The rest of the journey proceeded smoothly. After a little more than two hours, the carriage came to a steady halt in midair and went no farther.
Looking out through the carriage window, Xu Ziqing saw a range of majestic mountains stretching endlessly ahead until they disappeared into rolling clouds. Spiritual mist wound around the slopes, making the mountains appear and vanish as though a true dragon were soaring among the clouds.
This was the Tenglong Mountain Range. With such magnificent grandeur, it truly lived up to its reputation.
Elder Wu’s voice came from outside. “We’ve arrived.”
The young talents rose and straightened their clothes. None of them wanted the gatekeeper to think they lacked manners.
Xu Ziqing followed suit. Beside him, Su Xin was usually straightforward and bold, yet even he looked a little nervous now.
Before long, the carriage door opened.
Everyone gathered before it together, yet somehow the space did not feel crowded.
At first glance, Xu Ziqing saw Elder Peng and Elder Wu.
The spiritual radiance around the two elders had been drawn inward, and they seemed to be standing unsupported in empty air. It was astonishing. Unless they practiced some special cultivation method, even cultivators at their realms should not possess such an ability.
The next moment, however, everyone realized that the two elders were not actually standing in empty space. Beneath their feet churned a bank of cloud.
Elder Peng said, “Come down.”
Elder Wu added, “Step onto the cloud.”
Understanding dawned on everyone, and one after another they leapt down with composure.
Xu Ziqing found that the cloud beneath his feet felt nothing like soft vapor. It was solid and firm, almost exactly like standing on the ground, and he could not help marveling inwardly.
The cloud did not look large, seemingly only big enough for two people. Yet even after all the cultivators stepped onto it, no one felt crowded. It simply continued spreading outward until it accommodated everyone.
Such spirituality was truly extraordinary.
Xu Ziqing was not the only one impressed. Strange expressions appeared on several faces, though since they had already arrived before the Tenglong Mountain Range, everyone quickly restrained themselves.
Once all the young talents had left the carriage, Elder Wu turned around and formed a spell seal.
A streak of violet light struck the luxurious carriage directly. Multicolored radiance immediately shone from the entire vehicle, and it rapidly shrank before shooting into Elder Wu’s palm with a whoosh and disappearing. Presumably, he had stored it away.
Once everyone was settled, they looked around.
Only then did they realize that theirs was not the only cloud floating there. Several other clouds hovered nearby, each carrying many cultivators accompanied by their seniors. The young talents sized up the others and were sized up in turn, though no one spoke.
Elder Wu said, “Remain calm. Others have yet to arrive.”
Hearing this, the young cultivators understood.
Although the gatekeeper would receive them here, his status was far above theirs. With attendees arriving one group after another, they could hardly expect him to come out and welcome each party individually. Naturally, he would wait until everyone had gathered before appearing and leading them into the mountain range together.
Anyone talented enough to reach this place was no fool. Even those who had arrived early and grown impatient merely looked displeased. None dared voice a complaint.
They waited a while longer. Several more carriages came rushing through the air, along with spiritual birds and magical artifacts carrying people. Only after nearly an hour did the stream of arrivals finally cease.
It was six in the evening, just as the sun was about to set, and the final deadline had arrived. There was no longer any need to wait. At that same moment, the Tenglong Mountain Range suddenly began to change.
The vast white mist covering the towering mountains abruptly gathered together and formed a long road of clouds stretching straight toward them.
A figure slowly walked along that cloud road. Even with the eyesight of the assembled cultivators, they could make out only his tall, slender build and ethereal bearing. His face seemed veiled in mist, impossible to see clearly.
The man had originally been far away, yet in the blink of an eye he was somehow already before them.
He stood at the very front of the cloud road.
Only then did everyone see his face clearly.
He was a remarkably handsome young man. His eyes were deep like cold stars, and a smile rested on his lips, yet there was something lofty and untouchable about him. Everyone who looked at him felt instinctively inferior.
“You’ve all arrived quite early.” The young man spoke, his voice carrying an indescribably peculiar cadence. Then he swept his sleeve, and the clouds beneath everyone’s feet began to move.
As though obeying an unseen command, the cloud banks surged at once, swiftly converging and connecting with the cloud road. No, more precisely, they became part of the road itself.
The young man wore snow-white brocade robes patterned with designs that resembled flowing clouds, vivid enough to seem alive. He did not inspect each person individually, yet everyone suddenly felt as though something had swept across them, sending a chill through their entire bodies.
That sensation vanished in an instant. The young man gave a slight nod. “Welcome. Follow me.”
With that, he turned and began walking along the cloud road.
His manner did not feel deliberately rude or arrogant. Instead, it somehow seemed perfectly natural, almost inevitable.
At least, no one present felt that there was anything wrong with how he behaved. It simply seemed proper, as though this was exactly how things should be.
Xu Ziqing’s heart suddenly tightened.
This young man could affect their minds. He could even prevent them from feeling any urge to resist.
The moment Xu Ziqing realized it, his steps paused. Glancing to either side, he discovered that everyone else was walking forward in a daze. Even Elder Wu, an Essence Transformation cultivator, was no exception. None of them seemed to think anything was wrong.
Xu Ziqing was horrified.
Just how profound was this young man’s cultivation? Then another thought arose: So this is an expert from the great world.
Slowly exhaling, Xu Ziqing revealed nothing unusual and silently circulated The Great Art of Myriad Woods Heart-Planting. Sure enough, his mind immediately became several degrees clearer.
He now understood somewhat. The young man likely did possess a cultivation method capable of beguiling the mind, and his cultivation far surpassed everyone present. Once he used it, he could entrance so many cultivators at once. Xu Ziqing had been able to regain clarity only because of the profound nature of his own cultivation method.
When The Great Art of Myriad Woods Heart-Planting was cultivated to a sufficiently profound level, it could command all the wood under heaven and even borrow the awareness of those countless plants.
Xu Ziqing had not yet reached that realm, but he already possessed many subordinate woods within his body, along with the incomparably powerful Bloodthirsty Demon Vine as his life-bound wood. Thus, although the young man’s consciousness was formidable, it could only bewilder him for an instant.
Having understood this, Xu Ziqing continued forward slowly with the others.
The young man seemed not to notice anything unusual about Xu Ziqing. He led the cultivators deeper into the mountain range, while the cloud road behind them grew shorter and shorter.
Finally, after the time it took two incense sticks to burn, the young man stopped and lightly clapped his hands.
All the cultivators instantly came back to themselves. They felt as though they had taken only a few steps before arriving, yet they could remember nothing of what they had seen along the way or what route they had followed. Unaware that the young man had bewildered them, they merely admired the extraordinary methods of the great world. Even a single mountain range could contain such astonishing techniques.
Xu Ziqing breathed a sigh of relief. From the look of things, this person from the great world had no intention of harming them. He had merely prevented them from seeing the route into the mountain range.
Fortunately. Truly fortunate.
By now the cloud road had shrunk back into a single bank of cloud. The young man leapt from it, his sleeves billowing like the wings of a great bird as he dropped toward the ground below.
The cultivators did not know what he intended, but they gritted their teeth and jumped after him.
Several blades of grass, each as long as a person, appeared around Xu Ziqing and moved up and down at his sides. As they slowed his descent, he saw cultivators all around him glowing with spiritual light as they used their own protective methods.
Before long, the ground drew near.
Xu Ziqing withdrew the grass blades and landed lightly.
The other cultivators descended in much the same way and did not look particularly disheveled. The accompanying seniors possessed deeper cultivation and moved with even greater ease, some landing almost casually.
The young man stood ahead of them like an elegant gentleman. “My surname is Tang, and my name is Wenfei. This is the front peak of Tenglong Peak. You may call it Wolong Peak.”
Everyone first cupped their hands and addressed him. “Senior Tang.” Only then did they begin to survey their surroundings.
They were standing atop a high mountain peak, clouds curling around them. Every breath drew in a cool, crystalline freshness that made them feel comfortable all the way to the heart.
There was nothing else atop the peak, only countless rugged stones in strange and varied shapes. No flowers or grass grew anywhere around them. The entire summit was bare.
Tang Wenfei smiled and swept his sleeve. “Everyone, please sit.”
As soon as he spoke, the stones began rolling about with a deep rumble and quickly arranged themselves in neat rows before him. A flash of white light followed, and they transformed into several hundred meditation cushions.
The cultivators did not dare refuse. They all sat down, though members of the same sect or faction naturally remained closer to one another.
Seeing that everyone had been thoroughly impressed, Tang Wenfei appeared satisfied. He swept his sleeve once more, and a small table appeared before each cultivator, bearing fragrant tea.
He said, “You’ve all had a tiring journey. Rest for a while. It’s only a little tea, so I hope you won’t disdain it.”
The gatekeeper was being so courteous that the cultivators felt overwhelmed by the favor. They followed each gesture he indicated, lifting their cups and taking a sip. Praise immediately rang out from all directions.
“Tea from an immortal sect truly is magnificent!”
“Excellent tea, truly excellent!”
“The flavor is rich and mellow, with a lingering aftertaste…”
“This tea deserves to be savored carefully. Don’t waste it!”
While everyone else heaped praise upon the tea, Xu Ziqing said nothing. Using the act of drinking to conceal himself, he glanced quickly at Tang Wenfei and caught a trace of disdain in the man’s eyes.
Xu Ziqing sighed silently and lowered his gaze.
This person from the great world was indeed not nearly as approachable as he appeared.
The cultivators drank their tea and praised it repeatedly. Only after a long while did the gathering quiet again.
Tang Wenfei merely smiled faintly. Once everyone had fallen silent, he said, “Since you all enjoy it, allow me to refill your cups.” With another sweep of his sleeve, fragrant steam once again curled from every teacup.
By now, the cultivators had also calmed considerably.
Tang Wenfei smiled. “This gathering will be held on Tenglong Peak. Before that, however, I must ask everyone to present your credentials.”
Everyone immediately agreed. “Indeed, indeed. As we should.” One after another, they took out their jade ruyi.
Tang Wenfei inspected them in turn. With a light motion of his finger, the cultivators were divided into two groups.
Su Xin’s meditation cushion, on the right, moved swiftly into position, while Xu Ziqing’s slid toward the left. Xu Ziqing needed only a glance to understand. The left side held the greater number, those selected on the basis of cultivation, while the much smaller group on the right consisted of those chosen because of their spiritual roots.
Tang Wenfei smiled again. “There is one more matter for which I will need everyone’s cooperation.”