The disturbance at the ferry dock did not last long; it was soon quelled.

The restless atmosphere among the cultivators who had come from all corners of the Chenping Continent was replaced by an extremely tense, nearly suffocating silence.

Ascension to Immortality.

For almost every cultivator in this world, whether from the lower three realms or the upper three realms, those two words were unimaginably distant.

Those two words had also been the ultimate goal that cultivators on the Chenping Continent had chased since the day they first set foot on the immortal path.

Ever since the first Immortal Ascension cultivator of the Chenping Continent, the first-generation Ascended Steward of Heavenly Summit Mountain, Tian Su Realman, appeared, tens of thousands of years had passed.

And in all those countless years, among the innumerable cultivators who had emerged on the Chenping Continent, the number who could break through the Nine Realms Below Immortality and step into Ascension amounted to only thirty-one…

Now there were thirty-two.

No one really knew how many cultivators existed in the world; even if one spent a lifetime trying to see them all, the most remarkable people one might encounter would at most be Middle Three Realms cultivators.

Even inner disciples of the Five Great Sects might never in their lifetime see their sect’s Upper Three Realms Grand Elders.

At the ferry dock of Du Cang Mountain right now, the Upper Three Realms cultivators present numbered at least dozens.

For many cultivators from second- or third-rate sects with mediocre talent, being able to witness so many Upper Three Realm greats was already a once-in-a-lifetime, unforgettable experience.

But… Immortal Ascension cultivators.

And not just any of them, but the one among the seven current Ascended of the Chenping Continent who was most extraordinary, even worthy of being called the steward of the entire Chenping Continent — Realman Du Cang.

At Du Cang Mountain ferry dock, the hearts of all cultivators were, at this moment, somewhat unsettled.

Before the revival of the Immortal Dao, Immortal Ascension greats had existed only in historical legend; now an Immortal Ascension mighty one was about to personally arrive at Du Cang Mountain.

Even though many of the cultivators had already heard that Ascended masters were gathering on Du Cang Mountain and had anticipated that they might have the chance to glimpse the faces of Immortal Ascension Realmen, when the moment to actually see them arrived, even with some psychological preparation they still felt nervous.

From the far end of the Du Cang Mountain ferry dock, three figures in white daoist robes appeared.

They looked like three very ordinary people.

From them there was no trace of a cultivator’s aura; they might as well have been mortals.

But at a height over eight thousand three hundred zhang above ground on Du Cang Mountain, it was impossible for mortals to appear there.

If that were the case…

Then that meant…

Several Upper Three Realm cultivators reacted quickly, bowing deeply and respectfully toward the three youths and saying:

“Hail Realman Du Cang, hail True Person Caiyun, hail Realman Lingxuan!”

In an instant, the world fell deathly silent.

Then almost immediately, countless cultivators began bowing respectfully in the direction from which Chen Yan and the others had come, loudly shouting:

“Hail Realman Du Cang, hail True Person Caiyun, hail Realman Lingxuan!”

The identities of these three Immortal Ascension cultivators were easy to recognize; after all, there were only seven Ascended cultivators on the Chenping Continent.

The one in pure white Kongshan Sect robes was undoubtedly the third-generation Ascended Steward of Kongshan Sect, True Person Caiyun, Kong Yang.

As for the one in moon-white Heavenly Summit Mountain robes, if male then he was the eighth-generation Ascended Steward of Heavenly Summit Mountain, Realman Lingxuan, Gu Jing; if female then she was the tenth-generation Ascended Steward of Heavenly Summit Mountain, Pure Dust True Person, Qiu Siruo.

The identification method was simple.

The young, handsome figure wearing a plain white robe, standing between True Person Caiyun Kong Yang and Realman Lingxuan Gu Jing, whose presence seemed to press above the other two Ascended greats, had an even more obvious identity.

Steward of the Chenping Continent, Realman Du Cang, Chen Yan.

…

He Qingling stood among the crowd, listening to the surrounding voices roaring like mountain storms shouting “Hail Realman!” Her heart was equal parts shocked, anxious, and a little curious.

Three Immortal Ascension cultivators arriving together at the Du Cang Mountain ferry dock?

She tried to raise her head to catch a glimpse of the Ascended masters’ faces, but being short, she could not see anything.

He Qingling, a Martial Spring Realm cultivator, had not yet refined spiritual sense, and even those Passable God Realm cultivators who had refined spiritual sense had fully retracted it, fearful of presumptuously probing the three Ascended in front of them.

All the cultivators at the Du Cang Mountain ferry dock bowed almost at right angles toward Realman Du Cang, True Person Caiyun, and Realman Lingxuan.

This was the highest level of respect within the Chenping Continent cultivation world.

Chenping’s etiquette had the bow but not the kneel.

Two years ago, when Chen Yan acted to quell the Great Chaos of the Immortals, Realman Sun-Eroding and the others had dropped to one knee toward him on Heavenly Summit Mountain because their relationship at that time had been hostile.

If one wanted to show submission, a single-knee kneel was necessary.

He Qingling could see the crowd parting slowly ahead, as if clearing a path for someone.

She knew those Ascended greats were walking toward them.

Her heart rate quickened and she became increasingly nervous.

The girl in the white dress had, over the past two years, countless times heard stories from teahouse storytellers claiming that Realman Du Cang had single-handedly brought the other six Ascended to bow before him.

That was why, on some subconscious level, she had disliked Realman Du Cang.

To put it in modern terms, it was like following a favorite anime or novel where all the characters you love struggle for their goals, and at the most critical, anticipated moment a random bystander falls from the sky and trounces them all.

Who would be pleased by that?

But at this moment, He Qingling could not summon any of that prior resentment.

She was only trembling with nervousness.

The crowd that had been moving aside drew closer to He Qingling.

She stepped back two paces along with the Xuan Sheng Sect disciples beside her.

“Hail Realman…”

Her voice trembled. She spoke cautiously as she slowly lifted her eyes and looked toward the three Ascended who were about to come before her.

When her gaze landed on the face of the leading young man in the plain white robe, she suddenly froze.

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