However, some debts would not be completely wiped clean by the mere passage of time.
Su Yueli turned around and strode into a noisy teahouse where low-level loose cultivators and martial artists from the secular world mingled.
The teahouse was filled with lingering smoke. The scent of cheap spiritual tea mixed with the smell of sweat, making for an incredibly unpleasant odor.
Dozens of low-level cultivators of the Third and Fourth Realms sat at rough stone tables, gulping down alcohol while spitting saliva as they eagerly exchanged the latest news regarding the immortal war between the two dynasties.
Su Yueli sat down at a table in the farthest corner and ordered a pot of the cheapest broken-leaf spiritual tea.
She kept a completely low profile, quietly listening to the various noisy voices echoing throughout the teahouse.
“The battle over that spirit stone mine on the border has finally been decided. As expected of the Cangyun Sect—their methods are truly ruthless. The Great Wei's blood-armored guards lost at least three commanders this time.”
“Of course. The Cangyun Sect is currently at the height of its power. What's more, that person is about to hold his ‘Centenary Advancement Ceremony’ very soon.”
Upon hearing the words “Cangyun Sect,” Su Yueli's right hand, which was about to pick up her teacup, paused in midair for a fraction of a microsecond.
The coldness in her eyes instantly transformed into a deep, dark glint.
At the adjacent table, three Fifth Realm loose cultivators, their faces flushed red from drinking, lowered their voices as they gossiped excitedly:
“Tsk, tsk. A Centenary Advancement Ceremony. One hundred years old and already in the mid Ninth Realm! In the entire cultivation world of Great Li, this Young Sect Master is easily among the top three, right?”
“Hey, what do you know? I heard from a cousin who is a deacon in the Cangyun Sect that this Young Sect Master, Lu Feiyu, actually had very mediocre talent back then. Before he turned fifty, he was nothing but a Fifth Realm waste.”
“Then how did he...”
“Because this Young Sect Master Lu was ruthless enough! Eighty years ago, he was ordered to inspect the area, and he accidentally discovered some opportunity in a mortal village.”
“He slaughtered every single person in the village—men, women, young, and old—on the spot, and even snatched away their family heirlooms!”
“Relying on that opportunity and the baptism of the sect's endless resources, he underwent a complete transformation and soared to greatness!”
Crack.
Under a tiny, unconscious trace of Su Yueli's strength, a corner of the stone table instantly crumbled into fine powder.
Su Yueli lowered her head, tightly suppressing the Ji Dao blood qi within her body that was on the verge of blowing the entire teahouse away.
Lu Feiyu, the Young Sect Master of the Cangyun Sect.
He was the young cultivator who had once sat high above on a two-headed flying beast, looking down coldly at her and the villagers before driving a sword straight through her parents, pinning them to the dirt wall.
However, this was somewhat different from what the people here were gossiping about.
Rumors were always like this, growing more absurd the more they were passed around. Her parents had been mere mortals; what "opportunity" could they have possibly possessed?
Yet, the hatred was absolutely real.
Now, eighty years had passed, and this murderer had transformed into a high-and-mighty genius. He was even preparing for his “Centenary Ceremony,” ready to bask in supreme glory under the gaze of thousands of cultivators.
Su Yueli's mind was incredibly calm, but deep within her lowered eyes, a glazed golden light swirled wildly.
In the cultivation world, the strong preyed on the weak. The wicked lived in luxury, while the good died without even a corpse to bury.
This perfectly aligned with the fundamental logic of this world.
Su Yueli sneered in her heart. “It is time for an update.”
Before the dimensional strike of absolute power, what mid Ninth Realm, what genius young master? They were nothing more than slightly larger ants.
A Centenary Advancement Ceremony?
Since he wanted to hold one, she would go and deliver a top-grade physical coffin.
Su Yueli raised her teacup and drained the cold, broken-leaf spiritual tea in a single gulp.
Then, she slowly reached into the storage bag at her waist and pulled out the white carved mask that had been buried at the bottom of her belongings, gathering dust for eighty long years.
The red patterns on the mask were slightly faded, appearing exceptionally eerie in the dim light of the teahouse.
Slowly raising her hands, she pressed the mask against her face.
A cold sensation washed over her.
In that instant, the cold, secular mortal woman in the blue-and-white dress sitting in the corner of the teahouse vanished.
The Masked God of Death, who eighty years ago had kept countless high-level old monsters of the Great Li and Great Wei dynasties awake at night and trembling at her very name, had at this moment...
Returned to the world!
...
Great Li Imperial City, Mount Cangyun.
As a cultivation giant that had endured for over a thousand years in the Great Li Dynasty, Mount Cangyun occupied a vast territory, with exactly one hundred and eight spiritual peaks piercing straight into the clouds.
Today, Mount Cangyun and the surrounding thousands of miles were enveloped in immortal light, brimming with an atmosphere of grand celebration.
From the foot of the mountain to the gates, both sides of the hundred-thousand-foot white jade steps were already draped in festive red silk. Various spiritual-energy-driven immortal birds guided the way through the mist, letting out crisp, melodious chirps.
In the sky, gorgeous flying carriages pulled by exotic beasts and flying swords radiating colorful spiritual lights descended upon the mountainside like a school of silver carp crossing a river.
The subordinate sects, prominent clans, wealthy families, and even the royalty and nobility of both the Great Li and Great Wei dynasties had turned out in full force today.
Guests filled the halls, and the atmosphere was exceptionally lively.
“Young Sect Master Lu is truly a heaven-sent genius. To have already entered the mid Seventh Realm at barely a hundred years of age... such talent is among the absolute best in the entire Great Li cultivation world.”
“I heard that Young Sect Master Lu obtained an opportunity in the past. After integrating it into his body to cleanse his marrow and temper his bones, his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. Looking at it now, those rumors are indeed true.”
“Shh, keep your voice down! The origin of that opportunity isn't very honorable. I heard that Young Sect Master Lu forcibly plundered and extracted it from a mortal village back then...”
“But I heard that was just a rumor.”
“Oh, so what if it is? History is written by the victors. For the belongings of mortal ants to be favored by Young Sect Master Lu and integrated into his body is a blessing their entire village couldn't have earned in several lifetimes. There is a vast difference between immortals and mortals. How can the lives of ants compare to Great Li gaining a future Tenth Realm grand cultivator?”
Several cultivators dressed in luxurious Daoist robes chatted in low voices as they handed over their congratulatory gifts, their tones filled with natural coldness and sycophancy.
In the eyes of these high-and-mighty sect cultivators, the destruction of that mortal village was nothing more than a trivial stepping stone on Lu Feiyu's path of cultivation.
However, just as the entirety of Mount Cangyun was immersed in laughter and joy, an extremely discordant figure appeared at the foot of the mountain.
At the starting point of the mountain path.
The white-jade-paved stone steps radiated a warm luster under the sunlight.
Su Yueli wore a loose, pitch-black robe.
The heavy black robe concealed the blue-and-white dress underneath, and its wide hood hung low. Within the shadows, only a white carved mask was visible.
She did not ride a flying sword or sit in a spiritual carriage like the other guests. She simply took a step forward, ascending the hundred-thousand-plus white jade steps one by one.
She walked upward, step by step, with a cold expression.
Amidst the bustling, brilliantly glowing crowd of people ascending the mountain, this figure—devoid of any spiritual energy fluctuations, dressed in a black robe, and wearing a bizarre mask—appeared incredibly conspicuous and jarring.
“Halt!”
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