The sun rose on this day.
It was fine weather, and an auspicious day.
At least, that was the case for the Four Great Regions. The reason was simple: today, the renowned Su Hua, the Immortal Maiden, would be expounding the Dao at the Taixuan Platform.
There was no one who did not know the name Su Hua.
She was versed in the secrets of the heavens above and the patterns of the earth below, mastering all ten arts of the Immortal Dao with unparalleled proficiency. She was an envoy of the Immortal Dynasty and a Maiden of the Mortal Realm, hailed as the Goddess of the present age. Every year, she traveled across the world to expound the Dao.
Expounding the Dao, naturally, meant expounding the Immortal Dao.
As the saying goes, when an Immortal Maiden expounds the Dao, it is like a sudden awakening, clearing the mind's obstructions, or like celestial music descending, bringing instant enlightenment to the sea of consciousness.
Over the years, countless people had advanced their cultivation by a level or refined their Immortal arts further after listening to Su Hua's expositions.
Many venerable seniors who had cultivated for millennia, long stagnant at a certain realm and unable to progress, had broken through their barriers and advanced their cultivation after receiving Su Hua's guidance. There were too many such individuals to count.
Many geniuses, too, had received Su Hua's guidance, greatly enhancing both their acquired and innate fortunes.
If one faced tribulations, Immortal Maiden Su Hua would forewarn them; if one had opportunities, she would point them out clearly.
Therefore,
whenever Su Hua descended to expound the Dao, it was almost always no less grand than a major gathering.
This time was no exception. As soon as news of Immortal Maiden Su Hua's exposition spread, people from major sects, clans, and alliances across the Four Great Regions almost all set out for the Changhong Great Region.
The Changhong Great Region was the largest of the Four Great Regions, and also the richest in resources. Before the Cataclysm, it had been the central region of the Four Great Regions, and even more so after the Cataclysm. It was no exaggeration to say that most of the historically significant sects, ancient clans, and powerful alliances of the Four Great Regions were located in the Changhong Great Region.
For example, the Yuqing Sect, hailed as the number one sect in the Four Great Regions, boasted a million disciples.
Then there were the second and third-ranked Jinding Sect, Fenghua Sect, and others—all were among the top ten sects in the Four Great Regions, each with a long historical legacy, tens of thousands of disciples, and elders who were millennia-old Nascent Soul monsters.
In addition, there were many ancient clans, such as the Huowu Clan, a branch of the Phoenix lineage, and the Huwei Clan, once enfeoffed by the Immortal Dynasty—all were bloodline clans with long-standing traditions.
However, the Changhong Great Region also had some special existences, such as the Little Immortal Valley, Cloudheart Hall, and others—all were renowned reclusive places within the Four Great Regions.
Was that all?
No.
The Thundercloud Branch Hall of the Chixiao Faction was also located in the Changhong Great Region. And almost everyone knew that among the four branch halls of the Chixiao Faction in the Four Great Regions, the Thundercloud Branch Hall carried the most weight and was the most powerful, because the old hall master stationed there was a truly formidable figure.
His name was Fang Qing.
Known as Elder Fang.
It was said that he had once been an Incense Master of the Chixiao Sect.
Although the title of Incense Master might be considered only a second-tier leader in many sects and alliances today, ranking below a hall master,
that still depended on which sect or alliance it was. The Incense Master or even hall master of a minor sect or alliance might not compare to the Incense Master of a major one.
And Elder Fang had been an Incense Master of the Chixiao Sect—the once world-dominating Chixiao Sect, known to all. One could imagine how powerful its Incense Masters must have been. Figures like Elder Sen, who guarded the Firecloud Branch Hall, were merely ordinary members of the Chixiao Sect, yet they commanded universal respect today, let alone Elder Fang, who had been an Incense Master.
Indeed, the other three branch halls in the Four Great Regions often looked to the Thundercloud Branch Hall for leadership, as the Chixiao members stationed at the Firecloud, Windcloud, and Lightningcloud halls had once been Elder Fang's subordinates.
The Changhong Great Region had always been the central region of the Four Great Regions.
That was true before the Cataclysm.
And even more so after.
All because the Nine-Hua Alliance was situated in the Changhong Great Region.
Over the past century, many major sects, clans, and alliances in the Four Great Regions had joined the Nine-Hua Alliance, including prominent sects like Yuqing and Jinding, ancient clans like Huowu and Huwei, and reclusive places like Cloudheart Hall.
More importantly, besides these established sects and clans, the Nine-Hua Alliance had also nurtured some new sects and clans.
For example, the Qixing Sect and the Murong Clan.
It was well known that the Qixing Sect and the Murong Clan had once been rather ordinary sects and clans. But after joining the Nine-Hua Alliance, within a mere century, the Qixing Sect had grown into a major sect capable of rivaling the Yuqing Sect, and the Murong Clan had become a bloodline clan that could contend with the Huowu Clan.
To this day, the Qixing Sect and the Murong Clan stood shoulder to shoulder with established powers like the Yuqing Sect and the Huowu Clan as part of the Nine-Hua Alliance's Thirty-Six Giants.
It was precisely because the Nine-Hua Alliance had nurtured the Qixing Sect and the Murong Clan that so many other sects and clans later rushed to join.
However,
the strength of the Nine-Hua Alliance extended far beyond this.
Over the years, the Nine-Hua Alliance had held talent competitions every few years to select outstanding geniuses. After the Cataclysm, more than half of the newly emerged geniuses in the Four Great Regions had entered the Nine-Hua Alliance, which was why its Eighty-One Halls boasted so many talents.
Today, the Changhong Great Region was absolutely bustling with excitement.
In the sky, cultivators from various sects either flew on swords or rode in Grand Carriages, galloping along. Looking around, people were everywhere, a dazzling sight.
Of course,
not everyone possessed a luxurious Grand Carriage capable of flight. Many minor sects and clans were fortunate to have even one luxurious Grand Carriage, and even then, it was reserved for the sect head or alliance leader. Others who could fly on swords did so, while those who couldn't had to make do with ordinary horse-drawn carriages.
On the roads leading from the Changhong Great Region to the Taixuan Platform, carriages raced past one after another. The drivers, as if pumped with adrenaline, whipped their horses furiously, afraid of arriving late and finding no space at the Taixuan Platform. Some, weary from the journey, even cut recklessly through forests and mountains.
Yet, one carriage moved leisurely along a country path, appearing in no hurry at all.
The horses were four old nags.
The carriage was a bronze-colored Grand Carriage.
The driver was a short, stout man with a mustache. Sitting in the driver's seat, dressed in a tailored robe, his expression serious, he gazed ahead and drove at a steady, unhurried pace.
Inside the Grand Carriage sat two people. One was an old man in gray robes, sitting casually, sipping wine and smoking a long pipe.
Beside him sat a young man, appearing to be in his early twenties, dressed in clean white clothes. He, too, sat casually and sipped wine, but instead of smoking a pipe, he ate Crimson Leaf Monster Fruits.
Sitting in the Grand Carriage, he rested with his eyes slightly closed, his body swaying with the carriage's motion, looking utterly at ease.
These three were none other than Fei Kui, Huo De, and Gu Qingfeng.