The sky was gray and misty, with a fine drizzle falling.
Qin Mu wore a square headscarf and a Green Robe, holding an oil-paper umbrella, standing quietly before a wooden two-story building, his gaze fixed on the Plaque hanging beneath the eaves.
On the Plaque, written in bold, imposing characters, were the four words "Zhuangyuan Bookstore."
The person inside the bookstore who was organizing books happened to look up at that moment.
It was an elderly man, broad and stout, with a ruddy complexion and an honest and simple demeanor.
Judging by his age, he should be in his sixties.
"Owner?"
The old man called out with a hint of astonishment, then hurried out of the store and asked, "What made you think of going out in weather like this?"
"Your illness hasn't fully healed yet, what if you catch a chill?"
As he spoke, he took the oil-paper umbrella that Qin Mu handed him.
"It's fine."
Qin Mu chuckled and said, "The Misty Sect from the East Sea will be holding their 'Ascension Ceremony' in Guanhai City today. I was bored at home anyway, so I thought I'd come watch the excitement."
The old man's tone carried a slight note of reproach, "Why the hurry? That ceremony happens every year on the Awakening of Insects, and it lasts for many days each time. It wouldn't hurt to wait until the rain stops."
As he spoke, he rummaged through a wooden chest in the store and draped an overcoat over Qin Mu, then said, "Owner, please find a seat first. This old man just happened to heat up a pot of ginger soup to ward off the cold. I'll bring you a bowl right away to warm you up."
"Thank you for the trouble, Uncle Cang."
Qin Mu replied with a smile, put on the overcoat, and sat down behind the counter.
Even though rain was falling now, the street outside the bookstore was still bustling with a steady stream of people.
The rain hadn't dampened the children's enthusiasm for running around and playing.
They darted through the curtain of rain, their laughter and cheerful voices rising one after another.
Watching this scene unfold before him, Qin Mu's thoughts began to drift.
Last year on the Awakening of Insects, it had been just as lively.
It was in a scene just like this that the Original body, pushed and jostled by the crowd, had participated in the 'Ascension Ceremony.'
Unfortunately, he had no Spiritual Root, and was eliminated in the very first round.
After grieving at home for a few days, he had no choice but to accept reality and learn from his parents how to run the bookstore.
Not long ago, the Original body's family of three had gone to the neighboring Baizhou City to restock goods, but along the way they encountered Mountain Bandits who ambushed them.
Besides having the Silver for restocking stolen, the Original body's parents had both lost their lives.
After barely escaping with his life, the Original body ran into a torrential downpour on the way back.
His already weakened body suffered further for it. He forced himself to walk home and arrange his parents' funeral, but afterward fell gravely ill and never recovered, finally passing away last night.
And it was last night that Qin Mu had borrowed this corpse to return his soul, arriving in this vast and magnificent Cultivation World.
Before his thoughts could finish, Uncle Cang's voice rang out beside his ear.
"Owner, your ginger soup."
Qin Mu came back to his senses, thanking him while taking the ginger soup from Uncle Cang's hands.
After taking a light sip, the spicy taste instantly hit his throat.
Standing nearby, Uncle Cang saw his Brow furrow and said with a smile, "The ginger soup doesn't taste that great, but it warms the body. Drink a few more sips and you'll warm right up."
Hearing this, Qin Mu could only steel himself and take another big gulp.
At that moment, a series of exclamations suddenly erupted from outside the store.
"The Immortals are here!"
"Look up at the sky!"
In an instant, the streets and alleys grew noisy with commotion.
People rushed to look up, gazing at the massive Towering Ship slowly sailing above Guanhai City, blotting out the sun.
Qin Mu turned his head at the sound, just in time to see the stunning sight of the Towering Ship suspended in midair, slowly passing over Zhuangyuan Bookstore.
The shadow of the Towering Ship covered the entire street, making the already dim interior of the store even darker.
Even though he had seen many movies with realistic special effects in his previous life, at the moment the Towering Ship passed overhead, Qin Mu's face still showed an expression of astonishment.
After a long while, the Towering Ship slowly descended in the distance, gently landing on a stone platform at the center of Guanhai City that had already been cleared.
Immediately after, a weathered voice echoed throughout Guanhai City.
"Once again it is the Awakening of Insects, and the annual Ascension Ceremony begins now. As in past years, regardless of age, gender, or background, anyone with a heart set on seeking immortality may come to the Immortal Boat at the center of Guanhai City to participate in the assessment."
"This assessment is divided into two rounds: one for Spiritual Root, one for state of mind."
"Those who pass both rounds may take a master and enter the sect."
As the voice faded, men and women, young and old alike, hurried toward the city center.
Not all of them were going to participate in the assessment—most were simply going to watch the excitement.
Those who actually took part in the assessment were few.
After all, the Ascension Ceremony was held every year, and had already continued for decades, even a century.
Inside Zhuangyuan Bookstore, Qin Mu held his still-steaming bowl of ginger soup, watching the crowd that had already grown dense, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"The Ascension Ceremony has finally begun..."
"Good treasure, get ready to welcome your new Master!"
After murmuring softly, a Thought stirred in his mind, and he transmitted his intention to a certain existence buried deep beneath the sea outside the city.
Before long, the sound of crashing waves echoed in the ears of everyone in the city.
Immediately after, the gloomy Sea of Clouds overhead began piling up rapidly, visible to the naked eye.
As the heavy clouds pressed down toward the ground, the very air seemed to grow oppressive.
On the Deck of the Towering Ship, the Misty Sect's Disciples and Deacons all looked up at that moment.
Being far more sensitive than ordinary people, they immediately sensed something was wrong upon seeing this extraordinary sight.
Leading the Misty Sect's group this time was an Outer Sect Deacon named Zhang Qianren. His weathered face bore a pair of extremely sharp eyes, and his Expression was filled with solemnity.
"All of you, quickly calm the civilians! This old man will go up and take a look!"
The moment his voice rang in the ears of the many Disciples, his thin and gaunt body shot up like an arrow piercing the clouds, Sword riding him swiftly to an altitude of a thousand zhang.
Once he reached the High Altitude, he immediately surveyed the surroundings with a wary Expression.
As his ink-colored robe rustled in the wind, Zhang Qianren saw that the boundless East Sea below was churning violently, as though boiling.
"Could it be some evil dragon causing trouble?"
Seeing this, Zhang Qianren's Brow immediately furrowed.
But the thought had barely risen in his mind when he saw head-sized Golden Lotuses, shimmering faintly, surging out from the depths of the ink-black water one after another, breaking the sea surface.
In the blink of an eye, these golden lotuses had already covered the entire stretch of sea within his sight.
As the waves rolled, the Undercurrent also tossed these golden lotuses about, rising and falling unpredictably.
The once ink-black sea surface, illuminated by countless golden lotuses, had been dyed entirely gold!
"This..."
Zhang Qianren's eyes instantly widened.
In his more than eighty years of Cultivation, he had never witnessed such a soul-stirring sight.
And the Anomaly had not yet ceased.
At some point, an Exotic fragrance had begun to spread through the High Altitude.
The moment Zhang Qianren caught the scent, his Expression changed drastically and he held his breath, but soon, within his widened eyes, his pupils suddenly trembled.
He had been stuck at Peak Foundation Establishment for several decades.
But at this moment, that barrier had actually loosened somewhat.
Before he could even consider the reason behind this, he saw nine pillars of light—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, white, and black—burst forth from the sea, shooting straight up into the sky!
Having narrowly dodged one of the light pillars, his Expression shifted unpredictably.
"Strange fragrance in the sky, the sea surging with golden lotuses, and now Nine-Colored Glorious Light Connecting Heaven and Earth—could it be... could it be that beneath this boundless East Sea, an Exotic Treasure has been born?"
The moment this thought surfaced in Zhang Qianren's mind, a deafening 'boom' rang out!
Then, a dazzling, radiant Golden Pillar broke through the churning sea surface and shot rapidly skyward!
At the same time, lightning suddenly flashed and thunder roared within the ink-colored Sea of Clouds!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Amid the deafening thunder, the Golden Pillar quickly grew tall enough to reach the height where Zhang Qianren hovered, bursting forth with dazzling Rosy Clouds!
Caught off guard, Zhang Qianren was enveloped in the dazzling Rosy Clouds and Subconsciously retreated.
At this very moment, the common people below in Guanhai City also, without exception, stared upward in shock at the Golden Pillar standing in the sea, radiant with seven-colored light, reaching the heavens and earth.
They could clearly see that the pillar's body was tens of zhang wide, its height seeming to pierce the heavens!
No one knew exactly how tall it was; they could only see that the golden portion had already disappeared into the ink-colored Sea of Clouds.
What they had originally taken to be a golden pillar was in fact only the Golden Hoops at one end of the pillar—the rest of it was made of jet-black Metal.
And on the surface of that iron pillar, several characters larger than a House were engraved.
Since these characters radiated a dazzling Golden Light, no one in Guanhai City could make out what they said.
Inside Zhuangyuan Bookstore:
Qin Mu held his ginger soup, a smile at the corner of his mouth as he watched the great pillar standing in the distance, connecting heaven and earth.
Even though he had long known of this Supreme Treasure in his previous life, and had mentally prepared himself in advance, when this Supreme Treasure revealed its heaven-and-earth-spanning might, he still couldn't help but marvel at it.
A passage suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"That rod in his hand reaches up to the Thirty-three Heavens above and down to the Eighteen Levels of Hell below; it has cowed tigers, leopards, wolves, and worms, all the demon hordes of the mountains, and the seventy-two cave demon kings, into kowtowing in submission, trembling until their souls scattered."
At the same time, Zhang Qianren, gazing from afar at this massive iron pillar that seemed to connect heaven and earth, was left speechless for a long while.
After a long while, he seemed to finally come back to his senses from this soul-shaking sight, and with a parched mouth, read aloud the characters on the iron pillar.
"As-You-Wish... Golden Hoop Rod?"
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