Ji Ning arrived with a man and a woman at the carriage, both of whom had received Ji Ning’s telepathic message and respectfully saluted Xu Zong with clasped hands.

The man, clad in a Daoist robe, looked quite unkempt. At first glance, he was quite off-putting, while the woman, dressed in a black long dress, was extremely beautiful and pleasing to the eye—a stark contrast between the two.

“This is our Black and White College’s unkempt senior brother, and this is senior sister Huohong.”

Ji Ning introduced them to Xu Zong. Including Ji Ning himself, there were three from the Black and White College participating in the competition.

“Oh, is this the Fairy Huohong?”

Xu Zong appeared to understand, his eyes not lingering on the unkempt Daoist but instead pausing on Fairy Huohong for a moment longer.

Fairy Huohong was just her Daoist name; her real name was Yu Wei. In just a few short years, she had influenced Ji Ning’s future for countless eons. It was quite strange—how could such a brief time together compel someone to seek life and death for her for countless eons?

Yu Wei felt somewhat uncomfortable under his gaze, as if everything about her had been seen through.

Ji Ning’s mind was in disarray, and before he could think it through, he stepped in front of Yu Wei, blocking Xu Zong’s line of sight. Yu Wei was slightly startled by his action, but she smiled and took the opportunity to hide behind him.

“Master Xu, are you also here to participate in the Immortal Fate Assembly?”

Ji Ning’s mind was a bit muddled, and he couldn’t quite understand why he had subconsciously stood in front of his senior sister, but he kept his composure and politely asked Xu Zong.

“Goodness gracious, are you very nervous?”

Xu Zong, however, was all smiles, pressing Ji Ning with questions.

“Come on, tell me, why were you so nervous just now? Did you feel a surge of discomfort in your heart, an unconscious desire to punch me?”

“Hehe, how could that be…”

Ji Ning’s heart skipped a beat, and he laughed awkwardly.

Seeing Xu Zong staring at his senior sister reminded him subtly of how, three years ago, Shao Yanong had flirted with his ex-girlfriend right in front of him.

He panicked and shielded his senior sister.

This Master Xu seemed to be a playful person; when they first met, he was holding a fairy, and just now, he was staring at his senior sister, which made Ji Ning a bit paranoid.

“Don’t be so formal, we’re all friends here, right? Tell me about your feelings just now!”

Xu Zong rubbed his hands together, chuckling heartily.

What’s the point of teasing Yu Wei? If he was going to tease someone, it had to be Ji Ning!

He sneakily activated the chat group’s camera function, determined to release this footage when Ji Ning became the ruler of the Chaotic Universe, to mock him thoroughly!

Hearing Xu Zong’s words, Fairy Huohong, Yu Wei, lit up with anticipation and looked expectantly at Ji Ning.

The unkempt true person looked up at the sky, thinking what a fine day it was!

“Has your cousin always been like this?”

Pei San asked Teng Qingshan in a strange tone, secretly sending a telepathic message.

“Uh, there were signs of it before.”

Teng Qingshan’s cheek twitched as he chuckled dryly.

“I don’t have any special feelings!”

Ji Ning, pressed by the questioning, couldn’t help but raise his voice.

“Is that so? Well, alright then.”

Xu Zong appeared slightly disappointed.

“Whenever you feel like it, you can tell me.”

Ji Ning suddenly felt less embarrassed and more speechless.

This Master Xu seemed to have some serious issues.

“Brother Ji, you really don’t need to take my cousin’s words to heart; he’s always been like this. I’ve been pranked by him before too. He doesn’t have any bad intentions; please be more forgiving.”

Teng Qingshan had no choice but to step forward and mediate with a helpless expression.

Ji Ning nodded in realization, looking at Teng Qingshan with a sense of camaraderie.

Pei San and Qin Seventeen also nodded to the three of them and exchanged a few pleasantries.

“This person’s swordsmanship is not bad.”

Ji Ning’s gaze lingered on Qin Seventeen, whose sharp sword intent was not concealed at all. The man was like an unsheathed sword, stirring a sense of combativeness in Ji Ning’s eyes.

Qin Seventeen looked back at Ji Ning, with a similar eagerness for battle in his eyes.

Both being sword immortals, in their eyes, the other was a sword in human form, and from this person, one could discern his swordsmanship.

“Dang! Dang! Dang!…”

Just then, nine bell tolls rang out from within the imperial city, and the tens of thousands gathered fell silent upon hearing the bell’s supreme authority.

“Boom!”

Immediately after, the massive city gates, towering thousands of feet high, opened amidst continuous booming sounds.

At the gate, a god-demon as tall as ten thousand feet, with a body as red as blazing flames, looked down at the many figures below like insects, and spoke with a deep and resonant voice.

“All true persons who wish to participate in the Immortal Fate Assembly may now enter. Once inside, there’s no turning back.”

In an instant, countless true persons shot towards the city gates like locusts, forming a winding river heading into the imperial city.

“You all stay here. Follow the other immortals’ teams in a while, and remember, don’t cause trouble.”

Xu Zong instructed Yi Ji and the other five, then left the carriage, joining Ji Ning, Teng Qingshan, and the six others to fly into the city with the large group of true persons.

Yi Ji put away the carriage and joined the immortals’ team with four god-demons.

Inside the imperial city.

“Those participating in the Immortal Fate Assembly, wait here in this area!”

A squad of golden-armored guards appeared before the many true persons, each exuding the aura of a Nascent Soul Daoist. They led the way with commanding voices, and none of the true persons dared to cause trouble, being led to a pitch-black plaza.

The plaza was paved with black slabs and covered with complex runes, emitting a chilling aura. At first glance, even true persons like Ji Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.

“Goodness gracious, how many people are there?”The scruffy Taoist looked at the square filled with Wanxiang True People, each with an extraordinary aura, and couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.

“According to the message from the princess, the previous Immortal Fate Gatherings had only about twenty to thirty thousand participants. But this time, with His Majesty presiding and ordering all the lords and sects to send their best disciples, the number of participants is much higher than before, roughly around one hundred thousand.”

Ji Ning shifted his gaze from the runes on the ground and smiled at the others as he spoke.

“One hundred thousand Wanxiang True People!”

Teng Qingshan couldn’t help but shudder upon hearing this, feeling the immense pressure.

These one hundred thousand Wanxiang, if they were in the world of The Nine Cauldrons, would be equivalent to one hundred thousand Dongxu! Enough to shatter the entire continent of Jiuzhou.

“Divided among each county and the four great oceans, each county only gets about twenty to thirty people. In other words, every Wanxiang True Person here ranks within the top thirty in their county!”

Ji Ning had clearly done his homework. His cousin, Princess Xiyue, as the only granddaughter of the Heavenly Immortal Yan King, had informed him of all the first-hand information.

“Many of them possess a second spirit, and some of those who have become Yuan Shen Taoists have slain Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals!”

Pei San and Qin Seventeen also shuddered upon hearing this, their expressions growing solemn, not daring to take anything lightly.

“Those whose second spirit has become a Yuan Shen Taoist, their true selves must have been able to break through long ago. Yet they choose to remain in the Wanxiang Realm and not break through, all for the sake of this Immortal Fate Gathering!”

Teng Qingshan thought to himself.

Having spent nearly a hundred years in the landscape painting, he hadn’t been cultivating the whole time. He had also learned many common knowledge about the Three Realms from Xu Zong, including the Purple Mansion, Wanxiang, Yuan Shen, and Returning Void. These four realms before becoming an immortal, the difference in combat power isn’t actually that big. With a deep enough understanding of the Dao, one can fight beyond their level.

Some Returning Void Earth Immortals, after cultivating for a hundred thousand years, might not even have entered the threshold of a major Dao. If a Yuan Shen Taoist reaches the level of the Dao Realm, they have a chance to kill the most ordinary Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals!

Just like Ji Ning, his second spirit had also reached the level of a Yuan Shen Taoist. In the original story, he had killed a death soldier sent by the Shaoyan clan at the Shuiyun Tower a few months before the start of the Immortal Fate Gathering, an immortal named Fuyun.

However, perhaps because Xu Zong, a person of extraordinary origin, was to protect Ji Ning, the Shaoyan clan did not dare to risk offending Xu Zong by assassinating Ji Ning, so this event did not occur.

Soon, a series of rumbling sounds came, and troops flew in neatly from the city gate, orderly and disciplined, totaling over three thousand teams, representing the immortals from the 3600 counties and the four great oceans.

Then, a series of piercing cries rang out, and one after another, figures with majestic auras soared into the sky, flying towards the location of the Tianmang Palace’s main hall.

The Great Xia world, worthy of being a major world, had Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals that were not very valuable here, with roughly a million in the entire world. Heavenly Immortals, however, were rarer, but there were still tens of thousands.

Heavenly Immortals in Great Xia held a high status. They didn’t need to stay below but could go to the upper Tianmang Palace to watch the battle. Each Heavenly Immortal could also bring one or two followers, which was quite respectful, as passing the Heavenly Immortal tribulation meant stepping out of the Three Realms, not being within the Five Elements, and possessing endless life spans. This was enough to make a tribe prosper for billions of years, while Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, although facing the terrifying Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, could easily live for a hundred thousand years. The great emperors who covered the heavens cried out.

At the highest point of the Tianmang Palace, the Great Xia Emperor in a black robe sat high on his throne, his Pure Yang True Immortal aura undoubtedly revealed. Below him, divided into two rows, those close to him were the Heavenly Immortal princes of the Xia Mang clan, and further away were the many Heavenly Immortal ancestors. Yi Ji and the other four divine demons, although in the Returning Void Realm, had combat power comparable to Heavenly Immortals and were also treated with respect, prominently among the seats of the Heavenly Immortal ancestors.

Beside the Xia Emperor, a silver-haired handsome man was attending to him. His gaze swept over the square below, and suddenly paused at a certain spot, then he transmitted his voice to the Xia Emperor.

“Master, that is the young man I told you about!”

The black-robed Xia Emperor’s expression moved, and his gaze also fell to the square below, following the guidance of the Heavenly Fox, landing on Xu Zong.

Looking at the tall and sturdy youth, the black-robed Xia Emperor nodded slightly.

“Young man, come up here to me.”

At the Tianmang Palace, the black-robed Xia Emperor suddenly spoke, addressing the square below.

In an instant, all the Wanxiang True People, Yuan Shen Taoist guards, immortals from various counties, and even the Heavenly Immortal ancestors, all turned their gazes over.