November.

Heaven bestowed auspicious snow.

Outside Changluo, a massive altar had been constructed.

Following Zhong Shenxiu's guidance, the altar was built in the style of the Roman Colosseum, with concentric circles of cloud beds expanding outward, the innermost higher than the outer ones.

On the opening day of the magic ceremony, streaks of light descended from the sky, landing on the corresponding cloud beds and revealing one Cultivator after another.

Countless Immortal Birds, flying radiance, magical treasures... Immortals in the eyes of the ordinary people displayed various Escape Skills to take their seats, an unforgettable spectacle for the residents of Changluo.

Accompanied by a resonant roll call, the truly influential Sect Masters began to make their entrance.

"Yingzhou Sea Pavilion, Penglai Sword Sect Sect Master has arrived!"

These two represented the leading forces of the Loose Cultivators, with Dharma Body True Monarchs at their helm, and they had leaned towards the imperial court from the beginning.

Moreover, whilst Shenxiu was still in his Dharma Body form, he had decimated Fangcun Spirit Mountain, and his deterrence still loomed, making these two Sects some of the most proactive to respond.

"Tuo Mi Temple's Baoxiang Arhat, Vajra Temple's Master Xiao Yuan… have arrived!"

In the void, flowers cascaded from the heavens, and Golden Lotuses emerged from the earth.

The two Arhats condensed their Dharma Images and Divine Light into two ordinary-looking monks, sitting cross-legged on lotus platforms, with countless novice monks, Martial Monks, and scholarly monks serving them.

Layer upon layer of light descended, brilliant as a galaxy of eternal sands, fusing countless prayers and Buddhist Mantras, seemingly containing endless mysteries that could make lesser Taoists inadvertently indulge and convert to Buddhism.

Within this infinite radiance, one could even glimpsingly connect to a Buddha realm in someone's palm.

A towering, majestic Golden Buddha, as if supporting the world itself, appeared intermittently within.

"Namo Golden Light Wisdom Buddha!"

"Namo Golden Light Wisdom Buddha!"

"Namo Golden Light Wisdom Buddha!"

Praise after praise caused the Cultivators present to change their expressions: "The Buddhist Sect really has profound foundations, worthy of being the first under Immortal Demons, to actually have a Corpse Disintegration Immortal, no, a Great Awakening Golden Immortal!"

"How regrettable that we Loose Cultivators lack heritage, forced to wander overseas and suffer humiliation!"

The Sect Masters of Yingzhou Sea Pavilion and Penglai Sword Sect exchanged glances, both filled with frustration.

"Hehe, bald fools of the Buddhist Sect, how dare you be so brazen!"

Just as the Buddha Sound Zen Chant was nearly covering the entire venue, a strange laugh came through.

Where it passed, within a thousand miles, all was bathed in a crimson glow.

"It's the Demon Sect, the Demon Sect has arrived!"

"This is… Drought Demon!"

"Only the Demon Sect would dare to disregard the Buddhist Sect so, but look at this crimson light, it precisely avoids Changluo... what does this imply? The Demon Sect Corpse Disintegration Immortal, bowing to the imperial court... inconceivable!"

...

Within the crimson light, the six Great Sect Masters of the Demon Sect emerged, each taking their place.

The Five Lotus Primordial Monarch was among them, snorting coldly. Hearing this, the chattering Cultivators all felt a pain in their chests, some even bleeding from their mouth and nose, their complexions greatly changing, no longer daring to speak out.

Amidst the crimson light, a vague humanoid figure raised a hand, and endless Demon Light pressed towards the Buddha Light.

However, the Buddha Light did not engage, and upon hearing a faint Buddhist chant, it willingly retreated, firmly occupying just one corner.

"The Demon Sect folk are as arrogant as ever, hah, you want us to be silent, but I will speak out even more!"

A robust voice rang out.

All the cultivators present wanted to see who was so bold and unafraid of death, but when they saw the figure draped in kudzu yellow hemp robes, with features strikingly ancient, Taiping Guangmiao True Monarch, they were not at all surprised.

Only the three major Taoist sects would dare to arm-wrestle with the Demon Path!

With the arrival of people from the Taiping Sect and the Miao Ji Zhen Sect, two clumps of pure qi rose into the sky, one evolving into the Yellow Heavens, the other morphing into the shapes of numerous precious treasures, rivalling the Demon Path in splendor.

In the end, all pure qi, demonic light, and the sound of Buddhist chants ceased, leaving a scene where the Immortal Demon factions occupied sixty percent, the Buddhist Sect secured twenty percent, with the two major Loose Cultivator sects taking ten percent, and the remaining Loose Cultivator sects dividing up the rest of the area.

This could also be seen as a microcosm of the entire cultivation world.

"Everyone has arrived, good."

It was at this moment that a clear voice, resembling a jade chime, emanated from the center at the highest point of the dais.

With a flash in the void, Zhong Shenxiu's figure appeared as if by magic.

His appearance was accompanied by the sudden rise of a primordial aura, vast and boundless, suppressing tens of thousands.

Whether it was the Buddhist Sect, Immortal Demon factions, or the other Loose Cultivators, all their auras were suppressed.

If they were all mere mortals fighting, then this primordial chaos was like the 'heaven' high above them!

Those who had seen Zhong Shenxiu's prowess before were fine, but the leaders of the great sects and high-level Loose Cultivators who had not witnessed it were all dumbfounded by this sight.

"This grand assembly will focus on resisting the Western lands. Any who do not comply will be deemed culprits of Yan Han."

Zhong Shenxiu scanned the crowd with his gaze and, seeing no one dared to make a fuss, he continued in a milder tone, "I am also the Sect Master of one of the three major Taoist sects, so this assembly should be presided over by another."

As he spoke, he pulled another person from the void, Emperor Shenwu himself.

Dressed in his ceremonial gunfu, once only worn on the Grand Sacrifice Day, Emperor Shenwu looked every bit the imposing figure. Clearing his throat lightly, he stood next to Zhong Shenxiu, resembling a spokesperson, "Yan Han has harbored a grudge against the Western lands since time immemorial, never coexisting under the same heavens. Now, we hope for everyone's generous assistance to overcome this difficulty together."

After a series of polite remarks, Emperor Shenwu finally got to the point, "To this end, I am willing to donate the 'Ten Thousand Immortals Formation Map' as the mainstay for the grand army."

"It's actually the 'Ten Thousand Immortals Formation Map'!"

Even Taiping Guangmiao True Monarch was somewhat surprised, "The Imperial Family has really dug deep this time!"

The 'Ten Thousand Immortals Formation Map' was an ancient treasure, not only a treasure of Grotto Heavens in itself, providing attack and defense as one, capable of accommodating an army of a million cultivators with ease, but it also bore the imprint of the 'Ten Thousand Immortals Formation'!

It was said to have originated from Emperor Tai's designs, the foremost killing array of the ancient times. If tens of thousands of Immortals were to convene, this array could even slay True Gods!

Alas...

Zhong Shenxiu glanced over, feeling that gathering ten thousand Corpse Disintegration Immortals was somewhat fantastical.

Even so, with several Corpse Disintegration Immortals as the core, Dharma Body True Monarchs as the wings, and numerous cultivators as the foundation, operating the Taiji Yin and Yang, Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams... would also be incomparably sharp.

At the very least, professionals of the 9th sequence, no matter how many there were, were headed for death!

After all, there wouldn't be too many near-gods from the West; perhaps no more than twenty.

"If that's the case, what more is there to say?"

Taiping Guangmiao True Monarch laughed, "Let's go all out against the West!"

"The Miao Ji Zhen Sect agrees."

"The Five Lotus Sect agrees!"

"Vajra Temple... agrees!"

...

In a scene of unanimous agreement, Zhong Shenxiu smiled faintly, "Since that's the case, the Supreme Dragon and Tiger Sect also agrees... and today, as you all make your vows, a sacrifice cannot be missing. Ordinary cattle and sheep are too trivial; why don't I find something more interesting, how about that?"

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