Chapter 76: Immortal-Grade Gathering

The Immortal-Grade Gathering came both slowly and swiftly; waiting for it felt like each day was torture, but when the day finally arrived, it caught him off guard, and he even wondered if he had overlooked something.

That morning, as the sun first lit the window frames, Zheng Fa was awakened by a faint vibration.

The moment he opened his eyes, he noticed the Immortal-Grade Token in his chest trembling restlessly, as if urging him to rise.

Zheng Fa pulled out the Immortal-Grade Token, but before he could figure out what it was upset about, it flashed twice and shattered into powder.

From the powder, a golden talisman and incantation drifted down, then split into two streams of light that scattered across Zheng Fa's calves.

Two gentle winds spontaneously surged beneath his feet, lifting the still-unwashed Zheng Fa upward, carrying him straight out the door and into the sky.

Zheng's mother, who had already risen to clean the house, watched his figure fly over the courtyard gate, dropped the cloth in her hand, and chased after him to the gate—but she could never catch up, only stretching her neck to watch him vanish into the distance.

From the Zhao family's large courtyard just down the street, two figures flew out—one was the Seventh Young Master, the other a woman Zheng Fa did not recognize.

In the small pavilion where Lady resided, a figure leaned against the railing, gazing far off at the group, as if waiting for a long time.

From several other large courtyards nearby, several more people took to the sky.

Zheng Fa rose higher and higher; the city of Jingzhou grew smaller. Only when he looked up did he realize a vast, boundless expanse of colorful clouds loomed above him.

His head plunged directly into a cloud.

When his entire body emerged above the colorful clouds, what met his eyes was a vast plaza—the sea of colored clouds looked like rolling waves, yet felt solid beneath his feet.

At the plaza's center stood a grand hall, behind which were five buildings, each uniquely shaped.

"My sister told me this is the Ascension Platform…" the Seventh Young Master muttered as he sidled up: "Zheng Fa, just this one flight alone, I already think it was worth it!"

…As if I didn't see you turn pale with fear a moment ago?

Zheng Fa noticed a boy who looked slightly younger than him suddenly turned to look at him when he heard the Seventh Young Master call him Zheng Fa.

The boy seemed familiar—he must have been one of the few from Jingzhou who had flown up.

…

The Zhao residence: Zhang Shijie's courtyard.

Zheng's mother, invited here, tightly gripped her daughter Zheng Shan's hand, watching the people in the hall with nervous restraint.

In the room, besides the courtyard's owner Zhang Shijie, were Lady and the Eldest Young Lady.

"Zheng Madam, don't be afraid—Zheng Fa and my son are both attending the Immortal-Grade Gathering. True Immortal Zhang was concerned you'd worry, so he invited you here."

Although Zhang Shijie had invited Zheng's mother, her expression toward her remained cold; she did not speak to Zheng's mother at all, only giving her a slight nod.

Zheng's mother took two deep breaths, smoothed her worried expression, straightened her back, and bowed respectfully to Zhang Shijie: "Thank you, True Immortal Zhang."

Zhang Shijie's expression softened slightly.

By nature, she looked down on Zheng's mother's timid disposition—but Zheng's mother's behavior just now revealed that though she felt inferior, she refused to let her son lose face before these people.

This earned her a trace of respect, and she spoke up voluntarily: "That colorful cloud is the Ascension Platform, crafted ten thousand years ago by the Baixian Alliance to select immortal talents. Whoever holds the Immortal-Grade Token will be lifted to it—it's no harm."

Zheng's mother nodded gratefully.

Zhang Shijie pointed a finger, and a golden talisman and incantation appeared in midair—the space before them rippled like water—a transparent, half-wall-sized "screen" materialized, displaying the scene of Zheng Fa and the others on the Ascension Platform.

"Brother!"

Zheng Shan cried out joyfully.

Only when she saw Zheng Fa's safe figure did Zheng's mother loosen her grip on Zheng Shan's hand.

"Zhang Shijie!" came a man's voice from outside the door. Zhang Shijie looked up—it was Huang Daoyu, who had come the other day to request an Immortal-Grade Token.

Huang Daoyu, seeing the screen conjured by Zhang Shijie's talisman, exclaimed: "Zhang Shijie, your Tracking Shadow Talisman rivals even a Nascent Soul's Mirror Flower, Water Moon technique—no wonder you're called the top talisman user below the Nascent Soul realm."

"Far from it—only because the Ascension Platform is close." Zhang Shijie's expression remained flat; she didn't believe he came to praise her: "What do you want, Huang Shidi?"

Huang Daoyu chuckled awkwardly: "The Immortal-Grade Gathering is a grand event of the Baixian Alliance—I thought I'd come to Zhang Shijie's to watch the spectacle."

…

Zhang Shijie stared at him; her face plainly read: "I don't believe you."

"Cough… My master said that since Zhang Shijie claims that Zheng Shidi has greater talent than my little brother, why not settle it with a wager based on their performances at the Immortal-Grade Gathering?"

"A wager?" Zhang Shijie frowned: "What do you want?"

"Your method of Foundation Establishment through talismans."

"…So True Immortal Pang truly holds that Shidi in high regard." Zhang Shijie finally understood: "He's already planning his Foundation Establishment method before he's even entered the sect."

"…Yes." Huang Daoyu's face flushed; she had hit the truth, and he could only nod: "Zhang Shijie set the Baixian Alliance's fastest Foundation Establishment record with that talisman method. Since my brother shows exceptional talent in talismans, my master naturally wants to give him the most suitable Foundation Establishment method."

Zhang Shijie looked at Huang Daoyu and understood True Immortal Pang's intent—their masters had long been at odds, yet both were Nascent Soul, evenly matched.

But among the next generation, she stood alone at the top; none in True Immortal Pang's branch could compare—even if he didn't care about face, he'd lost many resources to her.

True Immortal Pang, having found a promising talent, naturally wanted to pour all his strength into cultivating him—even resorting to a wager to obtain a suitable Foundation Establishment method from her.

Huang Daoyu seemed to sense she understood, his expression uneasy, as if expecting her refusal.

"Done!" Unexpectedly, Zhang Shijie spoke up: "I want True Immortal Pang's Void-Spirit Eye technique."

This time, Huang Daoyu froze, staring at Zhang Shijie as if stunned by her swift agreement.

"Sister has such confidence in that Shidi?"

Zhang Shijie smiled, but gave no answer—her gaze remained fixed on the screen.

On the screen, Zheng Fa and the others were walking toward the grand hall.

…

When they reached the grand hall's entrance, the boy who had been watching Zheng Fa stepped over to stand beside him and the Seventh Young Master.

"What do you want?" the Seventh Young Master asked, sensing hostility.

The boy didn't even look at the Seventh Young Master—he spoke only to Zheng Fa: "I'm Zhou Qianyuan."

He seemed to think naming himself was enough, said nothing else, and simply walked past them.

"What's he so proud of?" the Seventh Young Master muttered.

"Single-element root, Geng Metal Body, True Immortal values his talisman talent—wouldn't you be proud if it were you?" Zheng Fa chuckled lightly.

He also knew why the boy had been staring at him all along—given this teenager's talent and luck, he had likely never faced a setback since birth, and this time, when Zhang Shijie refused to give him an immortal-grade token, he had probably taken it to heart.

"... He's targeting you?" Hearing this, the Seventh Young Master grew tense.

"Targeting me? He probably doesn't even consider me worth noticing," Zheng Fa shook his head. "He thinks I took the immortal-grade token that belonged to him. Hmm... is this just a show of dominance?"

"... Is there anyone less reasonable than my brother?" The Seventh Young Master's eyes widened—he clearly couldn't comprehend Zhou Qianyuan's line of thinking.

Zheng Fa paid no mind to the boy. The two of them followed the crowd into the grand hall, where a mirror half a person's height stood upright in the center, facing them.

"This is the Immortal-Grade Mirror," the Seventh Young Master added, repeating what he'd learned from his sister. "It determines your initial rank based on your spiritual root and Dao body."

Zheng Fa saw that as each person passed before the mirror, a beam of light shot out from within it and landed at their feet, forming a glowing ring.

The rings came in three colors: purple, blue, and white. White was most common, blue rarer, and purple almost never seen.

This must be what was called the initial rank.