Qing Province, Southern Region.
Xuanqing Sect.
Sect Master Yan Changkong's hands trembled as he took out a bottle of pills and swallowed several in quick succession.
Calm Spirit Pills.
These pills could soothe people suffering from agitation, anxiety, insomnia, excitement, or unease.
"Phew..."
Yan Changkong refined the medicinal power within him. His trembling legs finally steadied a little.
A quarter of an hour later.
He straightened his robes and stepped out of the main hall.
"Sect Master!"
Great Elder Chen Xiu bowed and said nervously, "Just as you predicted, all the various factions have arrived!"
"The Holy Lands, Ancient Clans, Immortal Dynasty, and those super sects!"
Yan Changkong glanced at him and said in a low voice, "What are you panicking for? Guests have come from afar. We just need to do our duty. It's not as if they'll eat us alive!"
"The bigger the matter, the calmer we need to be!"
Only then did Great Elder Chen Xiu look a little more composed.
He thought to himself, No wonder he can be sect master, while I can only be an elder.
I'm no match for his bearing!
"Let's go!"
"Hmph, time to meet these super factions!"
With that, Yan Changkong strode ahead, taking advantage of the Great Elder not having caught up yet.
Without anyone noticing, he popped a few more Calm Spirit Pills.
Outside the mountain gate.
Several thousand Xuanqing Sect disciples looked tensely at the various demonic beast mounts, flying boats, dragon ships, Mystic Birds, and more that kept arriving in the sky.
They were facing a formidable enemy!
When Yan Changkong approached, they seemed to have found their backbone and hurriedly parted to make way for him.
"Guests have come from afar. Why are you all so nervous?"
Yan Changkong reprimanded them, then said to Great Elder Chen Xiu, "Turn off the Sect Protection Array. Is this any way to receive guests? Don't make us a laughingstock!"
If a fight really broke out, what use would the Sect Protection Array be against an enemy like this?
A waste of spirit stones!
The Great Elder hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly followed his instructions and ordered someone to shut down the array.
"Hahaha!"
Yan Changkong stepped forward and cupped his hands toward every direction in the sky, smiling as he said, "Fellow cultivators, your arrival brings splendor to our humble Xuanqing Sect!"
"However, there are so many of you, and our sect is small. I'm afraid we may not be able to host you properly. Please forgive us."
High above the ninth heaven.
A middle-aged woman in a plain dress emerged from a colorful cloud of lotus flowers. She smiled gently and said:
"Master Yan, you're too kind! We came uninvited, so we're the ones who should apologize."
"This matter is simply too important. We had no choice but to come."
She was from the Jade Pool Holy Land.
Just then, a proud-looking young man in a purple robe stepped out of a massive tower ship.
Banners fluttered above the ship.
They bore the emblems of the three great Cultivation World Ancient Clans: the Jiangs, the Zuos, and the Huas.
Jiang Youlong's lips were thin. He swept his narrow eyes over Yan Changkong and said coldly:
"Stop wasting time!"
"Hand over all the information you have on the Immortal Great Emperor. And take us along to experience the Great Emperor's path of cultivation for ourselves!"
A trace of displeasure flashed in Yan Changkong's eyes, but he beamed and said:
"Of course! Of course!"
"To be honest, I've already prepared all the information. There's nothing false in it, and I'll hand it out for everyone to read right away."
As he spoke, Yan Changkong added with some difficulty, "However, I'm afraid we can't let this many people enter and experience the Great Emperor's path of cultivation!"
Everyone who had come today belonged to the most powerful factions in the Cultivation World.
Together, they numbered well over ten thousand.
There was no way so many people could experience the path the Great Emperor had once walked all at once.
In the end, after discussions among the various factions,
they decided that each faction would send only two people into Xuanqing Sect, while the rest waited where they were.
At this point, Yan Changkong had already had the information on the Great Emperor that they'd recently prepared distributed.
As a result, this caused no trouble at all.
The woman from the Jade Pool Holy Land was named Liu Piaopiao. She gave Yan Changkong an approving look.
She thought, Although his cultivation isn't high, he's certainly a quick-witted person.
Soon, several thousand copies of the Great Emperor's information had been handed out.
Although there weren't enough copies for everyone, every faction had received some, so no disputes broke out.
Everyone looked through the documents and began discussing them animatedly.
"So the Immortal Great Emperor was called Lin Feng?"
"What a great name!"
"No wonder he became a Great Emperor. He was so kindhearted—he'd even bring injured little demonic beasts back to the sect for treatment."
"Exactly! The Great Emperor also regularly invited his fellow disciples to visit the sect's senior elders, show them some warmth, and offer their best wishes! That's rare!"
"He cared for his fellow disciples and respected his teachers. Whenever anything happened to the sect, he was always the first to rush to the front!"
The disciples from the various factions pored over the thick documents, which ran to tens of thousands of words.
They were utterly engrossed.
Every so often, they leaned together to exchange a few words.
"Look at this!"
"My heavens! To master a sword technique, the Great Emperor used the same stance to swing his sword a million times!"
"Such incredible perseverance! No wonder he became a Great Emperor!"
"Besides cultivating, he also advocated caring for the sect's environment and not trampling flowers and grass..."
"The sect is our home; protecting it is everyone's responsibility!"
"Peerless talent, unshakable perseverance, and a pure heart all at once!"
"Sure enough, no one becomes a Great Emperor by chance. We must keep this in mind!"
Liu Piaopiao finished reading the documents in her hands and felt deeply moved.
Suddenly!
She thought of something and turned to Yan Changkong. "Sect Master Yan, are your sect's records of outer disciples always this detailed?"
At her words, quite a few people looked over.
That was true!
An outer disciple shouldn't need such detailed records, should he?
The documents ran to tens of thousands of words!
They even recorded the day he was in a bad mood and ate one less bowl of rice.
Yan Changkong didn't bat an eye as he shook his head.
"Of course not. We have countless outer disciples. How could we keep such detailed records on every one of them?"
Silence fell.
Everyone waited for him to continue.
Nearby, Great Elder Chen Xiu's gaze wandered as he secretly wiped away a cold sweat.
Yan Changkong's expression turned solemn. "But the Great Emperor wasn't an ordinary outer disciple!"
"In fact, he'd already shown peerless talent back then!"
"We arranged for him to be an outer disciple to protect him. You know, we're only a small sect..."
His words eased the tension a little.
That made sense.
"Besides, his subsequent cultivation proved it. His rate of growth was beyond compare."
"Every single thing he did had profound significance for the sect!"
"Without a doubt, he became the backbone of our Xuanqing Sect—more important even than the sect master."
Yan Changkong spoke with great assurance. "So, when someone has played such an important role in the sect..."
"Shouldn't we keep a detailed record of him?"
Silence fell again, but quite a few people were already nodding to themselves.
Liu Piaopiao smiled. "You're right, of course! I was presumptuous. Please forgive me, Sect Master Yan."
Yan Changkong waved a hand and shot the Great Elder an inconspicuous glare.
He cursed inwardly, I asked you to polish it a little, and you went and wrote a whole biography?
Then he turned back to the crowd and said, "All right, you've had a good look!"
"Next, why don't we go visit the Former Residence of the Great Emperor?"
Liu Piaopiao and the leaders of the various factions exchanged glances, their expressions grave.
The Former Residence of the Great Emperor!
That was where the Immortal Great Emperor had once lived.
There might be some important clues there!
Before you continue