Northern Continent, Cold Water Palace.
Han Ling Shuang was looking at the golden invitation in front of her, lost in thought.
Several of her capable subordinates were also looking at the invitation in front of her.
"Palace Master, what do you think is the purpose of those three from the Holy Mountain convening this Holy Assembly?"
Finally, a young man couldn't help but speak up.
"What else could it be? Due to the restrictions of the rules of heaven and earth, each time our four secret lands open their entrances, a large amount of spiritual energy is required."
Therefore, one cannot freely enter or leave the secret realm; most of the time is spent resting and recuperating within the secret place.
Therefore, for nearly a thousand years, the world has been almost entirely under the control of the Holy Mountain.
Now, with the world changing and the global landscape shifting dramatically, the Holy Mountain's control over the entire world has long since waned, existing in name only.
The purpose of this sacred assembly is presumably to re-establish the rules and regain control of the world.
Another woman analyzed.
"But is that possible?" someone asked doubtfully. "It's not like a thousand years ago. With the suppression of the rules of heaven and earth, apart from our four secret lands and the holy mountain, other martial artists cannot break through the limits. At most, they can only cultivate to the perfect state of the innate realm."
According to reports from those below, in the past year, lightning strikes have been heard frequently throughout the land.
Presumably, many powerful individuals who have been suppressed by heaven and earth for a long time have already passed the tribulation of lightning and entered the Golden Core realm.
Even though the three from the Holy Mountain had also reached the Golden Core Realm, their true bodies could not leave the Holy Mountain.
It seems impossible for him to regain control of the world.
“That’s right, what were those three thinking? This move is not wise.” Someone nodded in agreement.
The fact that the three Holy Lords of the Holy Mountain cannot leave the Holy Mountain in their true forms is not widely known, but it is not an absolute secret.
The four secret regions, in particular, had known about this for a long time.
After all, how could the sudden emergence of three powerful individuals, capable of even breaking through limitations, over a thousand years ago not attract their attention?
For thousands of years, the three holy masters have never revealed that they cannot leave the holy mountain.
But there are many clever people in the world, and all sorts of clues have led many to speculate.
However, before the world was restored, even if the three Holy Lords did not appear in their true forms, they could still sweep across the world with their puppet bodies alone.
Therefore, all the sects in the world recognized the status of the sacred mountain.
But now the world order has changed, so they are not optimistic about the outcome of the holy meeting convened by those three.
Who knows, this might even lead to the destruction of the sacred mountain.
"Alright, let's not worry about what those three from the Holy Mountain are thinking. The key now is whether or not our Cold Water Palace will participate in this Holy Assembly."
At this moment, a middle-aged man interrupted their conversation and spoke bluntly.
The others immediately fell silent.
Indeed, everything else is a minor matter. The real problem facing them now is whether or not their Cold Water Palace should attend this Holy Gathering.
Everyone looked at Han Ling Shuang.
As the palace master, the final decision-making power in this matter rests with her.
Han Ling Shuang did not interrupt the previous discussion.
She had been staring at the invitation in thought for a long time before finally raising her head: "Our Cold Water Palace will be attending this Holy Gathering, and I will be going in person."
"Palace Master!"
The °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° others were taken aback upon hearing this.
"Palace Master, you mustn't. You are about to undergo your tribulation. The most important thing is to go into seclusion and cultivate in preparation for the tribulation."
"Attending the holy assembly is something I can easily arrange by leading the group; there's no need for you to go in person."
The middle-aged man urged him urgently.
“That’s good. We can go. Palace Master, you should focus on your cultivation.”
The others also offered their advice.
“You won’t be able to control the situation.” Han Ling Shuang shook her head. “This Holy Gathering is destined to be turbulent. Many sects and forces are probably going all out to demonstrate their strength and compete for benefits at the Holy Gathering.”
Although our Cold Water Palace has no intention of engaging in conflict with others, we cannot allow our reputation to be diminished.
Otherwise, if we show weakness, countless forces will likely try to take advantage of us.
Therefore, only I can attend this Holy Assembly; your strength is still somewhat lacking.
"But Palace Master, your cultivation..."
"My cultivation has reached a bottleneck, and it will be difficult to improve further if I continue to go into seclusion."
Only by overcoming the tribulation of lightning and achieving the Golden Core can one further improve.
But lately, despite my continuous efforts to improve myself, I haven't been able to sense a breakthrough opportunity.
But when I received the invitation earlier, I suddenly had a feeling.
I can sense that the opportunity for me to step into the Golden Core Realm might just happen at this Holy Gathering.
Han Ling Shuang's gaze fell once again on the invitation in front of her.
I felt a little strange.
That's why she had been staring at the invitation.
She was somewhat curious as to why the opportunity for her to break through to the Golden Core stage would occur at this Holy Gathering.
Could it be that some kind of opportunity awaits me on the other side of the holy mountain?
"The opportunity for a breakthrough?"
Upon hearing this, the others were speechless.
If that's the case, then the Palace Master is truly determined to do it this time.
As fellow cultivators, they knew that the opportunity for a breakthrough was rare and hard to come by.
If you miss it, you don't know when you'll be able to catch it again.
"In that case, we are willing to follow the Palace Master to the Holy City to participate in this Holy Assembly."
Since they couldn't persuade them, they could only express their stance.
Han Ling Shuang nodded: "That's fine, it's also a good opportunity for you to see how many outstanding people have emerged in the world after the revival of heaven and earth."
...
As the envoys sent by the Holy Mountain continued to visit various sects and forces, they presented invitations.
The news of the Holy Assembly gradually spread throughout the land, becoming the most anticipated event since the revival of heaven and earth.
Countless cultivators, upon learning of this, set off to travel to Zhongzhou.
Even without an invitation, they were unwilling to miss such a grand event.
Even Cangxian County, far away in Cangzhou, received such news.
"The Holy Mountain is going to hold a Holy Assembly in the Holy City? Such a grand event, I really hope to be there in person and experience it for myself."
At the county magistrate's residence, Yan Canghai looked at the secret letter in his hand, his eyes filled with amazement.
But he knew it was impossible.
As the head of a county, he could not leave his jurisdiction at will.
Although his father had lifted the ban on him because of what happened last time, and he could return to the capital at any time.
But Yan Canghai wasn't stupid, so why would he leave Cang County at a time like this?
After witnessing Lu Qing's supernatural powers, he realized that the other person was many times more powerful than he had ever imagined.
Cang County is the closest place to Jiuli Village, and the Wei family, who have a close relationship with Lu Qing, also live in the county town.
In addition, his good friend Lin Zhirui was also acquainted with Lu Qing.
With such a convenient opportunity, how could he not try to seize it?
Therefore, no matter what, he cannot leave Cang County and return to the capital.
"I wonder if that person has received an invitation from the Holy Mountain. Also, I wonder where Zhi Rui has been traveling recently. Otherwise, I could ask him about the situation."
Just as Yan Canghai was pondering, a figure appeared outside the study.
"Sir, Shadow Guard Number One has something to report!"
"Speak," Yan Canghai said without looking up, still reading the secret letter.
These shadow guards were elites he personally trained, specifically to gather intelligence for him.
"Several white-robed messengers entered the county town just now and headed towards the Wei family. Judging from their attire, they should be the Holy Mountain messengers who have been the talk of the town recently," Shadow Guard Number One replied.
"What did you say?"
Yan Canghai suddenly stood up, his face full of shock.
"Your Excellency, you're not joking, are you?"
At the Wei family residence, Chief Steward Wei was equally shocked, staring incredulously at the several white-robed messengers before him whose auras were unpredictable and whom he could not see through at all.
Not a single mistake, not a single song, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single 6-9 book, not a single bar, take a look!
Just now, these people came to visit, bringing a golden invitation card, saying that the Holy Mountain invited their Wei family to go to the Holy City to participate in the Holy Assembly.
Chief Steward Wei was naturally aware of the Holy Assembly that had been the talk of the town recently.
But he never expected that his Wei family would also receive an invitation.
So for a moment, he felt completely at a loss, unable to believe that what he was seeing was real.
"Of course, this is no joke." The white-robed envoy at the head of the group said solemnly, "This invitation was personally imprinted with the magical power of the three Holy Lords. How could it be faked?"
"Simply present this to your master, and they will be able to discern its validity."
Chief Steward Wei accepted the invitation somewhat blankly.
Upon opening it, you'll see three mysterious markings inside.
While we cannot be certain whether it is genuine or not, we know that it is not something that can be easily forged.
"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I will present it to the patriarch as soon as he returns," Chief Steward Wei said solemnly.
The white-robed messenger smiled upon hearing this: "Very well. We have important matters to attend to, so we will not disturb you any longer and will take our leave now."
"Won't Your Excellency stay for a meal? The food and wine are already prepared," Chief Steward Wei hurriedly said.
"No need to trouble yourself."
As soon as the words were spoken, the figures of the white-clad messengers slowly disappeared.
Seeing the other party's unfathomable methods, Chief Steward Wei felt even more awe.
He dared not delay, and immediately ordered his men to prepare horses. Then, with several guards in tow and the golden invitation in his arms, he hurried to Jiuli Village.
When Wei Shanhai and the others, who were in the villa in Jiuli Village, saw the invitation, they were equally surprised.
He immediately brought the invitation to the small courtyard halfway up the mountain to request an audience with the old doctor.
"Dr. Chen, do you think this invitation is real or fake?"
In the courtyard, the old doctor was looking at the golden invitation, while Wei Shanhai felt somewhat uneasy.
He never expected that the Holy Mountain would send a special invitation to the Wei family.
No matter how you look at it, the Wei family doesn't deserve that qualification.
Therefore, his first thought was that the invitation was fake.
However, the three marks on the invitation were indeed mysterious, so he was not sure.
"These three marks were indeed left by three Golden Core Realm experts."
The old doctor looked at the invitation for a while and then nodded.
"So, this invitation is real?" Wei Shanhai's eyes widened.
"It should be right," the old doctor said.
He had seen the Third Holy Lord in Zhongzhou before. Although it was just a puppet avatar, the power aura of one of the three marks on it came from the same source as that of the Third Holy Lord.
Moreover, the Wei family is just a small family; they are hardly qualified to have three Golden Core cultivators join forces to deceive them.
"But why? What merit or ability do we, a mere Wei family, possess to warrant a special invitation from the Holy Mountain?"
After receiving confirmation from the senior doctor, Wei Shanhai was even more incredulous.
However, the old doctor just smiled at him.
Wei Shanhai felt the old doctor's gaze, paused for a moment, and then a flash of inspiration struck him.
"Dr. Chen, did the Holy Mountain send you and Young Master Lu an invitation?"
Logically speaking, since both the old doctor and Lu Qing are Golden Core Realm experts, the Holy Mountain should have invited them, master and disciple.
“I didn’t receive an invitation, but Aqing did, and he and Zhirui have already gone to Zhongzhou beforehand.”
"So Young Master Lu went to Zhongzhou?" Wei Shanhai suddenly realized.
A while ago, Lu Qing sent Xiao Yan and Xiao Li to the villa, and then said he had something to do and went out for a while. It turned out that he and Lin Zhirui went to Zhongzhou.
Lu Qing and Lin Zhirui traveled to Zhongzhou, but then their Wei family received an invitation from the Holy Mountain...
For a moment, Wei Shanhai keenly sensed that there seemed to be some kind of connection between them.
The old doctor saw his thoughts and smiled, "Don't overthink it. Since the Holy Mountain sent an invitation to your Wei family, there must be a reason for it."
If you're willing, you might as well go and broaden your horizons.
If we're any later, we might miss this grand event.
Upon hearing what the old doctor said, Wei Shanhai was immediately intrigued.
If it were just them alone, going to Zhongzhou would be quite difficult.
After all, the outside world is far from peaceful, and the Central Plains is teeming with powerful figures and experts.
Everyone knows that this holy assembly held on the holy mountain will inevitably cause unimaginable turmoil.
With their thin arms and legs, they'd be easy targets, like fish caught in the crossfire.
But if Lu Qing were also in Zhongzhou, then it would be different.
"Dr. Chen, aren't you going?" Wei Shanhai asked.
"I prefer peace and quiet, so I won't join in the fun," the old doctor shook his head. "Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on Jiuli Village, so you should go instead."
Looking at the precious medicinal herbs outside the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, and the rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth surrounding it, Wei Shanhai couldn't help but nod.
Now, Jiuli Village can truly be called a blessed land of immortals. Taking anything out here would probably cause a fight among martial artists from outside. It definitely needs someone to guard it.
"Then I'll go back and think about it carefully."
Wei Shanhai left the small courtyard on the hillside and returned to the other courtyard.
After some deliberation, I finally decided to go to Zhongzhou to attend this grand event.
Of course, besides the fact that Lu Qing was also in Zhongzhou, which made him feel like he had someone to rely on, there was another reason.
More importantly, his cultivation level has stagnated at the perfect innate realm for quite some time.
But he could never sense that glimmer of a breakthrough opportunity.
For this reason, he specifically consulted Lu Qinghe, the old doctor, several times.
Even with guidance, he still couldn't overcome that obstacle.
This made Wei Shanhai feel desperate, and he even felt that he might be stuck at the Innate Realm for the rest of his life.
But now, the invitation from the Holy Mountain touched him.
This grand event will surely attract many powerful individuals from all over the world to participate.
The scene at that time will be unimaginably vast.
Perhaps he can find his own breakthrough opportunity in this?
