An Ancient, Long-Standing Agreement

At the heart of Anchan City.

Stood an enormous estate, eight hundred li in both length and width, covering an area comparable to an entire country on Blue Star.

It was the Anchan Marquis Mansion, which controlled all of Anchan Commandery.

It was also the absolute forbidden ground of Anchan City.

Even the most powerful immortals would not dare trespass or fly over the Anchan Marquis Mansion.

Because that would be equivalent to provoking the entire Beishan Clan. It was courting death!

But tonight—

A hunchbacked old man appeared out of nowhere above the Anchan Marquis Mansion.

The old man had white hair, and his long eyebrows hung naturally downward.

Leaning on a wooden cane, he stood in the air and gazed toward the Black-White Academy in the western city.

"That aura?" The hunchbacked old man silently sensed it.

"Mm, there is no mistake. Though it is concealed by the Black-White Academy's formations, that aura unique to a Heavenly Immortal cannot be mistaken. Which Heavenly Immortal of Great Xia has descended? Or could it be..."

Just then.

"Tuoshan."

An ethereal voice suddenly sounded beside the hunchbacked old man's ear.

"Elder Brother?" The hunchbacked old man was abruptly startled.

Then, with a single step, he traveled from above the marquis mansion into the great hall where the Andan Beishan Clan usually held its deliberations.

At the highest point of the hall, the eyes of a carved exotic beast above the throne had lit up. It spoke, "Tuoshan, Hunyuan's generational inheritance has appeared. Go to the Black-White Academy in my place."

"Hunyuan Heavenly Immortal?" the hunchbacked old man cried out. "That senior actually left behind a generational inheritance in the Black-White Academy?"

The hunchbacked old man was also a Heavenly Immortal, known by the Daoist title 'Tuoshan.'

He was one of the most renowned Heavenly Immortal ancestors in the history of the Andan Beishan Clan.

Yet his lifespan had stretched on for so long that many sects believed he had already died.

Even the successive Marquises of Anchan only knew that the clan had a Heavenly Immortal ancestor, without knowing exactly who it was.

And even Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal, whose existence spanned such ancient years, had merely heard of the name of the Black-White Academy's sole Heavenly Immortal throughout history.

This showed just how distant Hunyuan Heavenly Immortal's era was from the present day.

"I still remember it. Not long after the Gods and Demons Era ended, the Black-White Academy was not yet called the Black-White Academy. Hunyuan was merely a Void Return Earth Immortal then, and even his Daoist title was not yet Hunyuan. I had not yet gone into seclusion at the time. I even guided him, and nearly accepted him as my disciple..."

The carved beast opened and closed its mouth as it spoke, while Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal quietly listened below.

His elder brother had lived far longer than he had.

In terms of seniority, his elder brother was countless generations above him.

But because they were both Heavenly Immortals and members of the same clan, they addressed each other as peers.

Still, Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal held this elder brother in incomparable respect.

For this elder brother, who had secluded himself for countless years, was the greatest foundation supporting the Andan Beishan Clan's strength to this day.

"Hunyuan was extraordinarily gifted back then. He helped our Beishan Clan win many wars and conquer numerous minor worlds."

The carved beast continued, "Had he not later obtained the Black-White Diagram in that minor world and walked that path... with his talent, he likely could have lived until today. His strength might even have surpassed mine, and he might even have had hope of advancing beyond the Heavenly Immortal realm."

"If that senior possessed such talent, and the Black-White Diagram is a supreme treasure that aids enlightenment of the Dao, how could obtaining such a treasure have hindered his progress?" Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal asked breathlessly.

Due to their close ties with the Black-White Academy, elite disciples of the Beishan Clan had also been granted opportunities to contemplate the Black-White Diagram over countless years.

Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal himself had contemplated it many times.

He knew just how greatly the Black-White Diagram aided Dao enlightenment, especially in creating one's own supreme arts and immortal techniques.

That was precisely why he was even more puzzled by his elder brother's words.

"A wondrous treasure may be good, but it cannot overcome the human heart. And if one's ambitions are higher than the heavens, yet one chooses the wrong path, then the greater one's talent, the farther astray one will go... By the time one wishes to turn back, it is already too late."

After sighing, the carved beast spat out an Ancient Stone Ring from its mouth.

No one knew what material the Ancient Stone Ring was made of. It emitted a dark, glossy radiance as it slowly flew toward Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal.

"Hunyuan made an agreement with me back then. If his generational inheritance had not appeared before my death, this item would belong to our Beishan Clan as thanks for looking after the Black-White Academy. If the inheritance appeared, then this item would be returned to his generational inheritor..."

The carved beast sighed. "I never expected that someone truly could fulfill such harsh conditions... Fine, fine. Deliver this item to the Black-White Academy and give it to that little fellow."

"Yes." Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal reached out and accepted it.

But when he sensed the Ancient Stone Ring's uniqueness, he could not help but say in shock, "Elder Brother, are we truly returning such a treasure? This is—"

"No matter how precious a treasure is, it is not destined for our Beishan Clan."

The carved beast's voice suddenly became stern.

"Remember this: our Beishan Clan has come this far and remained standing through countless storms not merely because of me, nor merely because the clan has one or two Heavenly Immortals. It is because we know reverence and understand when to advance and when to retreat!"

"Keeping another's Inheritance Treasure may seem like gaining an advantage, but it would also form an enormous karmic debt. It might even plant the seeds of great disaster for our Beishan Clan."

"..." Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal fell into thought.

"One who accomplishes great things must know how to let go," the carved beast continued. "Without giving, how can there be gain? Right now, it may seem that we are giving up one treasure, but how do you know that what we gain in the future will not be two treasures, or even more?"

"Yes." Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal respectfully replied, "Elder Brother has considered everything thoroughly. Tuoshan has learned much."

"Go quickly. When you meet that little fellow, there is no need to mention me."

As the voice faded, the light in the carved beast's eyes dimmed as well.

Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal looked at the Ancient Stone Ring in his hand. After remaining silent for a moment, he ultimately did not dare disobey his elder brother's wishes. He took a step and left the Anchan Marquis Mansion, heading toward the Black-White Academy.

Within the Black-White Academy.

Five immortals stood above the forbidden ground plaza, discussing the sole Heavenly Immortal in the Black-White Academy's history.

Yet as they discussed him, the five immortals discovered—

They actually knew far, far too little about Hunyuan Heavenly Immortal.

Other than knowing that the Black-White Academy's treasure, the Black-White Diagram, had been obtained by Hunyuan Heavenly Immortal from a minor world and brought back to the Xia Clan Great World—

They knew nothing at all about his other deeds.

There were no records within the Academy either.

That was why the generations of Black-White Academy immortals before them had held Immortal Beixing in even higher regard than Hunyuan Heavenly Immortal.

After all, they did not even know the most basic information about him, much less any of his impressive accomplishments...

Even the finest wine could be overlooked when hidden deep in an alley!

"No wonder there are two stone walls beside the Black-White Diagram. We all thought they had been deliberately set up by some immortal senior, so we could leave behind our own beliefs in cultivating immortality and use them to temper the Dao hearts of later disciples."

Black Crown Immortal sighed. "So Hunyuan Heavenly Immortal had not failed to leave blessings for later disciples. We simply never met the requirements and thus never triggered its appearance."

"Indeed." Immortal Leichuan agreed. "I wonder just how astonishing the inheritance left by Hunyuan Heavenly Immortal is. It actually requires one to enter three Great Daos while still at the Purple Mansion stage before it can be triggered."

"No matter what, something left behind by a Heavenly Immortal patriarch cannot be ordinary. It is likely no weaker than Senior Beixing's complete set of the Three-Foot Sword."

Immortal Wufeng said seriously for once, "None of us should spread this matter. We must not bring disaster upon that little fellow."

"That is only right."

The immortals all nodded.

Just then.

Ji Ning's eyelids twitched below, as though he was about to open his eyes.

Black Crown Immortal immediately said, "Junior Brother Diancai, take Ji Ning away first, lest he affect Xia Manggan's reception of the inheritance."

"Alright." Immortal Diancai nodded.

He was just about to fly down and take Ji Ning away.

When a voice suddenly drifted over from afar.

"Everyone, which little fellow triggered Hunyuan Heavenly Immortal's generational inheritance?"

The five immortals turned toward the voice and saw a hunchbacked old man approaching with a cane.

"Senior Tuoshan."

"Senior Tuoshan."

The five immortals all respectfully bowed.

Immortal Diancai was secretly shocked.

How had even the Beishan Clan's sole Heavenly Immortal ancestor been alerted?

And before Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal had even arrived, he already knew that someone had triggered Hunyuan Heavenly Immortal's generational inheritance...

Could it be that the Beishan Clan had always known about this inheritance?

On one hand, Immortal Diancai was puzzled. On the other, with a Heavenly Immortal before him, he could not rudely leave as a high-ranking immortal of the Black-White Academy.

Thus, he sent a mental message to the Academy head, Jade Sea Daoist, telling him to come quickly and take Ji Ning away.

As for Mu Zishuo, he was still immersed in comprehending the Dao through the Black-White Diagram and had no awareness of the outside world, so there was no need to concern themselves with him.

"Is that the little fellow?"

After nodding to the five Black-White Academy immortals, Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal looked down at the forbidden ground plaza.

Xia Manggan's entire body was enveloped by the black-and-white light emitted by the two stone walls, and an aura unique to a Heavenly Immortal spread around him. He was easy to identify.

"Yes." Immortal Hanshan, the most senior among them, immediately replied, "He is a disciple I recently accepted."

"So he is Hanshan's disciple." Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal smiled and asked, "What is his name?"

"Xia Manggan," Immortal Hanshan said.

"Xia Mang... He is of the imperial clan?"

Tuoshan Heavenly Immortal's eyes lit up. "I will meet him alone later."

The book has been out for six days, and I have updated seventy thousand words—equivalent to what most new books update in half a month. Suifeng has no choice but to slow down and switch to two updates a day.

Otherwise, other books can remain on the new book rankings for over thirty days, while ours would only stay for seventeen or eighteen days. The impact on our results would be too great. I hope you gentlemen will not blame me.

There will be an extra update every Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Uh, that means tonight, so there will be another update later this evening. Those who feel it is too late can read it tomorrow. Please remember to rest.

During the new book period, everything is for the sake of giving this book good results. I hope you gentlemen can be understanding. Suifeng offers his thanks here.

Lastly, another request for votes.