86: Chapter 86

Besides the growth of the four Disciples, even Qi Yue had vaguely touched the threshold of the Nascent Soul Seventh Layer again; it was estimated that in another month, she would be able to break through her Bottleneck and reach the Nascent Soul Seventh Layer Realm.

To break through a Realm in just four months.

If the outside world knew of this, they would only comment: "Utterly foolish; if you're bad, just practice more."

But if it were known that she broke through from the Nascent Soul Sixth Layer to the Nascent Soul Seventh Layer in four months, even those arrogant Prodigies in the Central Region would have to grumble in their hearts: "My goodness, this person is extraordinary."

One must know that the higher the Realm, the more time cultivation consumes.

Take Zhao Wuji of the Azure Nether Sword Sect, for instance; it took him nearly sixty years of painstaking effort to break through from the Golden Core Fourth Layer to the Golden Core Fifth Layer.

Hundreds of thousands of Cultivators spend their entire lives unable to cross the threshold of the Golden Core.

If she were still in the Central Region, Qi Yue would have felt proud and satisfied with her achievements. But in this Dao Seeking Sect, after witnessing the cultivation speed of Mu Wanqing and the others...

...she felt ashamed of her own inferiority.

However, seeing Xiao Lingxian break through to the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer, a sense of relief welled up in her heart. She secretly felt fortunate about her previous decision.

Inside the Xuanguang Pavilion!

Chen Xuan looked at the 48,500 reputation points he had accumulated over three months and nodded slightly, feeling quite satisfied.

[Congratulations to the Host for consuming 5,500 sect prestige points to obtain the Nascent Soul Eighth Layer cultivation!]

[Congratulations to the Host for consuming 6,000...]

...[Congratulations to the Host for consuming 9,000 sect prestige points to obtain the Soul Emergence Second Layer cultivation!]

After purchasing five Realms in one go, 13,500 reputation points remained.

That Mu Wanqing and the others could achieve such results might seem inconceivable to the outside world, but to Chen Xuan, it was an inevitable outcome.

The four of them were already one-in-a-million cultivation Geniuses.

Furthermore, the Cultivation Techniques they practiced were all God-tier Cultivation Techniques, and the Sect was aided by an immortal grade spirit vein. The Spiritual Qi was as thick as water, dozens of times more concentrated than in the outside world.

In the mountain behind the main hall, there were also Peaches of Immortality to help improve their Comprehension Ability.

With all these factors combined, had the four of them not spent time comprehending a God-Tier Divine Ability, they probably would have already broken through to the Golden Core Realm by now.

There were still five days left until the Heavenly Selection Grand Ceremony in the Central Region; it was about time to set out.

Just then!

"Reporting to the Sect Master, this Disciple has something to report!" A Disciple's voice came from outside the hall, sounding somewhat urgent.

"Enter!"

"Yes, Sect Master!" The Disciple in green robes stepped quickly into the hall. He bowed to Chen Xuan, fine sweat beads appearing on his forehead. "Reporting to the Sect Master, the Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother are fighting in the plaza!"

Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother... weren't those Li Pingan and Ye Hao?

Why would these two start fighting? Chen Xuan frowned slightly. A strand of invisible spiritual sense quickly swept through the Sect, and he indeed sensed the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi coming from the Sect plaza.

"Nonsense!"

Before his voice had even faded, Chen Xuan's figure had already left an afterimage in place.

On the bluestone tiles of the plaza, two figures were locked in a fierce battle.

Li Pingan was empty-handed, his body surrounded by a pale white Protective Aura. Every punch he threw carried a heavy force capable of shattering mountains and cracking rocks.

His back tightened like a bow, and the Protective Aura condensed into an inch-thick light armor on his knuckles.

Li Pingan gave a low shout and closed in. His left punch brought a Protective Aura wind that roared like a Dragon and tiger, while his right palm struck out in tandem. The Protective Aura at the edge of his palm actually condensed into a solid blade of light half a foot long, aiming straight for Ye Hao's chest.

Ye Hao tapped his toes on the ground and soared into the air. A longsword appeared out of thin air. He gripped the sword and swirled it into three Chaos vortices, the blade tracing a hazy grey path through the light.

With a flick of his wrist, his sword style changed abruptly. The Chaos Qi flickering at the tip of the sword suddenly transformed into a sky full of Sword Qi shadows, covering Li Pingan's vital points like a torrential rain.

*Bang!*

Li Pingan bent his knees to block. His Protective Aura armor was torn with three bloody gashes by the Sword Qi. He used the momentum to spin and ram into Ye Hao. Ye Hao held his sword across his chest, his Chaos spiritual light surging violently, yet he was still shaken until his blood roiled. The longsword vibrated intensely in his palm, and the Chaos Sword Qi nearly dissipated.

The two exchanged a glance, and as their figures crossed, they were about to clash again.

But they suddenly found that their bodies were abruptly suppressed by an indescribably massive Spiritual Qi...

Yet at this moment, an invisible giant force pressed down like the falling sky!

The Protective Aura Li Pingan had gathered suddenly froze and dissipated. Ye Hao's surging Chaos Qi instantly solidified. The limbs and bones of both men felt as if they were locked by billions of pounds of profound iron, making it impossible to move even a fingertip.

A figure in white robes appeared out of thin air between the two.

Chen Xuan frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two. "What are you two doing?"

"Greetings, Revered Master!" The two immediately bowed in salute.

Li Pingan looked around and only then realized that so many fellow Junior Brother Disciples had gathered in the plaza. Everyone was looking at them with confusion.

He scratched his head and explained, "Revered Master, I was just sparring in martial arts with my Junior Brother."

Ye Hao instantly understood why his Revered Master had appeared here and hurriedly said, "Revered Master, this Disciple has just mastered a God-Tier Divine Ability, so I wanted my Senior Brother to practice with me. The spiritual power was turbulent just now, causing Revered Master to worry."

Hearing this, Chen Xuan realized that the reporting Disciple had been mistaken. "Why didn't you go to the mirror heart trial tower?"

"Revered Master, we've already cleared the mirror heart trial tower three times. The first couple of times were very beneficial, but now it's not as good as sparring with Senior Brother."

Hearing those words... how would the Cultivators who were in the Spirit Void Secret Realm that day feel?

It seemed he would have to purchase a martial arts arena in the future. It was a good thing for Sect Disciples to exchange pointers and spar; Chen Xuan naturally wouldn't stop them.

But sparring in the Sect plaza could easily affect other Disciples, and the plaza couldn't withstand such destruction.

Chen Xuan said solemnly, "There happens to be an opportunity this time. I will take you on a trip to the Central Region. There will be a place for you to use your skills then."

With the current strength of the four Disciples, I wonder if they can in that...

The Central Region!

Hearing those two words, Ye Hao's eyes lit up.

Since breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer, he had returned to the Ye Family once, wanting to settle the score for the bone-snatching grudge. However, when he arrived, he found that the old villain Ye Feng had already moved the entire Ye Family out of the Eastern Region to hide.

As for the hiding place, Ye Hao didn't need to think much to guess it must be the Netherworld Holy Land in the Central Region.

"Yes, Revered Master!" Li Pingan, on the other hand, had no interest in the Central Region.

But since it was Revered Master's command, he didn't need to think; he would simply obey.

"Pingan, go and call your First Senior Sister and Little Junior Sister to the main hall. Ye Hao, you go and inform Qi Yue." After giving a few simple instructions, Chen Xuan was about to leave but thought for a moment and added, "Remember one thing: there is an iron rule for the Disciples of my Dao Seeking Sect—fratricide is strictly forbidden."

"Yes, Disciple will keep it in mind," the two replied with solemn expressions.

Only then did Chen Xuan return to the Xuanguang Pavilion with a flash... Deep within the Central Region!

A magnificent pavilion rose from the ground and stood tall here. The building was constructed entirely of Xuanhuang Stone, and the bronze wind chimes hanging from the eaves rang out on their own without any wind. Inside the hall, the beams and pillars were carved with the Stellar Map of the Heavens. In the dim light, countless bamboo slips hung from the ceiling like an inverted galaxy.

This place was the most mysterious power in the Central Region: the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

Deep within the pavilion, sandalwood incense curled upwards. A burly, tall old man with graying temples and eyebrows hanging down to his cheeks was organizing scrolls.

It was time for the once-every-thirty-years Heavenly Selection Grand Ceremony again. He wondered how many Prodigies would make a shocking appearance this time. Besides the Ten Great Sacred Lands, he wondered if any cultivation Geniuses would appear from the other four regions.

With a soft creak, a Disciple walked quickly into the room.

"Elder Fang, the messenger from the Profound Realm has arrived."

Elder Fang's body stiffened slightly upon hearing this. The scroll in his hand almost slipped. He hurriedly pressed the scroll back into the groove of the Star Map Platform and said urgently, "Quick... quickly lead me to welcome them!" Before he finished speaking, he hurried out of the hall.

For fear of showing even the slightest negligence.