The Sun family was filled with anticipation, foreseeing the imminent downfall of the transcendents. Believing that not all of them had gathered yet, as inferred from Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie's secret conversation, they knew the Zhilan Assembly would take place in the evening. 0

"Expert hunters know the value of patience, calm, and restraint. We have all the time we need. Let's give them the entire night. The transcendents will soon heed the call of hell," they mused, content in their expectation of imminent success.0

Soon, they made a new discovery. An elderly figure appeared, seemingly frail but climbing the mountain with the agility of a monkey, scaling sheer cliffs instead of following the paths. Sun Rongsheng was surprised. Evidently, some transcendents had remained hidden, as this individual was previously unseen. "Is he an indigenous resident with his partly pale purple hair?" wondered the Sun family, recalling legends about the indigenous ancestors being celestial immortals and their feared hereditary affliction—'the five decays of heaven and man'.1

It seemed these rumors were likely true, and some powerful individuals among them still possessed transcendent...0