Arranging the Dao Seed

Chu Ming turned a deaf ear and simply walked to the resting area, where he sat down cross-legged.

Qingwei settled beside him and asked softly, "Venerable Moonlight... knows you?"

Chu Ming shook his head, then nodded. "More or less. We crossed paths once before, outside."

What he did not say was that encounter had taken place beyond the Star-Moon Sect's mountain-protecting grand formation, where he had nearly been slapped to death by one of her projections. Though they had ultimately turned enemies into friends, that crushing sense of oppression remained vivid in his memory to this day.

Thunder Splendor leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Brother Chu, the way that woman in the middle looks at you... why does it feel like she's looking at her son-in-law?" Chu Ming: "..."

Qingwei's face instantly flushed scarlet.

Venerable Lingfeng coughed and gave Thunder Splendor a warning look, telling him not to spout nonsense.

Thunder Splendor chuckled and wisely shut his mouth.

Chu Ming drew a deep breath and steadied his emotions.

More than a hundred Three-Step Dao Lords had gathered atop Stargazing Cliff.

Venerable Moonlight's starlight projection had arrived in person.

The final curtain of the Myriad Laws Platform was slowly rising.

And they had already stepped onto center stage.

As the night deepened, the light atop Stargazing Cliff remained bright.

Chu Ming sat cross-legged by the cliff's edge, his gaze profound as he watched the faintly visible outline of the Myriad Laws Platform in the distance.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

It was Li Wenxuan.

He walked to Chu Ming's side and lowered his voice. "Fellow Daoist Chu, the alliance will hold its first formal meeting tomorrow morning. Venerable Moonlight personally named you and asked that you attend."

Chu Ming's brows lifted slightly. "Me?"

Li Wenxuan nodded, smiling meaningfully. "Yes, you."

Chu