“Have you heard the latest gossip? Word has it that someone embarked on a journey to the northern border and claimed that an unmatched prodigy has risen there, achieving Nascent Divinity at just over two hundred years old.”
“Of course, I’ve caught wind of it. This news seems highly dubious. Achieving Nascent Divinity in just over two hundred years… in our Central Realm, teeming with sects and countless talents, it’s rare to hear of such prodigies reaching Nascent Divinity at that age.”
“I share your skepticism. The rumor even goes as far as to suggest that this Nascent Divinity expert has taken numerous concubines and amassed an unimaginable number of attendants, including sea clan women. It sounds downright incredible.”
While the sect leader was deep in cultivation at Mangkang Mountain, eventful news had quietly spread in a bustling immortal city within the Central Realm.
This news centered around none other than Li Su. The Central Realm and the northern border were separated by vast distances, with many treacherous terrains in between.
Even foundation-building cultivators would require several years to traverse from the Central Realm to the northern border, all while facing various dangers that could lead to their demise. Furthermore, the Central Realm was exceptionally prosperous.
In the eyes of cultivators from the Central Realm, the northern border was considered lonely and had not produced any renowned cultivators.
While other realms were not as prosperous as the Central Realm, each had at least one second-tier immortal sect, with strong individuals or prodigies who had gained some recognition even in the Central Realm.
But the northern border?
Many people’s impression of the northern border was that it only had one Nascent Divinity expert.
Though this Nascent Divinity expert was powerful, it was rumored that his potential was limited. Within the Returning Origin Sect, his current status was roughly equivalent to that of an outer sect elder, with no access to the core power structure.
Many cultivators from the Central Realm didn’t even know the name of this Nascent Divinity expert, and they had little interest in discovering it. Moreover, hardly any news came from the northern border.
Very few individuals ventured to the northern border for exploration, with perhaps one person journeying every century.
However, this time, someone brought back news from the northern border, which quickly spread through some of the immortal cities in the Central Realm.
The reason this news seemed implausible to many Central Realm cultivators was that a Nascent Divinity expert over two hundred years old emerging on the northern border was beyond belief. Indeed, in the history of the Central Realm, there were very few individuals who had achieved Nascent Divinity at over two hundred years old.
What made this Nascent Divinity expert’s case even more unbelievable was his purported penchant for taking concubines.
According to the descriptions in the news, he was either taking concubines or heading in that direction.
What was particularly astonishing was the confirmation that he didn’t cultivate through techniques like gathering and absorbing essence from others, as he already had descendants numbering in the tens of thousands. This was simply beyond belief.
Renowned Nascent Divinity experts of the Central Realm were known for severing worldly attachments and diligently cultivating them. Some had spiritual partners, but they were extremely devoted and had only one such partner.
A Nascent Divinity expert who was over two hundred years old and continuously taking concubines sounded incredibly fabricated.
Who would believe such a story?
So, even though the news spread quickly and widely, many cultivators treated it as a mere tale and didn’t take it seriously.
“Xiaoyu, do you think this news is true or false?”
As the discussion among the cultivators in the immortal city continued, someone asked.
Inside an immense and majestic white jade palace floating in the sky, a voice resonated.
This place was the largest immortal sect in the Central Realm, a first-tier sect known as the Returning Origin Sect. The main peak of the Returning Origin Sect reached a staggering height of tens of thousands of feet. Surrounding its main peak, nine mountain ranges converged from different directions, forming a configuration resembling nine dragons gathering.
In contrast, the Bixia Sect had only three mountain ranges. The Returning Origin Sect had these nine mountain ranges, divided into three major and six minor ranges, arranged at intervals.
Each of these nine mountain ranges had its main peak, and these nine peaks guarded the main peak of the Returning Origin Sect. The white jade palace where the voice emanated was situated on the main peak of one of the larger mountain ranges.
Above the palace, there were a few large characters, “Dieyun Pavilion.” This place was the Dieyun Peak, one of the three major peaks of the Returning Origin Sect. Here, on the Dieyun Peak, one of the three major peaks of the Returning Origin Sect.
“Peak Master, I feel this news is probably not true. Even if the person in question has an exceptional spiritual root, it’s highly unlikely they could progress so rapidly in the northern border,” a disciple expressed their doubts.
“If it were indeed a celestial spiritual root, it would have been seized by various major holy places long ago. How could it end up in the wilderness?” the Peak Master replied, echoing the skepticism.
Clad in a verdant ensemble, Xiaoyu voiced her perspective.
The one addressed as the Peak Master was a woman donning a flowing light-green gown, seeming to blend with her surroundings.
“Yes, your point is well taken. Xiaoyu, beginning this year and for the next five centuries, I shall oversee the Central Realm. During this time, you and Xiaocui should closely monitor the developments in the vicinity,” declared the Peak Master of Dieyun Peak.
“Understood, Peak Master,” Xiaoyu responded with respect.
“Very well, you may go… Huh?”