The Legend of the Immortal Venerable!

"Because that place had already turned into a slaughterhouse filled with lunatics."

A trace of lingering fear flashed through the older female cultivator's eyes.

"This time, the Azure Origin Sword Sect issued a decree."

"Not only had the seven major sects of our Yue Kingdom mobilized, but even the top sects from several neighboring countries—and people from Great Jin as well—had secretly sent in peerless geniuses who had suppressed their cultivation."

"Those people had been fed on heavenly treasures and rare materials since childhood."

"The magical artifacts and talismans in their hands were all life-saving trump cards bestowed by elders at the Core Formation stage or even the Nascent Soul stage."

"My junior sister and I had originally wanted to try our luck too."

"But after taking just one distant glance, we were so frightened that we retreated."

At this point, the female cultivator lowered her voice, as though afraid of violating some taboo.

"Junior Sister, do you know what kind of background the Azure Origin Sword Sect truly has?"

Qian Renxue's heart stirred.

Master Hongfu had previously told her only that the Azure Origin Sword Sect was a branch of the upper realm, and that its sect master was named Su Yuqing.

She had not said much about the specific details.

"I've heard a little. I heard it's a great sect that stands above the human realm."

"A great sect? It's far more than that."

The Covering Moon Sect cultivator swallowed, her eyes filled with awe.

"I heard our sect master say—"

"The main sect of the Azure Origin Sword Sect spans the three realms of immortals, spirits, and humans."

"It rules over three thousand small worlds like ours."

"And that supreme sect master, Senior Su Yuqing..."

When the female cultivator spoke that name, her hands unconsciously came together in a gesture of prayer.

"It is said that Sect Master Su has long surpassed ordinary comprehension."

"His cultivation reaches the heavens and penetrates the earth."

"If he wished, a single drop of water could drown an entire country, and a single breath could scatter a mountain range."

"To cultivators of the human realm like us, we are not even worth as much as the ants on the ground in his eyes."

"This sudden order from him to select disciples in the human realm has driven who knows how many reclusive old monsters mad with envy."

"Everyone says that if one could enter the Azure Origin Sword Sect, even merely to sweep the floors, it would be a blessing accumulated over several lifetimes."

Hearing this, Qian Renxue clenched her fists.

Su Yuqing.

That name was like an enormous mountain whose summit could not be seen, weighing upon the heads of every immortal cultivator.

And upon her heart as well.

At this moment, on Douluo Continent, all the soul masters were also listening intently to this background information about the Azure Origin Sword Sect.

They developed an awe toward the sect master named Su Yuqing that could not be described in words.

A single drop of water drowning an entire country.

That was something only a god could accomplish, wasn't it?

No—even the Sea God of Douluo Continent's legends probably did not possess the power to destroy the world with a wave of his hand.

In this world of immortal cultivation, where exactly was the upper limit of power?

Just as everyone was still reeling from the Azure Origin Sword Sect's might, the image in the sky suddenly flickered.

The view swiftly pulled back from the canyon where Qian Renxue was.

It passed over stretches of dense forest and crossed perilous swamps.

Finally, it arrived at an utterly inconspicuous muddy bog at the edge of the forbidden region.

The place stank to high heaven, surrounded by rotting leaves and the droppings of demonic beasts.

The viewers on Douluo Continent were all stunned.

Why had the heavenly screen switched to such a disgusting place?

As the image drew closer, they saw a person lying prone in that pitch-black muddy bog.

A young man dressed in worn gray cloth, plain-looking, with slightly dark skin.

His entire body was buried in mud, with only his eyes and nose exposed.

His breathing was faint to the extreme, as though he had merged with the surrounding muck.

In his hand, the young man tightly clutched an earthy yellow talisman covered in strange runes.

His otherwise unremarkable eyes held a wariness that ran deep into his bones.

Through the young man's line of sight.

Several hundred meters ahead, in a patch of open ground.

Two cultivators from another country, dressed in luxurious robes, were fighting to the death over a spiritual herb.

The light of spells scattered everywhere, snapping the surrounding trees.

The young man in the swamp did not move.

He had no intention of snatching the spiritual herb, nor did he mean to help.

He was like the most patient hunter, yet also like a rabbit ready to flee at any moment.

Silently calculating the strength of both sides, as well as his own best escape route.

Meanwhile, outside the light screen, on the Douluo Continent.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, cries of shock erupted loud enough to blow the roof off.

On Shrek Academy's training field, Ma Hongjun pointed at the sky screen, his voice trembling and his face flushed red with excitement.

"It's him! That ruthless guy!"

"The Child of Destiny the sky screen ranked before!"

Oscar swallowed hard, his eyes shining.

"Yes, it's him! With that utterly ordinary face and that unfathomable hiding technique, I'd recognize him even if he turned to ash!"

Yu Xiaogang stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the motionless youth in the swamp, his eyes filled with deep admiration.

"No wonder he could be called a Child of Destiny." The Master's voice carried heartfelt respect.

"Look, just a few hundred meters away from him, two cultivators far stronger than he is are locked in a desperate battle."

"For an ordinary person, even if they didn't rush in to pick up the spoils, they would still be so nervous that they leaked their aura."

"But him? He buried himself in stinking mud and suppressed even his heartbeat to the lowest possible level."

"This temperament—not being greedy in the face of treasure, and being able to endure in the face of danger—is what makes him truly terrifying."

Inside Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong looked at the dark-skinned young man, a hint of approval curling her lips.

She had seen plenty of geniuses.

But people who knew how to hide their edge and wait for the right opportunity were often the ones who survived until the very end.

This was a truly intelligent man, an unrivaled hero whom even fate would favor.

On the screen, the battle between the two cultivators finally ended.

The victor took the spiritual herb and hurriedly left the clearing.

The young man in the swamp still did not move.

He waited for more than half an hour.

Only after confirming that the other man had completely vanished, and that even the lingering spiritual pressure in the air had fully dissipated, did he cautiously crawl out of the mud.

He shook the foul mud from his body.

He was so frugal that he could not even bear to use a basic cleaning spell.

Still filthy, he pressed himself against the tree roots and, using the shadows of the grass and trees for cover, slowly made his way in the direction completely opposite the central area.

As he walked, he muttered softly to himself.

"This central area is simply not a place for humans to stay."

"What the hell does a spot in the Azure Origin Sword Sect have to do with me, Han Li?"

"Everyone's squeezing inward, so the outskirts must be poorly guarded."

"I'd better search around the outskirts for a few escaped main ingredients. As long as I can gather the materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill, I'll be thanking heaven and earth."

The young man's name was Han Li.

Hearing that mutter, the viewers of the Douluo Continent smiled in understanding.

This was the Han Li they knew.

He always knew exactly what he wanted, and never joined any excitement he had no business joining.

In this trial ground where flesh and blood flew, he had carved out his own sunlit path with a clarity ordinary people could scarcely attain.

As the view from the heavens rose higher, the scene shifted once more.

This time, the camera crossed endless mist and arrived directly at the deepest part of the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land.

At the foot of a massive ring-shaped mountain shrouded in dense blood mist.

This was the ultimate destination of every genius who entered the forbidden land.

Only by crossing this ring-shaped mountain could they reach the trial platform said to have been established by the Azure Origin Sword Sect.

At this moment, thirty or forty people had already gathered at the foot of the mountain.

They were divided into several factions, confronting one another warily.

The air was thick with the scent of imminent conflict.

Qian Renxue had arrived as well.

She stood in the shadow of a massive boulder, concealing her aura as she coldly observed the situation.

Not far away, she spotted Hu Liena, dressed in the robes of the Falling Cloud Sect.

Several male cultivators from other nations surrounded Hu Liena with ingratiating expressions, vaguely forming a small group around her.

And at the very center of the clearing—

Stood a young man in a luxurious violet-gold robe, his face arrogant and proud.

He casually played with a folding fan in his hand. Though his spiritual power fluctuations were also at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, they were far deeper than those of the people around him. Spiritual light flickered around him, revealing the precious radiance of top-grade magical artifacts.

"This young master is the Young Pavilion Master of Great Jin's Purple Spirit Pavilion."

The violet-robed man fanned himself and swept a disdainful gaze across the crowd.

"One of the Azure Origin Sword Sect's three slots is mine."

"Who agrees? Who objects?"

As soon as he spoke, the cultivators around him all wore extremely unpleasant expressions.

Great Jin was the most prosperous and powerful continent in the cultivation world.

The Purple Spirit Pavilion was an elite force with a legacy spanning tens of thousands of years, its foundations unfathomably deep.

"So what if you're from Great Jin?"

A cold, sword-bearing cultivator stepped out from the crowd, his voice icy.

"These slots are an opportunity bestowed by the Azure Origin Sword Sect upon all of Southern Heaven."

"If you want to claim one in advance, ask the sword in my hand first!"

The moment the sword cultivator finished speaking, the sword on his back let out a clear cry and shot into the sky.

It transformed into a sharp silver streak of sword light and slashed straight at the violet-robed man.

A great battle was on the verge of erupting.

Qian Renxue tightened her grip on the golden sword in her hand, her breathing gradually steadying.

The long-awaited free-for-all was finally about to begin.

She was determined to obtain a spot in the Azure Origin Sword Sect.

No matter who stood before her, no one would be allowed to block her path.

That silver sword light was astonishingly fast.

In the blink of an eye, it had reached the violet-robed man's face.

The surrounding rogue cultivators all gasped. The sword cultivator had struck decisively; he was clearly a ruthless figure who had spent years living on the edge of death.

Faced with this lethal strike, the violet-robed man did not even blink.

A mocking sneer curled across his lips.

He casually raised the folding fan in his hand to block it.

Bang.

A dull impact rang out.

The flying sword, capable of cutting through iron like mud, seemed to have struck an invisible iron wall and was sent flying away.

The blade trembled violently, letting out a mournful cry.

The sword cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

His sword was a top-grade magical artifact, yet it could not even break through the other man's defenses.

The violet-robed man closed his fan and took a step forward.

"With such paltry skill, you dare show off before this young master?"

He raised a hand, and a streak of black light flew from his sleeve.

It was a long, slender poisoned needle.

The poison needle cut an almost invisible black line through the air and instantly pierced the sword cultivator's throat.

The sword cultivator clutched his neck, his eyes wide, then fell to the ground and convulsed a few times before going still.

Black blood seeped from the wound, giving off a foul stench.

One move.

Just one move.

A sword cultivator at the great perfection of the Qi Refinement stage had been dealt with so effortlessly.

The surrounding crowd unconsciously retreated several steps.

The foundation of Great Jin's Purple Spirit Pavilion was laid bare at that moment.

Qian Renxue stood in the shadow of a huge boulder, narrowing her eyes slightly.

She could tell that although the purple-robed man himself was fairly strong, what was truly terrifying were the artifacts he carried.

That folding fan was definitely a high-grade item beyond anything imaginable at the Qi Refinement stage.

In the cultivation world, resources really are what matter most, Qian Renxue thought silently.

The atmosphere at the foot of the crater became extremely oppressive.

Even the usually arrogant elites from the other sects fell silent.

The audience of Douluo Continent watched the scene and shook their heads one after another.

How were they supposed to fight this? The other side was holding nothing but top-tier equipment. This was a complete crushing advantage.

Just as the purple-robed man was about to continue boasting, a young woman in yellow stepped out from the Yellow Maple Valley group.

She was beautiful, with a heroic air between her brows.

She gripped a cyan longsword tightly in her hand.

This woman was Chen Qiaoqian, the prodigy of the Chen family from Yellow Maple Valley.

Chen Qiaoqian glanced at the corpse on the ground, her delicate brows knitting slightly. She took a step forward, her voice crisp.

"The rules of the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land have always been that everyone relies on their own abilities."

"Just because your artifacts are powerful, you want to forcibly claim all the spots for yourself. Aren't you looking down on the seven sects of Yue Kingdom a little too much?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a burst of strange laughter came from the Spirit Beast Mountain group beside her.

A male cultivator with shifty features stepped out.

A black poisonous bee the size of a fist rested on his shoulder.

This man was named Zhongwu. Among the Qi Refinement disciples of Spirit Beast Mountain, he was considered a notable figure.

Zhongwu stroked his chin, his gaze roaming over Chen Qiaoqian.

"Junior Sister Chen is right."

"You outsiders from Great Jin want to suppress us local snakes. Shouldn't you ask whether everyone else agrees first?"

Although Zhongwu usually acted despicably, even he knew that at a time like this, he could not let outsiders take all the benefits.

The purple-robed man glanced at Chen Qiaoqian and Zhongwu.

Not only was he not angry, he smiled even more broadly.

"What, you cultivators from this backwater place want to join forces against me?"

He was just about to make another harsh remark

when a coquettish laugh suddenly came from the Covering Moon Sect group.

"Oh my, Young Master Zi, why get so angry?"

A young girl in a pink dress swayed her hips as she walked out.

Her eyes shimmered, her figure was voluptuous, and an indescribable seductive air surrounded her.

She was Dong Xuan'er, disciple of Elder Hongfu of Yellow Maple Valley.

She had also been sent into this trial.

Dong Xuan'er walked to the front of the crowd and cast the purple-robed man a flirtatious glance.

"There are three spots. It is only natural for Young Master Zi to take one."

"As for the remaining two, it would be better for everyone to keep the peace and rely on their own opportunities."

Dong Xuan'er's seduction art had already achieved some success.

With that smile, the gazes of several male cultivators nearby became somewhat unfocused.

The purple-robed man looked at Dong Xuan'er, and a flash of admiration passed through his eyes. But he quickly regained his clarity.

"Junior Sister Dong's bewitchment technique is rather interesting."

The purple-robed man had just finished speaking.

His gaze casually swept over the Falling Cloud Sect's group in the distance.

When he saw Hu Liena standing among the crowd, he froze on the spot.

He was not the only one.

Dong Xuan'er followed his gaze.

The moment she looked over, the smile on Dong Xuan'er's face stiffened.

She had always been extremely confident in her looks and charm techniques, believing herself unmatched among female Qi Refinement cultivators.

But the short-haired girl before her—

She merely stood there quietly, without using any spell at all.