Chapter 1243: An Unprecedented Fortress; the Nether Origin Sect's Plan? (I)

"He's here! Finally!"

"The Great-Grandmaster Alchemist is here! I can see his carriage!"

"Where?"

"There, just a little over ten li away from the city. He'll be here in a moment!"

"We need to move up a bit so the great alchemist can see our faces. That way, we'll already be on familiar terms when we ask him for pills in the future."

"Hahahahaha what the heck? Familiar terms? Are you hallucinating now? Gahaha..."

"Now, fellow Daoist, you just don't get it. I paid a hefty sum for the Great-Grandmaster Alchemist's biography, and two things stand out from what I got: his gentlemanly conduct and that he's never stingy when it comes to uplifting juniors. There were once rumors that he coveted a family's herbal business and secretly seized it for himself, but that turned out to be pure slander! Their family business is still running well under his protection and support, and the Luo Tian Sect's leader is actually a member of that family."

"What? He let an outsider be the sect leader?"

"Yes, and it doesn't stop there. After the Great-Grandmaster Alchemist formed his Golden Core, he compiled his insights from the experience into a poem and recited it to all the cultivators at the scene, for free! To this day, many rogue Adepts in the Jade Cauldron Domain are still deeply grateful for his magnanimous act."

"Personal insights on Golden Core formation, for free? That's so generous! Are you sure that's true?"

"Yes. How else do you think he built such an extensive network in such a short time, and with so many Sages vouching for him? Now that he's personally leading his sect members here for their patrol duty, it's a great opportunity for people like us. If he happens to be in a good mood and throws us a couple of pills, we might shoot to heaven in one go!"

"I see! Then we must hurry. Let's go!"

Outside Skypiercing Pass, feverish discussions filled the air as numberless cultivators jostled their way toward the only proper road leading to the city gates.

Those with specific intentions and the urgency to achieve them pressed forward eagerly, while those without that urgency didn't lag behind either. There were also those who came only for the spectacle, eager to see what the Great-Grandmaster Alchemist looked like. After all, he had been at the center of many rumors in the last two years, and although he had made an astonishing entrance at the arena of Skypiercing Pass back then, it had been far too brief.

Under normal circumstances, catching a glimpse of a Sage's true appearance would be extremely difficult. But here and now, things were different.

As a fortress city built during wartime, Skypiercing Pass, along with the ten-li area around it, was covered by a massive flight restriction formation, which was provided by the Nether Origin Sect and set up by their Sages. Everyone who wanted to enter the city had to disembark from their vehicles and proceed on foot. So long as the Great-Grandmaster Alchemist did not cover himself up, his arrival here would be a prime opportunity for normal cultivators to behold his countenance in person.

In the tightly packed crowd, two beautiful figures were swept along with the flow. One wore an aloof expression, while the other looked gentle and composed, but a closer look revealed the unease in the eyes of both.

"Master, do you think he'll agree to see us?"

"Probably."

"Hopefully he will. With his current strength and influence, Senior Brother Luo might just be able to help us..."

"Little Lan, he is no longer the Initiate we knew. If he agrees to see us, you must respectfully address him as Sage..."

By the time she uttered the word "Sage," the indifference on the older woman's face had cracked into a complicated look.

Meanwhile, the young woman called Little Lan hurriedly nodded. She was simply accustomed to what she used to call him, but she was by no means an uncivilized child; she knew how to treat an expert with proper respect.

All of a sudden, her eyes lit up, and she pointed her finger somewhere in the distance. "He's arrived!"

The older woman took a deep breath, then she released her mana, pushing her way through the crowd. Little Lan followed closely behind.

In the sky, a cloud carriage was rapidly headed toward Skypiercing Pass. When it was about a little over ten li from the city, its speed dropped sharply while it began to descend.

As the vehicle lowered toward the ground, cultivators orderly flew out from it and into the crowd of people, where they positioned themselves in two lines. Following that, a burly man leapt out from the deck. With a halberd in his grip and a pair of wings sprouting from his back, he flew one circle in the air while unleashing his powerful blood qi, creating an energy wave that slowly parted the crowd below.

"Our Supreme Elder would like to enter the city. Please make way, and thank you for your cooperation."

With that, he shot down like an arrow and landed at the front of the two lines formed by his fellow sect members.

The crowd recognized Dragon Fiend at a single glance—the rising star renowned for being no weaker than early-stage Adepts even though he was only a Physique Refiner. However, he clearly wasn't the focus of their attention. All eyes swiftly gathered on the cloud carriage as a figure emerged, wearing a tall hat and white robes embroidered with golden motifs.

He was handsome. His nose was high and straight, and his thin lips were slightly curled in what would easily be interpreted as an ambiguous smile tinged with a hint of derision. Yet the most eye-catching feature on his face were undoubtedly his eyes, deep and cold like fathomless ponds. When he swept a look over the crowd, few dared meet his gaze. And even the courageous few who had forced themselves not to look away were so dazed by the fleeting eye contact that they didn't know what to do with themselves.

So that's Great-Grandmaster Luo? He looks so young, yet he carries such a unique air... Even in a sea of people, he stands out like a shining star!

After they had been moved away from the road, the spectators knew they ought to stay in place, yet something in their instinct compelled them to get close to Luo Chen. Just as the crowd began to stir, an overwhelming pressure blanketed down on them, and a voice rang out from behind.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, you're finally here. I've been waiting for you!"

The moment these words echoed, a figure suddenly appeared before Luo Chen, as if by magic.

A stunned Luo Chen took a moment to recover his carefree smile, then nodded in reply. "Thank you for coming so far out, Fellow Daoist Wind Listener. I'm truly flattered by your welcome."

The dashing middle-aged man chortled and extended a hand toward the city. "Shall we?"

Luo Chen nodded and walked toward Skypiercing Pass with him. Behind them, Yang Pingdu stored the Six Restriction Cloud Carriage, then he and Chu Kui led the rest of the Luo Tian Sect cultivators to follow their supreme elder.

The crowd, having lurched into utter silence under that pressure, stayed in this state for a while. Only after the two Sages had completely disappeared into Skypiercing Pass did they burst into an uproar.

"Was that really the Great-Grandmaster Alchemist? I thought he'd be a white-haired old man, but he looks so young?!"

"You've been out of the loop on this. Apparently, he became a Sage when he was only around 200-something. He's truly a top-tier prodigy."

"Really?! Good grief! When I was at that age, I was still struggling to break into the Golden Core Realm!"

"That kind of cultivation speed on top of his incredible alchemy skills... I'm afraid even Holy Land disciples would find it hard to match him!"

"No wonder the Ethereal Sect's supreme elder personally came out of the city to greet him. Who wouldn't treat him with the utmost respect? I'd only be over the top if it were me..."

"First we had Sage Nine Spirits who stood and waited a long time outside Verdant Mountain just to see him, and now Sage Wind Listener personally came out to welcome him when he was still ten li from the city. I don't think anyone can be more influential than him in the Eastern Wilderness now!"

The din of voices jolted the two female cultivators out of their trance.

Earlier, under the pressure of Wind Listener's Nascent Soul Domain, they, like the rest of the crowd, hadn't dared utter a sound for fear of offending the Sages. But now that the man they wished to see had entered the city, what were they supposed to do? Even someone of Sage Wind Listener's caliber had come out to welcome Luo Chen, probably to make a good impression because he needed a favor. They could already imagine Luo Chen's cave residence in Skypiercing Pass would be swarming with visitors. Small fry like themselves would have no chance of even glimpsing him.

There was no trace left of the usual cold, distant look on the older woman's face; she appeared to be at a complete loss. Meanwhile, the young woman looked as if she was doubting her eyes. After some time, she whispered, "Master... I think I saw Brother Six."

"... What? Really?"

"There's no way I'd mistake it, I just saw him among their procession just now... This is it! We can't just go to Sage Luo directly, but if we can contact Brother Six, maybe he'll open a back door for us."

When she heard that, the older woman's eyes immediately lit up with hope.

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