Chapter 62

After Zhao Zirou left, Gu Fei found a place outside the square and sat down in a meditative posture. He began to circulate the body-refining technique, urging the Five Elements primordial energy within his body to surge towards his arms.

A faint layer of colorful light emerged from his arms. Upon closer inspection, one could notice that the skin and flesh of Gu Fei's arms were trembling slightly, with the tendons and bones quivering and the flesh pulsating. The vast primordial energy, like glowing threads, traveled through the tendons, bones, and flesh of his arms, gradually forcing out the bruised blood and necrotic flesh.

The Five Elements primordial energy was repairing the injuries on Gu Fei's arms, and his skin gradually became covered with a layer of dark, foul-smelling blood. It was undeniable that Gu Fei's body had an astonishing healing ability. Each tendon and muscle contained powerful life primordial energy, and his injuries were healing at a visible rate.

The torn flesh on his arms, with wounds resembling a spider web, formed a layer of scabs after half an hour.

Gu Fei's cultivation had already reached the peak of the Blood Transformation stage, entering the Bone Transformation realm. The blood and qi flowing through his body had been completely renewed, containing vast life primordial energy that nourished his entire body at all times.

Even if Gu Fei did not deliberately use his cultivation to heal his injuries, they would heal in a day or two. By now, directing the Five Elements primordial energy to his arms, the healing speed of his wounds increased significantly.

While Gu Fei was healing outside the square, the matches on the other six platforms in the square had also reached a fever pitch. The six platforms were radiating astonishing magical power fluctuations.

In contrast, the match between Gu Fei and Zi Yu was so intense that it quickly concluded, while the matches on the other platforms were still difficult to resolve.

On the first platform, Li Lingfeng was facing an extraordinary young man. The young man stood tall and straight, with eyes like cold stars. He held a Daoist seal in his hand and, with a wave, unleashed powerful Daoist techniques, engaging Li Lingfeng in a fierce battle.

"The Tai Xu Peak lineage has such a person? I haven't heard of him before!" The disciples of the nine lineages whispered among themselves, pointing at the two combatants on the platform.

Li Lingfeng's strength was no less than Gu Fei's. Since the start of the Nine Lineages Examination, no one had been able to last more than a moment against him, and the matches usually ended immediately upon contact.

Li Lingfeng's cultivation surpassed his peers, and he was recognized as the top young disciple among the young generation. However, it seemed he had met his match.

"Master Yu Xu, when did your lineage produce such a remarkable disciple? You really kept it hidden well," the chief of Shao Yang Peak, Zhaoyang Zhenren, said in surprise, sitting beside Yu Xu Zhenren on the steps of the Tai Xuan Hall.

The other chiefs also looked at Yu Xu Zhenren. It was surprising that the Tai Xu Peak lineage had produced someone who could match Li Lingfeng, and they had not known about it beforehand.

"Hehe! It's not that I kept it a secret. I only learned a few days before the Nine Lineages Examination that a young disciple in my lineage had made a sudden breakthrough in cultivation," Yu Xu Zhenren said with a faint smile.

The other chiefs of the lineages did not believe Yu Xu Zhenren. This disciple who could match Li Lingfeng was undoubtedly a key figure in the Tai Xu Peak lineage.

Everyone thought that the young generation of the Tai Xuan Peak lineage had no outstanding disciples among the top ten, but it seemed they were all wrong.

"Eight layers of heaven cultivation, hmm! Li Lingfeng will have to use his true strength to win," Xuan Tian Daoist muttered, watching the match.

"Brother Qin, be careful," Li Lingfeng said on the platform, no longer holding back. Without forming a seal or chanting a mantra, eight beams of light suddenly shot out from his body, each of a different color.

The Tai Xu Peak disciple, Qin Daoyun, was immediately startled. He felt that Li Lingfeng had unleashed eight different forces.

"The power of the Eight Phases of Heaven and Earth, how is this possible?" Qin Daoyun's face changed, and he quickly formed a seal, unleashing his full strength. He cultivated the Yin-Yang Dao, not the Five Elements Dao, and black and white qi swirled around him.

The Yin-Yang power Qin Daoyun unleashed seemed to connect with the Yin and Yang of heaven and earth. As he formed intricate seals, the area around him trembled slightly.

"Yin and Yang open the heavens and earth, palms and fingers cover the universe!" Qin Daoyun shouted, and the black and white qi representing Yin and Yang rapidly converged from all directions, forming a giant hand in the sky above Li Lingfeng, which pressed down.

"Rumble..." The giant hand descended like a mountain, the Yin-Yang power shaking the void and causing the platform to tremble violently.

However, Li Lingfeng remained calm. The power of the Eight Phases swirled around him, quickly forming eight trigrams that blocked the descending force.

The giant hand formed by the Yin and Yang power seemed to have no effect on Li Lingfeng.

As the eight trigrams—Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Gen, Dui, Kan, and Li—appeared around Li Lingfeng, the power of the Eight Phases of Heaven and Earth surged towards him, and the trigrams representing the Eight Phases glowed brightly, shaking the heavens.

Everyone watching was shocked. No one expected that Li Lingfeng had cultivated the先天八卦神术 (Xian Tian Bagua Divine Art), a technique that used one's own power to form the trigrams and connect with the Eight Phases of Heaven and Earth. Such a divine art was almost impossible to resist.

Li Lingfeng's divine art had a significant origin, and even the chiefs of the seven lineages frowned, while Xuan Tian Daoist smiled silently.

According to legend, in ancient times, there was a brilliant deity who comprehended the power of the Eight Phases of Heaven and Earth and created the Xian Tian Bagua Divine Art, which could shake the heavens and earth.

The Eight Phases and Eight Trigrams Divine Art allowed the deity to dominate the ancient world, and only a few other deities with great powers could match him. This divine art was said to have disappeared with the deity's demise, but it had now reappeared in Li Lingfeng.

The Eight Phases and Eight Trigrams were wondrous and incomparable. When cultivated to perfection, they could shatter the heavens and earth, reopening the chaos. It was one of the few great divine arts in the world.

With the Xian Tian Bagua Divine Art, Li Lingfeng was already invincible.

He lunged forward, merging with the Xun trigram, which represented wind. Li Lingfeng seemed to transform into a gale, breaking through the giant hand of Yin and Yang above him. The other seven trigrams swirled around the gale, creating a spectacular sight.

Transforming into wind, Li Lingfeng moved at an incredible speed, like the wind itself. The moment he broke through the force of the giant hand, he attacked.

He absorbed the Kan trigram into his right hand and the Li trigram into his left. The Kan trigram, representing water, and the Li trigram, representing fire, appeared in his palms, and boundless water and fire power rapidly converged, then he struck at Qin Daoyun.

The Kan and Li trigrams, as if solidified, shot out from Li Lingfeng's palms, rapidly expanding. The Kan trigram unleashed a surging flood, and the Li trigram erupted into a sea of flames. The two forces, which were both complementary and contradictory, intertwined and surged towards Qin Daoyun.

"Roar!" Qin Daoyun growled, quickly gathering Yin and Yang power. The giant hand in the sky dissipated, and the immense power it contained was drawn back by Qin Daoyun.

"Yin-Yang Great Shift!" Qin Daoyun shouted, and Yin and Yang power surged from his body, his hair and beard flying wildly. A vast power erupted from him, and Yin and Yang qi instantly formed a vortex black hole in front of him, attempting to block and shift the sea of flames and the surging flood.

However, the power of the two trigrams was too strong. The moment the Yin-Yang vortex touched the water and fire, it trembled violently.

Shifting such powerful forces was no easy task.

After just a few breaths, the Yin-Yang vortex black hole was shattered by the water and fire.

"Ah!" Qin Daoyun cried out, being directly thrown off the platform by the surging water and fire.

Amidst the shocked cries of the crowd, Qin Daoyun managed to turn in mid-air and land lightly below the platform. He seemed to have not been injured by Li Lingfeng's attack.

"Thank you, Brother Li, for your mercy!" Qin Daoyun said, bowing to Li Lingfeng on the platform. He was not injured because Li Lingfeng did not want to harm him.

"No need to thank me, I also admire Brother Qin's divine art and skills!" Li Lingfeng said sincerely, without any hint of mockery.

The two smiled at each other, and then Li Lingfeng leaped off the platform, and they returned to their respective formations. The disciples of the Tai Xuan Peak lineage were elated, while the disciples of the Tai Xu Peak lineage did not seem to feel the loss.

After all, since the start of the Nine Lineages Examination, no one had lasted as long against Li Lingfeng. Even though he lost, it was enough to demonstrate Qin Daoyun's strength.

...

The final day of the Nine Lineages Examination had arrived. The matches on the seven platforms had concluded, and Li Lingfeng, Gu Fei, and five other victorious disciples would compete in the afternoon for the title of the top young expert among the top ten.

The seven defeated disciples would compete for the last three spots among the top ten.

It was unknown what luck Dongfang Chen had, but he managed to defeat his strong opponent and still had a chance to vie for the top position.

On the other hand, the strong Qin Daoyun and Zi Yu were extremely unlucky, facing Li Lingfeng and Gu Fei, which completely eliminated their chances of winning.

Thus, the top seven young experts among the top ten had been determined: Li Lingfeng, Shen Qiru, Guo Bufan of the Tai Xuan Peak lineage, Gu Fei of the Cui Ling Peak lineage, Song Ruochen of the Tong Tian Peak lineage, Dongfang Chen of the Bi Yun Peak lineage, and Xia Wushang, the most outstanding disciple of the Zi Zhu Peak lineage.