Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

The Jinlan Spiritual Domain is located in the northwest Barbaric Lands of the Da Kun Continent, having been established for less than eight thousand years, with the Human Clan's territory spanning just about six million miles.

Although the terrain here is flat and the land fertile, the periphery is surrounded by Barbaric zones, with constant threats from demon beasts and other alien races, making the domain sparse in population and far more challenging for human propagation compared to the main spiritual domains of the Human Clan.

Centered around the Lan Sea, most human settlements in the Jinlan Spiritual Domain are distributed along the coastal areas of Lan Sea, where billions of humans thrive and multiply.

Lan Sea is an inland sea, covering close to a million miles. The spiritual energy in the depths of the ocean is abundant, yet massive storms of unknown origin often erupt on the sea surface. Even during the time when the domain was first established, great abilities of the Unification Realm personally investigated but could not uncover the mystery behind the sudden emergence and disappearance of the Lan Sea storms.

In the center of the Lan Sea is a small island, known as Beijun Island, which spans several tens of thousands of miles, boasting the most abundant spiritual energy in the entire domain.

Adjacent to the coastal area of the island lies a vast and bustling city, named Jinghai City.

Covering several hundreds of miles, Jinghai City is extraordinarily prosperous and stands as the foremost city in the Jinlan Spiritual Domain.

Its prosperity is attributed in part to hosting the largest port in Lan Sea, where thousands of large Treasure Ships dock annually. Numerous cultivators embark from here to seek treasures and hunt at sea, often returning fully laden.

However, the most critical reason for its flourishing state is the presence of a cross-domain transmission array connecting nearly a hundred similar arrays. High-level cultivators traverse domains daily, bringing with them a plethora of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from otherworldly places, fueling the city's vibrancy.

On this day, the transmission hall within Jinghai City was suddenly sealed off tightly by the city's most elite Jing'an Guard. The bustling square outside, once crowded with people, had been cleared, and all unrelated individuals were driven away.

The red sun rises, spreading a magnificent glow.

As the sun gradually ascends, auspicious clouds and various colored tunneling lights shoot in from all directions, landing outside the transmission hall, transforming into individuals of various extraordinary bearing.

By the time dusk falls, more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators, donned in luxurious Daoist robes, have gathered within the transmission hall. They stand solemnly, with an air of silent respect.

If outsiders were present, they would certainly be left gaping in shock.

For these dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators are all prestigious figures in the domain.

Aside from being Nascent Soul Ancestors of various major cultivation families in the domain, their most significant identity is as Vice Masters and peak masters of the Beijun Daoist School.

Among them, standing at the forefront are three elderly figures, the Vice Masters of the Beijun Daoist School, each being a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Previously, such high-ranking figures rarely gathered together, but now they are present in unison within the transmission hall, evidently for an exceedingly important reason.

Perhaps waiting for too long, one of the three elders at the front, wearing a jade crown, slightly furrowed his brow. Turning to the person beside him, he asked softly, "Brother Chen, is your information reliable? Will the new dean really arrive today?"

"I, as an old man, have sources above. The news is extremely reliable. Junior Brother Jin, please be patient!"

The speaker, surnamed Chen and named Danwang, has a fair complexion and thin lips, exuding a refined scholarly aura. He bears the appearance of a well-read Confucian scholar, yet those familiar with him know that this Vice Master has a proclivity for killing, overseeing all external combative affairs of the academy.

Over the past millennium, not only has he personally slain dozens of Left Path Nascent Souls and Demon Kings, but he has also repeatedly led the Slaughter Demon Army in expanding the domain, establishing great military achievements for territorial expansion.

"Alas, it's been seventy or eighty years, yet the old dean has remained missing. If not for the Lifebound Soul Lamp still remaining, I would think the old dean..."

Daoist Qing Nian halted his words and redirected them to the new incoming dean.

"I heard the new dean comes with a significant background. Although originating from the Lower Realm, he has successfully apprenticed under Yan Ancestor, instantly rising to become the seventh-ranked true disciple. Such an opportunity is truly remarkable!"

Chen Danwang, clad in a red Taoist robe, frowned slightly and said, "So what if he originates from the Lower Realm? My family's ancestor also came from the Lower Realm, and still became a direct disciple of Yan Ancestor. Even the Jinlan Spiritual Domain... was personally established by our ancestor."

Seeing this, Daoist Qing Nian hurriedly appeased, "How can the new dean compare to Senior Bei Jun? Senior Bei Jun has already reached great success in the Returning to Void state, now only one step away from opening a Grotto Heaven. Once this step is achieved, the Immortal Sect will have another Unification Realm Ancestor born. It will undoubtedly be the greatest event in our sect for thousands of years."

The Senior Bei Jun he's referring to, real name Chen Bei, is the third true disciple under Yan Wuxiu. After advancing to the Returning to Void Realm eight thousand years ago, he journeyed to the northwest Barbaric Lands, spending a thousand years to ultimately slay all three Returning Void Demon Emperors of the Lan Sea, thereby initially establishing this Jinlan Spiritual Domain.

Aside from that, Chen Bei was also the first dean of the Beihai Daoist School, serving for a full two thousand years, only to step down after the Taoist academy produced its first Divinity Transformation True Monarch.

To date, the Beihai Daoist School has had seven deans in succession. The former dean served for over eight hundred years, but unfortunately, disappeared without a trace on an outing.

After waiting for many years with no news, Zhao Sheng was appointed to take up the role of the new dean.

In a sense, all cultivators emerging from the Beihai Daoist School can be considered part of Yan Wuxiu's lineage, the "direct" power faction.