NOVPUB
Chapter 755: Chapter 761: Grand Ceremony
The Li family announced that the Nascent Soul ceremony would not take place for several more years, making it clear to all the forces involved that this breakthrough must have been extremely difficult, perhaps fraught with peril every step of the way to successfully enter Nascent Soul.
But this did not delight those who envied the family, as no matter what, Li Chengsheng had already attained the esteemed status of Nascent Soul, and with his young age, he might well encounter even greater fortune in the future.
Setting aside the consolidation of his realm and healing his injuries for the moment, Li Zhirui was steadily and securely advancing, smoothly transitioning his final Spiritual Soul into the Yang phase.
At the current pace, he would be fully Yang within five years!
During this period, all he needed to do was cultivate in peace.
Time flew by, and Li Chengsheng, who had been gravely injured that day, had fully recovered after several years of recuperation, and the first thing he did after emerging from seclusion was to pay his respects to Jiang Fengwu.
"I’ve worried Mother."
"As long as you’re alright, that’s all that matters." Just thinking of what happened that day, her tears couldn’t help but flow again.
It took the soothing from the siblings Li Chengsheng and Li Chengshuo for her to regain her composure.
"Big brother, why was the power of the last bolt of Tribulation Thunder during your breakthrough so tremendously fierce and terrifying?"
"I’m also at a loss about that."
Li Chengsheng was filled with doubts, he didn’t dare claim that he had not accrued any Karmic Force, that would be impossible, but he didn’t believe it to be enough to intensify the Thunder Tribulation.
What’s more, if it really was due to Karmic Force, it should have been like when Jiang Fengwu underwent her Tribulation Transcendence, with the power of the Thunder Tribulation consistently far exceeding the norm from start to finish, rather than being so abruptly intense.
"Could this be some sort of accident?" Li Chengshuo mused, frowning.
Upon hearing this, Li Chengsheng seemed to suddenly remember something, he laughed and said, "Because of that last bolt of Tribulation Thunder, my physical body is now stronger than that of a Golden Core body cultivator!"
Although cultivating normally includes the refinement of the physical body by Spiritual Energy, without deliberate polishing, even after breaking through to Nascent Soul, one’s physical strength would typically not match that of a Golden Core body cultivator.
"I was nearly scared to death that day, what good is such a small benefit?" Jiang Fengwu glared at him.
He wasn’t a body cultivator after all, wouldn’t use his physical body for fighting, and now that he had broken through to Nascent Soul, the sharpness of a fourth-tier Magical Treasure couldn’t be stopped by such physical strength, making it utterly redundant.
"Mother, we have to inform the family of big brother’s emergence, so they can make preparations for the ceremony as soon as possible," said Li Chengshuo before swiftly striding away, as if fleeing from something.
She left early, anticipating Jiang Fengwu’s incessant chatter, but Li Chengsheng wasn’t so lucky. However, he preemptively spoke up, intercepting the conversation, "Mother, Father is currently in seclusion, isn’t it somewhat inappropriate to hold the ceremony at this time?"
"Don’t worry, the family has already prepared a flawless strategy that won’t reveal Zhirui’s true condition. Instead, it might even misdirect others, causing them to let their guard down."
To avoid giving Jiang Fengwu the chance to scold him, Li Chengsheng quickly followed with another question, "I wonder when Father will come out of seclusion."
"The family currently does not have the experience to breakthrough to Divine Transformation. With your father’s meticulous nature, he will surely want to resolve most of the hidden dangers before he truly takes action."
"Mother knows Father best."
——
The Li family had held many ceremonies before, so the minor decorations and less important arrangements were completed within a few days.
What remained were the rarer high-tier Spiritual Objects, which had to be purchased from the Xuanfa Pavilion and the Southern Edge Commerce Association, as the Li family couldn’t provide enough portions on their own.
If they filled the quota with lower-tier Spiritual Objects, wouldn’t it be an outright insult to the Li family’s reputation?
The whole family was busy for over half a year, and they finally managed to prepare the Spiritual Objects needed for the ceremony!
"Invitations can be distributed now."
Li Wenli instructed, "Include all the surrounding forces in the invitation list. When you arrive at each faction’s mountain gate, don’t say much or linger. Leave after completing the delivery task."
Soon, all the local forces received the invitation from the Li family, inviting them to attend the Nascent Soul Ceremony one month later.
On the day of the ceremony, Wanxian Island, which is almost invisible to foreign cultivators, had specially arranged a wide path.
Walking along the road, one could enjoy the scenery of the island and also prevent them from wandering around and accidentally entering a crucial boundary ’unintentionally’.
"Your noble clan resides here without those troubles, truly an enviable life." Bingyun, the Nascent Soul representative from the Profound Ice Sect, couldn’t help but sigh as he walked along the grand pathway.
"Senior flatters us too much," replied Li Wenli, who personally came out to greet them, with respectful politeness.
Bingyun did not speak again and, followed by his disciples, silently sat on the prearranged cloud beds.
The original purpose of the Nascent Soul Ceremony was to share one’s cultivation insights and guide the younger generation, promoting the advancement of the Immortal Tao. However, as time passed, every family became protective of their own methods, and such ceremonies have gradually become a display of strength without sharing any significant techniques or principles.
Yet, no one dared to decline the invitation, especially since it was personally delivered to their doorsteps. Ignoring it would be a severe breach of courtesy.
Especially the subsidiary forces, could they afford not to attend?
Dang dang dang—
As the auspicious time arrived, the bell sounds reverberated across Wanxian Island. Those cultivators who were whispering among themselves immediately silenced.
Following that was the grand entrance of Li Chengsheng. After a few courteous words, it was a mix of clinking cups and admiring a variety of pleasing performances.
Only after the third round of drinks would it be his time to ’preach’.
Clearly, he didn’t plan to impart anything of value, hence the arrangement like this. If he truly intended to preach, why would he let everyone have their fill first?
So when Li Chengsheng began to speak, the cultivators who initially had expectations quickly lost the light in their eyes.
Within a quarter of an hour, he had already stopped talking and concluded the preaching.
Bingyun loudly praised him with various adulations flowing from his mouth, then ended with a puzzled question, "Li, for such an important event, why do we not see Zhirui’s presence?"
"My father is currently in seclusion making a breakthrough in the later stages of Nascent Soul, how can he be distracted by such a minor affair as mine and delay his cultivation path?"
A stone causes a thousand ripples!
No sooner had these words been spoken than a burst of exclamations arose from the crowd.
This news was indeed surprising; after all, Li Zhirui was only of a certain young age, not even five hundred years old yet, barely reaching half of the life expectancy for the Nascent Soul stage, and was now approaching the later phase of Nascent Soul!
"Zhirui’s talent is truly remarkable! It’s something many greatly envy." Bingyun seemed genuinely impressed, but in his heart, he couldn’t help but feel envy and jealousy.
He was more than a hundred years older than Li Zhirui, but had only broken through to the later stage of Nascent Soul a few years ago. And now, he was about to be caught up by a junior!
Perhaps it would not be long before he was left far behind.
As this thought emerged, Bingyun’s jealousy became uncontrollable, and he darkly wished that Li Zhirui’s breakthrough would end in failure.
Once the ceremony concluded and various factions left Wanxian Island, figures like Li Chengsheng and Li Wenli gathered to discuss the lasting effects of the ceremony.
"I wonder if we managed to deceive the Profound Ice Sect," Li Chengshuo, who was most concerned about this, mused.
