we have no choice but to set our sights on him. Aside from you and me, among the other five, we've already joined forces to defeat the Arctic Elder—but he doesn't have an invitation. As for the other four, which one of them is simple? Only this eighth is a newly advanced innate master, and he only reached that stage at sixty-five. Clearly, his martial talent isn't strong, and the Chen family's foundation is the shallowest..."

"Enough!"

The Old Man shook his head, then nodded, letting out a wry laugh. "A true immortal descending to the world is a once-in-a-century event. Even the kingdom's ruler was willing to send two Princes. How could you not fight for it? It's a pity my foundation is ruined, and I don't have many years left. I only hope that if you succeed, Brother Shaoyu, you won't forget what you promised me."

Shao Yu Feng replied, "Don't worry, Brother Nangong. If I get in, I'll surely look after your descendants. If I truly attain immortality, the next batch of invitations will include one for your Nangong family. If I'm not fated for the Immortal Path, the Shaoyu family's many land deeds and properties are useless to me anyway—some have already been handed over to you."

Nangong laughed heartily, his mood soaring.

He didn't have many years left, and his martial foundation was destroyed. Even if he held an invitation, it would only be to support a younger generation entering the Ascension Convention. He was willing to fight tooth and nail for his descendants, but handing over the invitation outright as a trade was out of the question. So he had agreed to help Shao Yu Feng seize another's invitation, with the deal being that Shao Yu Feng would care for his family's disciples and secure benefits for the clan. The Shaoyu family had once been a brother clan to the Nangong family, and their ties remained close and trustworthy.

Two and a half months passed in the blink of an eye.

It was now high summer.

Tens of millions of rays of light pierced through the clouds, striking the mountains of the Ice Wind Forest. In an instant, the distant peaks and nearby ridges, covered in patches of ice and snow, were all illuminated into crystalline transparency, like a mountain forest carved from pure white, glittering snowstone.

On this day, deep within the Ice Wind Forest, a scene of utterly bizarre transformation finally occurred.

On the mountaintops, as if from the touch of sunlight and snow, a reaction like spring snow melting took hold. A layer of mist, like rain and fog, floated up, shrouding each peak in dreamlike haze and rainbows, as if a celestial realm had descended.

Such a spectacle had occurred in the Ice Wind Forest during past summers. But this time was different. All the drifting mist eventually converged toward one direction, gradually forming a dragon-sucking-water-like siphon effect, slowly creating a massive pillar connecting heaven and earth. That pillar was formed of mist, with sunlight shining into it—murky yet mysterious—reaching straight into the clouds, as if shaping a colossal mountain cliff.

"Misty Cliff!?"

"Ice Wind Forest... Misty Cliff?"

"Search all day for the cliff, find no trace; today I look up and see the Heavenly Dragon. Spring snow gives birth to a Rainbow Bridge; ten thousand strands of Immortal Qi gather at the divine peak. So this is Misty Cliff?"

Within the Ice Wind Forest, figures emerged from every corner, lifting their heads in awe at the Misty Cliff that connected heaven and earth, unable to believe their eyes. Then, some realized—were they supposed to climb this mist-formed mountain? How could that be possible? Even with peerless lightness skills riding the wind, the fierce winds at such heights would be biting cold. One misstep, blown down by the gale, and they'd be shattered to pieces. The path to immortality, treading the Immortal Path—was it truly so impossibly difficult for mortals?

At this thought, even martial grandmasters couldn't help but tremble inwardly, their faces turning pale.

But most of those who had come, after their initial shock and daze, quickly steeled their resolve. Unwavering, they used their lightness skills to race toward the highest peak beneath Misty Cliff. Since it was said that holding an invitation allowed entry into the Ascension Convention, perhaps it wouldn't require such a heaven-scaling feat. Maybe the invitation possessed some kind of miraculous guiding power?

A few days later.

Several dozen people had already reached the peak beneath Misty Cliff. Among them were many of the world's top experts. Some had come alone, while others brought younger members of their families.

Three of them were Xiantian Grandmasters from the previous era, so old their teeth were nearly falling out.

Many had assumed they'd already died of old age in some remote mountain forest, yet here they appeared again, posing a grave threat even to Nangong Shuo, the head of the Nangong Family.

He had thought himself, at one hundred and two, the oldest and most profound in cultivation among the current eight Xiantian Grandmasters.

He never expected the old-timers from the last generation to still be alive—some of them were figures whose exploits he'd grown up hearing about, at least one hundred and thirty years old or more.

He wanted to test these undying ancients, to help Shao Yu Feng seize the invitation and see if age had drained their strength. But when he met their icy gazes, fear held him back.

The two conferred privately, concluding that these old relics might have banded together. With few years left, the Ascension Convention was their only chance—anyone who tried to take their invitations would face a fight to the death.

"Chen Dengming hasn't shown up yet. Wait a little longer. Let's first probe whether the others' skills have declined."

Nangong Shuo and Shao Yu Feng exchanged secret transmissions. As their eyes swept over the other Xiantian Grandmasters of equal renown, a desire to test them stirred.

Even though Nangong Shuo fancied himself the foremost Xiantian, with the deepest cultivation, he dared not underestimate his peers. Any move would begin with a probing strike, leaving room to retreat without burning bridges.