Chapter 1216: Recognition from the Holy Land; A True Upper Sect (I)

Deep beneath Verdant Mountain, thick layers of rock crisscrossed through the earth while water vapor from the Blackwater River seeped through the cracks and condensed against the stone ceiling that fell into the darkness below.

Drip! Drip!

The sound jolted Sima Wenjie awake. When he opened his eyes, however, nothing had changed. The same suffocating darkness surrounded him, and with his mana completely sealed, even his physique could no longer keep out the damp chill of the underground prison. Worse still was the despair that had settled over him since his imprisonment; with it gnawing at him from the inside, the cold outside also sank all the way into his bones.

He pulled the thin blanket tighter around himself and tilted his head to listen. Then, almost without thinking, he rose and made his way toward the bars of his cell.

Hiss!

A faint gleam flashed across the darkness, and the formation surrounding the cell activated and forced him back.

An unfriendly voice came from somewhere beyond the bars. "Stay put. Don't tell me you actually think you can escape a formation Elder Min personally laid down."

The disdain in those words stung, but Sima Wenjie recognized the speaker. "Lou Ying? Is it your turn to watch me today?"

A soft glow appeared in the passage as a hunched figure slowly approached with a luminous pearl in hand. As he stopped outside the cell, the light cast his shadow across the bars until it nearly swallowed Sima Wenjie whole. "You still remember me?"

Sima Wenjie studied the deeply wrinkled face before him. A savage claw scar now cut across features already weathered by age, but there was no mistaking him.

"How could I forget you? You ran the Outer Hall back then, and I was in charge of the Merit Hall. With how often our two halls dealt with each other, I probably saw you more than half the people in the sect. You think one scar is enough to make me forget you?"

Lou Ying reached up and touched the scar on his face before letting out a low laugh. "The Outer Hall..."

The words stirred memories he would rather not have revisited. After more than a century of being driven from one place to another, the Luo Tian Sect's Outer Hall was long since gone. Most of the surviving outer disciples had eventually been taken under the care of an elder or another. As the Outer Hall leader, Lou Ying ironically found himself with far less to do than before.

But with fewer responsibilities came more time to remember. He remembered the countless disciples from his hall who had died before his eyes, all so that the Luo Tian Sect could survive. And yet Sima Wenjie, despite once holding such a high position within that same sect, had chosen to hand it over to outsiders!

The thought only made Lou Ying look down more than ever on Sima Wenjie. The latter noticed the disdain in his eyes, but accepted it without a word of protest. Even now, he did not believe he had been wrong, nor did he have any interest in explaining his reasoning to someone he considered incapable of understanding it.

Instead, he turned his attention to the faint commotion drifting down from somewhere beyond the dungeon. "It sounds... rather lively outside."

Lou Ying perked up right away. "Of course it is! Today's the Supreme Elder's Nascent Soul Formation Ceremony. We've invited Sages from all five domains. The sect has never seen anything like this before!"

Even his hunched back seemed to straighten as he spoke, as though some of that glory belonged to him as well.

Sima Wenjie's expression shifted. "He only just returned and barely knows anyone in the Eastern Wilderness. How could he possibly have invited that many Sages? You're not exaggerating, are you?"

Lou Ying shot him a scornful look. "You really have been locked down here too long. You have no idea what kind of reputation the Supreme Elder has now. Sage Idle Crane of the White Crane Sect arrived at Hundred-Li Green River yesterday evening. The first palace master of Windflower Palace reached Verdant Mountain early this morning, before the ceremony even started. Then, just a little while ago, the master of the Hundred Beast Sect arrived together with Sage Mu of Mu Manor. And that's not even everyone. More Sages are still on the way. Even the lord of Skypiercing City is coming in person to congratulate the Supreme Elder."

With every name Lou Ying mentioned, Sima Wenjie grew more stunned. How did he become this influential? He hasn't even been in the Eastern Wilderness all these years, yet the moment he comes back, all these Sages show up for him?

For a moment, memories of Luo Chen's Foundation Establishment Ceremony and Golden Core Ceremony surfaced in his mind. Both had been grand, certainly, but this was on an entirely different scale. A dozen Sages might gather at Hundred-Li Green River simply to congratulate Luo Chen! Back when all of them were still struggling to survive in Dahe Market, could any of them have imagined a day like this?

For some inexplicable reason, the belief he had held onto for so long began to waver. Was Second Sister right after all?

***

"This is Sage Mu, Supreme Elder of the Mu family and Lord of Mu Manor."

Luo Chen smiled and offered a bow. "Nice to meet you, Fellow Daoist Mu."

The man opposite him was dressed in luxurious robes, his expression calm and composed. After studying Luo Chen for a moment, he could not help praising him. "So the rumors really were real. You're even younger than I expected, and your cultivation is already this profound. With bearing like yours, I doubt even the geniuses from the Holy Lands would have much on you."

And indeed, although Luo Chen himself had not changed, his appearance today was markedly different from his everyday. Instead of his usual plain white robes, he wore a long Cloudsun Robe embroidered with silver and edged in gold. The design was elegant and restrained, but there was an unmistakable nobility to it. Even his hair had been carefully arranged. Throughout his century in the Northern Sea, he had usually allowed his glossy black hair to fall freely down his back, securing it at most with a simple Daoist hairpin. Today, however, Gu Caiyi had personally styled it for him. The hair at his temples had been combed neatly back, while a tall crimson-golden crown rested atop his head, secured with a black jade hairpin.

Together with his already remarkable looks, the result was an appearance both imposing and noble, though under that graceful veneer was also an unquestionable dominance. More than that, the sharpness in his eyes only amplified the impression; not everyone dared meet his gaze for long.

Despite the old saying, a good saddle does make the horse, and clothing really makes the man. Luo Chen used to not care about pomp and appearances; he had usually acted casually and dressed simply wherever he went. But after all that had transpired at Skypiercing Pass, he had concluded that hiding his advantage was no longer necessary. From now on, this was how he wanted to be seen going forward.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Sage Mu, Luo Chen was soon led by Idle Crane to another Sage. This man was far rougher in appearance. His robe hung loosely around his shoulders, exposing a broad chest covered in hair, while his eyes carried the fierce sharpness of a tiger or leopard.

As Idle Crane introduced him, his expression became markedly less friendly. "This is Qin Baiming, Supreme Elder of the Hundred Beast Sect."

Qin Baiming either failed to notice the change in Idle Crane's attitude or simply did not care. Rather, he looked Luo Chen over from head to toe, then broke into a grin. "Not bad. You've got quite the presence. But what I'm more interested in is what you wrote in that invitation. Is that really true?"

Luo Chen smiled faintly. "You'll know soon enough, Fellow Daoist Qin."

He did not converse with Qin Baiming for long. With Idle Crane making the introductions, he continued meeting new people, many of whom were people whose names he had heard countless times when he was still young. There were Sage Mu of Mu Manor, Qin Baiming of the Hundred Beast Sect, and Pavilion Master Li of Thousand Sword Pavilion. Together with Idle Crane and Fairy Windflower, they represented nearly all the native Sages of the five frontline domains.

The remaining guests, however, were even more interesting. Among them were Old Tal of the Divine Talisman Sect, whom Luo Chen had met before, and Lin Qingxuan of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, as well as Divine Fire and Golden Plume of the Five Elements Divine Sect. These people were the surviving remnants of what had once been called the Far East Six Domains—well, technically seven domains.

Most of their peers were long gone. Skysail City had been destroyed, the Falling Cloud Sect had fallen, the Medicine King Sect had vanished without a trace, and the Silktree Sect had been struck directly at its very foundation. In the end, only a handful of those old powers had managed to survive, and even they were barely clinging on.

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