Chapter 1: Crossing into Another World

  An old man and a young boy walked towards the main gate of Xuanmu Mountain.

  Xu Zhen looked at this majestic and magnificent mountain gate, feeling a sense of grandeur, a sense of historical years' sedimentation.

  As soon as they entered the peak, Li Tian pointed at someone and said something to Xu Zhen.

  "Come on, let me introduce you. This is your teacher's senior brother's disciple Sun Haosun, Senior Brother Sun. The teacher has something to attend to first and will be back soon."

  Seeing Master disappear in front of him instantly, Xu Zhen turned around and looked at the young man introduced by Li Tian Luo.

  Young people from afar came over upon hearing Master Xu Zhen's introduction.

  "This young junior brother is Uncle Master's disciple, right? Hello, I'm Sun Hao."

  Xu Zhen observed this senior brother for a moment, and surprisingly found that even with the help of the Introspection Technique, he couldn't see through Senior Brother Sun's cultivation. Relying on his vague perception, this senior brother had actually reached the realm of a Sect Master. Although it was unknown which rank in the Ling Sect he belonged to, but seeing such cultivation at such a young age was truly terrifying!

  "Qingxia Sect is indeed full of talents! Such a remote and quiet Xuanmu Peak has produced a disciple with Lingzong cultivation, Lingzong! Even the current chief elder of our Cang family is only at the peak of Lingzhu. It seems I underestimated the heroes of the world!" Xu Zhen secretly compared this senior brother to the elders in his memory. The result was self-evident.

  "Junior brother is going up the mountain for the first time, staying on Xuemo Peak every day. I haven't seen junior brother before. Recently, it's also the first time to see junior brother come back. It seems that junior brother should be recruiting outside the mountain!"

  Before Xu Zhen could answer, Sun Hao just looked at the expression on Xu Zhen's face and knew he was a first-timer in the mountains. He continued to speak enthusiastically.

  "I'm sure you've also seen it, Brother. Our Xuanwu lineage has fewer people. However, although we are few in number, each and every one of us is extremely united. From now on, within the Qingxia Sect, if anyone dares to bully you, just report it to me, and even the Seven Great Main Peaks will have to give us some face."

  As he said this, a surge of pride appeared on Sun Hao's face, but then he seemed to think of something and his expression turned gloomy again, lowering his head.

  Everyone has many secrets, and as a long-standing sect, there are countless secrets that have been passed down from generation to generation. It's better not to ask questions at this time, what he should know will be told by someone, and what he shouldn't know, knowing it will only increase the danger.

  "Brother Sun, I'm Cang Ye. I've remembered everything you said." Hearing Sun Hao's greeting, Xu Zhen hastily responded.

  "Hehe, little brother is able to be taken in by Master Shu, his talent must be quite impressive. You know, Master Shu has always been proud and arrogant since I can remember, ordinary people can't enter his eyes, and now he's still single, no disciple has the luck to inherit his legacy!"

  Sun Hao looked at Xu Zhen with a profound meaning in his eyes.

  "Look at me, I was so busy talking. I even forgot to take you around and get familiar with the surroundings, come follow me and let's take a look at our beautiful scenery together."

  One side led by Xu Zhen, looking around everywhere, while introducing him to various locations of Xuanwu Peak.

  "This is the Xuan Dan Hall, where the peak door's elixir is stored. This is the Lian Qi Hall, where the spiritual energy is thick and usually used for disciples to cultivate. This is the Qi Jia Hall, where some of the divine weapons and armor accumulated by the peak are placed, only those with excellent innate talent or who have made great contributions to the peak can choose a treasure to protect themselves. I believe that little brother will soon be able to come here to receive one."

  "Senior brother is indeed superior, compared to junior brother, senior brother is the one who can be considered a genius."

  For some reason, Xu Zhen always felt that Sun Shixiong intentionally or unintentionally wanted him to prove something.

  "Look at you, blending in with the heavens and earth. I'm afraid you've already entered the Spiritual Realm," Xu Zhen hesitated for a moment before speaking out his observations. In this world, being low-key is certainly a good thing, but being overly low-key will only invite others' disdain. Moreover, as the top of the mountain's first seat and the king's disciple, if you don't have some abilities, won't you also lose face for your master?

  "Oh? Younger brother has good eyesight! I'm four major stages and sixteen minor stages higher than you, yet you can still see through it. You've been hiding very deeply, younger brother."

  "Shixiong is in a serious situation, but it's just a feeling that Shidi has had since birth. If Shixiong's cultivation was at a higher level, Shidi would probably be powerless to do anything."

  Sun Hao smiled and didn't say anything. He also knew that some people were born with certain special abilities. He turned around and continued to lead Xu Zhen back and forth.

  "I am different from those other peak masters, with many forbidden lands." As he spoke, they arrived in front of a pavilion with a thick atmosphere of sacrifice.

  "The only place in our lineage that can be called a forbidden land is here."

  "In the Ancestral Temple, I offer sacrifices to my ancestors of the Xuanmu clan who have fallen for generations as the gatekeeper. Entering the temple, Sun Hao lit an incense stick and respectfully inserted it into the incense burner in front, then knelt down on both knees, kowtowed three times before getting up."

  Seeing Sun Hao's actions, Xu Zhen also imitated him by picking up an incense stick, mimicking his movements, and after finishing, he kowtowed three times before standing up.

  In a flash, Xu Zhen found that in Sun Hao's eyes, the affectionate gaze he had just looked at himself with had gradually increased some recognition.

  When I returned to the main hall, I found that Li Tian Luo had already handled his affairs and returned to the hall.

  Seeing his disciples and younger brother walk in, Li Tianyu pointed to the chairs beside him, indicating for them to take a seat.

  "Disciple, now that you've met Sun Hao, what are your thoughts?"

  Li Tian Luo decided to ask his own disciple about his views on the sect first.

  "Master, our sect's headquarters is indeed very impressive, and the skills of all the senior brothers are profound. However, I feel that although the place is big, it..." Li Tian Luo let out a soft sigh as he looked at Xu Zhen's expression.

  "Don't you feel like there are too few people?"

  Li Tian Luo had a clear understanding of Xu Zhen's astonishment.

  After collecting his thoughts, Xu Zhen said slowly

  "Just as the master said, on this mountain road, I found that whether it's the scale of architecture or the density of spiritual energy, other branches are far inferior to our branch. But why do we have fewer disciples compared to other branches?"

  "Ah."

  Heaving a soft sigh, Li Tian Luo turned around and gazed at the enormous mural of clothes in the center of the grand hall.

  "Disciple, did you know that our sect's lineage has been one of the main peaks of Qingxia Sect since its establishment?"

  Stunning! At this moment, Xu Zhen's mind was devoid of any thoughts! He never expected that his humble and obscure family would have such a glorious past!

  One of the seven main peaks! What a concept, now Qingxia Sect has seven major main peaks, and these seven peak masters are also at the level of Zongmen's protector elder. Among the seven protectors, if five elders agree on an opinion, they can even overthrow the sect master!

  The seven great ancestral masters, together with the sect master, jointly hold the life and death of billions of people in the Qingxia realm! The emperors of the mortal world cannot be mentioned in the same breath as them, yet the Xuanmo clan was once one of these glorious main clans!

  "The portrait on the wall is our Xuanmu Sect's founder, Jing Huang - Situ Jing. In the past, my sect's ancestor used unparalleled willpower to break through and achieve the supreme realm, bringing our sect into the ranks of the main peak, passing down until today."

  Slowly, Li Tian Luo seemed to have entered his own memories, slowly telling Xu Zhen about the history of Xuan Mu Sect.

  "The rule of Qingxia Sect is that if there is an emperor in a vein, the master can reach the cultivation of Ling Wang. Then this vein can be promoted to the main vein!"

  "The Qingxia Sect has been established for over 50,000 years now. In these 50,000 years, countless branches have entered the main vein, and numerous main veins have fallen back into the branch due to the decline of the peak or the fall of the king or emperor, with no one to inherit."

  "And I, Xuán Mù, have been one of the eight great masters since 40,000 years ago when our ancestor, Sī Tū Zǔ Shī, became the Emperor. Together with the current seven great masters, we have been managing the Qīng Xiá Sect. For 40,000 years, only the status of the eight great masters has never changed."

  "For nearly ten thousand years, our Xuanmu clan has always been one of the top three in the main peak. Each generation will have a new emperor appear before the previous emperor falls, and during its heyday, there was even a situation where four emperors coexisted. As for other main clans, they have always been alternating between two emperors, far from being comparable to us!"

  "It shone for 40,000 years, but at the moment when my Qingxia Sect was about to become the strongest sect in the world, an accident occurred, and the Peak Gate... declined..." As he spoke, Li Tianlie's eyes welled up with tears that flowed down his cheeks.

  Even kings have sorrowful tears.

  The sect is like the human alliance of Xu Zhen's previous life, and the peak is the family. For humanity, for the family, many people can give up everything, the sect is a great righteousness, and the peak is a small emotion. Many people can abandon their small home for the greater good. But in their hearts, their small home is something that the greater good can never replace!

  Growing up in Xuanmo since childhood, he was nurtured by Xuanmo. The Xuanmo clan is Li Tian Luo's family!

  The family's decline is irreversible, and even as a king, one cannot help but feel sorrow.

  "Master, please don't be disheartened. You once said that I have the potential to become a great king, and if you can further attain the ultimate state, then our Xuanming lineage will surely rise again!"

  Li Tianluo used his spiritual energy to evaporate the tears on his face and looked at Xu Zhen with a smile.

  It's true that my past self was desperate, because no one in the clan had the qualifications to become a king, even if I myself ascended to the throne, there was no way to bring the sect back to its former glory. But now it's different, because of Cang Ye!

  Ever since that day when he saw Cang Ye's unusual behavior in the kitchen, he felt that this child was probably not as simple as what the chef said. Sure enough, during his observations over the next few days, he actually discovered a secret that could rekindle his hope!

  In the past decade, Qingxia Sect has recruited over a million disciples, but only a handful of them have the hope to break into Xiantian through their own efforts. This year's only one was already taken in as a disciple by Zhao Zihua, the patriarch of Youyue Sect.

  The seven major meridians of the Qingxia Sect, along with the eight kings within the sect, were all sealed at least three hundred years ago. In nearly three hundred years, the vast Qingxia Sect had countless disciples, but not one person was able to take that step! At least, not on the surface. Becoming a king was too difficult, but if there was no king realm, becoming an emperor would also have little significance. Just then, Cang Ye entered his line of sight, and the purity of the spiritual energy within his body was even superior to his own six hundred years ago when he was hailed as the number one genius of his time! With such talent, if he couldn't become a king, who could?

  Li Tian Luo's greatest wish now is to let Xu Zhen work hard and cultivate, and ascend to the throne as soon as possible. As for himself, he has already reached the peak of the king stage, and as long as he understands the transformation of that principle, he can become an emperor in one step. Now, even if he is anxious, there is no other way.

  Just as Li Tian Luo was filled with relief and joy at having obtained Xu Zhen, he didn't notice the extremely enlarged pupils of Sun Hao beside him.

  "Then... then... the potential of King Cheng! Master Shi Bo, you're saying that Little Brother Shi... he broke through the Pre-Heavenly difficulty is..." The voice started off stuttering and stammering in the beginning, but by the end it had risen several pitches, almost to a shout.

  Li Tian Luo did not blame his master's nephew for his loss of composure, and even when he was certain that Xu Zhen had the qualifications to become a king, his mood was not much better than Sun Hao's.

  "That's right! Your junior brother broke through to Innate recently without relying on any medicine or accepting anyone's power, completely relying on himself to become a Spiritual Master!"

  Hearing Li Tian Luo's affirmative voice, Sun Hao couldn't help but feel an uncontrollable joy in his heart. One hundred years! A whole one hundred years! In these hundred years, more than 30,000 days of sunrise and sunset, a hundred cycles of spring and autumn, finally waited for the opportunity to return to the peak of Ben Mai!

  Sun Hao looked up at the sky and burst out laughing, so hearty, so uninhibited. All the grievances he had suffered over the past hundred years vanished in an instant. Unbeknownst to him, his loud laughter gradually faded away, turning into wave after wave of wailing sobs, crying with such a broken heart, such sorrow...