“It’ll probably be morning by the time we reach the summit… Brother Xiaoluo, Sister Xiaoyan, aren’t you guys tired?”

Wang Zhiyao’s eye twitched. ‘Tired? These two?’

‘Let’s not even talk about that monster—he could probably uproot this hundred-thousand-meter peak with two fingers. And the other one is the Eldest Princess of Longque Technology, probably close to the Celestial Human Level herself…’

Lu Xuan was a little exasperated.

“It’s just a mountain climb, how could you be tired…”

Beside them, Chen Ye gave her younger brother an irritated swat on the head and shot him a sideways glance.

“Cut the whining. Focus on climbing and enjoy the view!”

Chen Shu held his head, looking aggrieved, and fell silent again.

The group continued their ascent. Just as Chen Shu had said, it was nearly morning by the time they reached the summit.

Dawn broke, painting the sky with brilliant, rosy hues. The Great Sun rose from the east, its first light spilling through the hazy clouds and cascading down, dyeing the tiered forest in shades of gold.

“It’s so beautiful…” Xiaoyan’s eyes sparkled.

“It is,” Lu Xuan agreed with a smile, his gaze sweeping across the vast summit. They weren’t the only ones; the peak was already dotted with people. Some had set up tents, while others simply sat cross-legged in meditation, and their cultivation levels were all impressive.

Their ranks ranged from Grandmasters of the Jade Tower level and Great Grandmasters, all the way to High-ranking Celestial Humans, though there were no Earth Immortals in sight.

Lu Xuan asked casually,

“Wow, so many people. I suppose they’re all here for the Peach Blossom Spring, right? By the way, where exactly is this Peach Blossom Spring?”

The Chen Family Siblings shook their heads in confusion. Zhang Jifeng, however, hesitated for a moment. ‘We have been traveling together for a while,’ he thought, ‘and I suppose there is some fate connecting me to this butcher.’

So he explained with a smile,

“The passage between that Peach Blossom Spring and the outside world isn’t always open. It appears in a flash once every three days. The last time it appeared was a little over two days ago, so it probably won’t show up again until tonight.”

He paused for a moment before adding,

“That’s why there are only so few people here now. By tonight, the clouds around the summit will probably be filled with countless Celestial Humans and even Earth Immortals sitting in meditation…”

Lu Xuan nodded thoughtfully. As the group was talking, some of the factions and individuals who had already set up camp on the summit cast their gazes in their direction, watching them from a distance.

A few among them, however, began striding over.

Wang Zhiyao frowned. She glanced at Zhuge Ke, who stood beside her with a slightly pale face, and whispered,

“It’s people from the Zhuge Family… Are you on bad terms with them? If you are, Xiaoke, stand behind me. I’ll go deal with them.”

Lu Xuan’s interest was piqued. He glanced sideways at this student of his in name only and saw Zhuge Ke hesitate for a moment before shaking her head firmly. She said softly,

“One must not flee from their trials.”

With that, she exhaled a long breath and stepped to the very front.

Lu Xuan gave an imperceptible nod.

The Chen Family Siblings exchanged a glance, sensing that something was amiss. Still, they weren’t nervous. ‘People from the Zhuge Family can’t possibly be here to cause trouble, right? And even if they are, so what? The noble daughter of the Wang Family, a true disciple of the Wudang Sect, and the direct descendant of a Dragon Tiger Mountain Immortal are all right here!’

Just then, Xiaoyan gently tugged on Lu Xuan’s sleeve and whispered,

“Xiaolu, Xiaolu, I feel… I feel a little strange…”

“What is it?” Lu Xuan asked gently, glancing sideways at her. He immediately noticed that something was wrong with Xiaoyan. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, and her face was a little pale.

His expression changed slightly. He grabbed Yan Jiangxue’s cold hand and transferred a stream of Divine Essence into her. Only then did some color return to Xiaoyan’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Xuan asked, his voice grave.

“I…” Xiaoyan rubbed her head in confusion. “I don’t know. I really, really wanted to come to Taishan, but now that I’m here, my heart is pounding for some reason, and I feel inexplicably sad…”

Her eyes began to redden slightly.

Lu Xuan’s brow furrowed. He held Xiaoyan’s hand, continuing to channel Divine Essence and Immortal Spiritual Qi into her while scanning Taishan Peak, but he didn’t find anything out of the ordinary…

Meanwhile, the small group of men and women, both young and old, who had been striding toward them, had arrived.

“Zhuge Ke?”

The old man in the lead frowned.

“What brings you here?”

“And why can’t I be here?” Zhuge Ke replied calmly, taking a deep breath.

Wang Zhiyao and the others exchanged a look but said nothing, simply watching in silence.

A middle-aged man next to the elder chided,

“Is that any way to speak to your Third Grand-Uncle? Have you no respect for your elders!”

As he spoke, he reached out to grab Zhuge Ke. Zhang Jifeng frowned and said coolly,

“Is the Zhuge Family always this arrogant? Do you see the rest of us as invisible?”

“And who are you?” another woman, dressed in lavish clothes, asked with a frown.

“Zhang Jifeng of Wudang Mountain,” Zhang Jifeng stated calmly. The expressions of the Zhuge Family members shifted slightly.

Zhang Huatian glanced at Zhang Jifeng, seemingly unwilling to let him steal the spotlight. He also took a step forward, his long hair draped over his shoulders, and announced calmly,

“Zhang Huatian of Dragon Tiger Mountain.”

“Wang Zhiyao of the Langya Wang Family.” Wang Zhiyao also stepped forward to stand beside Zhuge Ke. She didn’t actually know Zhuge Ke that well, but they were acquaintances and classmates, and they were currently traveling together…

Behind them, Chen Shu whispered,

“Sis, should we go up too?”

“Are you kidding me?” Chen Ye shot him a glare. “Go up there and say what? ‘Chen Shu from Federation University and Chen Ye from Langya University’?”

Chen Shu laughed sheepishly.

By now, the expressions on the faces of the Zhuge Family members had shifted several times. Dragon Tiger Mountain, Wudang Mountain, the Langya Wang Family—each of these factions was powerful enough to rival, or even surpass, the Zhuge Family…

The noblewoman’s expression was a mixture of shock and suspicion. ‘This damned girl ran off to Langya and actually managed to befriend people like these?’

Zhuge Ke was a bit overwhelmed at this point. She whispered,

“Let me handle this myself…”

Wang Zhiyao patted her on the shoulder and said softly,

“It’s okay. At least while we’re here, those guys won’t be able to throw their weight around.”

“No, it’s not that…” Zhuge Ke didn’t know how to explain, feeling a little awkward.

Just then, the middle-aged man from the Zhuge Family, though wary, did not back down. He took another step forward, his brows knitted, and said,

“The Langya Wang Family, Dragon Tiger Mountain, Wudang Mountain…”

He paused, then asked,

“What, are you going to interfere in the Zhuge Family’s private affairs as well?”

Zhang Huatian raised his eyelids slightly and said flatly,

“We’re not interfering. But you should also keep your hands to yourself. If you want to talk, then talk. What was the meaning of reaching out to grab Zhuge Ke?”

Zhang Jifeng and Wang Zhiyao both nodded slightly.

“That’s a fair point.”

The middle-aged man grew flustered and angry.

“What’s wrong with me raising a hand to discipline my own daughter?”

The three of them froze.

Daugh… ter?

The corner of Zhang Huatian’s eye twitched as he silently stepped aside. Zhang Jifeng followed his example. Even Xiaoyan, who had mostly recovered, and Lu Xuan, who were watching from the back, were left speechless.

Wang Zhiyao, on the other hand, just stared blankly at Zhuge Ke. After a long moment, she managed to choke out a question:

“Wait, if he’s your father… why did you say, ‘One must not flee from their trials’?”

Zhuge Ke shrank back a little, looking embarrassed.

“My teacher taught me: ‘One must not flee from their trials’… Well, my dad wants to beat me up every time he sees me. Doesn’t that count as a ‘trial’?”

Lu Xuan’s eyelid twitched violently, and the corner of his mouth twitched as well. He was utterly speechless.

Everyone else fell silent. After a long pause, the long-haired Zhang Huatian squeezed out a sentence through clenched teeth:

“Sir, hit her hard. Spare the rod, spoil the child.”

Zhuge Ke cried out in alarm.

Just as everyone was torn between laughter and exasperation, the world suddenly trembled slightly.

Li Nanguo looked toward the east, his eyes widening.

“That’s…”

The others also felt the tremor that shook the world and subconsciously looked over. They all saw a massive, surging tide of Spiritual Qi rising in the east!

The middle-aged man, who had just hauled Zhuge Ke to her feet, looked on in shock and uncertainty. “The world is reawakening again? And the scale of it doesn’t seem small!”

As he spoke, the Spiritual Qi tide swept across the entire Ancestor Star. The Ancestor Star trembled and began to expand. Immediately after, the Spiritual Qi tide, mixed with Divine Essence and a small amount of Innate Material, rapidly spread throughout the entire cosmos!

On Taishan Peak, the group stumbled and swayed under the impact of the Spiritual Qi tide. Lu Xuan grabbed Xiaoyan’s hand, but just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed.

The others also sensed that something was wrong. Feeling a terrifying pressure bearing down from above, they forced their heads up to look, and their pupils contracted abruptly.

“Th-th-that’s…” Chen Shu stammered, crying out in shock. “Is that… a dragon??”

“A dragon pulling a coffin?!”

High up in the Celestial Vault, accompanying the world’s reawakening, nine enormous True Dragon Corpses burst forth from the void. They were bound by black iron chains, and behind them was an immense Coffin and Casket!

Following it came faint, ethereal roars, layered and vast, like a million fierce soldiers raising their Weapons and shouting to the heavens!

“Mighty Qin! Mighty Qin!”

“Wind! Wind! Great Wind!”

The layered roars echoed throughout the Celestial Vault as the Coffin and Casket appeared!

Under the stunned, dumbfounded gazes of Lu Xuan and the others, the nine True Dragon Corpses pulled the magnificent Coffin and Casket and came crashing right toward Taishan!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep