Volume 7: The Strongest Four Realms Chapter 70: The Wind Rises
On the Kawakami Plateau in the Central Spiritual Region, there is a mighty Zangbo River flowing through the center of the plateau, dividing the Kawakami Plateau into the north bank and the south bank.
On both sides of this river, which is known as the highest river in the world, there is a series of huge buildings with shadowy figures among them.
This is the territory of Huanling Sect, one of the seven great Taoist sects of the human race.
As a newly promoted Taoist sect in Chang'an, the rise of Huanling Sect in the past 20,000 years has been unstoppable.
To this day, its reputation as the number one clan of the human race has spread, which shows how powerful it is.
Due to the characteristics of the sect, the overall atmosphere of the Huanling Sect is completely different from that of other sects.
In the Huanling Sect, there are countless monsters, some flying in the sky, some swimming in the water, and some hiding in the ground, so the entire sect is filled with a sense of wildness.
If others came to the Huanling Sect for the first time, they would even feel that they had come to a demon country rather than a human sect.
Deep in the Huanling Sect, there stands an extremely rough stone palace built of stone.
This hall is called Ghost Crow.
"Taiyin, news came from Daxia that Xia Zhao plans to hold a dojo competition to decide where the snail dojo will be located." A gloomy voice was heard from the Ghost Crow Hall.
"Dojo competition?"
"Let each domain select ten cultivators with a cultivation level below the level of Refining Void, and have them fight in the form of defending and attacking the ring. The snail dojo will be built in the domain where the cultivator who survives the most comes from."
"That's a good idea. This woman really has a lot of ideas." Master Taiyin chuckled.
"For those below the level of Lianxu, that is to say, only Yuanying cultivators can fight... then the Yellow List is an extremely important reference factor."
"Two of the top three on the Yellow List are from the East Region, the first-ranked Sword Sect member Ji Chuan and the third-ranked Sword Sect member Lu Qingshan. Judging from this, the East Region has a great chance of winning."
"Don't worry, everyone can see these things. Everyone knows that the East Region has a great chance of winning. But everyone is determined to win this snail dojo. As the saying goes, a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. The North Region, Zhongtian Region, and Zhongwu Region have already received news that they propose that when the competition comes, we should first join forces to repel the cultivators from the East Region, and then we can each compete fairly. Although the West Region and the South Region have not made up their minds yet, they are already quite tempted."
"Oh? Zhongtian Territory is also included in it. Tianji Temple has always been neutral and claims to be noble, so why is it willing to join forces to exclude Dongyu this time? Is this the 'Goddess descending to the earth'?" said the Taiyin Sect Leader with a sneer.
"The behavior of Tianji Temple has not changed, mainly because this time the Daochang Competition is fought in the name of the domain. Our six domains are naturally led by Dao Sect, but in addition to Tianji Temple, Zhongtian Domain also has Daxia. This time, Zhongtian Domain is led by Daxia, and the matter of excluding the Eastern Domain was also initiated by those Daxia princes."
"Haha...Those kings may not be good at other things, but they are good at these petty and despicable things. They are indeed a drag."
"This is exactly what we want. The more fools like this, the better. Since they took the initiative to take the lead, we can just get on board. We will work together to exclude the Eastern Region and make them the first to be eliminated. We will make the Sword Sect lose face in front of many cultivators in the Eastern Region."
"Okay, that's settled. In addition, this snail dojo is of great significance, so let the disciples do their best to keep it in our Zhongling Domain."
…
When Lu Qingshan realized the law of cause and effect in the Cause and Effect Building, the news of the Taoist competition had already spread widely in the outside world.
All forces are gearing up for action.
Tianji Temple, Lotus Peak.
"That kid Lu Qingshan hasn't come out of the Karma Building yet?"
Lin Yao was sitting cross-legged, forming a hand seal and had just finished practicing. Before she could put the seal away and stand up, she heard a familiar voice in her ears.
She opened her eyes and saw that her master was standing in front of her, as if waiting for her to finish her training.
"No," Lin Yao quickly put away the seal and stood up, shaking her head. Noticing that Master's expression was not quite right, she quickly asked with concern: "Master, did something happen?"
"If this brat doesn't come out, I, your master, will be in big trouble this time." The master of Shuiyue Temple had a gloomy face.
"Ah, what happened?" Lin Yao asked in surprise.
"It's all because of the Snail Dojo incident."
"Snail Dojo?" Lin Yao wrinkled her nose, very puzzled. "What is this place, and what does it have to do with Master Lu?"
The head of Shuiyue Temple sighed and explained to Lin Yao, "The Snail Dojo was built by Daxia in order to prepare for the return of the demons, to fully tap the potential of the human cultivators, and to enhance the human race's foundation."
"Among the independent cultivators of the human race or the cultivators of small families, there must be many people with extraordinary talents who can transform into dragons when encountering wind and clouds. However, this wind and cloud is not something that every golden scale can encounter. It depends on one's luck. In this chaotic time, we need to grasp every bit of strength, so we are going to provide these cultivators with a place to transform into dragons, which is this snail dojo."
Lin Yao seemed to understand something. "This seems to be of the same nature as the Seven Realms Dao Discussion Competition?"
"Indeed," the head of Shuiyue Temple nodded, "The Seven Realms Dao Discussion Competition held in the third year of Tianyuan was actually an experiment. At present, it seems that holding the Seven Realms Dao Discussion Competition was an extremely correct decision and it was very effective. There are indeed many talented cultivators among the human race's independent cultivators."
"Speaking of which, the person who can best prove this point is Lu Qingshan, whom you always mention. He became famous through the Seven Realms Forum as a casual cultivator, and in just two years, he became the third "Sword Master" on the Yellow List. His achievement is amazing. I don't know how many resources will be wasted to build this snail dojo and open it to cultivators all over the world. Given the situation in Daxia where all sects have different intentions, the reason why Xia Zhao was able to push the snail dojo to land may be due to Lu Qingshan. After all, improving the foundation of the human race is the most important thing for Daxia, and no one knows how many "Sword Masters" there are among the human race who have not been discovered."
Lin Yao nodded and agreed: "Lu Qingshan is indeed very remarkable."
The master of Shuiyue Temple felt helpless.
Is this my point?
"But, what does this have to do with whether Lu Qingshan leaves the Yin and Yang Building?" Lin Yao blinked and reacted.
"Everyone knows that once the snail dojo is built, it will become one of the highest holy places for cultivation. Countless cultivators will come here, and many children of big families will try to enter it to practice. There will be countless benefits around this dojo. The most obvious manifestation is that the level of cultivators in the region where the snail dojo is located will be greatly affected and improved, and many cultivators will definitely make a fortune from it. This is a great opportunity, so people from all regions hope that the snail dojo can be built in their own regions, and the various regions headed by Dao Sect began to compete for it. When the dispute could not be resolved, Daxia held a dojo competition..."
"This Taoist competition limits the cultivation level to the Nascent Soul stage. Mr. Lu is ranked third on the Yellow List. If nothing unexpected happens, he will definitely be one of the main cultivators in the Eastern Region!" After the master of Shuiyue Temple explained the details of the Taoist competition, Lin Yao reacted immediately.
"Although the monks participating in the Daochang Competition are not divided by sects but by domains. But everyone knows that Dao Sect, as the dominant sect in each domain, is very powerful. The main monks participating in this Daochang Competition must also be from Dao Sects in each domain, so in fact this is still a dispute among Dao Sects. This snail Daochang is related to the well-being of the monks in a domain. The monks in various domains are watching eagerly, hoping that the Dao Sect in their domain can win this Daochang Competition and keep the snail Daochang in their domain. For such a popular event, Dao Sects naturally have to go all out, otherwise they will inevitably be criticized by the monks in their domain." The master of Shuiyue Temple said slowly.
“Among the Sword Sect’s Nascent Soul disciples, besides Ji Chuan, there is Lu Qingshan. So the Sword Sect must have sent Lu Qingshan to participate in this Taoist competition, but he is currently trapped in the Karma Building of our Tianji Temple…” Lin Yao murmured, gradually understanding why her master said that she was going to be unlucky.
In this situation, Tianji Temple and Jianzong are in a competitive relationship, and the second-in-command of Jianzong is unable to take part in the battle because of the Yin-Yang Building.
If the Sword Sect wins in the end, then everything will be fine and nothing will happen.
But if I lose...
"How long will it take for the Dojo Competition to begin?" Lin Yao asked quickly.
"It will begin in Chang'an half a year later." The master of Shuiyue Temple said slowly.
"Mr. Lu has been in the Yin and Yang Building for three months. He should have moved out by then..." Lin Yao said uncertainly.
"It's hard to say. Besides," Shuiyue Temple Master was somewhat helpless, "After he came out, it is very likely that he was in a state of inner demon attacking his soul. It will take a long time to exorcise the inner demon."
"There's also Ji Chuan," Lin Yao consoled, "Haoran Sword has been at the top of the Yellow List for many years. With him, the East Region should be able to win."
The master of Shuiyue Temple shook his head.
Having said that, the various domains have now reached a cooperation and are preparing to join forces to exclude the Eastern Domain.
In this situation, no matter how strong Ji Chuan is, his two fists cannot beat four hands, and he needs Lu Qingshan's help.
However, the master of Shuiyue Temple was not going to let Lin Yao know about the dirty deeds between high-level cultivators for the time being.
Although their Tianji Temple was not deeply involved in this matter - in the Taoist temple competition, the Zhongtian Domain was completely led by several kings and princes of Daxia.
…
Sword Sect.
Several sword practitioners gathered together to discuss matters.
"For this dojo competition, there are ten people from the East Region. One disciple each from Xingxiu Sect, Danxia Sect, Shenxiao Sect, and Cangtian Cave, and our Sword Sect will send six people."
The leader was a seventh-level sword cultivator named Xi Xiang. He flicked his finger and six sword messages flew out. "This is the list of six people I selected. Send the sword messages to each peak and inform the peak masters."
Although he is in charge of external affairs, the real decision-makers within the Sword Sect are still the seven peak masters.
In fact, with the size of the Sword Sect, it shouldn't let a mere seventh-level swordsman be in charge.
However, the great sword masters in the sect are unwilling to manage these numerous affairs.
In addition, sword cultivators rarely stick to one sect and travel and practice outside all year round. Various blame-shifting and these external factors have led to the current situation.
These matters are handled by experienced sword masters who are old and skilled. If there is anything that cannot be resolved, the great sword masters in the sect will take charge.
Simple and crude.
"I understand, Master." The disciple standing by the side responded quickly and retreated with the sword letter.
Several old swordsmen who were in charge of these external affairs sat and chatted, waiting for a reply.
"The timing of this dojo competition is perfect, as my Sword Sect occupies the top two of the top three on the Yellow List. It should have been a sure thing, but other domains are causing trouble and joining forces to exclude us. It's really unlucky." The speaker was another sixth-level sword cultivator named Fang Yuan.
He was already old and did not have much room for advancement, so he simply took the initiative to take on the management work that the sect's sword practitioners hated the most.
"Since we can't control others, we can only do our best. Fortunately, with Ji Chuan and Lu Qingshan's record, even facing this situation, their winning rate should be high. If these people join forces and fail to defeat us in the end, it would be a shame." Another old swordsman said contemptuously.
"I hope so," Xi Xiang said with emotion, "We can only hope that the two of them are good enough."
After a while.
The disciple who had left with Jian Xin earlier came back in a hurry, and his expression looked a little strange.
"Master, there's a reply from Haoran Peak..." the disciple stammered.
"What did you say!" Xi Xiang had already noticed some clues from his disciple's expression.
"Master Taibai said that Ji Chuan was sent by him to carry out an important mission and will not return to the sect within a hundred years. Ji Chuan cannot participate in this dojo competition."
The disciples of each peak are dispatched by the peak masters, so Xi Xiang really didn't know about this.
As for the fact that Ji Chuan hadn't appeared for a long time - it was common for monks to go into seclusion for a year or two, so he didn't take it seriously.
This unexpected news made Xi Xiang's old face suddenly darken.
The situation was already bad, but it got even worse. It was really...
Xi Xiang was helpless and could only sigh and say, "Then this time, Lu Qingshan will have to shoulder the responsibilities of our Eastern Region alone in this Dojo Competition... Although this guy has been very popular recently, this is a situation of siege after all. He is still a rising star and lacks foundation. Sigh..."
"Master..." The disciple below swallowed hard when he saw that his master was still being so picky.
"What's wrong?" Xi Xiang frowned and asked when he saw that his disciple was hesitant to speak.
"The head of Jianlai Peak said that her disciple Lu Qingshan was also sent out by her to carry out a mission. He has not returned yet, and she cannot contact him for the time being, so she doesn't know when Lu Qingshan will be able to return to the sect, let alone whether he can participate in this dojo competition."
Without someone to rule the country, let alone a situation of being besieged in multiple areas, even in a normal situation, there is almost no chance of winning.
a bolt from the blue.
This time, Xi Xiang’s face didn’t just turn black, his eyes went dark.
…
Inside the Cause and Effect Building.
The murderous aura had not disappeared and the sword energy was still lingering, proving that a battle had just taken place here before.
In front of Lu Qingshan, the evil image of a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators from the underworld, led by Shura, had just dissipated.
"They are getting stronger and stronger," Lu Qingshan said with a serious expression, muttering, "These people were not so strong when they were alive."
The scene before his eyes was changing rapidly.
The next evil sign soon appeared.
Burial Ridge, source of demons.
