The Cold and Aloof Palace Master's Daily Demon-Slaying Life

The phantom vanished, and the world returned to peace.

But people's hearts can no longer find peace.

Inside Taihua Gate, after a brief silence, a thunderous roar of cheers erupted. Countless disciples and deacons rushed out of their caves and halls, gazing towards Zixu Peak, their faces filled with ecstasy, excitement, and tears of joy. They didn't know exactly what had happened, but they saw the illusory figure that covered the heavens and earth, and heard the resounding proclamation that shook their very souls.

True Lord!

Our own sect has produced a True Monarch!

"It's Grandmaster Uncle Zixu! Grandmaster Uncle Zixu has attained the Golden Core stage!"

"God bless Taihua! God bless Taihua!"

"Ten thousand years have passed! Finally, a True Lord has taken up his post again in our Taihua Sect!"

"From now on, let's see who dares to think that Taihua has no one to rely on!"

A wave of ecstatic cheers swept across the seventy-two peaks. Even the usually serious and austere elders and deacons lost their composure at this moment, embracing their disciples in celebration, tears streaming down their faces.

On Green Bamboo Peak, Du Qing and Yu Yuanfeng also flew out of their respective caves, their bodies soaked in cold sweat.

It wasn't exhaustion, but rather the instinctive fear of facing the power of heaven and earth, and confronting a higher level of life, that drained their energy.

"It's...it's a success..." Du Qing's voice was hoarse, but a silly grin lingered on his face. "Grandmaster Uncle Zixu...it really worked..."

Yu Yuanfeng wasn't in much better shape. Gazing in the direction of Zixu Peak, he muttered to himself, "Over two hundred and twenty years old... a Golden Core True Monarch... I've cultivated for two hundred and seventy years, and I'm still wasting my time on Foundation Establishment... Heh heh heh..."

The laughter was desolate, tinged with endless envy and a hint of relief.

Some heights are simply unattainable from birth.

Once I understood, I felt more at ease.

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At the summit of Mount Taihua, Master Qingwei exhaled a long breath of turbid air. The breath condensed in the air and did not dissipate, transforming into a white rainbow that stretched for hundreds of feet and lingered for a long time. He slowly loosened his tightly clenched hands, his palms already pierced by his fingernails, bleeding profusely, but he did not care at all.

"Issue the order," he said, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, yet carrying an undeniable authority. "Open the mountain gates and welcome guests. Proclaim to the world that I, the Purple Void True Man of the Taihua Sect, have today attained the Golden Core stage and am bestowed the title 'Nine Heavens Taihua Purple Void Responding to the Origin Thunder Ancestor True Lord.' Three months later, a 'True Lord Grand Ceremony' will be held at Taihua Peak, inviting all fellow Daoists from across the land to celebrate this momentous occasion!"

"yes!"

Behind him, his disciples, who had been standing by, excitedly accepted the order and transformed into streaks of light, disappearing into the distance.

"Senior Brother!" Master Bibo flew over, her face still wet with tears, yet her smile bloomed like spring flowers. "Qiu'er... no, True Monarch succeeded! Just once! Just once! I've lived for nine hundred years and have never heard of anyone achieving the Golden Core stage in one go!"

"Yes..." True Master Lieyang also rushed over, his red face full of excitement. "Back then, when I was trying to break through to the Golden Core stage, I prepared for hundreds of years, but I only managed to forge a rudimentary form of the Golden Core. I failed because the causal position was already taken, and I almost lost half my life. Qiu'er... no, True Master, she actually succeeded on her first try! This, this is simply..."

He hesitated for a long time, but couldn't find a suitable word to describe it.

What does one success mean?

This means that Zuo Qingqiu's foundation is so solid, her accumulation so profound, and her understanding of the Great Dao so deep that it far surpasses ordinary people's imagination. It also means that the Yin Thunder Fruit she has attained is so perfectly compatible with her that it reaches an unbelievable level. Therefore, once her realm is stabilized, the combat power she can unleash will likely far exceed that of an ordinary newly promoted Golden Core True Monarch.

"Alright, everyone, calm down." Master Qingwei waved his hand, a relieved smile finally appearing on his face. "True Lord has just broken through and still needs to stabilize his realm. We will go and wait outside True Lord's cave for now, and pay our respects when True Lord emerges from seclusion."

"yes!"

The elders responded in unison, suppressing their excitement, but the joy in their eyes and brows was impossible to hide.

Unlike the revelry inside Taihua Gate, the spies from various sects who were lurking hundreds of miles away had extremely complex feelings at this moment.

"It actually...it really worked..." An old man in gray robes, hidden in the clouds, stared at the direction of Taihua Gate, his face deathly pale, muttering to himself, "Success on the first try...just what kind of monster is this Zuo Qingqiu...?"

He was a spy sent by the Golden Pool Sect, with an early stage of Purple Mansion cultivation, considered a master in the Central Plains. But when that True Monarch's appearance appeared, he felt as if his Purple Mansion primordial spirit was about to be crushed. If he hadn't been far enough away and hadn't been protected by the sect's secret treasure, he would have suffered damage to his Dao foundation and lost decades of his lifespan on the spot.

"No, I must send a message back to the sect immediately!" He dared not delay and hurriedly took out a palm-sized jade plate shaped like a Bagua (Eight Trigrams). This was a "Ten Thousand Mile Communication Plate" specially made by the Golden Pool Sect, which could communicate instantly over tens of millions of miles and was extremely precious. He quickly imprinted what he had just seen into the jade plate with his divine sense, then bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood essence to activate the jade plate.

The jade plate flashed with light, and the information was sent out.

After doing all this, the old man in gray breathed a sigh of relief, but then his heart tightened again.

The Taihua Sect has produced a True Monarch, and a Thunder Law True Monarch renowned for his combat prowess, and so young at that… The格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall situation or landscape) of the Central Plains is likely to be completely overturned. Although the Jinchi Sect is also a great sect with ten thousand years of history and dozens of Perfected Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, it is still no match for a Golden Core True Monarch… not nearly enough.

"It seems the sect leader and the ancestors won't be getting a good night's sleep tonight..." He gave a wry smile, his figure disappearing into the clouds.

The same scene played out in various hidden corners within hundreds of miles of Mount Taihua. The Wanfa Sect, the Shenxiao Sect, the Tianjian Pavilion... all the top-tier sects received the news immediately.

Shock, fear, jealousy, helplessness... a variety of emotions spread through the hearts of these sect leaders.

Envious? Of course, envious. A single Golden Core True Monarch is enough to elevate the status of a sect, giving it a qualitative leap in resources, territory, and influence. The Taihua Sect already has a deep foundation; now, with the addition of a True Monarch, it will likely soon be able to swallow up surrounding forces and become the new overlord of the Central Plains.

Jealous? Of course I'm jealous. Why is it his Taihua Sect? Why is it her, Zuo Qingqiu? My own sect has been passed down for tens of thousands of years, and has produced many geniuses, so why can't it produce a True Monarch?

Fear? Of course, fear. A newly promoted True Lord, especially one so young and with boundless potential, inevitably needs to establish his authority. And the best targets for establishing authority are those surrounding sects that have had conflicts with Taihua Sect in the past, or those that occupy certain important resources. Who will become the "chicken," used to scare the monkeys?

No matter how much you envy, how jealous, or how fearful you are, what can you do?

To take action? Who dares?

Not to mention that Taihua Sect itself possesses ten Perfected Purple Mansion cultivators and a ten-thousand-year-old protective array, its foundation unfathomable. Even Zuo Qingqiu himself, now a Golden Core True Monarch, even if he has just broken through and his realm is not yet stable, is far beyond the reach of any Purple Mansion cultivator. True Monarch and Purple Mansion are worlds apart, the difference between immortals and mortals. A True Monarch, disregarding all pretense, could annihilate a first-rate sect without a True Monarch present in the blink of an eye.

Moreover, who can guarantee that Zuo Qingqiu won't completely solidify her cultivation level in the short term, or even advance further? At just over two hundred years old, she had already attained the Golden Core stage; her potential was simply terrifying. Offending her now would be tantamount to sowing the seeds of annihilation for the sect.

Therefore, all sects, whether they like it or not, have no choice but to make the same decision.

Prepare gifts, offer congratulations, and establish friendly relations.

At least on the surface, it must be so.

As for how to scheme and maintain balance behind the scenes, that's a matter for later.

At this moment, the high-ranking officials of the major sects in the Central Plains are probably gathered together to urgently discuss countermeasures. At the same time, they are rummaging through their belongings to select the most valuable congratulatory gifts, preparing to send an envoy to Taihua Gate to participate in the "True Lord Ceremony" three months later.

The mastermind behind all this, the newly ascended True Lord who shook the world, was currently sitting cross-legged in his cave, completely unaware of all this.

Or rather, even if they knew, they didn't care at all.

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