Chapter 78

After carefully listening to Senior Brother Wang's account, Qin Fengming's expression became somewhat solemn, with a strange light flashing in his eyes. |www..com|

Seeing his reaction, Senior Brother Wang smiled and said, "Does Junior Brother Qin plan to participate in the selection competition? If you do, you might just surprise everyone."

"Ha ha, I have just entered the eighth level of the Qi Gathering stage. Even if I participate, I would only be a supporting role and dare not have any high hopes," Qin Fengming collected his thoughts, his face calm as he smiled in response.

After breakfast, he returned to his residence and pondered. If he were to participate in this competition without revealing all his top-tier magical artifacts, relying only on a few high-grade magical artifacts, it would be impossible to win against the many peak Qi Gathering stage senior brothers.

However, besides having top-tier and high-grade magical artifacts, he also had over a thousand talismans in his storage ring. With the help of these numerous talismans, even if a Foundation Establishment stage uncle were to make a mistake, it would not be impossible to defeat him.

Touching his storage ring, his confidence grew.

He resolutely went to the alchemy hall but did not see Uncle Fei. He knew that Uncle Fei should be in his fixed alchemy room. As long as Uncle Fei did not need to leave the alchemy hall, he would always be in the alchemy room, as Foundation Establishment cultivators could abstain from food and did not need to eat grains.

He took out a sound transmission talisman, whispered a few words to it, and threw it out with a wave of his hand.

The sound transmission talisman circled once and flew into the alchemy room where Uncle Fei was. After a moment, the stone door of the alchemy room suddenly opened, and Uncle Fei's figure appeared at the door.

Seeing Qin Fengming standing in the alchemy hall, Uncle Fei's stern face showed a pleased expression: "Fengming, is there something you need from your uncle?"

"Reporting to Uncle, do you know that in three months, the Luoxia Sect will hold a disciple selection competition?"

"Oh. I received a sound transmission talisman from Senior Brother Sect Leader a few days ago, saying that a disciple selection would be held to participate in the spirit stone mine battle that occurs every thirty years. Fengming, do you also want to participate?" Hearing this, Uncle Fei was taken aback and his face showed surprise.

"Yes, I want to participate in this competition to broaden my horizons, but I don't know how to register."

"Ha ha, you have just entered the eighth level of the Qi Gathering stage. Even if you participate in the competition, it is impossible to win. I have lived for over a hundred years and have already experienced this selection competition three times. Even ninth-level Qi Gathering disciples have never made it to the final round, let alone those at the eighth level."

"You should focus on cultivation. With your talent in alchemy, I will apply to Senior Brother Sect Leader for you to be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment pill based on your special contributions. You don't need to worry about reaching the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle, but I still want to try. Even if I don't win, I can gain some combat experience," Qin Fengming said firmly, showing no sign of backing down.

Seeing that Qin Fengming was determined, Uncle Fei did not try to dissuade him and smiled, "Alright, since you are determined to participate, I will register you for the competition. In these three months, focus entirely on preparing for the competition. I will arrange for others to handle the alchemy room matters."

Hearing this, Qin Fengming was delighted and thanked Uncle Fei repeatedly before bidding him farewell and returning to his residence.

Although Qin Fengming had decided to participate in the competition, his cultivation level was still too low. If he could advance to the peak of the eighth level, it would be the most stable approach.

This goal might be difficult for other cultivators, but with over a dozen Yellow Essence Pills, taking one each month, he could achieve this goal with the strong effects of the pills.

In these three months, he had one thing he needed to do early: to refine a high-grade defensive magical artifact. Although he had a top-tier shield, he did not want to reveal it, and his main reliance was on talismans.

He took out all his alchemy materials and carefully searched through them, finally finding over a dozen types of materials. He would use these to refine a highly defensive high-grade magical artifact.

After several hours of refining, a fine iron shield made primarily of iron essence appeared before him. Inside this shield, he added several materials that were already extremely hard. Based on his alchemy master's judgment, this shield could withstand an attack from a top-tier magical artifact for a short time. Using this shield in the competition should be sufficient to handle all the senior brothers' magical artifacts.

After refining the shield, Qin Fengming devoted himself entirely to cultivation.

Three months, for a cultivator, was just a blink of an eye. In these three months, Qin Fengming took three Yellow Essence Pills. Although this did not allow him to break through to the ninth level, he felt that he was not far from that realm. He vaguely sensed that with another one or two months of cultivation, he could break through.

These three months were also the most bustling three months for the Luoxia Sect, with low-level disciples discussing the selection, comparing themselves, and speculating on who would be the final winner.

Qin Fengming's registration went smoothly. A total of over 700 people participated in the competition, with 90% being peak Qi Gathering stage disciples and only a dozen or so at the eighth level.

The selection rules for this competition were elimination rounds, directly selecting the final forty. No one could use tricks in the competition; each person could only rely on their strength to win.

The selection was scheduled for the 17th of this month, which was three days away, at the Luoxia Sect's arena.

In these three days, Qin Fengming did not cultivate further but organized all his items, selecting four high-grade magical artifacts for the competition: the fine iron shield as his main magical artifact, a ruler, a small axe, and a flying sword. The ruler could protect itself and was a tool he used quite skillfully. These four magical artifacts were the maximum number he could control simultaneously in combat.

He reorganized all his talismans for quick and easy access. After doing this, he spent the remaining time meditating and resting, maintaining his best condition.

On the 17th, Qin Fengming arrived at the Luoxia Sect's arena on time. The arena was several times larger than the Luoxia Valley, covering several hundred acres, situated in a large valley.

At this moment, the valley was packed with people, with over four to five thousand people visible, all discussing which disciple would win.

All the low-level disciples of the Luoxia Sect who were not on duty were present. Watching the combat competition live was a rare opportunity that would bring significant benefits.

Lifting his head, Qin Fengming saw four spherical bubbles floating in the air, about twenty zhang above the center of the square. Each had a diameter of about a hundred zhang.

He knew that these should be the competition arenas. Due to the immense destructive power of cultivators' battles, the great cultivators of the Luoxia Sect had set up these bubble-like structures.

According to other disciples, these bubbles, though seemingly fragile, could withstand a full-force attack from a Core Formation stage senior without breaking. Such robust defense meant that Qi Gathering stage disciples could not cause any damage to them during the competition.

Seeing such a magnificent setup, Qin Fengming was secretly amazed. He was even more in awe of the Core Formation stage seniors' abilities, admiring them greatly.