The great river surged onward. On the northern bank, Bright Light shone in splendor, while rows of monks stood in silence. Golden bodies appeared faintly within the clouds, varied in form and appearance. They rose and fell according to cultivation and rank, flickering in and out of sight in the sky.

At the highest point, a vast expanse of crimson True Fire poured forth without end, gathering into a long arched bridge. Spiritual flames rose and climbed along both sides of the bridge, condensing at its center into a six-cornered pavilion set atop the bridge tower, wrapped in rolling scarlet fire.

A long-faced man in golden robes sat in the pavilion, leaning against the table. His hands rested together, but his right hand loosely held a pair of jade chopsticks. He continued to idly turn over the four small dishes set before him.

Armored soldiers knelt on both sides of the arch bridge, yet they were not living beings at all, but wholly sustained by blazing fire. They looked like suits of flaming armor suspended in midair, with eerie and sinister golden fire-eyes hidden beneath their helms.

After a short while, a man came over from the mountains. He was broad and burly, with a waist as thick as a barrel, a face overgrown with unruly hair, and both cheeks dark purple-black. Without the slightest courtesy, he strode in and dropped into a seat.

The thick, stubby fingers flicked once, conjuring a pair of silver chopsticks, and he reached into the dishes. The long-faced man's expression darkened. With a sharp slap, he set down his chopsticks and cursed, "What barbarian manners!"

"What of it?" The thick-waisted brute shot him a glare sidelong and answered, "You are not a barbarian? Or am I not one?"

That single sentence left the thin-faced man speechless. He let out a sound and replied, "You lot are now masters of the center of the world, and the Murong Family has no shortage of handsome men. So how did it produce a lout like you, Murong Yan? A fine name wasted on you. Come south, and people still end up talking about the old days of the northern tribes."

The thick-waisted brute sneered. "Jiangnan was once half the mainland too, and not necessarily inferior to the north. Yet your Central Plain kept calling us southern barbarians. When True Monarch Shangyuan went on his northern wandering, when Duanmu Kui acted with tyranny, did anyone dare make a sound? Even Jiang Boqing dared toy with kings and lords. And you want to talk about dignity?"

Shangyuan had now become a True Monarch, so even when the two mentioned him, they could only refer to him as [Northern Wandering]. They were far less polite when speaking of Duanmu Kui. For all their bickering, their personal ties ran deep. Murong Yan picked up two bites of food and said, "The White Qilin is right across the river. If Fellow Daoist Yingge cannot let go of pride, or if you fear him, let me test him first."

"It is not that I fear him." Shilou Yingge narrowed his eyes slightly. He was not easily provoked by the taunt, as he calmly replied, "[Bright Yang] is a Dao lineage that favors great accomplishment and reveres power. The strong grow stronger, and the weak grow weaker. Even if he does not possess all five divine abilities, if he has touched the Purple Mansion Threshold and carries even a hint of lesser accomplishment, then not just I, even Ch'i Lanyan would have to think carefully before acting.

"As for now... he has only just broken into the Purple Mansion Realm. His life and nature are still incomplete. At the end of the day, he is only a somewhat extraordinary early-stage Purple Mansion Realm cultivator. You alone could pressure him badly enough, much less with me added to the fight."

Murong Yan burst into laughter, the flesh on his face bunching together as he replied, "Your assessment is sound. When I first heard of him some days ago, I was still rather dismissive. They say he carries a thread of fate, but Bright Yang itself has been battered into this state. How much blessing can it still grant him?

“Carrying a thread of fate does not mean one need not cultivate secret techniques or practice methods. When the Wei Emperor suppressed the world, it was not by fate alone. Even among the Wei Crown Princes of old, few could claim to suppress their peers, much less today.

"I did hear that the genius of Tiefo State, the recently risen Helian Wumeng, fought him, and even while he had no spirit artifact in hand, still could not take him easily. That made me regard him with a few more degrees of respect."

Murong Yan himself was also a genius of the Murong Family. The northern lands were vast, and their population far greater than the south. Royal clans, imperial descendants, and immortal descendants had gathered in droves, intermarrying across lineages, with bloodlines spread far and wide. To rise out from among so many branches and ultimately attain the Purple Mansion Realm already marked him as a first-rate figure.

More importantly, the northern Dao lineages alone held the rich inheritance left behind by the many fallen Celestial Dynasties, immortal sects, and immortal gates of ages past. Whether spirit items or bloodlines, how could the Supreme Yang Dao lineage, which had fled south and gathered disciples while opening barbarian lands, possibly compare?

If not for the Supreme Yang Dao lineage having ties to Green Pine Temple, and through ancestral connections obtained several Dharma relics and spirit treasures, and if the north itself were not so divided, there would have been no need for all this turmoil these past years.

After so many years of war and friction between north and south, the truth was simple. It had always been a few Buddhist cultivator factions in the north who sought profit and moved south on their own. There had rarely even been Purple Mansion Realm battles. Most of those employed were merely rogue cultivators from the borderlands, yet they had already forced nearly every Dao lineage in Yue State into alliance. The disparity in strength had always been considerable...

Other than existences beyond reason like Jade True in the exalted seat and Duanmu Kui, as well as the Three Yuans and Two Zis, the rest were only passable enough. But as for the south today... there were truly few worth a second look.

Shilou Yingge no longer touched his chopsticks. He poured for himself and drank as he replied, "Helian Wumeng is a genius, yet his wings have not fully grown either. But the day he crosses the immortal threshold, dons the [Great Xia Ying Bronze Armor][1], takes up the [Command of Myriad Cities], and swallows the [Imperial Iron Pill] refined by Helian Fan, I fear only that young master of the Tuoba Family could compare to him. When that day comes, you and I... will both fall short of him."

Those words made Murong Yan's eyes go round, yet the fame of those few spirit treasures was too great. Once it was said, he truly had little to argue. He could only narrow his eyes, the fierceness fading from his face, and say coldly, "His forebears were grand, and now he has fallen into hardship. It is only because he has no equal genius beside him to share those spirit items. If all the treasures of my Murong Family were borne by a single man, who could stand against him?"

"That is beside the point!" Shilou Yingge shook his head and said, "If you argue that way, why not say you were born into the Murong Family rather than some peasant tenant household? Besides, the glory of your Murong Family comes from the grace of Emperor Xuan. It cannot be compared with his house at all."

The Murong Family had been one of the greatest beneficiaries among the northern tribes. Back in the struggle of the Celestial Dynasty, they had lost to the Fuqi Family and once stood on the brink of ruin. During the chaos of the Three Teachings, they had been all but helpless... Fortunately, the Mandate of Heaven had revived, and Emperor Xuan of Yan State, Murong Jie, had risen.

This emperor had taken up the mandate in a time of crisis, first subduing the Three Teachings by force, then issuing a decree, "The Buddhist follows graded cultivation and realization, and that is the Great Dao. The demonic preserves nature while practicing arts. The immortal cultivates methods of divine ability, returning to the source, and does not lose the exalted seat."

This decree became known as the [Edict of the Central Xuan Emperor]. It redefined the immortal and demonic as higher arts and methods, while Buddhist cultivators alone were called the path of [Cultivated Realization], turning instead toward the veneration of the [Compassion Dao].

From then on, the order of Dao lineages in Yan State became clear. Those of good innate ability cultivated the immortal and demonic paths, and when their lifespan neared its end, if they possessed sufficient divine ability, they could turn instead to the Compassion Dao. Though success was not guaranteed each time, many gained much from it, and the accumulated experience only grew richer.

Once the Buddhist Dao became a possible path for the Purple Mansion Realm and Variant Mansion cultivators, those conflicts rapidly eased. No matter how strict one was, no one minded having an extra path when driven to the last resort. The Compassion Dao, with the [Great Belly That Can Contain All] as its teaching, fostered mutual accomplishment. From there it grew beyond restraint. The Buddhist land expanded at astonishing speed, and along its own path developed wonders distinct from other Buddhist cultivators. It even faintly showed signs of contending for supremacy among the Seven Dharma Forms.

Though overexpansion made competition within Buddhist land fierce, leaving its place less secure than the other six forms and prone to upheaval even within a century, the Murong Family had turned disaster into fortune and rose step by step to the summit. Today they had achievements in all three Daos of demonic, Buddhist, and immortal cultivation, with the demonic and Buddhist Daos especially reinforcing one another. Murong Yan naturally had the right to say such things.

He then said, "Helian Wumeng went deep into enemy territory. He certainly would not use his full strength. Tiefo State ranks last among the lords, and he would not dare act rashly. I already said his wings are not yet grown. Fighting to a draw is perfectly normal.

"You have no worries behind you now, so go and fight him properly. Your divine abilities are broader than his, and you have more spirit artifacts as well. I hear he does not even have a weapon that truly suits his hand. Just keep one thing in mind... the situation is unclear right now. You and I are both probing. Do not harbor killing intent, and do not pursue too deeply."

He finished quietly, "Helian Wumeng has already reached Xuanmiao Temple and is probing that Zhugong from the region around Xuanmiao Temple... Injured or not, she would gain no advantage before Helian Wumeng. As for Yishu[2]... Tinglan will certainly go."

1. Ying (郢) refers to the Capital of old Chu State during the 'Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period.' ☜

2. Should be the surname of Daoist Master Tinglan. ☜