As Mingming watched him approach, she lowered her head and immediately caught sight of the Wentian City token he discreetly revealed to her.
That made sense. Only Wentian City could have so many outstanding young cultivators.
The gray-robed cultivator was not wearing Wentian City’s robes, and his movements were rather furtive.
It seemed that Lord Wuya truly had no desire whatsoever to become involved with the Shen Clan.
That was exactly what Mingming wanted. She hoped Lu Wei would stay as far away from her as possible.
“Are you Second Miss Shen?” the gray-robed cultivator asked.
Mingming nodded.
After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, the gray-robed cultivator asked again, “Where is the Young Lord?”
“The Young Lord is right here.” Mingming held out her hand, revealing the black snake coiled around her wrist.
“Oh, Young Lord!” The gray-robed cultivator hurriedly pulled Mingming’s sleeve back down to cover him. “You absolutely can’t do this.”
“Lord Wuya asked me to tell you that if you transform into this form again, he’ll punish you with a hundred years of confinement in Wentian Abyss Pass.”
Those words did not sound like an empty threat, and Lu Xuan actually listened.
He casually transformed into a gray rabbit instead and draped himself over Mingming’s shoulder.
The gray-robed cultivator then took out a jade bracelet and said, “Lord Wuya sent me to deliver some things the Young Lord usually uses.”
Lu Xuan had no hands at the moment, so Mingming accepted it on his behalf. This spatial jade bracelet alone was already an invaluable treasure. Wentian City truly lived up to its reputation for immense wealth.
Mingming slipped the jade bracelet around the rabbit Lu Xuan’s neck and nodded to the gray-robed cultivator.
“Second Miss Shen, do your best!” the gray-robed cultivator unexpectedly encouraged Mingming before leaving.
Mingming: “?” ‘Do my best at what?’
“The Young Lord isn’t easy to win over,” the gray-robed cultivator whispered when he saw her puzzled expression.
Before Lu Xuan could get angry, he had already dashed off in a puff of smoke.
Mingming distinctly felt the rabbit perched on her shoulder stomp one of its hind feet.
“What utter nonsense,” he said.
Mingming said nothing. She merely lifted her head to look at the sky. By then, all the cultivators had likewise turned their gazes toward the heavens.
Above the sea of clouds, radiant splendor blazed as ancient, majestic buildings stretched beyond the limits of sight.
Then, jade steps extended downward from the front of Changxiao Palace, as though inviting every cultivator present.
Following the flow of the crowd, Mingming stepped onto the broad staircase, walking upon the clouds for who knew how long.
She looked ahead and finally caught sight of the gates of Changxiao Palace.
The immortal gate stood wide open. It was the very first step on the path to ascension for countless cultivators, making it a place of extraordinary significance and sanctity.
Before the immortal gate stood two towering statues, one on each side. Both bore the form of women, yet their facial features were blurred beyond recognition.
Upon seeing these two divine statues, some of the cultivators beside Mingming grew so emotional that they immediately bowed in worship, kneeling beneath the jade steps with nothing but reverence and devotion in their eyes.
No one found such a sight surprising. Even Lu Xuan, crouching on Mingming’s shoulder, lifted his head.
The two statues were known as “Baiyi” and “Qing Ming.” The meaning carried by those two names was enough to deserve such unwavering loyalty and faith.
Their legends were stories every cultivator in the cultivation world knew by heart.
In the ancient era, humanity still lived in ignorance. They knew nothing of heaven and earth, nothing of the unseen, and nothing of the path of cultivation.
It was then that Baiyi appeared, delivering humanity from its state of ignorance and primordial chaos. She was more a symbol of the sages of that age than a single individual.
Baiyi had no true name. Clad only in white robes, all people knew was that she was a woman whose face remained hidden beneath the white hood, her appearance forever unknown and shrouded in mystery.
Baiyi revealed the fundamental principles of cultivation and, together with the scholars of humanity, compiled the earliest cultivation classics. The cultivation manual she personally authored remained one of the most widely used foundations for cultivation throughout the cultivation world even today.
She was not only unmatched in wisdom but also compassionate toward all living beings, having saved countless lives. Whenever seekers came to her with questions, she answered without reservation. During the thousand years she walked the mortal world, she taught innumerable disciples.
Before Cangwu fell, within the Zhujuan region where she resided, peach forests stretched for thousands of miles, blooming unfailingly throughout the year. Every one of those peach trees had been planted by her students in gratitude for her teachings.
Strangely enough, Baiyi vanished overnight without a trace, never to be seen again. Yet her deeds alone were enough for humanity to enshrine her in their temples.
Together with the sages and mighty figures of the ancient era, she was honored with a golden statue. Generations of descendants came in an endless stream to pay their respects, and the incense offerings never ceased.
Ten thousand years after Baiyi disappeared, the war between the human race and the demon race grew ever more intense. Within the realm of Cangwu stood a little-known kingdom called “Changxiao.”
At that time, the Kingdom of Changxiao was beset by crises both within and without, surrounded by enemies on every side. Beyond its borders, the demon race watched it like hungry tigers stalking their prey. Within the human race, the neighboring kingdoms likewise longed for the small nation to collapse so they could divide up Changxiao’s lands and people among themselves.
Driven to the brink of destruction, King Qingli of Changxiao placed his hopes in an ethereal legend. He journeyed to Baiyi’s homeland and prayed for the descent of a deity.
This experience had all the makings of a legend. That very night, Qingli truly received Baiyi’s divine blessing. She conceived through divine inspiration and gave birth to a daughter named “Qing Ming.”
Some believed that Princess Qing Ming of Changxiao was Baiyi’s reincarnation. Whatever the truth, after this legendary woman descended upon Changxiao, the kingdom’s fate was completely transformed. During Qingli’s century-long reign, she reclaimed lost territories at home and drove the demon race into repeated defeat abroad.
After Qingli grew old and passed away, the former Princess Qing Ming ascended the throne as the ruler of Changxiao. She took up humanity’s banner against the demon race and stood in direct opposition to the great demon “Xiu,” who had plunged the world into chaos, saving humanity from disaster time and again.
But Xiu, whose true form was a serpent, was unimaginably cruel, delighting in slaughter and destruction. Even though humanity resisted with all its might, the aftermath of their war alone was enough to devastate the entire mortal realm.
At that time, the Divine Realm dispatched the God of War, Yan Shanyue, to join forces with Qing Ming. Together, they laid a deadly killing formation within Cangwu to trap and slay Xiu. Yet Xiu’s power far exceeded Yan Shanyue’s expectations. He turned the formation against them, and his deadly venom spread throughout the whole land of Cangwu.
To save the soldiers under her command, Qing Ming was afflicted by the venom. In the end, the killing formation was shattered, and even Yan Shanyue suffered grievous injuries. Just as it seemed the mortal realm was about to fall to Xiu, the wounded Qing Ming faced him alone. One woman and one demon fought a final battle that lasted for an unknown length of time. Their clash was so catastrophic that the entire land of Cangwu collapsed into the void, becoming what was now known as the Wilderness of Eternal Night.
In the end, Qing Ming perished together with Xiu, destroying the great demon that had ravaged the world and restoring peace to all living beings.
The surviving remnants of the Kingdom of Changxiao escaped from Cangwu. Countless years later, they rebuilt Cangwu upon this land and established Changxiao Palace, carrying on the ideals of Baiyi and Qing Ming while guiding innumerable cultivators onto the Great Dao.
That was the origin of Changxiao Palace. The two statues of those women had stood here ever since, weathering countless years of wind, frost, rain, and snow.
Mingming tilted her head slightly. Unlike everyone else, her eyes held no reverence for those two ancient figures.
A layer of inescapable mist still lingered deep within her gaze.
She merely stood there in silence, while Lu Xuan, perched atop her head, found himself involuntarily looking up at the two statues.
His little rabbit head tilted back… then farther back… and farther still. In the end, he completely forgot that a spatial jade bracelet was hanging around his neck.
Clink!
The jade bracelet fell to the ground. Mingming quickly turned around to pick it up.
The bracelet itself was unharmed, but the impact had shaken several items out of the storage space within it.
A scroll tumbled down the jade steps, slowly unfurling as it rolled, revealing the true appearance of the figure in the painting.
Mingming looked back at the painting, then looked ahead at Qing Ming’s statue before Changxiao Palace.
Although neither depiction showed any distinct facial features, the bearing and attire conveyed by the painter and the sculptor were identical to Qing Ming’s.
The painting bore the signature “Withered Reef of the Eastern Sea.” Whether it was the brushwork, the colors, or the artistic conception, this painting was worthy of the highest-tier auctions.
So the portrait Lu Xuan had spent a fortune to acquire was of Qing Ming.
Mingming recalled the fleeting look of tenderness that had crossed Lu Xuan’s eyes above Jinhe City.
He truly loved this legendary woman, someone who existed only in stories, who had died who knew how many years ago, perhaps even leaving no remains behind.
So she crouched down, carefully rolled the painting back up, and handed it to Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan accepted the scroll with his fluffy little paws. He gazed steadily at Mingming before tucking the painting back into the jade bracelet.
“Why did that old man stuff this painting in here too?”
Mingming found it hard to imagine that the pitiful young man she had once saved in the Wilderness of Eternal Night had now become an “old man” in someone else’s eyes.
She gave Lu Xuan a light tap on the head before squeezing into the crowd.
At that moment, high above the clouds of Changxiao Palace, the disciples of the great cultivation families were also watching the cultivators streaming toward the palace.
Upon an aerial formation platform, the elders of Changxiao Palace, Lu Wei, and several cultivators ranked among the foremost in the Immortal Realm observed the grand gathering together.
Lu Wei was dressed in flowing white robes. A strip of white silk covered his eyes, lending him an aloof, transcendent air.
He lit a stick of incense and placed it upon the offering altar before Baiyi and Qing Ming.
It was difficult to imagine that a cultivator like him, who looked as though he believed least in fate, would also pay homage to immortals.
“Although Princess Qing Ming herself once said she disliked such formalities, without a legacy, how would anyone still remember them ten thousand years later?”
Wen Shao stood with his hands clasped behind his back as he spoke to Lu Wei.
“Why ‘Princess’?” Lu Wei asked as he flicked the ash from the incense.
“Because the general who followed Princess Qing Ming across countless battlefields and charged into battle for her all his life always addressed her as ‘Princess.’ The people of Changxiao Kingdom grew accustomed to hearing it, so the name simply stuck.”
“And afterward?” Lu Wei asked. “What became of the general?”
“If even the Wilderness of Eternal Night could not endure, then naturally the general left not even bones behind,” Wen Shao replied with a bitter smile.
He then turned his gaze toward the young cultivators making their way to Changxiao Palace and smiled. “The past is only the past. The present is the present.”
Lu Wei nodded.
“Lord Wuya, where is the Young Lord of Wentian City?” Wen Shao asked curiously.
“I don’t know.” Lu Wei could not be bothered to talk about him.
“Would you ask the Young Lord to come up here and wait first? His performance in the Eastern Sea Trial was truly astonishing. Entering Changxiao Palace is merely a formality for someone of his strength.”
“He’s down below.” Of course Lu Wei knew exactly where Lu Xuan was hiding. Nothing within all of Changxiao Palace could escape his perception.
His awareness settled upon the outline of the woman standing amid the crowd. Shen Clan’s Second Miss, foolishly infatuated, like a moth flying into the flames.
At the registration area for Changxiao Palace’s Ascension Gathering, the young cultivator recording the names moved his brush with remarkable speed. No matter how much complicated information passed through his ears, he could sort it out effortlessly.
“Alright, Xia Xin of Watercloud Island and Luo Sui will enter the illusion realm together. Next…”
“Hm? The Shen Clan of Jinhe?” Seeing the registration booklet Mingming handed over, Bai Shaoning, who had been keeping his head down processing registrations, finally looked up.
“Mhm.” Mingming nodded calmly.
Behind her, Lu Xuan had somehow transformed back into his human form.
Many people did not recognize him, but his exceptionally handsome appearance still drew countless gazes.
Seeing the young man and woman standing together, Bai Shaoning seemed to understand. Smiling, he said, “Changxiao Palace doesn’t forbid disciples from finding Dao companions.”
Lu Xuan pressed his lips together impatiently. Surprisingly, he did not deny it. Instead, Mingming earnestly corrected him, “He still has to go up there later.”
“Go up?” Lu Xuan placed his registration booklet before Bai Shaoning. “Take a look. Do I look like I can leave your side right now? And you’re telling me to go up?”
“Shen Ming, even if the first two rounds of the Ascension Gathering are a sea of hellfire, I’m going through them with you.”
Without even having time to open Lu Xuan’s registration booklet, Bai Shaoning simply rested his chin on one hand as he observed the pair, a knowing smile spreading across his face.
At that very moment, atop the aerial formation platform, Lu Wei frowned.
‘Lu Xuan… Listen to yourself. What kind of nonsense are you saying?’
‘Utterly improper. Completely unreasonable…’
Down below, Bai Shaoning finally opened Lu Xuan’s registration booklet. Lowering his eyes, he saw the seal of Wentian City above Lu Xuan’s name, proving beyond any doubt that he was the genuine Young Lord of Wentian City.
“Y… You…” Bai Shaoning looked up, swallowing hard.
At the same time, someone in the distant crowd also looked up, having noticed the commotion.
It was Ji Chen, who had shared a meal with Mingming before. The moment he saw Lu Xuan, shock filled his eyes.