A deafening roar echoed across the heavens and earth.
Gazing at the starlight filling the sky, everyone’s mind went blank as they froze in place.
The Nine Stars Aligned!
Unprecedented in history!
Looking across the entire history of the Qingshan Sect, the ninth star stone on the Qingxuan Pillar had never once lit up.
Yet today, that ninth star stone was shining.
At this moment, even the seven peak masters felt their lips tremble, finding the scene before them entirely unreal.
They exchanged glances, but none of them spoke.
"Whoosh!"
The next instant, as if by prior agreement, they all descended in unison right in front of Qin Xuan.
Standing before Qin Xuan, they could no longer maintain their lofty, superior postures.
"Little fellow... not bad, not bad." Li Wushuang, the master of Potian Peak, looked Qin Xuan over and nodded with satisfaction.
The other peak masters also wore excited expressions, eagerly trying to get into Qin Xuan's good graces.
"Kid, you look a lot like my eldest grandson. You've got such a familiar face," Danyangzi said with a beaming smile.
As soon as those words left his mouth, the expressions of everyone else twitched.
*You old bastard,* they thought, *your grandson has probably been dead for who knows how many years, and you've likely forgotten what he even looked like.*
"Qin Xuan pays his respects to the peak masters."
Qin Xuan bowed to each of them in turn, remaining neither servile nor overbearing.
"I'm done for, completely done for... I've offended a peerless genius brought forth by the Nine Stars Aligned!"
The young man who had previously been accepted as a disciple by the elder of Jianding Peak stared at the seven peak masters standing not far away, his face pale and his body trembling uncontrollably.
Overcome with regret and terror, he worried that Qin Xuan would seek revenge.
If Qin Xuan so much as casually mentioned his earlier actions to these peak masters...
By then, not even his own master could save him.
After all, even his master was currently bowing before the seven peak masters...
Yet the young man was clearly overthinking it.
From start to finish, Qin Xuan didn't even spare him a single glance.
"You're called Qin Xuan? What a fine name. Come to Kaitian Peak! I am Yuan Tianba, master of Kaitian Peak, and a practitioner of the Xuanji Realm. If you join us, I will personally instruct you," Yuan Tianba said, patting Qin Xuan on the shoulder with a laugh.
These words immediately drew sidelong glances from the other peak masters.
*What on earth does the name 'Qin Xuan' have to do with joining your Kaitian Peak?* they thought. *Shameless to the extreme.*
Deeply disgusted by Yuan Tianba's shamelessness, the others hurried to pitch their own peaks.
"I am Li Wushuang, master of Potian Peak. I can see you have a natural sword physique—you are best suited for swordsmanship. Come to Potian Peak."
Narrowing his eyes, Li Wushuang grabbed Qin Xuan's hand as if ready to drag him away on the spot.
"This fellow says that to everyone. Don't listen to him, Qin Xuan! Your bones are exceptionally strong, so you belong in my Body Refining Peak!" Gu Jin snatched Qin Xuan right back out of Li Wushuang's grip, glaring at the latter with deep suspicion.
"Come to Jianding Peak instead..." The master of Jianding Peak stepped forward, offering a warm welcome.
Upon hearing this, the young man from earlier nearly collapsed to the ground.
If Qin Xuan ended up joining Jianding Peak, his life from then on would certainly be worse than death.
Fortunately, faced with invitations from all seven peak masters, Qin Xuan did not make an immediate choice.
To him, these so-called great peaks made very little difference.
After all, he had come to the Qingshan Sect simply to find a suitable place to cultivate and acquire resources.
"Qin Xuan? What are your thoughts? Speak freely," Yuan Tianba said, waving a hand to quiet everyone down when he saw Qin Xuan lingering.
"That's right, Qin Xuan. Rest assured, we won't force you into anything against your will. Follow your heart and make your choice; no one will give you a hard time," Danyangzi added with a smile.
Qin Xuan gave a slight nod, pressing his lips together as he prepared to make his decision.
"Clang!"
Right at that moment, deep within the Qingshan Sect, the great peaks began to glow.
An ethereal voice drifted over from the depths of the sect.
"Tianling Peak is opening its gates to accept disciples. Qin Xuan, you may enter my sect."
The voice sounded like spring water and fairy music, remarkably captivating.
It was merely a simple sentence, yet it left everyone present in a state of trance.
Just then, a graceful woman in white descended gracefully through the air.
In her wake, immortal light swirled, drifting like falling snow.
Amidst the celestial radiance, the woman in white slowly landed before Qin Xuan.
Dressed in white as pure as snow, her three thousand strands of dark hair rose and fell with her movements, accentuating her breathtaking curves.
Gazing at the woman before them, everyone was dumbfounded.
"I never imagined even *she* would be stirred from seclusion!"
"Who on earth is she?"
"What a frog at the bottom of a well—you don't even recognize her? That is the most mysterious master of Tianling Peak!"
"Well, you just said she's the most mysterious, so of course I wouldn't know her..."
"Still, she is unimaginably beautiful... I have never laid eyes on anyone so gorgeous."
"..."
The crowd whispered among themselves, their discussion naturally centered upon this mysterious master of Tianling Peak.
Meanwhile, Qin Xuan's gaze was likewise captured by the woman before him.
With skin as smooth as congealed fat and standing barefoot like a heavenly maiden descending to the mortal realm, her beauty was peerless and transcendent.
Qin Xuan traced her exquisite, curvaceous figure upward.
Above a swan-like snow-white neck was a face of near-perfection...
Even Qin Xuan found himself momentarily dazed.
The woman was currently looking over Qin Xuan as well. Noticing his unbridled gaze, she showed no sign of annoyance; instead, the corners of her rosy lips curved upward as she shot him a sidelong glance.
Their eyes met.
"Hum!"
At that very moment, Qin Xuan felt a slight jolt in his chest and raised an eyebrow.
He discovered that the small black pagoda within his body had begun to tremble faintly.
Though the pagoda quickly fell still once more, Qin Xuan had still caught it with acute sensitivity.
*Could it be?* Qin Xuan thought to himself, forming a few preliminary guesses.
He was just about to say something when a sudden voice from the sky interrupted his thoughts.
"Hahaha... I was wondering why the Great Dao was so exceptionally clear today. So a peerless genius has arrived at our Qingshan Sect!"
A beam of pure light spanned the sky like a heavenly bridge, connecting their current location to a majestic peak deep within the Qingshan Sect.
Immediately afterward, a figure stepped onto the ray of light and drifted gracefully toward them.
The moment they saw that figure, everyone's expressions shifted drastically.
Especially the members of the Qingshan Sect, who stood rooted to the spot in utter shock.
After a long while, someone finally snapped back to attention.
"It's the Sect Master!"
"I never thought this matter would actually alert his senior self."
The next instant, everyone—including the eight peak masters—bowed in unison toward the approaching figure.
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
"We pay our respects to the Sect Master!"
Voices filled with deep reverence echoed across the mountains.
The figure descended through the air.
He moved as if slow yet traveled fast, his Dao robes fluttering in the wind. Even without intentionally exerting any pressure, a faint might still permeated the air.
Yet, at the same time, he looked entirely ordinary, resembling nothing more than an aging elder.
Returning to simplicity!
This was the true pinnacle powerhouse of the Qingyang Domain!
Qin Xuan gave an almost imperceptible nod. *This person's mysterious light is as light and breezy as the wind, seemingly heavy yet effortlessly nimble, with a breath as deep and enduring as eternity. He is surely at the Peak of Xuanji Realm, or perhaps even half a step into the Diji Realm.*
The Qi Condensation Realm, Zhoutian Realm, Tongxuan Realm, and Origin Pill Realm were all levels of experts commonly seen in the mortal world.
However, realms above those—the Huangji Realm, Xuanji Realm, Diji Realm, and Tianji Realm—could only be witnessed within behemoths like the Qingshan Sect!