Chapter 66

The first-place competition has already settled, and Gu Fei, a disciple of Cuiling Peak who was not favored by many, turned out to be the biggest dark horse in this Nine Peaks Examination. His performance shocked the entire Tai Xuan Sect.

No one would have thought, even the high-ranking members of the Tai Xuan Sect did not expect, that the Cuiling Peak lineage, which had been dormant for hundreds of years, and which some of the old monsters in the sect had already forgotten, would once again come into the spotlight.

Gu Fei's madness and his wildness not only made the younger generation of disciples from the nine lineages of Tai Xuan feel uneasy, but even the senior disciples were deeply shocked.

However, some people were not convinced, because for hundreds of years, no disciple of the Cuiling Peak lineage had successfully reached the Transcendent Realm. If he could not take that step, it meant that after a hundred years, Gu Fei would follow in his master's footsteps, and when the dust returns to the earth and the soil to the ground, no matter how glorious he is now, he would turn into a handful of yellow earth after a hundred years.

For cultivators, a hundred years is too short, passing in the blink of an eye. Successfully entering the Transcendent Realm directly brings the benefit of a greatly increased lifespan, living for several hundred years is not a problem.

During these several hundred years, cultivators have plenty of time to make breakthroughs in their cultivation, and even achieve the Great Completion of the Spirit, the Formation of the Dao Pill, and enter the Void Mastery Realm. Of course, those who can achieve the Great Completion of the Spirit and the Formation of the Dao Pill are few.

Therefore, although Gu Fei displayed shocking martial arts skills in the Nine Peaks Examination, some of the senior disciples in the Tai Xuan Sect did not have high hopes for him.

For hundreds of years, no disciple of Cuiling Peak had broken through the constraints of cultivation and entered the Transcendent Realm. Would Gu Fei be an exception? No one believed that Gu Fei could surpass his predecessors, because this hurdle was too difficult to overcome.

The day's excitement had already dissipated, and the most talked-about topic among the disciples of the nine lineages was Gu Fei, the only heir of the Cuiling Peak lineage. Gu Fei showed everyone that martial artists are not inferior to Daoists.

Pure strength, as long as it is powerful enough, can break through all kinds of supernatural powers and myriad spells. This is an undeniable fact.

There are three thousand great paths, all of which can lead to sainthood, and it is not only through the cultivation of Dao. Although the path of martial arts is fraught with difficulties and it is hard to achieve sainthood, once one succeeds, they will become a more terrifying existence than a cultivator.

Gu Fei's victory over Li Lingfeng, who was at the ninth level of the Awakening Realm, with his eighth-level cultivation, is a good proof of this.

A full moon hung high over the mountains, casting an endless stream of milky white moonlight, making the mountains seem shrouded in a misty veil. The light smoke and auspicious vapor rising made the nine peaks of Tai Xuan look like a fairyland.

In the Tai Xuan Hall, the sect leader Xuantian Daoist sat on his throne, looking around at the seven disciples sitting on either side, then frowned and said, "I wonder what suggestions my fellow disciples have regarding what I just said? Speak freely!"

"Brother, why are the Guangcheng Immortal Sect and the Shangqing Sect demanding the early opening of the Xutian Realm? They must know that the difficulty of opening the Xutian Realm will increase several times if the time is not right, and it may not even succeed!" Xuangfa Daoist, sitting at the first position to the right of Xuantian Daoist, questioned.

"Is there something we don't know about this?" Wangyue Peak's head, Xuan Cang Daoist, stroked his beard and said in a deep voice. In this Nine Peaks Examination, no one from Wangyue Peak made it into the top ten, but Xuan Cang Daoist did not seem to care much, still maintaining a calm and composed demeanor.

"Hmph! The Guangcheng Immortal Sect and the Shangqing Sect are not so bold as to play tricks behind our backs! Without our participation, they cannot open the Xutian Realm." Zizhu Peak's head, Long Hongxue, said with a hint of disdain.

The three great Daoist sects, though they are of the same lineage, have different ambitions. However, each of the three great Daoist sects has its own strengths, and none can be easily overpowered. Even if the Guangcheng Immortal Sect and the Shangqing Sect join forces, the Tai Xuan Sect is not worried.

In the Tenglong Continent, the five major forces—Buddhism, Daoism, demons, ghosts, and monsters—represent the current state of the cultivation world. The cultivation world of Tenglong Continent appears calm on the surface, but it is full of hidden currents.

The three great Daoist sects are not foolish enough to kill each other, giving other forces an opportunity. Therefore, in the eyes of the high-ranking members of the Tai Xuan Sect, the Guangcheng Immortal Sect and the Shangqing Sect cannot orchestrate any earth-shattering plots, and they dare not.

"To obtain the Immortal Grass, we must open the Xutian Realm, but we must also be wary of the Guangcheng Immortal Sect and the Shangqing Sect's tricks. Hmm! Three days from now, send those ten people down the mountain!" After deep thought, Xuantian Daoist said to the seven lineage heads.

"Is it that urgent?" Those present could not help but be a bit surprised.

"Huangxuan Lichen sent me a flying sword message, agreeing to open the Xutian Realm a month from now. The Xutian Realm is located in the Ten Thousand Mile Mountains, and a month should be enough time to get there." Xuantian Daoist explained.

"The celestial phenomenon that occurs every two cycles is being advanced by half a cycle. What are the old monsters of the Huangxuan Sect up to?" Shaoyang Peak's head, Chao Yang Zhenren, drew in a sharp breath and said.

To open the Xutian Realm, one must align with the celestial phenomenon. Otherwise, even a semi-god-like existence would find it difficult to open the Xutian Realm. This is why the three great Daoist sects can only open the Xutian Realm once every 120 years.

Only the legendary Quasi-Immortal God-level great powers, who can shatter the void and transcend to sainthood, can use their supreme abilities to tear through the barriers of the great world and forcibly enter the Xutian Realm.

But Quasi-Immortal God-level figures who have transcended the void and ascended to the legendary Heavenly Realm should not remain in the mortal world. Whether a few of these god-like figures still linger in the mortal world is unknown.

"Rumors and speculations are not the solution. We will know the intentions of the Guangcheng Immortal Sect and the Shangqing Sect when the time comes. Fellow disciples, go back and prepare!" Xuantian Daoist waved his sleeve and stood up from his seat.

The cultivation world has always been a place where strength speaks, and the strong are respected. With Xuantian Daoist's cultivation at the ninth level of the Void Mastery Realm, he is unmatched in the mortal world and is not afraid of any plots by the Guangcheng Immortal Sect and the Shangqing Sect.

"Yes, Brother!" The seven lineage heads, seeing Xuantian Daoist stand up, hurriedly stood up from their seats, bowed to Xuantian Daoist, and then left the Tai Xuan Hall.

After the seven lineage heads left, Xuantian Daoist turned and walked to the rear hall, returning to his cultivation place in the rear hall, and then sat cross-legged on a cushion.

At this moment, one of the two Daoist boys waiting outside the hall suddenly became extremely respectful, as if listening to something. Then, this Daoist boy left the Tai Xuan Hall and headed straight for the back mountain.

On the back mountain, in a peach grove, Li Lingfeng was sitting on the ground under an old peach tree in front of a wooden house. In front of him was a small tea table, on which was a tea tray, a purple clay teapot, and a red clay teacup. In the cup, a green tea emitted a faint, fragrant aroma.

"To the moon and the song, how long is life? I didn't expect Senior Brother Li to have such leisurely pursuits!" Suddenly, a clear voice came from the path outside the plum grove, and then a white figure stepped out of the path, walking under the moonlight.

Li Lingfeng did not even raise his eyelids. He reached out and picked up the red clay cup in front of him, first bringing it to his nose to smell, then closed his eyes, savoring the tea's fragrance, looking content. Then, he slowly sipped the tea, but did not swallow it immediately, keeping it in his mouth.

The person walked through the plum grove, his steps like flowing clouds, without any trace of the mundane world. Soon, he arrived under the old plum tree in front of the wooden house.

"Junior Brother Ziyu, what brings you here?" Li Lingfeng had already swallowed the tea in his mouth, then placed the red clay cup on the table in front of him.

It was indeed Ziyu. He smiled and sat down opposite Li Lingfeng. "Hmm!" Ziyu took a deep breath and said, "Good tea, the fragrance lingers, making one feel refreshed."

"Hehe, I am just a tea enthusiast!" Li Lingfeng smiled, then flipped his hand, and a red clay cup appeared in his hand. "Come, have a taste!" Saying this, Li Lingfeng placed the cup in front of Ziyu and then picked up the purple clay teapot, gently filling it.

"Senior Brother, that Gu Fei..." Ziyu hesitated, seemingly unsure. Now, the only person who dared to mention Gu Fei in front of Li Lingfeng was Ziyu.

Sure enough, when Li Lingfeng heard Gu Fei's name, his brows immediately furrowed. He put down the teapot and said calmly, "Why do you mention him, Junior Brother?"

Ziyu smiled awkwardly and said, "Nothing, I just found it surprising that Senior Brother lost to Gu Fei. Does Gu Fei really have that much strength? Could it be that Senior Brother deliberately lost to him?"

"What are you saying?" Li Lingfeng was a bit unhappy. He said with some displeasure, "Would I show mercy to Gu Fei in such an important event as the Nine Peaks Examination? Gu Fei has that strength, and he deserves the first place."

Ziyu was somewhat surprised. Li Lingfeng was their senior brother, the acknowledged first among the younger generation. Now, with Li Lingfeng's defeat, the disciples of Tai Xuan Peak also felt disgraced.

"Senior Brother, you are just one step away from forming the Dao Pill. Now that you have the Condensing Pill, forming the Dao Pill is a sure thing. In the next encounter, you will still be the first among the young disciples," Ziyu said with a smile.

Many people had heard the conversation between Li Lingfeng and Gu Fei on the stage, and now Ziyu understood why Li Lingfeng had said those things.

The top ten in the Nine Peaks Examination would receive rewards from the sect, including a precious pill that greatly increases the success rate of forming the Dao Pill for cultivators at the ninth level of the Awakening Realm.

With Li Lingfeng's cultivation, even without the Condensing Pill, he would certainly form the Dao Pill smoothly. Now, with the Condensing Pill, forming the Dao Pill would be as easy as turning over one's hand.

Cultivators at the Transcendent Realm use the Dao Pill to connect their inner and outer bodies, drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Through the Dao Pill, they can quickly convert the power of heaven and earth into their own magical power, making their magical power endless and inexhaustible.

The power of the Daoist spells they cast would be several times stronger than at the ninth level of the Awakening Realm. Unless Gu Fei could break through to the ninth level of the Awakening Realm, he might not be able to match Li Lingfeng.

A martial artist at the ninth level of the Awakening Realm can still hold their own against a cultivator at the first level of the Transcendent Realm. This is because each level of cultivation increases Gu Fei's strength exponentially.

"Hmph! I am making progress, but I cannot guarantee that others are not. Cultivation is like rowing upstream; if you do not advance, you will fall back. There is no room for shortcuts," Li Lingfeng said with a serious expression.

Gu Fei's progress was too fast, and he did not have the confidence to surpass him in a short time. After all, Li Lingfeng had personally witnessed Gu Fei breaking through from the seventh level to the eighth level during the Nine Peaks Examination.

Seeing such rapid progress, Li Lingfeng felt a chill and found it hard to believe.

Ziyu was about to say something more, but at this moment, both of them seemed to sense something and looked towards the path. Soon, a small figure appeared on the path under the moonlight.

"Temple boy? What is he doing here?" When Li Lingfeng and Ziyu saw the person, they were both surprised. It was the Daoist boy who served and listened to orders in front of the Tai Xuan Hall.

"Senior Brother Li! The sect leader has summoned you!" The rosy-cheeked Daoist boy, holding a duster, came to the two of them and directly addressed Li Lingfeng, not even glancing at Ziyu, treating him as if he were invisible.