Longzang

Chapter 1030 The Greatest Dharma Assembly Under Heaven (Part 1)
As May arrived, news of the World's Number One Dharma Form Conference spread like wildfire. Many promising young cultivators couldn't sit still and prepared to go to Qingming to see the heroes of the world. But deep down, they mainly wanted to show everyone their unparalleled Dharma Form.

As a result, many Dao Foundation Ancestors who had been cultivating in seclusion in the deep mountains for many years led their genius Dharma Aspect disciples out of the mountains and headed to Qingming, preparing to make their names known throughout the world.

In early May, the rules for the Dharma Assembly were successively released and disseminated throughout the land through publications in various regions. This assembly will select twelve immortals, and the backgrounds, life stories, and deeds of the selected cultivators will be printed in a special publication and distributed throughout the land.

In addition, the standards for the four levels of Dharma Aspects—Immortal, Heaven, Earth, and Human—will be announced. All cultivators who are rated as Earth Aspect or above and are under one hundred years old will be granted the status of outer disciples of the Primordial Palace or the Sword Palace. Those with Heaven Aspect can be directly admitted to the sect, and those with Immortal Aspect will have the opportunity to directly become disciples of immortals.

Among the twelve immortal forms, the one with the best form in the world will be selected, and the prize money will be one million green coins.

A separate Young Hidden Dragon Award is established, specifically for ranking Dharma images under the age of 100.

The event also included many extra activities, such as the "Catching a Son-in-Law" ceremony when the results were announced. This was a special event for powerful and influential families to wait and capture promising and handsome young men, bring them home, and force them into marriage.

To ensure everyone's trip was worthwhile, Wei Yuan also offered free etiquette and grooming services for the participating cultivators, as well as emergency talent training for a fee, and even the free rental of valuable robes, so that everyone would arrive happily and be captured smoothly.

In mid-May, the list of judges was announced, and it was none other than Immortal Lord Yan Shi, Palace Master of Tai Chu Palace; Immortal Lord Bai, Palace Master of Jian Palace; Immortal Ancestor Bao Jia; and Immortal Ancestor Zhao Li. With the four great immortals present, the twelve immortal forms they selected were naturally well-deserved, and the first Dharma Form should be the popular choice... right?

When it comes to the first Dharma form, many people feel that they are the true number one in their own specific field.

Starting in May, independent cultivators and nearby cultivators began arriving in Qingming. All four major immortal sects had confirmed their participation. The Four Saints Academy originally planned to have several Imperial Realm experts lead the delegation, but unexpectedly, the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land sent Bodhisattva Baosheng from the South.

Bodhisattva Ratnasambhava has been cultivating the Five Buddhahoods and has already glimpsed the Great Path. She is expected to attain the Southern Buddhahood in a few generations. For the past thousand years, she has been practicing in seclusion in the Great Pure Land of Treasure Flower and has hardly ever ventured into the world. No one expected that she would appear at this time and come to participate in the Dharma Assembly.

With all three major immortal sects dispatching their immortals, the academy had no choice but to urgently change its arrangements, inviting the Duke Yansheng, who had been diligently cultivating his literary mind, to lead the team, lest it be outdone.

The World's Number One Dharma Assembly was originally a spur-of-the-moment idea of ​​Wei Yuan, intended to build up some prestige for his brothers and sisters. Unexpectedly, it has grown bigger and bigger and is now completely out of control.

Fortunately, the bustling world of all realms is now more functional than the human world, handling large-scale events with ease. In the blink of an eye, it has formulated detailed rules according to Wei Yuan's wishes and directly assigned the tasks to each person.

As a result, hundreds of thousands of related staff members were given specific and detailed tasks, and everyone was doing their own work. Many tasks also had strict time constraints, and could not be done early or late.

Hundreds of thousands of people, like a circle of ants with superpowers, cooperated seamlessly with each other, and in just a few days, they established a complete support system from registration and medical examination to check-in.

Wei Yuan also set up dozens of forums of various sizes, which were available for a fee, for the patriarchs and monsters of various sects to preach their doctrines and showcase their disciples.

By the end of May, Qingming had become extremely lively, with cultivators gathering in droves, showing signs of becoming the grandest event in the cultivation world.

During this period, some rural cultivators lost control of their divine sense and began to scan everywhere, trying to see things they shouldn't have. As a result, they triggered a counterattack and were all seriously injured.

The Azure Realm was now teeming with immortals, its scenery like a forest. A group of earth-based cultivators unleashed their divine senses, sweeping through the area with devastating force, akin to burning a tiger's tail or plucking a lion's whiskers. The fact that they managed to injure but not kill them was already a sign of mercy, given Wei Yuan's presence.

Finally, Wei Yuan had no choice but to urgently issue a notice listing a series of prohibited behaviors, specifically stating that one's divine sense must not stray more than ten feet from one's body. The notice clearly stated that there were highly skilled cultivators proficient in causal incantations; offending them would not cause immediate harm, but would result in an unexplained death some time later.

After the warning, the reckless behavior decreased significantly, but some people still couldn't control their divine sense and wanted to explore everywhere. Wei Yuan couldn't understand these people's abstract behavior, so he could only mobilize the power of the Fourth Cave Heaven and unleash several powerful lightning tribulations to let them experience the taste of heavenly tribulation in advance.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, June arrived in the blink of an eye, and the Dharma Assembly was just three days away.

At this moment, an ordinary-looking cultivator hurried to the registration desk to register for the Dharma Assembly. Less than half an hour remained until the deadline, but the Qingming staff remained diligent and showed no sign of slackening.

Immediately, someone handed over a form, asking the ordinary cultivator to register his name, place of origin, identity information, and the name he used when traveling the martial world.

The monk's eyes gleamed, and his brush moved swiftly and powerfully as he wrote on the spot: "Li Zhi, a native of Yanzhou in the Northern Qi Dynasty, is known as the master of both swords and cauldrons."

One of the staff members chuckled, "Senior brother is actually from Yanzhou?" The ordinary cultivator shrugged, "What's wrong?"

The staff member immediately changed their accent: "Well, we're also from Yanzhou..."

The ordinary-looking man, feigning sudden realization, felt he had struck a connection and stepped forward. The two immediately engaged in a lively chat, instantly adopting the posture of becoming sworn brothers. Fortunately, another staff member impatiently reminded him, "Stop with the small talk, hurry up and register! Guess what will happen when the system closes? Let me tell you, nobody will be able to log in then, and you'll have nowhere to cry!"

Yan Zhou's swordsman, Ding Jian, quickly submitted the form. Then, the staff handed him another piece of paper, pointed to the magic circle next to him, and said, "Stand in the magic circle, release your protective magic power, and read the words on the paper."

Li Zhi, an ordinary cultivator, stepped into the magic array. A beam of light shone down from above, and he held up a piece of white paper, reading aloud: "I, Li Zhi of Yanzhou, confirm that all the information submitted is true and accurate, and that there has been no intentional concealment or omission. If any incorrect information has been submitted, I am willing to bear all the consequences and accept the punishment..."

As the incantation was being recited, the magic array flashed briefly, then fell silent again.

The staff assumed it was due to insufficient power supply from the magic array and didn't pay much attention. After Li Zhi left the magic array, they handed him a stack of documents containing a schedule, precautions, prohibitions, accommodation information, places to buy various affordable pills, and information on high-efficiency cultivation rooms priced according to different efficiency levels.

After receiving the information, Li Zhi let out a long laugh and said with delight, "Brothers, watch closely! In three days, it will be the day when I, Li Zhi, become famous throughout the land! The Twelve Immortals will be my for the taking!"

One of the staff members said irritably, "We're off work! You'd better find somewhere to rest. I've heard that more than ten times today!"

Li Zhi, looking completely unsophisticated, was first taken aback, and then had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

After he walked away, several staff members said, "These folk cultivators who popped up out of some remote mountain forest are really something! Do they think they can cultivate an unparalleled Dharma form just by picking up a secret manual and digging a cave as their dwelling place?"

"A cultivator from the common people is a cultivator from the common people! Those disciples from the major sects never boast in the human world, they only care about doing dirty tricks behind people's backs."

"Alright, alright, stop talking about them. At least they are Dharma Images, while the rest of us are just templates."

"What's wrong with the Dharma Form? Outside the Azure Netherworld, everyone is an Earth Cultivator!"

As soon as Li Zhi stepped out of the registration point, a lewd-looking cultivator approached him and said, "Senior brother, how about placing a bet and playing a few rounds? This booklet lists the most popular candidates for Immortal Aspect cultivators. If you bet on them correctly, it's a chance to make a fortune!"

Li Zhi opened the roster and saw that there were more than thirty people listed, with detailed descriptions of their appearance, characteristics, and abilities. Each person's name was also followed by their odds.

After reading it from beginning to end, Li Zhi's face darkened, and he said, "Why isn't my family mentioned? Who are you looking down on! I'll bet myself, one hundred taels!"

As he spoke, Li Zhi took out a large piece of immortal silver from his animal-skin money bag and stuffed it into the man's hand. The lewd cultivator immediately wrote down Li Zhi's name. The booklet was actually a magic artifact; as soon as Li Zhi's name was filled in, detailed registration information appeared, listing Li Zhi's Dharma form: a sword and a cauldron, with a wooden board underneath.

The unassuming cultivator, though plain-looking, possessed an expert eye. He immediately wrote down the odds after Li Zhi's name: 1 to 1000.

Li Zhi immediately beamed and said, "You guys have good taste. These guys over there are only paying out 1 to 3 or 1 to 4, which is obviously much worse than mine."

"That's it, that's it!"

Li Zhi accepted the warrant and walked contentedly towards his residence. Halfway there, he vanished into thin air and returned to the Immortal City Palace, revealing his true form as the Lord of the Azure Netherworld.

This grand event was unprecedented, and Wei Yuan could not let such a good opportunity slip by. He prepared to make a stunning appearance and give these arrogant fellows a good beating. Among the Dharma images he specially prepared, the sword was the Scarlet Night Immortal-Slaying Sword, the cauldron was transformed from the green lamp in front of the Buddha in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and even the wooden planks were taken from the main trunk of the Jianmu tree.

With three divine items offered, Wei Yuan wanted to see who could rival him.

(End of this chapter)