Volume 9, Chapter 640 – The Immortal Stele Is Not an Imperial Decree (Part 4)

“What? The bride really didn’t come? Now this will be a fine show to watch!”

The guests below burst into a noisy uproar upon hearing this.

“Master Lü, then may I ask, will your son still hold the wedding ceremony tonight or not?”

Someone blurted out without thinking.

“If the bride hasn’t come, who the hell am I supposed to marry? Your mother?”

Behind him, Lü Yi roared in humiliation and rage.

“Well then, as long as Young Master Lü is willing, I’ll send my mother over right away.”

The man was overjoyed. To be able to call Lü Yi his father by marriage was worth any price. Never mind just his mother, he’d offer all the women of his family if need be.

“Everyone, since the bride has not arrived, naturally my son’s wedding must be canceled. I sincerely apologize.”

Lü Gao stepped forward to reply.

“An apology alone? What about the wedding gifts we brought? Surely you won’t just pocket them for nothing?”

A guest boldly questioned.

“They will of course be returned exactly as they were.”

Lü Gao made his promise.

Unhappy looks spread across the faces of the guests. They had come from afar, and merely returning the gifts could not compensate for the exhaustion of the journey. But because of the Lü family’s intimidating power, no one dared speak further.

“And what about that Cheng Hongling? She dared to stand you up, utterly outrageous!”

“Yes, Master Lü, how do you plan to deal with her? I heard this woman is extremely talented. Do you intend to immediately erase her name, or let the Immortal Might suppress her?”

“The Lü family is one of the nine great immortal clans of the cultivation world. If you simply erase her name, what face would you have left?”

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“That’s right. Perhaps Cheng Hongling counted on you not daring to suppress her, and that’s why she’s so bold.”

The guests fired off one curious question after another.

“What a joke. My Lü family is one of the nine immortal powers of the cultivation world. How could we possibly compromise with some country bumpkin girl?”

Lü Yi sneered coldly.

“So then, you truly intend to let the Immortal Might suppress her?”

A guest pressed further.

“Of course. You’ve all come from afar, we can’t let you go home empty-handed. Tonight, you will personally witness the grandeur of an Immortal Stele in action!”

Lü Gao’s response was domineering. His decisiveness wasn’t only for the sake of face. The crucial point was that there was no hope left, Cheng Hongling would rather die than marry into the Lü family. That meant his son had no chance at all. For a genius like her, if they couldn’t possess her, it was better to destroy her completely. Otherwise, if she fell into someone else’s hands, she would become a threat.

“Wait a minute! Why does this scene feel so familiar?”

A member of the Immortal Alliance suddenly spoke. Since the Lü and Cao families were both descendants of immortals, the Alliance had to maintain good relations with both. Naturally, they had sent people to celebrate the wedding.

“What is it?”

“I recall half a year ago, at the Cao family, the eldest young master’s wedding turned out just like this. The bride never entered the gate at the last moment.”

“Yes, yes! I remember too. And that bride was even more extraordinary, she was none other than the new Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect, the only unrivaled genius woman in the cultivation world today!”

A few cultivators who had gone to the Cao household as guests also suddenly remembered.

“You mean that peerless prodigy who defeated seven seven young monsters by herself?”

“Who else could it be?”

“So how did it end?”

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“It’s laughable. The Cao family swore they would suppress her with the Immortal Might. But who would have thought that the Huarong Sect’s Holy Maiden was cunning as can be. She never revealed her true name from start to finish. As a result, the Cao family’s Immortal Stele didn’t respond at all. The entire incident turned into a laughingstock for the whole cultivation world.”

“So nowadays, are all the women of the cultivation world so picky? Even descendants of immortals aren’t good enough for them?”

“You think the Lü family’s Immortal Stele tonight might also fail to respond? That would really kill the excitement.”

The guests wore skeptical expressions.

“Don’t worry, everyone. This Cheng Hongling is no Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect. We know her background inside and out. On behalf of the Lü family, I guarantee that at midnight tonight, the Immortal Stele will activate without fail!”

Lü Gao immediately gave his word.

“That’s right. I’m not like that useless Cao Yang, who couldn’t even handle a single woman.”

Lü Yi’s face twisted into a sneer.

“Since Master Lü has said so, we’ll wait to witness the activation of the Immortal Stele.”

Only then did the guests calm down. After all, Immortal Steles were exceedingly rare, and among those present, only a handful had ever seen one activate.

“To give everyone a better view, I’ll light things up for you now.”

Brimming with self-satisfaction, Lü Gao flicked his hand, and a ball of blazing fire shot into the sky. Like a second sun, it illuminated the night. The towering Immortal Stele not far away was revealed in full, its form clear to all.

“Master Lü! Master Lü!”

Just then, an elder in embroidered robes called out timidly.

“What is it?”

Lü Gao replied impatiently.

“Oh, well, my name is Meng Qing. My daughter is promised as a concubine to your son. Today, I was asked to bring her along as part of the dowry for Cheng Hongling. Since the bride herself hasn’t come, my daughter won’t be targeted by the Immortal Might, will she?”

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The old man asked nervously, stammering.

“Yes, yes, we are wondering the same!”

Many voices chimed in at once.

“Rest assured. Concubines do not need to go through the formal wedding ceremony. As long as they arrive at the residence, it counts as not breaking the engagement. The Immortal Stele will absolutely not suppress them.”

Lü Gao finally softened his tone to explain.

The concubines and their families let out sighs of relief. Among them those hiding inside their spatial rings, like Xue Jing.

Only then did the guests turn their eyes back to the towering Immortal Stele.

The Lü family’s stele was indeed enormous, over thirty zhang tall and more than fifteen wide. Yet because every generation had endlessly married wives and taken concubines, there was now almost no empty space left. From afar, it looked packed with countless names etched densely across its surface.

“Looks like this Lü family’s Immortal Stele is about to be filled completely. What will they do when there’s no more room?”

“What else can they do? Nothing. It’ll just mean the stele is useless. Quite a few Immortal Steles in the past were scrapped this way. Otherwise, how could there only be nine left now?”

“What? You mean the stele can’t grow larger?”

“It can, but only if its master in the upper realm grows stronger. Every time the ancestor increases in cultivation realm, the stele here will expand in size accordingly.”

“I see. So if the Lü family’s immortal ancestor fails to advance, and their stele becomes fully inscribed, then their clan will soon decline.”

“Hmph, that’s the fate of being too greedy, no thought for steady development.”

“That’s not entirely fair. They still have immortal blood in their veins. They won’t collapse completely. They just won’t be able to throw their weight around like this anymore.”

Cultivators from other immortal families murmured among themselves. They weren’t afraid of the Lü family, so they didn’t bother to keep quiet.

Lü Gao and his kin were clearly displeased, but as hosts, and with others outmatching them in status, they could only pretend not to hear.

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The guests all craned their necks in anticipation. Midnight finally came. Just as puzzled looks spread across the faces of the crowd, an inexplicable chill crept into their hearts. It wasn’t Divine Sense suppression, but pure instinctive dread. Then, they suddenly noticed the ground trembling faintly. The dishes and chopsticks on the tables began clattering merrily, as if in an earthquake.

Horror spread across the guests’ faces. Those with weaker nerves collapsed directly to the floor.

“Everyone, do not be alarmed. This is normal. The Immortal Might is about to awaken.”

“Under Immortal Might, none survive. Tomorrow, you will all hear the news of Cheng Hongling’s death!”

“Hmph! This is the price of defying the Lü family! The Immortal Stele is the imperial decree of the cultivation world!”

Lü Gao quickly reassured the crowd, his expression brimming with pride. The rest of the Lü family also began to boast loudly.

BOOM!

Suddenly, from the top of the Immortal Stele surged a roaring “waterfall”. It shot straight into the sky, piercing through the thick clouds with unstoppable force, vanishing from sight.

“Look! Such a massive waterfall, and it’s flowing upward!”

Someone cried out in astonishment.

“That’s no waterfall. That’s the Immortal Might itself, so powerful it warps space. They say its force surpasses even Heavenly Tribulations. Not even cultivators in the Heavenly Tribulation Realm can resist. Cheng Hongling is doomed!”

A nearby cultivator said grimly.

At that very moment, the same phenomenon erupted at Huarong Sect. But there, the only onlookers were Hua Man and Hua Ruyi.

“Master! This is the last dance of our Huarong Sect’s Immortal Stele. I don’t know if what I’ve done is right or wrong…”

Hua Ruyi gazed upward and sighed.

“I told you already, I will bear all consequences alone!”

Hua Man’s expression remained calm as ever. Then she turned her eyes toward the east, her gaze filled with expectation. “I only hope she will not disappoint us!”