Chapter 1274
Settling Grudges, New Rankings
Looking at the ten figures on the arena below, the many cultivators present all wore expressions of envy.
The rules for the new ranking of the top ten sects remain the same as in previous years.
Based on the ranking of the major sects in the previous session, the newly entered "Qingyang Holy Sect" and "Hundred Flowers Palace" were ranked at the very bottom.
Because the Qingyang Holy Sect had been ranked among the top ten sects many times before and had a relatively deep foundation, it surpassed the Hundred Flowers Palace and ranked ninth.
Song Qingming's sect, "Xiaoyao Sect," ranked ninth in the previous sword competition.
After defeating the "Sanyuan Sect", they have moved up to eighth place.
"Shen Gu Men" rose to seventh place because "Tai Yi Xian Men" was eliminated.
The six sects ranked first – “Wuxiang Sect”, “Wanshou Mountain”, “Danyuan Valley”, “Tiandao Sect”, “Bixia Palace”, and “Xuanmu Sect” – remain unchanged from the previous session.
But this ranking is only temporary.
According to the rules, the rankings can be changed at any time if someone issues a challenge.
"Fellow Daoists, if anyone wishes to participate in the competition, please step forward."
"My name is Lin Tianrong. I would like to request Elder Gu Yu of Danyuan Valley to come down and offer his guidance!"
No sooner had the cultivator from the "Immortal Origin Sect" finished speaking than Lin Tianrong, representing the "Heavenly Dao Sect," was the first to step forward.
The opponent he challenged was none other than "Dan Yuan Valley," which ranked third above the Heavenly Dao Sect.
Since Song Qingming achieved Nascent Soul stage, he has participated in the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament" three times.
The top three of the ten major sects have always been occupied by the "Wuxiang Sect", "Wan Shou Mountain", and "Dan Yuan Valley", and no one dares to challenge them head-on.
Both the "Formless Sect" and the "Mountain of Ten Thousand Beasts" are sects that have produced Nascent Soul Ancestors in the last few thousand years, and their foundations are extremely profound.
Although the sect has now declined to a Nascent Soul sect due to the absence of its Nascent Soul ancestor, it is not as glorious as it was in its peak period.
However, the sect still possesses some formidable trump cards left by the previous ancestor, which can resist the powerful supernatural abilities of Nascent Soul cultivators.
Although they are not as powerful as the three top Nascent Soul sects, these two sects are recognized as second only to them, and their strength is far beyond that of ordinary Nascent Soul sects.
In the last ten thousand years, no Nascent Soul Ancestor has appeared in Dan Yuan Valley, so its foundation is significantly weaker than the previous two.
However, "Dan Yuan Valley" possesses the most superb alchemy skills in the entire Donghuang Immortal Continent, and the sect also has a fifth-level alchemist lineage, making it a place that many sects strive to befriend.
Relying on the sect's superb alchemy skills, they controlled more than 30% of the high-grade pill supply in the entire Donghuang Kingdom's cultivation world.
In terms of financial resources alone, Dan Yuan Valley can be considered to be among the top ten sects, and it is no surprise that the sect has no shortage of powerful magic weapons and spiritual objects.
The strength of the sect should not be underestimated either.
Upon hearing that Lin Tianrong was going to challenge the third-ranked "Dan Yuan Valley", many cultivators watching the battle were also somewhat surprised, and a murmur of discussion immediately arose outside the arena.
Even Song Qingming, who was standing to the side, perked up upon hearing this.
Three hundred years ago, when Song Qingming traveled to Xihua Immortal Continent, he had dealings with the "Heavenly Dao Sect". At that time, Lin Tianrong had already broken through the half-step Nascent Soul realm by tempering his Yuan Qi.
Moreover, Lin Tianrong also possesses a powerful replica of a magical treasure.
In the previous tournament, Lin Tianrong used this treasure to defeat Biyun Fairy of the "Bixia Palace," whose strength was not much inferior to his, thus helping the Heavenly Dao Sect rise to fourth place.
Now, two hundred years later, Lin Tianrong's strength is probably even greater than it was back then.
It's somewhat surprising that they would have the confidence to challenge "Dan Yuan Valley," which ranks third, but upon closer examination, it's not hard to understand.
His opponent, Gu Yu Daoist of Dan Yuan Valley, already had a full head of white hair and was over 1,600 years old.
Compared to his peak, Gu Yu Dao Ren's strength had already begun to decline.
Two hundred years ago, Lin Tianrong didn't dare to challenge his opponent, but now he dares to stand up, which must be partly due to this reason.
"Fellow Daoist Gu, I apologize for any offense caused by my challenge today. I hope your sect will not take offense!"
"Alas! In a martial arts contest, only victory or defeat matters; do not concern yourself with other things."
When Lin Tianrong offered his explanation, "Gu Yu Dao Ren" smiled and waved his hand repeatedly, seemingly not minding it at all.
The next moment, two cyan flying swords, one long and one short, appeared in front of Lin Tianrong.
His opponent, "Ancient Jade Taoist," also solemnly cast a spell, presenting a Tai Chi Yin-Yang diagram.
"boom!.."
The sounds of fierce fighting soon filled the air, drawing gasps from the crowd below the arena.
After all, it was the first time he had witnessed the competition between the top three sects. Seeing such a clash of top experts, Song Qingming was also somewhat excited.
But the outcome of the battle surprised him even more.
At the beginning, Lin Tianrong did take the initiative on the battlefield due to his younger age, and used two powerful treasures to force "Ancient Jade Taoist" to a disadvantage.
But this advantage only lasted for a few dozen rounds.
As the "Ancient Jade Taoist" unleashed an ancient jade cauldron treasure, blue flames erupted from within, instantly forcing Lin Tianrong back and changing the unfavorable situation on the battlefield.
Next, Lin Tianrong was quickly suppressed by the blue flames and was unable to break through the opponent's treasure.
Despite trying many ways to fight back, he was still clearly no match for "Gu Yu Dao Ren" and was knocked out of the arena by his opponent.
"This jade cauldron is quite a fine item!"
Although the distance was quite far, and the magic array around the arena isolated the cultivators' divine senses, Song Qingming could not confirm the grade of the jade cauldron magic treasure in the hands of "Ancient Jade Daoist".
However, one can still see the immense power of this treasure, which seems to have surpassed that of ordinary imitation spiritual treasures.
It is possible that it is also a genuine spiritual treasure.
After all, Dan Yuan Valley is also a sect that has produced Nascent Soul Ancestors, so it's not impossible that there are spiritual treasures within the sect.
Although Lin Tianrong was quite strong, the treasures he possessed were ultimately inferior to those of his opponent, and he did not pose any pressure to "Ancient Jade Daoist".
At the beginning of the game, when watching the game.
Many people, including Song Qingming, thought that the battle between Lin Tianrong and "Gu Yu Dao Ren" might be a transition between the old and the new.
But in the end, the old fox was still the most cunning.
After Lin Tianrong left the stage with a hint of regret, "Gu Yu Dao Ren" also bowed slightly to the crowd below the stage and left the arena with a smile.
"Next match: Han Rui of Xuanmu Sect versus Bi Yun of Bixia Palace."
After the first match ended, the second match quickly began on stage.
This time, the sixth-ranked "Xuanmu Sect" is challenging the fifth-ranked "Bixia Palace".
These two teams had already fought each other in the previous sword tournament.
The Xuanmu Sect's resurgence this time is aimed at bringing down the Bixia Palace.
Unfortunately, after a fierce battle, the result was exactly the same as two hundred years ago: the "Bixia Palace" still won the arena match.
After failing in two consecutive challenges, the third match finally yielded an unexpected result.
The "Qingyang Holy Sect," ranked ninth, defeated the "Xuanmu Sect," ranked sixth, thus elevating its own sect ranking to sixth.
The fourth match was between the "Xuanmu Sect," which had fallen to ninth place, and the "Shengu Sect," which was ranked seventh.
In this great battle, Song Qingming originally thought that the Xuanmu Sect had a better chance of winning.
Unexpectedly, Yue Ling, who represented the "Divine Gu Sect," won the competition and retained her seventh-place position.
Unable to defeat the "Divine Gu Sect," Huang Yunhe, the Grand Elder of the "Mysterious Wood Sect," regretfully stepped off the stage.
Next, just when Song Qingming thought that the "Xuanmu Sect" would choose to challenge him, who was ranked eighth, things took a turn for the worse.
Unexpectedly, after looking in his direction for a while, Huang Yunhe actually gave up the idea of continuing the challenge.
Seeing that the Xuanmu Sect had no intention of challenging him, Song Qingming took the initiative to step onto the arena.
"Song Qingming of the Xiaoyao Sect challenges the Qingyang Holy Sect."
Standing on the ring, Liang Yushan looked ahead, a hint of excitement flashing across his face, as if he had been looking forward to this battle for a long time.
"Fellow Daoist Liang, please enlighten me."
"Fellow Daoist Song is too kind. Back then, when Junior Brother Jingyue was defeated by you, everyone said that you were just lucky. But I don't think so."
If you lose, you lose. You can only blame yourself for not being good enough, not others.
Fellow Daoist, you have given me this opportunity to avenge our sect.
Regardless of victory or defeat, I should thank Fellow Daoist Song today!
"However, before we make a move, I would like to ask one more thing."
Three hundred years ago, my junior brother Luo and fellow Daoists were fighting for treasures in a secret realm and unfortunately perished. I had already heard about this from my junior brother Jingyue.
"Fellow Daoist, it seems you haven't let go of this matter, which is why you've taken the initiative to challenge me this time!"
"Fellow Daoist Liang, you are overthinking this. The purpose of a martial arts contest is, of course, to challenge an opponent. There is no need for any other reason."
As for my matter with your clan, let's discuss it another time when there's an opportunity."
Seeing Song Qingming gently shake his head at him, Liang Yushan looked somewhat helpless.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke again:
"Fellow Daoist Song, we have already cultivated to this level, and should be wholeheartedly pursuing the Dao. How can we be burdened by the sect because of trivial matters?"
Today's martial arts competition should finally settle the long-standing feud between the two sects.
Alright then! If you lose to me, fellow Daoist, please apologize to our sect in front of all the fellow Daoists and return all of Junior Brother Luo's belongings.
If you win today, fellow Daoist, I am outmatched in skill, and my sect is willing to apologize for it.
"Whatever compensation you desire, fellow Daoist, is negotiable."
"Oh! I can negotiate anything I want. Does Fellow Daoist Liang really intend to take out the Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc?"
"Fellow Daoist is joking. The Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Plate is a treasure left behind by our sect's founder. If our sect had not perished, we would never have willingly handed it over to others."
Aside from the Thousand-Blade Mystic Crystal Disc and our sect's main cultivation technique, you may request anything else that our Qingyang Holy Sect possesses.
Although Liang Yushan refused Song Qingming's unreasonable request, his expression remained unchanged.
Seeing the other party's serious expression, it seemed they genuinely wanted to settle their score. Song Qingming pondered for a moment, then said, "Since you're unwilling to hand over the Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc, then give me a Mystic Spirit Pill."
This request shouldn't be too much for you, fellow Daoist!
"Mysterious Spirit Pill".
"Alright! It's settled then. Win or lose today, neither of our sects will back down!"
"A word is settled!"
Seeing that Liang Yushan readily agreed, Song Qingming also nodded slightly in acceptance of the bet.
The next moment, before Song Qingming could cast a spell, Liang Yushan took the initiative to raise his hand and summon a white jade plate.
It was the most precious treasure of the Qingyang Holy Sect, the "Thousand-Blade Mystic Crystal Disc".
As the white light shone, countless white blades flew out from the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc," directly covering half of the arena.
Previously, Song Qingming had defeated Tang Yuchuan of the "Three Yuan Sect" head-on, and knowing that the opponent was not weak, Liang Yushan went all out from the start, without holding back at all.
Countless white blades shot towards the opponent at high speed, each one no weaker than a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul Stage 9 cultivator.
Compared to the "Jingyue Zhenren" of yesteryear, Liang Yushan's control over this treasure is more than twice as powerful, they are not even in the same league.
However, facing the even more powerful white light blade, Song Qingming, who has honed his skills over two hundred years, is now far stronger than before.
With a simple raise of his hand, he released five bronze mirrors to block the incoming blades from all directions.
Even with the relentless attacks from the opponent, Song Qingming showed no signs of pressure.
Despite hundreds of attacks raining down, the Five Elements Divine Light Mirror remained firmly in front of him, though clanging sounds continued to emanate from its surroundings.
Sparks flew and white light covered the entire arena, but it was no match for Song Qingming's figure.
Seeing that the light blades were no match for the opponent, Liang Yushan ignited a large ball of cyan flame in his hand again and sent it directly into the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Plate" in front of him.
"Azure Sun True Fire!"
The cyan flame controlled by Liang Yushan was the Qingyang True Fire, the main cultivation technique of the "Qingyang Holy Sect," and its power far exceeded that of the Luo man that Song Qingming had seen back then.
Once the Azure Sun True Fire merges into the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Plate," the white light above instantly transforms into a green shadow, and countless azure flames rush towards it.
The "Thousand-Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" in Liang Yushan's hands is not only powerful in its own attack, but it is also a special imitation spiritual treasure that can be fused with a cultivator's innate divine power.
Seeing that he was surrounded by raging flames, Song Qingming frowned slightly.
Having already witnessed the power of the Azure Yang True Fire, he dared not be careless. He immediately cast a spell to activate the "Mysterious Yang Blazing Flame" within his body to cover the magic weapon, thus resisting the opponent's attack.
However, the power of Song Qingming's "Mysterious Yang Blazing Flame" was far inferior to that of the Azure Yang True Fire. Although it could temporarily resist the opponent, it was completely unable to force back these flames.
Soon, Song Qingming was surrounded by flames, as if he could not escape his predicament.
"Even a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't be able to easily break free from my Azure Sun True Fire. It seems you're nothing special after all!"
He had cultivated the Azure Yang True Fire within his body for over a thousand years, and he believed that apart from Nascent Soul cultivators, very few people in the world could directly confront him.
Seeing that Song Qingming was already struggling to resist the supernatural power he was controlling, and could only barely hold on, he realized that Song Qingming was already struggling to resist the power he was controlling.
Liang Yushan's face remained completely relaxed, and he continued to pour his magical power into the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc".
Just as Liang Yushan was preparing to increase his magical power and end the battle in one fell swoop.
Unexpectedly, in the middle of the battlefield, a black light appeared above Song Qingming's head, and a black ring appeared.
The next moment, the surrounding "Azure Yang True Fire" suddenly went out of control and was rapidly sucked into the black ring.
"This is!."
Seeing that the "Azure Yang True Fire" he was controlling was being swallowed up by the black ring, Liang Yushan was immediately surprised.
He hurriedly cast a spell to control the remaining flames, which transformed into a blue fire dragon that lunged at Song Qingming, intending to swallow him and the magical artifacts in front of him whole.
But just as the azure fire dragon arrived in front of Song Qingming, it was pulled back by an invisible, strange force.
Immediately afterwards, they were uncontrollably sucked into the "black ring" above.
"It can actually devour my life-bound true fire of cultivation? Impossible!"
Before Liang Yushan could recover from his shock, a white ring reappeared on the other side in front of him.
Immediately afterwards, a blue fire dragon several dozen feet long suddenly emerged from the white ring, rushing forward and swallowing Liang Yushan whole.
"Azure Sun True Fire!"
Upon seeing the familiar aura of flames emanating from beside him, Liang Yushan was filled with disbelief. The other party was actually able to control the same fiery divine power as him.
He immediately realized that this was the true fire of his life force that had just been devoured by the opponent's magic weapon.
Upon realizing he was trapped by the azure fire dragon, Liang Yushan immediately manipulated the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" to release streaks of azure flames, creating an opening in the dragon's belly and breaking free.
But before he could regain his footing, a figure had already appeared in mid-air, waiting in front of him.
A flash of white light appeared, and Liang Yushan felt himself being struck by a strange force. He was sent flying backward and landed at the edge of the magic array.
He cast a spell to stabilize himself and wanted to use the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" to counterattack his opponent, but the blue flames released by the treasure were once again absorbed into the black ring.
The black and white twin rings that Song Qingming used were a treasure he obtained from Lü Tianrang's split soul when he explored the secret realm of the light orb.
This treasure not only contains restrictions that can seal demonic artifacts, but it is also a powerful spiritual treasure in itself.
The black yin ring can absorb the opponent's attack spells, while the white yang ring can control the absorbed spells and supernatural powers to counterattack the opponent.
Although the power of the absorbed spells will be somewhat weakened compared to before, the greater the power of this treasure will be when it encounters a powerful divine ability like "Azure Yang True Fire".
The more Liang Yushan activated the "Thousand Blade Mystic Crystal Disc" in his hand, the more power it added to the black and white jade ring.
In just over ten rounds, he was unable to dodge and was hit by the white light again, sticking to the restrictive array.
Faced with Song Qingming's sudden pursuit, Liang Yushan knew his defeat was inevitable.
He decisively retrieved his magic weapon and raised his hands.
"Fellow Daoist Song, I have lost!"
"In this match, Song Qingming of the Free and Unfettered Sect wins!"
As the results were announced, another round of lively discussion arose among the cultivators present.
Unexpectedly, Liang Yushan, a half-step Nascent Soul expert who has been famous in the cultivation world of Donghuang Kingdom for over a thousand years, was defeated so decisively by Song Qingming today.
"Fellow Daoist Song, I don't have the Profound Spirit Pill with me, but don't worry, I will have someone deliver it to Immortal Origin City within a month at most."
"Then I shall accept your offer!"
Seeing Liang Yushan say this, Song Qingming, who was feeling very pleased, nodded slightly and said nothing more.
Before long, the two walked off the stage together.
After this battle, the cultivators from the "Immortal Origin Sect" went up on stage again to inquire whether any other cultivators would like to continue the challenge.
After asking around again and seeing that no one else stepped forward, they quickly announced the final result.
After a series of competitions, the final rankings of the top ten in this conference have been determined.
They are "Wuxiang Sect", "Wanshou Mountain", "Danyuan Valley", "Tiandao Sect", "Bixia Palace", "Xiaoyao Sect", "Shen Gu Sect", "Qingyang Holy Sect", "Xuanmu Sect", and "Baihua Palace".
The top five remained unchanged from the previous year.
Song Qingming's "Xiaoyao Sect" rose from ninth to sixth place, and the "Shen Gu Sect" also rose from eighth to seventh place.
The Xuanmu Sect fell directly to ninth place, ranking last alongside the newly promoted Qingyang Holy Sect and Baihua Palace.
Once the final rankings were announced, clusters of spiritual light appeared on the arena again, falling directly from above.
"Look, so many magical treasures!"
As the spectators below gasped in surprise, the ten cultivators on the stage immediately flew forward and rushed towards the ball of light above.
With just a glance, Song Qingming took a liking to one of the somewhat ancient-style alchemy furnaces, and his escape light rushed straight towards the treasure.
Huang Yunhe, who was standing beside him, saw that Song Qingming wanted to compete for the treasure.
Having already witnessed the powerful supernatural abilities displayed by the other party, Huang Yunhe dared not compete with him and immediately changed direction, rushing towards another magical treasure.
Just as Song Qingming arrived at the location of the alchemy furnace, another figure caught up with him at the same time.
"Dan Yuan Valley, Daoist Gu Yun!"
Seeing that Song Qingming was moving even faster, "Gu Yun Dao Ren" calmly cast a spell and released a beam of white light, which was the first to touch the ball of light.
Just as he was about to take the alchemy furnace magic weapon into his possession, Song Qingming's expression changed slightly, and he used the "Nine Palaces Meteor Escape" technique to block the white light from the middle.
As soon as the white light swept the alchemy furnace past him, Song Qingming kicked it away with all his might, sending the furnace flying into the distance.
Immediately afterwards, Song Qingming flashed and blocked "Gu Yun Dao Ren's" path.
"Fellow Daoist Song, if you are not skilled in alchemy, why are you vying with me for this item!"
"Although I am not proficient in alchemy, I am doing this for my Daoist partner. I would be grateful if Elder Gu Yun could grant me this favor."
"So be it! That's how it is."
Today, I will do you a favor and forge a good connection with you, fellow Daoist.
"Gu Yun Dao Ren" ranked among the top three in this tournament and easily defeated Lin Tian Rong, who possessed two imitation spiritual treasures. His supernatural abilities were no weaker than his own.
Song Qingming originally thought that the other party would not be easily persuaded by him, and that the two sides would inevitably have to compete for it again.
Unexpectedly, just as he opened his mouth to say a word, "Taoist Gu Yun" decisively gave up the fight for the treasure in front of him.
The next moment, "Daoist Guyun" abandoned Song Qingming, who still looked somewhat surprised, and turned to rush straight for the other superior-grade magic weapon that was closest to him.
Seeing this, Song Qingming dared not delay for a moment and quickly used his supernatural powers to catch up with the alchemy furnace that had already flown into the distance.
After grabbing the ball of light and breaking through the outer barrier, a simple purple alchemy furnace appeared in his hand.
"Heavenly Purple Gold Furnace"
With just a quick glance, Song Qingming confirmed that the quality of the alchemy furnace in his hand had reached the fourth-grade superior level, making it an extremely rare high-level alchemy treasure.
Having successfully snatched this treasure, this trip wasn't a loss after all! (End of Chapter)