Chapter 165 Cultivating the Law, Cultivating the Mind, Cultivating the Great Way
Yu Qingtan, along with the main force, boarded the "Heavenly Inquiry No. 2" and couldn't help but marvel at the magical and mighty power of the Cultivation World in his heart.
Soon, all the cultivators had boarded the flying ship. Due to the large number of people, everyone simply stood on the deck.
Then, with a rumbling sound, the flying ship slowly ascended, and then flew toward Mount Wendao at an unhurried pace.
Facing Mount Wendao, whose peak could not be seen with a single glance, even the enormous Fourth-Order Flying Boat seemed not so large.
Between Wendao Immortal City and Mount Wendao lay a vast chasm known as the Wendao Abyss, stretching five miles wide.
In Wendao Abyss, bizarre and violent Gang Winds often occurred, resistible only by cultivators of Golden Core and above.
Therefore, even with the means of the Cultivation World, no stable bridge could be constructed over it, so everyone had to travel to Mount Wendao by flying boat.
After about a quarter of an hour's flight, Yu Qingtan and the others could see a massive gateway not far away, with the words "Wendao Sect" written at the top.
On both sides of the gateway was a couplet:
Cultivate the law, cultivate the heart, cultivate the great Dao,
Query heaven, query earth, query immortality.
The writing was bold and powerful, with an imposing aura, clearly the work of a predecessor who had reached enlightenment in Calligraphy, inspiring deep reflection in Yu Qingtan.
This was the entrance to the Wendao Sect.
The Wendao Sect was a great sect with an extremely long heritage, its founding patriarch and the ancestor responsible for its revival were said to have ascended to immortality.
Soon, the "Heavenly Inquiry No. 2" docked above a vast clearing not far from the entrance to Wendao Sect, where one flying boat had already stopped. Two more could be seen flying in this direction.
Guided by the Wendao Sect cultivators, all the cultivators disembarked and crossed through the entrance of Wendao Sect, then beheld a vast complex of buildings constructed along the mountainside.
Pavilions, towers, and terraces—though not excessively exquisite, bore a grand and ancient presence.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
All around were various spirit plants with occasional appearances of birds and beasts wandering among them.
The group climbed the steps for the time it would take to drink a cup of tea and then were led into a grand palace called the "Heavenly Inquiry Hall."
From its outward appearance, the Heavenly Inquiry Hall was built against the mountain, seemingly shallow in depth. It was only upon entering that one could see it was a vast arena comparable to the large sports stadiums from Qing Tan's previous life.
The diameter was about one mile, with twenty rows of seating, able to accommodate up to a million people.
The people from Tianxiang Valley were seated in one area, with seat cushions made of the pelts of Second Stage Demonic Beasts and a small table in front of each seat, bearing a plate of spirit fruits.
While chatting telepathically, Yu Qingtan, Xiang Yiyi, Shui Qingrou, and Yan Xi looked around at the cultivators who were continuing to come in.
Among them, they saw many familiar faces.
For instance, there were Jiang Yueli from Star Moon Sect, Huang Zhangjie from the Huang Family, Zhou Lan from All-World Academy, Invincible True Lord and Li Daoyi from Cangqiong Sword Sect, Dongye Chuhua from Barbarian Sect, Ge Wenxiong who was with the Barbarian Sect cultivators, Zhuge Jian from Sunset Gate, and his girlfriend Ouyang Zhen.
There were also characters who had portraits on the Pride of the Heavens List and the Hundred Flowers List, such as Liu Maocai from All-World Academy, Jiang Yousi from Star Moon Sect, and Leng Yihan from Cangqiong Sword Sect.
Many Wendao Sect cultivators were also seated in one area, among whom Yu Qingtan spotted Feng Buji, Baili Ya from Cang Lei Zhenren, Fairy Su Qin Tan Suqin, Yin Cen, and his nominal master, Rou Jia True Lord Lin Roujia.
True Lord Rou Jia sat next to a simple and honest man with slightly yellowish skin, whom Yu Qingtan recognized from a portrait as True Lord Yong Li from the Earth branch of Wendao Sect.
Feeling Yu Qingtan's gaze, True Lord Rou Jia looked over and then broke into a smile.
"My good disciple, it's not convenient now. I will look for you after the ceremony ends."
A voice gentle as water reached her ears.
Yu Qingtan's Divine Sense could not transmit that far, so she could only bow respectfully from a distance to show that she understood.
She had not expected her first meeting with her nominal master to be like this.
Shui Qingrou then introduced Yu Qingtan to some other Cultivators she knew, such as the Pavilion Master of Qunfang Pavilion, True Lord Yunhuang, and Pei Lie, the Supreme Elder of Tri-Sun Sect.
True Lord Yunhuang was an elegant and noble woman, while True Lord Pei Lie was a lazy old man with fiery red hair.
Previously, during the bicentennial celebration of Ge Lian, the great elder of the Ges in Suichuan Immortal City, Howling Moon Demon King tried to take the opportunity to cause trouble with the Trial Demon Tower and nearly got killed by the City Lord Ouyang Wenjian. It was True Lord Pei Lie who intervened when Howling Moon Demon King tried to rescue the Heavenly Demon Eagle Jiukong and also deal with Ouyang Wenjian.
Two quarters of an hour later, all the Cultivators attending the ceremony had arrived, and the great hall was almost filled.
The majority of the Cultivators were disciples of Wendao Sect and residents of the Inner City of Wendao Immortal City.
At that moment, a middle-aged Cultivator in a black robe and short beard, with a dignified face, appeared above the central platform of Heavenly Question Hall and descended onto the platform.
"Honored guests and residents of Wendao Immortal City, welcome to Wendao Sect. I am Mo Kongbei, the Sect Master of Wendao Sect.
The situation of this ceremony will be recorded by the Sound and Image Preserving Formation and transmitted to Wendao Immortal City via the Communication Array, and it will be broadcast in real-time through Projection Arrays in various regions of Wendao Immortal City."
As True Lord Kongbei's voice rang out, what had been a slightly noisy scene fell completely silent.
In her heart, Yu Qingtan could hardly contain her joy at the fact that the ceremony would have a live broadcast feature. This was just too wonderful.
What Yu Qingtan didn't know was that the relevant complete set of technologies had been developing for a hundred years in the Upper Realm, that is, the Central Domain, and had become increasingly mature. It was only now that they were slowly spreading to the Outer Realm.
"First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their contributions during the disaster with the Sea Clan two days ago. This ceremony not only celebrates the Nascent Soul Ceremony of Star River True Lord of our Wendao Sect but also serves as a post-war summary of the recent catastrophe with the Sea Clan.
The disaster caused by the Sea Clan under the leadership of Canglong Sea Lord began with a mistaken killing of his own bloodline by 'Taste of the Sea,' but that was merely an excuse for starting the war.
After a tough and extraordinary battle, with the aid of the Great Mist Mountain Huang Family, we successfully repelled the Sea Clan, annihilating eleven Fourth-Order, twelve hundred Third-Order, nine hundred thousand Second-Order, and seventy-five million First-Order members of the Sea Clan. It was a great victory.
However, we also paid a heavy price, with one Nascent Soul Cultivator, thirty-one Golden Core Cultivators, five thousand eight hundred seventy-six Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and eight hundred sixty thousand Qi Practitioners perishing.
They are all heroes of the Human Race, and their families will receive the appropriate consolation. Let us now observe a moment of silence for thirty breaths for them."
After True Lord Kongbei finished speaking, all the Cultivators stood up, closed their eyes, and observed silence. After thirty breaths, they opened their eyes and sat down again.
At the same time, in the sky above the Inner City walls of Wendao Immortal City, eight huge screens appeared. The screens showed what was happening inside Heavenly Question Hall, with Mo Kongbei's voice also spreading throughout the entire city.
Although it was their first time seeing such a large broadcast screen, technologies like the Sound Preserving Formation and Image Preserving Formation were already widespread, so the residents of Wendao Immortal City didn't find it strange. Instead, they also stood solemnly and observed a moment of silence for the deceased.
In the Outer City of Wendao Immortal City, the remaining low-level members of the Sea Clan had already been cleaned out by the high-level Cultivators of Wendao Sect, and the flood damage had also been largely repaired by the high-level Cultivators. Residents who had suffered losses also received war compensation from Wendao Sect.
The life of the Outer City residents returned to normal, but the pain of losing loved ones was difficult to heal in the short term. Fortunately, the war compensation from Wendao Sect helped them recover some of their lost property.