[Great Sage, Equal of Heaven, Nine Apertures Connecting Heaven]

Watching Lin Xian bathe in the lightning tribulation, Zhang Zhiwei felt even worse than if he had lost himself.

This was no longer a battle between opponents. There was no difference between this and a baby tournament.

He had become nothing more than a pure tool.

"Perfected Lin, how much longer do you need me to strike?" Zhang Zhiwei asked darkly.

"Not long." Lin Xian's Divine Sense flickered as he calmly said, "Another half day should be about enough, but put more force into it. That just now neither hurt nor itched."

"My apologies for not making Perfected Lin use his full strength."

The Old Celestial Master took a deep breath. When he raised his head again, his eyes shone brightly. What came next would no longer be a contest of his personal cultivation. The Celestial Master Sword and Celestial Master Seal, belonging to the Celestial Master, soared into the air.

"The sixty-fifth Celestial Master, Zhang Zhiwei, has used the legendary Three-Five Male-Female Evil-Slaying Divine Swords and Yangping Zhidu Technique! Those are immortal artifacts passed down by the ancestral Celestial Master Zhang Daoling!"

A sharp-eyed Daoist outsider shouted excitedly, his face flushed. Being able to witness a clash between such experts made the ticket price worth it, even if he died afterward!

In midair, the Old Celestial Master wielded the Celestial Master Sword to summon heavenly lightning while vigorously stamping seals with the Celestial Master Seal, scattering yellow paper and drawing Five Thunder Talismans one after another. They shot into the sky, expanding the sea of lightning.

Carrying out a heavenly decree to deliver tribulation carried more than a hint of settling personal grudges.

"Is this a talisman?"

Bathing in the lightning tribulation, Lin Xian keenly sensed the heavenly lightning growing stronger. His body continued to be tempered within the lightning sea, while his Divine Sense split into several strands and traveled through every corner of Mount Longhu.

He was searching for every contestant participating in the Luotian Grand Ceremony, then challenging them to battle.

After all, he had also asked Feng Zhenghao to secretly register him for the Luotian Grand Ceremony.

Beating up the Celestial Master was easy enough. Joining the Luotian Grand Ceremony while he was at it was only natural.

"Damn, you joined the Luotian Grand Ceremony too?"

Listening to the Divine Sense at his ear, Zhang Chulan looked as though he had seen a ghost.

"What, do I not look like a young outsider?" Lin Xian asked faintly.

"Other than looking like a young outsider, what part of you looks young?"

Zhang Chulan grumbled, then wisely chose to abandon his bid for first place.

"Ah, I have to fight the Divine Bridge Immortal? Is that for real?"

At another venue, after Zhuge Qing and the other outsiders learned that their opponent was the Divine Bridge Immortal, they looked at the lightning tribulation still raging overhead and obediently gave up as well.

The Luotian Grand Ceremony's rewards were good, but they were not worth more than their own lives.

"Master never said that competing in a tournament meant fighting an immortal." Many young outsiders turned pale.

Even the Old Celestial Master could not defeat the Divine Bridge Immortal. What could they possibly do? They might as well be reported for feeding themselves to him.

Thus, with everyone voluntarily forfeiting, the champion of the Luotian Grand Ceremony was decided in just ten short minutes.

"Lu Jin, I've come to claim my reward."

Lin Xian's Divine Sense found Lu Jin, one of the Ten Elders. Before the tournament began, he had promised to pass the Connecting Heaven Talisman on to the winner of the Luotian Grand Ceremony.

Lin Xian had expected that even if Lu Jin did not go back on his word, he would at least hesitate somewhat.

Yet when he heard that Lin Xian wanted the Connecting Heaven Talisman in order to fight the Old Celestial Master—

Lu Jin did not hesitate in the slightest. He decisively took out the Connecting Heaven Talisman and laughed heartily. "It's only a Connecting Heaven Talisman. Immortal, feel free to take it. No matter who fights the Old Celestial Master, I, Lu Jin, will definitely lend a hand!"

"Patriarch Lu, you truly are straightforward." Lin Xian smiled slightly. Taking payment and doing the job, he asked, "How do you want me to fight him?"

"I can choose how you fight?" Lu Jin's eyes lit up. Then he gritted his teeth and said, "Hit him in the upper dantian! Smash his upper dantian!"

"Got it. Just watch." Lin Xian laughed. Demonstrating professional ethics, his Divine Sense returned like lightning and merged with his body as both ascended together.

At the same time, the system reward for first place in the Luotian Grand Ceremony arrived: one of the Eight Extraordinary Skills, Grand Luo Grotto Vision.

It observed the world from a unique perspective, perceived the universe, and saw the essence of all things!

In an instant, the entire world ceased to be a singular existence in Lin Xian's eyes. Instead, it was an interwoven network of cause and effect, each influencing the others.

He seemed to see his Self of Dao and Departed Self chanting scriptures and praying blessings for him.

"An immortal's skill truly is extraordinary. It lets me glimpse the Dao Palace realm ahead of time. That involves variables of past and future—mysterious beyond mystery."

Lin Xian sighed, yet this transformation had not reached its end, because the Connecting Heaven Talisman analyzed by the system had arrived.

"System, you're awesome! 666!!!"

"Once I become an emperor and ascend as an immortal, I'll definitely help you become an advanced system with all my strength. World Tree, Universe Seed, Primordial Chaos Purple Qi—you can eat whatever you want."

Lin Xian, who was merely in the Wheel of the Sea Secret Realm, spoke grandly, drawing an empty promise and feeding it through the void.

System 10086: "Hehe."

It was used to it. If there ever came a day when it did not get to eat the host's empty promises from the void, it might actually find that strange.

"Ding dong, your Connecting Heaven Talisman has been credited."

A stream of light flew into Lin Xian's body, making him increasingly compatible with heaven and earth. Every gesture carried a natural Dao rhythm, as though heaven and man had become one and he had become part of the universe.

"So that's how it is. So that's how it is."

With the system's assistance, Lin Xian instantly mastered the use of the Connecting Heaven Talisman. Its essence lay in connecting with heaven, not in the talisman itself.

Talismans were the spirit of heaven and earth, while registers were the name-seals of ghosts and gods.

For Daoists to use talismans and registers, they first had to write the contents, then submit them to ancestral masters and ghosts and gods for approval. Only then could they mobilize the power of heaven and earth.

But the Connecting Heaven Talisman rejected middlemen taking a cut. It directly conversed with heaven, earth, and the universe, skipping the middle management and linking straight to the supreme will of the great universe to mobilize resources.

A holder of the Connecting Heaven Talisman was no longer a lowly beggar, but an equal partner of heaven and earth!

No longer a disciple begging ancestral masters and ghosts and gods for favor, but an immortal recorded in the Celestial Bureaucracy.

The Connecting Heaven Talisman was an immortal register, an immortal rank.

Combined with the immortal perspective granted by Grand Luo Grotto Vision, it was also an immortal status.

The two combined into a genuine immortal rank.

At that moment, Lin Xian stood equal to heaven, seeing through all realms. He seemed to become the legendary Great Sage, Equal of Heaven, causing havoc at Tianshi Mansion, bound by nothing, standing high above the Ninth Heaven and looking down upon every rule of the mortal world.

Including the Five Thunder Talismans Zhang Zhiwei had cast!

"Edict!"

Lin Xian shouted, and the Five Thunder Talisman drawn by Zhang Zhiwei actually broke free from the Old Celestial Master's control and struck back at him instead.

"Rumble!"

After a bolt of heavenly lightning, the Old Celestial Master was blackened from head to toe. The damage was minimal, but the humiliation was immense.

"Old Celestial Master, this punch is for Lu Jin!"

Lin Xian flew out of the lightning sea and threw a punch, then immediately followed with another, shouting, "This punch is for Zhang Huaiyi!"

When the third punch came, Zhang Zhiwei, now sporting two black eyes, could not help but shout, "And whose punch is this one for?"

"Sorry." Lin Xian smiled awkwardly and clasped his fists. "I got carried away. How about you put this one on Lu Jin's tab?"

Fine, fine, fine. So that's how we're playing it?

Watching Lin Xian fearlessly use heavenly lightning to temper his body, Zhang Zhiwei took a deep breath. "A hit is a hit, but Immortal Lin, using Five Thunder Talismans to strike the Celestial Master on Mount Longhu is a little excessive."

"Ding dong, system notification: Mission limit has increased."

[Side Quest: Claim first place in the Luotian Grand Ceremony (Normal) completed]

[Main Quest: Defeat the Old Celestial Master on Mount Longhu (Normal) completed]

...

[Main Quest: Defeat the Old Celestial Master on Mount Longhu (Rare) incomplete]

"So it's phase two."

Lin Xian stood with his hands behind his back, calm and composed. This was exactly what he had been waiting for!

The normal Old Celestial Master could drop the Tranquilizing Mind Divine Spell to suppress inner demons.

What could the rare Old Celestial Master drop?

He was not greedy. A Five Thunder Righteous Method would be enough. He could bring it back to the Shrouding the Heavens universe to temper his body and refine his Primordial Spirit every day.

Please vote with monthly tickets. Tomorrow, The Outcast wraps up!!!