Flying Together

"A small Daoist temple holds a hidden Heaven and Earth!"

Before the Broken Soul Ridge, the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi pointed to the hidden place of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation.

The cultivators' surging aura and the activation of the formation occurred almost simultaneously; this response speed was so fast that even the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi could not find fault with it.

He had just suffered a loss due to Zhang Xuezhou's slow response, resulting in a humiliating defeat.

Upon seeing the cultivators with such quick reflexes again, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi realized that Zhang Xuezhou had most likely stumbled, accidentally entered the formation, and been captured.

He made a comment to an old immortal official behind him, who immediately bowed deeply.

"Master, this place has a nickname: Soul-Severing Ridge. Some poisonous trees grow here, causing the death of birds and beasts that mistakenly eat them. There are few living creatures within dozens of miles around. It has not been visited for several years. I did not expect that this place has been occupied by someone," the old immortal official said.

"Oh, so it was someone who set up formations to occupy this place over the years?"

The Celestial Venerable Yuanshi nodded with considerable interest.

He wasn't in a hurry, since if Zhang Xuezhou was beaten to death, there was no way to save him; if he wasn't beaten to death, he wouldn't die.

After saying several sentences, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi repeated his words.

Just as he was about to sweep away the array with his whisk, the illusory array suddenly disappeared, revealing a Daoist temple with white walls and black tiles.

Two people quickly emerged from the Daoist temple; Zhang Xuezhou was among them.

"Heavenly Venerable, I have flown far enough away to be used for the time it takes to brew two cups of tea. Shouldn't you reward me with the Jade Ruyi by now?"

Zhang Xuezhou smiled awkwardly and asked directly upon meeting him, hoping to find out the answer sooner rather than later and avoid making wild guesses.

"You unreasonable brat! Your master went to great lengths to find you, and you still covet his handy magic Law Artifact!"

Before Celestial Venerable Yuanshi could reply, the old celestial official behind him reprimanded him.

"Don't make a fuss, Antarctica. This is something I promised Shuo Xian. If Shuo Xian is willing, then take it!"

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi waved his hand, signaling the old celestial official not to be so hot-tempered, and then handed over the jade ruyi he was holding.

"This thing is great!"

Zhang Xuezhou reached out and took it. The jade Zhang Xuezhou, which had been heavy years ago, now felt light in his hand, and he examined it several times.

Zhang Xuezhou possessed the Spirit Wood Staff, a magical Law Artifact. He didn't care how he used the Jade Ruyi to smash people, but he was very interested in the Zixiao Palace that the Jade Ruyi could open. Now that he had obtained the treasure, he was overjoyed.

"Master, you really sent him away?"

The old immortal official opened his mouth, then looked at the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi with a mournful expression.

"If you possess even one skill that surpasses my master's, you may choose any of my treasures!"

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi waved his hand, indicating that he treated everyone equally and that if the other party was also capable, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi would not be stingy with treasures.

His words immediately made the old immortal official hang his head in dejection.

"Fellow Daoist, are you so generous?" Divine Lord Zhenyuan asked in surprise, "If we surpass you in even one skill, you'll give us the treasure?"

"That's not entirely impossible!"

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi gazed at Divine Lord Zhenyuan's body from head to toe, then glanced at Zhang Xuezhou.

He can do this to people inside the Jade Void Palace, but he won't do this to outsiders.

Of course, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi was not afraid of challenges, after all, there were very few cultivators in the Three Realms who surpassed him.

"But our sparring is limited to Technique Method!"

After reflecting on his shortcomings, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi couldn't help but set limits to avoid making a careless mistake again.

"I still don't know what kind of Technique Method you're good at?"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan was overjoyed.

He doesn't have much money right now, but if a kind person were to give him some, Divine Lord Zhenyuan might have to participate, since there's nothing he couldn't do if Zhang Xuezhou could do it.

"The Technique Method of the world are nothing more than combinations of wind, water, fire, and earth, and I am knowledgeable in each of them to some extent," said Celestial Venerable Yuanshi. "As long as you have any Technique Method involving these elements, I can more or less counter them. You and I can communicate and then have a friendly spar!"

"Ah, fellow Daoist, you are truly a cultivator of broad mind!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan let out a sigh of delight.

There are only so many great cultivators in the Three Realms, so how could Divine Lord Zhenyuan not guess the identity of Celestial Venerable Yuanshi?

However, in the past, when he was in the Kunlun Sacred Land, the Heavenly Court was wary of and even hated the Immortal Court cultivators, and almost regarded the great Immortal Court cultivators as rivals.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan had previously been thinking of fighting with the Three Pure Ones Heavenly Venerables, but he never expected that Celestial Venerable Yuanshi was not as cold-faced as rumored. He even gave away his treasures.

His repeated praises drew a nod and a stroke of the beard from the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi.

In any case, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi does indeed enjoy praise. It's one thing for mortals to admire and envy, but the praise and recognition from a great cultivator undoubtedly makes people feel very good.

Everyone was in a tense atmosphere, and Divine Lord Zhenyuan even generously invited Celestial Venerable Yuanshi to enter the Daoist temple.

"Fellow Daoist has many skills, and I cannot accept every challenge. The first one is fine, but if you wish to challenge me again in the future, you must offer something of equal value as a wager. Only after I have lost more than enough will you be able to refuse my challenge!"

With a flick of his sleeve, Divine Lord Zhenyuan revealed a stone table and four stone chairs. With another flick of his sleeve, a pot of hot tea and four teacups appeared on the stone table.

This tactic made Celestial Venerable Yuanshi blink repeatedly. If Divine Lord Zhenyuan were to fight against such exquisite hidden Technique Method, he would truly have no choice but to admit defeat.

Thinking of the rules he had previously drawn up, Celestial Venerable Yuanshi had to make some additions. On the one hand, it was to prevent Divine Lord Zhenyuan from challenging him endlessly, and on the other hand, it was to add another means for him to lose his assets, so that even if he lost them, he would have a chance to get them back in the future.

"That's only natural," Divine Lord Zhenyuan happily agreed. "As long as you don't choose overly obscure techniques, I'm willing to spar with you!"

"That's wonderful!"

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi nodded, feeling that the matter was not a big deal; as long as the contest continued, he could not possibly lose.

"Please!"

Reaching out to take out a cup, Divine Lord Zhenyuan also took out tea from Duanhunling.

"This tea is slightly poisonous, but it can refresh the mind and is especially suitable for exchanging Technique Method after drinking it; the benefits far outweigh the harms," said Divine Lord Zhenyuan. "This is what I..."

"Shuo Xian!"

"Yes, the tea trees that Shuo Xian and I cultivated together were quite a stroke of fortuitous opportunity!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan glanced at Zhang Xuezhou, recalling the previous title used by Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, and refrained from calling him by his name randomly.

With a graceful and generous introduction of the tea, Divine Lord Zhenyuan picked up the cup and drank it all in one gulp.

He looked at Zhang Xuezhou, Zhang Xuezhou also drank his tea in one gulp, and only then did he see Celestial Venerable Yuanshi and the others drinking tea.

"This tea is particularly suitable for contemplation. Shuo Xian and I once drank this tea to discuss the art of flight, and we discussed it for several days straight. Shuo Xian's Technique Method in flight improved rapidly," said Divine Lord Zhenyuan. "If you don't mind, I can have a flight contest with you!"

"Fighting?"

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi almost spat out the mouthful of tea he was holding.

Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about? He had just suffered a humiliating defeat in the flying technique, losing sight of Zhang Xuezhou as he flew far away and was unable to catch up. Now, he was being challenged again to use his flying Technique Method. Celestial Venerable Yuanshi couldn't help but doubt his life, feeling like he had become an easy target in the flying technique.

Moreover, Divine Lord Zhenyuan's words were not spoken casually; Zhang Xuezhou's flying technique was even related to the other party's skill level.

"Using the Golden Light Leap Across the Earth technique, I can travel three hundred li in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. If I were to fly with all my might, I could reach over six hundred li," said the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi. "My fellow Daoist and I have agreed on a starting point and an ending point to avoid losing our bearings due to our different speeds!"

Celestial Venerable Yuanshi learned his lesson from Zhang Xuezhou and no longer wanted to play the chase game, nor did he want to suddenly lose his way while flying.

At this point, he needs a fixed flying distance and a fixed direction before he can decide who will win the duel.

"Over six hundred li!"

Divine Lord Zhenyuan gasped, then looked at Zhang Xuezhou, who was dressed in bright colors like a woman, and felt that Zhang Xuezhou's victory was probably not aboveboard.

If Divine Lord Zhenyuan were to fight Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, he would truly have to go all out to see who prevails, and he had no confidence that he could win.

However, since Divine Lord Zhenyuan had already taken into account Zhang Xuezhou's level of magical Technique Method when he spoke, he couldn't easily change his Technique Method and could only grit his teeth and nod in agreement.