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Senior Sister took out an invitation with golden embossing, the cover alone indicating its considerable value: "There's a competition for the younger generation at the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony. The Qingzhou officials have sent an invitation to our Seek Tao Sect, hoping we can send a representative. I was planning to discuss this with you, but since Junior Brother Meng brought it up, it saves us the trouble."
"A competition for the younger generation?" Lu Yang was eager to try, having never sparred with peers outside of The Five Elements Sect.
"Then let's go, we'll take my carriage," Meng Jingzhou called out.
"Just the two of us? Aren't Junior Sister Tao and the others coming?"
"I did ask them. Junior Sister Tao said she's waiting for the results from the Second and Eighth Elders, though I'm not sure what results she's waiting for. Plus, I saw her deeply engrossed in studying the Feathered Immortal Body, so I didn't press further."
"Junior Brother Man has returned to his barbarian homeland to visit relatives, no telling when he'll be back."
"Junior Brother Li is enjoying family bliss, trying every means to help our niece achieve her Golden Elixir, and is unwilling to leave."
Meng Jingzhou felt regretful; such a rare opportunity, with only fifteen such events in the fifteen states of Great Xia each year. Missing this one meant waiting another month, and they were missing the prime time.
He was someone who loved lively events, naturally preferring more people to join.
After Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou left, Senior Sister suddenly remembered something and opened the invitation: "In the early days of the 99,986th year of the Great Xia calendar, the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony is convened as usual. We kindly ask your esteemed sect to send outstanding disciples to participate and provide guidance as judges."
"Junior Brother Lu and Junior Brother Meng wouldn't actually go on the platform… would they?"
Yun Zhi muttered to herself, feeling like she was worrying over nothing.
The two of them, as the first and second ranked of the younger generation in the Seek Tao Sect, undoubtedly possessed exceptional strength, towering above the rest.
If they were to step onto the platform, it would be too much of a bullying.
***
"I often heard at home about how grand the ceremonies were in various places and how spectacular they were. Just listening to the descriptions made me want to see for myself."
"It's a pity that I hadn't started cultivating back then and wasn't qualified to witness the grand ceremonies."
"The Qingzhou Grand Ceremony is held for cultivators. In order not to disturb the lives of mortals, Qingzhou specially cordons off an area outside the city where great cultivators temporarily construct a town."
In the carriage, Meng Jingzhou's animated descriptions opened Lu Yang's eyes to a new world.
"Besides magical duels, the ceremony also features auctions, appraisal of vision, bartering, exploration of ruins, Golden Elixir appreciation, and more. It's a diverse event, and every cultivator who goes there gains a lot."
"Not just our younger generation, but mid to high-level cultivators will be there too. However, those cultivators have their own circles and don't mingle with us."
Mid to high-level cultivators were much older than Lu Yang and his peers. If they were around, the younger generation would inevitably feel constrained in their actions.
Lu Yang understood this all too well: when classmates come over to play, it's a completely different atmosphere depending on whether parents are present or not.
"We also had cultivator exchange meetings back in the day, but everyone was so aggressive back then, ready to annihilate your family at the slightest provocation. Often, what was supposed to be an exchange meeting turned into a covert operation of robbery and murder, extremely dangerous."
"That's why only the big clans had the qualifications to hold cultivator exchange meetings, ensuring the highest safety, like the Lianshan clan behind the Ninefold Immortal, the Dragon and Phoenix clans, the Four Ferocious Clans, and so on."
The Immortal Fairy sighed, reminiscing about the challenging past.
Lu Yang remembered that the Ninefold Immortal once had the Immortal Fairy cook to make prisoners confess. The criminals mentioned here were probably cultivators who had crossed the ancient Lianshan clan's bottom line.
"Later, when the five of us became immortals, we would hold exchange meetings from time to time. Our meetings were very safe, without the short-sighted ones committing robbery and murder. But I'm not good at organizing meetings, so Qing He would take care of it for me."
"One time, I suggested that since we're holding the meeting at my place, we should choose a place with unique features, like the Mother and Child River or the Twin Rivers, with beautiful mountains and waters. If anyone wanted to play in the water, they could go down to the river."
"Qing He sternly rejected my proposal, saying it was too dangerous."
Lu Yang thought to himself, Fairy, your rivers are the greatest enemy of family planning; who would dare to go into the water?
"Sometimes, Heavenly Immortal would 'accidentally' leak some books at the exchange meetings, recording the great deeds of us five immortals."
"I asked Heavenly Immortal why he did that, and he said that if an immortal publicly bestowed books, people would doubt the authenticity of the content. But if it seemed like the immortal had unintentionally let them slip out, people would believe they were more authentic."
Lu Yang felt that Heavenly Immortal made a lot of sense and learned a trick.
What Lu Yang didn't know was that the rumor of Heavenly Immortal impregnating countless women had also spread this way.
Old horse leisurely traveled for two days, crossing mountains and rivers, finally arriving at Qingzhou.
Upon entering Qingzhou's territory, old horse reined in its ability to traverse space. The previous paths were through wild trails unseen by others, but now it was different. This was Qingzhou, crowded with people who could be frightened by such abilities.
Meng Jingzhou poked his head out and saw the nearby scenery, his face lighting up with joy: "We're almost there."
Lu Yang also looked out from the other side, seeing dense forests and lush greenery. Between the mountains, there were buildings made of green stones, intricately arranged, as beautiful as a painting.
Though temporarily constructed, the intricate design was evident of careful planning.
Many black dots were moving from one building to another; these were all cultivators.
Their carriage was unremarkable, and the arrival of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou did not draw attention.
Whoosh—
A dark shadow sped overhead. The two looked up to see a flying boat moving at a considerable speed.
The arrival of the flying boat caused exclamations among the pedestrians.
"Look, that's the Thunder Fire Sect's flying boat, such speed! I wonder how many spirit stones that boat is worth. I heard the Thunder Fire Sect has an extraordinary talent in this generation. Are those following the boat the protectors of the Thunder Fire Sect's prodigy?"
"Oh, I was mistaken. That's the Thunder Fire Sect's flying boat speeding, and those behind are the law enforcers."
"What's that strange artifact? The symbol on the artifact belongs to the Yunmeng Sword Sect!"
"Underneath the artifact is a sword with a big iron shell on it, something I've never seen before."
"I know this; it's called a flying car. I heard it's an artifact invented by a sword genius from the Seek Tao Sect, not yet popularized. Before, sword flight was only for one person, but this flying car can carry five."
"Truly the Seek Tao Sect, full of ingenious ideas, far beyond our reach."
"Indeed, it's said that the Seek Tao Sect is on the verge of becoming the leader of the five great immortal sects, with each member being an outstanding talent!"
Meng Jingzhou turned to look at Lu Yang, who had a strange expression on his face.
This flying car was his invention, which the Fifth Elder had Li Haoran patent later. He hadn't paid attention to it since, but it seemed it had already gone into mass production?
"Wait a minute, where's my patent fee?"