Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

On the twenty-seventh day after the western spiritual core was occupied by Dongfang Weiwo, Shen Wansan's market opened for business.

A small city built of bluestone appeared on the wasteland. It was no more than three miles in circumference, and the city walls were so low that they only reached waist level, but the top of the walls was covered with defensive array plates transferred from various parts of the merchant alliance.

The array plate glowed with a faint blue light day and night, enveloping the entire market in a thin but sturdy barrier.

At each of the four corners of the city wall, a gray flag with gold patterns was planted—the emblem of the Tianxuan Merchant Alliance. The flag was embroidered with a scale and a copper coin, meaning that the scales were balanced and the goods were full when entering the city, and the money and goods were settled when leaving the city.

Although the city is not large, the shops are quite well-organized. There are three pill shops, two weapon shops, one talisman shop, and seven or eight independent cultivator stalls with various signs, selling all kinds of things—from the scales of the Northern Desert demons to the ores of the Southern Frontier demons. After the fusion of Tianxuan, new goods from all over the world are constantly being transported in.

The most prominent location in the city is a three-story wooden building in the very center, with a plaque that reads "Wanling Pavilion," where Shen Wansan personally oversees the project.

On the day the market opened, a red-robed steward emerged from the Blood Moon Demon Sect's mountain gate, accompanied by twenty disciples. They rented a shop at the east end of the market and hung up a wooden sign that read "Buying and Selling Spiritual Materials." Upon seeing this, Shen Wansan's face beamed with joy, and he personally went over to deliver a pot of fine tea.

On the same day, the Azure Dragon Society headquarters sent a small team over, which also rented a shop to sell pills and array plates.

The two shops faced each other across the street, separated by a stone-paved path about ten feet wide. When the disciples of the Blood Moon Demon Sect and the members of the Azure Dragon Society came into contact with each other, they glanced at each other, said nothing, and went their separate ways.

This is the significance of the market. Those who couldn't fight came here to do business. As business went on, some things gradually changed.

But that's for later.

Right now, Dongfang Wei is no longer inside the light screen.

Thirty days after the spiritual core stabilized, he completed the handover of all matters and then set off.

The day before his departure, Dongfang Weiwo returned to the Marquis's residence.

The first frost fell on Pingyang County at the end of autumn, and fine white frost clung to the stone lions in front of the Marquis's mansion.

When he pushed open the door, his mother, Qin Lanyin, was pruning a half-withered crabapple tree by the flowerbed in the backyard. Hearing footsteps, she looked up, paused for a moment, and then smiled.

"Why are you back?"

Dongfang Weiwo walked over and sat down on the stone bench next to her.

For more than half a year, he had been traveling around, returning home only a handful of times, and each time he came and went in a hurry. Today, he finally sat down, so Qin Lanyin put down the scissors and pushed the heater towards him.

"I'm going on a long trip," Dongfang Wei said. "To the Central Plains."

Qin Lanyin's hand paused slightly, then returned to its normal position.

She didn't ask him what he was going to Zhongzhou for, but simply nodded and raised her hand to straighten his collar, which was ruffled by the wind. The gesture was exactly the same as when she tidied up the armor of the young Dongfang Wudi thirty years ago when he went to war.

"how long?"

"It depends. It could take as little as two months, or as long as six months."

Qin Lanyin was silent for a few moments, then said softly, "Ninety percent of the poison in your sister's body has dissipated. The imperial physician said that she will be fully recovered after three more months of treatment."

Your father's hands... the dark gold patterns have stopped spreading, but his cultivation level is temporarily stagnant. He spends all his time practicing swordsmanship in his study, finding it tedious.

Dongfang Weiwo smiled. His father, Dongfang Wudi, was as hard as iron his whole life, and the fact that his cultivation had stagnated was more painful than being stabbed twice.

"There's one more thing."

Qin Lanyin took out a jade talisman from her sleeve and handed it over. The talisman was engraved with royal inscriptions. "Your elder brother, Qin Lin'an, sent this. He said that in Zhongzhou… several reclusive sects are already active in Dongzhou. His men encountered them once, and they asked for your name."

Dongfang Weiwo took the jade talisman and held it in his palm. A quick scan with his spiritual sense revealed its contents. Qin Lin'an's letter was politely worded, but the meaning between the lines was clear—powerful forces in Zhongzhou had already set their sights on him.

"knew."

He carefully put away the jade talisman. "Mother, while I'm away, if anyone from Zhongzhou comes looking for us, no matter who it is, have Father crush this jade slip."

He handed over a dark gold jade slip, sealed with one of his bloodline marks. A full-force attack from the initial stage of the Celestial Realm was enough to avert an unexpected disaster.

Qin Lanyin took it, looked down at the texture of the jade slip, and without asking any questions, put it into her sleeve.

The mother and son sat for a while longer, chatting about everyday things.

As the sun began to set, Dongfang Weiwo rose and, as he walked out into the backyard, encountered Dongfang Wudi emerging from the study on the veranda. The Marquis was wearing a worn-out dark robe, his right hand hidden in his sleeve, and he snorted when he saw his son.

"Are you leaving?"

"Walk."

Dongfang Wudi nodded and stood under the eaves watching him for a moment. His gaze was not gentle, but as solid as a wall.

"Those guys in Zhongzhou... they're old fogies who've lived for countless years, they're cunning. Be careful."

"Um."

Dongfang Wudi said no more and turned to go back to his study. Before the door closed, Dongfang Weiwo heard his father say very softly, "Come back alive."

He stood on the veranda, his back to the door, and replied, "Okay."

As he stepped out of the Marquis's mansion, dusk was falling. Warm yellow lights illuminated the long street as he walked along the stone path toward the city gate, the outline of the Marquis's mansion gradually receding behind him. The crabapple blossoms his mother had pruned, the closed door of his father's study, the scent of medicine wafting from his sister's bedroom—all faded into the distance.

He wasn't without ties when he went to Zhongzhou. But only by keeping those ties where they should stay can one go further.

The next morning.

Two figures in white waited in the morning mist; one stood like a pine tree, holding a sword, while the other stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky like a crane.

The auras of Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng were completely different from what they had been six months ago—the peak of the ninth level of the Grandmaster realm had settled very steadily within them, their sword intent was restrained and not released, yet it caused the mist within a radius of ten feet to condense into fine frost flowers.

Both of them were at the peak of the ninth level of Grandmaster.

Six months ago, during the Yangzhou Sword Tournament, Ximen Chuixue was still a Grandmaster at the seventh level, and Ye Gucheng was about the same level.

However, during these six months, the heavens and earth merged and spiritual energy surged, and the two of them broke through the barriers of their swordsmanship one after another under the impact of thirty times the spiritual energy.

Ximen Chuixue's sword intent became more pure and solitary, while Ye Gucheng's sword momentum became increasingly vast and unparalleled. The two, one hard and one soft, one restrained and one unrestrained, simultaneously reached the pinnacle of the Grandmaster realm as their cultivation progressed in tandem.

Beyond the peak of the ninth level of the Grandmaster realm, there is only one step. That step is called the Half-Step Celestial Being. But how many people spend their entire lives trying to cross that step, how many have their Dao hearts crushed at the threshold?

Ximen Chuixue said there was no rush. Ye Gucheng was also not in a hurry.

When they followed Dongfang Weiwo out of the spiritual energy core light screen, their expressions were identically calm—the aura of a Grandmaster at the peak of the ninth level was perfectly contained within their bodies, like two unfinished swords about to be quenched but still cold.

"The Second Dragon Head is stationed at the main altar, the Third Dragon Head is guarding the northern front, and the Seventh Hall Master is still confronting the barbarians at White Wolf Plains."

Bai Yujing reported to each person one by one as they saw him off outside the light screen.

"Pang Ban and Wu Zetian have joined forces to force the Demon Emperor back three hundred miles, and Lianyun Ridge is temporarily stabilized. Shi Zhixuan, along with the Five Kings, has taken over the southern defenses of Wanfo Temple. Zen Master Liaochen has returned to the temple for seclusion, leaving behind a message before departing—"

"What did you say?"

He said, "The benefactor from the west is going to Zhongzhou. Please convey my regards to the abbot of the main temple of Wanfo Temple in Zhongzhou."

Bai Yujing paused, then continued, "Liao Chen said he came from the Wanfo Temple in Zhongzhou."

Dongfang Weiwo nodded.

Bai Yujing handed him three things at the end.

A dark cyan jade slip contained twelve emergency communication channels, corresponding to the twelve halls of the Azure Dragon Society. A sealed scroll of silk bore Shen Wansan's latest map of the continent's spiritual veins, now marked with seven more red skulls.

The third item was a letter. The envelope was unsigned, with only a very thin arc drawn on it, like a crescent moon.

"It was sent by the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion," Bai Yujing said. "It arrived three days ago and was specifically designated for the young master to open personally."

Dongfang Weiwo took the letter, but didn't open it; he put it in his pocket.

Then he mounted the horse. It was a gift from Shen Wansan; it was jet black with snow-white hooves, and was said to have the bloodline of a demon beast, capable of traveling three thousand miles a day without panting.

"Regarding Dongzhou," he pulled on the reins and glanced back, "is everything arranged?"

Bai Yujing nodded: "At the main altar, the Three Dragon Heads have taken over the western defense. Although the Seventh Hall Master Guan is still at the front, the Three Dragon Heads have transferred 20,000 elite troops from various halls to replenish the White Wolf Plains. The barbarians have not advanced an inch in the past half month. All nine kings of the Underworld have been assigned to their posts, with Pang Ban in the east, Shi Zhixuan in the south, and King Zhuanlun coordinating everything."

Of the seventeen separatist forces within the Eastern Continent, five have already joined the Azure Dragon Society after being persuaded by the Three Dragon Leaders.

The rest are still observing, but Qin Lin'an's loyalist alliance is currently busy liaising with the Central Plains and can't attend to matters within the Eastern Continent.

The three of them said no more and spurred their horses into the mountain path of Fulong Mountain.

The fog in the mountains was extremely thick. The moment he crossed the ridge, Dongfang Weiwo clearly felt the change in the spiritual energy tide—the concentration of spiritual energy in Zhongzhou was nearly twice as high as in Dongzhou, and the air was thick and heavy, like warm water soaking into his body.

Ximen Chuixue's grip on his sword tightened slightly for a moment, an unconscious reaction as he sensed the unusually active spiritual energy around him. Ye Gucheng took a deep breath, revealing a rare expression of enjoyment.

"No wonder there are more celestial beings in the Central Continent than in the Eastern Continent."

Ye Gucheng said, "One day of cultivation here is equivalent to five days in the Eastern Continent."

Ximen Chuixue did not respond, but a thin layer of spiritual frost had already formed on his sword sheath.

Dongfang Weiwo took a deep breath, and his dark gold bloodline circulated on its own, drawing all the spiritual energy surging in from all around into his Qi Sea.

The threshold that stood between him and the celestial beings loosened a little more.

He gazed at the distant city outlines on the Central Plains and murmured, "Let's go."

The three men and their three horses disappeared into the morning light on the western slope of Fulong Mountain.

The first city they arrived at in Zhongzhou was "Beacon City".

The city was not large, but it was far more heavily guarded than Dongfang Weiwo had anticipated.

Three massive, iron-black crossbows were mounted on the city wall, their bolts engraved with runes and their tips gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light—these were crossbow bolts specifically designed to deal with martial artists of the Grandmaster level or above.

A long queue formed at the city gate, including merchant caravans, independent cultivators, and disciples from the Central Plains sects in uniform.