Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Moon Embracer Peak was one of the offshoots of the Zephyr Mountains. Its summit was not particularly impressive and wasn't even considered part of the main base of the Basking Moon Sect. It was only because of all of the cultivators who had come to visit with Tang Jie's return that it had been developed to accept guests. Given that the feast was planned to last for ten-some days, with various activities like singing, dancing, and martial contests, such arrangements had to be made.

The Wandering Palace had been placed here.

As a medium sect, the Wandering Palace was unremarkable among the many attending sects, which was inevitable given the sheer number of sects in the Rosecloud Domain. In the era of the six sects, a medium sect would have been rather high up in Sageheart. The only thing separating the Wandering Palace from Basking Moon would have been a few large sects and ten-some upper-medium sects.

But after Yun Tianlan became a True Immortal, the structure shifted from six sects equally holding power to one overlord and three major sects. The Basking Moon Sect was the overlord sect while the Seven Absolutions Sect, Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and the Thousand Passions Sect were the three major sects. Beneath them were several dozen large sects and several hundred upper-medium sects.

All of these sects had come without exception, so the Wandering Palace was cast into the ranks of obscurity, its status only enough to get it a spot on the unremarkable Moon Embracer Peak. In such circumstances, the people of the Wandering Palace naturally had no chance of seeing Tang Jie.

And what if I met him? Perhaps he's completely forgotten about me? Shen Qingdan thought to herself.

Their destiny had ultimately been simply passersby in life. Compared to the long lives of cultivators, that incidental encounter was but a mere instant. Was it strange if he couldn't remember her?

Even so, she still felt somewhat sad and lonely, and also a little bitter. All this left Shen Qingdan in a rather sour mood.

Standing at the summit of Moon Embracer Peak, she gazed at the stars, speculating as to which was Tang Jie.

Shen Qingdan bitterly thought to herself. Even her fantasies were starting to get infected by heartache.

In the middle of her sorrow, a voice rang out behind her. "Palace Lord, Gate Master Tuoba has arrived."

The one who spoke was an old woman, Elder Miao of the Wandering Palace.

Shen Qingdan grimaced. "I'm not seeing him!"

Before Elder Miao could reply, a man spoke. "Palace Lord Shen, there's no need to be so cold."

A green-robed man walked out, and while he didn't walk quickly, a green lotus grew beneath his feet with each step, allowing him to keep his feet unsullied. And as the lotuses bloomed, they radiated the power of a Violet Palace cultivator!

A few moments later, he had arrived at Shen Qingdan's side and bowed to her. "Tuoba Hong pays respects to Palace Lord Shen. Have you been well since our last meeting?"

Shen Qingdan coldly replied, "I was doing rather well, but then I met you."

Tuoba Hong hadn't expected Shen Qingdan to be so direct. After a momentary daze, he clapped his hands and said, "Palace Lord Shen is as feisty as ever, but that's why I like you—sincere, pure, never putting on airs. A husband can't ask for more from his wife, haha!"

Shen Qingdan's eyes spat out flames. "Tuoba Hong, don't be so shameless. Who's your wife?"

Tuoba Hong smiled. "Right now you're not, but you will be in the future. The Wandering Palace owes the Green Bamboo Gate ten thousand spirit jades, and this debt will be repaid. If the Wandering Palace can't pay, my Green Bamboo Gate won't go too far. If Palace Lord is willing to marry me, this debt can be considered the betrothal gift from my gate. Not only that, my Green Bamboo Gate is willing to offer ten thousand more."

Shen Qingdan angrily glared. "Tuoba Hong, shut your mouth! If not for your breaking the agreement, my mother wouldn't have died! And if my mother had lived, my Wandering Palace would have never been pushed so far by the Fire Lotus Gate and Three Blossoms Church that we couldn't pay! And you still have the face to bring up this matter?"

Tuoba Hong sighed. "The breaking of the agreement was my fault. But I already explained that the Fire Lotus Gate and Three Blossoms Church had invited another expert to deal with me, making me unable to join the battle." R

Shen Qingdan snorted. "You couldn't join the battle, so what about all the elders and hall masters of your Green Bamboo Gate?"

Tuoba Hong replied, "They were all intercepted."

"You think I would believe your obvious lies?" Shen Qingdan shrieked.

Tuoba Hong sighed again and spread out his arms. "Palace Lord, whether you believe it or not, such is reality. Palace Lord, there's no need to be so stubborn about this. So long as you are willing to marry me, I swear that I will treat you well. The heavens can serve as witness to my sincerity!"

Shen Qingdan gazed up at the heavens and said nothing.

Tuoba Hong gradually grew angry. "Palace Lord Shen, are you still obsessed over that august one?"

"What did you say?" Shen Qingdan angrily turned to glare at Tuoba Hong.

Tuoba Hong casually replied, "It's been several centuries, but has that august one ever gone to your Wandering Palace? Look at you. On this day when all the cultivators have come to pay their respects, the Wandering Palace among them, has that august one spoken of visiting you? No! In truth, he can't even remember you."

"Is that why you've come to find me?" Shen Qingdan coldly looked at Tuoba Hong. "You want to see for yourself my Wandering Palace being given the cold treatment, after which you can have your way with me?"

Tuoba Hong hastily replied, "Palace Lord, mind your words. This Tuoba Hong would never try to do anything against your will. It's just that the Wandering Palace has owed ten thousand spirit jades to my Wandering Palace for more than a hundred years, so is it not reasonable for this Tuoba Hong to press the matter of repayment? Repaying debts owed is only natural, and everyone would agree that the right is on my side. Even if that august one came, he would not be able to punish me over this. While the world of cultivators has always revered the strong, it can't be completely unreasonable, can it?"

"It truly is reasonable," a voice resounded.

Tuoba Hong instantly paled, and just when he was about to bark at this intruder, he saw a look of glee on Shen Qingdan's face. Realizing who it was, he had an ill foreboding. This matter had developed in the worst possible way!

But he reacted quickly, dropping to his knees and shouting, "Tuoba Hong pays respects to the Immortal Sovereign!"

The ethereal figure of Tang Jie appeared in the air.

Ignoring the prostrating Tuoba Hong, he gazed at Shen Qingdan.

"Long time no see," he said.

"Long time no see," Shen Qingdan replied, tears in her eyes.

He had finally come.

She suppressed her agitated emotions and did her best to calm herself, but her trembling hands still exposed her nervousness.

"Over the years, I have been so busy with my cultivation that I had no idea of your situation. This is my mistake. But since you were in trouble, why did you not tell the Basking Moon Sect?" Tang Jie asked.

Shen Qingdan froze, but then she silently shook her head.

'Tell the Basking Moon Sect'?

How?

It wasn't that she had never requested help from the Basking Moon Sect. It was just that she only knew Tang Jie and not any of his friends. As a result, her requests weren't prioritized.

As for how she and Tang Jie had developed a friendship and fought alongside each other in Endsea, nobody actually knew about such a thing.

All they knew of their relationship was that contest in the Celestial Mountains and that hundred-year oath.

But after one hundred years, Tang Jie hadn't married Shen Qingdan, and the matter had come to an end. From this, it became clear that the two sects weren't on as good terms as imagined. After another one hundred years, everyone came to know of the marriage between Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran, after which everyone ceased to pay attention to the Wandering Palace.

How they had fought alongside each other was a personal matter between them that nobody knew about, and they couldn't care about what they didn't even know.

Seeing the helpless look on Shen Qingdan's face, Tang Jie realized something and nodded. "It was my mistake again. I thought that once the Wandering Palace entered Sageheart, it would receive some consideration."

Shen Qingdan fell silent.

"Consideration"?

Of course it had.

The Basking Moon Sect had been very generous toward the Wandering Palace at the start.

But it couldn't take care of the Wandering Palace forever. Eventually, it had to rely on itself.

She looked at Tang Jie and smiled. "I'm happy enough to see you come visiting me."

Tang Jie shook his head. "But I cannot forgive myself so easily. Tell me who has made you suffer or bullied you, and I will settle things for you. Was it this Green Bamboo Gate Master?"

He looked at Tuoba Hong.

Tuoba Hong yelped in alarm. "Immortal Sovereign, don't misunderstand! My Green Bamboo Gate has never bullied Palace Lord Shen. We have always been very considerate and generous to the Wandering Palace. When the Wandering Palace was trying to fight off the Fire Lotus Gate and Three Blossoms Church, it was my Green Bamboo Gate that intervened to help fend them off. Later on, when the previous palace lord needed resources to cultivate the Wandering Hand Divine Connection, it was my Green Bamboo Gate that loaned her the resources. This debt has been outstanding for more than a hundred years! My Green Bamboo Gate has never once pressed for repayment, and I have been as righteous as can be! I admit that I was impolite in my attempts to persuade Palace Lord Shen to marry me, but I have never bullied her! Please, Immortal Sovereign, I beseech you!"

Tang Jie turned to Shen Qingdan. "Is that the case?"

Shen Qingdan lightly nodded, indicating that Tuoba Hong had not told a lie.

Tang Jie frowned. "I know of the Fire Lotus Gate and Three Blossoms Church. Both have been sects of Sageheart for a thousand years. How did you come into conflict with them? And why did the Basking Moon Sect not intervene?"

Shen Qingdan began to explain.

It turned out that this was connected to the Wandering Palace's migration into Sageheart.

Cultivation required resources, and land was the most direct manifestation of resources. With land, one had spirit fields, people, and spiritual energy.

Thus, even though cultivators could fly high in the sky, they ultimately couldn't stay away from the ground and their constant need for resources.

When the Basking Moon Sect recruited the Wandering Palace, it naturally needed to allot land to it.

But at the time, all the worthwhile land in Sageheart had already been distributed. The lands richest in spiritual energy belonged to the Basking Moon Sect, while the remainder were divided among the smaller sects. As the Wandering Palace was a newcomer, it had no land to speak of, so the Basking Moon Sect needed to give it land. As they couldn't create land out of nothing and were unwilling to give the Wandering Palace their own land, they could only take from the existing sects.

The Wandering Palace's territory had been taken from two medium-sized sects, the Fire Lotus Gate and the Three Blossoms Church.

Thus, the seeds of hatred were sowed between the three sects.

For those two sects, the Wandering Palace had stolen their land, but for the Wandering Palace, this was the price that had to be paid for them to join Sageheart. If those two sects had a problem, they should go to the Basking Moon Sect rather than them.

Alas, the two sects didn't care how innocent the Wandering Palace thought it was.

Fortunately, the Basking Moon Sect still protected the Wandering Palace at the time, so the two sects could only swallow their hatred.

But this situation couldn't last forever.

Unfortunately, it began to change because of Tang Jie.

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