Just as the group from the Fang Clan was about to enter Planet South Heaven, a cool voice echoed out from down below.

"Now that the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple has been unsealed, there are two rules here on Planet South Heaven. One. Only cultivators in the Spirit Realm may enter Planet South Heaven. Two. The door to South Heaven will only open once. All who wish to enter must wait to do so together with everyone else."

As the voice echoed into the Fang Clan members' ears, their facial expressions flickered.

"That was clan uncle Fang Xiufeng!"

"Clan uncle, can you please bend the rules a bit? The Patriarch commanded us to come here for good fortune. Clan uncle, please assist us in acquiring it!"

"Immortals can't enter? That's a good rule for others, but we're all from the same clan! We demand to be allowed to enter!"

The calm voice once again rang out from the lands of South Heaven. "I am the Prison Warden of the Ninth Mountain, and I guard Planet South Heaven. Anyone who breaks one of these two rules… will be struck down."

Killing intent bubbled up, causing the Fang clan members' minds to spin. Many were actually enraged. One of the Immortal Realm clan members frowned, and then, relying on the protection his status earned him in the clan, flew directly toward South Heaven.

However, before he could even get close, a beam of sword qi shot up and sliced through him like a sharp knife cutting a blade of grass. Blood spurted out in all directions, and the man's eyes went wide as his body was slashed completely in half. He didn't even have a chance to say anything before he was dead.

Immediately, the Fang Clan members all went silent. The eyes of Fang Xiangshan, Fang Yunyi, and Fang Donghan went wide, and their faces fell.

"Fang Xiufeng, are you saying that we Dao Protectors are not allowed to enter South Heaven?" The voice that spoke was an ancient one. It belonged to an old woman who was positioned behind Fang Xiangshan, and whose eyes glowed with a brilliant light as she spoke.

"You may not!"

"What happens if some accident befalls these members of the younger generation? What then?"

"They are Chosen, and have come to acquire good fortune. They should be prepared to die an early death! Life and death are determined by fate!"

"Just… just because your son is a cripple doesn't mean you should make it hard for other clan members! No matter what you say, they are your juniors. They—"

"I dare you to call my son a cripple again!" Fang Xiufeng's voice was suddenly ice cold, causing the old woman to shiver. Beads of cold sweat began to drip down her forehead, and she didn't speak another word.

It was at this point that an airship could be seen speeding through the void some distance away. More than a hundred people could be seen onboard; this was the Li Clan from North Reed. Sitting in the lead position was the extraordinary woman with the glittering willow leaf mark on her head.

"That's Li Ling'er!"1

"They say that she's the Dao Daughter of this generation of the Li Clan! Her cultivation base is extraordinary, and even exceeds peak Dao Seeking. She could face Immortal Tribulation at any time!"

Next, another figure appeared in the starry sky. It was a young man who stood on a flying sword. Sword light spread out in all directions as he sped forward.

His expression was placid, his features handsome. Just barely visible on his forehead was a third eye. As he neared, quite a few members of the Fang Clan and Li Clan looked over, and their eyes flickered.

"That's Zhao Yifan from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, one of the Three Great Daoist Societies. Every generation, they only send two disciples out into the world!"

"People say that he once fought Song Luodan from the Song Clan, and defeated him!"

As the buzz of conversation rose up, a cold snort echoed out. A sea of flames appeared in the starry sky off in the distance, within which could be seen dozens of figures. In the lead position was a young man in a red robe. Perched on his shoulder was a flame crow, and his expression was one of fury. He seemed to emanate the air of a Paragon, and as he flew, the area around him twisted and distorted.

"Zhao Yifan!" he cried. "We didn't finish fighting last time. Why not pick things up where we left off!?" This young man was none other than Song Luodan of the Song Clan. As he looked at Zhao Yifan, his eyes brimmed with the desire to do battle.

Fang Donghan of the Fang Clan stepped forward, his energy surging. Li Ling'er, daughter of the Li Clan, looked on with a calm expression, but the willow leaf on her forehead emanated an astonishing moon-like glow.

It was at this point that rumbling could be heard from off in the distance as two more teleportation portals appeared in the starry sky outside of South Heaven. Dozens of people appeared within each of the two teleportation portals. In one of them, a veiled woman could be seen. She was slender and graceful, and a bizarre aura emanated out as soon as she appeared on the scene.

Quite a few people looked over at this veiled woman.

In the other teleportation portal, a young man could be seen with eyebrows like swords and eyes like stars. His features were plain, his expression cold. As he stepped forward, his energy surged up with each step. It almost seemed like he wished to exert pressure on the other Chosen, all of whom snorted coldly.

"Demoness Zhixiang from the Demon Immortal Sect!"

"That's… Clan Prince Wang Mu from the Wang Clan! They say that he has energy from the Wang Clan Patriarch, and that he can even force the Wang Clan's ancient sword spirit to capitulate to him!"

Next, one teleportation portal after another appeared. Rumbling could be heard as people from the Five Great Holy Lands, the Three Churches and Six Religions, essentially every major power in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, all appeared in the starry sky above South Heaven. Ripples flowed out in all directions, and energy surged that seemed capable of repressing the entire planet.

Cries of astonishment could be heard from all directions. Each one of these groups contained Chosen who were already famous in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, so their appearance here was completely sensational.

It was at this point that suddenly, a scroll painting swirled out through the starry sky toward the congregated cultivators. It was fully 30,000 meters long, completely shocking, and depicted an enormous mountain.

Countless figures were seated cross-legged on that mountain. One of those figures was surrounded by a swirling Karma blade. When he opened his eyes, everything around that he looked at instantly began to tremble mentally.

"The Ji Clan!!"

"The Ji Clan is here! That's… Ji Yin!"

"The year that the three Ji Clan members fought over the title of Son of Ji, Ji Yin was defeated. However, he is still considered Chosen, and few people of this generation could possibly contend with him!"

Everyone was shaken by the appearance of the Ji Clan; however, the desire to do battle could clearly be seen glowing in the eyes of the various Chosen.

The scroll painting flashed by all of the other cultivators, completely ignoring them as it headed directly toward Planet South Heaven. Before it reached the planet, a beam of sword qi flew out toward it. However, an old man then stepped out from within the scroll painting. He waved his arm to block the sword qi, but then coughed up a huge mouthful of blood and staggered backward three thousand meters. He looked up, shaken.

"Fang Xiufeng, what is the meaning of this!"

The voice of Meng Hao's father could be heard from Planet South Heaven. "Two things are not permitted. Anyone above the Spirit Realm, and anyone entering ahead of the appointed time. Rule violators will be beheaded."

The old man's face flickered. "You…."

The faces of the cultivators from the other powers also flickered, and then stared down at Planet South Heaven.

"Fang Xiufeng…. I heard that he was honored with the position of top Chosen in the Fang Clan. He was a consummately powerful expert who could shake even the Patriarchs of the various sects!"

"It's too bad that for the sake of his crippled son, he agreed to guard Planet South Heaven for 100,000 years… and not leave it."

"I also heard about his story. It's been a few hundred years, so presumably, his crippled son is long since dead. That's probably why he's not too happy with all these Chosen."

"Hmph! Even if his crippled son isn't dead, there's no way he could compare to the Chosen of all the sects! Why the hell is Fang Xiufeng not allowing Immortal Realm cultivators to enter!?"

Even as the standoff continued, a sea dragon appeared, floating through the void. It roared, and the stars seemed to become a sea. Everyone looked over at the woman who sat cross-legged atop the sea dragon, her long hair floating around her.

"That's Fan Dong'er from the Nine Seas God World!"

"It's Goddess Fan Dong'er!"

"I can't believe she's here!" Everyone was looking over at her, most notably, Fang Xiangshan and Li Ling'er.

Fang Donghan's eyes gleamed brightly, and Zhao Yifan's expression brightened. The eyes of Wang Mu from the Wang Clan also flickered brightly.

As of this point, all of the Chosen from the Ninth Mountain and Sea who could come, were present!

Meng Hao's father's voice once again drifted up from South Heaven. "The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple has been unsealed. All of you may enter."

Someone immediately asked, "If those of us in the Immortal Realm seal our cultivation bases and limit ourselves to the Spirit Realm, can we enter?"

Meng Hao's father was silent for a moment, and was apparently thinking. Then he said, "If you seal yourself, then yes, you may enter. But if you exceed the Spirit Realm, you will be destroyed in body and soul!"

"Very well!" Although the various groups weren't happy, this was the mysterious Planet South Heaven, and they didn't dare to piss off Fang Xiufeng in his capacity as Prison Warden. Furthermore, before coming to South Heaven, all of the Patriarchs from their various organizations had instructed them to be cautious in all matters.

There were well over a thousand people who now flew toward Planet South Heaven. Those in the Immortal Realm sealed their cultivation bases so that they were at the peak of the Spirit Realm. Together, they formed a cluster of light beams that shot toward the planet.

On that day, the cultivators in the lands of South Heaven looked up to see over a thousand shooting stars flying across the sky. They descended like meteors, emanating astonishing energy that caused the minds of all South Heaven cultivators to tremble.

Many sects immediately ordered their disciples to remain indoors and not emerge.

There were some sect Patriarchs who came out from secluded meditation. There were precious treasures within their sects that emitted brightly shining light, apparently having formed resonances with some of the approaching strangers.

The lands of South Heaven were shaken, but the newcomers did nothing to interfere with the planet itself. Before coming here, they had been strictly instructed that because of the unfathomable mysteriousness of Planet South Heaven, it was not to be unnecessarily disturbed.

Therefore, the over one thousand beams of light whistled through the air but did not near any of the sects there. Relying on the auguries from the clan and sect Patriarchs, they headed directly for the Eastern Lands.

They charged into the deep mountains of the vast Eastern Lands, toward the mountain range that housed the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. In the blink of an eye, the sky trembled and the land shook, almost as if it were on the verge of tearing itself to pieces. Countless numbers of cultivators noticed the shocking display.

There were some great sects in the Eastern Lands who came to the conclusion that some valuable treasure had appeared. That was the only thing that would cause such an incredible display of power.

However, nobody emerged. As they looked out from within their sects, they could see that many of the most terrifying figures emitted ripples that were only of the Dao Seeking stage. However… some were very close to being Immortal, and were obviously there to protect the younger members.

As for the young people, the feeling they gave people was that they were like gods. Soon they would be respected Immortals with flourishing energy, completely shocking to everyone. Therefore, the sects of the Eastern Lands were all struck with fear.

"These are definitely Chosen from outside of South Heaven. Not even the Ji Clan has emerged… they're just watching."

"I wonder what sort of precious treasure appeared to attract so many fearsome Chosen. They… look young, and not because of some art of bodily preservation, but because they truly haven't practiced cultivation for very long. And yet, their cultivation bases are incredible…."

You may remember someone named "Ling'er" mentioned in chapter 800....