The Grand Ascension Feast came to a close.
This feast was undoubtedly impressive and brought great benefits to every participant.
In comparison, Tai Lingxuan’s sermon after the feast seemed insignificant.
However, even so, for everyone who attended this feast, the gains from this trip were already immense.
Those who gained less still received some insights into the laws and felt their cultivation bottlenecks loosen.
Those who gained more directly broke through their current realm, and a few even jumped two or three minor realms instead of just one.
One person even advanced directly from the peak of the Nascent Soul realm into the Unity realm, which he had originally thought impossible to reach in this lifetime.
For these people, what they gained from this feast could not even be considered mere gains—it was a debt of gratitude.
Tai Lingxuan’s Grand Ascension Feast officially ended, and the attending guests enthusiastically bid her farewell.
At this moment, their reverence and gratitude toward her were beyond words.
This feast could be called an extreme success.
However, Tai Lingxuan understood in her heart that without that pot of spirit wine provided by Yuyang, a mere banquet plus her sermon would never have produced such astonishing effects.
Now, everyone had gained tangible benefits and, invisibly, owed a favor to the Hehuan Sect.
Otherwise, it would have been just an ordinary celebratory feast.
Thinking of this, Tai Lingxuan’s heart could not calm for a long time.
Could it be that all of this was within Yuyang’s expectations?
He had taken out that jar of spirit wine with extraordinary effects and immeasurable value, without even telling her how rare it was, just so she could use it to entertain guests and pave a smooth path for the Hehuan Sect’s future development.
Now it seemed that the Hehuan Sect’s future development would indeed be smooth sailing.
After all, half of the major sects and powers in the North Domain’s cultivation world now owed the Hehuan Sect favors, more or less.
“Yuyang…”
Tai Lingxuan softly murmured this name, her gaze looking into the distance.
He was always like this, bringing her unexpected joy.
Thinking and yearning, ripples stirred in the woman’s heart.
Although he had only been gone for a little over a month.
But Tai Lingxuan already found this longing unbearable.
…
Ah-choo.
Chen Yuyang sneezed without any warning.
Was it the cold wind on the mountain peak that gave him a chill?
Or… He shook his head, casting aside that inexplicable thought.
After a day and night of nonstop climbing, the mountain path beneath their feet grew steeper, the air thinner.
However, they were now within arm’s reach of the snowy summit.
With a single step forward, the view before them suddenly opened up.
The three of them broke through the blizzard clouds and finally reached the summit.
Looking around, everything was empty—not a single person in sight besides themselves.
The peak was above a sea of clouds.
The place was calm and windless, except for the bone-piercing cold that remained.
Looking up, the sky above was a clear blue.
The golden morning sun was rising from the east, shining on the three of them.
At this moment, even the cold turned into a refreshing sensation.
Chen Yuyang pulled down his hood and took a deep breath of the summit air.
“But there’s nothing here.”
Yan Luo looked left and right, but saw nothing except rocks and snow—not even a trace of a proper building or formation.
She couldn’t help mumbling: “Don’t tell me this whole climb up the peak was the opportunity prepared for us? If so, the Xuan family is way too stingy.”
As she spoke, Yan Luo glanced at Xuan Ke.
Chen Yuyang shook his head with a smile: “Did you really not notice?”
“Notice what?”
Yan Luo looked around blankly, still not finding anything unusual.
Chen Yuyang then raised his hand and pointed east.
The two women followed the direction of his finger.
Above the clouds, where the morning sun rose, stood a tower entirely golden, almost merging with the sunlight.
Without careful observation, one could hardly spot its existence.
“Oh—”
Yan Luo’s eyes instantly lit up.
Meanwhile, Xuan Ke was also slightly startled—only now did she notice the tower’s existence.
“This… this is where the opportunity lies?”
Xuan Ke gazed at the golden tower, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“Also, there are no restrictions on flying here.”
Chen Yuyang felt the laws of this place and said to the two women.
“Really!”
Yan Luo mobilized her spiritual energy and her body indeed lifted into the air.
She pointed excitedly at the tower: “Then what are we waiting for? Before others arrive, let’s go grab all the opportunities and then wipe everyone else out!”
Chen Yuyang shook his head, looking at Yan Luo’s expression, and couldn’t help saying: “Your appetite is quite big.”
He shook his head, and the youth said nothing more, taking the lead and flying toward the golden tower.
Yan Luo and Xuan Ke followed closely behind.
This tower, to Chen Yuyang, was nothing special.
It was a very standard trial tower, with tests on each floor; reaching a certain floor granted the corresponding rewards.
As for the rewards, from insights into laws, spiritual artifacts, to exclusive techniques, everything was available to choose from.
These items, even for a large family like the Xuan Clan, were considered quite good quality rewards, and naturally held some appeal for Yan Luo and Xuan Ke.
But for Chen Yuyang, coming here was just for the excitement.
The two women then entered the trial tower and began their respective challenges.
Chen Yuyang told them he would go later, but actually had no intention of going up.
He very simply found a spot near the base of the tower and sat down, having no intention of competing with these youngsters for something he didn’t even care about.
While waiting, Chen Yuyang was not idle.
He set up a formation to conceal his aura, then continued to perfect his Reverse Eight Trigrams formation, researching a more suitable combination method so that he could deploy it quickly in the future.
This wait lasted five days.
During these five days, other cultivators gradually reached the summit, discovered the tower, and entered one after another.
These people were all quite strong, at least above the ninth level of Gold Core realm, but after the arduous climb, their condition was not good, and they had suffered quite a bit from the wind and snow.
While studying the formation, Chen Yuyang was also secretly counting the number of climbers and which family or faction they came from.
Although Yan Luo and Xuan Ke were the first to reach the peak, they were not the fastest to come out.
The tower had many trials, and the two of them were extremely talented, obviously challenging higher floors, which cost them a lot of time.
On the other hand, some latecomers came out shortly after entering, their faces full of regret and unwillingness, obviously eliminated on lower floors.
Among them was a man wearing Yan family attire.
His cultivation was at the ninth level of Gold Core realm, and his aura was slightly disordered, obviously having sustained some injuries in the tower.
As he left the tower and prepared to fly away, Chen Yuyang’s figure moved and appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
“Fellow Daoist, please stay.”
Chen Yuyang’s voice was calm, his face wearing a smile.
The man stopped, his eyes full of wariness, his hand subconsciously pressing on the sword hilt at his waist.
He demanded in a low voice: “Who are you? What do you want?”
“Hehuan Sect, Chen Yuyang.”
Chen Yuyang calmly stated his name.
Hearing the name Chen Yuyang, the man’s eyes suddenly widened slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face: “You are Chen Yuyang!”
The man naturally knew this name.
The ancestor had secretly instructed before entering the secret realm that if they encountered a youth named Chen Yuyang, they must avoid any conflict with him and even find ways to build a good relationship.
The man had also heard a little that this Chen Yuyang had gained the favor of the young lady and might become her husband in the future.
After a brief surprise, the man quickly cupped his hands and bowed to Chen Yuyang, his tone becoming polite: “I am Yan Xin of the Yan family.”
“I know you are from the Yan family.”
Chen Yuyang nodded and said directly: “Actually, the Yan family’s eldest young lady, Yan Luo, is currently with me.”
“Oh? The eldest young lady is here too?”
Yan Xin showed surprise and quickly asked: “Where is she? Why haven’t I seen her?”
“She is not here.”
Chen Yuyang raised his hand and pointed at the golden tower behind him: “She is still in the tower undergoing trials and hasn’t come out yet. But Fellow Daoist Yan Xin should also understand that I have no reason to lie to you about this.”
Yan Xin nodded, believing him.
And since the young lady was also here, and the other party was someone the ancestor had specifically instructed to befriend, Yan Xin let down his guard and asked: “Then what matter does Fellow Daoist Chen have with me?”
“Cooperation!”
Chen Yuyang said bluntly.
“I have reached an agreement with your young lady to team up, strengthen our forces, then launch a large-scale siege on others to obtain their proof tokens.”
Chen Yuyang said succinctly.
Yan Xin’s eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he instantly understood.
In this secret realm, the proof tokens determined the final results, and going alone was obviously not as safe as banding together, especially cooperating with a prodigy like Chen Yuyang.
Thinking this, Yan Xin immediately nodded: “In that case, count me in!”
“Additionally, I know that to the northwest where I came from, the Dongfang family has already formed a team of seven or eight people. They are also going around ambushing others and snatching proof tokens. I was chased by them for a while earlier. If I hadn’t been fast, I’d probably have fallen into their hands.”
Yan Xin added, and this experience was one reason he decided to join so readily.
Chen Yuyang realized and mentally noted this intelligence.
The Dongfang family, huh.
They had formed a team of this scale in just a few days—they were well prepared.
With a nod of understanding, Chen Yuyang extended his hand to the other: “In that case, welcome, Fellow Daoist Yan!”
Yan Xin saw this and also extended his hand, shaking Chen Yuyang’s hand.