At the headquarters of the Orthodox Alliance, atop the heaven-propping, ten-thousand-fathom Immortal Peak of Mountain Suppression, a sea of clouds churned like boundless raging waves. High winds howled, carrying the rising and falling breaths of thousands of cultivators below the dais.
The solitary peak towered straight into the clouds, its rocky slopes shimmering with a faint blue-white spiritual glow. A thousand years ago, the forebears of the orthodox path had jointly refined it for the express purpose of holding alliance summits and deliberating on great matters concerning the orthodox and demonic paths.
Sect leaders, academy heads, and elders from orthodox sects across every province and prefecture had gathered here. The dais stood lofty, with over a thousand seats arranged along its eastern and western sides. Sect banners of every color snapped in the wind, unfurling and fluttering amid the clouds and mist.
This Orthodox-Demon Summit, watched by countless eyes, was publicly declared to be a gathering to discuss wiping out the remaining forces of the Mahayana Evil Cult and establish a strategy for suppressing demons thereafter.
Yet everyone present who held a position of authority knew that dark currents surged beneath the surface. The true struggle lay in the Profound Truth Sect's ambition to use the banner of the Orthodox Alliance to gradually devour and seize control of every orthodox sect under heaven.
Cheng Heng stood quietly beside the Cloudpiercing Sect's seats, his plain white Daoist robe untouched by dust. The Golden Metal Demon-Slaying Blade hung diagonally across his back, its still sheath concealing the divine weapon's edge. The Fire-Separating Soulguard Pendant rested against his chest, a faint, lingering warmth slowly seeping into his meridians.
Since leaving Soaring Sky Mountain, he had passed through Windward City and repeatedly crossed wits and courage with the Profound Truth Sect's undercover stewards. Following