Chapter 331

The official website of the Great Xia Cultivation Bureau released a piece of news, which was subsequently forwarded by major state media, even appearing during prime-time television news broadcasts. Such a large-scale move quickly attracted the attention of cultivators nationwide.

【To all cultivators, our bureau has recently received invitations from several Great Demon Kings. We sincerely invite you to attend the grand gathering at Mount Song, Mount Heng, and Mount Heng, where the Cultivation Bureau, Cultivation Academy, Longyuan Immortal Sect, and other forces will also be present. You will have the opportunity to closely observe the demon kings' dojos, listen to their lectures, and possibly even gain a chance to interact with them!】

Although Great Xia has developed rapidly and it has been a year since the heavenly and earthly calamity, with technology and cultivation gradually merging toward a new world, many customs have still been preserved.

For example, watching the news—previously, news covered livelihood and international affairs, but now most news relates to cultivation. The authorities have even thoughtfully allocated a specific time slot, inviting high-level cultivators to give explanations.

Therefore, many people still enjoy watching the news. Upon seeing this announcement, everyone in front of their televisions froze in place.

The first thought that popped into their minds was: Is this really released by the state media?!

Unsure, they took another look.

Great Xia News General Station CTV—no doubt about it!

Online, the newly released news instantly sparked heated discussion, even sweeping across the nation.

"Has everyone seen the recent news? I'm completely stunned—several Great Demon Kings?! Good heavens, does this world really have demons? Weren't we told that animals couldn't become spirits after the founding of the nation?"

Although those capable of sword-flight can travel on their own, such cultivators are few. Most ordinary residents still rely on transportation.

Who wouldn't want to catch a glimpse of the true form of a Great Demon? If fortunate enough to receive guidance from one, it would be even better.

Seeing his post, I was instantly surprised and couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you a ticket scalper? You don't even have a train ticket."

"Brother upstairs, you must be possessed—snap out of it. That's just an ordinary pet."

Nevertheless, those people are extremely interested in the existence of demons, especially when they learn that humans survived the heavenly and earthly calamity largely due to the merit of the demon race—then they are truly shocked.

All these formations indicate that when the grand gathering begins, a large number of cultivators will attend.

Countless netizens saw this news, feeling both bitter and inexplicably amused. Even the ticket scalpers couldn't get tickets—imagine how difficult it must be to obtain one.

To accommodate human cultivators, the gathering was scheduled to begin on Saturday morning, giving everyone time. Yet what no cultivator expected was...

Since direct tickets to the city were unavailable, they bought tickets to nearby cities and planned to transfer. But upon checking, it was clear many shared this idea—tickets to nearby cities were also sold out!

"Sorry, I upstairs knew earlier than you—long before the heavenly and earthly calamity began, I observed abnormal animal behavior and suspected that great demons might be behind it."

"Good heavens, today's tickets are all gone—does anyone plan to go today?"

"You're too slow. When I learned that demon masters still exist in the Longyuan Mountain Range, I suspected they might be demons. Otherwise, why would they be called demon masters?"

The people of Great Xia are not foolish. Long ago, there were omens—nationwide, animals mysteriously migrated, followed by other events. Some perceptive individuals had already guessed part of the truth.

Seeing the data reported from various regions, Hua Tiancheng couldn't help but feel relieved: "Fortunately, there are three venues. Otherwise, if everything were concentrated in one place, it would surely descend into chaos."

Buying tickets? 【 "Tickets to Hengshan, Songshan, or Hengshan—any city's train or plane tickets are acceptable, even from nearby cities. Willing to pay a high price, open to negotiation." 】

Not only were tickets gone for Saturday, but even those for several days prior were sold out.

All train and plane tickets to the cities near Mount Song, Mount Heng, and Mount Heng were completely sold out.

"Stay calm, big brother—what's so strange about demons? Think about it: cultivation techniques, formations, elixirs—all exist. Having demons isn't strange at all."

Netizens are people of action—soon, hiking groups were formed. From this, one can see how eagerly Great Xia's cultivators anticipate this gathering.

Many people flooded the official media's comment section with questions. As long as it wasn't classified information, the website answered each one. Thus, everyone quickly learned much about the demon race—even that the heavenly and earthly calamity had been forewarned by them!

"No wonder I always felt the nation had foresight—turns out we had help. I won't say more—from now on, the demon race are my adoptive parents!"

"No way?! Are you all devils? Who actually got the tickets? All tickets are gone!"

All tickets sold out!

Such a ticketing situation even surpasses the Spring Festival travel rush!

Because the ticket scalpers themselves wanted to attend the gathering!

Fortunately, the authorities quickly learned of this and, overnight, instructed relevant transportation departments to increase services to these locations—even adding many more to nearby cities—barely alleviating the crowd flow.

"Am I the only one paying attention to the demon kings' gathering? No wonder earlier, Mount Hua, Mount Heng, and Mount Heng showed many anomalies. Even after the heavenly and earthly calamity, the government strictly prohibited humans from approaching—turns out great demons were stationed there."

"I won't say more—I must go, to behold the Great Demon up close, possibly even have intimate contact—how wonderful."

"I'm currently interrogating my house cat, asking if it can transform into human form."

Many posted messages offering high rewards for tickets. Even some cultivators skilled in alchemy proposed exchanging precious elixirs for tickets—but no one had them, not even the ticket scalpers.

The local branches of the Great Xia Cultivation Bureau in various cities also received orders from above. They integrated local vehicles, dispatched personnel to provide pick-up and drop-off services, forming a dedicated route—dual approach—finally solving the travel problem.

The terrifying vehicles stretched like a dragon, with no end in sight.

To ordinary people, these Great Demons are profoundly mysterious—they have never truly seen them, and the distance is simply too vast.

Some netizens discussed: Why not set out on foot today? The gathering begins in five days—we should be able to walk there, and we wouldn't have to worry about traffic jams.

"Do you still remember the dragon encounter in the capital years ago? Or the last time the Nine Provinces Immortal Cauldron heard strange creature calls? That must have been a great demon!"

Buying tickets? "The ticket scalpers don't have tickets either—they also want to go worship the Great Demon."

"The demon race truly— I'm devastated. Speaking of which, humans evolved from apes, roughly speaking—so the demon race could be our second ancestral line, no problem."

"Exactly—we've survived the heavenly and earthly calamity. Don't act as if you've seen nothing. In fact, I've long felt that demons might exist in this world."

I never expected it to be confirmed by the authorities!

As for those who haven't had contact or never considered this—naturally, they remain in the dark. Now, seeing the news, they are astonished.

In many people's impressions, the Longyuan Mountain Range has always been a place where reclusive masters dwell. Although the term "demon master" sounds unusual, they never truly associated it with great demons.

Someone recognized this ID as belonging to a famous ticket scalper, who still has considerable reputation online.

Moreover, some netizens planned to drive themselves—but the Hengyue Expressway, Songxia Expressway, and Tianheng Expressway, these essential routes, were already completely gridlocked, all filled with vehicles heading to these cities.

Yet now, these great demons have actually invited them—truly an exhilarating event!

These days, whether the central bureau or local branches, everyone has been extremely busy, arranging and coordinating all matters.

The demon kings have opened their mountain gates, inviting all cultivators nationwide to attend.

This is also the first time the demon kings' sect has formally met ordinary civilians. To ensure the success of this gathering, everyone can be said to have worked tirelessly—days and nights without sleep.

After all, Mount Song, Mount Heng, and Mount Heng cover vast areas. Setting up here still requires considerable thought.

Mount Song.

Just as the sky began to show the pale light of dawn, people had already arrived at the foot of Mount Song—some even set up camp nearby. Fortunately, the Cultivation Bureau had previously dispatched personnel to maintain order on site.

As early as a few days ago, someone had been waiting here, but a powerful formation had already been set up near Mount Song, and only official personnel with a pass could enter.

The gathering had not yet begun, and idle people could not enter, so the people of Daxia could only see official personnel coming and going, unaware of what was happening inside.

In the distance, Mount Song seemed shrouded in clouds and mist, full of mystery, blocking all sight, making people unable to resist wanting to explore further.

At the moment when everyone was anxiously waiting, the time for the gathering to begin finally arrived.

In the morning, staff from the Cultivation Bureau came to dismantle the formation, and as the formation disappeared, the thick fog near Mount Song finally dissipated, allowing people to glimpse the true appearance of this mountain and river.

Misty clouds and vapors, the verdant pine forest filled with a light haze, ethereal and floating on the mountain peak, resembling a waterfall pouring down, constantly wandering back and forth on the mountaintop.

The first ray of sunlight shone on the peak, and the cloud mist under the sunlight presented a purple haze, like a heavenly mirror in the mortal world, the entire mountain peak draped in a layer of pale purple gauze, looking dreamlike and illusory from afar.

Everyone looked somewhat dazed; the mountain before them resembled Mount Song, yet it differed somewhat from their memories.

What did Mount Song look like in their impression?

It seemed like a very long time ago.

After the heavenly and earthly catastrophe of the past year, the entire world had changed, and furthermore, Mount Song's vicinity had already been planned by the government, strictly prohibiting cultivators from approaching, so they had not set foot here for a long time.

"Everyone can now enter."

Finally, the person from the Cultivation Bureau spoke, awakening everyone's thoughts.

"There are various activities inside Mount Song; I hope everyone gains something from this trip."

The stagnant crowd suddenly surged forward, like boiling water, thinking of the mysterious Demon King, everyone became eager, for a moment like sardines, all rushing in.

Upon entering Mount Song, unsure if it was their illusion, they always felt a miraculous freshness, as if their bodies had become much lighter, everyone showed comfortable expressions, taking deep breaths of air, like fish out of water lacking water.

Originally, someone felt a bit embarrassed, but seeing everyone around with the same expression, they suddenly felt somewhat unbelievable.

"It's truly miraculous; if I could stay here for a lifetime, even serving the Great Demon by bringing tea and water, I would be willing."

"How could it not be the Demon King's territory? This place just feels different."

"I have been to Mount Song before, but I have never seen such a situation."

Mount Song belongs to a blessed land of caves; later, the Great Demon occupied it, set up a Spirit Gathering Formation, and with the cultivation of living beings here, giving back to the mountains and rivers, the spiritual energy of this place is naturally richer, aiding cultivators' cultivation.

That is why everyone feels this way.

Looking around, towering ancient trees formed an impenetrable canopy, creating a great dome covering everyone's heads, with occasional specks of light filtering through the leaf gaps, like arriving at a green ocean.

Crawling up, the tiger's winding branches and leaves covered the ground, forming a special path, stepping on it still very soft, giving the illusion of walking on clouds.

Entering this green passage, Daxia cultivators seemed to have entered another world, everyone's eyes filled with novelty.

Soon, they heard the sound of bustling voices and clanging gongs and drums ahead, while before their eyes were various stalls, resembling a temple fair during New Year's, even more lively than a temple fair.

Only seen, a long dragon came charging toward them, the dragon head lifelike, a pair of dragon eyes bright and spirited, scales on its body emitting a strange radiance, continuously flying above everyone's heads, as if welcoming their arrival.

It turned out to be a dragon dance.

Unlike traditional dragon dances, the dragon body was made by today's renowned forging master, nearly to the point of being indistinguishable from the real thing; only needing to be infused with spiritual energy, this dragon would have a brief life, able to come alive, without requiring human operation.

Due to the large consumption of spiritual energy, such dragon dances generally do not appear easily.

Not far away, there was also an alchemy stall; only seen, he skillfully added various medicinal ingredients into a small cauldron, the entire motion could be described as flowing like clouds and water, very pleasing to the eye.

A power emanated from his palm, faintly visible warm yellow light continuously circling the small cauldron; after a moment, the small cauldron began to hum incessantly, like the sound of boiling water.

Soon, several elixirs appeared on the table, round and plump, like ripe fruit hanging on tree branches, continuously emitting an enticing fragrance.

This elixir is clearly of top grade, rarely seen ordinarily; even with money, one might not easily obtain it, unexpectedly, now a stall owner could refine it.

Freshly brewed new elixir, green, pure natural, no additives, passersby, do not miss it.

The vendor kept shouting, soon attracting knowledgeable people, instantly drowning him in water that would not leak, "Give me one!"

"Give me one too!"

Some people were just a step slow, resulting in none left, only able to wait for the next batch of elixir.

Someone wanted to wait here, but feared there might be better programs ahead, momentarily falling into a state of extreme indecision.

"Good!"

Cheers came from not far away; it turned out someone was performing a stunt live, somewhat similar to previous acrobatics, but obviously more advanced, because they used genuine spiritual energy!

Heavenly flower rain fell, then transformed into myriad golden lights, in the blink of an eye turned into a waterfall descending from the heavens, like the Milky Way pouring down a thousand miles, which can be said to be very realistic.

The watching crowd could not help but applaud and cheer, it could be seen this person is absolutely a master, otherwise it would be impossible to construct such a realistic illusion.

"Demon King's signature! Genuine and guaranteed, suitable for collection, passed down to descendants!"

Such a voice came from the crowd, instantly drawing attention from many people.

Unexpectedly, there were still people selling the Demon King's signature!

Real or fake?

Soon someone suspiciously asked: "Do you really have the Demon King's signature?"

The vendor looked quite young, a round face very honest and sincere, not looking like a deceiver, nodded sincerely, "Of course it's real, Daxia people don't deceive Daxia people!"

After saying that, he mysteriously took out a paper; only seen, above it was written with flying dragons and dancing phoenixes several large characters, looking very messy, like ghost-drawn talismans, but invisibly carrying a hint of inexplicable wildness and oppression.

Although unable to read what these characters are, nor know their content, still someone gritted their teeth and paid to buy, just in case it's real?

Then he wouldn't have made a fortune!

Actually, all these stall vendors are official personnel; to increase the gathering's fun, the official organized many people, either from the Cultivation Bureau, or from the Immortal Sect or Cultivation Academy.

The so-called Demon King's signature is actually from the Cultivation Academy, and the Longyuan Immortal Sect's teaching Great Demon's signatures, which they privately kept many.

Now the official plans to announce the existence of the Great Demon, and coincidentally this gathering is happening, so they also brought it out.

For a moment, the venue was filled with dazzling variety, everyone almost dazzled, and many people fell into a frenzy of buying mode, because things here are of very high value.

"This gathering is indeed well-attended; not in vain did I cross half of Huaxia to come here."

"Good fellow, I truly opened my eyes today, sincerely thanking the official father."

"I feel there are many good things here, all of which are rarely seen normally; it seems the official really spent lavishly this time."

"These are not the point; I am still looking forward to the mysterious Demon King, not knowing exactly which great demon it is."

Little did they know that the demon king was not the main attraction, but rather the final climax—the emergence of the ancient sages and worthies!

The reason for holding the ancient temple fair is also very simple: to gather the incense of the people of Great Xia, to assist in the descent of the ancient sages, hence it is called the 'Ancient' Temple Fair!

(End of Chapter)