The Blood Origin Realm contained countless strange beasts, immortal birds, heavenly treasures, and earthly gems—but it was equally fraught with danger. Even Xiantian experts had records of perishing within it.
Whenever it opened, the Yi Yuan Sect and the Zhang Family each sent their own experts inside. There had never been a precedent of sending disciples in before. For one thing, it only opened once every ten years; for another, disciples were relatively weak, making it too risky.
"It is precisely the Blood Origin Realm!" Ye Kongming said with a frown. "This year is when the Blood Origin Realm opens, and when the Blood Origin Fruits ripen. The Zhang Family has proposed that the Core Disciples compete within it to determine the victor. The top three in points will each receive one Blood Origin Fruit!"
The Blood Origin Fruit was a special spirit fruit unique to the Blood Origin Realm. It grew on a Blood Origin Fruit tree deep within the realm, and the Blood Origin Realm got its name because of this fruit.
Even a Xiantian expert could raise their cultivation by an entire level after consuming such a spirit fruit. Naturally, these fruits were exceedingly rare. They ripened only once every hundred years—in other words, only one out of every ten openings of the Blood Origin Realm would see them. Their quantity was even scarcer, with only nine in total.
"And the side with the higher overall score in the end will receive four of the remaining six Blood Origin Fruits, while the losing side can only receive two!" Ye Kongming said.
That was nothing unusual. They had always competed over them this way. The winning side received one more, while the losing side received one less.
"I heard that the Zhang Family has produced three extremely formidable geniuses these past few years," Xia Chunxue suddenly said. "Though still young, all three have already reached the Houtian Ninth Stage!"
"Exactly. By making this proposal, the Zhang Family clearly intends to monopolize the top three!" Ye Kongming sneered. "But they can keep dreaming. Feng is currently in seclusion. Once he emerges, he will be able to break through to the Houtian Ninth Stage. Then the Blood Origin Fruits will be worth fighting over. As for who will be the deer and who the hunter, that is still far from certain!"
Ye Xiwen thought to himself that the Zhang Family had come with ill intentions this time. But clearly, the upper ranks of the Yi Yuan Sect had their own countermeasures. It was probably not his place to worry too much.
"I'm not worried about the Blood Origin Fruits," Xia Chunxue said, concern appearing on her face. "But the Blood Origin Realm is simply too dangerous. What if they encounter the Demon Ancestor within it? Why not have Feng and Xue'er sit this one out? Feng is already at the peak of the Houtian Eighth Stage, only a single step away from breaking through to the Houtian Ninth Stage. When the time comes, wouldn't entering the Main Sect be much better than this?"
"Feng is one of the finest among the Core Disciples of my Yi Yuan Sect. How could he not go? That Demon Ancestor was already injured when we joined forces against it. As long as they are careful, there should be no problem!" Ye Kongming said in a tone that brooked no doubt. "Wen'er, hurry back and rest. Bring yourself to your best condition for the Sect Internal Competition!"
"Yes, Father!" Ye Xiwen said.
Ye Xiwen returned to his small courtyard. He did nothing else, instead taking out the copy of Heavenly Immortal Steps he had obtained from Ma Yan. Ma Yan had used this manual to extort quite a few people.
Only after reading Heavenly Immortal Steps did Ye Xiwen realize that it was a Xiantian-level cultivation method. However, half of it was already missing, making it impossible to cultivate to the peak. Even so, its power was no weaker than that of an ordinary advanced cultivation method. To Ye Xiwen, it was like sweet rain after a long drought. He had always lacked a movement technique. Though both Thunderclap Hand and Cold Moon Slash came with movement techniques, they naturally could not compare to one specifically designed for movement.
Ye Xiwen had originally planned to exchange for a movement technique at the Library Pavilion after the competition ended. Now, there was no need to go through that trouble.
Although Heavenly Immortal Steps was incomplete, it was more than enough for Ye Xiwen at present. If he had the opportunity in the future, he would naturally have to restore Heavenly Immortal Steps in full.
According to its description, Heavenly Immortal Steps excelled at maneuvering within a small area. In close-range movement, it was exceptionally formidable.
Ye Xiwen temporarily set aside his plans to cultivate Crescent Moon Slash. New Moon Slash alone was absolutely enough to handle this Sect Internal Competition. Among the Inner Disciples, only a tiny handful could cultivate a beginner-level cultivation method to mastery, let alone an intermediate one.
Cultivating Heavenly Immortal Steps took priority now.
Ye Xiwen sent his consciousness into the special space and began cultivating according to the descriptions in Heavenly Immortal Steps.
Large amounts of Spirit Stones began to burn, pouring energy into Ye Xiwen's body. His understanding of Heavenly Immortal Steps also rose steadily, step by step.
Within the special space, Ye Xiwen's continuously shifting figure quickly went from somewhat clumsy to practiced and fluid.
Time passed second by second. In the blink of an eye, two days had gone by.
In Ye Xiwen's small courtyard, he stood with his hands behind his back. Taking one step forward, he crossed several paces, and his figure appeared at a distant corner of the wall.
A faint smile appeared on Ye Xiwen's face. In two days, he had cultivated Heavenly Immortal Steps to the minor achievement stage. Martial Skills were generally divided into four stages: first glimpse of the gate, entering the hall, minor achievement, and great achievement. Though there were only four stages, the gap between each was enormous. It took a very long time to cultivate any martial art to minor achievement, much less an advanced one. But Ye Xiwen was different. With the special space's assistance, one day of his cultivation equaled a hundred days or even more for others. Of course, the price was the frenzied consumption of Spirit Stones. In just two short days, to deduce Heavenly Immortal Steps to the minor achievement stage, he had already used up fifteen hundred of his two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. The remaining five hundred were nowhere near enough to deduce Heavenly Immortal Steps to great achievement.
He needed at least another thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
But Ye Xiwen no longer had time to continue deducing Heavenly Immortal Steps, because the Sect Internal Competition had finally begun.
Sunlight broke through the clouds and shone upon the earth. Green Peak Mountain welcomed a new day, and from top to bottom, the entire mountain was filled with a festive air.
Of the more than ten thousand people in the Yi Yuan Sect on Green Peak Mountain, only a little over one thousand participated in this Sect Internal Competition. Not everyone entered. Some lacked the strength, and entering would only be in vain. Only disciples who aspired to claim a certain ranking, or wished to test what level they had reached, registered to participate.
The competition was not mandatory either. Anyone who wished to participate could do so.
More than eight hundred Outer Gate Disciples had registered, while only a little over four hundred Inner Disciples had done so. That was more than in previous years, and the competition was especially fierce. The reason was simple: in the past, only the top fifty received rewards, but now the top hundred all received generous rewards, attracting more Inner Disciples and Outer Gate Disciples to participate.
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