The auspicious hour arrived. Elder Yue swept his horsetail whisk, and thirty-six thousand High-grade Spirit Stones lit up at the same time.
The Nine Heavens Profound Steel Formation activated in response, and a pale golden light curtain enveloped the entire Ascension Plaza, pressing the clamor of more than three hundred thousand people into a low buzzing murmur.
Li Yunjing stood on the Moon-Gazing Terrace, his gaze sweeping over the dense black mass of people in the plaza—from the scions of great clans dressed in brocade and finery, to refugee children in ragged clothes, to cultivators hidden in the corners with auras of all kinds—before finally fixing on the three white jade platforms that symbolized hope.
He slowly raised his hand, and the Purple Lightning Talisman in his palm floated up. Thunder patterns flowed through it in the morning light, making his eyes look even calmer.
"Those standing here today include sons and daughters of the great clans of the Great Ming Cultivation World, descendants of the lost people of Ghost Moon Kingdom, and even the younger generations of those who once crossed blades with our sect."
His voice was not loud, yet it pierced through the light curtain and fell clearly into everyone's ears. "Perhaps you wish to ask: why has the Divine Firmament Dao Sect opened an immortal ascension gate on land once steeped in demonic qi?"
The plaza was so silent one could hear a crow or sparrow, and even the children stopped sobbing, pricking up their ears to listen.
"Because the words 'immortal gate' have never meant some cold, lofty archway standing above the world. They mean the responsibility to 'sweep away demons and evil, and protect the common people'!"
Li Yunjing's voice suddenly rose, carrying thunderous force. "Some among you have seen demonic cultivators slaughter villages