Tang Jie smiled as he replied, “The mountains do not know the passage of time, and the years go by with the snap of a finger. Madam, please forgive me for my oversight.”
Madam Shui rolled her eyes. “You’re in school, not in some secluded cultivation, so what’s all this about the mountains not knowing the passage of time? It’s probably because of what I told you last time that you’re trying to avoid me, right?”
Tang Jie gave an embarrassed grin.
Upon returning from Wind Devil Island, as Madam Shui had said that she would give him a chance at a gift from the heavens if he succeeded in making Wei Tianchong a True Inheritor, he had gone to hear from Madam Shui what this chance was. He hadn’t expected this chance Madam Shui had spoken of to be participating in the Immortal Fortune Conference at the Wandering Palace.
When talking about the Immortal Fortune Conference, one had to first talk about the Wandering Palace.
It was said that the Wandering Palace did not come from the Rosecloud Domain. Rather, it was the legacy of an Immortal Platform Titan who had broken through the barrier. As this was a sect established by an Immortal Platform Titan, the Wandering Palace was an existence with deep reserves.
The guiding principle of the Wandering Palace was to wander carefree, so it did not have a fixed location. Their headquarters was a floating Immortal palace, and thus, it was called the Wandering Palace. This also made them one of the few unaffiliated factions.
In the Rosecloud Domain, there was no sect that could surpass the six major sects.
Every power had to attach itself to another!
When that Immortal Platform Titan still lived, everyone could restrain themselves, but a hundred-some years ago, that Immortal Platform Titan finally fell to the callous passage of time, dying and dissolving into Returned Remnants. With the death of the Titan, the now-vulnerable Wandering Palace was put in an awkward position.
The six major sects immediately used this chance to apply pressure, trying to get the Wandering Palace on their side, thus leading to all kinds of political intrigue.
The Wandering Palace managed to hold out for a hundred-some years, but it had finally reached its limit, and its days of shifting allegiance were finally over.
But who to choose remained a large problem for the Wandering Palace.
Choosing one sect would probably offend the other five.
Thus, the Wandering Palace decided on the Immortal Fortune Conference. Each of the six major sects would send people to the Wandering Palace, and they would fight each other to decide. In this way, the Wandering Palace had thrown the ball back into the court of the six major sects.
Of course, the Wandering Palace would suffer a major blow to its dignity if it was said that the sects were fighting over the right to the Wandering Palace. Wouldn’t that mean it was nothing more than goods to be passed around?
Thus, the Wandering Palace added an extra reward: this competition was to decide the Daoist companion for the next master of the Wandering Palace, Shen Qingdan.
Shen Qingdan was the sole successor to the Wandering Palace, and when she married someone, the Wandering Palace would very naturally come under the sect of her groom, and since the two sects were bonded by marriage, the Wandering Palace would also have a firm position.
Thus, the Immortal Fortune Conference was born.
Of course, as Shen Qingdan was only sixteen, the people sent to the Immortal Fortune Conference couldn’t be more than five years older than Shen Qingdan.
The age limit meant that basically only students could participate in the Immortal Fortune Conference.
This was the “chance at a gift from the heavens” that Madam Shui was offering him. She hoped that Tang Jie could become one of the Basking Moon Sect’s representatives and take part in this grand occasion.
Tang Jie immediately knew that this was a tournament to decide the groom, so he naturally refused. If Xu Miaoran knew that he was taking part in this Immortal Fortune Conference, she would probably come over and curse him out as a heartless rat.
Thus, in the face of Madam Shui’s scolding, he could only smile.
Madam Shui saw his face and sighed. “The Immortal Fortune Conference is truly a rare chance. If you succeed, you’ll become the husband of the future palace master of the Wandering Palace, and your status in the Basking Moon Sect is certain to rise as well. This chance is many times more valuable than a chance at a True Inheritance, but you don’t cherish it at all! Alas!”
Tang Jie awkwardly smiled. “It was this lowly one’s mistake, but as the time has passed, regret is no good.”
“Who said the time has passed?” Madam Shui rolled her eyes. “The Immortal Fortune Conference hasn’t started yet.”
“Huh?” Tang Jie was startled. “Wasn’t this a matter from two years ago?”
Madam Shui snorted. “There’s naturally someone trying to put it off. The excuse? It’s just that the little lord is still too young, so everyone should just make ready and wait until she’s eighteen.”
Tang Jie finally understood.
The Wandering Palace wasn’t willing to subordinate itself to any sect and had only bowed its head under pressure. But given its nature, it would delay by as long as it could, even if only a day. But while Shen Qingdan had been sixteen two years ago, she was now eighteen. In other words, there was no more putting it off this year.
Then didn’t that mean…
Fuck, I walked right into it.
Sure enough, Madam Shui giggled and looked at Tang Jie. “What do you think? The chance is yours, so are you going or not? Didn’t you say you were regretting it just now?”
Tang Jie thickened his skin and said, “A fairy of the pearl palace, clear as ice and clean as jade, is not something just anybody can be paired with. This lowly one does not find himself worthy, so I think it is best if I continue to regret.”
Madam Shui was stunned by his “shamelessness”. She stared at Tang Jie and broke into laughter. “In the end, it’s your own business. It’s just a pity. With your strength, if you were willing to go, you would definitely be able to get into the top ten without a problem.”
“But the top ten still isn’t enough for success.” Tang Jie smiled.
Madam Shui rolled her eyes. “Are you just acting, or do you really not know? While the Immortal Fortune Conference is meant to fight for the hand of the palace master, it’s not just first place that’s being selected. Anyone in the top ten gets a chance.”
“Oh?” Tang Jie was surprised. “Why is that?”
“It’s naturally because this will decide the rest of the little lord’s life. If some ghastly student takes first place, will they marry the little lord to him all the same? Thus, the winner might not need to be some shockingly handsome youth, but he has to have some talent, decent looks, and a good character.”
“Understood. Just like the True Inheritor struggle, while everyone is fighting for the chance, in the end, it’s the Wandering Palace that makes the decision. And with the excuse of the palace master choosing a groom, the other five sects won’t be able to complain, even if they’re not chosen.”
“Correct.” Madam Shui smiled. “Of course, this is still a chance given to the six major sects. If they have the skill, they can just do what you did and get all of their students into the top ten so that they win no matter what.”
“My reputation in the school isn’t good, and everyone is now calling me Scammer Tang Jie. If I get into the top ten, the palace master won’t be choosing me, so I think I should forget about it,” Tang Jie hastily said, trying his best to show that he didn’t want to compete. If Madam Shui didn’t know him, she really might have been fooled.
Madam Shui snorted, “Anyone who enters the top ten, even if they’re not selected, can get a treasure from the Wandering Palace, and the higher your position, the higher priority you have to choose. Are you still not tempted?”
Tang Jie shook his head.
Madam Shui saw that his mind was set and sighed. “Ah, forget it. If you’re not willing to go, I won’t force you. I suppose I’ll have to find someone else to send to the Celestial Mountains.”
Tang Jie felt like he had been struck by a thunderbolt, his body freezing.
He slowly raised his head and looked at Madam Shui. “Madam, what did you mean when you said ‘send to the Celestial Mountains’ just now?”
Madam Shui replied, “The Immortal Fortune Conference is going to be held at the Celestial Mountains. What about it?”
Tang Jie took in a deep breath.
His insincere expression instantly turned solemn, and Tang Jie sternly said, “Of course, now that I think about it, as a cultivator, I should be bravely pressing forward, not shrinking back at the slightest sign of difficulty. Moreover, Madam is being so kind to me, so how can I disappoint you? I’ll go to this Immortal Fortune Conference!”
Celestial Mountains!
This was a dream that had been lingering in his mind.
Tang Jie had once believed that he would need a long time to finally realize his dream.
But today, this dream had suddenly appeared in front of him, leaving him rather dizzy.
In truth, even if he could go to the Celestial Mountains, Tang Jie had too many problems that he needed to solve. For example, how could he get out of the Immortal Fortune Conference? How would he hide from Godhead Palace’s spies and scouts? And even if he managed to resolve both of these problems, how would he break through the formation…? At best, he would be going to take a look around.
But even if it was just that, he still wanted to go.
There were some things that he needed to experience to understand.
And privately, Tang Jie had an idea that if the Martial Lord’s Returned Remnants had been prepared for his reincarnation, there was no reason for it to be only accessible to someone of an extremely high cultivation level, as there would be no point in it.
Tang Jie remembered Xu Muyang saying that the Martial Mirror had been discovered outside the Nine Executions Immortal Formation, and he had found the Visceral Manifestation Classic after breaking through the first level.
In other words, the Nine Executions Immortal Formation might provide assistance by levels. Perhaps he would find something new after breaking through the second level.
Of course, the second level of the Nine Executions Immortal Formation wouldn’t be that easy to break through, but if his line of thought was correct, breaking the Nine Executions Immortal Formation probably required both the right method and the right person. It was precisely because the person hadn’t been right that Xu Muyang had only been able to get through the first layer.
The Martial Mirror’s imparting of the Parting Classic after recognizing its master probably resolved the question of identity.
Of course, this was only speculation. Until it was verified, Tang Jie wouldn’t know the answer, but that was precisely why he needed to go.
As for why the Immortal Fortune Conference was being held in the Celestial Mountains, Tang Jie understood.
This was because it was located in the middle of the six major sects.
Of the six major sects of the Rosecloud Domain, the Basking Moon Sect was located in the far east, Godhead Palace in the far west, the Beast Refining Gate in the northwest, the Seven Absolutions Sect in the southeast, the Thousand Passions Sect in the north, and Horizon Ocean Pavilion in the south. And the Celestial Mountains were located at the border of the Thousand Passions Sect and Horizon Ocean Pavilion. It was a massive mountain range that ran east to west and formed the border between Tetrapole and Endsea.
In truth, the Celestial Mountains didn’t just belong to these two countries. They spanned east and west to such great lengths that they even encroached on the territories of the Beast Refining Gate and the Seven Absolutions Sect. But this encroachment was rather small, and the Martial Lord’s Returned Remnants had nothing to do with these two countries.
In the center of the Celestial Mountains was a mountain called Red Plum Ridge. It wasn’t a particularly tall mountain, but it had decent scenery, and it was located in the center of the Celestial Mountains. To balance out the six sects, the Wandering Palace had decided to hold the Immortal Fortune Conference at Red Plum Ridge. It was only half a day from where Tang Jie understood the Martial Lord’s Returned Remnants to be, the Ten Direction Valley.
There was no better chance!
The Wandering Palace’s Immortal Fortune Conference was to be held in four months, and at that time, all the students selected would head to the Celestial Mountains. Each sect could send twenty students. As for the methods of competition, the Wandering Palace would announce them when the time came.
Thus, Tang Jie was in no rush and continued to cultivate.
Half a month later, Tang Jie smoothly entered the Spirit Sea Tier.
By this time, the matter of the Immortal Fortune Conference had begun to spread through the school. Many students had found out about this coming grand occasion and begun to chatter. Some people began to sharpen their weapons, planning to show their abilities on the stage and return with a beauty in hand, and if that was no good, they wanted to get into the top ten and receive a treasure.
Today, Tang Jie was still cultivating in the Carefree House when he heard a knock at the door.
He opened the door and saw Peng Yaolong. He said in surprise, “Great Brother Peng?”