Several days later, bells began ringing on Slaughter Sword Peak. They sounded nine times in all, announcing the oath-taking ceremony in which Peak Master Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing of Little Wood Peak would become Dao companions.
Numerous streaks of light darted through the air toward the middle peak.
As the guests arrived, the invitations in their hands began glowing. The sword formation opened to admit them.
A ball of fiery light descended to the ground and immediately transformed into a handsome young man in red. He had bright, lively eyes and an exceptionally striking presence.
Looking around and seeing even more people entering the mountain, he laughed. “It really is lively here.”
The red-robed youth was about to head uphill when someone called out behind him, “Su Xin! Fellow Daoist Su!”
He turned to see two men approaching side by side. One was a burly giant over nine chi tall, broad-shouldered and muscular. The other was a thin young male cultivator with fine eyebrows and thin lips, wearing a slightly proud expression.
They were indeed old acquaintances.
The thin cultivator looked Su Xin over and laughed. “I addressed you incorrectly just now. I should call you Perfected Su!”
The big man cupped his fists too. “It’s been many years! I trust you’ve been well, Perfected One!”
The red-robed youth raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Today is Brother Ziqing’s happy occasion. It’s brought us together again, and that’s a kind of fate.”
Hearing this, the other two exchanged smiles.
All three had come from the Haotian Small World. After the Ascending Dragon Gate Conference, they had traveled to the Qingyun Great World together and entered the Wuling Immortal Sect, each experiencing different fortunes.
Diao Zimo had been the luckiest. Because he had an aptitude for lightning arts, he was noticed by the Thunderclap Peak lineage as soon as he arrived and became a nominal disciple. Later he was fortunate enough to become the personal disciple of a late Golden Core Perfected One. After years of cultivation, he had reached middle Essence Transformation, and his lightning techniques were truly impressive.
Luo Hou had fared somewhat worse. After struggling within the inner sect for a time, he finally drew the attention of a perfected one and was accepted into that school. Through arduous training he advanced from nominal to personal disciple and gained respectable status. With continued effort, his cultivation reached roughly the same level as Diao Zimo’s.
Su Xin had suffered the worst fortune of all. After finally acquiring the excellent aptitude of a single fire spiritual root, he had almost been taken away by Ultimate Bliss Peak. Xu Ziqing had helped him negotiate, while Yun Lie had pointed out another path. Su Xin gathered his courage and charged through the protective mountain formation of Divine Fire Peak, ultimately gaining admission. Later, with the aid of his Seventh Senior Brother, Xue Wenhao, he turned his hatred into ambition and suppressed his impulsive nature. With the support of many resources, he finally formed his Golden Core. His hardships had ended in success, and he was now the most advanced of the three.
They had shared ties in the past and were all members of the Wuling Immortal Sect, but because they had entered different peaks, they rarely met.
Several days earlier, each had unexpectedly received an invitation from their old friend Xu Ziqing, asking them to attend his Dao-companion oath ceremony.
Remembering the past, they had naturally all come.
Su Xin smiled. “The days when I first knew Brother Ziqing are still vivid in my mind. Who could have imagined that he would reach such a realm and now become Dao companions with someone?”
Diao Zimo laughed heartily. “Fellow Daoist Xu always had an open and generous heart. We must have several good cups of wine today to celebrate with him!”
Luo Hou nodded. “Exactly.”
After exchanging a few words of greeting, the three went uphill together.
Many other cultivators arrived along the way. At a casual glance, all possessed powerful spiritual auras, and some had unfamiliar faces that suggested considerable status.
The sword-bearing guests were especially cold and severe. Recognizing some of them as Stewards of Discipline from the Peak of Discipline, the three men were secretly startled.
Because of the trouble with Ultimate Bliss Peak, Su Xin had long felt indebted to Xu Ziqing and had paid attention to news about him. He knew Xu Ziqing was a personal disciple, but that his master’s abilities were not especially conspicuous. Yun Lie, however, held exceptionally high status among the sect’s disciples and had long protected his junior brother. Then one day Su Xin heard that Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing had disappeared together. Frantic with worry, he asked his Seventh Senior Brother, Xue Wenhao, to investigate and learned that Patriarch Ultimate Bliss might have been involved.
At the time Su Xin believed that Xu Ziqing’s friendship with him had worsened his feud with Li Cai, ultimately provoking Patriarch Ultimate Bliss and bringing disaster down upon him. In his distress Su Xin vomited blood several times and nearly suffered devastating damage to his vital energy. Had Xue Wenhao not helped him with fire-attribute qi, he might have dropped in realm and lost all hope of recovering. Instead, his anger spurred him to train still harder, enabling him to stabilize his Golden Core. He had resolved to form a Nascent Soul as soon as possible and seek vengeance against Patriarch Ultimate Bliss for his friend. Only when he received the invitation a few days ago did he discover that the patriarch had not succeeded in killing Xu Ziqing. Rather, Yun Lie had formed his Nascent Soul and was about to become Dao companions with Su Xin’s friend.
Only then had Su Xin finally relaxed and come happily to the ceremony.
Now, seeing these honored and powerful guests, Su Xin was momentarily surprised. But he quickly realized that they must be Ancestor Yun’s acquaintances and settled his mind.
Diao Zimo and Luo Hou were startled as well, but they soon regained their composure. Under the ringing bells, they hastened with Su Xin toward the summit.
Before long, all three arrived.
The summit of Slaughter Sword Peak.
Its surface was wide and level, as though a sharp weapon had sliced away everything uneven.
A layer of spirit-attuned ice jade covered the central area, snowy white and gleaming beautifully.
On either side of the ice jade stood hundreds of long tables with meditation cushions behind them, arranged with refined elegance.
Many guests were already seated. On the left, several dozen sat together, all emitting formidable sword qi. No one else dared approach their group.
A little farther away sat people who looked middle-aged or elderly, each accompanied by numerous disciples. They were all Golden Core Perfected Ones. More distant still sat a man and a woman at early Essence Transformation, both apparently familiar faces.
Su Xin and his companions exchanged glances and went toward that pair.
The man was Ran Xingjian and the woman was Zhuo Hanyan, both members of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance. They should have been closer acquaintances of Su Xin than Diao Zimo and Luo Hou.
Seeing them again filled Su Xin with delight.
Ran Xingjian and Zhuo Hanyan looked up as he approached. Recognizing him at once, they stood. “Young Alliance Leader!”
Su Xin smiled. “Brother Ziqing’s getting married, and he’s invited you too.”
The others felt warmth in their hearts at his words.
Strictly speaking, Xu Ziqing’s cultivation now surpassed theirs, and he was becoming Dao companions with a Nascent Soul ancestor. His status was far above their own. Back in the Rogue Cultivator Alliance and at the Ascending Dragon Gate Conference, they had shared only a little friendship. Apart from Su Xin, who could genuinely call himself Xu Ziqing’s friend, most of them were scarcely more than acquaintances.
Yet when the time came for his marriage, Xu Ziqing had not forgotten them. It showed how sincere his heart remained, unchanged from years ago.
How could they fail to be touched by such affection?
The five sat together and continued catching up.
Su Xin had been feeling quite relaxed when something suddenly stirred in his heart. He looked toward the entrance.
A young man in white was approaching at an unhurried pace. His black hair flowed like a waterfall, his appearance was extraordinarily beautiful, and his bearing was exceptionally noble.
But it was not the man’s looks that caught Su Xin’s attention. Rather, it was the fire qi surrounding him.
That fire qi was powerful, pure, and dense, like a surging flood or a robe draped over his body. Anyone who saw it would instinctively feel apprehensive.
Su Xin was astonished. What an extraordinary fire-attribute cultivation foundation! His own pure-fire Dao actually seemed somewhat inferior to this man’s!
Who could he be?
The young man seemed to sense the attention and glanced over.
Su Xin cupped his fists in greeting.
The young man smiled faintly and looked away.
Then he found a seat in a corner, propped his chin upon one hand, and sat in silence.
This cultivator’s realm was no lower than Su Xin’s, perhaps even higher. Though Su Xin regarded his cultivation method with great interest, he would not brazenly approach him to ask for instruction and risk giving offense. He therefore kept his questions to himself.
Turning his attention back, Su Xin saw several Essence Transformation cultivators arrive together. Some were heavily built, while others resembled young gentlemen from distinguished clans. Among them he recognized the one at the peak of late Essence Transformation: Du Zihui, a direct-line descendant of the Du family of Flying Immortal Peak.
After thinking for a moment, Su Xin recalled seeing these people with Xu Ziqing during the sect tournament years ago. One of them seemed to have entered the Du family. Looking more carefully, though he could not remember the man’s name, he recognized the person beside Du Zihui. His expression was different from Su Xin’s memory, however, with a trace of hostility in his eyes. Su Xin did not know why.
Had Xu Ziqing been present, he would immediately have recognized the four newcomers as Long Xuan, Luo Yao, Yue Jun, and Du Zihui.
Long Xuan and Yue Jun had no masters, but over the years Perfected Qiu He had protected them because of their friendship with Qiu Ze. They had received substantial resources and enjoyed far greater advantages than ordinary inner disciples. Luo Yao and Du Zihui had become close after first clashing with each other, and Luo Yao’s studies in talismans had advanced tremendously. He was highly valued even within the Du family. His cultivation was somewhat behind the others only because he had devoted so much effort to talisman techniques.
The four found seats together. Since Luo Yao had gone to the Du family with Du Zihui, Long Xuan and Yue Jun had rarely been able to see him, and several years had passed since their last meeting. Now they too noticed something unusual about him.
Yue Jun hesitated before asking Du Zihui, “Fellow Daoist Du, do you know what’s happened to Luo Yao…?”
Du Zihui was no longer as impetuous as in the past. He had become much more composed, and he answered quietly, “A-Yao recently took revenge with his own hands.”
Yue Jun’s pupils contracted.
Luo Yao had carried a deep hatred and devoted himself to advancement, joining the Du family and training tirelessly to achieve vengeance. His friends did not know the details. They only knew that the matter dated back to his earliest days in the sect, and that his enemy was so powerful that even a Golden Core Perfected One had been unable to settle it. How could Luo Yao have taken revenge now, at his present cultivation level?
Du Zihui did not want Luo Yao to relive those memories. He said only, “Ultimate Bliss Peak,” and then fell silent.
That was enough for Yue Jun to guess the truth.
It was said that Patriarch Ultimate Bliss had fallen, and the Ultimate Bliss Peak lineage had collapsed completely. In the past, the Du family would never have opposed a Nascent Soul ancestor for Luo Yao’s sake. Now everything had changed. Ultimate Bliss Peak had once controlled considerable resources because its ancestor stood behind it. After his fall, numerous sect factions coveted those benefits. It was entirely possible that the Du family had intervened in the struggle and Luo Yao had been able to take revenge in the process.
Having understood, Yue Jun kept the matter to himself, quietly happy for Luo Yao.
He knew that Luo Yao was only experiencing an upheaval of feeling because his great revenge was finally complete. Once he settled his mind again, he would surely break through his restraints and advance.
Just then, the bells began ringing again.
This time they sounded forty-nine times. Clouds surged at the horizon, and a tremendously powerful pressure issued from the void. A second wave of guests had arrived.
Every one of them was at least a Nascent Soul ancestor!