Chapter 9

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Zhu Ganglie left the ancient cave and prepared to leave Zhen Gang Sect, feeling a bit reluctant. He cast a concealment spell and prepared to sneak back to the Ancestor Hall to take away some old items.

Fortunately, the Yuan Yang Ruler had a large space that could carry those mundane objects. His bronze mirror, which he had left in a hurry, was also in the Ancestor Hall.

The origin of the small mirror was unknown, and he didn't know if it belonged to his previous self or if he had carried it with him from the beginning. He couldn't afford to lose it.

Most importantly, Zhu Ganglie wanted to steal the Gourd Sword Technique from Zhen Gang Sect. Since he planned to join a prestigious sect and practice the art of immortality, he naturally intended to go to Tai Bai Sword Sect. Practicing the Gourd Sword Technique in advance would be beneficial.

Moreover, he planned to learn more spells for self-defense when he went to Tai Bai Sword Sect to seek a master.

Since he had the Heavenly Cicada Spirit Leaf to conceal his cultivation, he wasn't afraid of being discovered as a Qi Practitioner.

With his concealed figure, Zhu Ganglie moved swiftly and arrived at the Ancestor Hall in a short time. A thick layer of dust covered the place, indicating that no one had visited for a long time.

This relieved Zhu Ganglie, as it seemed that Zhen Gang Sect hadn't discovered him. After all, he was just an ordinary servant, and the Ancestor Hall was in a remote location. No one would come unless there was something significant.

However, other areas were also sparsely populated, and the usual busy servants and outer disciples were nowhere to be seen.

After pondering for a while, Zhu Ganglie looked toward Zhen Gang Peak and realized, "I almost forgot, the six-year duel period has arrived. It must have been a few days already."

Understanding this, Zhu Ganglie decided to visit Zhen Gang Peak to observe the duel. Although he knew about the duel, he hadn't seen one since he had only been in this world for three years. This was a good opportunity to learn more about dueling.

He then urged his sword pill to wrap around his body, concealed himself, and flew up to Zhen Gang Peak.

The duel between the two sects occurred every six years. The previous one was at Tai Yin Sect, and this one was at Zhen Gang Peak. It was both a test of the disciples' cultivation and a competition between the two sects. The winner would occupy the third spiritual vein of Piaomiao Mountain, which could help cultivate a few elite disciples for the sect.

Upon reaching Zhen Gang Peak, Zhu Ganglie no longer concealed his figure but used the Heavenly Cicada Spirit Leaf to mask his cultivation. He mixed in with the servants at the back and watched the duel.

All disciples of the two sects could observe the duel, and some servants were also allowed to watch. Zhu Ganglie blended in with the crowd, and few noticed the extra servant.

Outside the Zhen Gang Hall, a five-colored cloud platform had been built, forming a stone stage sixteen feet high and a hundred steps wide. At the moment, a disciple from Tai Yin Sect and one from Zhen Gang Sect were dueling.

The Tai Yin Sect disciple was an older Daoist in a yellow robe, with a high crown on his head. He held his waist and manipulated a black ink jade talisman that flew around him.

His opponent was an older Daoist from Zhen Gang Sect, who wielded a pine-patterned sword and fought against the black ink jade talisman.

"Hmm, why aren't the elite disciples dueling?"

Seeing these two older Daoists, Zhu Ganglie was slightly surprised. If a disciple failed to break through to the manifestation stage within sixty years, they would become ordinary elders, managing servants and disciples, and the sect would no longer waste resources on them.

During the six-year duel, they rarely participated, and the true duels were between the elite disciples.

However, today, only these elders were dueling, and the elite disciples were nowhere to be seen.

This puzzled Zhu Ganglie, and he asked a servant beside him about it.

The servant looked at Zhu Ganglie and explained with a sense of pride, "You don't know this? Our sect and Tai Yin Sect each obtained a piece of a thousand-year-old peach spirit wood. The elders of both sects have gathered all the elite disciples to refine this peach spirit wood, intending to make it a sect treasure."

"We in Zhen Gang Sect will refine it into a peach spirit sword, which will surely surpass the power of the Heavenly Gang Bell."

"As for Tai Yin Sect, we don't know what they will refine it into."

Zhu Ganglie smiled and said, "I've been serving in the Ancestor Hall and didn't know about these matters."

"Ancestor Hall? That remote place, you can stay there, no wonder your information is so outdated."

The servant looked at Zhu Ganglie with a slightly strange expression, muttered something, and then turned to continue watching the duel.

After watching for a while, Zhu Ganglie found it uninteresting. These people were just using spiritual power to manipulate talismans, without any cultivation. The same few moves were repeated, and there was nothing worth observing.

At this moment, Zhu Ganglie thought, "I should find the complete cultivation method of the Gourd Sword Technique and find an opportunity to join Tai Bai Sword Sect. Learning the complete Gourd Sword Technique, refining the Golden Core, and entering the path of immortality is the most important."

Suddenly, a huge peach wood sword, taller than a person and covered with vertical patterns, descended from the sky and plunged into the platform, displaying immense power.

However, when the peach wood sword appeared, an elder from Tai Yin Sect chuckled, flipped his hand, and released a black talisman as tall as a person, which stood against the peach wood sword.

The power emitted by these two magical items made everyone pause, and Zhu Ganglie was also stunned. He thought to himself that these items, refined in just a few months, had such a powerful effect. It was indeed better to have the entire sect refine them. If he wanted to refine a magical item to such power, it would take at least a dozen years.

However, with the two major sects showcasing their new magical items, all attention was on them. This was the perfect opportunity for him to enter the library and find the Gourd Sword Technique.

He concealed himself and walked toward the huge stone library at the back of Zhen Gang Sect.

The library was created by the founder of Zhen Gang Sect, who hollowed out a huge green stone, added restrictions, and refined it. Although its power wasn't great, its storage capacity was ample.

Arriving at the library, Zhu Ganglie released a spiritual power to check the restrictions. He sighed in relief, as the restrictions hadn't changed and could be opened with the seals recorded in the Gourd Sword Technique.

He gently cast the first layer of the Gourd Sword Technique, which recorded the Small Cloud Restriction Seals, and a faint cloud-patterned talisman formed from a spiritual power and entered the library's door.

Watching the door slowly open, Zhu Ganglie pondered the differences between the Small Cloud Restriction Seals and the Nine Heavens Talisman Restriction Seals: "The Small Cloud Restriction Seals, like the Nine Heavens Talisman Restriction Seals taught by the immortal in the cave, can refine magical items.

However, the quality of the Small Cloud Restriction Seals is far inferior to the Nine Heavens Talisman Restriction Seals.

If refining magical items is like building a house, the talisman seeds of the Small Cloud Restriction Seals are like soil, while those of the Nine Heavens Talisman Restriction Seals are like extremely sturdy golden bricks.

The power of the magical items refined by these two sets of talisman seeds is incomparable.

Moreover, the first layer of the Gourd Sword Technique only has twelve incomplete restriction seals, which might be because the founder of Zhen Gang Sect didn't learn them completely."

While comparing the two restriction techniques, Zhu Ganglie entered the library.

In fact, Zhu Ganglie misunderstood the power of the Cloud Restriction Seals. The Cloud Restriction Seals are divided into Small Cloud Restriction Seals and Great Cloud Restriction Seals, collectively known as the All-Heaven Cloud Restriction Seals.

The Small Cloud Restriction Seals have seventy-two restriction talisman seeds, and the Great Cloud Restriction Seals have thirty-six talisman seeds. Therefore, they are also called the Earthly Fiend Restrictions and the Heavenly Gang Restrictions.

The All-Heaven Cloud Restriction Seals are restriction techniques for refining magical items in the Daoist sects. The Small Cloud Restriction Seals are the most widely spread refining techniques, and any Qi Practitioner generally knows a few talisman seeds.

The Great Cloud Restriction Seals, on the other hand, are closely guarded secrets of the major sects and are rarely passed on outside the inner disciples.

The thirty-six talisman seeds of the Great Cloud Restriction Seals have power comparable to those of the Nine Heavens Talisman Restriction Seals.

However, the Nine Heavens Talisman Restriction Seals contain one hundred and eight talisman seeds, making them far superior to the Great Cloud Restriction Seals.

Since Zhu Ganglie was just starting his cultivation and had only recently encountered these techniques, his comparison was somewhat biased.

Although the two restriction techniques were different, when refining magical items, the number of layers of talisman seeds used to form the restrictions was the same.

At this moment, Zhu Ganglie was attracted by the vast collection of books and didn't compare the restrictions further. His eyes were fixed on the white jade bamboo slips.

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