186: Chapter 186 The Lingering Warmth of Winter, Pine Flowers Hanging in the Sky

The sacrificial ceremony was completed, with plum blossoms adorning the crimson, spiritual springs washing away the dust, and jade water bestowing blessings... The first day of the Winter Ceremony passed in a grand, solemn atmosphere filled with enchanting intimacy.

From the second day onwards, the celebratory feasts prepared by the various Peaks of the Sect officially kicked off. The seven-day carnival transformed the Moonshadow Sect into a true earthly paradise for immortals.

Amidst the magnificent pavilions and jade towers, light shimmered and colors danced; beneath the plum branches covered in snow, laughter rang out. The Elders in charge of each Peak and hall displayed their unique abilities, meticulously preparing a wide variety of celebratory activities based on their Peak's characteristics and their hall's functions.

On the Dao Evolution Plateau, Sword Qi crisscrossed, and techniques shone brilliantly. Disciples took turns on the stage to exchange pointers and discuss the Dao, either verifying newly comprehended Divine Abilities or demonstrating exquisite sword techniques. Below the stage, cheers erupted continuously; the winners were high-spirited, and the losers also gained insights, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

In the Artifact Refining workshop of Chunyang Peak, earth fires rose, and the sound of hammers rang out clearly. A small-scale Artifact Refining observation competition was held here. The Disciples of the Artifact Pavilion displayed their skills, melting spiritual materials on the spot and forging exquisite Magical Artifacts. Elder Chu Zhirou personally provided critiques, drawing exclamations of wonder from the watching Disciples.

In the quiet and elegant Talisman Pavilion of Xuanyin Peak, points of Talisman light glimmered. Chi Wanhe was enthusiastically hosting a small game called "Plum Talisman Drawing Spirit."

She used her Qi to guide the falling petals of the blood-colored strange plum blossoms around them, letting the Disciples try to use their Divine Sense to manipulate the petals and combine them into simple, temporary Talismans to trigger faint ice or life-force spiritual light. Amidst the laughter and joy, the wonders of the Talisman path were fully displayed.

"Senior Sister, what do you think of this 'Cold Plum Protection Talisman' of mine?"

A Disciple excitedly displayed a crude light shield composed of three petals.

Another Disciple further away called out to a companion: "Junior Sister! Come over and try the 'Plum Talisman Drawing Spirit' at Xuanyin Peak; it's hosted by Elder Fuqu, and it's so interesting!"

The Rouge Valley of Houde Peak became the main venue for the spiritual food banquet. The long open-air tables were filled with spiritual vegetables and fruits carefully cultivated by the Spirit Plant Hall, as well as various delicacies skillfully prepared by the Spirit Cuisine Hall.

Lu Changning moved among them, occasionally bringing out freshly baked pastries containing the essence of herbs and trees, making the Disciples salivate and praise them endlessly.

On the morning of the seventh day, a muffled thunderclap, different from the noise of the celebration, rolled in from the direction of the Tribulation Platform.

Countless Disciples looked up to see a tribulation cloud interwoven with scarlet and dark blue gathering crazily, with electric snakes dancing wildly within the clouds, emitting an aura of destruction.

"Who is undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation this time? Such terrifying power!" exclaimed a Disciple.

"It's Senior Sister Liu! It's Senior Sister Liu Yaner from our Xiayu Peak!" A group of Xiayu Peak Disciples pointed excitedly at the red figure beneath the center of the tribulation cloud, their tone full of pride.

"Before the Winter Ceremony, Elder Hua Youyou of the General Affairs Department passed the Nascent Soul Lightning Tribulation at Houde Peak, and Elder Yun Yanran of the Spirit Plant Hall also successfully formed her Nascent Soul... Now it's our Xiayu Peak's Senior Sister Liu's turn!"

"Senior Sister Liu is a Nanming Li Fire Physique, at the Peak of the ninth level of the Golden Core. If she can survive this tribulation, she will be a Nascent Soul great Cultivator!"

Another fire-attribute Disciple's eyes shone with worship.

Beneath the Tribulation Platform, Liu Yaner, dressed in red, looked solemn. The Nanming Li Fire burned fiercely around her as her figure soared into the sky, brazenly meeting the first bolt of scarlet-purple Heavenly Tribulation that poured down! The violent energy shockwave scattered, but was firmly locked in by the protective Formation of the Tribulation Platform.

Throughout the Sect, countless eyes were cast toward that place where thunder raged.

The peace and joy of the Winter Ceremony intertwined with the danger and grandeur of the tribulation, highlighting both the vitality of the Sect and the hardships of the Dao path. The Disciples held their breath, worried for their fellow Disciple while also being stirred by the sight of someone climbing the Great Dao and breaking through to a new realm.

The entire Moonshadow Sect was immersed in a magnificent atmosphere of prosperity and forging ahead.

...

Northeast of the Wutong Divine Dynasty, in Songhua County, in a small courtyard by the river.

The table was a mess of cups and plates. A plump spiritual chicken was now reduced to a skeleton and two lonely chicken feet.

Gu Qingyao looked at Yue Qianqian opposite her, who was sucking her fingers and still unsatisfied. She helplessly pressed her forehead, her elegant face full of a bitter smile.

"Junior Sister Qianqian, your way of being 'hospitable' is truly... unique. What am I supposed to eat? Gnaw on chicken feet?"

Yue Qianqian blinked her round eyes, showing no shame, and instead laughingly grabbed another chicken foot:

"Don't be so polite, Second Senior Sister. Chicken feet are crunchy and delicious! If you don't eat them, I'm really going to eat them!" As she spoke, she made a gesture to gnaw on it.

Gu Qingyao waved her hand, too lazy to pay attention to this foodie Junior Sister, and instead took out an object from her storage ring with a solemn expression, placing it on the table.

It was a dark cyan metal block the size of a palm. It looked like an anchor, its surface covered with mysterious spiral patterns, but deep within the patterns were several shocking cracks, as if it had been split open by great force.

A cryptic sense of heaviness permeated from it as the center, and even the light and shadow on the table seemed to be slightly distorted and sinking.

Although the Magic Treasure was damaged, the Law fragments it contained could not be underestimated.

"Dingyue Gui..."

Gu Qingyao stroked the cold cracks with her fingertips, her voice low.

"The famous Magic Treasure of the ancient Void Tempering Heavenly Venerable, which shook Cangwu with its mastery of gravity Dao Laws. According to the records, in order to stop the demon disaster, he went alone along the large spatial crack in the northern part of Cangwu State and killed his way into the True Demon Realm. Since then, there has been no news of him, and his life or death is unknown. How could such a Dao Artifact appear at the bottom of the Songhua River?"

Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed tightly as she muttered to herself:

"Moreover, just by this severely damaged Dao Artifact, it is absolutely impossible to trigger the phenomenon of the entire Songhua River 'hanging in the sky'."

In the Wutong Divine Dynasty, there is an agency dedicated to dealing with Erosion Beasts and chaotic rules, called the Heaven Suppressing Division.

And Yue Qianqian, as the fourth Disciple of the Imperial Preceptor, also had another identity: a Heaven Rank Guardian of the Heaven Suppressing Division.

This time, she was ordered to investigate the serious rule disturbance event at the Songhua River.

And the reason Gu Qingyao accompanied her was partly to get some fresh air.

In the Qifeng Palace, after the Empress was furious about Ling Hao's "thousand Dao Companions" affair, she had not held court for a month. All the pressure fell on her, the close female official, and she was exhausted by Su Fengyi's "strike" from the court.

On the other hand, she was also dragged here by this Junior Sister who was half-coaxing and half-shameless. Yue Qianqian always clamored, "Second Senior Sister is the best. I don't feel at ease without you."

The result of the river hanging in the sky was caused by the Dingyue Gui in hand, probably? This Magic Treasure appeared at the bottom of the Songhua River. It was ordinary; if Gu Qingyao, this Void Tempering Cultivator, did not have keen perception, she would not have noticed anything unusual.

This section of the river had been strictly controlled by the Heaven Suppressing Division, with multiple monitoring Formations interwoven like a net. Gu Qingyao took out a glazed mirror — the Heaven Peering Mirror. Spiritual light flowed on the mirror surface, clearly reflecting the real-time scene at the bottom of the Songhua River.

Silt, water weeds, sunken stones... Everything was as usual, as if that earth-shattering "suspended river" phenomenon had never happened.

Gu Qingyao injected her magic power, and the scene in the mirror moved slowly, scanning every corner meticulously. Just as she was about to look away —

In the water weeds at the edge of the mirror, a blurry shadow flashed by! It was as fast as an illusion, like an unusually large black fish, but its swimming trajectory... was stiff and unnaturally distorted.

"Hmm?" Gu Qingyao's pupils shrank slightly, and she immediately controlled the Heaven Peering Mirror to chase and capture, but the shadow had completely merged into the darkness of the deep water, leaving no trace.

"... Illusion?"

She muttered to herself, but a trace of inexplicable unease lingered in her heart.

"Second Senior Sister, if you don't eat, I'm really going to eat..."

Yue Qianqian's voice pulled her back from her thoughts. Looking at the empty table and her Junior Sister's innocent eyes, Gu Qingyao sighed helplessly. She was just about to say something —

"Boom crack —!!!"

A terrifying thunderclap from the horizon, accompanied by the pressure of heaven and earth, suddenly swept across the entire Songhua County!

"Tribulation cloud! What a terrifying tribulation cloud!"

The courtyard outside instantly became noisy, and the Cultivators in the city looked at the distant horizon in horror.

"Look at that direction... I'm afraid it's tens of thousands of miles away from our county? Can we feel the pressure from so far away? This... This is definitely not an ordinary Nascent Soul tribulation! Even the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation might not have such momentum!"

An old Cultivator with knowledge said with a trembling voice.

"Impossible! The highest cultivation level in our Songhua County is only the Early Stage of Soul Transformation; who can undergo such a great tribulation nearby?" Someone couldn't believe it.

"Could it be some hidden old monster?"

Gu Qingyao and Yue Qianqian had also stood up long ago, looking into the distance from the railing. They saw that at the extremely distant horizon, a pitch-black tribulation cloud was crazily rotating and expanding, with dark purple lightning rolling in the clouds.

A look of astonishing brilliance erupted in Yue Qianqian's eyes. The laziness just now was swept away, and she pulled Gu Qingyao's sleeve and jumped excitedly:

"Second Senior Sister! Look! In this small place, there is still a Seven-Nine Lightning Tribulation. Let's go, let's go see the excitement... uh, go investigate the situation!"

Her sense of responsibility as a "Guardian" seemed pale and powerless in the face of earth-shattering excitement.

Gu Qingyao looked at Yue Qianqian's eager appearance and pressed her forehead again.

She forgot that her Junior Sister, in addition to being a foodie, also liked to join in the fun.