Chapter 51

Tai Xuan Peak, among the nine peaks of Tai Xuan, is the most beautiful and majestic spiritual peak, with lush forests, exotic flowers and plants scattered everywhere, waterfalls and springs adorning the landscape, and misty clouds swirling around, presenting a scene of divine beauty.

As the sky was about to brighten, and the eastern horizon was bathed in a great light, a splash of water came from a small waterfall on the back mountain, and a person emerged from the small pond below.

The person walked straight out of the pond, allowing the water to flow down his body. His bronze-colored physique was tall and lean, with muscles that were not overly developed but gave a sense of immense power, as if each muscle contained explosive strength.

The perfect curves of his body, in the golden ratio, could make any young girl blush. He was such a person, a martial artist who was cold, resolute, and always maintained a heart for cultivation. He was Gu Fei.

Gu Fei's appearance was not so striking as to move heaven and earth, nor did it have the charm to make young girls swoon.

However, his face was sharply defined, giving a sense of firmness and decisiveness. He was a decisive person, and once he made up his mind, he would not easily change it.

To his enemies, he was a dangerous beast, unpredictable, as no one knew what he would do next, for all his actions followed his true heart.

This was Gu Fei, the last disciple of the Cui Ling Peak lineage of Tai Xuan Sect, the only disciple among the three major Daoist sects who did not cultivate Daoist techniques, a unique Daoist disciple.

"Junior Brother Gu!" As Gu Fei walked out of the pond, a plain-looking white-robed disciple approached him with a set of clean clothes, handing them over.

If other disciples had seen this scene, they would have been shocked, and the gossip about Li Lingfeng serving Gu Fei would have spread throughout Tai Xuan Sect in no time.

The plain-looking white-robed disciple who approached with the clothes was none other than Li Lingfeng, the eldest disciple of the young generation of the nine lineages of Tai Xuan.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Gu Fei took the clothes. By this time, the water on his body had already been evaporated by the yuan qi he had stirred up inside his body, dispersing into the air.

Seeing Gu Fei put on the clothes, Li Lingfeng smiled and said, "It seems Junior Brother's cultivation has improved! I remember your cultivation level before was..."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Gu Fei immediately became wary. Li Lingfeng's words had a hidden meaning. Gu Fei remained calm and said, "In cultivation, opportunities are sometimes very important. I just had a bit of luck!"

Gu Fei brushed off Li Lingfeng's curiosity about his sudden improvement in cultivation, not wanting anyone else to know the secret. If the secret were to leak, it would bring him endless trouble.

"Oh?" Li Lingfeng's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and he said enviously, "I don't have the same luck as you, Junior Brother!"

"Ha ha!" Gu Fei laughed and then asked, "Where is Senior Brother Ziyu? Why haven't I seen him?" Gu Fei quickly changed the subject, not wanting to discuss cultivation with Li Lingfeng.

"Junior Brother Ziyu? He has already returned to his cultivation place. The second round of the competition is crucial, and he needs to prepare," Li Lingfeng said.

After the first round of the competition, out of the eighty-one outstanding disciples from the nine lineages, thirty-nine were eliminated, and forty-two advanced to the second round.

These forty-two victorious young disciples of Tai Xuan Sect represented the forty-two most powerful young disciples of the nine lineages. No one was weak; the weak had already been eliminated. Even a young expert like Ziyu could not afford to be careless. As a disciple of the sect leader's lineage, they bore more pressure than the disciples of the other eight lineages.

The disciples of the sect leader's lineage had to lead the other eight lineages, setting an example. Therefore, Li Lingfeng, Ziyu, and others could not afford to lose, and even if they did, they had to lose with dignity.

"Um! I want to practice and cultivate my qi here for a while. Is that okay?" Gu Fei's cultivation had reached the peak of the Seventh Heaven of Awakening, and he needed to explore his internal condition to better control the new power within him.

Li Lingfeng's face did not show any expression. He looked around and said, "Why not? But don't miss today's competition."

"Thank you, Senior Brother. I will definitely be on time for the start of the competition," Gu Fei said, then walked to a large rock by the pond, leaped onto it, and sat down in a meditative posture with his eyes closed.

Seeing this, Li Lingfeng shook his head and left the scenic spot, heading towards the Tai Xuan Hall.

In the back hall of the Tai Xuan Hall, where Xuan Tian Daoist practiced, Xuan Tian Daoist sat motionless on a cushion, not emitting any aura, as if he had truly become a lifeless stone statue, making it impossible to sense his presence.

Xuan Tian Daoist seemed to have merged with the universe, his Daoist arts profound, achieving unity with heaven and man, connecting the inner and outer worlds, and possessing boundless power. This was the terrifying power of a cultivator at the Ninth Heaven of Void Mastery.

Just one step away from achieving the status of a demigod, enjoying eternal life, this was the realm that every cultivator who sought immortality and enlightenment aspired to.

Unfortunately, the gap between the mortal and the divine was just one step, a step that had held Xuan Tian Daoist back for hundreds of years. The realm of a demigod was like a fruit that could be smelled but not picked.

"Grass of Longevity, two hundred years of life, cannot be missed!" Suddenly, Xuan Tian Daoist opened his eyes, a flash of sharp light appearing in them.

At this moment, a faint sound of footsteps came from a distance, stopping at the door.

"Come in!" With Xuan Tian Daoist's powerful divine sense, the scene outside the door immediately appeared in his mind, clearer than if he had seen it with his eyes.

The stone door was pushed open from the outside, and a white-robed youth walked in. The youth closed the stone door and respectfully bowed his head and lowered his eyes as he approached Xuan Tian Daoist.

"Hmm! Did you send Gu Fei away?" Xuan Tian Daoist asked indifferently, not even glancing at the plain-looking youth in front of him.

This youth was Li Lingfeng, who had returned to report. He quickly said, "Reporting to Grandmaster, Junior Brother Gu Fei is still cultivating qi on the back mountain, preparing for today's competition."

"Oh?" Xuan Tian Daoist was somewhat surprised. The people of the Cui Ling Peak lineage were all cultivation fanatics. This statement was not wrong. Not missing any opportunity to cultivate was good. Xuan Tian Daoist nodded inwardly.

"You may leave," Xuan Tian Daoist said.

"Yes!" Li Lingfeng respectfully took a few steps back, then turned and walked to the stone door, opened it, and went out.

The place where the sect leader was in deep cultivation was not accessible to just anyone. Without Xuan Tian Daoist's permission, no one in Tai Xuan Sect dared to come here, not even the heads of the seven lineages.

"What other secrets does the Cui Ling Peak lineage have that I don't know? Is the Taiji diagram on Gu Fei's chest a coincidence or..." Xuan Tian Daoist slowly closed his eyes and once again became a motionless stone statue, sitting on the cushion, emitting no sound.

As the sun rose in the east, dispelling the darkness that enveloped the world, light shone upon the earth. On the peak of Shaoyang, a figure stood at the summit, facing the rising sun, his abdomen expanding and contracting, and two streams of flickering firelight emerging from his nostrils.

The fire element in the world, especially the first true fire of the rising sun, was being absorbed by the old Daoist at the summit.

This old Daoist was the head of the Shaoyang lineage, Chao Yang Daoist, who practiced fire-based Daoist arts. He was absorbing the true fire of the sun to nourish the fire element within his body.

After nine cycles of his cultivation, the two streams of flickering red fire from Chao Yang Daoist's nostrils were sucked into his body with a hissing sound. Immediately, a faint layer of firelight enveloped his body, emitting a terrifying heat that distorted the space around him.

Within a ten-zhang radius of where Chao Yang Daoist stood, not a single blade of grass could be seen, only scorched and cracked rocks. It seemed he often absorbed the fire of the sun here, turning the ground within a ten-zhang radius into scorched earth.

After finishing his cultivation, Chao Yang Daoist's figure suddenly disappeared from the summit.

Not only the old Daoist on Shaoyang Peak, but all the disciples of Tai Xuan Sect who practiced fire-based Daoist arts were standing in high places, facing the sun, breathing in and out.

They were all doing the same thing: absorbing the first pure yang light of the rising sun. The first ray of sunlight at sunrise was the first essence of the sun, the purest true fire.

Afterward, as the sun emitted its brilliant light, the pure yang light gradually faded and eventually disappeared.

"Clang!"

Soon, a resonant bell sound echoed from Tai Xuan Peak, surrounded by the other eight peaks, reverberating throughout the vast Tai Xuan Mountain, breaking the tranquility.

After the bell sound, disciples in white or blue robes began to appear on the other eight peaks surrounding Tai Xuan Peak. All the disciples of Tai Xuan Sect who were cultivating on the nine peaks came out of their cultivation places.

Regardless of their willingness, upon hearing the bell, they all headed to the central Tai Xuan Peak, even those in deep meditation.

The disciples of the nine lineages gathered outside the Tai Xuan Hall on Tai Xuan Peak, where nine platforms stood in the square. The heads of the seven lineages and the sect leader, Xuan Tian Daoist, sat before the hall.

After receiving the disciples' salutations, Xuan Fa Daoist stood up from his seat, signaling the start of the second round of the nine-lineage competition!