Sparring

A day passed quickly, and the door to the Cultivation Room opened, with Shen Long walking out.

He arrived at a quiet Blue-tiled Courtyard and saw Li Tianxue and Zhao Tianhu chatting in a stone pavilion. It was already late.

"Junior Brother Shen, it's almost time. We need to go keep our appointment."

Li Tianxue said.

"Isn't Senior Sister Lin going?"

Shen Long asked casually.

"Senior Sister Lin has something to take care of, we can go."

Li Tianxue explained.

"Let's go then! We don't want to be late."

Shen Long agreed.

Li Tianxue and her two companions left Thousand Spirits Garden and headed towards a manor across the street, with the words "Green Cicada Garden" written on its plaque.

Two Core Formation Cultivator stood guard at the entrance, their expressions solemn, while a man of medium build in a blue robe stood to the side.

The man in blue quickly approached Li Tianxue and the other two, bowed respectfully, and said, "Senior Li, Ancestor Yunpeng has been waiting for quite some time. Please come in."

Li Tianxue nodded, and they followed the man in blue into the Green Cicada Garden.

After passing through several small courtyards, they arrived at a Cyan Bamboo Forest, where they could see a Cyan Bamboo Pavilion. More than twenty Nascent Spirit Transformation cultivators were sitting in the Cyan Bamboo Pavilion, enjoying tea and chatting.

"Fairy Li, Fellow Daoist Zhao, and who is this fellow Daoist?"

A burly young man in a gold shirt asked, his gaze fixed on Shen Long.

"My Shen Long, and I greet you fellow Daoists."

Shen Long gave his name.

"Fellow Daoist Li, Junior Brother Shen is an Alchemist."

Li Tianxue explained.

"My name is Li Yunpeng, and I greet Fellow Daoist Shen."

The young man in the golden shirt announced his name.

"My younger sister Li Yunting. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Shen is capable of refining Supreme Pill?"

A slender Green-Robed Maiden asked in a soft, sweet voice.

"If I can't refine it, Fairy Li can refine Supreme Pill?"

Shen Long said politely.

"Supreme Pill aren't so easy to refine. If I had a Fifth Rank Spirit Flame, I might be able to refine Supreme Pill."

Li Yunting smiled gently.

"My name is Xue Sheng. Is Fellow Daoist Shen also Body Cultivator?"

A handsome young man in a blood-stained shirt asked the question.

"I suppose so! How did Fellow Daoist Xue know?"

Shen Long asked curiously.

"The Cultivation Method I practice is somewhat special; it is very sensitive to the strength of the life Qi and Blood of living beings. The Qi and Blood of Body Cultivator needs to be stronger."

Xue Sheng explained.

"Fellow Daoist Shen is Body Cultivator! Shall we spar a bit later?"

Li Yunpeng's gaze was fervent.

"Sparring here? Won't that destroy this place?"

Shen Long asked, puzzled.

Li Yunpeng raised his right hand, and a golden light flew out, transforming into a golden platform hundreds of feet high.

"This Golden Brilliance Platform is Low-Grade Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure; Spirit Transformation cultivators can freely spar on it."

Li Yunpeng explained, "Flying up to the golden platform."

Shen Long was somewhat surprised; did cultivators in the Lingxu Realm really enjoy sparring so much?

"Junior Brother Shen, this is a way of exchanging Daoist techniques. It's normal that you're not used to it since this is your first time attending our gathering. Let me spar with Fellow Daoist Li first!"

After saying this, Zhao Tianhu flew to the golden platform.

Li Yunpeng made a hand seal, and a thick Golden Light Screen appeared, covering the golden platform.

Li Yunpeng's body shone with golden light as he threw a punch at Zhao Tianhu.

Undeterred, Zhao Tianhu unleashed a blinding red light from his right fist as he met the attack head-on.

The two fists collided, and both Zhao Tianhu and Li Yunpeng staggered back, Zhao Tianhu taking three steps back and Li Yunpeng taking one step back.

Zhao Tianhu let out a loud tiger roar, opened his mouth and spat out a Red Sound Wave that went straight for Li Yunpeng.

A pair of enormous Golden Feather Wings sprouted from Li Yunpeng's back. He opened his mouth and spewed out a Golden Sound Wave to meet the attack.

The two sound waves collided. The Golden Sound Wave dissipated instantly, like an egg hitting a rock, while the Red Sound Wave rushed straight towards Li Yunpeng.

Li Yunpeng flapped his Golden Feather Wings on his back, unleashing a massive Cyan Tornado that collided with the Red Sound Wave, resulting in mutual destruction.

"In terms of physical strength alone, Fellow Daoist Li is superior; in terms of Transformation Art, Fellow Daoist Zhao has the upper hand."

Xue Sheng commented, his gaze falling on Shen Long, and asked, "Fellow Daoist Shen, it's your turn."

The Golden Light Screen dissipated, Zhao Tianhu jumped off the golden platform, Shen Long landed on top of it, whereupon the Golden Light Screen reappeared.

Shen Long's right fist shone brightly red as he threw a punch, while Li Yunpeng's right fist shone brightly golden as he met it.

The two fists collided, but Li Yunpeng remained unmoved, while Shen Long staggered back five steps.

A look of surprise flashed in Shen Long. His body shone with a bright yellow light, transforming into a Yellow Giant Ape, and he slammed his right fist toward Li Yunpeng.

Li Yunpeng showed no fear, his right fist gleaming with golden light as he met the attack head-on.

With a muffled thud, Li Yunpeng was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the Golden Light Screen. The Spirit Transformation cultivators present were dumbfounded at the sight.

They knew Li Yunpeng's strength; even if Shen Long transformed into Fifth Rank Monster Ape, he couldn't possibly defeat Li Yunpeng easily!

The Yellow Giant Ape reverted to human form, Shen Long clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Li."

"Haha, that's great, that's great!"

Li Yunpeng laughed heartily, his laughter a mixture of anger and amusement. He asked, "Fellow Daoist Shen, your Transformation Art is truly remarkable!"

Shen Long's current physical strength is inferior to Li Yunpeng's. If he were to transform into Mountain Giant Ape, Li Yunpeng would be far inferior to Shen Long.

"Fellow Daoist Li's Transformation Art are also quite impressive; each has its own strengths."

Shen Long said with a smile.

During this sparring session, he discovered the difference in physical strength between himself and other Spirit Transformation cultivators.

This is not surprising, after all, he has not been in the Spirit Pivot Realm for long since he ascended from the Lower Realm Lingxu Realm. Li Yunpeng is a native cultivator of the Lingxu Realm and has taken a lot of elixirs and medicines to enhance his physical body, so it is not surprising that he is stronger than Shen Long.

Shen Long and Li Yunpeng returned to the bamboo pavilion, where everyone enjoyed tea and chatted, discussing interesting anecdotes from the cultivation Immortal Realm, exchanging skills, and sharing cultivation experiences.

"I heard that Fellow Daoist Li obtained a Spirit Enlightenment Pill at the Auction. Presumably, Fellow Daoist Li's Life-Bound Spirit Beast has awakened its intelligence!"

Xue Sheng asked curiously.

Li Yunpeng nodded and said, "The Spirit Enlightenment Pill is quite effective. It makes communication much easier for Spirit Beast to develop intelligence. By the way, it's been hundreds of years since I've seen Fairy Chen. How has she been lately?"

"Fellow Daoist Li probably doesn't know yet, but Fairy Chen has advanced to the Void Refining stage."

Xue Sheng said with a smile.

Li Tianxue looked surprised and asked, "Fairy Chen has quite the fortuitous opportunity! I remember she advanced to the Spirit Transmutation Realm more than two hundred years later than me."

"I heard that she obtained a Golden Lotus Token and asked the True Monarch Golden Lotus to help her divine her fortuitous opportunity, which is how she advanced to the Void Refining stage. There are also rumors that she obtained the Ascension Cave Abode of Void Refining Cultivator, but the truth is unclear."

Xue Sheng said with a smile.

"Golden Lotus Token? True Monarch Golden Lotus?"

Shen Long looked on with curiosity.

Zhao Tianhu seemed to see the doubt in Shen Long's mind and explained, "Junior Brother Shen, True Monarch Golden Lotus is a Void Refining Cultivator who is proficient in divination. He issues Golden Lotus Token to the public; anyone with Golden Lotus Token can ask him to perform divination. He recognizes the token, not the person."

"On another note, the True Monarch Golden Lotus has issued quite a few Golden Lotus Token. If one were fake, would he be able to recognize it?"

A Spirit Transformation cultivator asked curiously.

"It's very difficult. The Golden Lotus Token can transform into the shape of a lotus flower and contains mechanical Puppet techniques. It's said that it was crafted by the True Monarch Hundred Puppets at the request of the True Monarch Golden Lotus, making it very difficult to imitate."

Li Yunting explained.

"A lotus shape? Could it be such a coincidence!"

Shen Long thought to himself that he had a token that could transform into the shape of a lotus flower, which he had obtained from Cai Lei's backup plan.

Cai Lei is a disciple of the Big Dipper Pavilion, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to possess the Golden Lotus Token.

After chatting for more than two hours, Li Yunpeng proposed exchanging cultivation resources, and none of the cultivators objected.