Cultivation: I Have a Golden Talisman

The Nine Truths Sect Master and the Nine Nether Saintess arrived before Taiyue Mountain.

Before this majestic peak, amidst a sky shimmering with radiant light, stood an incredibly magnificent archway of pale-green and white jade.

The archway was roughly thirty-six zhang long and eighteen zhang high, divided into five gatehouses. It was a uniform, crystalline pale green and white, as if carved from a single, enormous block of flawless natural jade. The craftsmanship was so exquisite that it seemed divine, with no visible signs of carving or assembly.

Beneath the central gatehouse was a horizontal plaque, upon which were engraved two words in zhang-high, golden ancient seal script: "Yinluo Villa."

For a moment, the pale green and white radiance shot to the heavens while golden light reflected off the ground, making Taiyue Mountain appear exceptionally grand and solemn.

Beyond the gatehouse was a rainbow bridge that led directly to a platform square halfway up Taiyue Mountain. Looking up from the mountainside, one could see a dense constellation of pavilions and towers. They were resplendent in gold and jade, wreathed in ethereal immortal clouds and suffused with auspicious, glowing mists.

Faintly, numerous Cultivators could be seen wandering among the Jade Terraces and Jade Railings. Ancient pines and cypresses reached for the sky, and thousands of flowering trees were in full bloom, draping the front and back of Taiyue Mountain in what looked like a sea of flowers.

Verdant canopies seemed to float in the air while a profusion of rosy mist carpeted the ground. The fragrant light stretched for a hundred li, as brilliant as a tapestry of clouds.

Adding to this were the treasured glows from the Immortal Pavilions, the jade rainbow bridge, and the crimson flying eaves of the pavilions. Thousands of auspicious light rays and layers of propitious mist converged, creating a truly magnificent spectacle.

The two arrived before the gatehouse, where they were greeted by a Yinluo Sect Guest Reception Disciple, who led them up Taiyue Mountain to admire the scenery.

Representatives from all of the Ten Great Sects of the Eastern Wilderness—such as the Taiyi Sword Sect, the Immortal Luo Sect, the Red Flame Immortal Palace, the Celestial Talisman Sect, the Nine Truths Sect, the Nine Nether Demon Sect, and the Rakshasa Sect—had come to observe the ceremony.

Many others had also arrived, including numerous Eastern Wilderness Families and Loose Cultivators.

While admiring the scenery and waiting, the guests were also furtively sizing up the Yinluo Sect’s disciples and Elders, exchanging thoughts in secret.

When the auspicious hour arrived, the resounding chimes of bells and Jade Chimes suddenly rang out from the summit of Taiyue Mountain.

A five-colored cloud of light slowly rose from behind the peak’s cliffs, and a majestic Immortal Mansion appeared on the mountaintop.

The Immortal Mansion covered about a hundred mu and was surrounded by platforms and corridors on all sides. The front platform was exceptionally wide, taking up nearly half the total area. A massive stone cauldron stood at each of the mansion’s four corners, and the entire structure was encircled by carved railings. Thirty-six steps on either side of the front connected to the main mountain path.

Within the Immortal Mansion stood a great hall. Above its entrance hung three golden words in ancient seal script: "Netherworld Daoist Palace." Inside the hall was a throne, with many seats arranged in two rows on either side. At the front stood nine Pill Furnaces of various sizes. The entire hall was magnificent and supremely solemn.

At that moment, numerous male and female disciples of the Yinluo Sect, each part of the Immortal Music and Ceremony, carrying censers and holding flowers, emerged from the Netherworld Daoist Palace in two solemn processions, lining up on either side of the platform.

The Yinluo Sect’s Sect Leader, Xun Yuanchu, acted as the Master of Ceremonies. He led the way holding the Ancestral Master Scroll, guiding Fang Cheng and a group of Inner Sect Elders to the center of the platform in front of the Daoist Palace, where they came to a stop.

Fang Cheng stood in the center, with the Elders behind him arranged in a V-formation like flying geese. Xun Yuanchu unfurled the Yinluo Sect’s Ancestral Master Painting and hung it at the very front of the Netherworld Daoist Palace.

Fang Cheng, Cai Li, Hua Yutang, and the others had all changed into new Magical Robes. Adorned in Feather Robes and Star Crowns or Cloud Robes and Sunset Skirts, their bearing was one of solemn dignity.

Below the summit, the many guests watched with rapt attention. Their gazes lingered for a long time on the Late-stage Life Talisman Cultivators like Fang Cheng, Xun Yuanchu, and Cai Li. As for the Yinluo Sect’s Life Soul Cultivators, no one had seen them yet.

However, the terrifying aura emanating from Fang Cheng, as vast as an abyss and as deep as the sea, was enough to make everyone feel a sense of dread.

Even the Nine Nether Saintess, Bing Wuyi, and the Nine Truths Sect Master were quite astonished. They had never sensed such a powerful and boundless fluctuation of aura from a Cultivator of the same stage.

The few Life Soul Cultivators who had come to observe the ceremony found it even more unbelievable.

’This Yinluo Mansion Master seems to be a Life Talisman Cultivator, but he gives off an extremely dangerous feeling. Even though our Cultivation is a full realm higher, that advantage in Cultivation Realm doesn’t seem to exist at all.’

In contrast, while Cai Li and Xun Yuanchu still appeared extraordinary, they paled significantly in comparison when standing next to Fang Cheng.

Under Xun Yuanchu’s direction, Fang Cheng and the assembled Elders and disciples completed the villa-founding ceremony. Afterward, Xun Yuanchu ordered music to be played and incense to be burned, and Fang Cheng led the sect members in kneeling before the Ancestral Master Painting.

Xun Yuanchu, standing to the front and side of Fang Cheng, also knelt with the others.

After they had paid their respects, the Yinluo Sect disciples in charge of the burning placed sticks of agarwood and sandalwood, each as thick as a person’s arm, into the stone cauldrons at the four corners of the Immortal Mansion Jade Platform. They lit the wood, and a dense, fragrant smoke billowed toward the sky.

After the ceremony concluded, the immortal music shifted to a welcoming tune. Fang Cheng personally descended the steps to greet the visiting guests, thanking them for their presence and inviting them into the hall.

Xun Yuanchu, Cai Li, and the others, along with several Elders from the Taiyi Sword Sect who had come to help with the ceremony, assisted Fang Cheng in seating the guests inside the Netherworld Daoist Palace.

Although this was the first time most of the Cultivators had met Fang Cheng, they were all won over by his presence. Regardless of whether they intended to befriend him or harbored ill intentions, at this moment, they were all polite and congratulated him profusely.

Afterward, everyone entered the Netherworld Daoist Palace and took their seats as hosts and guests. Numerous female disciples of the Yinluo Sect served Spirit Wine and Delicacies. The assembled Cultivators laughed, talked, and feasted, and before they knew it, several rounds of drinks had passed.

In the midst of the lively atmosphere, a deafening roar of wind and thunder suddenly echoed from the heavens.

The great hall instantly fell silent. In their hearts, everyone thought the same thing: ’They’re here!’

A Yinluo Sect disciple was seen stumbling into the hall. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but pitched forward and collapsed. His body was wreathed in lightning and fire, and half of his torso was charred black. His life force was as tenuous as a candle flickering in the wind.

This person was a True Disciple from Golden Furnace Peak. His cultivation was not weak, and he usually carried considerable prestige. Who could have expected him to end up in such a state?