Sure enough.
Just as Elder Feng Xu stepped forward to stop Heng San, a group of over twenty people rushed into the Grand Hall.
These twenty-some individuals were all shimmering with flowing, multicolored light, like surging winds and clouds, or flashing lightning and thunder, as if accompanied by the majestic power of nature itself, shaking the Grand Hall violently.
This was precisely the majestic power of the Great Natural Order's Color Spirit.
A closer look revealed that the Great Natural Order's Color Spirit shimmering around these twenty-some people was, at the very lowest, eighty-one layers. Beyond that, there were some with over ninety layers, some with one hundred and twenty layers, some with one hundred and fifty, and even some with one hundred and seventy.
Heavenly Geniuses.
Heavenly Geniuses blessed by the Great Natural Order's Fortune.
They were precisely those Fortune-blessed Heavenly Geniuses from the Mingyu Branch Hall.
As the twenty-some Fortune-blessed Heavenly Geniuses charged into the Grand Hall, they all unleashed their Great Natural Order's Color Spirit. Instantly, the entire hall was filled with flowing, multicolored light. A vast, majestic power of nature erupted forth, not only shaking the hall but also striking fear into the hearts of those present.
The sight was breathtaking.
Although in the Present-Ancient Era, after the Great Natural Order's revival, countless people possessed Color Spirit Fortune, most only had a few layers, or perhaps a dozen or twenty. While this still counted as Fortune, it could at best be considered ordinary Fortune. Only a Great Natural Order's Color Spirit exceeding eighty-one layers could be called a Transcendent Color Spirit.
There might be quite a few people with ordinary Great Natural Order Fortune, but geniuses possessing Transcendent Great Natural Order Color Spirits were not many.
Now, the Mingyu Branch Hall had brought over twenty such Transcendent Great Natural Order Fortune Heavenly Geniuses at once, most of whom possessed over a hundred layers. How could this not astonish people?
Although the cultivation of these Heavenly Geniuses was mostly at the Dharma Aspect Grand Venerable level, with their hundred-plus layer Great Natural Order Color Spirits, it was no exaggeration to say that each of them possessed the qualifications to battle an Earth Immortal. Some might even be capable of defeating Earth Immortals.
Exaggerated?
No.
Not at all.
Although many found such a cruel reality hard to accept, they all knew it was the truth. In the hundred years since the Present-Ancient Era began, countless Great Natural Order geniuses had used their formidable strength time and again to prove to everyone the power of Great Natural Order Color Spirit Fortune.
"Heh!
Quite lively indeed."
A voice came from outside. Everyone looked over to see three figures striding through the air.
Seeing these three, the expressions of the hundred-some elders of the Mountain-River Branch Hall changed.
These three did not appear old, and their years of cultivation were not long. The man in black robes on the left had the Daoist title Shang Gong.
He was a Fortune-blessed Heavenly Genius of great renown, not only within the Mingyu Branch Hall but throughout the entire Yanluo Kingdom, possessing a Great Natural Order's Color Spirit as high as two hundred layers.
It was widely known.
For a Great Natural Order's Color Spirit, eighty-one layers granted the majestic power of the Great Natural Order, a power akin to a storm of nature!
If one reached one hundred and eighty layers, one gained the transformative power of the Great Natural Order, allowing one to transform into clouds, wind, or even lightning.
Shang Gong's Great Natural Order's Color Spirit reached two hundred layers, far exceeding one hundred and eighty. In other words, he could now transform into rainclouds, lightning, gales, or even a storm of nature.
Do not be fooled by his mere Dharma Aspect Grand Venerable cultivation. With the transformative power of the Great Natural Order, he not only feared no Earth Immortal but even possessed the strength to slay them. Over the years, he had proven this with his own power, severely injuring five Earth Immortals on five separate occasions.
He was formidable enough.
But the man on the right, who appeared calm and unruffled, was even more extraordinary. His Daoist title was Zhong Xing.
He was an Earth Immortal.
Of course.
Since the Heavenly Mandate descended nine years ago and the Great Natural Order bloomed with extraordinary colors, more and more people had achieved Earth Immortal status. This was not strange.
If he were merely an Earth Immortal, he wouldn't have caused the hundred-some elders of the Mountain-River Branch Hall to change expressions so drastically. The truth was, Zhong Xing was also a Great Natural Order Color Spirit Heavenly Genius. Moreover, the Color Spirit he possessed surpassed even Shang Gong's, reaching a staggering two hundred and forty-two layers.
Breaking through from Dharma Aspect Grand Venerable to Earth Immortal.
This was a barrier.
One that many found difficult to cross. Even after the Heavenly Mandate descended nine years ago and the Great Natural Order bloomed with extraordinary colors, many still could not break through this barrier.
Especially those with great Fortune; achieving Earth Immortal status was akin to scaling the heavens.
And the more Fortune one possessed, the harder the breakthrough.
If it weren't so, these Transcendent Great Natural Order Heavenly Geniuses wouldn't have remained stuck at the Dharma Aspect Grand Venerable realm for so many years, unable to advance. It wasn't that they didn't want to, nor that they didn't dare, but that it was simply too difficult.
Take the Great Natural Order's Color Spirit, for example.
Their Fortune itself originated from their Nascent Soul Dharma Aspect—specifically, a Great Natural Order Color Spirit Nascent Soul Dharma Aspect. Fusing such a Fortune-bearing Nascent Soul Dharma Aspect was naturally exceedingly difficult. The more Fortune one had, the greater the difficulty.
Throughout history, many astonishingly gifted Fortune geniuses had been forced to halt at this realm, unable to break through for a hundred, or even a thousand years.
However.
Once a genius with great Fortune achieved Earth Immortal status, their so-called Fortune-bearing Nascent Soul Dharma Aspect would become even more powerful, and their personal strength would increase severalfold.
Shang Gong, merely a Dharma Aspect Grand Venerable with a two hundred-layer Great Natural Order's Color Spirit, could severely injure ordinary Earth Immortals.
As for Zhong Xing, with his two hundred and forty-two layer Great Natural Order's Color Spirit and Earth Immortal cultivation, no one knew exactly how powerful his current strength was. But everyone knew it must be terrifying.
The existence of these two was already fearsome.
But there was one more person, even more terrifying than them.
That was a young man dressed in white robes. He stood between Shang Gong and Zhong Xing, appearing particularly eye-catching. Not only was his figure tall and straight, but his features were also coldly handsome and extraordinary. As he walked forward with his hands clasped behind his back, the entire Grand Hall seemed to plunge into an ice cellar. The temperature plummeted sharply, frost even appearing, causing people to shiver uncontrollably. Their very hearts and minds swayed. This bone-chilling cold did not come from the physical body but from the heart and mind, as if one's consciousness had fallen into an icy abyss.
This person was Lian Hao.
He was the Master of the Mingyu Branch Hall, the grand-disciple of Tan Tong, the former Banner Master of the Mingyu Banner under the Black-Hearted Lord of the Chixiao Sect.
Not only did he possess an enviable identity, but he also possessed Fortune that left others even further in the dust.
Because he was a Heavenly Genius born in response to destiny.
According to legend, a Heavenly Genius born in response to destiny was inevitably a dragon or phoenix among men, a darling of this world, a favorite of this era, a proud son beloved by the heavens. It was said they were born with special marks and accompanied by heavenly omens. In the future, they would either become overlords who shook the world or monarchs who ruled over it.
When Lian Hao was born, he was accompanied by a heavenly omen. It was said that during a scorching summer day, under a blazing sun, it suddenly turned into the depths of winter. Fierce winds howled, and a blizzard raged for days. It was said the entire Mingyu Branch Hall was completely frozen over at that time.
Many people remembered this incident and had witnessed it with their own eyes. At first, everyone was puzzled. Later, rumors spread that it was the heavenly omen caused by Lian Hao's birth. It was also said that when Lian Hao was born, there was a special mark on his back. Some even said then that Lian Hao might be a Heavenly Genius born in response to destiny.
Of course, many were half-believing, half-doubting, because no one had ever seen what a Heavenly Genius born in response to destiny was really like.
Later, as Lian Hao grew day by day, those who were half-believing and half-doubting also began to believe that he might truly be the legendary Heavenly Genius born in response to destiny.