Aspiring to the Immortal Path

"Hahahaha, wonderful, wonderful, truly wonderful!"

Xiao Biehan's resounding laughter heralded the return of the victorious Basking Moon cultivators.

The Nine Splendors True Lord, who had been tasked with standing guard, was already waiting at Starsnatch Peak. When he saw everyone returning, he called out, "Senior Brother, congratulations on your victory. Did you caway with any spoils?"

Ling Xiao simply smiled in reply, so Xiao Biehan replied, "Jin Shanyue is dead, and that Spotted Char of his was sealed by Tang Jie. Shi Wunian went back with heavy injuries that will take him more than a hundred years to recover, and he won't get any stronger for the rest of his life."

The cultivators who had been left behind were delighted to hear this.

They were mortal enemies with the Beast Refining Gate, so the Beast Refining Gate losing two Violet Palace experts was something worth celebrating. This truly was a major victory.

Alas, their Earth Immortal was still around, so no matter how many people the Beast Refining Gate lost, it would never perish, and there was nothing that could be done about that.

Ling Xiao asked, "Junior Brother, how were things here?"

Nine Splendors indifferently replied, "Han Wuxin attacked, and I fought with him. He wasn't able to get any sort of advantage, so he left."

Although his tone was calm, a Deification cultivator had attacked, so he must have inwardly been rather shaken.

Ling Xiao knew Nine Splendors had a very quiet and calm personality. If he said that nothing had happened, then nothing had happened.

Waving his hand, he said, "If that's the case, everyone can rest. We will discuss awards and merits tomorrow morning."

"Yes!" Everyone moved to withdraw.

Xiao Biehan said in a loud voice, "Senior Brother is always so boring. Why do we need to wait until tomorrow? By tomorrow, this excitement will have passed, and there will be no point in the awards. In my view, we should celebrate their heroic feats right now."

Xiao Biehan had a very straightforward personality and never put on any airs. He strode toward the Hall of Divine Conference, throwing out the God-Conquering Merak Sword as he did.

The sword grew larger and larger, ultimately turning into a mountain.

This was the Basking Moon Sect's number one Dao armament.

It had turned into a mountain to protect this place, and whenever it was activated, it would slay all that threatened the Basking Moon Sect.

According to the laws of the sect, the sect master handled administrative affairs and controlled the Water Moon Paradise, while the Swordholder governed military affairs and controlled the God-Conquering Merak Sword.

Ling Xiao could only shake his head.

As the sect master, he exuded majesty and dignity with every move, and he couldn't act so casual and free like Xiao Biehan. But after sthought, he felt that Xiao Biehan was correct. On such matters, it was better to strike while the iron was hot.

He called out, "All disciples of the Basking Moon Sect, heed my words. Today, Tang Jie successfully ascended to Violet Palace, bringing glory to my sect. This is the first piece of good news. This sect engaged in a major battle with Beast Refining and Godhead, slaying Jin Shanyue and sealing the Spotted Char in a cauldron. This is the second piece of good news. The entire sect should celebrate these joyous events. Tonight, on Cloudscrape Peak, all disciples will participate in the celebration feast and awards ceremony. Those who have achieved merit will be rewarded, and those who have not can feast and drink to their heart's content. For tonight, all etiquette and ceremony can be ignored!"

This voice resounded through every part of the Zephyr Mountains. There was silence at first, and then an explosion of cheers.

These cheers reached all the way to the heavens, and even elders who spent most of their tin seclusion were shaken from their trances.

The Basking Moon Sect had another Violet Palace expert, and had killed Jin Shanyue and sealed the Spotted Char?

What made everyone truly excited wasn't the right to ignore etiquette or to drink as much as they wanted, but the information packed into this message.

Every person who spent long enough in a sect would start to develop a certain kind of sentiment toward that sect.

This sentiment was similar to that of patriotism, born from an intense sense of belonging.

When they heard that their lifelong enemies had suffered a great loss, they all grew excited. Of course, speople who had long ago grown tired of the restraints of ceremony and ritual also celebrated their momentary freedom, even going so far as to flaunt it in front of the Ritual Hall disciples. This made Li Hongyang grimace and scowl in frustration, but as he was always scowling, people could hardly tell the difference. As for Qi Shaoming, he didn't care at all, simply saying with a smile, "Today's accounts can simply be settled tomorrow," which made many people quiet down.

Regardless, tonight was a special night of celebration for the Basking Moon Sect.

On Cloudscrape Peak, all the disciples except those abroad were gathered, tens of thousands of cultivators in one place.

There was no burying oneself in cultivation, nor were there any complicated rules of etiquette to follow. There was only calling out to friends and loud conversation, the clamor rising to the heavens.

Speople were only meeting each other for the first time: "Eh? We live right next to each other! My, I've spent too long in seclusion." The more extramong them didn't even know who Tang Jie was.

It was a bunch of homebodies.

But no matter how great the clamor was, splaces would always be unaffected by the noise.

At the summit of Cloudscrape Peak, on a raised platform, six tables and chairs had been laid out. In the center were the Soul Projection Tier Ling Xiao and Xiao Biehan, and to their sides were the Deification Mystic Moon and Nine Splendors. Finally, on the outermost edges were the Infant Tending Tier Ming Yekong and Tang Jie.

Beneath the platform was a circle of chairs, eighteen in total, meant for the 19 Celestial Chiefs of the Basking Moon Sect. As the 19th Celestial Chief was the head of the Combat Department, which was Xiao Biehan, there were actually only 18 peak Soul Transformation Celestial Chiefs.

Yan Changfeng, Li Hongyang, Xu Baibing, Feng Hongluan, and An Fenglong were all seated here. While sof the chiefs were away from the sect, their seats were simply left empty.

These chiefs that Tang Jie had once regarded as mighty figures were now seated beneath him. Tang Jie couldn't help but find this sight strange.

"You feel a little strange, right?" Xiao Biehan asked.

Tang Jie nodded. "Yes. After all, not too long ago, they were my seniors, but now, I'm seated higher up than they are."

"This is the reality," Xiao Biehan casually replied. "The cultivation world is one where the victor is king. All etiquette is only superficial. While one can't go without it, if you blindly believe in it, haha, then you're a fool. You were able to reach Violet Palace, which proves that you have the courage, strength, and right to sit here. Those people who don't have the guts can only look up at you. Of course, they were your seniors in the past, and they are still your seniors now. Your seniority won't change because of this, but that has no effect on your status. Do you understand?"

Tang Jie firmly replied, "Yes, this disciple understands."

Xiao Biehan nodded in satisfaction and raised his cup. "Come, drink!"

He poured the entire cup of liquor down his throat.

Tang Jie could only do the same.

This alcohol was made from the spirit grains grown within the Water Moon Paradise. Spirits made from thousand-year spirit grains were all fine wines, possessing sweet and mellow flavors, and such was their strength that they could seep into the Divine Soul. These were truly wines that could topple Immortals. Unless they focused on resisting its effects, even a Violet Palace expert would get drunk.

Once they had drunk enough, Xiao Biehan and Ming Yekong got a lot more talkative and lost all of the dignity they should have possessed as top-class experts.

People naively believed that important people were all overly dignified people who didn't even crack a smile, not realizing that important people were also people, not a different species from ordinary people. What separated them from ordinary people was that they understood more and could do more, not that they were devoid of emotions and desires. On the contrary, when they got crazy, they could be far crazier than ordinary people.

Xiao Biehan, after having a little too much to drink, took out his sword and began to use its sheath to slap a wine jar and sing.

He had only sung a single verse before the jar shattered due to his uneven use of strength.

A disciple immediately switched it out for a drum so that Xiao Biehan could continue his performance.

Subordinates followed the example set by their superiors, so once Xiao Biehan started, everyone down below started to put down their inhibitions.

Someone a little tipsy even asked, "Celestial Sovereign Tang, might I ask if you have a Daoist title?"

Tang Jie shook his head.

Someone then proposed one for him.

Thus, various Daoist titles were suggested.

There were awe-inspiring titles, like the Warfury Celestial Sovereign, Unrivaled Celestial Sovereign, and Iron Blood Celestial Sovereign, but Tang Jie felt like these titles vilified him, so he rejected them. There were also more practical ones. For example, because Tang Jie had once been called Fierce Tiger Tang Jie, someone proposed "the Fierce Tiger Celestial Sovereign", but someone else complained that this made him seem like someone from the Beast Refining Gate. The initial suggestor then proposed changing it to "Tiger-Subduing Celestial Sovereign", but it didn't sound right. Someone else chose to focus on what Tang Jie was skilled in and proposed things like the Thousand Transformation Celestial Sovereign, Golden Blade Celestial Sovereign, Myriad Forms Celestial Sovereign, and so on.

But Tang Jie wasn't inclined to wear his specialties on his sleeve, as that was basically telling his enemies what he was good at, so he rejected this line.

The final candidate wasn't bad, and it was Feng Hongluan who made it. "When you were still a student, you swore to freely wander the Great Chiliocosm. You are now a Celestial Sovereign, so why not take on Freedom as your title?"

"'Freedom'?" Tang Jie muttered. "Although the meaning is rather broad, that's just what I want. One who seeks freedom aspires to be unrestricted and relaxed, to roam the world and all its vastness. But above are the Astral Winds and all around are vicious devils and fiends, so where can one find true freedom? So when it comes to ambition, 'freedom' is not a weak ambition at all. To make it my title is to remind myself that Violet Palace is only the beginning, that the Immortal Path is still much longer than this, and that I cannot be satisfied with just this."

"Great!" Xiao Biehan slapped his hand on the table. "Then you will be called the Freedom Celestial Sovereign!"

All the cultivators on Cloudscrape Peak stood up and shouted, "Tang Jie, congratulations on ascending to Celestial Sovereign! May you freely roam the thousand worlds for all time!"

Thus did Freedom Celestial Sovereign Tang Jie cto be!

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