Dongxu Zi

Stone Lion carried Ouyang and the two girls through a bank of clouds, then leaped to the end of the White Jade Steps.

The three of them jumped off Stone Lion. He looked cautiously at Ouyang, his eyes asking whether he could leave now, as docile as a lapdog.

Ouyang reached out and patted Stone Lion on the head, sending a strand of true qi into his body.

Feeling the true qi circulating inside him, Stone Lion was instantly beside himself with joy. He stuck his tongue out at Ouyang, barked twice, then raced down the mountain.

Ouyang turned around. Before him lay an enormous plaza, built entirely of jade that faintly gave off wisps of spiritual energy.

The rising spiritual energy made the entire plaza seem like an immortal paradise.

Such extravagance. Outside, rogue cultivators would bash one another's brains out over a single Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

Yet in the Azure Cloud Sect, stones like these were actually used to pave a plaza!

At that moment, the plaza was bustling with people and activity.

The Sect Grand Competition was coming up in a month. Elders from the various peaks would attend, and the great immortal sects would also be invited to the festivities to watch.

The Azure Cloud Sect held its Sect Grand Competition every five years. Each competition was not only a chance for outer disciples to enter the inner sect, but also a contest between the inner disciples of the various peaks. More than that, it was a chance for the Azure Cloud Sect to flex its muscles before the other sects.

In this competition, outer disciples had a chance to catch the eye of the Azure Cloud Sect's peak masters, while inner disciples could win advanced spell arts and cultivation resources. It was also a calling card through which the Azure Cloud Sect presented itself to the outside world.

That was why every Sect Grand Competition was held with exceptional grandeur.

None of the people on Little Mountain Peak had ever participated in the Sect Grand Competition.

Leng Qingsong found it pointless, Bai Feiyu disdained participating, and Chen Changsheng disliked showing his face in public.

As their senior brother, Ouyang did not meet the registration requirements.

The first hard requirement for entering the Sect Grand Competition was reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Wasn't this just targeting him?

I don't want to participate anyway, Ouyang had thought indignantly when he saw that rule.

Thus, none of the people on Little Mountain Peak could be bothered to come and see what the Sect Grand Competition was like.

This was also Ouyang's first time seeing the plaza so grandly decorated.

"Senior Brother! It's so pretty here!" Hu Tutu exclaimed in wonder. Compared with the caves and underground burrows on Green Mound Mountain, human cultivators really knew how to enjoy themselves!

Su Ling'er glanced at the marveling Hu Tutu and chuckled. "Senior Brother, I heard they'll also be selecting the Holy Son of the Azure Cloud Holy Land during this Sect Grand Competition! With your talent and learning, if you could participate, that title would belong to none other than you."

Ouyang's shameless old face reddened. He knew Su Ling'er meant no harm, but he was not even qualified to compete. Why bring up becoming the Holy Son of the Azure Cloud Holy Land?

Ouyang coughed. "I don't like competing for empty titles. Junior Sister, as cultivators of the Dao, we should regard such empty honors as passing clouds."

"Senior Brother, your character truly is noble and upright!" Su Ling'er praised him sincerely.

The people nearby turned to look at Ouyang when they heard him. Once they saw that his cultivation was only at the Qi Refining stage, they turned away again.

What was a useless Qi Refining cultivator putting on airs for?

Naturally, Ouyang noticed their contemptuous looks. Even with his thick skin, he felt somewhat embarrassed, and hurriedly pulled Su Ling'er and Hu Tutu toward the Main Hall.

Upon entering the Main Hall, he saw that its center was not filled with all manner of divine statues as it would have been in his previous life.

At the very center of the Main Hall stood only a plain wooden tablet, with two characters carved upon it in Dao Script:

"Heaven and Earth."

This world did not have so many gods, ghosts, and demons. They worshipped neither gods nor Buddhas, only heaven and earth!

Three towering sticks of Yellow Pine Incense stood before a huge square incense burner, their curling smoke carrying an invigorating fragrance.

Ouyang and Su Ling'er each took three sticks of Plain Incense. Hu Tutu copied them, holding up her incense and bowing respectfully to the wooden tablet before placing it in the burner.

As she placed her Plain Incense in the burner, Su Ling'er's lovely face flushed slightly. Offering incense to heaven and earth alongside her senior brother felt like a pair of Dao companions swearing a heavenly Dao oath.

After paying her respects to heaven and earth, Su Ling'er remained in the Front Hall.

Disciples were not permitted to enter the Rear Hall freely unless they had important business.

Thus, only Ouyang and Hu Tutu skirted around the Central Hall and headed toward the Rear Hall.

The Rear Hall also contained an altar, an enormous one covered with countless burning everlasting lamps.

This was where the everlasting lamps of all the inner disciples were kept.

Yet when Ouyang brought Hu Tutu into the Rear Hall, he found it completely empty.

"What's going on? Old Ling actually stood me up? That's not like him!" Ouyang looked around in bewilderment.

Suddenly, a cough sounded, and an old man wearing an Eight Trigrams Daoist Robe appeared before Ouyang and Hu Tutu.

The old man held a whisk and possessed the bearing of an immortal, with a youthful face beneath crane-white hair. Two long white eyebrows hung down to his chest, and he regarded Ouyang and Hu Tutu with a kindly, beaming smile.

This old man was none other than Dongxu Zi, who had taught Ling Feng a lesson the previous night.

He looked like an entirely different person from yesterday's scruffy old man in a riding jacket, waving a palm-leaf fan.

At that moment, profound dao resonance flowed around Dongxu Zi, while a seven-colored glow flickered faintly behind his head.

He certainly looked every inch an immortal who had attained the Dao.

Ouyang was naturally familiar with Dongxu Zi. He bowed and said, "Disciple Ouyang pays his respects to the Sect Master!"

Hu Tutu hurriedly followed his example and bowed. "Disciple Hu Tutu pays her respects to the Sect Master!"

With a glance at Hu Tutu, Dongxu Zi recognized her as a spirit fox with an innate Dao body. He could not help marveling at his junior brother Hu Yun. Had that old rascal spent his entire lifetime's luck on taking disciples?

Though Dongxu Zi was deeply disgruntled inside, his smile was as warm as a spring breeze. "Good, good, good. Have you come to light an everlasting lamp today?"

Ouyang answered, "At my master's instruction, I have come to light an everlasting lamp for Hu Tutu, Little Mountain Peak's newly admitted disciple. I ask for your permission, Sect Master."

Dongxu Zi stroked his beard with a chuckle and nodded. "Good. Permission denied!"

"???" Ouyang raised his head in confusion, while Hu Tutu's little face turned deathly pale. She thought she must have somehow offended the Sect Master just now.

"Didn't you hear me, boy? I said permission denied!" Dongxu Zi said with a chuckle, stroking his beard.

Ouyang raised an eyebrow. Under Hu Tutu's horrified gaze, he stepped forward, grabbed Dongxu Zi's beard with one hand, and hauled the old man toward him. "Old geezer, I'm being polite here. Don't push your luck!"

Dongxu Zi did not get angry at having his beard pulled. He merely looked at Ouyang with amusement in his eyes and said:

"What? Were you this cocky when you lot beat up my disciple?"