Perfected Spirit Pine gave an awkward laugh and cupped his hands respectfully.
“Since it is Taihe’s will, the Celestial Masters’ Manor shall naturally comply.”
“This Taihe Contest will have to trouble Your Highness.”
Perfected Spirit Pine deliberately used the words “Taihe’s will” rather than “His Majesty’s decree.”
It was a message for all cultivators to hear.
Taihe was still the sky above the Celestial Masters’ Manor, and Taihe’s commands would be obeyed.
Not because Taihe was the Son of Heaven, but because the Son of Heaven was Taihe.
Those words both gave Emperor Luo the respect he deserved and preserved the dignity of the Celestial Masters’ Manor.
At his side, Reverend Coldstone still wore his usual icy expression, yet he gave a slight nod as well, making his support clear.
Even that old fox Perfected Spirit Pine had put it this way. If anyone continued to object, would they not merely appear unable to read the situation?
The remaining consecrated elders nodded in turn, indicating that they had no objections.
Things had already been stated this plainly. To oppose it any further would be to fail to appreciate the favor being shown.
Besides, there truly was no better option.
At last, everyone’s gaze returned to Luo Zhao.
Once she had confirmed that no one objected, Luo Zhao continued.
“Then the first Taihe Contest shall be held at the hour of the Snake the day after tomorrow.”
“The details will be decided after the Imperial Household Office has notified all consecrated elders.”
No one raised any objection to this decision either.
There were many consecrated elders in the Celestial Masters’ Manor—several dozen in all.
But compared with the vast territories of Great Luo and the countless cultivation sects throughout its lands, that number was far from large.
Many of the consecrated elders spent the year traveling abroad. Yet the Taihe Contest required the participation of every consecrated elder in the Celestial Masters’ Manor.
Simply notifying those who were away would take time.
Moreover, proper rotations had to be arranged. They could not neglect every other duty simply because of the Taihe Contest.
This was precisely when the significance of having the Crown Prince oversee matters, while the Imperial Household Office handled all administrative affairs, became apparent.
The Imperial Household Office had always served as the central channel through which communications passed between the royal family and the various powers.
With the aid of this immense apparatus, the scattered consecrated elders could receive word in the shortest possible time.
Then, under the most suitable arrangements, they could return to the Celestial Masters’ Manor at the appropriate moment.
When no one spoke up again, Luo Zhao gave her final conclusion.
“Then let us disperse.”
With that, she strode toward Gu Chengyin, who stood in the middle of the square.
At her command, the cultivators who had gathered to watch scattered like birds and beasts.
The gray-robed cultivators hurried away while excitedly muttering among themselves. The blue-robed stewards clustered together, quietly exchanging opinions.
Even the consecrated elders, their faces dark and solemn, departed one by one to make their preparations.
News of the Taihe Contest was certain to spread through Great Luo’s cultivation world at astonishing speed.
It was easy to foresee that the Celestial Masters’ Manor would be exceptionally lively the day after tomorrow.
Not only would the Gold Core consecrated elders who were away return, but many cultivation sects would come as well.
After all, the position of Taihe in the Celestial Masters’ Manor concerned the balance of power throughout Great Luo’s cultivation world.
And this was the first Taihe Contest in five hundred years. No one would miss such a grand occasion.
When Luo Zhao reached Gu Chengyin, she did not stop. Instead, she gave him a look.
It lasted only an instant, yet it seemed as though her gaze had lingered over his face for a very long time.
Then Luo Zhao passed him by and continued toward Lin Qingyan on the stone steps.
Gu Chengyin understood immediately. He turned and followed half a step behind her, maintaining the distance proper for a Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince.
Yet it was close enough for everyone to see that the Crown Prince and her Junior Tutor stood on the same side in this matter.
Lin Qingyan remained still upon the stone steps.
Her gaze passed over Luo Zhao, then over Gu Chengyin behind her.
At last, it settled upon Luo Zhao’s cold, proud, solitary face.
Lin Qingyan’s expression was equally calm. Only the corner of her lips shifted slightly.
Quite a few cultivators remained in the square, pretending to chat while secretly observing every movement the three made from the corners of their eyes.
When they saw that the three had no intention of speaking and were instead heading together toward the Tranquility Tower, they could not help but feel deeply disappointed.
What a pity—they had not gotten any gossip.
Ever since an imperial decree had bestowed marriage upon Lin Qingyan and Gu Chengyin, the eyes of countless gossipmongers had turned toward Luo Zhao.
After all, Luo Zhao was the one who had been romantically involved with Gu Chengyin, the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince.
Yet now Gu Chengyin had been betrothed to Lin Qingyan—and Lin Qingyan was even Luo Zhao’s aunt.
Was that not a love triangle?
And now, at last, the three had appeared together, only to not exchange a single word?
What a letdown.
But disappointed or not, the watchers’ gazes could go no farther once the shadow of the Tranquility Tower receded into the distance.
The Tranquility Tower was forbidden ground within the Celestial Masters’ Manor. Without Lin Qingyan’s permission, who would dare approach even a single step?
The three people at the center of all that attention paid no mind to the various stares. Without looking aside, they walked straight to the tower.
Sunlight made the tower’s ancient glazed tiles shimmer with flowing color, while dark-silver runes slowly circulated across its walls.
Lin Qingyan raised her hand and pressed it against the rune disc on the tower door. The runes glimmered faintly before silently sinking into the seams of the door.
The doors slowly opened, and the three entered in succession. Behind them, the doors gradually closed.
They shut out every prying gaze, every curious ear, and every faint trace of spiritual perception outside.
Only after the doors had closed completely did Luo Zhao let out a breath of relief.
Just as she was about to say something, light footsteps came from the staircase above.
They were accompanied by a voice she knew all too well.
“Sister Qingyan, you’re back? How is Chengcheng? I heard the bells outside ring nine times. Does that mean—”
The voice abruptly cut off halfway through.
Shangguan Yunying appeared around the bend of the stairs.
She had presumably heard the tower doors open and hurried down from upstairs, her steps carrying both urgency and concern.
One hand still rested on the stair rail, but she had already frozen in place, coming face-to-face with Luo Zhao below.
Luo Zhao’s eyes widened, filled with stunned disbelief.
Because Shangguan Yunying was not wearing the pale crimson court robes that marked her former status as Chief Lady Attendant.
She was not even dressed in ordinary clothes, for that matter.
To be precise, she wore only a loose sleeping gown. It was made from the finest spirit silkworm silk.
Under the faint spiritual light of the Tranquility Tower, it shone with a soft, warm luster.
Her long hair spilled loosely over her shoulders, smooth dark strands falling down to cover most of her face.
But her collar hung open, exposing a broad expanse of snowy skin to the air.
Her pale collarbones, her slender neck, and the skin from the side of her neck down to her collarbones and further beneath the open neckline—
were covered in hickeys, scattered in countless shades and depths, layered one upon another.
Against Shangguan Yunying’s fair skin, those marks looked strikingly vivid.
One after another, overlapping in place after place.
They densely covered every inch between her neck and collarbones.
“Shangguan! Yunying!”
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
