Chapter 120 It’s a Fight Between Two Experts
As a disciple of Jie School, it would not be reasonable for Ao Yi to always stand together with the disciples of the Immortal Du Sect.
Fortunately, this prince knows that I’m the merit a.s.signee of a certain expert from Ren School, and hence I have to keep my ident.i.ty a secret.
Li Changshou decided to persuade him via voice transmission. Ao Yi smiled and said, “After the internal sect compet.i.tion, I will chat with you, Brother Changshou.”
Then, Ao Yi flew back to the jade platform on his cloud and returned to Han Zhi and the other senior brothers…
Not long after, Sect Leader Ji Wuyou flew out of the jade platform on a cloud. The disciples and sect members below all held their breaths and focused. It was silent in the entire sect. Li Changshou sensed it carefully and realized that the Sect Leader… might still be injured. His aura was still unstable.
After a while, Ji Wuyou spoke and his voice was spread throughout the sect. *Coughs* “On this auspicious day, the young disciples of the Immortal Du Sect, who had been recruited for nearly 200 years, are all gathered here… *cough*… The compet.i.tion in the sect today is not for you guys to be ranked. The ranking is only for the sake of supervising your cultivation. Even if you fall behind for a while, you might still be able to make it in the future. The invasion of the demons seems to be just right in front of us. I’ve already seen your determination to advance and retreat with your masters in the sect. I’m very heartened and pleased.” “Now, the Three Sects’ Meet is just around the corner. We, the members of Immortal Du Sect, which is founded by Master Perfected Du’e and is a faction of Ren School, have to attend the meet. In this internal sect compet.i.tion, the ones who are ranked in the top thirty-six places, or have been recommended by the elders, can follow me to the Middle Continent…”
Li Changshou frowned slightly when he heard the Sect Leader’s words.
The top thirty-six are going to the Three Sects’ Meet?
Having had gained some experience during the previous Dragon Palace Demon-Sweeping Meet, Li Changshou naturally did not want to partic.i.p.ate in such a grand event. He only wanted to hide in the mountains and cultivate peacefully.
It was especially so because Youqin Xuanya became more and more eye-catching as her cultivation level kept increasing. If one or two infatuated men who had lost their conscience were to appear, they would cry and clamor about wanting to fight him, the “ordinary friend of Junior Sister Youqin”… That would be terrible. At that kind of meeting, experts would gather. There might even be big shots who were at the same level as the twelve Golden Immortals of Chan School.
His disguise might not be enough.
If he were to attract attention, it would be easy for things to escalate into something that he could not control…
Why don’t I try to maintain my ranking at around the 37th place to the 40th?
Li Changshou was just about to make up his mind when he suddenly realized that many gazes were fixed on him.
He secretly checked the sources of those gazes.
They belonged to Elder Wan Linyun who was on the jade platform, a few outer sect elders who were familiar with the Hundred Mortal Hall, and a few Heavenly Immortal Elders who looked radiant and energetic.
Li Changshou was rendered speechless.
I’d better think of a way to continue improving the Qi-Calming Turtle Breathing Mantra.
From the looks of it, I probably have to be there or be square. I can only prepare for the Three Sects’ Meet in advance and deal with it carefully.
The internal sect compet.i.tion was carried out according to the established procedures.
After the Sect Leader finished talking, he handed the time over to the Deputy Sect Leader, followed by the Grand Elder…
In the end, Elder Ge from the Hundred Mortal Hall appeared and announced the start of the meeting.
The two Grand Elders flew away from the jade platform. Their white hair danced in the wind, and their skinny bodies looked extraordinary.
Four long sleeves fluttered in the air and scattered a large amount of starlight. The scene was quite spectacular. The starlight turned into jade slips and slowly descended, allowing each disciple to hold one.
The jade slips were marked with serial numbers. The initial of a serial number would be one out of the ten Heavenly Stems, namely Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui 1. [Chinese system of ordinals, equivalent to the English alphabetical sequence of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J.), followed by three numbers. Li Changshou’s serial number was D026 while Ling’e’s was H121.
It was surprisingly the same serial numbering system as the one Li Changshou used to mark the ‘small’ treasure pouches that he had refined.
If their jade slips were to light up later, they would have to fight.
Apart from their serial numbers, there were twelve blank squares on each of the jade slips. If they won later, one of the squares on each of their jade slips would light up.
Those jade slips were an entire set of Dharma treasures. It was not easy to refine them. Hence, some tiny words were written on the back-“Do not destroy the jade slip. Return it after the meet. If you lose it, you will be suspended for half a year.”
Immediately, dozens of Perfected Immortal executives from the various sects entered the venue first and stood at their respective positions in the periphery. The two disciples who were fighting in the first round had already entered the arena with glowing jade slips and were waiting for their turn.
The disciples who were both near and far away began to sit down. Those who were more particular would take out meditation cus.h.i.+ons and cus.h.i.+ons. Those who were more casual would sit on the ground and have intimate contact with the ground.
“Senior Brother…”
Ling’e shouted softly from the side. She took out two meditation cus.h.i.+ons and a bamboo basket from her jade bracelet that acted as a storage s.p.a.ce. She even deliberately placed the meditation cus.h.i.+on five feet away.
Li Changshou said via voice transmission, “Your performance is not bad. We’ll deduct the number of times you have to copy the Steadiness Sutra by fifty.”
Lan Ling’e pursed her lips and muttered, “Stupid Senior Brother, I didn’t do it for the sake of writing fewer copies of the sutra.”
“We won’t reduce the number of copies then.”
“Hey, don’t, don’t…”
Li Changshou grinned. He lifted the front of his Daoist robe and sat down with his junior sister.
The two of them had just sat down and Ling’e had yet to take out the basket of snacks and cold tea that she had prepared during the past few days. A fair pair of hands reached out from behind and hugged the basket secretly… “Hehe, let me see what good food Ling’e has made again.”
Jiu Jiu had already sneaked over and sat between the two of them. She lifted the cloth covering the bamboo basket.
Immediately, numerous gazes were cast on them. Many disciples who had never seen Aunt-Master Jiu Jiu were shocked…
Li Changshou had already expected that. He remained calm and closed his eyes to rest.
Ling’e obediently addressed her as Aunt-Master. Since they were in front of so many people, she did not dare to argue with Jiu Jiu. She watched helplessly as the snacks that she had made painstakingly, filled Aunt-Master Jiu Jiu’s sins… Jiu Jiu and Ling’e were seated together. In the eyes of the disciples, it was a pleasant and beautiful sight. When Jiu Jiu moved to Li Changshou’s side and asked him how he wanted to fight later, the expressions of the disciples changed subtly.
“In terms of fighting, we can only adapt and change according to the situation,” Li Changshou said as he chuckled.
Jiu Jiu did not ask further. She encouraged him and moved back to give Ling’e some pointers.
The technical fights were carried out one after another. Li Changshou was secretly observing with his immortal senses. He watched even though the battles between the Qi Refinement cultivators of the same generation were no longer useful for him. In the past, some of the moves used in fights seemed to be like precious guidance from immortals. However, they now looked like embarra.s.sing dance moves… However, he took a few more glances, so he would be able to disguise himself more naturally. During the 79th match of the first round, Ling’e appeared. She held a few Immortal Treasures in her hands and displayed her cultivation level which was at the ninth stage of the Soul Formation realm, easily suppressing a fellow disciple who was in the Void Return realm.
Li Changshou was quite satisfied with Ling’e’s performance. He took the initiative to send a voice transmission to secretly praise her.
Although Ling’e’s face was expressionless, she was actually overjoyed.
Li Changshou continued to wait. He only had to fight his first match much later in the afternoon. During the 362th match, the jade slip in Li Changshou’s hand trembled slightly, emitting a faint glow. The executive of the sect had already shouted the serial number of the jade slip in his hand. Li Changshou stood up and flew towards the arena.
At the same time, a disciple who stood under the flag of the Immortal Downpour Peak flew out and smiled at Li Changshou.
Li Changshou frowned slightly. After monitoring the Immortal Downpour Peak for so many years, he naturally knew who that person was. He was an immortal seedling from the Immortal Downpour Peak. He was ranked 19th in the sect and was at the second stage of the Dao Requital realm. He happened to be one stage ahead of Li Changshou. What a coincidence!
This should not be a coincidence. Previously, I had also encountered immortal seedlings whose ranks in the sect were close. It seemed that the elders had deliberately arranged for them to have an “evenly-matched” battle every hour.
Both of them landed on the flat ground that had been enhanced by the array formation. The two executives walked forward and inspected the jade slips in their hands. They also briefed the two of them about the rules of stopping at appropriate times.
Previously, there were already disciples who had accidentally injured their fellow disciples because of the intense battle.
After the two executives confirmed that there was no mistake, they retreated. Li Changshou and the disciple of the Immortal Forest Peak bowed to each other.
At that moment, Li Changshou heard a voice transmission.
“Senior Brother Li, why don’t we give it a try today? There’s no need to stop right after you’ve gained a point.” Li Changshou smiled when he heard that. He nodded slightly and talismans flew out of his sleeve.
He would defend and counterattack! He would not admit defeat directly to the disciples of the Immortal Downpour Peak, but he would not win too effortlessly either. After all, their cultivation levels were similar.
The disciple of the Immortal Downpour Peak must have done his homework and studied how the top disciples in the sect fought previously before this.
Li Changshou and Ao Yi had sparred many years ago, and that was witnessed by most of the people in the sect. At that moment, the disciple of the Immortal Forest Peak raised three Dharma treasures. He held the Lightning-Attracting wooden sword and there was a plum blossom on his head. There was also a pearl floating around him that emitted an extraordinary aura. There were no blind spots on his body at all. Then, he flew into the air and pointed his wooden sword at Li Changshou.
Dozens of tiny lightning bolts were beaming, forming a lightning bird that had a wingspan of over ten feet long. It flew towards Li Changshou. Li Changshou tapped his feet lightly and his body flew backward. He quickly formed a seal with his hands. There were 72 yellow paper talismans above his head that condensed into Earth-Fire Talisman Array formations.
Fire pillars shot out from the talisman array formations and barely managed to strike the lightning birds to the point of shattering.
At that moment, Li Changshou’s feet had already touched the ground again. His body quickly sank to the ground.
The disciple from the Immortal Downpour Peak sneered when he saw that. He started to activate his spells quickly with both hands and cast the Ice Seal Incantation. A layer of ice appeared on the ground and spread rapidly in all directions.
Indeed, he was prepared.
However, the Earth Fire Talisman Array formations were not affected at all. It summoned fire snakes that filled the sky and chased after the disciple of the Immortal Downpour Peak.
The pearl shone brightly. The red plum blossom above his head glistened and protected the disciple of the Immortal Forest Peak…
For a moment, sparks flew and lightning flashed.
However, Li Changshou had already disappeared without a trace. He had avoided letting the other party’s immortal senses be locked on him.
At the beginning of the battle, most of the disciples were already watching with relish. It was indeed a battle between Qi Refinement cultivators who were in the Dao Requital realm.
Li Changshou hid underground at a steady pace, controlling the talisman array formations and making them disturb the enemy continuously. He decided to go for a more stable approach and fight with the disciple for a while. Then, he would win in a dangerous situation…
After a moment of the fierce battle, Li Changshou’s talisman array formation had already been replaced with two talismans.
The treasure light around the Immortal Forest Peak disciples started to weaken.
Although the Dharma treasures were good, he had to expend his Dharma powers to keep it going. That person sacrificed three treasures at the same time, but he could not find any trace of Li Changshou. He was forced into a long battle…
Anyone could tell that although Li Changshou was not proud of his ability to escape through the Earth Escape technique, he was confident that he would win.
Gradually, the disciple of the Immortal Downpour Peak looked anxious. He suddenly said loudly and smugly, “Why? Senior Brother Li, is curling up in the soil the only thing you know to do? You have the same demeanor as Little Qiong Peak!”
Many disciples frowned and felt that the disciple of the Immortal Downpour Peak was being rude. Li Changshou’s expression remained unchanged while he was underground. So what if he spoke fast?
Li Changshou would not hold it against a fellow disciple of the Dao Requital realm…
However, he had to consider how he should perform. After all, there were grudges between the two peaks.
Hence…
Without them even realizing, there were more talismans in the sky. The 72 talismans turned into 108 talismans. Then, they continued to grow and gradually grew to the number of 360, which was the number of Heavenly Cycles.
On the jade platform, Ao Yi raised his eyebrows. The power of the array formation…
He had experienced it before. It was quite good.
The 360 talismans unleashed their power at the same time. The endless heavenly flames rolled, and the fire pillars kept falling.
The Immortal Downpour Peak disciple blocked left and right, and the three Dharma treasures gradually weakened. They could not hold on any longer. He was about to give it his all and raise the pearl when he suddenly heard the sound of fire behind him.
When he looked up, he saw the surging heavenly flames above him, forming a huge foot that stomped down!
The expression of the disciple from the Immortal Downpour Peak changed. He tried his best to defend himself. Although he used his Dharma powers to protect himself, he was stomped on ferociously by a foot. His body fell downwards rapidly! Seeing that the person was about to fall to the ground, the executives at the side declared the name of the winner.
In a split second, something suddenly appeared on the ground. Its head was thick and thin, and its entire body was covered in sharp spikes. It easily pierced through the layer of ice and stuck out by half a foot, aiming at the figure that was falling from above…
The Spiked Mace!
It was the Spiked Mace, the Dharma artifact that the disciples seemed to have seen before!
The disciple from the Immortal Downpour Peak did not have much Dharma powers left. He was no longer able to use his Dharma treasures!
He did not know if the Spiked Mace had deliberately targeted the disciple or not, but it happened to be aimed at his derrière, which would not result in serious injury… Blood splattered three feet away! All the disciples held their breaths. The surrounding female disciples covered their eyes and did not dare to look. On the jade platform, Ao Yi could not help but break out in cold sweat… The Spiked Mace stopped at the sight of blood. It only gave the other party some punishment.
However, the disciple grunted and lay on the ground, while blood flowed out of his body. He rolled his eyes and fainted from anger. Li Changshou’s figure slowly emerged from the side. His aura was weak. It was obvious that he had used up too much of his Dharma powers. His hands were empty, and the frightening Dharma artifact was nowhere to be found. Li Changshou looked at his opponent and frowned.
He gibed, “It was just a superficial wound just now. Why did you faint, Junior Brother? Uncle-Masters, please take a look!”
The two executives who had already flown up had gloomy expressions. Why did he faint… Tell me, why did he faint?! Very quickly, the two executives shouted and declared that the disciple of the Immortal Downpour Peak was only infuriated and did not have any serious issues. Li Changshou heaved a sigh of relief.
He sighed and said, “This is really a battle between two people of equal strength.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Changshou turned around and rode his cloud back to his seat. Over there, Jiu Jiu was pulling Ling’e. The former was already laughing while the latter was trying her best to contain her amus.e.m.e.nt.