Chapter 459: Chapter 444: The Ancestor Arrives!
Wanhua Mountain, Qin Family.
The Qin Family’s Ancestor, Qin Mingde, who is celebrating his nine hundredth birthday today, was at this moment sitting calmly in a quiet chamber, not in a hurry to go out and entertain the guests.
Qin Mingde is already nine hundred years old, an age considered very advanced even among Golden Core Stage Cultivators.
Due to early use of the "Appearance Stabilizing Pill," a Spirit Pill, although his hair and beard are completely white, his appearance still retains the look of a mortal in their thirties or forties.
Today, he is dressed in a purple robe representing extreme opulence, wearing a jade crown on his head, a golden silk jade belt around his waist, and on his hands, besides a space ring, he wears Dharma rings in green, red, and yellow.
In the quiet chamber, white smoke softly swirled upwards, lingering in the room for a long time without dispersing. Amidst the misty smoke, a hint of unease appeared on Qin Mingde’s clean and rosy face.
Yes, unease.
A feeling quite unbefitting for someone of Qin Mingde’s status, a feeling he had not experienced in many years.
In the eyes of the Qin Clan members and many outside cultivators, Qin Mingde, the Qin Family Ancestor, has always maintained an image of stern dignity; even the slightest movement of his eyebrows would indicate an extraordinarily significant matter.
"Is it confirmed? Is it confirmed that the Ancestor will indeed come personally?"
Despite knowing full well that this news could not possibly be false, and having already confirmed it multiple times, Qin Mingde still couldn’t help but ask once more.
"Yes, the treasure we sent last time pleased the Ancestor greatly, and it’s been explicitly confirmed through Sister Zhiyun’s message that the Ancestor will personally come to our Qin Family to celebrate your birthday today!"
The current Clan Leader of the Qin Family, Qin Zhiyu, a Seventh-Layer Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator, glanced up at the family ancestor, his face showing no impatience as he respectfully repeated his answer once more.
Qin Zhiyu is the half-brother of Qin Zhiyun, the Golden Core Stage Cultivator in the Haoyang Sect, and he was able to establish the Purple Mansion and ascend to the Qin Family’s Clan Leader position all because he has a good sister serving beside a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, not because his abilities were truly the most outstanding among the Qin Family’s dozen or so Purple Mansion Stage Cultivators.
However, even so, he dared not show any pride or disrespect in front of the Qin Family Ancestor Qin Mingde.
Because he knows very well that Qin Mingde can set him as the Qin Family’s Clan Leader due to his sister’s influence and can similarly take away his position.
The true power of the Qin Family has always been in the hands of this ancestor who has ruled the Qin Family for hundreds of years.
With confirmation at hand, Qin Mingde’s expression also settled considerably, and he gently nodded saying, "There are many guests today. Relying on Wufeng to greet them all alone might be too much; as the Clan Leader, there’s no need for you to accompany this old man here. Go out and help Wufeng with some of the work, don’t neglect the guests and let them ridicule our Qin Family’s lack of courtesy!"
"Yes, this junior will adhere to the Ancestor’s instructions."
Qin Zhiyu once again respectfully bowed, quietly exiting the quiet chamber.
Zhouyang didn’t feel overlooked; for one, he was not particularly concerned about formalities, and for another, after seeing in the main celebration area many Purple Mansion Stage Cultivators like himself who, after walking up the mountain, could only be led aside by a Qin Family Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator, his mood balanced considerably.
As they say, seeing is believing. The extent of the Qin Family’s influence and strength is never as clear from descriptions as it is when witnessed firsthand.
Coming up the mountain, Zhouyang saw as many as eight Qin Family Purple Mansion Cultivators, and Foundation Establishment Cultivators were as numerous as seventy to eighty, not including those in charge of guarding the Qin Family’s key enterprises outside, and those military personnel at Anti-Light Alliance’s crucial outposts.
Truth be told, this was the first time Zhouyang witnessed a single clan possessing so many high-tier and middle-tier cultivators; the Qin Family’s foundation completely exceeded his imagination.
These are merely Qin Family’s manifest strength and internal power.
The cultivators coming to the Qin Family to celebrate also represented the Qin Family’s external influence.
At this moment on Wanhua Mountain, just the Golden Core Stage Cultivators Zhouyang saw that had already arrived numbered nine, with fifty-seven Purple Mansion Stage Cultivators.
Zhouyang did not count the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in detail, but a glance with his Dharma Eye showed that no fewer than five hundred of them were present in the areas designated for Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
As for the Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators, unless favored by certain Golden Core Stage Cultivators and personally brought along, they didn’t even have the privilege to enter Wanhua Mountain.
The number of cultivators coming to celebrate continued to rise steadily, with no telling how many would ultimately arrive.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, let me introduce you, this is Fellow Daoist Wu Xian from the Haoyang Sect, who is skilled in Talisman Making Art and is capable of drawing Tier Four High-Grade Spirit Talismans. If you’re willing to offer some Tier Five Beast Hides as a trade, I’m sure Fellow Daoist Wu would be glad to exchange prized Tier Four High-Grade Spirit Talismans with you!"
"And this here is Fellow Daoist Zhen Zhiping from the Zhen Family of White Crow Mountain. The Zhen Family has a lineage exceeding a thousand years and used to be a Golden Core Clan. Fellow Daoist Zhen, at just over three hundred years old, has already reached the Eighth-Layer of the Purple Mansion Stage, renowned for his family-inherited White Crow Swordsmanship that is legendary, earning him the title of White Crow Sword Immortal!"
...
Perhaps due to getting along well with Zhouyang during the journey, Jin Qu felt Zhouyang was someone worth befriending. At the Qin Family’s celebratory event, upon seeing some familiar cultivators, he warmly introduced Zhouyang to these high-ranking cultivators within Jinyang Country.
Zhouyang understood that this was a great opportunity to expand his social network, so while thanking Jin Qu, he also treated the matter with considerable attention, openly revealing that he was a Tier Four High-grade Refining Master.
Indeed, upon hearing that he was a Tier Four High-grade Refining Master, several Purple Mansion Stage cultivators who were initially engaging in casual conversation became enthusiastic, discussing various intriguing matters of the cultivation realm to narrow the gap between them.
The world is always so realistic. If Zhouyang had merely been a Late-Stage Purple Mansion Cultivator, those at the same stage without any related interests would not be willing to spend much energy conversing with and befriending him.
However, as a Tier Four High-grade Refining Master, many Purple Mansion Stage cultivators would be eager to befriend him, so that when necessary, they could ask him to refine magical artifacts.
Zhouyang was long accustomed to this; therefore, when he should be ostentatious, he absolutely would not be modest or conceal his talents.
With a group of peers communicating and exchanging ideas, Zhouyang had no particular sense of the passage of time.
Moreover, whenever a Golden Core Stage cultivator presented a generous gift, everyone would pause their conversations to discuss the origins of this Golden Core Stage cultivator and critique the gifts given, showing off their insights.
Through their evaluations, Zhouyang came to understand these Golden Core Stage cultivators, acquiring knowledge that might be useful in future interactions with them.
A small half-day passed this way, and Zhouyang, engrossed in lively conversation with some newly acquainted cultivators, suddenly perked up his ears and couldn’t help but look outside of Wanhua Mountain.
"Huh, where is that Immortal Music coming from?"
A Purple Mansion Cultivator called out in a low voice and, like Zhouyang, couldn’t help but look up in the direction outside the mountain.
They saw a mass of colorful clouds drifting from the eastern sky beyond the mountain, and the melodious immortal sounds entering Zhouyang and the others’ ears originated from within that colorful cloud mass.
"Could that be... Is it the legendary item?"
Jin Qu’s eyes flickered as he scrutinized the colorful clouds for a moment, then his eyes suddenly widened, unable to contain a gasp.
Upon hearing him, Zhouyang was about to inquire what he had noticed, but nearby, Wu Xian, a cultivator from Haoyang Sect whom he had been introduced to earlier, had already spoken the answer with a complex expression.
"Fellow Daoist Jin was not mistaken; that is the exclusive travel artifact of our sect’s Ancestor Master Guo, the Five-Colored Smoke Luo Chariot!"
Hiss!
Upon hearing Wu Xian’s words, a collective gasp rose sharply from various parts of Wanhua Mountain.
Everyone knew that Haoyang Sect currently had three Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, and the only one with the surname Guo was Guo Jinhong, ranked first among the sect’s three Supreme Elders, also known as "Master Hong Guang."
As the sect’s highest-ranking cultivator, "Master Hong Guang" Guo Jinhong’s cultivation had reached the sixth layer of the Nascent Soul Stage, merely one step away from the Late-Stage Nascent Soul.
Among over twenty Nascent Soul Stage cultivators in the Anti-Light Alliance, "Master Hong Guang" Guo Jinhong’s cultivation could be ranked in the top five, showcasing this Ancestor Master’s prowess.
Now, such a renowned Nascent Soul Stage Zhenren in the entire Land of the Far West actually came to celebrate the Qin Family Ancestor’s birthday, which truly caught everyone by surprise.
Even for a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator holding a birthday celebration, unless one is a longstanding senior in the cultivation realm like Guo Jinhong, few other Nascent Soul Stage cultivators would attend their birthday celebrations.
Which Nascent Soul cultivator isn’t a dragon or phoenix among people?
If they attend the birthday celebrations of peers, they might steal the spotlight of the birthday star, causing displeasure; conversely, if everyone flatters the birthday star, it may inadvertently neglect them, leading to their own displeasure.
Therefore, Nascent Soul cultivators, unless meeting privately or attending particularly significant large celebrations, generally maintain a "king doesn’t meet king" situation.
Under such circumstances, Qin Mingde, the Qin Family Ancestor, celebrating his nine hundredth birthday, being able to invite Guo Jinhong, this illustrious Mid-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator, truly shocked those cultivators privy to the details.
"All Haoyang Sect cultivators, immediately step out to greet Ancestor Master Guo!"
While Zhouyang and others were stunned and dazed, a Golden Core Stage Elder from Haoyang Sect suddenly shouted loudly, soaring into the sky.
Soon after, Wu Xian and other cultivators of Haoyang Sect hurriedly followed, controlling their swords to fly into mid-air, preparing to ceremoniously welcome their sect’s Nascent Soul Ancestor Master.