The entire Golden Ao Island fell silent.
When the many Jie Sect Disciples saw the figure above Biyou Palace clearly,
their earlier fear was instantly replaced by awe and delight.
Tongtian was indeed the Jie Sect Leader, but aside from a few of the older Jie Sect Disciples, such as Duobao, Yunxiao, Jinling Shengmu, and the Suishi Qixian, most of the disciples who had joined later had never even had a chance to see him.
Now that they had seen a Saint, they were naturally both delighted and astonished.
"Disciple greets Master!"
After a brief silence, Yunxiao was the first to bow in greeting.
Qiongxiao, Bixiao, Dingguang Xian, and the other Jie Sect Disciples promptly followed suit.
Lu Changsheng stared intently at Tongtian.
So this was a Saint?
Even just standing there without doing anything, he could make people feel an oppression too immense to describe.
With just a glance or a thought, he could wipe out everything around him.
The saying "Below Saint, all are ants" was no exaggeration.
So the question was: why had Tongtian appeared?
After all, when the Jie Sect had distributed Cultivation Resources earlier, Tongtian had never shown up.
Dingguang Xian wondered the same thing.
He looked calm on the surface, but inside, he was in a state of panic.
Had the Sect Leader suddenly appeared because of his targeting of Lu Changsheng?
But the next moment, Dingguang Xian calmed down.
He was only frightening himself.
How could the Sect Leader appear just because of a True Immortal?
As Dingguang Xian wondered anxiously, Tongtian began to speak.
"From this day onward, all my Jie Sect Disciples below the Golden Immortal Realm will receive twice the Cultivation Resources."
"Those who make rapid progress will receive personal guidance from me, and may even have the chance to become my Personal Disciple."
His words sent a shock through the many Jie Sect Disciples.
They had already heard similar news before.
But rumors among the disciples were entirely different from hearing it directly from Tongtian.
Who wouldn't want to become a Saint's Personal Disciple?
Before everyone could settle down after hearing this, Tongtian spoke again.
"In three hundred years, I intend to select several disciples to Discuss Dao with the Chan Sect Disciples."
The news left everyone on Golden Ao Island stunned once more.
Discuss Dao with the Chan Sect Disciples?
That sounded nice, but wasn't it just a fight?
Tongtian had finally reached his limit.
By now, all of Honghuang was saying that the Jie Sect was all talk, and that its disciples were no match for the Jade Void Twelve Immortals.
In that case, he would take the Jie Sect Disciples and have them fight the Jade Void Twelve Immortals.
They would defeat the Jade Void Twelve Immortals head-on, dispel the rumors, and bolster the Jie Sect's reputation.
But after a moment, most of the Jie Sect Disciples calmed down.
Discussing Dao with the Chan Sect was certainly a major event.
But surely the ones representing the Jie Sect would be older and more powerful disciples like Duobao, Yunxiao, and Jinling Shengmu. What did it have to do with ordinary disciples like them?
At that moment, Tongtian spoke again.
"The Dao Discussion Quota is open to all who can earn it. No regard will be given to status or cultivation level; only strength matters."
With that, Tongtian vanished.
His final words rang out like a thunderclap across Golden Ao Island.
No regard for status, only strength?
And with Cultivation Resources doubled for a time, too—
Wasn't this a golden opportunity for the lower-ranked Jie Sect Disciples to turn their fortunes around?
If they could secure a quota and represent the Jie Sect in the Dao Discussion, they would surely reap plenty of benefits.
Lu Changsheng was also quite interested.
Though he had the system to assist his cultivation, he needed to meet certain conditions to claim its rewards.
If he could receive personal guidance from Tongtian and become his Personal Disciple, his cultivation speed would surely increase severalfold.
Now that he had received his Cultivation Resources, it was time to return and cultivate.
He had already reached the True Immortal Peak, and was only one step away from the Mysterious Immortal Realm.
With the doubled resources for the True Immortal Realm, he should be able to make another attempt at breaking through to Mysterious Immortal.
Just then, he suddenly felt a cold gaze fall upon him.
"Lu Changsheng, make the most of these hundred years. Otherwise, you won't even last one round against me."
Dingguang Xian said.
"You should worry about yourself."
Lu Changsheng was unconcerned. He hadn't taken Dingguang Xian seriously at all.
Right now, his goal was to figure out how to claim a quota to represent the Jie Sect in the Dao Discussion.
"We'll see how long you can keep talking tough!"
With that, Dingguang Xian turned and left to continue distributing Cultivation Resources.
Lu Changsheng turned his gaze to Yunxiao.
The moment their eyes met, Yunxiao quickly gave him a look.
They still couldn't reveal their Dao Companion relationship.
"Do you have confidence that you can defeat Dingguang Xian in a hundred years?"
Yunxiao asked.
"Of course."
The two simple words came from Lu Changsheng as if the answer were obvious.
Yunxiao furrowed her slender brows.
Perhaps Dingguang Xian wasn't one of the strongest among the Suishi Qixian, but no matter what, he was still a Golden Immortal.
Even if Lu Changsheng had made rapid progress in his cultivation lately, he was still only a True Immortal.
Between a True Immortal and a Golden Immortal stood the Mysterious Immortal Realm.
That gap couldn't be bridged by ordinary means.
She stared closely at Lu Changsheng, trying to find some hint of uncertainty in his eyes.
But there was nothing.
His eyes were as calm as a lake, without a ripple. There was no trace of nervousness or bluffing.
It was as if he had never taken Dingguang Xian seriously.
Yunxiao's brows knit slightly as she wondered what he was thinking.
Bixiao stepped forward and glared at Lu Changsheng.
"Your cultivation isn't much, but you sure talk big."
"Dingguang Xian is one of the Suishi Qixian. What makes you think you can beat him?"
His arrogance had piqued her interest.
Lu Changsheng glanced at Bixiao and smiled faintly.
"Whether it's for my own sake or Yunxiao's, do I have any reason to lose?"
Bixiao was taken aback. Lu Changsheng's answer was well beyond her expectations.
Yunxiao's cheeks, meanwhile, warmed slightly.
To her, those words meant something quite different from what they meant to Bixiao and the others.
What exactly was Lu Changsheng saying?
Yunxiao composed herself and said in a solemn voice,
"Confidence is good, but don't underestimate Dingguang Xian."
"Take this."
Yunxiao raised her jade-like hand, and a flash of golden light flew from her sleeve.
A small, exquisite gourd landed in Lu Changsheng's hand.
At the same time, a telepathic message sounded in his ear.
"The gourd contains Nine Heavens Spirit Liquid. It can help you break through from True Immortal to Golden Immortal, but there's only one drop, so use it carefully."
This was also Yunxiao's return gift for the Xuanlinghua.
At first, Yunxiao hadn't known what to give him in return.
Lu Changsheng had only been a Heavenly Immortal before, and she truly had nothing suitable for a Heavenly Immortal.
But things were different now. Lu Changsheng had reached the True Immortal Peak.
The Nine Heavens Spirit Liquid would come in handy.
Seeing Yunxiao give him a treasure, Qiongxiao's eyes widened.
She stared intently at the gourd.
Bixiao might not recognize it, but she did.
It contained Nine Heavens Spirit Liquid.
Its greatest use was helping a Mysterious Immortal break through to the Golden Immortal Realm.
It was no exaggeration to say that with Nine Heavens Spirit Liquid, the chance of a Mysterious Immortal achieving Golden Immortal rose by twenty percent.
Master had bestowed it upon Yunxiao a long time ago.
Yet now Yunxiao had given such a treasure to Lu Changsheng, a True Immortal?
What a waste!
While Qiongxiao was still reeling, Lu Changsheng had already put the gourd away.
"Thanks."
"Then I'll head back and cultivate."
After saying goodbye to Yunxiao, Lu Changsheng immediately hurried back to his cave dwelling.
"Hey, don't leave yet! I haven't finished asking you questions!"
Bixiao called after him.
She still wanted to ask Lu Changsheng what Trump Card he had that would let him beat Dingguang Xian.
But Lu Changsheng had simply left.
"Big Sis, what exactly did you just give Lu Changsheng?"
Bixiao turned to Yunxiao again.
"Heavenly Secrets cannot be revealed."
Since Bixiao didn't know, Yunxiao wasn't going to tell her.
"Big Sis, aren't you a little too concerned about Lu Changsheng?"
Qiongxiao asked, voicing her confusion.
Yunxiao's heart skipped a beat. Had Qiongxiao figured it out?
"It's not that I'm concerned about him. I just can't stand what Dingguang Xian has been doing."
She hurriedly came up with an excuse.
Qiongxiao was still somewhat doubtful.
Was that really the case?
Dingguang Xian had withheld Cultivation Resources from the lower-ranked disciples more than once.
Why hadn't Yunxiao stepped in before?
And this wasn't the first time Yunxiao had helped Lu Changsheng.
If she merely disliked Dingguang Xian, did she really need to give away the Nine Heavens Spirit Liquid?
Something wasn't right.
"Big—"
"Big Sis, I want to watch that fight a hundred years from now, too!"
Bixiao's shout interrupted Qiongxiao.
Yunxiao considered it briefly.
"If you spend the next hundred years cultivating diligently on Three Immortal Island, I'll bring you along."
"No problem!"
Bixiao agreed without hesitation.
"In that case, let's head back to Three Immortal Island."
Yunxiao turned to leave.
She had come to Golden Ao Island partly to seek Master's guidance on the Zenith Heaven Golden Path, and partly to see Lu Changsheng.
Now that she had accomplished both, it was time to leave.
"Ah, so soon?"
Bixiao looked reluctant. She had only just arrived.
"What, you don't want to see the fight a hundred years from now?"
"I do!"
Bixiao had no choice but to follow Yunxiao back to Three Immortal Island.
Qiongxiao could only keep her doubts to herself for the time being.
Aside from disliking Dingguang Xian, she truly couldn't think of any reason Yunxiao would help Lu Changsheng.
Lingganhu.
A shadow swept down from high above.
It was Xuan Jun.
Only this time, Xuan Jun hadn't come alone.
He looked up at the sky, his face full of reverence.
"Greetings, East Emperor!"
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