The Church of the Golden Light arrived!

The disciples approached the wedding site in formation, surrounded by billowing fog.

The Golden Crow Tribe arrived!

All sects and clans dispatched members to attend, to bear witness to the first grand wedding ceremony to occur in the Southern Domain in many years.

It was unprecedented and unrepeatable.

The wedding guests surrounded the huge lake. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators had arrived, perhaps nearing eighty percent of the population of the Southern Domain.

It was impossible to take them all in with a single glance. Everywhere you looked was densely packed with people, and based on the ma.s.s of wedding gifts that had been delivered, it was possible to see the incredible wealth of the Southern Domain.

Grandmaster Ouyang and He Luohua arrived. They stood in the crowds, unable to get very close. However, from afar, they could see Meng Hao and Xu Qing, as well as Fatty and Chen Fan. The two old men’s faces broke out with benevolent smiles.

They were happy, and also proud of themselves. They knew that these Chosen of the Southern Domain were all former members of the Reliance Sect!

Tribes of the Western Desert also came, most of whom Meng Hao was familiar with, or the other way around. Even though there were hundreds of thousands of people present, there was no chaos. Fatty and the Blood Demon Sect disciples kept everything orderly and yet also colorful and dramatic.

The atmosphere was cheerful and happy; the sound of laughter and chatting filled the air.

The powerful experts had gathered. This wedding was definitely one of the grandest and most important events to ever occur in the history of the Southern Domain.

When she made her appearance, Xu Qing was incredibly beautiful. She wore a red wedding gown, and Meng Hao stood next to her. All the onlookers began to cheer and call out blessings and well wishes.

“Congratulations to the exalted Meng Hao and G.o.ddess Xu Qing on their marriage!”

“Congratulations! May you live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss and love each other for all time!”

“Congratulations….”

The sound rolled out like waves in all directions. Meng Hao’s heart was pounding; even he couldn’t stop himself from getting nervous. He also wore a long red robe, and his handsome features were filled with happiness.

[caption id="attachment_66787" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Official ISSTH art of Meng Hao and Xu Qing on their wedding day[/caption]

He held Xu Qing’s hand as they floated there in midair, the center of all attention.

Meng Hao took a deep breath and squeezed Xu Qing’s hand. “Ladies and Gentlemen. Fellow Daoists. Many thanks to you for coming to witness my and Qing’er’s bonding ceremony.”

With that, Meng Hao and Xu Qing clasped hands to the crowds.

Xu Qing’s face was flushed, and her heart thumped rapidly. At a time like this, any woman would feel the same. Moments like these are when women are the most beautiful, the most nervous, and the most excited.

The entire Southern Domain had come to bear witness to Meng Hao and Xu Qing’s entrance into a binding agreement for life.

Rumble!

An incredibly loud sound filled the air as ten Spirit Severing experts suddenly flew up into the air. They unleashed spectacular divine abilities that, from a distance, transformed into ten beautiful b.a.l.l.s of flame.

The color of the sky instantly changed, and all the cultivators down below stared up in awe at the beautiful sight.

The cultivation bases of the ten Spirit Severing experts exploded out as they caused the brilliant, colorful divine abilities to surge with power. Boundless light shone out, making it seem like there were ten suns up in the sky.

As the rumbling echoed out seemingly without end, the ten Spirit Severing experts continued to fuel the divine abilities, causing ripples of magic to constantly flow out above the crowds.

Immediately, a buzz of conversation rose from the crowd as they watched the spectacle, their hearts trembling.

“Heavens! He really does deserve to be the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect. Despite their status, ten Spirit Severing experts are willing to put on a performance by summoning fireb.a.l.l.s!”

“In all the Southern Domain, only Meng Hao could pull something like this off!”

“When the day of my bonding ceremony comes… if I could get some Core Formation cultivators to do something similar, that would probably be the most incredible thing in my entire life!”

Anyone who was watching closely was able to see that this was just the beginning.

The divine abilities of the ten Spirit Severing experts suddenly changed. Shockingly, the fireb.a.l.l.s began to connect together to form a long dragon and a colorful phoenix.

The dragon and the phoenix were auspicious symbols that could bring prosperity and good fortune. They swirled through the sky in astonis.h.i.+ng fas.h.i.+on, looking extremely lifelike.

Next, a thousand Nascent Soul cultivators flew up, stabilized themselves in midair, then closed their eyes and summoned their life force fire to create a thousand flickering candles.

Candlelight illuminated Heaven and Earth, creating a resplendent and indescribably beautiful atmosphere.

The display still wasn’t over. After the appearance of the thousand Nascent Soul cultivators, ten thousand Core Formation cultivators flew out. They circled about in mid-air, unleas.h.i.+ng magical techniques that seemed to create the outline of a staircase that stretched up into the sky.

The staircase glittered like a magical treasure, and was completely astonis.h.i.+ng. The glittering light from the candles made it seem like even the Heavens were partic.i.p.ating in the wedding ceremony. The dragon and the phoenix crisscrossed through the air, occasionally letting out piercing cries. The atmosphere at the wedding ceremony seemed to have reached a pinnacle.

Just when many people a.s.sumed that the pomp was over, two colorful beams of light shot into the air. They were two old men who, although they had blank expressions on their faces, immediately caught the attention of the crowds.

They were… the Golden Frost Sect Patriarch and the 3rd Li Clan Patriarch!

They were the peak Dao Seeking left and right Dharma Protectors of the Blood Demon Sect. As soon as they appeared in midair, they performed incantation gestures and then flicked their sleeves. Immediately, at the top of the seemingly never-ending staircase that rose up into the sky, the air began to twist and distort as it turned into an Immortal’s temple palace.

The Immortal’s temple palace was enormous and dignified. Every tile that decorated its surface glowed like a magical treasure. This was an illusion summoned by the power of two peak Dao Seeking eccentrics’ cultivation bases.

If that were all there was to it, it might not have been a huge deal. However, in the instant that the temple palace appeared, a rainbow descended from up above the palace, causing its beauty to increase exponentially.

It was then that cranes appeared, as well as innumerable other auspicious creatures. They flew gracefully through the air, calling out blessings. The entire scene was almost like a dream.

Down below, the cultivators gasped. This was the first time a display like this, a show of such extravagance, had been witnessed in the Southern Domain.

It was at this point that Patriarch Song laughed, and then said, “Young friend Meng Hao, please allow me to add a bit of cheer to your grand wedding!”

He lifted his arm and pointed up into the sky, immediately causing energy to surge out.

Up above, a brilliant glow shot out in all directions. Countless motes of light appeared, each of which transformed into the image of an Immortal G.o.ddess. In the blink of an eye, they appeared on the temple palace, on the rainbow, on the staircase, above the candle flames. In unison, they clasped hands and bowed deeply to Meng Hao and Xu Qing.

They acted like bridesmaids, and at that moment, the illusion up in the sky became even more realistic. That was because in each of the Immortal G.o.ddesses’ hands could be seen a spirit fruit. All of the spirit fruits… were real!

This was the wedding gift of the Song Clan.

In the group from the Violet Fate Sect, peak Dao Seeking expert Sun Tao chuckled. All of a sudden, his voice rang out.

“Young Lord, allow me to add some cheer to your grand wedding as well!” With that, his spit out a mouthful of qi, which shockingly transformed into a gigantic pill furnace that came to rest outside the temple palace. Wisps of medicinal smoke began to rise up out of the furnace, swirling around the area. Within the wisps of medicinal smoke were numerous imperial bodyguards wearing golden armor.

In total, there were 10,000 bodyguards who spread out in the area, emanating shocking energy. All of them turned toward Meng Hao, stabbed their swords down in front of them, and then dropped to their knees to kowtow.

The cultivators down below were almost in a frenzy.

Four peak Dao Seeking experts had lent their hands to the affair, along with the magical images of the ten Spirit Severing experts, the burning candles of a thousand Nascent Soul cultivators, and the treasure-like staircase of ten thousand Core Formation disciples. It was a scene that thoroughly astonished all of the cultivators down below.

“This is unheard-of! Completely unheard-of!”

“Immortal G.o.ddesses as bridesmaids, Immortal soldiers as groomsmen, an Immortal’s palace as the temple, a rainbow to add blessings, an auspicious dragon and phoenix summoned by Spirit Severing cultivators, wedding candles provided by Nascent Soul cultivators. Everything provided by cultivators….”

“I’ll never forget this bonding ceremony even after I die!”

“How incredible to be able to see something like this!”

Everyone was in a huge stir!

A kind smile appeared on Pill Demon’s face as he stood next to the Immortal’s palace, looking down at Meng Hao and Xu Qing.

“Let the ceremonies begin! There is no need to be concerned too much with trifles. However, you must still climb the treasured staircase, pa.s.s the burning candles, and ascend to the Immortal’s palace.”

Meng Hao took a deep breath and squeezed Xu Qing’s hand. It was trembling, and a bit sweaty. They exchanged a glance, and could see both nervousness and warmth in each other’s eyes.

They smiled, and then flew forward to the staircase. The Immortal G.o.ddesses bowed as they pa.s.sed, and the Immortal soldiers kowtowed. They ascended the stairs, pa.s.sed the candles and the circulating dragon and phoenix. Finally… they stepped onto the rainbow. The cranes and auspicious beasts cl.u.s.tered around them as they stood in front of the Immortal’s palace temple.

They turned, and from their vantage point they could look out to see the Milky Way Sea, and look down to see the hundreds of thousands of cultivators down below, all of whom were cheering and shouting. The sound of it echoed out in all directions, shaking Heaven and Earth.

The sound of it even managed to make its way all the way to… the Milky Way Sea!

By this point, the bonding ceremony could be considered half finished. The next part was the most critical part, the part where Pill Demon would begin to officiate!

Pill Demon looked at Meng Hao and Xu Qing, and then his voice boomed out, “It is my pleasure to announce…”

Down below, the crowds cheered wildly.

However, before Pill Demon could finish, even as the crowds were cheering, Meng Hao’s expression suddenly flickered. A sharp light appeared in his eyes as he looked out at the Milky Way Sea.

Although it appeared to be normal, something had abruptly caused him to shake with fear. It was as if some shocking danger was lurking in the Milky Way sea, as if an enormous gaping mouth full of teeth were approaching.

In the same moment that Meng Hao looked out toward the Milky Way Sea, all of the peak Dao Seeking experts felt similar trembling in their hearts. They, too, looked out toward the sea.

Although everything looked normal, Meng Hao blinked his right eye nine times and circulated the qi of Immortal Shows the Way. His view of the world blurred, and then grew clear. Now, he was able to see two different worlds.

The first world was the normal Milky Way Sea. In the second world… the sea was in a fury, waves surging and roaring. An enormous, shocking bridge formed from a Resurrection Lily could be seen!

On top of the bridge were hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators, surging forward with towering murderous intent!

Among the Northern Reaches’ cultivators was an enormous stone cauldron, supported on the backs of ten thousand cultivators. The cauldron seemed ancient, and its insides were filled with pitch-black dirt. Shockingly, a single stick of incense could be seen sticking up out of the soil!

The incense stick was small, far smaller than the huge cauldron, and was easy to miss.

However, the feeling it gave off was one of complete terror and evil. Even the peak Dao Seeking experts of the Northern Reaches seemed to fear it.

The forces from the Northern Reaches drew closer and closer. As of this moment… they had almost reached the lands of the Southern Domain!

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This chapter was sponsored by Junior Fortytwo, Byron Seto, and Anonymous