Cheng Xinzhan smiled at the familiar voice. Hong Changbao had been in seclusion ever since he left Fuxia Lake, all to wait for this opportunity.
Of course, Hong Changbao had no elders to protect him, nor an Immortal Weapon to defend himself. If his breakthrough revealed the fetal sound in the heart of the Miao Borderlands, someone would probably come knocking at once.
So he had been waiting for someone to appear and openly repair the plank road.
Now all was well. With his advancement to the Fourth Realm, the divine saber left by the Red-Haired Ancestor, and his other foundations, Fuxia Lake had finally become a bone too tough to crack. The Haoran Alliance's investment and support over all these years had not been wasted.
"Congratulations on Plumbing the Profound, Cult Master Hong! Eight-Faced Mountain congratulates Fuxia Lake!"
Heavenly True Boy cheerfully returned the courtesy with congratulations.
"Congratulations on Plumbing the Profound, Cult Master Hong! The Mount Heng Sword Sect congratulates Fuxia Lake!"
Deng Qingyang offered his congratulations once more.
By the world's unwritten rules, when someone broke through to the Fourth Realm and established a new seat of cultivation, the great established sects whose territories bordered it were expected to offer their congratulations. Everyone lent a hand in carrying a flower-bedecked bridal sedan; if your own sect opened a branch in the future, they would naturally come to lend their support. Of course, if you commanded enough respect, had sufficient prestige, and enjoyed good relations, the sects offering congratulations would not be limited to those bordering your seat of cultivation.
The Miao Borderlands bordered five regions: Wuling, Ba-Shu, Dianwen, the Southern Wastes, and Three Xiang. Yet only Eight-Faced Mountain and Mount Heng congratulated Fuxia Lake.
That was hardly surprising. Daoist sects congratulated Daoist sects, and Unorthodox Sects congratulated