Chapter 652: Purple Mist for Eight Hundred Miles
Time slipped away, second by second, and another three hours passed.
Zhang Ruochen still stood straight as a rod on the edge of the bronze cauldron, as if he had turned into a human-shaped block of copper, about to merge completely with the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron.
It was truly unbearable. Many people had lost their patience and no longer wished to wait, preparing to leave the Upper Clarity Palace.
"Splash!"
At that moment, a wisp of purple airflow slowly surged out from within the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron, rushing toward the sky and connecting with the clouds above.
Among the crowd, someone noticed the change in the bronze cauldron and let out an exclamation: "Look quickly! A wisp of purple mist is surging out of the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron. How can this be?"
"Purple mist is actually emerging. Could it be that the Ancestral Master is manifesting his divine presence?"
...
The disciples who had originally planned to leave immediately turned back, their eyes wide open, staring in the direction of the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron.
Purple mist was indeed emerging from the cauldron.
Many were shocked, finding it utterly unbelievable. In all the previous coronation ceremonies, such a strange occurrence had never happened.
The Half-Saints in the Upper Clarity Palace, along with Shengshu Cainü, also fixed their gazes on the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron. Even with their state of mind, they were considerably shaken.
"Boom!"
That wisp of purple mist grew thicker and thicker, eventually transforming into a pillar of purple mist connecting heaven and earth, scattering the clouds in the sky.
Moments later, centered on the Upper Clarity Palace, the sky for eight hundred miles in all directions turned completely purple, blocking out the sun and casting a faint purple glow on the glazed tiles below.
The purple cloud mist, like a mysterious and vast ocean, continuously rolled up waves of air.
The celestial phenomenon in the sky alarmed all the disciples of the Liangyi Sect. They rushed out of their rooms, gazing at the sky, feeling deeply shaken.
"Purple mist for eight hundred miles. Could it be that some Ancestral Master has broken through to the Saint realm?"
The celestial phenomenon in the sky was far too astonishing. Disciples from various sacred mountains secretly speculated whether some Ancestral Master had broken through to the Saint realm.
Or perhaps some extraordinary heavenly treasure had been born on a certain sacred mountain.
"Whoosh!"
A white saintly shadow rose from the main sacred mountain of the Upper Clarity Palace, turning into a streak of light, piercing through layers of purple mist, and arriving within the halls of the Upper Clarity Palace.
The white saintly light retracted, revealing an old Daoist with white hair and a white beard.
He wore a white Daoist robe, with a Taiji symbol printed on the front and a Bagua compass on the back, giving him an immortal and ethereal appearance.
The various Half-Saints rose one after another, bowing to the old Daoist. "We pay homage to Ancestral Master Taiyi."
The white-robed old Daoist's gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen outside, without turning around. He merely raised two fingers slightly, signaling the Half-Saints to dispense with formalities.
Then, with a grave expression, he asked, "What is the origin of this child?"
Zixia Half-Saint stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the Ancestral Master, this disciple is from the Zixia Sacred Mountain of the Longevity Institute."
Ancestral Master Taiyi said, "The Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron has been placed in the Upper Clarity Palace for who knows how many years, yet this is the first time such a phenomenon has occurred. This child is far from ordinary."
Hearing Ancestral Master Taiyi praise Lin Yue so highly, Zixia Half-Saint was naturally quite gratified. His wrinkled old face revealed a somewhat smug smile as he glanced at Yuanlong Half-Saint not far away.
His expression seemed to say, "See that? Even the Ancestral Master praises Lin Yue. Compared to Lin Yue, Pang Long is far inferior."
Yuanlong Half-Saint snorted coldly, feeling very unconvinced.
However, with Ancestral Master Taiyi present, he dared not cause trouble.
Ancestral Master Taiyi was one of the oldest existences in the Liangyi Sect, with an astonishingly high seniority. He appeared in the sect only once every few decades, and even Half-Saint-level figures might not earn a second glance from him.
Yet he had given Lin Yue the evaluation, "This child is far from ordinary."
Just this one evaluation, if spread, would be enough to make Lin Yue's reputation soar. From now on, probably no one would dare doubt his ability to kill Youlan Star Envoy.
The sixteen newly promoted Saint Heir disciples beneath the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron were all pushed back by an invisible force, retreating a hundred zhang before stabilizing their steps.
Xun Hualiu never imagined that Lin Yue could cause such a commotion. He was completely stunned. "This guy... what is he doing..."
"Hum!"
The Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron shook violently, emitting a loud sound like an ancient bell being struck. The sound waves spread layer by layer, traveling thousands of miles before gradually dissipating.
"Crack, crack"
The stone slabs beneath the sacrificial bronze cauldron all shattered, forming dozens of cracks that spread outward.
At the same time, three specks of light surged out from the cauldron, turning into three streams of airflow, all converging on Zhang Ruochen's brow and rushing into his Qi Sea.
A powerful force erupted from within Zhang Ruochen's body, forming circular energy ripples that surged outward in all directions.
The circular energy ripples formed a Taiji symbol composed of two black-and-white yin-yang fish. Dense ancient characters danced atop the Taiji symbol, merging with it, and then rapidly flowed back into Zhang Ruochen's body.
Zixia Half-Saint's pupils turned into two fireballs, fixedly staring at Zhang Ruochen. "Strange, strange. This little fellow has actually fused three Sword Intents. Moreover, the aura emitted by these three Sword Intents—I cannot see through them at all."
Jinglan Half-Saint of the ** Institute also nodded. "Indeed, the aura emitted by the three Sword Intents is quite unfamiliar. It is impossible to tell which Ancestral Master left them."
Half-Saints possessed astonishing experience, capable of memorizing information about all past Ancestral Masters. Yet even they could not identify the origin of these three Sword Intents, indicating that they were indeed extraordinary.
Shengshu Cainü gracefully bowed to Ancestral Master Taiyi, her bright eyes and white teeth showing. "Ancestral Master seems to have discerned something?"
The various Half-Saints immediately turned to look at Ancestral Master Taiyi, curiosity on their faces.
Had the Ancestral Master truly seen something?
Ancestral Master Taiyi's aged eyes narrowed slightly, his expression quite solemn. "The aura of those three Sword Intents is extremely ancient, seemingly left over from the Middle Ages... too long ago. I cannot recall clearly."
The Liangyi Sect's heritage was very long, reaching an unprecedented peak during the Middle Ages. If the three Sword Intents were indeed left from that era, they were indeed very ancient. Even searching through all the records might not reveal their origin.
Among those present, only Shengshu Cainü noticed the unusual expression on Ancestral Master Taiyi's face.
She was very clever and immediately understood that Ancestral Master Taiyi was hiding something, not revealing the whole truth. The owners of the three Sword Intents likely had extraordinary backgrounds.
"Fusing three Sword Intents in a row—such a talent has emerged in the Liangyi Sect."
Shengshu Cainü's beautiful starry eyes shimmered with light as she gazed at Zhang Ruochen. Another name was added to the list of Realm Son candidates.
"Lin Yue... he actually fused three Ancestral Master Sword Intents. Can anyone tell me which three Ancestral Masters' Sword Intents he fused?"
"This must be my illusion. How could such a thing happen?"
...
The entire Upper Clarity Palace was packed with people, all engaged in heated discussion.
Zhao Han'er, in the crowd, was naturally ecstatic. "See that? See that? Senior Brother Lin Yue fused three Ancestral Master Sword Intents in a row. In the history of the Liangyi Sect, it seems no one has ever been this powerful. This is a true proud son of heaven. It seems Senior Brother Pang Long still has a considerable gap compared to Senior Brother Lin Yue."
Those inner disciples who had previously looked down on Lin Yue showed expressions of envy.
One of them said, "This... this is pure luck. Nothing impressive."
"Can pure luck allow someone to fuse three Ancestral Master Sword Intents?"
"With good luck, can one cause the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron to produce such a phenomenon? Senior Brother Lin Yue has true talent and extraordinary gifts. I'm afraid even Senior Brother Gai Hao might not surpass him."
"Before, I didn't believe Senior Brother Lin Yue could kill Youlan Star Envoy. Now I'm certain that Youlan Star Envoy must have been killed by Senior Brother Lin Yue. Senior Brother Lin Yue is the child of fortune. Any miracle happening to him is perfectly normal."
That inner disciple was besieged by a group of female disciples, all scolding him for being jealous of Senior Brother Lin Yue's supreme talent.
Some female disciples even proudly claimed that they had a very close relationship with Senior Brother Lin Yue, instantly drawing envious looks from countless other female disciples.
Pang Long had originally thought that in today's coronation ceremony, he would overshadow Lin Yue and win the heart of Junior Sister Han Qiu.
But he never imagined that Lin Yue could fuse three Ancestral Master Sword Intents.
"How can his luck be this good?"
Pang Long's ten fingers clenched tightly into fists, his eyes bloodshot.
Why should a defeated opponent have such good fortune?
Pang Long was deeply unwilling.
Above the bronze cauldron, Zhang Ruochen finally withdrew from that mysterious state. Opening his eyes, he found the surroundings packed with people, surrounding the Upper Clarity Palace arena in layers.
Everyone's gaze seemed fixed on him.
What was going on?
Zhang Ruochen looked up and saw the entire sky covered with purple mist, stretching endlessly to the horizon.
At the same time, he sensed that three streams of airflow seemed to have appeared in the Qi Sea at his brow.
"Such powerful Sword Intents. Could it be that I just fused the Ancestral Master Sword Intents? But... why three Sword Intents?"
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat uncertain. He immediately leaped down from the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron, wanting only to return to Zixia Sacred Mountain to study the three Sword Intents within his body.
Just as he stepped down the stone steps, Pang Long rushed up and blocked his path, saying in a deep voice, "Lin Yue, the coronation ceremony is over. Do you dare to accept my challenge?"
Originally, Pang Long had been fully confident in defeating Lin Yue. But just now, Lin Yue's fusion of the Ancestral Master Sword Intents had caused such a terrifying phenomenon that it had affected Pang Long's state of mind.
Therefore, he only said he would challenge Lin Yue, not daring to mention a life-or-death duel.