Lacquer Mountain.
The strange manifestations surrounding the mountain gradually dispersed. Wu Light faded, and the mountains slowly returned to stillness. Only the shape of a Blackbird remained, racing west before plunging into the earth.
Another strange manifestation arose in Longyang Commandery, west of this Immortal Mountain. Dusky subduing earth qi stirred and transformed into a colossal elephant, black from head to toe, lying half-reclined on the ground like a corpse.
A fine rain of yellow mud began falling from the sky and pooling on the ground. At the heart of the commandery, however, lay a stretch of hills dotted with cave abodes and treasured halls. This was the home of Longyang Commandery's great clan-the Wei.
The aura of a newly formed Divine Ability faintly emanated from within. A streak of dusky light flew out of a cave abode at the heart of the hills, revealing a middle-aged man in a bright yellow Daoist robe. His features were composed, his bearing imposing. He held up a dark treasure furnace, which continually drew in and expelled mysterious yellow mother qi.
He was, unmistakably, a newly ascended Purple Mansion cultivator, and he cultivated the rather uncommon path of subduing earth.
He stood amid the clouds, his face as still as an ancient well, showing neither joy nor anger.
Just then, a sturdy young man clad in frost armor rode the wind upward. He cultivated the exceedingly rare Greater Yin Daoist arts and had already reached Foundation Establishment. Upon arriving among the clouds, he immediately bowed.
"Congratulations, Father, on attaining your Divine Ability!"
Uncontainable delight filled the young man's face, and emotion surged within him beyond all restraint.
The Wei clan's ancestors had once belonged to an illustrious immortal clan, but its fortunes had declined severely in the late ancient era. Its last True