"This tournament has only one victor. Whoever wins will receive all the rewards," Laozi said slowly. Looking over the many disciples, he continued, "Since I have brought out the Skyland Landscape Painting, I have no intention of taking it back. Whoever takes first place in this tournament shall receive this Skyland Landscape Painting."
At this, Yuanshi Tianzun flicked his sleeve. "The reward I offer for first place is a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Root—Jianmu. Though Jianmu bears no fruit, it can pierce through the void, devour spiritual energy, and accelerate cultivation. It is also an exceptional material for artifact forging."
Seeing this, Tongtian did not hold back either. "I have prepared a spiritual root as well. However, it is only a seed—a lotus seed from the Fortune Green Lotus. After falling into the Primordial World and becoming stained with the essence of water from the place where heaven and earth were opened, it became a Water Lotus Seed. If it can be planted and nurtured, it will certainly become a Supreme-Grade Spiritual Root. Even if it cannot be planted, it is still an excellent material for artifact forging or cultivating water-element divine abilities."
"The Western Land is barren, and we have nothing especially valuable to offer. We shall provide ten Golden Lotus Seeds nurtured by the Merit Golden Lotus," Jieyin said.
"I am not wealthy either. I shall offer ten Golden Bodhi," Zhunti said with a pained expression.
As the Sages spoke, every disciple's eyes widened, divine light blazing within them.
There was no helping it. The rewards this time were simply too abundant.
Everyone looked at one another, seeing only enemies.
At this moment, seeing the changes in everyone's expressions, Laozi flicked his sleeve, and a Skyland Landscape Painting appeared, hanging in the void. "All right. Enter it."
As he spoke, a wave of Dao rhythm swept forth, turning everyone into streams of light that flew inside.
"Whoosh...!"
"Whoosh...!"
With one whoosh after another, everyone flew into it.
One by one, they seemed to be devoured by the painting, as though melting into its mountains and rivers. A few ripples spread out, like rings upon water.
In the blink of an eye, Chen Yang and the others had vanished into it.
Once Chen Yang and the others entered, Yuxu Square became empty.
Only the Sages, Duobao, and a few young attendants remained.
The attendants began moving about, setting out tables and bringing over immortal fruits that looked exceptionally tempting.
Yuanshi Tianzun flicked his whisk and could not help asking, "Junior Brother Tongtian... who do you think will achieve final victory in this tournament?"
Tongtian stroked his beard and did not think much of it. "The tournament has only just begun. How could we know how it will end? Even relying on the art of deduction, no conclusion can be reached. After all, the slightest change can affect the outcome. Besides, there is always a thread of life in all things. Many matters cannot be predicted."
Yuanshi Tianzun's expression shifted slightly at that. "Oh, is that so? I believe Eldest Senior Brother's disciple Xuandu has rather good odds."
Laozi stroked his beard, wearing a kindly smile. "Xuandu? His cultivation is decent, but his foundation is lacking by quite a bit."
The Three Pure Ones continued speaking, their words carrying a hint of dispute.
Zhunti and Jieyin chose silence. They knew perfectly well that whoever won had nothing to do with them.
After all, among the disciples they had sent, aside from Medicine Master and Maitreya, who had some hope, the rest were merely there to be served up on a platter.
Duobao, meanwhile, stared intently into the painting, searching for Chen Yang's trace.
Now that Chen Yang had entered the Skyland Landscape Painting, the scene before him changed, and he appeared beside a river.
Chen Yang's eyes flashed sharply. In an extremely short time, he adapted to the change. "A river inside the painting?"
As he spoke, Chen Yang immediately became vigilant, his sharp gaze sweeping the surroundings. Then he took out several materials from his spatial spiritual treasure, tapped a finger, and formed a hand seal. "Five-Element Concealment Formation."
At once, several pieces of jade flew out, transforming into layers of mist that intertwined around the river and concealed the area.
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
During this time, Chen Yang continuously familiarized himself with the terrain.
It had to be said that the Skyland Landscape Painting truly deserved to be called a Supreme Spiritual Treasure. The space within it was absolutely comparable to a Great Thousand World.
Chen Yang flew while concealing his aura, yet over the past several days, he had not encountered a single participating disciple.
He had seen neither disciples of the Jie Sect nor disciples of the Exposition Sect, nor any followers of the Buddhist Sect. It made Chen Yang wonder whether he had been teleported somewhere so remote that there was not a soul in sight.
Just as Chen Yang was pondering this, a fluctuation suddenly came from afar.
That fluctuation carried the aura of Shangqing.
Chen Yang narrowed his eyes, a sharp gleam bursting forth. "The aura of the Upper Clear Sword Art. It is a fellow disciple..."
As he spoke, Chen Yang did not hesitate and rushed toward the source of the disturbance.
Very quickly, Chen Yang arrived at its origin.
Two people were fighting there, a man and a woman. Chen Yang knew them both. The woman was Bixiao, one of the Three Xiao, while the man was Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal, one of the Jie Sect's twelve direct disciples.
Seeing the two fighting, Chen Yang was somewhat surprised. After all, they were both disciples of the Jie Sect, yet they were already battling one another. It carried more than a hint of brethren turning blades on each other.
Though there could only be one victor in this tournament, the Jie Sect disciples could have relied on their numbers and joined forces first, clearing out the Exposition Sect disciples, Xuandu of the Human Sect, and the Buddhist Sect disciples. Then they could fight among themselves. In the end, no matter who won, the victor would still be from the Jie Sect.
Who would have thought he would now see two Jie Sect disciples fighting?
Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal was using the Upper Clear Thunder Art, manifesting a thunder dragon. "Junior Sister Bixiao... give up. You are no match for me. Hand your token over."
"Hmph... I would give the token to anyone but you. You are only bullying me because my cultivation is insufficient. If I could use the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors, I would surely make you crumble in defeat." Bixiao was thoroughly unconvinced.
At once, Bixiao used the Upper Clear Sword Art—the Yin-Yang Sword Art. Yin-Yang Sword Qi shot forth, transforming into a ringing cry as it howled through the air.
The Sword Qi hummed and entwined yin and yang, looking exceptionally extraordinary.
Yet as the Sword Qi poured forth, Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal used a thunder art, turning it into a Divine Dragon of lightning. The thunder dragon was lifelike, extraordinary in appearance, and contained Shangqing's path of slaughter.
Under that slaughtering force, Sword Qi and lightning collided, producing a thunderous boom.
The impact made the river here flow backward and shattered the mountains, wave after wave of aftershock spreading outward.
However, those aftershocks also destroyed Chen Yang's concealment method.
"Who is there?" Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal sensed Chen Yang's aura and immediately ceased his attack, becoming vigilant.
Hearing that, Chen Yang knew he could no longer remain hidden, so he stepped out. "Greetings, Martial Uncle and Martial Aunt."
"Oh... Nephew Chen Yang, it is actually you." Bixiao recognized Chen Yang and looked at him with considerable surprise.
Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal stared at Chen Yang and thought for a moment. "Duobao's disciple? I never expected to encounter you. Speaking of which, with your cultivation, it was not easy for you to make it this far. Why not hand your token to your Martial Uncle? Once your Martial Uncle wins, I..."
"Dead rabbit, shut your mouth! Fighting me is one thing, but now you want to bully a junior. What cultivation do you have, and what cultivation does my nephew have? Bullying the small with the great—do you have no shame?" Bixiao spoke up righteously.
"You cannot put it that way. Nephew Chen Yang's cultivation is low. He will lose sooner or later. When that happens, his token may fall into the hands of the Exposition Sect, the Human Sect, or the Buddhist Sect. Rather than that, it would be better for it to remain in the hands of our Jie Sect," Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal said in a righteous tone.
At those words, a trace of anger surfaced in Bixiao's beautiful eyes. "Shameless rabbit. Nephew Chen Yang... hurry and leave. I will stop this rabbit. Go quickly..."
Seeing this, Chen Yang did not know what to say and could only reply, "Martial Aunt Bixiao, thank you for your concern. But if Martial Uncle Long-Eared wants to take my token, he will have to show some real skill!"
Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal's reputation was atrocious. He had brought plenty of disgrace upon the Jie Sect!
To be honest, Chen Yang had long wanted to teach this fellow a lesson.
Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal smiled. "As expected of Eldest Senior Brother Duobao's disciple. You truly have backbone. If spiritual treasures could be used here, I might fear you. But spiritual treasures are forbidden here. We can only rely on our true cultivation, and you are doomed to defeat!"
"Doomed to defeat? Then please, Martial Uncle, try it and see exactly how I am doomed to defeat." A sharp gleam flashed in Chen Yang's eyes, and his entire body overflowed with a keen aura.
"Nephew Chen Yang... do not act on impulse..."
Before Bixiao could finish, Chen Yang had already attacked.
In an instant, the Immortal-Slaying Formation within Chen Yang's body began to circulate. Though it was not fully activated, merely running a portion of it made the Sword Essence in his body hum and revealed the Slaying Immortals Sword Intent.
Chen Yang did not even draw his sword. With just a flick of his sleeve, Sword Qi surged forth in a torrential wave.
The Sword Qi roared like a mighty river, looking incomparably terrifying.
More than that, the Sword Qi contained the Slaying Immortals Sword Intent.
"Clang..."
With a ringing sword cry, it already shot toward Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal.
Now, as Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal felt the Sword Qi enveloping him, astonishment appeared on his face. "What? The Slaying Immortals Sword Art! You have cultivated the Slaying Immortals Sword Art to such a realm? This..."
Astonishment filled Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal's expression.
"Upper Clear Thunder Art!"
Then he roared, a fierce and imposing look appearing on his face.
The thunder art surged like mountains and rivers.
The river of Slaying Immortals Sword Qi collided with the Upper Clear Thunder Art.
Boom...
Boom...
Amid those thunderous blasts, Sword Qi and lightning hummed violently.
Lightning scattered in all directions, transforming into an endless sea of thunder that destroyed the mountains and rivers here. Everywhere it passed became scorched black.
The Sword Qi also scattered in the collision, merging into the countless mountains and rivers and piercing through many living beings.
"Slaying Immortals Sword Art—River of Sword Qi." Chen Yang said no more. His fingers became a sword, releasing streams of Sword Qi.
Sword Qi surged, gathering into a sharp edge.
Using Sword Qi as a sword, he grasped the long sword condensed from Sword Qi and slashed toward Dingguang Immortal.
Dingguang Immortal now held a sword as well, merging it with lightning as he charged toward Chen Yang. "Insolent brat!"
Rumble!
Sword Qi and the sea of thunder collided once again, erupting with a terrifying aura!
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