Chapter 403 - 198: Immortal Ascension Ceremony, Boundary Sea, Ship Ticket
Chapter 403: Chapter 198: Immortal Ascension Ceremony, Boundary Sea, Ship Ticket
Song Shengying was a direct descendant of the Song Family. She wasn’t very old and had apparently only reached Foundation Establishment last year.
Xiao Chen glanced at the portrait. He only recognized Miao Yuqing, but he was fairly certain the intel was accurate.
’Tsk, tsk... what was there to say?’
"Forward the wanted poster to the Demon Extermination Hall. Yes, just handle it according to standard procedure."
’Since they’ve already fled, I might as well pretend nothing happened. The "standard procedure" is just to hang up wanted posters for show. It’s not like we can cross states to join the manhunt.’
’Well, I wish the Lingyuan Sect the best of luck.’
In any case, Xiao Chen planned to head to the Eastern Domain as soon as his ceremony was over in two days.
He even went to ask Lin Ping’an if he wanted to go to the Eastern Domain with him.
He had heard that the Eastern Domain was filled with countless Secret Realms and Relics of all sizes.
The kid was proficient in Laws and Restrictions, so he might be a great help.
Unfortunately, Lin Ping’an was resistant to the idea. He didn’t really want to leave the Li Huo Sect.
"Junior Martial Master Xiao, my current cultivation is too low. I have no way to protect myself."
"If we were to run into danger on the road, wouldn’t I just be holding you back?"
"I was thinking of cultivating in the sect for a few more years. I don’t plan on venturing out until I break through to the late-stage Golden Core."
As he mentioned the late-stage Golden Core, a resigned look appeared on Lin Ping’an’s face.
The Southern Domain had insufficient Spiritual Qi and a scarcity of Spiritual Objects. To successfully achieve Nascent Soul Formation, one had no choice but to leave the Southern Domain and seek resources for a Tier Breakthrough.
.
Xiao Chen didn’t press the issue. He had the Blade of Night, but Lin Ping’an didn’t.
The Eastern Domain was teeming with Golden Core Cultivators, and Nascent Soul True Monarchs or Tier Four Demon Beasts would appear from time to time.
If they did run into danger, he truly couldn’t guarantee Lin Ping’an’s safety.
Besides, relying on others wasn’t a sustainable plan.
Xiao Chen remembered that he had a book titled Array Dao Introduction in his Storage Bag.
Now that he had reached Core Formation, he might as well take up the Array Dao.
The journey ahead would be long and arduous, a perfect opportunity to study the different landscapes and learn as he traveled.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the Immortal Ascension Ceremony arrived.
Master Ming Yan hadn’t been exaggerating. In just over three days, he had managed to construct a street stretching for ten li across a barren wasteland.
He had even added small bridges over flowing streams and planted plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums.
Nearly all the Foundation Establishment Cultivators and every single Golden Core True Man from both Li State and Hezhou arrived one after another to attend the unprecedented grand occasion.
Although many cultivators had unfortunately perished during the Demonic Calamity, the gathering still drew from two entire states, making the total number of attendees unprecedented.
"Eh? Mr. Qiu, Chang, what brings you two here? I’m surprised you had the time."
It was normal for the Chang Family to come, but if Xiao Chen remembered correctly, the Qiu Family had been actively taking over the Demon-slaying Hall after the Pan Family’s fall.
’Shouldn’t they be busy hunting down Ye Fei right now?’
Qiu Qichen cupped his hands in congratulations. "This Immortal Ascension Ceremony celebrates Elder Xiao’s ascension to the Golden Core realm. How could I possibly miss such a pivotal event?"
"Even the most important matters must be set aside for this, wouldn’t you agree?"
In reality, he had grown very close to Chang Shunping recently and was busy raising an Earth-Storage Spirit Turtle.
Taking over the Demon-slaying Hall was merely a means to gain control of the enforcement squads, not to actually uphold the principle of Demon Extermination and Protection of the Dao.
Thus, while the Qiu Family was vocally enthusiastic about capturing Ye Fei, they had committed no real action to the cause.
Upon learning the date of the ceremony, they had even pulled back all their personnel to rush over and attend.
Furthermore, as far as he knew, the Yang Family had also shown up in full force. Currently, they had taken no action beyond dispatching messengers to circulate the wanted posters.
’Well, I’ll be damned. So this Immortal Ascension Ceremony is even helping him by drawing all the attention.’
Xiao Chen felt that Ye Fei owed him one for this.
A nine-story pavilion had been erected in the center of the celebration grounds.
The auction was customarily held on the lower floors, but this time, Xiao Chen went upstairs.
’Have to admit, the view from up here is certainly better.’
At Noon, the many cultivators who had arrived early deliberately moved back.
Everyone mounted their swords and flew into the air. Thousands of streaks of Sword Light crisscrossed, and the roiling Spiritual Qi even kicked up a small tide of Spiritual Power.
Immediately after, the major sects took the lead, congratulating him in unison.
"The Lingyuan Sect! The Celestial Secret Pavilion! The Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers! The Thousand Bamboo Workshop! We congratulate Master Yanlong on achieving the Golden Core!"
Because his True Yang Fire Dragon was so awe-inspiring, the title "Master Yanlong" had replaced "Wind Thunder True Man" as the name most people used for him.
Today, at the ceremony, it was now considered official.
From this day forward, no new Golden Core Cultivator could take this title.
When people spoke of Master Yanlong, everyone would know they were referring to Xiao Chen.
This event would be recorded in the annals of the major sects and written into the memoirs of many cultivators in the Southern Domain.
For as long as those records existed, his title would be remembered.
According to custom, every cultivator who came to offer congratulations presented a gift—a Spiritual Object worth no less than one thousand Spirit Stones.
This time, however, many families deliberately increased the value of their gifts.
These items were, in turn, sent to the auction.
After all, Xiao Chen had no intention of lugging a pile of Low Tier Spiritual Objects on his journey; it was better to convert them into Spirit Stones.
At the same time, he rummaged through his Storage Bag and put up a few items of his own for auction: mainly a Thousand-Year Sword Bamboo, two Upper Grade Flying Swords, six Foundation Establishment Pills, and six stalks of Nanhua Yellow Bamboo.
In fact, he still had some unused Flame Light Spiritual Sand.
However, he had heard that a specialty product like Spiritual Sand could fetch a much better price in the Eastern Domain, so he decided to hold on to it.
The auction proceeded as usual, without any major incidents.
Xiao Chen chatted with the other Golden Core True Men, sharing rumors and amusing anecdotes.
In the end, it was said that the Zhong Family, from the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers, made the highest bid of the auction: eighty-eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight Spirit Stones!