Chapter 583: There's One Missing

The mountain, which was so tall it reached through the clouds, stood majestically at the edge of the desert. Jagged cliffs protruded from the face of the mountain, leading up to a peak shrouded in clouds. It looked like something out of the immortal realm.

Strangely, when Chu Liang scanned the area from afar with his divine sense, he hadn't been able to detect the mountain. Yet, when he got closer, he could see it clearly with the naked eye.

In the dense mountain forest, spirit beasts roared from time to time, and white cranes emerged from the treetops, soaring into the sky. This was unmistakably an otherworldly paradise—a mountain belonging to immortals.

There are living beings here?

Chu Liang was stunned.

The Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams could not reflect living beings into the illusory realm. The only exceptions were resurrected corpses, such as the Black Whale Mountain.

If life existed in this world, could it be that Chu Liang was not in the Divine Mirror's illusory realm and had instead been transported to an unknown place?

There appeared to be a Daoist temple on the mountain peak, though it was unclear if it was inhabited. Chu Liang hesitated for a moment over whether he should check it out. Even speaking with an exotic beast or spirit bird might offer him some insight into his current situation.

However, before he even took a step, a deafening thunderclap rang out.

Crack!

A stream of purple-gold lightning suddenly streaked across the Vault of Heaven, and thick, multicolored haze cascaded down like floodwaters from a burst dam.

The lightning hadn't simply streaked across; it had actually split open the Vault of Heaven!

The nine suns in the sky seemed to have a spiritual nature. Faced with this scene, they withdrew discreetly into the background.

Astonishingly, the lightning's destination was the Daoist temple.

Whoosh.

A gust of wind swept past as a figure in a green Daoist robe emerged from the temple. That bolt of lightning was so massive it seemed like judgment from the heavens, yet the person faced it fearlessly without the slightest intention of retreating.

Chu Liang was too far away to see the person's face, but the person seemed to have the nonchalance of a being from the ancient primordial wilderness.

The person raised his sword and slashed down.

The modest-looking white sword light cleaved through the immense bolt of lightning. However, it did not stop there; it continued straight upward, widening the gap in the Vault of Heaven with a resounding whoosh.

He sliced through the sky with his sword!

Chu Liang watched the scene unfold in stunned silence. Overwhelmed by an indescribable sense of awe, he couldn't form any coherent thoughts.

The sky had transformed into a black abyss. Within it, there was a vague outline of a giant standing on the clouds, wielding an enchanted tool in its massive hand.

The white sword continued slashing into the abyss, severing that massive hand at the wrist. A blood-curdling scream rang out as the severed hand fell from the sky.

Booooom!!!

The hand was comparable in size to a mountain, so when it fell to the ground, it produced the deafening noise and shockwaves of an unimaginable scale.Yet, they did not overshadow the battle raging above in the slightest.

Chu Liang noticed that the giant hand was clutching what appeared to be an ancient Eight Trigram Compass...

Before he could take a closer look, a furious shout erupted from the heavens, and a bronze pagoda that gave off the stateliness of an ancient era long passed descended from the sky.

The moment Chu Liang saw it, he recognized it! It was the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda!

No disciple of the Mount Shu Sect had seen the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda in generations, but they all knew what it looked like.

The Demon-Suppressing Pagoda was the legendary artifact that had brought glory to the Mount Shu Sect for several millennia. Now, it was being used to suppress just one person.

Nevertheless, the person in the Daoist robe remained unfazed. He did the same thing as before, raising his sword once more.

Whoosh.

He unleashed another sword strike. The slash wasn't directed at the pagoda but the giant behind it.

As the swordlight slashed the sky, a beast-like roar ripped through the air.

"

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!

"

If this were the human realm, people across all nine provinces would have heard it.

The force of the roar threw Chu Liang into the air, flying backward over ten zhang before crashing to the ground.

In a battle of this magnitude, his level of strength was no different from that of an insect. Just approaching the battle would place him at immense risk.

Right after that roar, the descending bronze pagoda seemed to lose control. It plummeted to the ground.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

The pagoda landed on the ground with a force that was a hundred times more powerful than the giant hand, unleashing a massive sandstorm that engulfed everything in an instant.

Chu Liang's vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.

...

The sound of drums and gongs filled the air. Firecrackers crackled, and red flags fluttered in the wind. Surging crowds flooded the city.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and after much anticipation, the citizens of Yu's capital finally welcomed the final chapter of the Assembly of Immortal Sects.

It was time for the Battle at the Imperial City!

Commoners could not enter the Imperial City, but they could watch the battle unfold from beneath the Dragon Terrace outside. Cultivators would cast spells there to project the scenes of the battle for all to see.

The Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams had a fixed perspective for the projection, but that wasn't the case for the venue of the third round. The scenes in every winding corridor would be projected, so viewers could freely choose what they wished to watch.

Restaurants and inns lining the main street raised their prices dozens to hundreds of times over, yet they were still packed with people. Young women waved vermilion and emerald silk handkerchiefs, ready to toss them from the balconies to catch the attention of the prodigies below.

Men hoisted banners and large flags adorned with names and cheers of encouragement. Of course, most of them were directed at the disciples of the South Melody Conservatory.

It had been many years since the South Melody Conservatory last advanced to the Battle at the Imperial City. Regardless of their performance in the battle, their fans were satisfied with just being able to see them.

A line of horses and carriages approached the main street.

Someone shouted, "The Penglai Supreme Sect's procession has arrived!"

The Imperial City had sent envoys and celestial horses to escort the disciples of the immortal sects over from the Emperor's Mound.

Yang Shenlong was the first to enter the main street, riding on a tall pure-white horse that seemed incredibly spirited.

There were multitudes of immortal sects in the mortal realm, so it was no small feat for a sect to make it into the top ten. This ceremonial parade through the city was a special honor bestowed upon the sects that managed to achieve that feat.

"The Celestial King Sect's procession has arrived!"

The Celestial King Sect's procession was next. Feng Chaoyang rode in with high spirits, glancing around with eyes shining with divine light.

Any youth would find such a scene exhilarating.

"The Endless Sword Sect's procession has arrived!"

Unlike the previous two sects where the team members rode in one after the other, the Endless Sword Sect's procession consisted of Li Shiyi riding alone, followed by three people riding on three celestial horses side by side. The Xu Family's three brothers—known as the Tiger[1]-Dragon[2]-Leopard[3] Brothers—refused to fall behind one another, so they had to ride together. None of them made any move to conceal their competitiveness; they openly persisted in trying to outdo each other.

As they vied for the leading position, they nearly collided with Li Shiyi's horse.

Li Shiyi covered her face with her hands, silently wishing this embarrassing parade would end soon.

Li Shiyi vowed never to leave the mountain with those three brothers again once this assembly was over.

"The Buddhist Cloud Monastery's procession has arrived!"

Leading the Buddhist Cloud Monastery's procession was none other than Pushan.

Normally, the oldest monk in the team would be the one leading it. However, it was thanks to Pushan's solo efforts that they turned the tide and advanced in the Competition of a Hundred Sects, so his teammates unanimously chose him to be the first to appear.

Pushan sure was amicable. As he rode his horse in, he waved and greeted the crowd. "Ah, benefactors, you've come early! Hey, child, don't climb that tree! I'm telling you, you're in for a treat this time..."

There was another shout. "The Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals' procession has arrived!"

The Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals entered next. In stark contrast to the boisterous monk, their leader was much quieter.

His mouth was shut. But so were his eyes.

Situ Guanhai was second in the procession and noticed the crowd sniggering at them. It didn't take long for him to figure out why.

"Fuck," Situ Guanhai cursed. "Eldest Senior Brother fell asleep on the horse again."

Next was the Great Astral Sect's procession. Like Pushan, they were very amicable and wore warm, sincere smiles.

The Celestial Pivot Pavilion's procession followed next, but they were not that well received. They were more reserved and not widely recognized. Even Ye Yongxing, who was leading the way, was unfamiliar to most of the crowd.

Then came the South Melody Conservatory's procession. They were welcomed by a tsunami of cheers. Tie Chui was leading the way, and she had to cover her ears because of the overwhelming noise.

After the long line of teams entered the city, many children ran after them, hoping to absorb a bit of their spiritual qi.

Some time passed after the children left, but the crowd remained in place.

A hush fell over them, followed by a rising murmur.

They were all discussing one thing.

"Isn't there one missing?"

"Where is the Mount Shu Sect's procession?"

1. His name is Xu Hu, with the Hu meaning tiger. ☜

2. His name is Xu Long, with the Long meaning dragon. ☜

3. His name is Xu Bao, with the Bao meaning leopard. ☜