Chapter 1022: Custom

Lu Yang had intended to take Yun Mengmeng to visit Tao Yaoye, but before they could even ascend the mountain, he spotted the disciples of Dustless Peak gathered at its base, a bustling, lively throng of voices where Tao Yaoye stood among them.

"Junior Sister Tao, what are you all doing down here at the bottom of the mountain?" Lu Yang asked, thoroughly perplexed.

"Senior Brother Lu, Happy New Year! And Senior Sister Yun, Happy New Year to you too! Since the New Year is upon us, we are doing a grand spring cleaning."

"A grand spring cleaning, yet you are all standing at the foot of the mountain?"

"That is naturally because Master is up there," Tao Yaoye explained with a bright, cheerful giggle.

Suddenly, a formidable aura erupted from the mountain peak, surging outward continuously and expanding its reach, kicking up a tempest of dust.

"See? Master is using her own Flawless Immortal Body to do the spring cleaning. Normally, Master represses her Flawless Domain, but now that it is time for the New Year cleanup, she unfurls the domain, and just like that, every speck of dust is swept completely clean."

"The mountain is pristine now."

It was the first time Lu Yang had ever seen the Flawless Immortal Body utilized in such a manner; it was utterly extravagant.

"Convenient, isn't it?"

"It is indeed convenient."

"I heard from the Senior Sisters that every New Year, our Dustless Peak always has the cleanest sweep of all."

To himself, Lu Yang thought that it was no wonder, for which other peak possessed the Sixth Elder to do their sweeping so thoroughly.

"Speaking of which, it seems no one is cleaning our Heaven Gate Peak," Lu Yang suddenly recalled, realizing that one really ought to be somewhat mindful of the New Year traditions.

"There are people working," the Immortal Fairy chimed in, telling Lu Yang that he need not carry any psychological burden and should just enjoy himself. "When we left Heaven Gate Peak, the Fourth Master took our sect leader, along with the barbecue master and the others, to go clean up. I do not know if it was of his own accord or if Girl Yun instructed them."

The Sect Leader of the Immortal Sect, along with Master Liu, Master Gao, and the rest, were all changgui spirits refined by the Eldest Senior Sister, absolutely bound to her command.

"That is good then," Lu Yang smiled, putting the matter to rest so he could enjoy the New Year with a peaceful mind.

Crack-pop, crack-pop, crack-pop...

How could a New Year be complete without the sound of firecrackers? As New Year's Eve descended, the festive atmosphere within the Single Quest Sect grew increasingly potent.

One Senior Sister held two long strings of firecrackers, spinning in circles, relying on the fact that the explosions could not harm her, refusing to let go even after both strings had completely burned out.

It had been a long time since Lu Yang had lit any fireworks himself, and seeing this made his hands itch with the desire to try.

Whoosh—

A projectile streaked right past the top of Lu Yang's head, exploding a short distance away.

Then came a succession of "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" as countless projectiles flew past, some from the left hand and others from the right, setting off a continuous chain of deafening explosions.

Only then did Lu Yang realize that, without him noticing when it began, numerous Senior and Junior Brothers were standing on both sides, pulling cannons from their storage rings and firing at one another, the blasts ringing loud enough to split the ears.

The might of these projectiles was quite ordinary, merely enough to blast a Qi Condensation cultivator to death, so they could be fired freely within the Single Quest Sect without so much as damaging one's clothes.

Some Senior Brothers, annoyed that the cannons fired too slowly, simply swung their arms in wide arcs to hurl the projectiles across to the opposite side, and the opposing side, refusing to be outdone, retaliated in the exact same fashion.

There was even a Senior Sister sitting on a stool, beneath which countless projectiles were piled; a single stray spark drifted down, igniting the heap and blasting her straight into the sky.

Crack-pop-bang.

The stool disintegrated in midair, resembling a magnificent display of fireworks.

"...How is this different from the firecrackers in my memory?" Lu Yang's lips twitched; this was hardly setting off firecrackers, the Single Quest Sect was practically turning into an armory.

"I think it is quite alright," Yun Mengmeng smiled, the reflections of the flames dancing within her eyes. "It is far less powerful than my self-detonated blasts."

"If it were as powerful as your self-detonations, that would be an enormous problem, wouldn't it?" Lu Yang muttered under his breath.

"Not at all," the Immortal Fairy manifested to offer her own testimony. "Back in our days during the New Year, I would often detonate myself a few times to liven up the atmosphere, and later it became a tradition."

"The world greatly revered this Immortal and wished to emulate my grand posture. They also wanted to make some noise during the New Year, but they could not replicate a commotion as grand as this Immortal's self-detonated blasts, so they settled for the next best thing and changed it to fireworks."

"So you are saying that detonating oneself during the New Year is actually the most orthodox practice?!"

"Naturally, just look at this Immortal's influence." The Immortal Fairy placed her hands on her hips, bursting with pride.

"This Immortal sees that this New Year is not quite lively enough. How about I just detonate myself once to let you all witness tradition?"

"No need, absolutely no need." Lu Yang was thoroughly startled; if the Fairy were to detonate herself even once, wouldn't the entire Single Quest Sect be sent flying into the heavens?

Rumble—

Muffled roars echoed across the sky, bearing the cries of dragons and the roars of lions.

Lu Yang looked up and discovered that the Senior Brothers and Sisters had actually used transformation arts to turn themselves into dragons and lions, clashing fiercely in the air against a backdrop of fireworks, creating a scene so grand and beautiful that it would be more than sufficient to serve as the final decisive battle between the protagonist and the villain at the climax of a Phantom Bubble.

"Is this what dragon and lion dances are like during the New Year?"

Lu Yang felt more and more that this was an entirely different matter from the New Year in his memories.

"Hey, is that one a lion too?"

Lu Yang noticed that among the crowd of dragons and lions, there was one lion whose appearance was distinct from the rest. It was eighty to ninety feet long, terrifying in aspect, with perfectly round eyes and a coat of crimson fur that resembled burning clouds, a single horn growing from its head, behaving exceptionally lively amidst the dragon and lion dances.

To be precise, it was tossing its head and wagging its tail, frolicking about with its tongue hanging out.

The beast in the shape of a lion perceived Lu Yang's gaze, suddenly flying down to scrutinize him, speaking in human tongue.

"You can see me?"

"Who are you?!" Lu Yang was instantly startled; was he not supposed to be able to see it?

"Oh, isn't this a Nian Beast?" The Immortal Fairy recognized the origin of this demonic beast at a single glance.

"A Nian Beast? That demonic beast nurtured by the Immortal of Time using the Time Dao Fruit?" Lu Yang remembered; the Immortal Fairy had briefly introduced the Nian Beast before, and the Eldest Senior Sister had also mentioned wanting to catch one but failing to do so.

"Yes, it is the beast created by the Immortal of Time, quite miraculous indeed."

"This is a creature that lives within time, only revealing itself on the Eve of every New Year, thereafter leaping through time to arrive at the next New Year's Eve, repeating this cycle, which is how the custom of 'passing the Year' came to be."

"They favor the color red and love lively atmospheres. Every year during the mortal New Year, they hide within the celebrations to play. This time, it was likely attracted because our sect's commotion is grander than that of the mortals."

"Since their birth is connected to a Dao Fruit, only Immortals are capable of seeing them."

"So you are a Nian Beast?" Once Lu Yang understood the origin of the creature before him, his tension dissipated.

"You are an Immortal—no, wait, you are only at the Deity Transformation Stage!" This Nian Beast was struck with immense shock; only Immortals could perceive them, yet this mortal was merely at the Deity Transformation Stage, so how could he possibly see it, let alone know of the existence of their Nian race?

What is the Second Master doing?

Yun Mengmeng seemed to sense something and turned her head to look at Lu Yang, only to see him acting as though he were talking to something invisible, putting on a highly convincing performance.

"Is the Second Master truly this childish? I stopped doing this sort of thing when I was sixteen."