Li Province, Southern Capital.
Night had already fallen, yet the city was bright as day.
Today was the Upper Origin Festival, celebrated throughout the nation with extraordinary grandeur. The curfew for mortals had been lifted, and even the outskirts of the Imperial Capital seethed with voices.
Lantern towers stood draped in colored silk, pearls and jade ornaments hanging above. Whenever a breeze passed, they chimed melodiously, while ornate lanterns blazed and scattered brilliant colors.
Cultivators also flew above the city, spreading crimson clouds and embellishing them with Li Radiance. They had been ordered by the Imperial House to prepare the lantern festival.
The Southern Capital was vast enough to accommodate ten million people with ease. Most of its mortals had ties to the Immortal Dao, yet even they marveled at the spectacle, praising the Imperial House for its benevolence and concern for the common people.
Sightseers and ladies thronged the long streets, laughing as they passed, men and women mingling freely, monks and laypeople alike.
Three people were strolling along one such street.
"The spiritual currents in Li Province are peaceful, and its earthly qi flows gently. Even the mortals seem longer-lived."
The speaker was a tall, straight-backed young man in a jet-black Red Cloud Daoist Robe. As his eyes opened and narrowed, they held the imposing majesty of a tiger or bear, arresting the soul.
"In the Ancient Era, this region was called Xu Land. Its gentle earth qi produced many who nurtured their health and lived long lives. Records say that when Emperor Zhuanxu ruled, severing communication between earth and heaven and bringing peace to the Nine Provinces, he sent his great-great-grandson here to govern. He was called [Old Peng], and may have been a powerful cultivator of longevity whose influence lingered here."
The young man beside him