The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 528 The "Ascension to Immortality" Gathering in Zhongnan Mountain

Time flies, but we move forward steadfastly.

Martial artists from the Song Dynasty, as well as from the Liao, Western Xia, and Tibetan kingdoms in the Western Regions, were all alarmed by a sudden piece of news and began to flock to the Central Plains.

The once peaceful and tranquil Zhongnan Mountain has been turned into a chaotic mess by an increasing number of martial arts practitioners.

Gangs from different countries, already rife with unsavory conflicts, are now particularly hostile towards each other.

With only two or three months left until the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, these people thought, "Why not seize the day? Let's take advantage of this rare opportunity to settle things with our enemies first."
Soon, the idea in my mind was put into action.

In an instant, weapons were drawn and the fighting became fierce.

But it was quickly stopped by someone.

There is no other way.

There were too many martial arts practitioners coming to Zhongnan Mountain. The place was a mixed bag, with good and evil intertwined. The two gangs that started fighting were quickly wiped out by others who took advantage of the chaos.

The remaining people, seeing this, realized that things had gotten out of hand and quickly abandoned their fighting intentions.

They were also afraid that in the chaotic fighting, they would be caught in the crossfire and die without knowing why.

Renowned figures in the martial arts world and leaders of various gangs stepped forward, united to uphold justice and maintain order, and finally managed to quell the chaos in Zhongnan Mountain.

However, with tens of thousands of martial arts practitioners gathered together, the expenses for food, drink, and other necessities were enormous.

Merchants and villagers in nearby cities, villages, and markets took risks to transport grain, wine, and food, making a fortune.

Once the news spread, even more people brought food and drinks.

Soon after, more than a dozen markets sprang up at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain, consisting of simple tents, crude wooden houses, and ground stalls.

All the businesses inside were extremely prosperous, and their profits were abundant.

Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were just basic necessities; other professions followed, such as women selling smiles, men selling horses, and blacksmiths selling weapons.

Not only were the crowds surging during the day, but the candlelight blazed on even at night, never going out.

The distorted development of business has led to a distorted prosperity.

At the same time, it inevitably gave rise to a lot of darkness.

On the surface, numerous sects and gangs form an alliance, prohibiting people from fighting and killing each other.

But in the shadows, where ordinary people cannot see, ambushes and assassinations often occur.

Those who practice martial arts are all vigorous and have a combative nature.

Especially when they are enraged, they will not care about anything else, draw their swords and charge at their opponents.

Regarding private fights and assassinations, the allied gangs could only issue warnings and remain vigilant, but they could not completely eliminate them.

However, it is already a great blessing that overt security can be basically maintained.

Amidst the chaos, other gangs continued to arrive.

The abbot of Shaolin Temple personally led more than a dozen monks to Zhongnan Mountain and settled in a nearby town.

Upon hearing the news, the leading figures in the sect alliance immediately went to pay a visit.

As the leading figure in the martial arts world of the Song Dynasty, Shaolin Temple deserves all the respect they can show it.

The incredible news that recently came from Shaolin Temple has made many people want to get closer and find out if there really is such a peerless master in Shaolin Temple.
The new abbot of Shaolin Temple gave a watertight answer, but left some open-ended questions for people to ponder and imagine.

The Beggars' Sect was the major martial arts sect that came to Zhongnan Mountain after the Shaolin Temple.

After losing Qiao Feng, the renowned leader of the Beggars' Clan, the clan's prestige declined.

If the Western Xia First-Class Hall hadn't also lost sight of the Four Evils, the Beggars' Sect probably wouldn't be having an easy time.

Even so, people continued to visit the Beggars' Sect, and many also wanted to find out about Xiao Feng's recent situation from the Beggars' Sect disciples.

However, very few people knew about the sudden disappearance of Xiao Feng and his son, and Murong Fu and his son, during their fight, and those people would never leak the information about the four of them.

The members of the Xixia Yipintang broke into smaller groups and quietly infiltrated the market near Zhongnan Mountain. They occasionally encountered Beggar Clan disciples, but they restrained each other and did not make a move.

The reason why the Western Xia Yipintang did not take action was because this place was within the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, and there were too many martial arts figures from the Great Song Dynasty gathered here, so they were wary.

The Beggars' Sect members often fought and killed the people of the Western Xia First-Class Hall, and were extremely familiar with them. However, the people of the Western Xia First-Class Hall were now scattered in different places, so even if they took action, they could not wipe them all out.

Therefore, why alert the enemy and cause unnecessary casualties?

A few days later, Duan Zhengchun, the Prince of Zhennan of Dali Kingdom, led his four generals and some guards to Zhongnan Mountain.

The One-Finger Divine Skill of the Duan family of Dali was also famous throughout the world. Many people wanted to visit him, but they could never find him.

Upon asking the guards, they learned that Prince Duan often went out on business, but they did not know his specific destination or purpose.

But did those guards really have no idea what their lord had gone out to do?!

But that's not entirely true.

Many things have happened in the past two years, and they now know that their prince had a lot of romantic entanglements when he was young.

But those women, though beautiful and delicious, are hard to digest.

The reason why our prince came to Zhongnan Mountain to join in the fun was definitely not because he really wanted to participate in any "Ascension to Immortality" gathering; his main purpose was to pursue the women who were pursuing him.

The reason he's been going out every day and not coming home at night is because he's been secretly meeting with those women.

As for whether their prince could ultimately handle those women, the guards were somewhat confident.

They took this for granted.

The women Duan Zhengchun provoked were all capricious and highly skilled in martial arts. They were jealous of each other and often fought.

Under normal circumstances, it would be absolutely impossible for Duan Zhengchun to subdue them.

Unless it's a life-or-death situation!!!

In the story, Duan Zhengchun and his several women ultimately die at the hands of Duan Yanqing and Murong Fu.

Nowadays, the four villains have long been separated by Xu Xingchen. Some are dead, some are injured, some are barely surviving, and some have retired to protect their children.
Murong Fu, having been invited by Xu Xingchen to lend him a hand, had neither the inclination nor the reason to cause trouble for Duan Zhengchun.

Therefore, Duan Zhengchun and his women in this world should be safe.

Several days later, the martial arts practitioners gathered in Zhongnan Mountain suddenly heard news from elsewhere: Ding Chunqiu, the Old Monster of the Xingxiu Sect, had also arrived in the Central Plains.

However, instead of coming directly to Zhongnan Mountain, he went to Doctor Xue's residence, hoping to capture him, but he found nothing.

The house of Doctor Xue was empty; his whereabouts were unknown.

Later, Ding Chunqiu, the Old Monster of the Star Constellation, led his disciples to search for other people, but they came up empty-handed time and time again.

They eventually went to Leigu Mountain to look for Su Xinghe, the wise and eloquent master of the Deaf-Mute Sect, but still couldn't find him.

According to several martial arts figures who happened to be passing by at the time, Ding Chunqiu let out a long howl, which was filled with undisguised anger and murderous intent.

It seems that Ding Chunqiu, the Old Monster of the Star Constellation, has a great hatred for that Mr. Congbian.

However, Mr. Congbian and Doctor Xue had received the news early on and avoided him.

The various speculations circulating in the martial arts world are half right and half wrong.

First, it's not that Ding Chunqiu, the Old Monster of the Starry Constellation Sect, and Su Xinghe, the Master of the Deaf and Mute Sect, have a grudge; rather, it's that Su Xinghe has a grudge against Ding Chunqiu.

Secondly, Su Xinghe did not avoid Ding Chunqiu because he received advance notice, but was brought to Dayu Manor by Xu Xingchen early on.

Third, when Wu Yazi's serious injuries were healed, Su Xinghe was overjoyed and in high spirits. No longer afraid of Ding Chunqiu coming to seek revenge, he immediately issued a summons to the eight disciples he had expelled from the sect, ordering them to go to Dayu Manor outside Gusu City and return to his sect.

That's why Ding Chunqiu repeatedly came up empty-handed and couldn't find a single person.

Just as the group of martial arts practitioners in Zhongnan Mountain were discussing Ding Chunqiu, Ding Chunqiu also arrived at Zhongnan Mountain.

"The Starry Sky Immortal possesses boundless magical power, is invincible in attack and unbeatable in battle."

"The Starry Sky Immortal, a divine being who reigns over the Central Plains, possesses great supernatural powers and boundless magical strength."

"The Starry Sky Immortal possesses boundless magical power, enjoys eternal immortal blessings, and lives as long as the heavens."

Accompanied by the clanging of gongs and drums, three shouts, a cacophony of sounds, rose into the sky and echoed for miles around.

The martial arts practitioners walking through the market, or the martial arts masters eating and drinking tea in the restaurants and teahouses on both sides, all turned their heads to look in the direction from which the sound came.

Soon, they saw a large procession approaching from the end of the road.

Dozens of men and women dressed in flowing white robes, carrying more than a dozen musical instruments such as bells, drums, flutes, and sheng, walked slowly in a long procession as the gongs and drums resounded.

Further back, the men and women in white had bamboo flower baskets wrapped in gold thread hanging from their left arms. With their other hands, they reached into the baskets, grabbed handfuls of colorful petals, and tossed them into the sky.

In the center of the procession, sixteen tall and strong men carried a huge carriage with flowing white gauze, striding forward.

The enormous carriage was made of precious sandalwood, and its faint, elegant sandalwood scent wafted through the air, spreading to both sides of the street.

Carriage shaft, pillar, and sedan chair roof.
The carvings on it depict a white-bearded deity sitting on a high platform, receiving the worship of men, women, and children below.

In those patterns, whether it is an old immortal with white hair and beard or a mortal worshipping, their appearances are all clearly and vividly carved.

It looks as if it was sculpted based on a real person.

Four white gauze curtains hung down around the carriage, their edges fluttering lightly in the wind, occasionally revealing an old man inside with white clothes, white hair, and a white beard, but with a kind and childlike face, and an ethereal aura.

"The Starry Sky Immortal possesses boundless magical power, enjoys eternal immortal blessings, and lives as long as the heavens."

Accompanied by loud and clear slogans, the carriage was followed by disciples dressed in various colors.

They shouted slogans that were too embarrassing to utter aloud, with serious and proud expressions on their faces.

They are not ashamed, but proud!

The Old Monster of Xingxiu has been famous in the martial arts world for decades. His unparalleled poison skills and power-dissolving techniques have made countless martial arts practitioners tremble with fear and retreat in fear.

Therefore, no one in the market dared to block the way of this group of people.

Wherever the procession went, it was like a speedboat cutting through the waves, and passersby in front of it all retreated to both sides.

Some greenhorns, new to the game, didn't believe that the Starry Night Monster was as terrifying as rumored, and were eager to test him out. However, they were all forcefully suppressed by their panicked elders who slapped the back of their heads.

You're just asking for death, but once you provoke that old monster Xingxiu, your families, gangs, and sects will likely suffer.

The formidable reputation of the Star Constellation Old Monster wasn't earned by simply shouting a few slogans, but by truly fighting his way to victory.

The Xingxiu faction's procession paraded through the city, shouting slogans so loudly that countless people avoided them.

When they were halfway there, a few drunken lads came out of the tavern and staggered to the middle of the street, blocking the Xingxiu Sect's path.

The drunkards, their eyes glazed over and their reactions slow, were completely unaware that something was amiss.

The air was filled with the cacophony of gongs and drums, the sounds of zithers and lutes, and some shouts that sounded utterly shameful.

Among the group of drunken thugs, one couldn't help but shout, "Where did this bastard come from, making such a commotion? Stop it right now, uh, no, shut up!"

The group of martial arts practitioners who had retreated to the sides were shocked to hear the reckless and suicidal behavior of a few drunkards, and they all turned their gazes toward the group.

A strange light flickered in his eyes, as if he was expecting something.

The next moment, their expectations came true.

Not seeing anyone from the Xingxiu Sect make a move, the drunkards suddenly began scratching themselves frantically, and soon collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain.

The surrounding martial arts practitioners watched helplessly as those unfortunate fellows, in their agonizing cries and screams, tore their clothes apart and scratched the skin beneath.

Instead of blood flowing or splattering from those wounds, puffs of white smoke rose from them, accompanied by the hissing sound of flesh and blood corroding.

"Ah~~~~!"

"Help! Help me!"

Amidst agonizing screams, the unfortunate men quickly had their flesh melt away, revealing their stark white bones.

Thick, pungent white smoke billowed and filled the air, and the screams of pain abruptly ceased.

The bones didn't last long either; in just a few breaths, they all softened and turned into water along with the melting flesh.

In the blink of an eye, several living, breathing martial arts heroes were reduced to puddles on the ground, leaving only a few tattered clothes as proof that they had just existed.

Those around who witnessed this terrifying scene gasped in shock, feeling a chill creep up their spines and down to the back of their heads.

Some people couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "It's... corpse-dissolving water!"

(End of this chapter)