CHAPTER 562: CHAPTER 444 HIS NAME ’ZHOU YAN’!

Four years later.

Another day.

The Mighty Lifter Zhou Yan had just finished his shift. As usual, he came to the base of the ’Immortals Rock Wall’ and gazed upward, studying the characters and names carved into the cliff face.

"Zhao Yi."

"Wuu Yifei."

"Weii Yanhu."

"Hann Changqing."

Each name, each character, whether reserved or bold, ethereal or simple, gave off a distinctly different impression, yet all gleamed with brilliance upon the face of the cliff.

These were the names of disciples who had once cultivated and studied at the Dongqi Daoist School. In their youth, they walked the school’s paths, but later moved on to the Yiyuan Daoist School. Upon achieving the rank of Upper Immortal, they often returned to the place where their immortal journey had begun. At one time, a former Dean of the school, indulging in a moment of inspiration, invited the returning Fourth-order Immortals to inscribe their names upon this cliff face.

Thus, a tradition was born.

Since that time, up until now, cultivators who journeyed from the Dongqi Daoist School and achieved the state of Upper Immortal would often return to leave their names upon the cliff.

This cliff came to be known as the ’Immortals Rock Wall.’

The wall symbolized not only the honor of the Dongqi Daoist School but also served as a gift from these predecessors to the generations of disciples that followed.

Each character etched upon the rock contained within it the profound Daoist insights and contemplations of an Upper Immortal.

For other Fourth-order Immortals, they might appear ordinary; many of the insights were superficial, and several absolute skills and techniques left here were incomplete. This was deliberate, meant to aid First-order and Second-order cultivators. Should they grasp any of the lessons left in the carvings, their paths to cultivation would undoubtedly become smoother.

At least, until the point they ascended to become Upper Immortals, the lessons would prove invaluable.

Year after year.

Generation after generation.

Countless disciples of the Dongqi Daoist School, throughout its long history, had cultivated beneath this cliff and gazed up at the names inscribed by the Upper Immortals. Indeed, many exceptionally gifted disciples had gleaned profound insights into cultivation from these carvings, comprehending a skill or realizing a magic technique.

The benefits were profound.

Even many servants and powerful warriors of the Dongqi Daoist School would frequently come here, hoping for inspiration, wishing to be enlightened, or even to have the fortune of being noticed by an Immortal Elder, thus ascending to realms far beyond their station.

Indeed, across countless ages, such occurrences were rare but not unheard of.

Yet still, there were far too few such individuals.

Many servants and warriors simply wasted their time with baseless hopes.

And yet, hope persisted.

They dared not step squarely beneath the cliff, dared not stand alongside the disciples of the Dongqi Daoist School. Instead, they hid in the shadows, doing their utmost to diminish their presence. Yet all the while, they raised their heads, squinting, straining to read the fantastical, diverse carvings upon the cliff.

Some departed in high spirits.

Others left in despair.

Chen Jichuan also stood in one such corner, his head tilted back, his gaze filled with reverence.

...

The Dongqi Daoist School.

The rear mountain gardens.

Dean Fengchang and Upper Immortal Shi Ze sat together, sipping tea.

Fengchang regarded Shi Ze thoughtfully and remarked, "When you first entered the Daoist Sect, you had only just ascended to the Divinity Transformation realm. In the blink of an eye, two thousand years have passed. Now you’ve returned as an Upper Immortal and are even qualified to compete for a True Inheritor position in the sect."

Fengchang had not been the Dean of the Dongqi Daoist School for long. During his tenure, while some Upper Immortals had returned, none of them had been his students. Though he had sent many disciples to the Yiyuan Daoist Sect, not one had achieved the rank of Upper Immortal until now.

Shi Ze was the very first.

"Indeed."

"Two thousand years."

"Throughout all this time in the Daoist Sect, I never dared to slacken for even a single day. At last, I have fulfilled your expectations and ascended to Upper Immortal."

Shi Ze spoke with deep emotion.

Back when he was a student at the school, he had been an unparalleled genius—ascending to Divinity Transformation at the age of one hundred sixty-four before being sent to the Yiyuan Daoist Sect. Two millennia had since passed, and now, as he returned, he stood as a Fourth-order Immortal.

Looking back, it all felt like a dream.

"Now that you’ve returned, will you visit the ’Immortals Rock Wall’ and leave the name ’Shi Ze’?"

Fengchang asked with a smile.

It was a tradition of the Dongqi Daoist School. During Fengchang’s tenure, Shi Ze was the first of his disciples to ascend to Upper Immortal. Fengchang looked forward to seeing his student’s name carved upon the rock wall.

But Shi Ze had other plans. "There’s no rush. I came back this time specifically to visit you, Dean. Once I’ve stayed at the Dongqi Daoist School for a while, I’ll set out to traverse the world. When I return, I’ll attempt to compete for the True Inheritor position. As for inscribing my name on the rock wall, I can wait until my path in the Dao has deepened further."

He smiled and added, "You know me well, Dean. I’m competitive in all things. Even if it’s just the words on that rock wall, I refuse to be overshadowed by my senior brothers from the school!"

To ascend to Upper Immortal at barely over two thousand years old—

Shi Ze carried within him a formidable pride. In this life, he would not yield to anyone.

"Good!"

"Then I’ll await the day you secure the True Inheritor position to see your inscription grace the wall."

Fengchang approved wholeheartedly.

The two began to reminisce, speaking of Shi Ze’s past within the school, of the changes within the sect since Fengchang had left, and of cultivation itself.

Their conversation was growing increasingly animated.

When suddenly—

Shi Ze’s expression shifted. A smile spread across his face as he exclaimed, "Ha! What a delightful coincidence!"

Fengchang was momentarily startled but quickly pieced it together. He too began to laugh. "It truly is a coincidence. Your master, the East River Palace Master, has a Direct Transmission Disciple, the seventeenth True Inheritor—Master Meng Qing—who also hails from our Dongqi Daoist School. He once returned to the school and left an inscription on the rock wall, along with a supreme swordsmanship technique. Today, as fate would have it, someone below the wall has grasped insight into the inscription left by Master Meng Qing. What a cause for celebration!"

Yet that was not all.

Shi Ze’s thoughts dwelled further, though he chose to remain silent for now.

"Dean,"

"Shall we go take a look?"

Among cultivators of the Immortal Dao, faith in serendipity was deeply ingrained. With such a fortuitous occurrence, how could they pass up the chance?

Without delay, Shi Ze and Fengchang rose to their feet. With a single step, they arrived at the base of the ’Immortals Rock Wall.’ Looking down, they saw a towering warrior, over two meters tall, seated meditatively in an inconspicuous corner beneath the cliff. Around him, a cloud of fallen leaves floated and swirled without the aid of wind, moving in a deliberate pattern that mimicked a plain yet profound swordsmanship.