Qing Province, Southern Region.
Xuanqing Sect.
These days, Sect Master Yan Changkong and Great Elder Chen Xiu had been so busy their feet barely touched the ground.
It was exhausting, but exhilarating.
The Xuanqing Sect was now one of the wealthiest sects in all of Qing Province.
Whether it was selling information about the Great Emperor or charging the many cultivators who came to visit the Former Residence of the Great Emperor, the profits were staggering.
They were even more outrageous than mining a spirit vein.
After all, even if someone gave you a spirit vein, you would still need manpower to mine it.
The Xuanqing Sect, on the other hand, simply sat back and collected money.
Besides that, the whole sect had become much livelier, bustling with activity.
Its disciples had grown from a few thousand to more than ten thousand.
Nearly twice as many as before.
And that was with Yan Changkong exercising the utmost restraint. The sect had set extremely high standards for new recruits.
The other sects in Qing Province watched this unfold, green with envy.
They all secretly seethed, wondering why their own sects hadn't produced a Great Emperor.
One person had brought an entire sect to life.
That day, the Xuanqing Sect was bustling with activity. Sect Master Yan Changkong led a group of newly admitted disciples to the Former Residence of the Great Emperor.
The Former Residence had undergone a few more changes.
The grounds before the entrance had expanded a hundredfold, and the granite paving stones underfoot had been worn smooth.
Far too many people had come to visit.
A long sword hung suspended in the sky, its icy sword intent spreading over the area.
It inspired awe from afar.
Yan Changkong stepped forward, swept up his robe, and bowed deeply, saying respectfully:
"Ancestor Lin Feng!"
"This junior, Yan Changkong, has brought the newly admitted disciples to pay their respects to you!"
Behind him, the Great Elder and the others, along with all the newly admitted disciples, dropped to their knees with a thump.
"We pay our respects to Ancestor Lin Feng!"
This was a new rule the Xuanqing Sect had only recently established. From now on, every newly admitted disciple had to come and pay their respects to Ancestor Lin Feng.
Just as they were required to pay their respects to the founding patriarch, they now had to honor Lin Feng, a living Great Emperor.
The Xuanqing Sect's rise now rested entirely on him!
Of course they had to bow to him.
Once the ceremony was over, Yan Changkong stood on a stone platform, cleared his throat, and spoke in a ringing voice:
"New disciples, I'm delighted that you've joined the Xuanqing Sect family."
"I'm sure you've heard quite a bit these past few days about Ancestor Lin Feng's character and conduct, as well as his cultivation journey?"
Yan Changkong swept his gaze over them and said slowly, "Ancestor Lin Feng is a man of noble character, unwavering will, and refined tastes."
"He respects his teachers, gets along with his peers, and cherishes the sect!"
"Though blessed with extraordinary talent, he never lets it go to his head or uses it to put down his fellow disciples. I hope you'll remember that."
The new disciples below listened with rapt attention, nodding furiously in excitement.
Yan Changkong looked around, pleased. "Besides that, Ancestor Lin Feng's unwavering will to cultivate and his steadfast Dao heart are even more worthy of our study!"
"To practice swordsmanship, he could swing his sword a million times!"
"For the sake of a single spirit herb, he dared to venture alone into the Cloudfall Mountain Range to temper himself. This kind of perseverance and resolve is an essential quality for anyone pursuing the Great Dao and eternal life!"
Yan Changkong grew more and more impassioned. "Let us carry on the Great Emperor's spirit and bring glory to our sect!"
Great Elder Chen Xiu stood at the front of the crowd and raised his arm, shouting along!
Soon, everyone's voices surged like the roar of mountains and seas!
"Carry on the Great Emperor's spirit and bring glory to our sect!"
"Carry on the Great Emperor's spirit and bring glory to our sect!"
"Carry on the Great Emperor's spirit and bring glory to our sect!"
The sound lingered for a long time. At that moment, the Xuanqing Sect's unity had reached an unprecedented height.
The newly admitted disciples seemed to have found a sense of belonging all at once.
They had become part of the Xuanqing Sect.
Another half an hour passed!
Only then did Yan Changkong use his magical power to quiet the crowd. "As it happens, today is also the day the diary is revealed. Let's all watch the Great Emperor's Diary here together!"
"That way, we can carry on the Great Emperor's spirit even better!"
The disciples eagerly nodded in agreement, all thinking they had chosen the right place by joining the Xuanqing Sect.
The cultivation atmosphere here was excellent!
By now, nearly every sect had installed projection arrays to relay the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's Communication Array within their grounds.
That way, they could see the Great Emperor's Diary as soon as it appeared, while making it convenient for their disciples to watch.
Two birds with one stone.
After a short wait, a screen appeared above the array, and lines of text began to materialize across it.
"It's out!"
"Heh, what do you think Ancestor Lin Feng and Grandma Ancestor Ruoyu got up to in that cave?"
"What do you think? It already said it wasn't suitable for children..."
"They were young back then, after all. Who wasn't full of vigor at that age?"
"Ahem. Once I break through to Foundation Establishment and need to go out for training, I'll head to the Cloudfall Mountain Range too."
The Xuanqing Sect's disciples eagerly whispered among themselves.
Now, when they read the diary, their feelings had subtly changed. They no longer saw themselves as unrelated outsiders...
Instead, they read it as juniors learning about the experiences of their senior.
The feeling made them a little giddy, and all the more eager.
Yan Changkong stood on the steps, staring at the screen along with the group of elders.
"Ahem. I hope our ancestor doesn't let us down. He'd better give these new disciples a lesson!"
"Let his own experiences show them they must cultivate diligently. Even a Great Emperor has to weather all kinds of hardship before achieving greatness!"
Yan Changkong thought to himself. Still, he wasn't too worried. Lin Feng's achievements were already there for all to see.
He was an unrivaled Great Emperor, peerless in the world!
Surely the cultivation journey of a Great Emperor would be incredibly inspiring.
That was precisely why he had arranged this: to seize the opportunity to teach these exceptionally talented new disciples, who still carried a certain pride in their hearts, a lesson!
A moment later, the contents of the diary finally appeared in full.
Diary of the Immortal Great Emperor, page nine: [Unnoticed, I've been living in this cave for half a year.] [Ruoyu's injuries have healed, and she's nearly recovered her strength. That's good news.] [But I find myself reluctant to let her go.] [Now that she's healed, I know we'll soon part ways. From then on, we'll be worlds apart, and it'll be hard for us to meet again.] [Never mind. I should cherish every day we have right now!] [No heart for cultivation. I'm completely giving up and lazing around!] [Cultivation? Young people should learn to enjoy themselves. I might as well spend more time playing with Little Fish's... legs. Too bad she doesn't have Black Silk.] Diary of the Immortal Great Emperor, page ten: [As night fell, Ruoyu told me she was leaving.] [My heart clenched.] [That's right. I should return to the sect too. This trip for experience has gone on longer than I planned.] [It was raining, pouring hard.] [Ruoyu threw herself into my arms, wild with passion. We didn't stop until the next morning's sunlight streamed into the cave.] [Just before we parted, Ruoyu told me who she really was. She was from Central Province, the Saintess of some Holy Land!] [She wept as she told me I had to promise I'd go find her!] [Sigh. Seeing her so pitiful, I softened and agreed. I can't help it—I'm handsome, and Saintesses fall head over heels for me.] [Sore waist, numb legs, leaning on the wall as I left the cave...]
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