181: Dawn

Taiqing Academy, at an ancient Dao altar guarded by heavy layers of Restrictions.

A new stick of Heart-Clearing Incense had been lit, its smoke rising straight as before.

Jade Dragon Son's figure appeared on the Dao altar, his face carrying a hint of fatigue from his long journey, yet his eyes were much brighter than when he had left.

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, I have returned."

He nodded slightly toward the old man and the old woman who were already waiting.

"How did it go?" The old woman dressed in a Taiji Daoist robe was the first to speak, her voice tinged with urgency. "Did that Wending Sect Master agree?"

The old man beside her also looked over with burning eyes.

Jade Dragon Son walked to his prayer mat and sat down. He didn't answer immediately, but instead adjusted his breathing for a moment before slowly saying, "It should... be done."

"Oh?" The old man's brows twitched slightly.

"I explained the matter of the Domain Lord and the pros and cons to Sect Master Lin in full detail. Although he didn't agree to an alliance on the spot, but..."

Jade Dragon Son paused, "He accepted the ten million top-grade immortal crystals I left behind."

"Furthermore, he personally promised that in one year's time, the Wending Sect will send people to participate in the Three Academies' Disciple Competition."

"He accepted?" Hearing this, the old woman's tense expression visibly relaxed, and she even revealed a trace of a smile. "It's good that he took the gift. Is there any logic in the world for taking a gift for nothing and not doing anything?"

"Since he accepted the gift, it means he is willing to ally with our Three Great Academies."

Accepting such a heavy gift and agreeing to participate in such a public grand event released a massive signal in itself.

"What is the strength of that Wending Sect... exactly?"

The old man was more concerned about this and asked in a heavy voice.

This was the key to whether their plan could succeed.

Mentioning this, a look of lingering fear immediately surfaced on Jade Dragon Son's face, and he even subconsciously lowered his voice.

"Strong! Very strong! Strong... beyond imagination!"

He looked at the two of them and said word by word, "Let me put it this way, the one guarding the gate of the Wending Sect... is a Big Black Dog."

The old man and the old woman were stunned.

"That dog," Jade Dragon Son took a deep breath, "is at Peak True Immortal."

"What?!" The old man and the old woman lost their voices almost simultaneously, their faces filled with disbelief.

A guard dog at Peak True Immortal?

This was simply absurd!

But Jade Dragon Son would never joke about such a thing.

"That's not all."

Jade Dragon Son smiled bitterly, "As for that Wending Sect Master Lin Chen... I completely cannot see through his cultivation."

"With just a single Divine Thought, he suppressed me completely from a distance. I couldn't even produce a single thought of resistance."

"That feeling... was as if I wasn't facing a Cultivator, but a bottomless sea of Chaos stars."

A dead silence fell over the Dao altar.

Only the slight sound of the Heart-Clearing Incense burning could be heard.

A guard dog at Peak True Immortal... a single Divine Thought able to completely suppress Jade Dragon Son, who is at the third level of Half-step Golden Immortal... the foundation of this Wending Sect is truly unfathomable!

"Good! What a Wending Sect!"

After a long time, the old man finally exhaled a long breath of turbid air, a startling brilliance erupting in his eyes.

"From the looks of it, three years from now, our hope of defeating that Domain Lord has indeed grown much larger!" The old woman also became excited. "The key depends on how much effort this Wending Sect is willing to put in when the time comes!"

Jade Dragon Son nodded heavily, an irrepressible excitement also rising on his face: "Exactly! The sudden rise of the Wending Sect this time is simply like heaven's help!"

"With their joining, the great matter we have been planning for ten million years has finally seen the dawn!"

The three people's gazes met in the air, all seeing the flame that had been reignited in each other's eyes after being dormant for countless ages.

"You two."

The old man slowly stood up, his voice carrying an unprecedented solemnity, "Everything will depend on three years from now."

"Three years later, either the Qinggu Heaven Domain will be reborn, or..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the other two understood.

Either it would be total destruction, and even the Daoist lineages of their Three Great Academies, which had been passed down for countless years, would be reduced to ashes.

On the Dao altar, the smoke still rose straight, yet it seemed to carry a weight of expectation and determination heavier than mountains... Wending Sect, Utility Disciple Quarters.

Zhang Iron Pillar sat on a stone stool in his small courtyard and exhaled a long stream of white air. That breath condensed without dissipating, faintly carrying the sound of wind and thunder.

He opened his eyes, and a sharp light flashed through them for an instant.

"I've been in the Sect for over half a year, and I've been Cultivating in the great dao spacetime pagoda the whole time..." he murmured to himself with a sigh, "Half a year outside is over two hundred years in the spacetime pagoda. Time really flies; it passed in the blink of an eye."

"Over two hundred years of bitter Cultivation, I've finally rushed all the way from the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment to Peak Soul Transformation."

"I plan to head out of the Sect for experience first. After I return, I should be able to Breakthrough to the Void Refining Realm."

"At that time, I'll be able to be promoted to an Outer Sect Disciple."

The minimum requirement to be promoted to an Outer Sect Disciple is Early Void Refinement Stage. He would soon have the qualifications for promotion.

"Haha, Brother Iron Pillar!"

The neighboring courtyard gate was pushed open, and Big Stone walked in with a grin, munching on a spirit fruit.

"You've come out of seclusion? Me too!"

"I'm telling you, joining a great Sect is awesome!"

"The resources we Utility Disciples receive are more than what the Core Disciples of those great Sects outside get!"

"And that great dao spacetime pagoda, tsk tsk, one day inside is worth a year outside!"

"Soak in the mortal transformation pool, stand on the Ascension Platform, charge through the heaven-reaching pagoda... this cultivation level really shoots up like crazy, it can't be stopped!"

"I'm now an Early Stage Soul Transformation expert too!"

As he spoke, he slapped Zhang Iron Pillar's shoulder hard, his face full of excitement.

Zhang Iron Pillar was shaken by his slaps and also began to laugh: "Yeah, joining the Wending Sect was the best decision we ever made! Big Stone, keep working hard. Once we both Breakthrough to the Void Refining Realm, we'll enter the outer Sect together!"

"Definitely!" Big Stone nodded vigorously.

As the two were talking, suddenly—

"Clang— Clang— Clang—!"

Three distant and resonant bell tolls echoed throughout the entire Wending Sect without warning. Lin Chen's voice came from the direction of the Qingyun Main Hall, clearly reaching the ears of every Disciple and Elder, reverberating in every corner of the Sect.

"To temper my Disciples and advance your cultivation, from this day forward, the Wending Sect opens its gates!"

"All Disciples and Elders may choose to go out for experience or stay in the Sect for secluded Cultivation!"

The voice paused before continuing:

"At the same time, I announce new Sect regulations—"

"Any Disciple of our Sect whose cultivation reaches the Body Integration Realm may be promoted to an Outer Sect Disciple."

"Those whose cultivation reaches the Tribulation Crossing Realm may be promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple."

"Those whose cultivation reaches the Mahayana Realm may be promoted to a Core Disciple."

"Disciples of each rank will be ranked once a year based on contribution, cultivation, and combat power! Those at the top of the rankings will enjoy additional resource allocation!"

As the voice faded, the sound of the bell lingered.

Every part of the Sect was silent at first, and then a massive uproar broke out.

Some were excited, some lamented... but even more were engaged in heated discussion.

In the small courtyard of the Utility Disciple Quarters, Big Stone, who had been jubilant just a moment ago, now had his mouth open wide enough to fit a spirit fruit.

The smile on Zhang Iron Pillar's face also froze, slowly turning into a bitter smile.

"Body Integration Realm... just to enter the outer Sect?" Big Stone counted on his fingers, "Soul Transformation, Void Refining, Body Integration... I'm only at Early Stage Soul Transformation; I still have to cross two major Realms?!"

He suddenly felt that the spirit fruit in his hand was no longer sweet.