Defeating Li Mu, the five top-tier sects
Below the stage, golden light instantly flashed in Yue Zheng Xingzhi's eyes; the humiliation Chen Yuan inflicted earlier was still fresh in her memory.
“This time, Chen Yuan is sure to lose.”
She couldn't wait to see Chen Yuan being sliced away by a sword and then mocked by the crowd for overestimating himself.
Above the Nine Heavens, the various Peak Masters and the Sect Master were watching the battle below.
“I'm afraid your Disciple won't be able to handle this sword strike.” Elder Yan Qingfeng of Yanqing Peak said, stroking his beard with a smile.
Li Mu was his personal Disciple, and he understood him best.
“That's not necessarily true.” A faint light flickered in Leng Youmeng's eyes. “I believe he can.”
Although Ye Baixi trusted Chen Yuan, she couldn't help but feel nervous under the might of that powerful sword strike.
Lin Xue and Shen Ling both subconsciously gripped their sleeves.
Chen Yuan did not take out the yixue sword. Instead, he compressed his vast, ocean-like Spiritual Qi intensely onto his fingertip, using his finger as a sword to point forward!
This single finger strike looked ordinary, yet it was far more dazzling than Li Mu's sword light.
“Pop!”
A soft sound echoed, shaking heaven and earth.
The brilliant sword light, over ten feet long, suddenly dispersed like a punctured bubble!
Under the backlash of Spiritual Qi, Li Mu groaned, staggering backward. The Spiritual Sword in his hand vibrated incessantly, and his face was filled with disbelief.
Chen Yuan's figure approached like a phantom, his finger lightly tapping an inch in front of Li Mu's throat.
The terrifying Spiritual Qi fluctuations contained within his fingertip instantly made Li Mu's hair stand on end, preventing him from daring to move even slightly.
The entire venue fell silent.
Everyone widened their eyes and opened their mouths, yet no sound could escape.
What did they just witness?
A Late Nascent Soul stage cultivator had crossed realms and defeated Senior Brother Li Mu, who was at the Perfected Nascent Soul Stage?
Furthermore, the victory didn't seem particularly difficult?
That final finger strike, which shattered the killing blow, was simply miraculous!
“How... how did he do that?”
“I didn't see clearly! But that finger strike... was too terrifying!”
“This is impossible!” Yue Zheng Xingzhi gasped.
She could understand being slapped away by Chen Yuan before; after all, Chu Yuan could fight opponents across realms even in the Golden Core Stage, and she accepted that she was inferior to him in battles of the same rank. But why could he defeat Senior Brother Li Mu across realms?!
Nascent Soul is not Golden Core; crossing realms is difficult, and crossing realms to defeat a Genius like Li Mu is even harder.
“Yay, Big Brother won!”
“Wow, Brother Chen is amazing.”
Ye Baixi and Shen Ling high-fived, cheering excitedly.
Below the stage, cheers erupted like a mountain roar and a tsunami.
At this moment, the name Chen Yuan was thoroughly imprinted in their memories. A Disciple who had joined the Sect just two months ago had set an unprecedented record in the Xuantian Sect by achieving a Nascent Soul Breakthrough and entering the 30th spot on the heavenly ladder ranking.
“No way? That makes no sense!” Yan Qingfeng hadn't recovered either. Li Mu lost just like that?
Sect Master stroked his beard, his gaze toward Chen Yuan filled with appreciation.
“I concede.” Li Mu was utterly terrified at this moment; he could tell that if Chen Yuan hadn't held back, he would surely have died here.
At this time, Chen Yuan's name conspicuously appeared in the thirtieth spot on the heavenly ladder ranking.
Meanwhile, Li Mu dropped to the thirty-first spot.
Chen Yuan looked up at the heavenly ladder ranking. The twenty-ninth spot belonged to Song Shiwei and his Senior Sister Qin Shuhan.
It must have been due to force majeure that the two were tied for the twenty-ninth spot.
To be precise, the higher-ups had run out of ideas and could only let the two share the spot.
The next day, the Heavenly Treasure Secret Realm was about to open.
Flying boats, appearing like ancient behemoths, descended upon the Sect Square.
All Disciples within the Sect who were under three thousand years old, below the Void Return Stage, and above the Golden Core Stage were to participate.
Led by the Sect Master, the Disciples uniformly and orderly stepped onto the Flying Boat.
The Eastern Barrens is divided into Nine Prefectures and Twenty-Three Domains in total.
Excluding the Nine Prefectures, only five Dao Domains among the remaining Twenty-Three Domains have First-Rate Forces overseeing them.
They are the Great Thousand Domain, the Kunxu Domain, the Yaoguang Domain, the Sumeru Domain, and the Tiangang Domain.
And the Heavenly Treasure Secret Realm is located exactly at the intersection of these Five Great Dao Domains—the Origin Flow Cloud Sea.
The Origin Flow Cloud Sea is a massive cluster of floating continents suspended above an endless sea of clouds.
It is composed of five main islands, resembling Immortal Islands, bathed in brilliant Spiritual Light.
The five islands are not stationary; they move along a slow, natural trajectory. When the five islands join together, the Heavenly Treasure Secret Realm can be opened.
Legend has it that the Heavenly Treasure Secret Realm was left behind by a Mahayana Venerable, so the Five Great First-Rank Forces attach great importance to it. If their Disciples can obtain this Legacy, they will certainly gain another future Mahayana Stage Venerable.
The Xuantian Sect Flying Boat broke through the clouds, traveling rapidly through the Fierce Winds. Chen Yuan stood by the Porthole, looking down at the mountains, rivers, and land rapidly passing below.
The Sect Square quickly shrunk, turning into a black dot, and was eventually swallowed by the clouds and fog.
The journey from the Xuantian Sect to the Origin Flow Cloud Sea was extremely long, requiring several days even at the speed of this Flying Boat.
The internal space of the Flying Boat was much wider than what was visible from the outside, clearly utilizing a Spatial Expansion Formation.
The Disciples were either sitting quietly, regulating their breathing to conserve energy, or gathering in small groups, whispering about information concerning the Heavenly Treasure Secret Realm.
Others, like Ye Baixi and Shen Nianchu, were slightly excited as they observed the unfamiliar scenery outside the window.
Several days passed in a flash.
As the clouds surrounding the Flying Boat gradually thickened, a powerful pressure, mixed with countless strong auras, rushed toward them.
“We've arrived.” Someone whispered.
All the Disciples were instantly energized, rushing toward the windows or the deck.
Chen Yuan looked up, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes as well.
In front of them was an endless, turbulent sea of clouds, illuminated by ten thousand rays of rosy light and a thousand streaks of auspicious color.
Above the sea of clouds were five colossal Floating Islands, each with a distinct appearance. On some, Immortal Mountains towered, and Magnificent Palaces faintly appeared.
On others, Buddhist Light shone brightly, with faint echoes of Sanskrit Chanting, while others had Sword Qi soaring into the sky, their sharp intent cleaving the clouds.
Some were bathed in Moonlight like water, appearing cold, clear, and lofty.
There was also one island with a majestic atmosphere, quite similar in Dao Charm to the Xuantian Sect. This was the Receiving Island corresponding to the Xuantian Sect of the Great Thousand Domain.
This was the Origin Flow Cloud Sea!
At this moment, the vast sea of clouds was already bustling with activity.
Besides the Xuantian Sect's Flying Boat, powerful flying Magical Artifacts or streaks of Escape Light constantly swept in from all directions.
In the east, bursts of Sanskrit Chanting rang out.
Golden Buddhist Light paved a path, and a group of solemn-looking Monks, clad in Kasayas, arrived, riding enormous Golden Lotus Platforms that tore through the void.
They were protected by Buddhist Light, solemn and majestic. This was the First-Rank Force of the Sumeru Domain, the Thunder Sound Temple!
In the west, clear sword cries tore through the sky. A silver-white Flying Boat shaped like a giant sword flew forward on the sword, its Sword Qi crisscrossing, emitting a sharpness that dared no one to look directly at it.
On the Flying Boat, every Disciple carried a sword, their expressions cold and severe, their eyes sharp as eagles. This was the First-Rank Force of the Tiangang Domain, the Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion!
In the north, Moonlight poured down. A magnificent Palace Carriage, pulled by nine magnificent Jade Toads, rolled through the clouds.
Light gauze danced around the carriage, faintly revealing graceful figures within, their aura cold, detached, and solitary, as if the Guanghan Fairy had descended to the mortal world.
This was the First-Rank Force of the Yaoguang Domain, the Guanghan Immortal Palace!
In the south, a clear Crane Cry sounded. Disciples of the Kunxu Holy Land rode Immortal Cranes and Auspicious Clouds, possessing a natural Dao Charm, ethereal and transcendent.
The leader possessed the Immortal Bearing, nodding a greeting from afar to the Xuantian Sect group. This was the First-Rank Force of the Kunxu Domain, the Kunxu Holy Land.
These Five Great First-Rank Forces were undoubtedly the focus of the entire scene, possessing powerful auras and each occupying a section of the airspace.