Fame Spreads Through Spirit Province, The Demonic Path Trembles

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Azure Cloud Sect's Foundation Establishment group tournament for inner disciples concluded.

Compared to the explosive scenes where Su Yun crushed his peers in the Qi Refining group, the Foundation Establishment matches were far more conventional.

The participating disciples were all Foundation Establishment cultivators who fought with measured offense and defense and seasoned tactics; every duel dragged on, with victory determined solely by one's foundation and combat experience.

The final rankings were set in stone.

Senior Brother Xiao Fan, relying on his late-stage Foundation Establishment strength and rich combat experience, fought off several formidable enemies to firmly suppress everyone else and secure first place in the Foundation Establishment group.

Second Senior Sister Ye Yurou possessed exceptional talent, but her shortcoming lay in her lack of stamina for prolonged battles, ultimately stopping in the top three to claim third place.

The tournament ended, but the aftermath had only just begun.

The name Su Yun, like a gale sweeping through, took only three short days to completely engulf the entire Spirit Province cultivation circle, spreading to every sect, large or small, across the region.

Time since joining the sect: just over three months.

Cultivation foundation: started from scratch.

Talent: Metal-attribute Heavenly Spirit Root.

Combat record: with a cultivation of only the eighth level of Qi Refining, he swept through the Qi Refining disciples. He never once used a spell throughout the entire process, relying solely on his physical body and pure spiritual energy to reach the top of the Qi Refining group, even forcing the second-place powerhouse to surrender without a fight in the final.

Each piece of information, when linked together, dealt a heavy blow to the perceptions of every young cultivator in Spirit Province.

Within the major sects of Spirit Province, discussions among disciples could be heard everywhere.

"Are you crazy? Three months! From zero to first place in Qi Refining?"

"I've lived for nearly a hundred years and have never seen someone with such an absurd breakthrough speed. Even a Heavenly Spirit Root shouldn't be this unreasonable, right?"

"The most monstrous part isn't his realm, it's his combat power! He didn't use a single spell and used pure spiritual energy to crush a ninth-level perfection cultivator; this foundation has long since transcended the scope of Qi Refining."

"The Azure Cloud Sect has picked up a massive treasure!"

Countless young disciples felt their mental states unravel, calling it absurd.

An ordinary genius would be cultivated as a prodigy by their sect if they reached the eighth level of Qi Refining in three years.

Su Yun had accomplished in three months what others couldn't do in over a decade.

Envy, jealousy, and shock—various emotions intertwined, lingering throughout the righteous circle of Spirit Province.

The four top sects of Spirit Province—the Cinnabar Cloud Sect, Clear Water Pavilion, Red Sun Valley, and the Mystic Sword Sect—all had sect leaders and high-level elders with complicated feelings.

Bound by the decorum between righteous sects, the four sect leaders personally wrote out message talismans, sending them across mountains and rivers to the Azure Cloud Main Hall.

Nominally, they were offering congratulations, but in reality, they were dripping with sourness.

At the main peak, in the Azure Cloud Hall.

Li Mofan sat in the main seat, receiving dozens of message talismans one after another. He tapped them open with his fingertips, reading the uniform content of congratulations inside.

Every message praised Su Yun's heaven-defying talent and expressed envy that he had taken in such a peerless prodigy.

The joy he had accumulated over the past few days reached its peak at this moment.

The surrounding elders watched the smile he couldn't suppress at the corners of his mouth, knowing full well that their Sect Leader was about to start humble-bragging again.

Sure enough.

Li Mofan replied to the various sect leaders with a casual tone, yet every word between the lines was full of showing off.

"Fellow Daoists, you are too kind."

"He is just a disciple, his talent is barely passable, he just happens to be a bit diligent in his cultivation."

"I haven't put much effort into nurturing him; he usually figures things out on his own, and I only offer a few words of guidance occasionally."

"There's no need to be so exaggerated; a mere Heavenly Spirit Root is not worth mentioning."

A few simple sentences were enough to make the four sect leaders grit their teeth in frustration.

What did he mean by "barely passable"?

What did he mean by "not worth mentioning"?

A monster who reached the top of Qi Refining in three months would be worshipped like an ancestor in any other sect.

Only Li Mofan could get such a bargain and still act so smug.

The elders on the side were left between laughter and tears, yet no one exposed him.

If it were them who had taken in a disciple like Su Yun, they would only be even more ostentatious than Li Mofan.

The righteous circle was shaken, and undercurrents surged.

The demonic forces of Spirit Province simultaneously updated the Devil Dao Kill List.

The list recorded all the righteous geniuses who possessed immense future potential, would seriously hinder the revival of the Devil Dao, and had to be strangled in the cradle.

Just today, a brand-new name was inscribed at the very top of the list.

Su Yun.

Priority: Highest.

All Devil Dao Sect forces were to share this intelligence, and a unified kill order was issued.

Inside the main hall of the Joyous Union Sect, a group of elders gathered around an intelligence jade slip, their expressions grave.

"A Metal-attribute Heavenly Spirit Root, a top-tier talent found only once in ten thousand."

"Heavenly Spirit Root cultivators have no bottlenecks in their cultivation, and their combat power at the same stage far exceeds that of ordinary cultivators."

"What's even more terrifying is that this child's foundation is monstrously deep; he could crush his peers even at the Qi Refining stage, approaching the combat power of Foundation Establishment."

A white-haired elder spoke in a deep voice, "We absolutely cannot allow him to grow."

As long as a Heavenly Spirit Root cultivator does not fall prematurely, they are guaranteed to reach the Nascent Soul True Lord stage. With his talent, there is also a very high probability he will break through to Spirit Transformation in the future.

"We already suffered a loss during the Great Righteous-Devil War a century ago; we must never again allow a future Nascent Soul or Spirit Transformation level prodigy to take root in the Righteous Dao camp."

Every Devil Dao Sect in Spirit Province responded immediately.

Whoever encounters Su Yun outside, kill him on sight, regardless of the cost!

Inside the main hall of the Ghost Fire Sect.

Sect Master Liao Ze sat on the main throne, pinching a jade slip containing all of Su Yun's information between his fingertips, coldness surging in the depths of his eyes.

A moment later, he spoke in a deep voice, "Liao Jun."

"Your child is here."

Liao Jun stepped out from the ranks below and bowed in salute.

Liao Ze raised his eyes, his tone icy, "After the Magneto Secret Realm opens, I have a top-priority mission for you."

"Take two Foundation Establishment Perfection death-sworn with you into the secret realm and, at all costs, kill the Azure Cloud Sect's Su Yun."

Upon hearing this, Liao Jun raised an eyebrow slightly and said instinctively, "Father, isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"When it comes down to it, he is only a Qi Refining stage cultivator. No matter how monstrous his talent, his cultivation realm is set in stone."

"I alone am enough to crush him; there is no need to use extra manpower and waste the sect's combat strength."

In Liao Jun's eyes, Foundation Establishment fighting against Qi Refining was inherently a dimensional strike.

Even if Su Yun's combat power exceeded that of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, he, as a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator, would have no difficulty hunting him down alone.

Liao Ze shook his head slightly, his tone serious.

"Su Yun has been able to grow to this extent in just over three months and suppress all his peers; this child is definitely not simple."

"Prodigies who defy the heavens like this must possess trump cards and life-saving treasures."

"I will not allow any accidents to occur."

"Once you encounter Su Yun, kill him as quickly as possible to eliminate all variables."

Hearing this, Liao Jun put away his inner contempt and assumed a solemn expression.

"This child understands."

"Please rest assured, Father."

"Once I enter the secret realm, I will definitely find Su Yun."

"Not only will I kill him, but I will also bring his corpse back to the sect intact to be refined into a top-tier corpse puppet."

Liao Ze looked at his son, the corners of his mouth beneath his mask curling upward slightly.