On the fifteenth day of the second month, in the 495th year of Ming, at the spring equinox. Auspicious for sacrifices, ritual offerings, prayers for blessings, travel, moving house, construction, hanging plaques, and housecleaning. Three Pure Ones Mountain, Three Pure Ones Palace.
Once the grand succession ceremony, which lasted three days and three nights, had concluded and the guests had departed, everyone returned to Three Pure Ones Palace to rest and gather. "The last time we had this many people together was when Xinzhan submitted his memorial as a True Lord and returned to the sect. It feels like another lifetime. Truly, another lifetime!"
Ji Hehe spoke with a smile, his voice full of feeling.
Shi Tongxuan rolled his eyes at that.
"That was only five years ago. What do you mean, another lifetime? I think the Sect Leader-oh, we can't call you Sect Leader anymore. It should be Ancestor Ji now. Ancestor Ji wanted to retire so badly that every day felt like a year."
Everyone laughed.
Ji Hehe was not annoyed. Instead, he repeatedly cupped his hands and begged for mercy.
"What Ancestor Ji? Anyone else can call me that, but not you, Daoist Shi, or you, Daoist Cheng. You'll be the death of this humble Daoist. Just call me Little Ji."
Everyone roared with laughter.
Cheng Xinzhan laughed quietly and awkwardly, muttering,
"Ancestor Ji, you can tease my grandmaster, but why drag this disciple into it?"
By custom, when an Immortal retired from the position of Sect Leader after accomplishing his duties, he would certainly be honored as a patriarch. This had nothing to do with seniority or age. Only someone who surpassed him, or stood on a similar footing, in all four respects-experience, cultivation, generational standing, and age-could address him directly by his Dao Name. For