How did a bastard like him become an immortal?

The illusory body of the Long-Eared Immortal trembled slightly. This little guy seemed to take him back hundreds of years, reminding him of his master and fellow disciples at Biyou Palace, and bringing back the feeling of that warm home.

With a bitter laugh, he realized those days were long gone. Now, he was a shadow of his former self, neither human nor ghost. He put the Xuanhun Grass into his hand and regained his composure. "Boy, then I thank you. After the coming-of-age ceremony, I will take you to the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains on the border of the Great Tang Empire for the next stage of arduous cultivation. Only when you reach the Golden Core realm will you truly embark on the path of immortality."

Li Muyun chuckled dryly, "Hehe, little rabbit, your coming-of-age ceremony is coming up soon, do you have any secret tricks to share with me?"

Long-eared Immortal was taken aback, then quickly tossed the Mystic Soul Grass to Li Muyun, shaking his long ears, "You little brat, were you waiting for me here? I don't want it anymore!"

Li Muyun quickly handed the Xuanhun Grass back to the Long-Eared Immortal, bowed respectfully, and said, "Rabbit Lord, I bought the Xuanhun Grass because I genuinely wanted you to recover; this is never a transaction. However, Li Tianquan is, after all, at the peak of the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm, and I am not entirely confident in defeating him."

Long-eared Immortal chuckled and tapped Li Muyun on the head. "Kid, you don't know your own strength right now, do you? Haha, go all out for your coming-of-age ceremony. If the disciple I train can't fight beyond his level, I might as well just kill myself!"

Li Muyun scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. He knew that he had undergone a tremendous transformation after these three stages of arduous training, but he was still unsure about his specific combat strength.

He looked at the long-eared fairy with pleading eyes, "Rabbit Lord, all my fairy techniques are at the human or spirit level, I don't even have a single ultimate move. When can you teach me a divine fairy technique?"

She flicked her long ears and rolled her eyes. "With your cultivation level, you think you can learn divine immortal techniques? Let's talk about it when you come with me to the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains. Also, I'm going back to the jade tablet to refine this Profound Soul Grass. Don't bother me unless it's important."

After speaking, it transformed into a ray of light and returned to Li Muyun's body. Li Muyun simply smiled and helplessly continued his meditation. Having grown accustomed to the torturous arduous cultivation of the past, he found ordinary cultivation now almost uninteresting. He was eager to go to the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range to begin the next stage of arduous cultivation.

Time flies, and a few days passed in the blink of an eye. This time, the coming-of-age ceremony held by the Marquis's mansion was even grander than the previous elephant dance ceremony. After all, these were the real successors and forces of the Marquis's mansion in the capital, so Marquis Tiantu attached great importance to it.

Not only did everyone in the Marquis's mansion attend the coming-of-age ceremony in their finest attire, but they also invited three of the eight major sects—Wuji Sect, Longhu Mountain, and Jiange Sect—to witness the ceremony, as well as His Highness Prince Qin and Princess Miaochan, who came uninvited.

This coming-of-age ceremony was unprecedentedly grand compared to previous ones held by the Marquis's family.

The study of the Marquis's residence.

Li Rentu, sitting on the mahogany chair, frowned and asked, "Why is His Highness Prince Qin here as well?"

Standing to the side, Yuan Wuji waved his feather fan and said, "My lord, you may not know this, but a while ago, Young Master Yun attended the Hundred Sages Banquet of the Prince of Qin. He defeated all the sages with his thunder magic and became the leader of the sages. Moreover, His Highness also gave him a mansion, as if he wanted to bring Young Master Yun under his command."

A cold glint flashed in Li Rentu's eyes, and he scoffed disdainfully, "Nonsense! You're still wet behind the ears and you want to get involved in court intrigues? You're overestimating yourself!"

Yuan Wuji subtly picked up a feather fan to fan the Marquis of Tiantu, and said with a smile, "My lord, please calm down. Young Master Yun is young and ambitious, and has only just begun to show his talent. It's understandable that he wants to make his way in the world. He's still just a child. Once he's fully grown, you can teach him a thing or two and have him return to the Eastern Palace. Wouldn't that be even better?"

Li Rentu's brows slowly relaxed, and he calmed down. "Very well. However, it's a bit too blatant for His Highness Prince Qin to be recruiting retainers and making friends everywhere."

"Don't worry, Lord Marquis. His Highness the Crown Prince has also planted some spies among them, but it's just a small-scale operation and won't amount to much. Young Master Yun has only just entered the Foundation Establishment stage, yet he has already been awarded the title of Sage Leader, which shows that the so-called Hundred Sages are nothing but a rabble." Yuan Wuji shook his head and chuckled.

Li Rentu nodded in satisfaction. "His Highness the Crown Prince is becoming increasingly meticulous in his work. By the way, has Master Zhao from Longhu Mountain arrived?"

"We've already informed him that Young Master Yun knows the Golden Light Mantra, and he's already here," Yuan Wuji said, somewhat puzzled. "Compared to Young Master Yun's accidental gain in the black market, Longhu Mountain probably won't let this go easily. Aren't we putting Young Master Yun in danger by doing this?"

Li Rentu arrogantly shrugged, "With me, the Heavenly Butcher, here, even the Celestial Master wouldn't dare touch my son. However, Li Muyun has been too high-profile lately; he needs to suffer a bit!"

......

At the Marquis's martial arts arena, the Immortal Martial Stone Tablet still stands, and all those who passed the Elephant Dance Ceremony test last time are waiting here for today's coming-of-age ceremony.

The coming-of-age ceremony will retest everyone's strength, allocate market resources, and allow any member of the Marquis's household under the age of twenty to challenge each other. The winner will gain management rights to more shops under the Marquis's name. Eighty percent of the profits from these shops will be handed over to the Marquis's household, with the remaining twenty percent going to the managers. Once the coming-of-age ceremony is completed, the Marquis's household will not provide any monthly allowance to the younger generation; they will have to rely entirely on themselves.

Li Tianquan's ability to spend lavishly on the Spirit Gathering Array was thanks to the three Xuan Iron mines under his control. These were veritable treasure troves, generating immense wealth without any effort on his part. Liu Ruyue had specially chosen them for him. Many of the younger generation in the Marquis's mansion were envious, but Li Tianquan's formidable strength, coupled with his status as the son of a marquis, meant no one dared to challenge him or compete for them.

In the stands of the martial arts arena, the main seat was still occupied by the Heavenly Slaughter Marquis, dressed in a black python robe, with two guest seats and three VIP seats set up beside him.

The two guest seats were reserved for the Prince of Qin and Shi Miaochan, while the three guest seats were arranged for distinguished guests from Wuji Sect, Longhu Mountain, and Jiange. As for the ladies, they were not entitled to attend due to the presence of distinguished guests.

The one who came from the Wuji Sect was an old man dressed in black robes named He Qing, who was Li Tianquan's teacher and a grandmaster with a half-step Martial Core realm.

The Taoist priest from the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain was a squinty-eyed man in a gray-blue robe. He was none other than Zhao Huanjin, the Smiling Underworld King, one of the Celestial Master's ten disciples whom Li Muyun had met before.

As for the Sword Pavilion, Li Xianjiu looked at the two people beside her with dissatisfaction. One was a Grandmaster at the half-step Martial Core stage, and the other was a Dao Immortal at the Nascent Soul stage, making her, a Sword Immortal at the Golden Core stage, seem utterly insignificant. She could only take a sip of wine in frustration, constantly exhaling her breath at the two of them as a gas attack, which drew their disgust.

Just then, Li Muyun, with his jade-like face and white robes, arrived alone at the martial arts arena. Instantly, several gazes fell upon this young man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes...