Longzang

Chapter 1031 The Greatest Dharma Assembly Under Heaven (Part 1)
By the deadline, over a thousand Dharma Aspect cultivators had registered, accompanied by more than ten thousand elders, relatives, and friends. Both in terms of the number of participants and the number of immortals present, this was a grand event rarely seen in the cultivation world in recent years.

On the first day of the conference, the immortals began by giving a sermon. This is a common practice in the cultivation world; when immortals appear, they ascend the altar to preach and guide the younger generation. The immortals will preach for three days, and then on the fourth day, the evaluation of the Dharma forms will begin.

The Azure Netherworld's array is now quite sophisticated. Cultivators don't need to appear in person; they only need to display their Dharma forms within the array, and their images will be completely recorded for the initial selection. Only those who pass the initial selection are qualified to be evaluated by the Immortal Lords.

After evaluation by the immortals, twelve immortal forms will be selected as candidates and displayed publicly at the grand assembly. However, as the saying goes, there is no first place in literature, but there is no second place in martial arts. The quality of a cultivator's form will ultimately be judged by the results of a magical duel, which will convince the public.

Therefore, the conference also set up twelve dueling platforms. If any cultivator who was not selected by the immortals was dissatisfied, they could go up on the platform to fight. After the battles, the twelve final winners could challenge the Twelve Immortal Forms. Only the twelve remaining forms after this process would be the true Twelve Immortal Forms.

This rule is quite fair, fully demonstrating the reality that might makes right in the cultivation world. Furthermore, spirit pets are prohibited from participating in this tournament to prevent any immortal from lending their mounts, or even their adoptive fathers, to their own disciples.

Before they knew it, the day of the grand assembly arrived. From the hour of the sun, the participants would begin to enter the venue. At the first light of dawn, Immortal Lord Yan Shi would ascend the altar to deliver his sermon. Then, the six Immortal Lords from the four major Immortal Sects and Immortal Ancestor Bao Zhao would take turns delivering their sermons for a total of three days. For cultivators outside of the Immortal Sects and aristocratic families, this was an immense opportunity.

The main venue, built by Wei Yuan working overtime, is large enough to accommodate 300,000 people! Besides visiting cultivators, it will also be open to cultivators within the Azure Netherworld. The venue is equipped with multiple layers of restrictions and can also replenish the spiritual energy of cultivators.

The cultivators could go for months without food or drink, but as they entered the venue one after another, they found that the place was full of waiters pushing small carts, selling drinks, snacks, and elixirs.

Some conservative cultivators felt this was disrespectful to the immortals. However, since the Immortal Lord Yan Shi hadn't said anything, these elderly mountain cultivators could only lament the decline of morality and the loss of traditional values, and then forbid their descendants from making any purchases. After all, everything in the market was quite expensive, beyond the reach of their rural ancestors.

But many nouveau riche in the city didn't think it was expensive. They bought the spirit wine by the jar, then opened and drank it first, while waiting for the immortals to preach. The old folks in the countryside smelled the aroma of the wine, but dared not say a word.

At this moment, a sliver of light suddenly appeared on the horizon, and the entire venue fell silent instantly. Then, Immortal Lord Yan Shi, accompanied by Gu Shan of Xiao Yuan, descended from the void and began to preach.

Many cultivators felt a moment of dizziness and then knew nothing more. When they awoke, they heard a Buddhist chant.

Ratnasambhava has just finished expounding the profound Dharma teachings, thus concluding the three-day Dharma talk.

The assembled patriarchs and monsters felt they understood something, yet also seemed to understand nothing at all. They didn't memorize a single word of the immortals' sermons.

At that moment, an old monster who had reached the Dao Foundation Perfection explained to the old ancestors around him: "That's how immortals transmit the Dharma. They don't put it into words. It can only be understood intuitively and cannot be explained in words! I remember when I encountered an immortal in a mountain cave and was taught an unparalleled and wonderful method. At that time, I didn't remember anything. It was only much later that I suddenly comprehended a cultivation technique, which led to my current level of cultivation!"

The elders all suddenly realized and praised him repeatedly.

At this moment, a bearded man snorted and sneered, "The immortals were speaking of the true essence of the Great Dao, not the late stage of the Dharma Form or the initial formation of the Mind Form World. You can't possibly listen to that. So you've just been sleeping for three days! Besides, what kind of miscellaneous immortals would be in such a miserable state that they have to go to desolate mountains and caves to find a successor?"

The elders were all stunned, while the old monster who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage had a flushed face and looked ready to attack. He said, "I have never met you before, why are you humiliating us? Don't even think about leaving today without leaving your name! After the conference, I will seek justice!"

The bearded man lazily rose and said, "I am Li Ye, also known as the Great Wilderness Spear Saint! I'm off to participate in the Dharma Aspect Contest. If you're not satisfied, you're welcome to come up on stage and fight me anytime. Oh, by the way, you don't have any Dharma Aspects yet. Would you like me to lend you a few?"

The old monster, who had reached the peak of his Dao Foundation, was so angry that he roared and shouted that a scholar could be killed but not humiliated, and that he would die today! He was determined to fight to the death, but his disciples and followers held him back tightly, and he could not get away.

Li Ye didn't press the matter, laughed heartily, and left on his own.

At that moment, a crane's cry echoed through the sky, and the venue split into eight sections. Each section, carrying tens of thousands of spectators, slowly moved outwards, like flower petals unfolding to reveal the vast central area. Then, twelve beams of light descended from the void, illuminating the twelve jade platforms that rose in the center of the venue.

Then a graceful figure descended from the sky, her eyes sparkling with beauty, captivating all the elders!

Countless children who secluded themselves from the world and practiced asceticism had never seen such a beauty before. They were all stunned and speechless, their minds filled with pure white truth, without a trace of impurity.

Her melodious and gentle voice resounded throughout the hall as she said, "Greetings, esteemed cultivators. I am Princess Ningguo of the Great Zhao Kingdom, and I have come here specifically to preside over this grand event. Next, we will proceed with the selection of the twelve candidates for the Immortal Ministers by all the Immortal Lords."

This was the part that all the cultivators had been looking forward to. At that moment, hundreds of people were breathing heavily, all hoping to see their own Dharma images on the jade platform.

Princess Ningguo recited: "The immortal sword soars into the sky, shattering illusions; the radiant sun shines, illuminating the Dao! The next manifestation we will see is 'Star Lord holding a sword, the sun shining brightly in the sky'!"

On the first jade platform, Shaoyang Xingjun, holding the immortal sword Da Ri, descended from the sky and slowly landed in the center of the jade platform!

A few knowledgeable cultivators were so shocked that they stood up instantly, speechless.

The appearance of a Star Lord's official star in a Dharma image is extremely rare. If one cultivates this Dharma image successfully, it is very likely that one can cultivate a Star Lord's avatar with boundless power! This Dharma image cannot be simply described as a divine appearance.

The hall fell silent instantly, the cultivators all somewhat bewildered. They had all been brimming with confidence, but who would have thought the first to appear would be a Star Lord's avatar? How could they possibly compete now? When did the path to immortality become so perilous?

Although many immortals were not present at such a grand event, they all had their own methods to watch it in real time.

High in the void stood a floating island, adorned with colorful flowers and jade trees. An immortal, with a face so exquisite it was difficult to discern gender, looked down and smiled, "With this Dharma form, this child will surely surpass me in the future. Hahaha, I'll try to live a few more years, and when this child ascends to immortality, our Xiao family will have two immortals—a truly remarkable story!" Beside him stood a group of Xiao family elders, among whom only Xiao Nian possessed a perfect Dharma form. The immortal looked at him and said, "You also need to work hard. Stop with your useless acts of chivalry! Your cultivation is about to be surpassed by this grandson; aren't you ashamed?"

"Don't be ashamed!" Xiao Nian, a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, was now laughing so hard that his eyes were no longer visible.

On the other side of the void stood a majestic immortal exuding righteousness—it was none other than Song Cui Immortal Ancestor Cui Zhengxing. He snorted, his face darkening, and glared at Cui Chengxiao beside him before slowly saying, "If it weren't for all the mess you've made of, wouldn't I have a place to preach on this platform today?"

Choi Sung-hyo lowered his head, not daring to say another word.

In the hall, Princess Ningguo recited again: "Twin claws rise from the earth like fire, one tail supports the sky and tilts! The second candidate for Immortal Minister is 'Desolate Ancestor Crimson Scorpion'!"

As she chanted, a giant scorpion carrying a cauldron of cinnabar descended from the sky!

This scorpion was enormous, its entire body flowing with earth fire, seemingly formed from molten lava. Even stranger, it stood on crimson ground, while a huge alchemy furnace on its back spewed out puffs of three-colored alchemical vapor.

This scorpion is extremely ferocious and extremely venomous. Yet, within its extreme venom, it seems to nurture a spiritual elixir, making it a truly rare and vicious creature! Many cultivators, upon merely glancing at it, immediately felt as if their eyes had been scorched by raging fire, and tears streamed down their faces on the spot.

The knowledgeable cultivators, still greatly surprised, explained to those around them that this Dharma form had probably attained the true meaning of the Great Dao, which was why even a glance at it, despite being separated by layers of array restrictions, almost resulted in injury.

Many cultivators secretly thought that although this scorpion seemed slightly weaker than the Star Lord, if it came to a real fight, they would still prefer to choose the Star Lord. After all, the Star Lord was spiritually connected, and if they knelt down and begged for mercy in time, they might still be spared.

The third manifestation was the Jade Pool Fairy with a sword. All the cultivators breathed a sigh of relief, finally seeing a manifestation that was still within the realm of normal understanding.

This Dharma form is balanced and harmonious, sharp yet gentle, without any weaknesses. It was originally an extremely powerful Dharma form, clearly a top-tier form of the Sword Palace, but compared to the two mentioned earlier, it suddenly seems unremarkable.

Then the fourth Dharma form appeared, which turned out to be the Wasteland Nether Dragon!

The Nether Dragon is already extremely rare, and when combined with the wasteland, its power is amplified even further. What's even more perplexing is, what kind of person, and with what kind of state of mind, could cultivate such a Dharma form?

When the third Dharma appearance appeared, the practitioners, who had finally managed to speak, fell silent once again.

However, unbeknownst to everyone, the true form of the Dharma Image was also thinking to himself that this Dharma Image was purely something that had been forcibly created. Who could have imagined that an ordinary battlefield duel could result in someone being forced to take the Dao Seed of an immortal?

The fifth image is a magnificent hall that commands the world, its pillars made of ancient trees that would take several people to encircle, and its thatched roof weighed down with stone slabs. Though simple, it is extremely majestic, exuding an aura of antiquity!

Then a legendary sword belonging to the King of Men descended from the sky and was planted in front of the hall.

Although the palace doors were tightly closed and no one knew what was inside, discerning cultivators had already recognized that this palace was the palace of an ancient human king.

Therefore, upon seeing this Dharma form, the expressions of many cultivators who had served as officials in the Nine Kingdoms changed. If it weren't for Qingming, simply cultivating such a Dharma form would be considered utterly despicable!
The stark contrast between the Wasteland Nether Dragon and the Ancient Palace of the Human King left the cultivators breathless. The twelve immortal forms had only been revealed for less than half, yet they already far exceeded the limits of the imagination of many patriarchs and monsters. Even if they were drunk and boasted until their deaths, they could never conjure up such a form.

The sixth image was of a handsome, simple-looking monk, carrying water and gathering firewood in the mountains. He carried water in one hand and firewood in the other, returning to a small thatched temple to light a fire, cook porridge, chant scriptures, and worship Buddha—all natural and ordinary. After witnessing the terrifying images before, this sudden, natural scene brought a sense of relief to everyone; they could finally breathe a sigh of relief and have a chat.

However, some knowledgeable cultivators told everyone that anything related to baldness, the more ordinary it seems, the more extraordinary it is. This is baldness's old trick.

So the elders continued to be awe-inspiring, afraid of saying the wrong thing and getting into some kind of karmic entanglement.

At this moment, two ugly-looking cultivators appeared outside the venue. The young female cultivator seemed very nervous, but the male cultivator remained relatively calm and handed over two tickets. The ticket inspector checked the tickets and discovered that these two were also registered Dharma Aspect cultivators. Therefore, he became more respectful and allowed them to enter the venue.

Entering the venue, seeing the six enormous Dharma forms that had already appeared, and looking at the unprecedentedly large venue and the sea of ​​people, the young female cultivator became visibly more nervous. She subconsciously grabbed the male cultivator's arm and said, "Are we really going to... go up on stage and compete? In a place like this? Compete against these monsters?"

The male cultivator said, "Don't be afraid, our disguise is flawless! And my second best brother has already blessed us with the grass growing on his head for the next thirty years!"

The female cultivator's voice trembled slightly: "But... aren't we just courting death by dressing up so beautifully?"

The male cultivator pointed to the twelve enormous dueling platforms in the arena and gritted his teeth, saying, "Don't be afraid! See those dueling platforms? At this moment, that's where the destiny of this world converges! We must stand on them today no matter what, otherwise, the future of the world will be completely irrelevant to us!"
I refuse to accept my fate, so I'm determined to fight! Even if I die, I'd rather die a glorious death! At least future generations will remember our beautiful figure today!

The female cultivator finally calmed down, revealing a look of resignation in her eyes, and nodded vigorously.

She then thought of something and casually asked, "It's been a long time since I've heard you mention your best friend. How is he?"

The male cultivator was somewhat uncertain and said, "I guess... they're all gone?"

(End of this chapter)