Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
In the era when the Demon Suppression Tower was lost, the leader of the Shu Mountain Sect was named Lu Yu.
At that time, the sudden disappearance of the mountain's divine artifact plunged Shu Mountain into panic and turmoil, beset by internal strife and external threats. It was arguably the greatest crisis faced by Shu Mountain since the era of the demon gods.
It was Senior Lu Yu who led the disciples of Shu Mountain through one hardship after another, preserving their vital forces. In the darkest moments, when they were on the brink of collapse, if not for his steadfast resolve, Shu Mountain might have suffered the same fate as other sects that never recovered from calamity, vanishing from history.
But it was precisely because he devoted so much effort to Shu Mountain that Senior Lu Yu's cultivation suffered, and his lifespan was prematurely shortened, making him one of the shortest-lived leaders in the history of the sect.
Faced with an impending end to his life, he was confronted with a difficult choice.
The situation at Shu Mountain was still precarious, and in such adversity, a strong leader was needed. The most outstanding candidate at the time was his own son, who would later be known as Little Lu Sect Leader, Senior Wuqi, Lu Wuqi.
Lu Wuqi was a prodigy from a young age, surpassing even his father in talent and had a strong influence within Shu Mountain, making him the best choice for the next leader.
However, there had never been a precedent for hereditary succession in Shu Mountain, as it was not a family-run immortal sect. If Senior Lu Yu were to pass on the leadership to his own son, he would likely face much criticism and set a poor precedent.
In peaceful times, even if his son were outstanding, he would have chosen another candidate. But at that time, the position of Shu Mountain within the Nine Heavens was still precarious, and with countless resources coveted by others, only a leader with strength and wisdom could turn the tide.
In the end, Senior Lu Yu left the decision to the four great elders of Shu Mountain. He then closed his eyes slowly, ultimately not passing the Heavenly Mandate Order to his son with his own hands. After his passing, the four great elders did not hesitate to support Senior Wuqi as the new leader of Shu Mountain.
Under Senior Wuqi's leadership, Shu Mountain quickly reversed its decline, expanding its influence and restoring its reputation far and wide!
His first directive was that without the divine artifact, Shu Mountain need not compete with the other Nine Heavens immortal sects. As long as they could surpass all Ten Earthly immortal sects, their position would be secure. Even being the least of the Nine Heavens was far better than being the greatest of the Ten Earths.
This strategic approach has been followed by Shu Mountain to this day.
It was also during his tenure that Shu Mountain firmly established its current internal cultivation system, granting disciples a great deal of autonomy. The educational philosophy of Shu Mountain is quite rare among the old-school immortal sects that focus on disciple training, somewhat resembling the demonic sects' way of rearing gu, though with significant differences.
Sects like the Heavenly Strength Sect and the Misty Hidden Immortal Mountain, as they have always done, have a master leading only a few disciples, selecting only those with exceptional talent. The master arranges all resources, experiences, and missions for the disciples' growth, aiming to cultivate a handful of geniuses.
But under Senior Wuqi's reforms, Shu Mountain established a system where resources and missions could freely circulate. Magical weapons, elixirs, divine abilities… all could be freely obtained, but one had to earn them.
In this system, it's not up to the master to decide which disciple to nurture. Although it seems like a laissez-faire approach, where no one receives much attention, any disciple with talent and ability can rise to the top. Resources are not distributed by the hands of the sect elders but naturally gravitate towards capable disciples.
Without this system, Chu Liang would not have thrived as he has.
During the later years of Senior Wuqi's life, a significant event occurred at Shu Mountain.
At that time, there were two contenders for the position of sect leader: Wen Yuan Senior and Wuqi's own son, Lu Cang.
By then, Shu Mountain had stabilized under Senior Wuqi's leadership, no longer facing so many disputes. Compared to Wen Yuan, Lu Cang was not as outstanding, and the two were considered evenly matched.
Given Senior Wuqi's achievements, if he wanted to pass the leadership to his son, no one would have objected… Even if they felt it was inappropriate, it's unlikely anyone would have openly opposed it.
But this would have turned the leadership of Shu Mountain into a hereditary system. Therefore, a significant number of elders supported Wen Yuan.
However, Lu Cang was ambitious and, under his father's banner, was actively gathering his own supporters, indeed winning over a portion of people out of respect for Senior Wuqi.
The covert and overt struggle between Wen Yuan and Lu Cang lasted for over a decade. During this period, Senior Wuqi remained silent, and no one could guess his thoughts.
Eventually, Senior Wuqi's life also neared its end.
Legend has it that every Ninth Realm powerhouse, upon nearing the end of their lifespan, would enter the Divine Ruins. Whether it's a call of fate or a chance to defy the heavens and change one's destiny, some Eighth Realm powerhouses would also venture in before death to try their luck.
Senior Wuqi decided to do the same, not only entering the Divine Ruins himself but also taking Wen Yuan and Lu Cang with him.
At that time, everyone at Shu Mountain speculated that this might be a trial for the two contenders, with the victor likely to secure the position of sect leader.
However, the outcome was that Wen Yuan returned alone.
He claimed that Senior Wuqi had indeed put him and Lu Cang through a trial, and the result was that Lu Cang went missing in the Divine Ruins, leaving him as the sole survivor.
The full story remained unknown, but ultimately Wen Yuan smoothly succeeded as the new leader. Not long after, the Lu family mysteriously disappeared from Shu Mountain, with no one knowing their whereabouts… or whether they were alive or dead.
Wen Yuan Senior has now been in charge for over 150 years, continuing all that Senior Wuqi left behind and ensuring the steady development of Shu Mountain. He can be considered a very competent leader. Hence, for many years, no one has brought up the disputes surrounding his succession.
***
So when Lu Chengchou suddenly appeared, many cultivators from the surrounding immortal sects were unaware, finding him inexplicable, yet he held the Heavenly Mandate Order that only a Shu Mountain sect leader should possess, truly shocking everyone.
The crowd was in an uproar.
Faced with Lu Chengchou's assertiveness, Wen Yuan Senior chose to remain silent for the moment.
Then, two people stood up.
Di Nvfeng, clad in red, rose to speak but noticed that a cold, indifferent old woman in black also stood up, so she held her tongue.
Elder Si Lu stood up and said coldly, "The return of a Lu family descendant is a joyous occasion, especially since you have brought back the lost Heavenly Mandate Order, a great merit indeed. The matter of rejoining the sect is easily settled."
"Hmph," Lu Chengchou snorted coldly, "Elder Si Lu, you think a few words are enough to take the Heavenly Mandate Order from me?"
"It's not for nothing; this is letting you rejoin the Shu Mountain Sect, you know? Do you think it's that easy for others?" Di Nvfeng chimed in from the side, "How about this, I'll give you five hundred sword coins as a reward? Upon your return, you can join my Silver Sword Peak, becoming the second senior brother immediately. Wouldn't that be splendid?"
"…" The already noisy scene fell silent at Di Nvfeng's words.
It was a proposal so shameless that even bystanders found it too much.
"Heh heh…" Lu Chengchou laughed in anger, "You all are Wen Yuan's followers, with no legitimacy in your words. How could I, the rightful heir of Shu Mountain, submit to you?"
"What are you insulting people for?" Di Nvfeng's pupils shrank at his words, a dangerous aura emanating from her.
Lu Chengchou shouted, "You want to make a move in front of all these witnesses?"
"This is a personal grudge between you and me; it has nothing to do with Shu Mountain," Di Nvfeng said as she flew down to the arena.
Just as a fight was about to break out, a stern voice called out, "Stop!"
A figure swiftly descended behind Lu Chengchou, dressed in white, of average height, and appearing to be in his forties, with pure white pupils devoid of any black.
The newcomer was none other than a visiting elder from Penglai, the White Lin True Person.
"Shu Mountain is after all a renowned righteous sect with a heritage of thousands of years. If there's a dispute over the lineage, it should not be settled by mere brute force. What would that look like?" White Lin True Person declared loudly.
"Do you even know this is Shu Mountain?" Di Nvfeng glared at him, "Since when is it your turn to bark?"
"Hmph," White Lin True Person snorted coldly, ignoring her and looking directly at Wen Yuan Senior, bowing and saying, "Senior, the Lu family's two generations of Shu Mountain sect leaders have made outstanding contributions, a fact known to all of us in the righteous sects. If what he says is true, and he is the rightful heir of Shu Mountain, then we cannot stand idly by."
Wen Yuan Senior's gaze shifted between White Lin True Person and Lu Chengchou, as if seeing through something, and smiled faintly, "My position as sect leader was passed down to me by my master, and the legitimacy of Shu Mountain is not something for the righteous sects to worry about. The identity of this Lu family descendant still needs to be verified, but now that the Heavenly Mandate Order has returned to Shu Mountain, it cannot be lost again."
"Nonsense!" Lu Chengchou shouted, "You killed my grandfather and father in the Divine Ruins, then returned to the sect with a false message that my grandfather had passed the leadership to you, but you couldn't produce the Heavenly Mandate Order! Because it had already been passed to my father along with the leadership, it just hadn't been announced. After you returned, you even tried to secretly harm my entire Lu family, which is why my mother fled Shu Mountain with me. All these years, I've been waiting to come back for revenge, to expose your hypocritical facade! Wen Yuan, today you will pay back everything you owe my Lu family!"
"Wow—"
The crowd gasped at his words.
Such an explosive revelation.
They had been worried that waiting for news from Sword Casket Peak might be boring, but now there was this mid-event entertainment.
Wen Yuan Senior had led Shu Mountain for over 150 years without a blemish, nearly saint-like. Who would have thought that today he would be exposed for such a scandal, that he had ascended to his position through despicable means?
Even the Shu Mountain disciples present were somewhat shaken. Although they didn't understand the events of the past, the Heavenly Mandate Order in his hand couldn't be faked.
At this moment, everyone was weakly wondering, could what he said be true?
But everyone also knew that, shocking as it may be, even if true, it was too late. Wen Yuan Senior's position in Shu Mountain was unshakable by any dark history. Still, people love such drama, especially the collapse of a saintly image, which would be a hot topic for a long time.
Lu Chengchou spoke with conviction, his face flushing with emotion.
Behind him, White Lin True Person remained expressionless, seemingly only there to prevent him from being silenced, allowing him to speak out. As for the consequences of his words, they had nothing to do with his Penglai sect.
It was clear to all that Lu Chengchou's appearance today must have been pre-arranged with Penglai. White Lin True Person was there to support him, and Penglai's practice of weakening other sects through internal strife was not new.
But there was still some confusion: what strength did Lu Chengchou possess that could harm Shu Mountain?
Wen Yuan Senior remained unfazed, calmly saying, "If you truly are Lu Cang's son, then when the Lu family disappeared, you were still in swaddling clothes, and what you know must have been told by others, likely to be false; if you are an imposter, then you are sowing discord within Shu Mountain and deserve punishment. I have already recounted the events of the past to the elders, and if there were any doubts, how could they have allowed me to succeed as sect leader? Bring this man down, and we will inquire further."
His words both dismissed and addressed the doubts.
Indeed, just because Lu Chengchou held the Heavenly Mandate Order didn't mean everything he said was true. If Wen Yuan Senior's past had not been thoroughly investigated, how could the elders of Shu Mountain have allowed him to succeed?
"You want to silence me by force?" Lu Chengchou shouted, "Delusional!"
With that, he made a gesture, and a surge of black light shot up into the sky from the Heavenly Plaza, opening a void gate! From within emerged a massive head, tiger-like and leopard-like, with saber-like fangs and a terrifying aura of the wild, exuding a bloodthirsty killing intent!
"The Taowu!" the crowd exclaimed.
This was the fierce beast that had disappeared from the Evil Spirit Mountain not long ago! How could Lu Chengchou summon such a behemoth with a mere gesture? He must have set up a formation on Heavenly Peak in advance!
This was when the power of the Heavenly Mandate Order became apparent. Lu Chengchou didn't produce the order to confront those within Shu Mountain but to deal with those outside.
Without the Heavenly Mandate Order, if the Taowu descended, cultivators from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths would likely take action to punish the beast.
But now, having shown the Heavenly Mandate Order before acting, the battle became an internal dispute within Shu Mountain. Since it was an internal conflict, outsiders had no reason to intervene, no matter what means were used.
Immediately, the visiting cultivators from various immortal sects retreated, scattering like a startled flock of mountain birds.
Meanwhile, the disciples of Shu Mountain drew their swords, ready for battle!
What did it matter if it was a worldly beast?
This was Shu Mountain, a place of numerous powerhouses! Even Di Nvfeng couldn't run amok here, let alone a mere Taowu?
As the Taowu's arrival caused a brief chaos, another shout rang out: "Eternal Darkness!"