178: Chapter 178 Anyone with objections, go and speak to the Lord of Kunlun.

Three days passed quietly.

The Cloud Peak Battle Stage, located in the southeast corner of the Yundian Ancient City, was the largest open-air plaza in the entire city.

Spanning several miles, the ground was paved with solid slabs of cyan-grey jade, smooth as a mirror, with spiritual light faintly circulating in the gaps between the stone slabs.

Nine jade pillars, ten zhang high, stood around the battle stage. The pillars were covered in profound runes, which were the foundation for the Formation of the Cloud Sea Grand Ceremony's arena.

At this moment, they were emitting a faint golden light, shrouding the entire battle stage in a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

The morning light was faint, but the stands around the battle stage were already packed with people.

Flags of various colors fluttered in the morning breeze, and Cultivators in different robes sat in sections according to their respective Sects.

The Seven Great Factions each occupied a section of the stands, with their seven flags lined up, standing out strikingly in the morning light.

Outside the stands of the Seven Great Factions, there was another area reserved for other small and medium-sized forces and Loose Cultivators of the Southern Wilderness, which was also already full.

The seating for Kunlun was the main position, facing south from the north, directly opposite the center of the entire battle stage, offering an excellent view.

The seats were constructed from warm white jade, spacious and exquisite, with cloud and star patterns carved into the backrests and pale golden spiritual pearls embedded in the armrests, glowing with a soft luster in the morning light.

The specifications and layout of these seats were a cut above the main seats of the Seven Great Factions, and the position was more central, as if this part of the stands had been reserved as the core location for Kunlun from the very beginning.

This seating arrangement was the result of discussions among the Seven Great Factions. Initially, someone raised an objection, saying that although Kunlun was strong, it had not entered the world for long and should not occupy such a prominent position.

But Ancestor Zhou Huaixu only said one sentence: "Whoever has an objection, go tell the Lord of Kunlun."

No one opposed it after that.

Kunlun Disciples took their seats one after another. Lu Jinghan sat in the center of the front row, with Zhou Tianchen on his right, followed by Ao Qin, Mu Qingxue, Baili Qingfeng, and others.

Behind them were a dozen or so accompanying Kunlun Disciples. Although there were not many of them, their calm and reserved demeanor caused many Disciples from surrounding forces to subconsciously lower their voices.

At this moment, a ripple of spiritual power suddenly came from the sky above the Cloud Peak Battle Stage.

Several streaks of light swept in from the edge of the horizon, moving at extreme speed, arriving above the battle stage in the blink of an eye.

The streaks of light faded, revealing several figures: Ancestor Zhou Huaixu, Danchenzi, Daoist Yunlan, Lord Yangtian, Elder Jianchi, Yang Qingtian, and Ancestor Xu Tianyan. The Tribulation Transcenders of the Seven Great Factions of the Southern Wilderness had all arrived, not a single one missing.

They took their seats one by one on the seven main chairs of the high platform. The majestic aura unique to Tribulation Transcenders was perfectly restrained, not leaking a single bit, yet the atmosphere around the entire battle stage became unconsciously more solemn.

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu sat down in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over the dense crowd in the stands below, and then at the runes circulating on the nine jade pillars, his expression peaceful.

Presiding over the Cloud Sea Grand Ceremony was a decree from heaven; as one of the presiding figures of this ceremony in the Southern Wilderness, he naturally could not be absent.

Just as he was about to speak, a thick Demonic Qi, almost dense enough to solidify, suddenly filled the sky on the north side of the battle stage.

This Demonic Qi did not arrive abruptly, but it was extremely heavy, as if an entire thick layer of clouds was pressing down on the space above the battle stage.

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu paused, the words on his lips stopping, and his gaze turned to the northern sky.

Danchenzi, Daoist Yunlan, and the other four also looked over, their expressions varied.

The Demonic Qi receded, and several figures slowly descended from the Void Realm.

The leader was a middle-aged man dressed in dark purple robes, with a scholarly air between his brows.

If not for the faint Demonic Qi lingering around him, anyone would have mistaken him for an ordinary refined scholar.

Behind him followed more than a dozen figures, all women, dressed in different robes, but all of them were graceful and exceptionally beautiful without exception.

Young Clan Leader of the Jiuqiu Fox Clan stood half a step to the side of that middle-aged man; she had changed her fiery red long dress for a deeper crimson brocade robe, which was still striking.

The middle-aged man stopped at a vacant spot beside the main seats of the Seven Great Factions. It had originally been empty, but the moment he landed, as if it had been prepared long ago, several chairs condensed amidst the circulation of spiritual light.

He swept his gaze over Ancestor Zhou Huaixu and the others, slightly cupped his hands, and said in a calm and composed tone: "Fellow Daoists, it has been a long time."

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu looked at the newcomer, a flash of complex emotion in his eyes, then he also cupped his hands in return, his tone calm with a touch of politeness: "Clan Chief Qingyue, it has indeed been a long time."

"The Jiuqiu Fox Clan has been in seclusion for ten thousand years; it is a joyous and congratulatory occasion that you have finally emerged."

Danchenzi also nodded slightly: "With the Fox Clan emerging, the Yao Race of the Southern Wilderness now has a backbone; this is a good thing."

The other Tribulation Transcenders also greeted him one after another, their tones polite, but their inner thoughts were not the same.

The Jiuqiu Fox Clan chose to emerge at this time and happened to appear during the Cloud Sea Grand Ceremony; no one would believe it if they said it was just to join in the fun.

But now was not the time to question it; the ceremony was about to begin, and there would be plenty of time to settle accounts after it concluded.

Clan Chief Qingyue nodded slightly, said nothing more, and took his seat on the side.

Young Clan Leader of the Jiuqiu Fox Clan sat down beside him, but her gaze swept across the stands, slowly passing over those young faces, as if looking for something.

Not long after the Fox Clan members took their seats, several figures also appeared simultaneously in the Kunlun seating area.

Qingxuan, dressed in a green shirt, stepped out of the Void Realm with a composed gait and landed on the main seat at the very front of the Kunlun area.

Half a step behind him, Elder Cangwu and Cang Song stood side by side. The calm and composure that the three of them exuded invisibly caused many gazes present to subconsciously turn toward them.

Clan Chief Qingyue's gaze lingered on the three of them, Qingxuan, Elder Cangwu, and Cang Song, for a moment.

He had heard of Kunlun and the strength of the Kunlun Elders. The scene of that battle above the Zhouwu Dynasty, where the Lord of Kunlun, holding a whisk, suppressed the Half-Step Immortal, was something they had heard of long ago, even far away in the Nine Hills.

Now, seeing these three Kunlun Elders with his own eyes, that aura, restrained to the extreme yet impossible to ignore, made his assessment of this mysterious Sect deepen even further.

After the three Elders—Qingxuan, Elder Cangwu, and Cang Song—took their seats, Lu Jinghan did not see his Revered Master's figure, so he turned to Elder Qingxuan and asked: "Elder, Revered Master, he…"

Qingxuan turned his head slightly, his tone flat: "The Sect Master has some matters to attend to; he told us to come first, and he will arrive shortly."

Lu Jinghan nodded, did not ask further, and turned his gaze back to the center of the battle stage.