After the banquet celebrating his ascension to the Nascent Soul Realm, life returned to normal for Tianyi, the only child of the Sword Empress. Well, aside from a few people trying to worm their way into Tianyi's circle of friends, which only consisted of Daoyi, Xi Ri, and Xia Yushan. From this point of view, it was really quite sad.

However, he didn't have the spare thoughts to question his pitifully small number of friends as he recalled Su Bojing's words, the Heavenly Connection Gathering. Just from its name, one could gather its connection to the Three Heavens Connection Meeting. The two events were related in a certain sense. In fact, Heavenly Connection Gathering wasn't anything the Buzhou Immortal Sect Elders officially acknowledged.

The Heavenly Connection Gathering started as a private assembly conducted by the scions from the Buzhou Immortal Sect and participated by the scions of other first-rate sects. Eventually, it transformed into its modern iteration.

Also known as the Young Heavens Conference, the participants had two stringent requirements. One, the attendee had to be under a hundred years of age, a day over, and they would lose their ability to attend. Two, they had to be directly related to an immortal elder of their sect.

As the founder and leader, scions from Buzhou Immortal Sect chose who would and who wouldn't participate in each Heavenly Connection Gathering. Of the nine first-rate forces on Heaven Continent, six of them pledged their loyalty to the Buzhou Immortal Sect and became vassal forces. Per tradition, only scions from four of the six vassal forces would participate each year, and they were chosen based on the overall strength of each group of scions.

The current Heavenly Connection Gathering would be a little different. In addition to the scions, each one could bring forth a young loose cultivator with great potential in their eyes. The loose cultivator nominees would battle among each other, and the winners would have a chance to join the sect.

The way Tianyi saw it, it was like humans betting on cock fights. If the cocks were outstanding, they could be kept. If not, then they would be discarded.

Tianyi felt that the goal of the gathering to cultivate camaraderie was straying farther away from its initial purpose, but it couldn't be helped. There was no official Heavenly Connection Gathering sponsored by the sects.

In the end, it was something the founder of the Heavenly Connection Gathering created and passed on to the next strongest scion of the Buzhou Immortal Sect. If Tianyi recalled correctly, the current acknowledged strongest descendant of an elder was Su Wanyu.

As for why Su Bojing invited Tianyi?

They had no choice. Although from the first time he could speak, he didn't have a good relationship with the other scions. Tianyi felt those near or younger were too immature, while older scions viewed him in the same way, but that all changed when he became a nascent soul grandmaster. If they didn't invite him, other scions might speculate on why he wasn't invited, especially after showing such talent.

It didn't matter how members fought within the sect, but to outsiders, they had to show a united front. The Buzhou Immortal Sect was not an exception to this rule.

Tianyi agreed, but only because it seemed interesting. But as of this current moment, another matter caught his interest.

"Mother, where are you going?" Tianyi asked his mother.

"There was a piece of concerning information gathered concerning the Northern Regions. I recalled that Yi'er said something concerning a naturally formed treasure of the yin attribute. The sect had decided to dispatch several elders, but I decided to go myself." Mengfei said.

Tianyi nodded. 'So it's something concerning, it shouldn't be too bad. If it really was something that needed Mother to personally intervene, then the whole Huang Realm should be under alert.'

Thinking back on the Northern Region and the Lightning Sea that contained the yin-type treasure, Tianyi recalled a particular event that left him completely speechless.

'Ah, that memory. The shock of witnessing the legendary "broken engagement" plot still hasn't left me to this day. Speaking of which, the ten-year agreement should be fulfilled soon. Since mother will visit the northern regions, maybe I can drop by and watch the duel?'

'With my mother nearby, Monarch Soulfish shouldn't be able to sneak attack me. Although it is ridiculous to think that a mighty Immortal Monarch would specifically target me. Although... since I am the Sword Empress' son, it is not out of the question for some to scheme against me.

Tsk, but I can't waste this chance to watch a good show!'

'Judging by the usual plot, if Pan Lanyue and Yan Nie were to fight. Then Pan Lanyue would definitely lose after a grueling fight. Then Sect Master Yun would definitely try to reclaim face and make Yan Nie submit in some way. How could I miss out on such a good show?'

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As Tianyi began to formulate a plan, he did not know that his machination would definitely be discovered according to the familiar plotline. And Yan Nie would definitely come seeking revenge in some way. In other words, Tianyi was raising flags and seeking death for himself.

"Mother, since you are going to the Northern Regions, can I come with you?" Tianyi asked.

Mengfei paused, seemingly pondering the question. Soon she nodded her head. "You can."

"Thank you, Mother," Tianyi said, the excitement in his eyes not hidden at all.

In the next few days before leaving, Tianyi contacted Xi Ri and Xia Yushan to inform them that he would be out of the sect for a time. The last time Xi Mengfei left the sect, Daoyi had to rely on the Eighteen Flower Fairies and Xia Yushan for guidance. Both Xi Mengfei and Tianyi were not even there to guard her Foundation Establishment Heavenly Tribulation!

To this end, Tianyi decided to invite Daoyi to come with them to the Northern Regions. Daoyi readily agreed, and when Tianyi asked why, she said.

"Senior Brother, although the Buzhou Immortal Sect is large, seeing the same scenery time after time gets boring after a while. My cultivation is still low, so I cannot go to too many places. If it were not for Senior Brother, I would not have been able to visit the city at the base of the mountain at all."

"Besides, aside from the Xi Dynasty capital and the Buzhou Immortal Sect, I have not visited many places. Don't you recall that I wanted to travel the world?" Daoyi said.

Tianyi did recall this, and he also remembered that Daoyi wanted to find a certain place.

"Junior Sister, I also recalled that you wanted to find a certain place. What place is it?" After all, as Daoyi said, she had only known these two places. Then what place would she be searching for?

"I don't know. You can say it is a place from a dream." There was a melancholic tone in Daoyi's voice as she gained a faraway look. But she soon hid it. "I heard that Senior Brother has visited the Northern Regions before. What was it like? How is it different from the Xi Dynasty?"

Tianyi slightly puffed out his chest and acted the part of a knowledgeable senior. "I've visited the Fleeting Mist Sect, I traveled to the Capital of the Pan Kingdom and Jingyang City. I'll show you around once we get there!"

"Okay, I'll be relying on you, Senior Brother!" Daoyi said with a smile.

On the day of departure, Tianyi was surprised to see someone else accompanying them.

"Elder Shan!" Tianyi said. "I didn't realize you were also going."

Elder Shan chuckled as he reached out to pet Tianyi's head like old times, but Tianyi tilted his head away.

"How can I not? Even though Grand Elder Xi has decided to go personally, I can still use this chance to check up on Old Codger Yun."

Tianyi nodded. The friendship of Sect Master Yun and Elder Shan, people from two different worlds, greatly surprised him.

"Let's go," Mengfei said once everyone was ready.

Tianyi tilted his head and looked at his mother in confusion. They were still on Jade Peak/ Where was the immortal boat they were to board and leave on?

His question was soon answered as a pillar of light descended and encapsulated the four of them. Tianyi and Daoyi both showed shock and panic, but they soon calmed down upon seeing the unperturbed Xi Mengfei and the amused look Elder Shan gave them.

The ground beneath the four had given way to a board of light that started to rise. The closest experience Tianyi could relate to was that of an elevator. A very fast-rising elevator made of glass.

Tianyi did not consider himself to have acrophobia—the irrational fear of heights—he could walk on air and fly using a sword after all. But watching the ground shrink at an unbelievable rate, he felt as if his legs had turned to tofu. He wanted to not think about it, but like a bruise that he kept on poking, Tianyi could not remove his eyes from the distancing ground.

When they broke through the boundary of the Huang Realm, Tianyi released a sigh of relief. From his view, the Huang Realm looked like a world within a giant marble, but he wondered why they would need to leave the Huang Realm to go to the Northern Regions.

When the elevator of light stopped, Tianyi and Daoyi found themselves within a magnificent palace. The plaque above the palace gate read Heaven-Earth-Man Trinity Palace.

"Mother, this is?" Tianyi asked.

"My residence and the place that I spend the most time on when comprehending the worldly laws," Mengfei said. "But I haven't been here in twenty years."

Twenty years, that was Tianyi's current age now. It need not be said why Mengfei had not stepped into the Heaven-Earth-Man Trinity Palace in these years.

Mengfei's lips curled upwards slightly when she saw Tianyi's guilt-ridden eyes. Her hands reached up and pinched Tianyi's cheeks. Both Tianyi and Mengfei stood in silent shock at Mengfei's sudden action.

When Tianyi was at his cutest all those years ago, Mengfei had never done such a thing. But now Mengfei suddenly did such an unexpected thing.

Tianyi quickly stepped back and rubbed his flushed face. "Mother, I'm no longer a child. You shouldn't do this to me."

Mengfei looked away. But if one looked closely, one could see the tip of her ears slightly tinged with red. No one could tell as the group of four soon began to descend, no one except one person. Elder Shan revealed a mischievous smile as he stroked his beard with an amused expression on his face. Even Tianyi dared not look at Daoyi, who he knew was giving an amused smile at him. Like this, the embarrassed duo of mother and son descended into the Huang Realm in silence.

As the quartet descended closer to the ground, Tianyi noticed that the destination wasn't where they began. He blinked as he realized that the destination was also extremely familiar.

As they neared closer to the ground, the four saw large groups of people gathering and surrounding the pillar of light. When the four finally touched the ground, a nascent soul grandmaster and several core formation masters already surrounded them. Tianyi also noticed a familiar-looking young lady dressed in pink.

He quirked his lips upward, amazed at how the travel time was reduced from several weeks to less than an hour. Tianyi briefly wondered why Mengfei didn't use this to go to the Xi Dynasty but wrote it off as not wanting to cause a ruckus as she had done here.

Tianyi was the first to speak as he looked at the familiar person who hadn't seemed to change at all. "Long time no see, Sect Master Yun, Big Sister Pan."

Sect Master Yun looked at Tianyi with disbelieving eyes as he shakily pointed his forefinger at Tianyi. "Little Friend Tianyi?"