At that moment, everyone in the City Lord's Mansion felt their hearts tremble.
Including the heads of the great families in Moon-Gazing City, everyone lowered their heads. In the entire Immortal World, Moon-Gazing City was nothing more than a remote little town without even a single immortal. It was hardly worth an immortal's attention.
It could be said that this immortal descending from the heavens was the first to appear since Moon-Gazing City was founded.
The azure immortal light bathed the entire city. Although the cultivators were trembling with shock, the moment that azure immortal light merged into their bodies, they couldn't help feeling a wave of comfort. Even their cultivation bottlenecks, which had been firmly in place, seemed to loosen slightly. This was clearly an immortal's blessing.
Green immortal light filled the entire city. Though the cultivators' hearts quaked, the instant the green light entered their bodies, they couldn't help feeling a wave of comfort. Even the cultivation bottlenecks that had once seemed unyielding began to loosen. This was unmistakably an immortal's blessing.
Green immortal light—High Immortal!
The newcomer was actually a High Immortal.
After a cultivator survived the tribulation, they entered the Mahayana Realm. Mahayana cultivators were also called Void Immortals, but they had no immortal light protecting them. Above the Mahayana Realm lay the true immortal realms. The first was the True Immortal realm, distinct from Void Immortals and inhabited by genuine immortals. Above True Immortals were Heavenly Immortals.
Chen Tiannan had always suspected that the immortal standing behind Chen Xiao was a Heavenly Immortal. Above Heavenly Immortals were High Immortals—the highest-ranking immortals!
Green immortal light spreading across the earth was the hallmark of a High Immortal.
Chen Xiao knew that once his Immortal Spirit Root was revealed, the Glazed Heaven Palace would certainly hear of it and move to recruit the Chen Clan. Possessing an Immortal Spirit Root meant having the potential to become a Golden Immortal and establish a Golden Immortal lineage.
But Chen Xiao hadn't expected a High Immortal to come this time. In the Immortal World, a High Immortal's status was second only to a Golden Immortal's. They were already among its upper echelons. In the next instant, Chen Xiao thought of what the Nangong Family had been scheming to obtain beneath Mingyu Mountain.
"Chen Fengyang, accept the seal."
Above, the High Immortal's figure was hidden by the flickering green immortal light around him. But it seemed a needless precaution. An immortal had descended, and no one in Moon-Gazing City would dare look directly at him.
"Chen Fengyang pays his respects to the High Immortal."
At that moment, a clear voice rang out from the rear courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion. A white-haired man in a green robe rose into the air and flew up to meet the High Immortal. He looked no older than thirty, yet his eyes held the weight of countless years. He bowed low before the figure in the sky.
Chen Fengyang was Moon-Gazing City's strongest cultivator, at the late stage of Tribulation Transcendence.
The Chen Clan had once been no more than a minor family in Moon-Gazing City. It couldn't compare to a great lineage like the Nangong Family; even the Li Family and Beiyu Family had been stronger. But three hundred years ago, Chen Fengyang had risen like a comet. He reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage in just a century, advancing straight to the middle stage and becoming Moon-Gazing City's strongest cultivator.
Before that, the family that had ruled Moon-Gazing City had fallen into decline after its strongest cultivator failed to survive the tribulation. With no other choice, it relinquished the position of city lord, allowing the Chen Clan to take its place.
It could be said that Chen Fengyang's presence had built the Chen Clan's century-old foundation. So long as he stood, the Chen Clan's position in Moon-Gazing City would remain unshakable.
If Chen Fengyang succeeded in surviving the tribulation and reached the Mahayana Realm, becoming a cultivator on the verge of immortality, then not only would the Chen Clan rise in standing—the whole of Moon-Gazing City would gain status in the Immortal World. After all, a city with an immortal guarding it was an entirely different matter from one without.
Moon-Gazing City could dominate among cultivators, but across the Immortal World, it was a tiny, insignificant place. In ordinary times, the Glazed Heaven Palace paid it no attention.
But now, the Chen Clan, Moon-Gazing City's ruling family, had suddenly produced a cultivator with an Immortal Spirit Root. Anyone with such a root was destined to become a Golden Immortal, so long as they didn't die along the way.
Golden Immortals were said to be undying. As the ruler of Glazed Heaven, the Glazed Heaven Palace naturally spared no effort to recruit cultivators with such potential. And this Immortal Spirit Root had appeared within its own domain, in the ruling family of Moon-Gazing City, no less.
After sizing up Chen Fengyang, the High Immortal waved his hand. A golden seal, a full zhang across, slowly appeared in the air.
The City-Suppressing Seal!
Legend had it that every great city in Glazed Heaven under the Glazed Heaven Palace's control—whether a city of cultivators or immortals—was not built by human hands. Instead, the immortals of the Glazed Heaven Palace had joined forces to refine each city into something akin to a magic treasure.
Though city lords governed these cities day to day, the Glazed Heaven Palace held ultimate control over them. The reason was the City-Suppressing Seal.
The City-Suppressing Seal was the core of a city. To control the seal was to control the entire city. Only families recognized by the Glazed Heaven Palace were granted one, becoming city lords in name and in truth, earning the palace's protection and passing the position down through the generations.
This time, because Chen Xiao had swallowed the Ten Thousand Jade Heavenly Dragon Pill and awakened his Immortal Spirit Root, the Chen Clan had naturally won the Glazed Heaven Palace's recognition and been granted the City-Suppressing Seal. The seal was not merely a symbol of authority, capable of directing the entire city; it was also a powerful immortal artifact in its own right.
With the City-Suppressing Seal in hand, even if Chen Xiao failed to reach the Orange Cloud Realm within two years, Chen Fengyang would still weather the tribulation safely.
Only when the City-Suppressing Seal appeared did Chen Xiao finally let out a breath of relief. He knew his fate in this life had been completely changed. The Chen Clan... was safe.
At the very least, the Nangong Family wouldn't dare lay a hand on the Chen Clan. No matter how powerful their backing was, they couldn't stand against the overlord of Glazed Heaven.
Below, Nangong Shenhe's expression was exceedingly grim. The Glazed Heaven Palace had recognized the Chen Clan's status. Now they would have to change all their plans and start over—their century of preparation had gone up in smoke overnight.
In midair, the High Immortal gave Chen Fengyang a slight nod, then looked down.
Chen Xiao felt his heart tighten. Two gazes, solid as matter, swept over him. In an instant, the Breath-Concealing Talisman cast on him seemed to lose all effect, leaving his cultivation exposed beneath those eyes.
Chen Xiao knew the Breath-Concealing Talisman he had drawn might fool cultivators, but it was utterly useless against a High Immortal.
However, the golden Thunder Virtue Heavenly Book in Chen Xiao's dantian stirred faintly, releasing a golden glow that concealed every trace of the Nine Heavens Thunder Virtue Universal Transformation Art.
Not even a High Immortal could see through the Thunder Virtue Heavenly Book.
"You're so young, yet you have such a steady heart. You're a promising one."
The High Immortal's voice echoed in Chen Xiao's mind. Suddenly, Chen Xiao felt something stir in his dantian. A long, jade-green bow appeared inside it. The High Immortal had silently placed an immortal artifact in Chen Xiao's dantian.
Chen Xiao couldn't help feeling startled.
But a moment later, he understood. The Glazed Heaven Palace was trying to win him over. Though it had bestowed a seal, the one who benefited was ultimately not Chen Xiao. So the High Immortal had quietly given him an immortal artifact suited to his constitution as well.
The spiritual pressure in the sky eased. The High Immortal was gone.
"My lord, it's done."
High above the ground, a hundred li beyond Moon-Gazing City, the High Immortal from moments ago bowed to a young man in a blue robe, whose features were exceptionally handsome.
"Mm, Qingle. You did well."
The blue-robed elder nodded slightly. He sighed to himself. Fubao, Wennuo, back then you gave your lives to protect me. This is all I can do for you. The Ten Thousand Jade Heavenly Dragon Pill, the Seven-Evolution Azure Dragon Talisman, and the Taiyi Dry Dragon Bow—we three brothers each held one. Who could have imagined that Fubao, Wennuo...