Ling Ziling's pupils contracted. In the end, she had failed to restrain herself and wanted to kill the people attacking the grand elder first.
The grand elder had already been at the peak of early Spirit Transformation then. If she could coordinate with him from inside and outside to kill or severely injure several of the Demon Sect's Spirit Transformation cultivators, it would be extremely important to the course of the war that followed.
She had never expected to fall into the Demon Sect's ambush instead, suffering severe injuries herself and forcing the Dao Sect to pull back strategically.
"The Dao Sect's fortune is going to suffer."
Ling Ziling felt somewhat dejected.
[Age 90: The sect master and grand elder are severely injured. The Demon Sect is powerful and surrounds the Dao Sect, which can only rely on its mountain-protecting formation to hold out.]
[Age 92: The mountain-protecting formation is breached. Your grandfather dies in battle. With death in your heart and no desire to flee, you die in battle.]
"Dao Sect fortune: 79!"
"Dao Sect fortune decreased by 22 points!"
Ling Ziling's heart bled. With so much fortune lost in one go, she would have to wait more than a month before she could simulate again.
"I wonder whether the Dao Sect fortune value affects the Dao Sect's present fortune."
Unfortunately, Ling Ziling did not have the Qi Observation Technique. Otherwise, she would have seen a gap suddenly appear in the already precarious fortune above the Azure Feather Dao Sect.
Perhaps no difference would be apparent in the short term, but the details would reveal it: the survival rate in the sect's medicinal fields had dropped a little. If the Dao Sect recruited disciples now, the number of geniuses among them would also drop by twenty percent.
"I need to be more cautious about my decisions next time."
Ling Ziling's expression was solemn. Having learned her lesson this time, she would be cautious, then more cautious still, when making decisions next time.
At the same time, on Wood Spirit Peak.
Ye Xuan looked up at the sky above the Dao Sect. He could sense that something had changed in the sect, but he did not understand what.
Zheng Huaiyuan had learned about the Laughing Gas Pill affair after all. Ji Fenghe had been confined to quarters, and even Ye Xuan had been implicated. He could only stay on Wood Spirit Peak and pretend to work hard for the selection before the end of the year.
The Blood Demon Sect.
The Blood Demon Sect's sect master, who was in secluded cultivation, suddenly felt a stirring in his heart. He left the sect and flew toward the lands beyond the Southern Region.
Something in the distance seemed to be drawing him.
Time flowed on, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Throughout those three months, Ye Xuan stayed on Wood Spirit Peak.
Since Ye Xuan was still an outer disciple, it was inconvenient for him to visit many places, so he could only check in on Wood Spirit Peak.
After breaking through to Nascent Soul, Zheng Huaiyuan had gone into seclusion to consolidate his cultivation and had no time to teach the two of them.
As a result, most of Ye Xuan's check-ins over these three months improved his wood spirit root. Unfortunately, his wood spirit root was already top-grade, so the improvements were minuscule.
For this reason, Ye Xuan had specifically set up a Spirit Gathering Formation on Wood Spirit Peak. It barely allowed him to obtain some cultivation from checking in, bringing his cultivation up to the mid Golden Core stage.
Of course, the cultivation Ye Xuan displayed outwardly was only the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
After breaking through to Golden Core, Ye Xuan discovered that he needed even more cultivation to break through. To reach the Nascent Soul Realm, he would need at least nearly a thousand more years of cultivation.
Aside from that, Ye Xuan had also improved his skills over these three months.
Host: Ye Xuan Age: 16 Aptitude: Top-grade spirit roots: wood, lightning; high-grade spirit root: fire; mid-grade spirit roots: metal, water, earth Realm: Mid Golden Core stage Cultivation methods: Chaos Dao Scripture, first layer; Wind Thunder Step; Azure Feather Swordsmanship, fourth layer... Skills: Pill Refining Technique (level 2), Talisman Technique (level 2), formations (level 2), Artifact Refining Technique (level 2), innate sword heart Items: Waning Moon
"Junior brother, Master wants us to come over."
Ji Fenghe called from outside the door.
Over the three months, Ye Xuan had studied the Poison Canon thoroughly. If he had not lacked materials, he would already have been able to concoct poisons that could threaten those in the Nascent Soul Realm.
To keep himself from being disturbed, Ye Xuan had scattered more than a dozen colorless, odorless poisonous powders in his room. They had made the rash Ji Fenghe suffer enough to finally correct his bad habit of not knocking.
However, this had also sparked Ji Fenghe's fighting spirit. With Ye Xuan's help, his research into poisons advanced a thousand miles a day.
When they arrived at the main hall, Zheng Huaiyuan, whom they had not seen for three months, looked full of vigor.
"I called you here to discuss the outer sect selection."
"This selection is divided into the inner and outer sects, with 2,500 places for the inner sect and 500 for the outer sect."
"Since you two are still outer disciples, you only need to participate in the outer sect selection."
"The minimum cultivation for this outer sect selection is the eighth layer of Qi Refinement. More than a hundred thousand outer disciples have signed up, and only the top 500 will be selected."
"The sect master is also treating this selection as a small-scale sect tournament. Those who perform exceptionally well will receive special rewards."
Hearing that more than a hundred thousand outer disciples were participating left Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe speechless. Previously, they had only moved around the vicinity of Wood Spirit Peak and had seen no more than a few thousand outer disciples.
They had never expected more than a hundred thousand outer disciples to meet the requirements for this selection.
Ye Xuan did not care. No matter how many outer disciples competed, he could make the top 500. Ji Fenghe, however, looked somewhat solemn. This was his first time participating in a selection involving more than a hundred thousand people. Although he was confident in his strength, he could not help feeling a little nervous.
"Don't worry. Only a little over twenty thousand of them have reached the Qi Refinement peak. With your strength, you should be perfectly capable of standing out."
Zheng Huaiyuan reassured them. He had great confidence in his two disciples.
It had been almost a year since Ji Fenghe reached the Qi Refinement peak. Over that year, he had continually consolidated his foundations, and his strength had already far surpassed what it had been.
There was even less need to mention Ye Xuan. At the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, he had already been able to hold his own against Ji Fenghe. Now that he had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining, his strength was probably even greater.
After bidding Zheng Huaiyuan farewell, the two flew toward the outer sect.
"It's been a while."
Ji Fenghe looked at the familiar surroundings, joy appearing on his face.
He had spent six or seven years in the outer sect. Suddenly leaving it for three months had made him miss life there dearly.
Mainly, he had nowhere to go in the inner sect. With only the uninteresting Ye Xuan for company, he felt terribly bored.
Dao Preaching Peak.
Long lines filled the place, stretching beyond sight. Almost every outer disciple who met the requirements had come.
The lines were divided into three groups: eighth layer of Qi Refinement, ninth layer of Qi Refining, and Qi Refinement peak.
According to the rules, the three realms would first compete to select 1,000 people, then challenges would proceed from the lower realms upward. Once 500 people had been decided, they would defend their platforms. The 500 who remained on the platforms at the end would win.
The Qi Refinement peak group had the fewest people. By the time Ye Xuan finished registering, Ji Fenghe had already found Mo Qi.
However, Mo Qi wore a dark expression, while a beautiful young woman stood beside Ji Fenghe, chatting warmly with him.
"Junior brother, over here!"
Seeing Ye Xuan, Ji Fenghe hurriedly waved him over.
The beautiful young woman's eyes lit up when she saw Ye Xuan, and her gaze seemed glued to his face.
Off to the side, Mo Qi's expression grew even uglier.