Chapter 1340
Nascent Soul Level 2, Holding a Sword Tournament
The open sea, above the "Luoxia Abyss".
Li Xuanyi and "Qu Bai" stood in mid-air, with more than a dozen figures facing them not far away. They were all famous demon emperors from various factions in Lei Yuanhai.
Although there were only two people on Li Xuanyi's side, they remained calm and composed in the face of numerous powerful Nascent Soul Demon Emperors.
The three "Demon-Suppressing Swords" surrounding him exuded powerful pressure.
They were not intimidated by the other party's aura at all, and showed no fear whatsoever.
The numerous demon emperors opposite them, though their eyes clearly held a hint of ferocity, none of them stepped forward to provoke their opponents; they simply stood still, staring intently at them.
Just as the two sides were facing off in mid-air.
Suddenly, two streaks of light descended from the sky above everyone's heads and stopped directly in the middle of the battlefield where they were.
The light vanished quickly, revealing two figures.
From the spiritual light on the left, a man in a long robe, his figure shrouded in green mist, exuded a powerful aura far surpassing that of the cultivators present.
On the other side was an ordinary-looking man in blue robes, holding a giant golden sword in his hand.
"Ancestor!"
"Husband!"
Seeing the two fall, Li Xuanyi and the many demon emperors opposite them, who were still facing off, couldn't help but shout out.
The man in the long robe glanced at the many demon emperors behind him and waved his hand to stop them.
His gaze then quickly shifted to Song Qingming not far away, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.
"It has been a thousand years since I last fought with fellow human cultivators. I never expected that a genius like Fellow Daoist Song would appear in the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent."
"It is a rare privilege to receive your guidance today, fellow Daoist. I am truly delighted, and this trip has been worthwhile."
"Fellow Daoist Wu, you are too kind. Your supernatural abilities are no less than mine, and your poison skills are the most profound I have ever seen in my life."
I, Song, have also benefited greatly from today's battle!
"Hmph! I, Wu, have been a Nascent Soul cultivator for over two thousand years, while I have heard that Fellow Daoist Song has only been a Nascent Soul cultivator for a few hundred years. Although we are evenly matched today, I, Wu, have already lost half a point."
However, Fellow Daoist Song, this place is, after all, the territory of my demon race.
"If you ever need to cultivate in seclusion here in the future, please inform me beforehand to avoid any misunderstandings."
“What Fellow Daoist Wu said is very true. I, Song, have only recently advanced to the Nascent Soul stage and am not familiar with many of the fellow Daoists around me.”
If I have been impolite in any way, I hope you will forgive me.
"When I have some free time another day, I, Song, will definitely pay you a visit. Then we can exchange some pointers."
"Hahaha!
"Very well, it's rare to find Fellow Daoist Song in such an interest. I, Wu, also greatly admire your thunder magic abilities and will certainly accompany you then."
The man in the long robe laughed and agreed, then turned to look at the many demon emperors behind him.
"Let's leave it at that for today and go back!"
"Ancestor, are we just going to let them go like this?"
"Yes, those human cultivators still haven't given an explanation regarding Bai Yan and Brother Jin Li's matter."
Seeing that the man in the long robe suddenly chose to leave, the demon kings beside him seemed somewhat indignant and couldn't help but remind him.
But the next moment, the man in the long robe who had been smiling suddenly turned cold.
"Hmph! They're just not as skilled as the others, what explanation do they need?"
"I've already said it, this matter is settled, all of you go back!"
"We accept your command."
Seeing that their ancestor's expression was already somewhat unpleasant, the other demon emperors, though unwilling, had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Soon, led by the man in the long robe, the group of people disappeared on the spot, stepping on a beam of light.
Only after the demons left did Li Xuanyi step forward to Song Qingming's side.
Just as she put down the magic weapon in her hand and was about to step forward to approach the other party, Song Qingming suddenly raised his hand to stop her.
"I still have some of the Black Scale Demon Saint's poisonous mist on me that I haven't cleaned off. Don't get too close, or you might get hurt."
"Husband, are you injured?"
Upon hearing Song Qingming's reminder, Li Xuanyi noticed a trace of poisonous mist swirling around the other person, and her eyes immediately showed worry.
"It's all my fault. If it weren't for the fact that I was delayed for a while to cover my advancement in cultivation, we could have left this place long ago and wouldn't have been blocked by that guy."
"If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't have been able to refine those two items so smoothly. Why bring this up?"
"Don't worry, this poisonous mist is just left over from my sparring with Wu Lin. I'm actually not injured."
Seeing the worry in Li Xuanyi's voice, Song Qingming quickly smiled and waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.
Previously, in the underwater volcano, with Li Xuanyi's help, Song Qingming's process of refining the "Thunder Spirit Pearl" and "Flame Heart Jade" went relatively smoothly at first.
With the help of the powerful spiritual energy contained in these two spiritual objects, Song Qingming's cultivation level successfully broke through to the second level of the Nascent Soul realm.
But just as he broke through his cultivation level, the spiritual power within his body that had not yet been fully refined suddenly began to surge uncontrollably.
At the critical moment, Li Xuanyi risked her life and used a secret technique to help him absorb this portion of spiritual energy into her own body.
Although Li Xuanyi's actions could help Song Qingming stabilize his spiritual energy, it was extremely dangerous for her, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, to actively absorb this spiritual energy.
If she's not careful, this immense spiritual power could damage her meridians, and might even rupture her dantian, causing her to perish on the spot.
Fortunately, Song Qingming still possessed the secret method for sealing spiritual power left behind by Qu Bai, which he promptly taught to Li Xuanyi, helping her stabilize the spiritual power within her body.
With Song Qingming's assistance, Li Xuanyi spent a considerable amount of time before finally succeeding in refining this spiritual energy.
Her risky move not only helped Song Qingming out of a predicament, but Li Xuanyi herself also benefited greatly.
Originally, her cultivation level was still at the peak of the seventh level of the Nascent Soul Realm, but now she has easily broken through the bottleneck and steadily improved to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul Realm.
For Li Xuanyi, who was already worried about her own cultivation level, this was also an unexpected and tremendous opportunity.
In order to help Li Xuanyi refine the spiritual power in her body, Song Qingming and his group spent a lot of time here, attracting many demon experts to harass them.
In the end, even the renowned demon ancestor "Black Scale Demon Saint" Lei Yuanhai personally came to "Luoxia Abyss" to block the entrance.
Left with no other choice, Song Qingming was also forced to engage in a fierce battle with the "Black Scale Demon Saint" here.
Although the "Black Scale Demon Saint" had already advanced to the Nascent Soul stage two thousand years ago, his cultivation had broken through to the third level of the Nascent Soul stage.
Moreover, this demon has switched to cultivating its innate poison technique, and its supernatural abilities are extremely strange. It can even fight against a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator without being at a disadvantage.
However, after absorbing and refining those two spiritual items, Song Qingming's cultivation level had also increased to the second level of the Nascent Soul stage, and his strength had also increased considerably compared to before.
Even now, he is not afraid of facing a powerful Nascent Soul expert like the "Black Scale Demon Saint".
The two sides fought a fierce battle in the heavens for more than half a month. In the end, the "Black Scale Demon Saint" was defeated by Song Qingming in a few moves and was forced to end the battle.
However, although Song Qingming won a few moves against his opponent, he was also covered in the poisonous mist of the "Black Scale Demon Saint".
The two players performed similarly, resulting in a draw and no clear winner.
After all, once one's cultivation reaches the Nascent Soul stage, everyone is already a high-ranking ancestor in the cultivation world, and they will not easily fight to the death for a little benefit.
Even between humans and demons, who have been mortal enemies for millions of years, both sides will hold back in their battles.
"Black Scale Demon Saint" and Song Qingming were not mortal enemies, nor did they have much conflict of interest.
The duel between the two naturally ended there.
It's not worth making an enemy of a Nascent Soul cultivator of the same level whose supernatural powers are no less than his own, just for the sake of a few ordinary demon emperors under his command.
"Husband, why don't you find a place to rest first, and get rid of this poisonous mist on your body, then we can go back together."
"I promised Qingyu and the others that I would go back soon, but I didn't expect so many unexpected things to happen. Now I don't know if I can make it to the Donghuang Sword Gathering."
Don't worry! This little bit of poisonous fog is nothing to worry about. We can deal with it when we get back.
Faced with Li Xuanyi's suggestion, Song Qingming gently shook his head, then took out the "Ten Thousand Feet Jade Shuttle" from his body and led her up with him.
".
The Fuyun Mountains, also known as Qingyun Mountain.
Located on the northern summit of Qingyun Mountain, a massive golden magic array envelops several nearby peaks.
In the center of the golden magic circle, a square arena floats in mid-air, with several silver locks connecting it to several surrounding mountain peaks, firmly fixing it in place.
From a distance, the arena was surrounded by clouds and mist, resembling a fairyland in the sky.
On the arena, two Nascent Soul cultivators were activating their magical treasures to fight each other.
One of the two was an elder from the Xuanmu Sect, one of the ten major sects of the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom in the Upper Realm, with a peak Nascent Soul sixth level cultivation.
The other one, who was slightly younger, was a newly promoted late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the "Floating Cloud Mountains" a few decades ago.
Ye Linyuan, the Grand Elder of the Star Gate.
A hundred years ago, when Song Qingming went to the outer heavens for seclusion, Zheng Zitong, the former Grand Elder of the Star Gate, unfortunately perished in a great battle with demons.
Ye Linyuan then succeeded Ye Linyuan as the Grand Elder of the Starry Sky Sect.
Ye Linyuan is a Nascent Soul cultivator of roughly the same generation as Song Qingming. His talent is no less than that of He Wuyou back then, and he cultivated to the peak of the sixth level of Nascent Soul early on.
Ye Linyuan had previously attempted to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage several times, but failed each time, consuming a significant amount of resources in the process.
After Zheng Zitong's death, Ye Linyuan successfully took over the "Star Gate" and immediately decided to start raising resources.
Although the "Starry Sky Sect" has a long history and has produced several great cultivators, its foundation is much deeper than that of ordinary Nascent Soul sects like the "Cloud Soaring Sect".
However, to raise the resources needed to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage, the entire sect would have to be mobilized, emptying the sect's treasury and the savings accumulated over the next few decades.
If the chosen person succeeds in one fell swoop, and another great cultivator is born, the status of the entire sect will naturally rise accordingly.
However, if they fail, the sect's development will stagnate for at least one or two hundred years, affecting far more than just one or two people.
At that time, the "Starry Sky Sect" had just experienced a demonic calamity, and the sect's internal strength was severely damaged.
Ye Linyuan's decision to do this was opposed by Liu Zongping and other elders within the sect.
However, he ultimately used his status as the Grand Elder to suppress the other dissenting opinions within the sect and managed to purchase a high-grade fourth-level demon core for himself.
Fortunately, after more than ten years of seclusion, Ye Linyuan lived up to expectations and successfully broke through to the late Nascent Soul stage.
He also became the first great cultivator from the "Floating Cloud Mountains" who did not come from the Free and Unfettered Sect, following Zhao Wuling.
The current status of the "Star Gate" has surpassed that of the "Myriad Spirits Sect," making it the most powerful vassal sect of the Free and Unfettered Sect in the Floating Cloud Mountains. The white-haired elder, as the sixth elder of the "Mysterious Wood Sect," also possesses a high-grade fourth-level magic treasure, and his supernatural abilities far exceed those of ordinary cultivators of the same level.
Even though his cultivation level was lower than his opponent's, this person was still able to fight Ye Linyuan, a great cultivator, to a standstill.
Before long, the two sides had exchanged over a hundred blows.
"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Liu to not only possess a Grade 4 superior magic weapon, but also to have cultivated the Profound Spring Technique to the great perfection. This competition is truly hard to predict!"
"Brother Dao, do you really think Ye Linyuan is going to lose?"
"Hehe! Ye Linyuan has only recently advanced to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and he comes from a small sect like the Starry Sky Sect, so it's not surprising that he lost to Fellow Daoist Liu."
However, quite a few fellow Daoists bet on him to win this match.
If he really loses, I'm afraid many people will go out and curse him.
"Oh! That's true. To be honest, I also bought several thousand spirit stones."
However, I bet on Liu Daoyou winning; the odds are 8 to 1.
"Haha, fellow Daoist is indeed clever."
".
Just as the crowd below the stage were speculating that the newly promoted Grand Master of the "Starry Sky Sect" might stumble and be defeated by his opponent.
Ye Linyuan seized the opportunity and decisively used the sect's treasure, the "Canglang Ruler," to successfully pull his opponent into the water.
Immediately afterward, before the opponent could regain his footing, Ye Linyuan used a strange technique to knock away the magic weapon in the opponent's hand.
In just a few rounds, the white-haired elder from the "Xuanmu Sect" was at a disadvantage.
As expected, he was eventually knocked out of the arena by Ye Linyuan.
This truly surprised many cultivators. The crowd below the stage began to cheer for him, while some remained silent with a hint of disappointment on their faces.
As soon as the battle ended, three figures descended from the sky: Song Qingyu, Li Jiangxian, and Lü Yue, who served as referees for the sword tournament.
"Star Gate, Ye Linyuan wins and advances to the next round!"
"Next match, Huang Zicheng of the Five Thunder Sect will face Cang Lingzi of the Jade Spirit Sect."
".
Just as the martial arts competition continued on the stage, at the highest point of the pavilion on the eastern mountain peak...
Bai Yuxian and Huang Siyuan, through a bronze mirror artifact in front of them, also watched everything that had just happened.
"Senior Sister Bai, Fellow Daoist Ye has only been in the late Nascent Soul stage for a few decades, but I never expected that his supernatural abilities are already comparable to mine."
In your opinion, do you think he has a chance of making it into the top ten?
"Although there aren't as many half-step Nascent Soul cultivators participating in this sword competition as last time, there are still quite a few late-stage Nascent Soul experts sent by various sects."
To be honest, I don't think he has a good chance of making it to the next round.
In the previous war to destroy the demons, many Nascent Soul experts from the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom died on Jade Profound Island, including several half-step Divine Transformation experts.
This indirectly resulted in only six half-step Nascent Soul cultivators attending this year's Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament, about half the number from the previous tournament.
However, there were still more than thirty Nascent Soul stage cultivators from various sects participating in the competition, and Ye Linyuan's cultivation and supernatural abilities were not particularly outstanding among them.
Even if one is lucky enough to defeat a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and make it into the top twenty.
However, even with his strength, he would still be somewhat outmatched when facing those true late-stage Nascent Soul experts.
When asked by Huang Siyuan, Bai Yuxian, who had participated in the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Gathering" two hundred years ago, simply shook her head.
Just as the two were talking, there was a knock on the door.
A moment later, Xu Ziyan walked in from outside, holding a letter.
"Senior Sister Bai, Fellow Daoist Long from the Four Seas Merchant Alliance has replied. She will personally deliver all the magic treasures we need later, so it won't delay tomorrow's business."
Should I have these things delivered to my martial uncle on the mountain, or...?
"Junior Brother Song is still in seclusion in his cave, so don't go up and disturb him. He will naturally appear tomorrow!"
"Also, for tomorrow night's auction, the final few treasures will remain as we agreed before, without any changes."
"Okay! Don't worry, Senior Sister Bai, I understand!"
Xu Ziyan nodded slightly and quickly withdrew.
After she left, Huang Siyuan looked at Bai Yuxian beside her with a hint of doubt.
"Senior Sister Bai, if we don't see our husbands tomorrow, shouldn't we make some preparations in advance?"
“Junior Sister Huang, didn’t you say before that you believed Junior Brother would definitely be able to come back? I also believe that he will definitely be able to make it back in time!”
"Oh! I hope so."
Seeing Huang Siyuan's helpless smile, Bai Yuxian suddenly stood up and walked calmly into the inner room.
After a while, when the other person came out again, Huang Siyuan looked up and her face immediately showed a look of surprise.
Bai Yuxian, who had just gone in, came out looking like "Song Qingming".
At that moment, he walked towards me with a smile on his face.
"Siyuan, are you alright?"
"Husband... no, you are!"
Upon hearing a familiar voice from the other party, Huang Siyuan sensed something was amiss and took two steps back.
Before she could finish speaking, "Song Qingming," who had already walked up to her, changed his appearance again and transformed back into Bai Yuxian.
"Oh! It's Senior Sister Bai."
"I never imagined your Transformation Technique would be even more powerful than Xuan Yi's and Qing Yu's. Even I didn't notice it at first glance."
"Since I was able to keep it from Junior Sister Huang, it seems I'll be able to use my Transformation Technique tomorrow."
The reason Bai Yuxian transformed into the appearance of "Song Qingming" was because she had cultivated the "Illusionary Form Technique" that Song Qingming had obtained in his early years.
Not only her, but Huang Siyuan, Li Xuanyi, Song Qingyu and others have also practiced this technique.
However, Huang Siyuan's illusion technique was not at the level of Bai Yuxian's current skill; at most, it could only deceive some early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
When she first saw Bai Yuxian use this technique, she also sounded somewhat incredulous.
Completely unaware, Bai Yuxian had already mastered this technique to a high level, no less than Song Qingming back then.
"Senior Sister Bai, although your illusion technique can fool me, it may not be able to fool those cultivators whose spiritual sense is more powerful than mine."
Moreover, many half-step Nascent Soul cultivators from both the Heavenly Imperial Sect and the Demon-Slaying Palace attended this conference.
If you appear in place of your husband tomorrow, they will likely notice something amiss.
"Don't worry, junior sister. I've already spoken to the Heavenly Imperial Sect and the Demon-Slaying Palace. Even if they find out, no one will say anything."
I will inform Qingyu and Junior Sister Xu in advance, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
As long as they all accept my identity, even if some individual cultivators can see through the anomaly, they shouldn't dare to act recklessly in public.
This is, after all, our first time hosting the Donghuang Sword Tournament. If my husband doesn't show up, it would be somewhat disrespectful to our many distinguished guests and would affect his and our sect's reputation.
I did this out of desperation at the moment.
If Junior Brother Song blames me in the future, I will take full responsibility; you should all pretend you know nothing about this.
"Senior Sister Bai is devoted to the sect, and I think my husband wouldn't blame you even if he did."
Upon hearing Huang Siyuan's words of comfort, Bai Yuxian nodded with relief.
The next moment, her face changed again, and she looked like "Song Qingming" once more.
"Junior Sister Huang, tomorrow's events are of utmost importance. Could you please take a look and see if there's anything wrong so I can correct it in advance?"
"Ah, okay!"
Seeing that Bai Yuxian was wholeheartedly devoted to the sect, Huang Siyuan hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Looking at the "Song Qingming" in front of her, Huang Siyuan couldn't help but think of her long-lost partner, and felt a little awkward.
Fortunately, Bai Yuxian's acting skills were quite good, and she was able to imitate Song Qingming's demeanor almost perfectly, which helped Huang Siyuan adjust her own state.
The two people in the attic quickly became like they were when they were enjoying tea together.
".
The moon sets and the sun rises.
On the arena, the top ten contestants of the new martial arts tournament were selected.
The ten new Nascent Soul experts representing the entire "Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent" gathered above the arena to confirm the new ranking of the ten major sects.
Just as everyone was cheering and celebrating, a figure suddenly descended from the sky above the arena.
He arrived dressed in a blue robe, a smile on his face as he surveyed the many cultivators present.
The crowd below, upon recognizing the figure, immediately bowed and greeted him with excitement.
"We pay our respects to Senior Song!"
"Please, everyone, no need for formalities!"
With just a gentle lift of his hand, the ten closest cultivators felt themselves being supported by a soft magical force, and they stood up, looking at him with gratitude.
Not far away, Song Qingyu, Li Jiangxian, and Lü Yue stood.
Seeing this scene, I felt a little puzzled.
Just now, when Song Qingming was casting his spell above, the group clearly felt that the person in front of them was emanating a powerful aura far exceeding that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
This aura was incredibly real, unlike anything an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator could fake.
"Huh! What's going on with this aura?"
"Could it be...?"
"Fellow Daoist Qingyu, since Senior Song has already arrived, let's go down first, so as not to interfere with their treasure retrieval!"
"Ah."
Upon hearing Lü Yue's reminder, Song Qingyu and Li Jiangxian quickly nodded.
As she left, she glanced at the figure in the distance with some confusion, only to find that the other person had also given her a reassuring look. (End of Chapter)