Azure Mystic Sacred Land, Crimson Glow Peak.

Fourth Senior Sister Shi Siling stood alone, her fingers tracing the rough, unpolished surface of a compass. In the silence of the peak, Nian Zhaoxi’s hoarse, desperate voice seemed to echo in her ears, refusing to fade.

“The Heavenly Dao is heartless, but the Human Dao has feelings. Fourth Junior Sister, are you truly this cold?”

“You claim to be untrapped by emotion, undisturbed by the heart. But do you remember? Years ago, when your cultivation shattered and you were forced to restart upon the path of Source Arts, who fought for your opportunities? Who helped you step back onto the road?”

“This compass was crafted by Gu Xiu’s own hands. It was stained with blood to pave your way to the peak. Have you truly forgotten?”

“He is Gu Xiu!!!”

The world knew Shi Siling as the master of Source Arts, a woman capable of opening Immortal Sources and seizing Heavenly Secrets. In the Azure Mystic Sacred Land, her strength was second only to their Master, Guan Xuelan.

But few knew the truth of her past.

She had once been an ordinary seeker of the Dao, beaten down by a thousand hardships. She had fallen from the clouds into the mud, her cultivation dissipating until she was indistinguishable from a mortal. She had nearly ended her own life outside the sect gates in despair.

It was Gu Xiu who intervened.

He reshaped her Dao Heart. He helped her seek the cause of her failure. He helped her seize the Heavenly Secrets once more. He bled for this compass, yet never spoke a word of regret.

Only… that person was dead.

Shi Siling closed her eyes, a sigh escaping her lips.

“The mountain was once carefree, but now it is burdened with snow. The water was once calm, but now it is troubled by the wind.”

Just as a ripple of emotion stirred within her absolute rationality, a sound shattered the stillness.

Hummm—!

High in the firmament, the Primordial Bell manifested. Its toll was clear, distant, and struck directly at the soul.

Shi Siling snapped back to reality. She looked up.

Above, the ancient bell vibrated, and behind it, the golden outline of Heaven’s Gate slowly emerged. The sight forced her to suppress her wandering thoughts. Her brows knitted together.

Without hesitation, she dissolved into a phantom shadow, racing toward the Main Peak.

At the entrance of the Grand Hall, Sect Master Guan Xuelan stood with her hands clasped behind her back, gazing up at Heaven’s Gate. Her eyes held a trace of profound yearning.

Shi Siling understood that look. All cultivators spent their lives pondering what lay beyond that gate. Yet, that gate kept the vast majority of living beings locked outside for all eternity.

“Primordial Bell Toll, Heaven’s Gate Manifestation,” Guan Xuelan murmured. “A new Heaven-grade cultivation technique has descended into the world. I wonder which great expert created this method?”

“Judging by the distance, the origin is not far,” Guan Xuelan continued, her expression grave. “But there are no other Mahayana cultivators near our Sacred Land.”

“Could it be the Sect Master of the Water Cloud Sect attaining enlightenment? Or that old monster from the Sha family in Flowing Sand City? He hasn’t moved in years; perhaps he quietly proved the Dao.”

“No matter who it is,” Shi Siling said, landing beside her Master, “if they intend to raise a new Sacred Land this close to us, it is a threat.”

Disciples began to arrive in droves, staring at the anomaly in the sky with slack jaws.

A Heaven-grade technique received the direct acknowledgment of Heaven and Earth. Usually, only a Mahayana cultivator—blessed with immense luck and peak understanding of the Dao—could achieve such a feat.

If a new Heaven-grade technique had been born, it meant a new power was rising. For the Azure Mystic Sacred Land, this was no trivial matter.

“I do not sense the aura of another Mahayana cultivator,” Guan Xuelan said, narrowing her eyes. “But the anomaly is unmistakable. Judging by the orientation, it is coming from the direction of Cloud Firmament City!”

She turned to her disciples.

“Send a team to Cloud Firmament City immediately. Investigate the cause of the Primordial Bell Toll!”

The Azure Mystic Sacred Land was not alone in its reaction.

Around the region, ancient sects and hidden families were thrown into turmoil.

“Primordial Bell Toll! A great expert has created a Heaven-grade technique! Investigate! Find out who it is!”

“The Sha family’s opportunity has arrived! A Heaven-grade technique has appeared, but there is no Mahayana pressure accompanying it. Go! Seize the technique and bring it back!”

“Heaven’s Gate Manifestation… the Dao can prove Immortality. Find this person!”

Mountain gates slammed open. Countless old monsters, slumbering in seclusion, awakened with greedy eyes.

Heaven-grade techniques were rare. Those who could create them were even rarer. If it were a Mahayana ancestor, no one would dare move. But this phenomenon lacked the crushing pressure of a Supreme Being.

In this region, only Guan Xuelan was a true Mahayana Supreme. If this new creator was weak… they were prey.

Cloud Firmament City was in chaos.

The city, already a melting pot of loose cultivators and gangs, was whipped into a frenzy by the phenomenon directly above their heads.

“It’s a Heaven-grade technique! Who realized it? Is it the Old City Lord?”

“Impossible, his path is severed. But… maybe he found a new way?”

“Can we pinpoint the location? The range is too vast! We only know it’s inside the city!”

Gangs scrambled to restrain their subordinates or sent spies to scout. The city, already tense from the ongoing “Homage of Ten Thousand Rhymes” phenomenon, was now a powder keg.

However, amidst the panic and greed, the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion remained an island of bizarre calm.

“So what if it’s a Heaven-grade technique?”

Wan Xiaobei, the new Proprietor, stood on a table, lecturing her staff. “Let me tell you, the Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu whom I admire is a top-tier, heaven-defying genius! With just an Earth-grade technique, he blazed a trail through the ancient immortal world!”

“Do you understand what this means?”

She waved her hands passionately. “It means that for a true genius, cultivation techniques are just decorations! Even without them, he could prove the Great Dao with a mortal body!”

“That is the ideal husband in my, Wan Xiaobei’s, heart!”

The staff nodded vigorously, sweating.

“But Pavilion Master,” a naive employee piped up, “if such a peerless genius obtained a Heaven-grade technique, wouldn’t it be a ‘tiger with wings’? A combination of strengths?”

The room went silent. The logic was sound.

Wan Xiaobei glared.

“The Pavilion Master is always right! How dare you contradict her!” a manager shouted, smacking the employee’s head. “Deduct his salary! Immediately!”

“Yes! Penalize him!”

Harmony was restored. Wan Xiaobei looked pleased.

“Pavilion Master,” another employee asked fawningly, “where is this Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu now?”

“Do you even need to ask? He is naturally at the Azure Mystic Sacred Land, suppressing the era!”

Wan Xiaobei preened.

Sitting by the window, Su Rumei ignored the farce. Her gaze was fixed on the sky, though her attention drifted constantly toward the Listening-to-Rain Pavilion.

She didn’t know for sure, but her intuition screamed one name: Feng Bugui.

As she watched, her eyes fell upon an old drunkard in the street below. He wasn’t running or shouting like the others. He stood frozen, staring at the sky, muttering something that made Su Rumei frown.

“Primordial Bell’s Golden Shadow… Dao Lotuses in Bloom…”

“This is…”

“Perfect Qi Condensation. The legendary Perfect Qi Condensation… The Indestructible Dao Platform!!!”

Su Rumei’s heart skipped a beat. She followed the old man’s gaze, squinting at the phenomenon.

At first, she saw only the Bell and the Gate. But as she focused, looking deeper into the projection, her pupils dilated.

Inside the tolling Primordial Bell, faint strands of golden light were weaving together. And in the mist swirling before Heaven’s Gate, golden lotus leaves were blooming!

There was a second anomaly hidden within the first!

Most people were blinded by the flash of the Heaven-grade technique. They missed the subtle, terrifying truth hidden in the details.

This was the phenomenon of Perfect Qi Condensation.

Su Rumei stood up, her chair scraping loudly against the floor.

Creating a Heaven-grade technique was rare, yes. Thirty years ago, Guan Xuelan had done it to establish the Azure Mystic Sacred Land. It was shocking, but precedented.

But this?

Perfect Qi Condensation. The Indestructible Dao Platform.

That existed only in myths.