Chapter 519 - 496: A Gathering of True Monarchs

Chapter 519: Chapter 496: A Gathering of True Monarchs

White Python Mountain was shaped like a great python, its head seeming to touch the very heavens.

Countless pillars of light stood like a forest, and a Tier Four Array enveloped the entire mountain range, so completely that not even a gnat could get through.

Occasionally, a breathtaking procession would arrive, with Cloud Carriages stretching for miles and emitting thousands of auspicious streams of light as they landed before the mountain.

Other cultivators arrived alone, their profound Sword Light sweeping across the land for a thousand miles.

Some arrived on clusters of auspicious clouds, accompanied by celestial music and wondrous words that purified the hearts of all who heard.

Welcoming attendants were stationed from the foot of the mountain all the way to the summit. Every few miles stood a pair of Core Formation Sword Cultivators, one man and one woman, all of them exceptionally beautiful.

"True Monarch Wen Feiqing of the Five Thunders Sect has arrived! Presenting a pair of Tier Three Wind-Thunder Swords!"

"True Monarch Zhang Zishou and True Monarch Zhuo Xiong of the Celestial Star Sect have arrived! Presenting a scroll of an Ancient Sword Scripture to congratulate Ancestor Han on his achievements in the Sword Dao. May your Great Dao be everlasting!"

"Tier Four Array Master Shi Bian of the Circulation Sect has arrived! Presenting a Tier Three Sword Array Map. We wish Ancestor Han Longevity and Vision!"

...

One after another, guests arrived to offer their congratulations. Typically, only Nascent Soul True Monarchs were worthy of having their names announced before the mountain.

Any Core Formation Cultivators present were generally from factions subservient to the Five Phoenix Sword Sect or from one of its branches.

They could only present their gifts and take a smaller path up to the main peak.

"So many True Monarchs! I bet all the important figures from the Great Li Empire, maybe even the entire Central Domain, are here!"

As the direct daughter of the Nine-Blade Mu Family, Mu Leyao was a true Golden Branch Jade Leaf. Her High Ancestor, grandfather, and father were all Core Formation True Men, giving her an esteemed status within the clan.

As she grew up, she blossomed into a great beauty, and many families had already come to their door to inquire about a possible marriage alliance.

Given Mu Leyao’s standing, she wasn’t required to fulfill the duty of a marriage alliance and could have simply remained at her family’s side.

The Mu Clan Leader never gave a direct answer, but he rejected every single proposal that came their way.

This included a proposal from the descendant of a Nascent Soul Loose Cultivator.

The Nine-Blade Mu Family had the confidence to do so. Not only was their strength, with five Core Formation True Men, enough to be considered a first-rate Cultivation Family in the Great Li Empire...

...but it was also because an ancestor of the Mu Family had a connection from his youth with Great True Monarch Jiuyue of the Five Thunders Sect, who had always looked out for them.

There were very convincing rumors that the Mu Family planned to marry Mu Leyao to a Saint Heir from the Five Thunders Sect.

However, there was a significant gap in status between Mu Leyao and the Saint Heir of a Super Sect.

This was especially true given that she had only displayed average talent; despite enjoying the Mu Family’s top-tier Cultivation Resources, she hadn’t succeeded in her Foundation Establishment until she was nearly forty years old.

Every Saint Heir of the Celestial Thunder Sect possessed a Thunder Dao Spirit Body, and statistically, more than half of them successfully reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

It was highly unlikely that such a figure would end up with a Dao Companion who might not even reach the Core Formation Realm. Not even the influence of Great True Monarch Jiuyue could make that happen.

"Grandfather, how is it that a Core Formation True Man is also having his name announced and is allowed to ascend via the main path?"

Mu Leyao blinked, her gaze falling upon an old man being led up the steps by a cultivator from the Five Phoenix Sword Sect. The man carried a compass the size of a round table on his back, held a bamboo staff, and walked with a stooped posture.

"Although Master Shi only has a Late-Stage Core Formation Cultivation, his attainment in the Array Dao ranks among the top three in the Circulation Sect. Even the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of his sect might not be able to best him when it comes to arrays. A Tier Four Top-Grade Array Master would be treated with the same respect as a True Monarch no matter where they go."

The Mu Family’s Core Formation Elder’s eyes were clouded as he led a few of the clan’s younger generation toward the summit.

His words were meant for Mu Leyao, but they were also a lesson for the other junior clan members with them.

The Mu Family appeared prosperous, but as long as they failed to produce a Nascent Soul True Monarch, they could never say their position was truly secure.

The protection granted by one’s ancestors would eventually run out.

Cultivation Families were inherently at a disadvantage compared to sects when it came to growth and passing on their legacy, as their pool of talent and new blood was limited.

Even if a monstrous genius appeared and led the clan to a period of great power, establishing a vast foundation and leaving behind a top-tier legacy...

...who could guarantee that another such talent would appear among their descendants to cultivate to the Nascent Soul Realm?

A single gap in the generations was all it would take for them to fall from their peak, unable to hold on to everything they had built.

Cultivation Families with special bloodlines had it slightly better, but that only guaranteed they wouldn’t lack for Core Formation True Men. The process of Shattering the Core and Transforming into a Nascent Soul was still a matter of heavenly will.

Otherwise, the Zengguang Du Family, which had produced three Nascent Soul True Monarchs, wouldn’t have once been hailed as the world’s number one Noble Family.

The Mu Family’s greatest hope was for one of their own to become a Nascent Soul True Monarch. This would elevate their clan’s status, allowing their younger generations to form Dao Companion bonds with the young talents of the Major Sects.

At the same time, they would disperse their clan members into different sects, avoiding putting all their eggs in one basket.

In this way, the Nine-Blade Mu Family would remain at the core to continue the bloodline, while members who joined the various Super Sects would branch out and flourish elsewhere.

As long as the bloodline endured, the Mu Family’s legacy would survive.

Those Cultivation Families that deluded themselves into thinking they could challenge the sects with only the strength of their own clan had all been drowned in the River of Time.

"Tier Four Top-Grade! The Array Master our clan hired last time was only Tier Three Top-Grade, wasn’t he? That’s a whole tier difference. It’s terrifying..."

"I know, right? I heard that a Tier Four Low-Grade Pill Master is serving as an Honored Guest Elder at the Ten Provinces Trading Company, and his compensation is equivalent to that of a Nascent Soul True Monarch. If I could master a skill to the fourth tier, they’d make a special note of me in the clan records!"

"More than just a note! They’d probably start a whole new page for your branch of the family, starting with you!"

The young Mu Family members whispered amongst themselves as they followed behind.

The Array Dao was different from other professions; the more advanced one became, the more sought-after they were.

It wasn’t like the Alchemy Dao, where even a Tier One Pill Master could master a few common pill formulas to refine practical elixirs like Qi Replenishing Pills and Hemostatic Pills.

As long as they could guarantee a decent success rate in their alchemy, a Pill Master would be popular from the very start and could easily find a well-paying position in Minor Sects or at a trading company.

Array Masters were different. The Array Dao required the aid of one’s Divine Sense just to get started, which meant that the vast majority of cultivators only began to study arrays after reaching Foundation Establishment.