“The Grand Sacred Gathering? This is the first I've heard of it. What is the Grand Sacred Gathering?”
It sounded like some kind of assembly, but seeing as the name included ‘Garden of Remembrance,’ it seemed to be a rather prestigious one.
“The Grand Sacred Gathering is a grand assembly for the entire Garden of Remembrance, led by the Black Capital True Lord. It will be held in a month, and I hear anyone can participate.”
Black Capital True Lord. He was another Nascent Soul True Lord, after the Prosperous Treasure True Lord whose name he had heard before.
“But even if you say so, not just anyone can really participate, can they? It would be different if there was plenty of time, but with only a month…”
Jaekyung remembered how Yoo Gye-yoon had departed almost ten years early just to hear a sermon in the Vast Leisure Forest. And Yoo Gye-yoon had been a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator at the time. If Jaekyung were to travel the same distance now, wouldn't it take him twenty years, let alone ten?
The Garden of Remembrance was that vast. Though it was called a minor world, it was still a ‘world’ in its own right.
“That's right. For high-level Seniors, it wouldn't matter, but for those like us, the problem of time and distance is significant. The Black Capital True Lord has taken that into consideration. He said he will soon install transmission pillars all over the Garden of Remembrance that will allow for immediate travel to the gathering place. Once those transmission pillars are installed, the Garden of Remembrance will face a great revolution.”
Hearing that, Jaekyung immediately understood why these Seniors had been so excited. Just as Woo Do-baek had said, the term ‘great revolution’ was not an exaggeration.
“Can those transmission pillars be used at all times? Or only this one time?”
“We don't know yet. But surely they won't be for single use? If the gathering continues to be held in the future, we should be able to use them at least then.”
Everyone was unable to hide their excitement. Although they knew they wouldn’t be able to listen to a Nascent Soul True Lord's sermon, and even if they did, they would gain nothing from it, the sermons of Golden Core cultivators were a different matter.
Since a Nascent Soul True Lord was personally giving a sermon, surely the Golden Core cultivators wouldn't just stand by with their arms crossed. Even without considering the Black Capital True Lord, there would certainly be those who wished to accumulate good karma, like Senior Bu-un before them.
‘A Nascent Soul True Lord.’
Jaekyung was not as elated as his Seniors. They seemed to regard this as a heaven-sent opportunity, but Jaekyung’s view of this Grand Sacred Gathering was a little different. Though he had no grounds for it, he felt a vague sense of fear at the name of a Nascent Soul True Lord.
Even a Golden Core cultivator felt impossibly distant, so a Nascent Soul True Lord? It was suffocating. This was a natural feeling.
It was like how an elephant may have no intention of harming a person, but the person is still afraid and unable to approach it. One can't help but feel an instinctive fear towards a being that can easily kill you at any moment, even with a single small mistake.
‘I may have entered the Great Spirit stage, but to those beings in the heavens above, I am still just an ant.’
His resolve was not broken, but he felt a certain bitterness.
“All the cultivators in the Garden of Remembrance will flock to it.”
“I suppose so. I'm really looking forward to it. It will be a tremendous spectacle.”
“Come to think of it, how many cultivators are there in the Garden of Remembrance?”
“Who would know? Perhaps the Garden Master knows, but I doubt he would concern himself with such things.”
Jaekyung quietly listened to the Seniors’ conversation. Watching the Seniors, whose anticipation for the Grand Sacred Gathering was soaring to the heavens, his anxiety began to subside little by little.
‘Yes, to a Nascent Soul True Lord, someone like me is an ant, but for that very reason, I should be safe.’
To an ant, an elephant is an absolute being that must be feared, but for that very reason, it is safe. Because no ill-tempered elephant would harbor malice towards a mere ant. With that thought, Jaekyung finally felt at ease and began to occasionally join in the Seniors’ conversation.
* Jaekyung thought his current situation was better than any other time before. The island he had claimed was a remote place with not even a small spiritual land nearby, overlooked by both Great Spirit Beasts and human cultivators.
The only things loitering around were aquatic spirit beasts at best, and to the current Jaekyung, they were no different from ordinary animals.
‘If I only think about living safely and comfortably, there's no better place than this.’
A peaceful life. He had desperately wished for it in his past life, but not in this one. Safety is good, and comfort is good, but the most important thing is Cultivation.
If one is born into a world where transcendence through Cultivation is possible, then one should naturally pursue it…
“What are you doing?”
Jaekyyung, who had been steeling his resolve as a cultivator, couldn't hold back any longer and asked. Cheong-o, who had been rustling around in a corner of the cave, lifted his head.
“Huh? I was thinking about how to look pretty.”
Wondering what that was supposed to mean, Jaekyung craned his neck to see. A small pile of shiny, unidentifiable objects was gathered in front of Cheong-o's feet.
“What is all that?”
“Good stuff. Shiny stuff. Isn’t it pretty?”
Looking closely, they were mostly seashells and stones. They were all colorful, and some even glowed faintly. He wondered if they were spiritual objects, but after a careful look, he saw not a single one.
“Yeah. It's pretty.”
Jaekyung, not knowing what else to say, just played along.
‘Since when did that guy develop such a hobby?’
He wasn’t like this before. It seemed that now that he had settled in a safe place, he was taking an interest in various things.
‘Well, it's not bad.’
Whether he liked it or not, he had to stay here for a while, so it was fine for him to pass the time like that.
‘Is Mook-soo not ready yet?’
Jaekyung fell into thought as he looked at the fruit, which was now sticking out of the ground by about half and was noticeably larger than before. Judging by its appearance and the energy he could feel from it, the time for some kind of change should have been approaching.
And yet, the fruit continued to just suck up nutrients, showing no signs of any particular change. If the creature could at least speak, or at the very least express its intentions, he could try to have a conversation, but that wasn't the case. He had no choice but to continue feeding it spirit beasts as he had been.
Of course, for the current Jaekyung, catching a few spirit beasts to feed it was no trouble at all, but he couldn’t help feeling frustrated. He couldn't play the role of Mook-soo's nanny forever. As his frustration slowly built, Jaekyung reached a point where he saw the image of a pig smiling with satisfaction superimposed over the plump fruit.
Only then did Jaekyung put aside his worries about Mook-soo and start pondering his own Cultivation.
‘The demon races’ Cultivation is not a good reference.
Even though spiritual nature can substitute for a bloodline, in the end, spiritual nature is not a bloodline. My Cultivation must refer to the human method.’ The way human cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage cultivated was very simple.
They would continuously nurture and expand the spiritual power they had forged upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. By accumulating sufficient spiritual power in this way, they would unify it through a single Qi, condensing the spiritual power into the form of a core, and planting a Dharma Seed. This was Core Formation.
Put into words, it was this simple, but because they could not accomplish this simple task, countless Foundation Establishment cultivators closed their eyes in death, unable to cross the peak of Core Formation. Not to mention the difficulty of Core Formation itself, the vast majority of cultivators never even reached its threshold.
Increasing and nurturing spiritual power was not fundamentally different from gathering spiritual energy during the Qi Refining Stage. But recalling that a single strand of spiritual power was needed to ascend from the Qi Refining Stage to the Foundation Establishment stage, one could guess how difficult it was to increase spiritual power, even after having reached the Foundation Establishment stage.
‘That must be why human cultivators are so obsessed with spirit veins.’
Having spent some time at a spiritual spring, Jaekyung was keenly aware of the poor conditions on his current island. It felt like he had gone from sleeping on a top-quality bed under a cotton quilt to suddenly spending the night in a leaking cowshed.
“If I can feel such a difference already, it will be even more so after I begin my Cultivation.”
Although he realized that spiritual lands were essential for his future Cultivation, Jaekyung did not rush. He could endure this kind of inconvenience for now. What was truly important was Cultivation, and until he began cultivating in earnest, this place was a pretty decent home.
It was inconvenient in many ways compared to a spiritual land, but at least it was safe.
‘For my future Cultivation… I need a way to consistently absorb spiritual energy.’
The reason it was spiritual energy, not demonic power or spiritual power, was because those were powers that had already been refined once by cultivators of the same level. To put it simply, it was someone else's power, and absorbing such power was highly likely to only cause problems. Unless it was a power of the same fire attribute.
So, should he hunt down and kill cultivators of the same level with fire attribute power? Finding them was a problem, and hunting them was also a problem, making it rather unrealistic. Therefore, what Jaekyung could aim for was spiritual energy.
Although the amount required would be large and what he could obtain would be small, this was the only way to stably increase his demonic power.
‘Hunting human cultivators of the Qi Refining Stage is also an option.’
But this method was dangerous. To get the necessary spiritual energy that way, he would have to hunt a great number of them, and that would definitely draw attention. Once he was exposed in that manner, Foundation Establishment cultivators would surely step in, and perhaps even the two major sects of Western Twin Lake might take action.
‘No matter how much Cultivation is about seizing opportunities, it's better to avoid building grudges as much as possible. You never know when a blade filled with venomous Qi might come flying from somewhere.’
If there were no other way, it would be different, but since that wasn't the case, Jaekyung didn't want to cause friction with others.
‘I must obtain and learn a human cultivation technique. That is the most stable and easiest method.’
Human cultivators built up their Cultivation by practicing cultivation techniques. In other words, by absorbing spiritual energy. The problem was that this method had prerequisites.
First, he needed a cultivation technique. Second, putting aside where to obtain a cultivation technique, he had to be able to practice a human cultivation technique.
“For other Great Spirit Beasts, it would be difficult, or even impossible. But I will be different.”
This was not baseless confidence. Jaekyung had always had a certain degree of confidence, and after obtaining a spiritual seed through the Fire Crystal and achieving spiritual nature, that confidence had turned into conviction.
‘What constitutes a human is the heart and the body. I have a spiritual nature that can act as a spiritual root, and I have a human heart. What Demon Kings gain by undergoing the Transformation Tribulation can be said to be a human body. They become half-human and are able to enjoy a part of the human legacy. On the other hand, I am already half-human, so if I can learn the Transformation Secret Art and imitate a human body to some extent, it shouldn't be impossible for me to learn human cultivation techniques.’
This was precisely why Jaekyung was so intent on learning the Transformation Secret Art, even though he already possessed a human heart. It was because human cultivation techniques were ultimately based on the body.
‘Transformation Secret Art… Senior Woo mentioned it before. He said it's not valuable, but it becomes precious when you try to find it.’
He had said its value was not high, but because few people needed it, it was paradoxically difficult to obtain. However, Jaekyung remembered that Woo Do-baek's tone had been quite meaningful when he said it. It meant that if he just tried, he could obtain it one way or another.
‘I should have asked this time.’
When he went to the Garden of Remembrance this time, the news about the Grand Sacred Gathering had been so shocking that there was no time to exchange other stories.
‘It’s alright. Now that I’ve decided on a path, time is not an issue.’
Jaekyung closed his eyes and began his divine sense training. This, like his previous spiritual awareness training, was a daily routine he had not missed a single day since reaching the Great Spirit stage. With the goal of extending his divine sense wider and more accurately, he never stopped training until his mental energy was depleted each time.
Centered on the island where he was staying, large and small living creatures in the nearby waters were captured by his divine sense. Jaekyung focused his mind to feel them in more detail, and slowly, pain and fatigue began to appear on his placid face.
“Ugh.”
When Jaekyung let out an unconscious groan, Cheong-o, who was engrossed in his hobby, glanced over. Realizing it was the same daily routine, he turned his head back and began to sort the shiny objects one by one with his wings.
“Hmph, hmph.”
The crow’s humming and the serpent’s groans echoed alternately in the cave. * Time passed quickly, both at Western Twin Lake and in the Garden of Remembrance.
“Is this a transmission pillar?”
Woo Do-baek muttered as he looked at the pillar of light. He observed the transmission pillar up close, trying to grasp what mystery was contained within it, but he came up with nothing. It was the same for Jaekyung and the others.
“Could it be made of spiritual power?”
“But wasn’t it that only mental energy can be used in the Garden of Remembrance?”
“That's true, but he is a Nascent Soul True Lord. Just because we can't do it doesn't mean he can't.” Whether or not a Nascent Soul True Lord had the ability to use spiritual power in the Garden of Remembrance was unknown, but it was clear that he had the ability to place such transmission pillars throughout the garden.
That alone showed that the Black Capital True Lord’s abilities were beyond the imagination of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
“Well then, let’s go.”
The members of the Twilight Gathering decided to move together. They didn’t think there would be any danger, but it was better to move with people they knew rather than jostling among strangers in an unfamiliar place. After sufficient observation, the Twilight Gathering cultivators touched the transmission pillar.
The moment their spirits touched the pillar, they had already arrived in a strange place.
“Hah!”
Choi Ju-tang’s exclamation of awe perfectly captured the feelings of the Twilight Gathering cultivators. They silently cast their gazes on everything around them. Jaekyung was no different.
He saw stars. Celestial bodies emitting brilliant light. But upon closer inspection, he realized that they were not celestial bodies but some kind of independent spaces.
In other words, minor worlds.
‘Wait, wasn't the Garden of Remembrance said to be a minor world?’
Then should this be called a minor world within a minor world?
“That must be a grotto. But how can a grotto exist inside a minor world?”
Woo Do-baek’s confused exclamation, which came at just the right time, answered Jaekyung’s question.
‘Grotto?’
Was that the name of those celestial-like minor worlds?
Grotto.
“I heard that a grotto must have a master. In that case, what kind of Seniors might be inside those grottos?”
“Well, I don't know. By the way, watch your words. If there are Seniors inside, they will be able to hear everything we are whispering.”
“Gasp!”
Jaekyung ignored the noisy Seniors and took in the surrounding scenery. Even apart from the most prominent grottos, there was much to see. From the large and small peaks scattered about, to a structure built like a massive amphitheater, and a tower whose purpose was hard to guess.
All sorts of things were mixed together in a vast space that seemed large enough to accommodate a couple of cities.
‘So this is the gathering place.’
If the Black Capital True Lord had designed this place himself, Jaekyung could confidently declare that, if nothing else, his aesthetic sense was terrible. The overall feeling of the place was… quite bizarre. The freely arranged structures had distinct forms, yet the people gathered here existed not as physical bodies but as spirits.
So what was the point of those buildings? Were they just decorations?
‘It might actually be so.’
Perhaps trying to find meaning and practicality in everything was, in a way, a thought trapped in the framework of the mundane. Thinking that way, the bizarre gathering place began to look different.
“It seems there’s still some time before the gathering begins, so let's find a suitable spot and wait.”
“Let's do that.”
The group settled on a high ground that slightly overlooked the gathering place. They cautiously observed the cultivators of the Garden of Remembrance who were beginning to gather.
Not to mention Jaekyung, even Woo Do-baek, who had the highest Cultivation among them and had been in the Garden of Remembrance the longest, had not met more than a hundred cultivators there. But the number of cultivators gathered at the gathering place now already exceeded several thousand.
They were not the riff-raff that were scattered all over the Azure Abyss Realm, but true cultivators formally invited to the Garden of Remembrance. In human terms, they were all cultivators at or above the Foundation Establishment stage. Jaekyung was once again impressed by the power and scale of the Garden of Remembrance.
Even if the Garden of Remembrance was just something like a social club sharing the identity of being reincarnators, with a faint sense of binding on its members, the ability to gather this many cultivators in one place was proof of how incredible the Garden of Remembrance was.
‘Well, actually, none of this is necessary.’
There was no need to even mention the thousands of cultivators. The existence of a Nascent Soul True Lord. Wasn't that one fact enough?
Moreover, there wasn't just one. He had heard the names of two.
‘Come to think of it, both Nascent Soul realm experts are Nascent Soul True Lords.’
The Nascent Soul realm of the human race was called Nascent Soul True Lord, and the Nascent Soul realm of the demon races was called Demon Emperor.
This was because, a long time ago, a great power of the demon races had referred to the titles used in the Immortal Dynasty of the human race and applied them to the cultivation realms of the demon races. The highest was the emperor, the next was the king, and so on.
Of course, this was the human race's claim, and the demon races would dismiss it as nonsense. But perhaps even the demon races, while denying it on the surface, acknowledged it inwardly. This was because, aside from this, there were quite a few names and systems that the demon races seemed to have borrowed from the human race.
‘It’s better to use something plausible that already exists than to create something new.’
While he was thinking that, cultivators continued to pour into the gathering place. Jaekyung tried to see if there were any demon race cultivators among the gathered cultivators.
‘I see them.’
There were a few spirits that felt distinctly different from the human cultivators. Their spirits were clearly different from those of human cultivators, and they were also different from each other. Jaekyung could tell at a glance that the spirits of those demon race cultivators were somewhat unstable.
Unlike the spirits of human cultivators, which remained constant, their spirits were swaying like boats on water.
‘So this is what it was like.’
Jaekyung felt like he now understood what it meant for demon race cultivators to be unstable. For their spirits to be so unstable meant their state of mind was not stable, so their personalities were also highly likely to be unpredictably erratic.
‘This could be called an innate flaw.’
Jaekyung saw that most of those he presumed to be demon race cultivators were alone, not mingling with other cultivators. Although their number was but a handful compared to the total number of cultivators flocking to the gathering place, they were strangely conspicuous.
‘Not all of them are like that.’
While most were loners chewing on their solitude like social misfits, there were a small number who mingled with others without any problem. Jaekyung guessed their realms were at least mid-stage or late-stage Great Spirit stage. This was because, like Woo Do-baek, no matter how hard he focused, he could not glean any information from their spirits.
However, this was a strange thing. In the Garden of Remembrance, everyone existed as a spirit, and it was nearly impossible to see through an opponent of the same realm.
The reason Jaekyung’s identity as a spirit beast had been exposed was because his realm at the time was at the level of a newly become spirit beast, and the people he met were at least Foundation Establishment cultivators. But it was different now.
When Jaekyung’s Cultivation reached the Great Spirit stage and he entered the Garden of Remembrance, the cultivators there could not see through him. At least, the cultivators of the Twilight Gathering, including Woo Do-baek, could not. On the other hand, Jaekyung could see through their spirits to some extent.
In Woo Do-baek’s case, perhaps due to the difference in realm, he could not tell anything other than that he was human, but he could still make out the rough appearances of Yeo Jang-gyeong and Choi Ju-tang through their spirits. Jaekyung didn't know how this was possible, but he couldn't ask anyone about it.
It would be like bragging that he alone could see what others could not. He could only think that it was a good thing, that perhaps his own mental aptitude was better than others. Glancing at the spirits of the demon race cultivators, Jaekyung thought about his own state of mind.
The state of mind refers to the realm of the heart, but this realm, unlike a cultivation realm, is not something that remains constant once a certain level is reached.
It is like the surface of water, which can be precariously shaken by the wind blowing from outside, so in a sense, it can be seen as a temporary state rather than a realm. But the reason it is still called a realm is that, although it seems to be in peril at any moment, there is a clear center.
It is because of this center that a wavering heart has the power to return to its proper state. Achieving and raising this state of mind is both easy if you think it's easy and difficult if you think it's difficult.
There are often cases where a cultivator with high Cultivation remains at a level far below his cultivation realm when it comes to his state of mind.
“I, on the other hand, have a talent in this area. My state of mind is definitely superior among cultivators of the same level, and I can even compare it with cultivators one stage higher.”
But that was as far as it went. If the difference in realm was two stages or more, he couldn't grasp anything.
‘This much is already excellent.’
Jaekyung was sufficiently satisfied. Having an ability that transcended the difference in cultivation realm was an amazing thing, no matter what it was. Until now, the only thing he could boast about was his tough body.
Now that he had confirmed he had another advantage in his state of mind, he felt as good as if he had found some emergency funds no one knew about. A short while later. The number of cultivators, which he thought was large even at several thousand, had now grown to tens of thousands.
The gathering place, which had felt empty, was now filled with large and small clusters of light. It was unlikely that a space as large as several cities combined would be filled with just tens of thousands of people, but the presence exuded by the cultivators' spirits was enough to fill the gathering place.
Jaekyung felt as if each cultivator gathered here was a star, big or small, and the gathering place that housed them was like the universe.
“What a spectacle.”
“I’ve never seen a sight like this in my life.”
Such exclamations were not only coming from them. Probably everyone gathered here was thinking something similar.
“How much longer do we have to wait?”
“Who knows? What does it matter?”
How many chances would one get to hear the sermon of a Nascent Soul True Lord? Even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was a chance hard to come by even once in a lifetime. It would probably be almost impossible even for a cultivator belonging to a great sect where a Nascent Soul True Lord existed.
But now that they were able to enjoy for free a blessing that was hard to enjoy even once in a lifetime, what was a month or two of waiting?
Of course, no one with a realm that had not even reached Core Formation thought they could fully understand the teachings of a Nascent Soul True Lord, but if they could pick up even one word out of ten thousand words of teaching, they were willing to happily endure not just a few months, but even a few years of waiting.
Even if they couldn't gain a single speck of harvest from the Nascent Soul True Lord’s sermon, there was the sermon of the Golden Core cultivators that would follow. It could not be compared to the sermon of a Nascent Soul True Lord, but it was also a rare opportunity.
Either way, it was clear that they would gain great benefits, so the hearts of the tens of thousands of cultivators gathered here were filled with joy and anticipation. At that moment, a gale blew from somewhere. That wind was not a real wind.
It was a spiritual wind that shook only the souls and spirits of the cultivators. Tens of thousands of cultivators reacted at once. Some wavered so severely that it seemed their spirits might scatter, while others were truly blown away as if caught in a typhoon.
Jaekyung focused his mind and held on. It felt like if he let his guard down for even a moment, he would be swept away like those unsightly figures flying over there. What kind of wind was this to be so powerful, and how could it affect a spirit?
There were many things to think about, but right now, there was no time to dwell on such questions.
“Senior Sobyeok. What kind of mischievous prank is this?”
A voice full of dignity spread, and the force of the typhoon-like wind weakened. Even so, one still had to hold on with determination, but it was not so severe that one would be swept away by letting one's guard down for a moment.
“It’s Senior Ak!”
Yeo Jang-gyeong’s face brightened upon hearing that voice.
“Senior Ak?”
“Senior Ak So-san. He was the one who guided me when I first came to the Garden of Remembrance.”
Hearing that, Jaekyung thought of Yoo Jung-gyeom, who had been his guide. Was he here too? The sermon of a Nascent Soul True Lord would be a precious opportunity even for a Core Formation cultivator.
“Hmph!”
With a snort, a colossal presence descended upon the gathering place. The moment that presence appeared, all the cultivators froze. They couldn't move their eyes, nor could they speak.
Whether by luck or misfortune, the owner of that presence appeared in the direction where Jaekyung’s gaze had been resting.
‘What is that?’
The spirit of that being was different from those of the other cultivators. The spirits of all the cultivators gathered in the gathering place, including Jaekyung, were made of radiant halos of light, but the spirit of the being that had just appeared was a blurry shape without any light.
The shape was enormous, and looking at it gave a dizzying sensation, as if one would be sucked in. If Ak So-san hadn’t spoken again, Jaekyung, who was unable to turn his gaze away, might have really been sucked into that blurry spirit.
‘Is this a Core Formation cultivator?’
Though it was only a spirit, its presence was so overwhelming that it made the Foundation Establishment realm seem insignificant, crushing the body with just a glance.
“Senior Sobyeok. Or should I call you Lesser Azure-Winged King? In any case, please stop this prank.”
“Why am I your senior? And what if I don't stop? Are you going to try and stop me?”
As the being called the Lesser Azure-Winged King retorted bluntly, another presence appeared in the gathering place. Jaekyung, whose gaze was fixed on him, couldn't see it, but he could guess without seeing that the presence belonged to Ak So-san.
“In this Garden of Remembrance, are we not kin and fellow Daoists? If not, why have you come here, Senior Sobyeok? Did you not come to hear the sermon of Senior Black Capital?”
“Hmph, what a boring fellow.”
As soon as the sneering reply came out, the wind stopped as if it had been a lie. Only then did the cultivators regain their freedom, and Jaekyung was no exception. He first turned his gaze away.
The spirit of the Lesser Azure-Winged King covered the entire area around him like a shadow, and the nearby cultivators were hastily evacuating to other places, turning their gazes away like Jaekyung.
“If you were going to come, why couldn't you just come quietly, why did you have to be so boisterous?”
Jaekyung was finally able to look at Ak So-san. His spirit was not as dark as the Lesser Azure-Winged King’s, but it did not shine brightly either. It had the form of an ordinary person, and it lacked that strange, absorbing power.
“The outside world is a harsh place. All sorts of malicious pranks happen all the time, so a mischievous prank is nothing. I think it was a good lesson.”
“Is a lesson given to those who do not want it and are not prepared for it a lesson? What if something happened to their Dao Heart? Haven’t various seniors left words about your temper before?”
“Are you lecturing me?”
Sharp words were exchanged between the Lesser Azure-Winged King and Ak So-san, but the wind did not rise again. But this was clearly the calm before the storm. Jaekyung and all the other cultivators could feel it.
The moment the tone of that Lesser Azure-Winged King changed, this false peace would be shattered in an instant.
“Quite a few have gathered.”
It was at that very moment. A low voice cut through the conflict between the two Core Formation cultivators and the worries of the tens of thousands of cultivators. Their attention was forcibly, yet naturally, drawn to that low voice.
“We greet Senior Black Capital!”
More than ten colossal presences descended upon the gathering place all at once. The Core Formation cultivators who had appeared at some point were now floating in front of the star-like, shining grottos.
The presence of each of them, who had revealed themselves this time, was magnificent enough to make the tens of thousands of cultivators gathered in the gathering place seem shabby, but it was extremely refined and did not exert the slightest pressure on the cultivators.
“We greet Senior Black Capital.”
“We greet Senior Black Capital.”
The Lesser Azure-Winged King and Ak So-san, as if they had never argued, adopted a respectful attitude and refined their auras like the other Core Formation cultivators.
“It seems everyone who wished to come has arrived, so let’s not waste time and begin immediately.”
After those words. It seemed as if the light sound of a finger snapping was heard.