Journey to the head

The lively group stage of the Innate Spiritual Energy Competition lasted for two months and ended successfully after sixty matches. And after a brief rest for ten days, the 407th year of Jiashen came to an end.

For monks who have entered the door of longevity, especially high-level monks who may be in seclusion for more than ten years, dozens of years, or even hundreds or thousands of years, there is no custom of "celebrating the New Year".

However, at the end of each year, the Yunshan Sect always holds a New Year's banquet for the whole sect to celebrate together.

It’s a pity that Sect Leader Lu Qian won’t be able to attend this year’s New Year’s banquet.

On the first day of January in the 408th year of Jiashen, the knockout round officially began. The top eight teams gathered in the valley, drew lots in full view of the public, and competed in pairs to determine the top four.

For teams that rank in the top eight but fail to advance to the semi-finals, each person in each team will be rewarded with one embryo of a top-grade magic weapon and one secret treasure.

This has already made ordinary sects very jealous, and after entering the top four, the rewards will be greatly upgraded.

The reward for the fourth-place team is that each of the three golden elixirs can get a Creation Fire Pill, and can choose one from the best magic weapon embryos and secret treasures!

It is really enviable and shocking at the powerful strength of Xuanwei Sect.

But it's not that easy to get into the top four. Before the rules were announced, Lu Qian had thought that perhaps during the draw for the top eight, the four gates of Cangzhou might be unlucky and get drawn to play against each other, so the four gates might be eliminated early, and teams that are not as strong as the four gates might be among the top four by luck.

But after the rules were announced, Lu Qian could only sigh, as Miaomiao Xuanjun had plugged the loophole of "luck".

It is stipulated that after the quarter-finals, a "comeback match" will be held.

The four teams that were eliminated in the quarterfinals will have a chance to fight back if they are not satisfied. They can choose a team other than their original opponent from the top four to play again.

If they win, they can replace that team and become one of the new top four.

Of course, before the counterattack match begins, Xuanwei School will be responsible for medical care to ensure that both sides are in good condition.

At the same time, such counterattack selection is ranked according to the points in the group stage. Those with higher points can be selected first, and after the competition, those with lower points can be selected.

For example, if the draw results in a battle between Xuanwei Sect and Lingshou Sect, and Lingshou Sect loses, they can use this opportunity for a counterattack and choose to fight another match with the other three strongest sects except Xuanwei Sect. If they win, Lingshou Sect can replace them and become one of the top four.

This solves the problem of strong teams being eliminated early due to bad luck.

Moreover, such a setting would prolong the entire competition process, allowing the tens of thousands of spectators gathered in places such as Plum Blossom House and the City That Never Sleeps to consume more spirit stones and place more bets in the gambling game.

After this rule was announced, the Chongming Alliance had originally anticipated that the top four places would basically be in the pockets of the Four Sects of Cangzhou, and the other sects, including themselves, would most likely only be runners-up.

But now, the sudden emergence of the "Three No's" ban on religion has become the biggest variable.

Amidst everyone's different mentalities, the result of the draw was quickly determined.

The first one drawn is the battle between Xuanwei Faction and Huaiyou Alliance!
Lu Qian saw that the faces of the three golden elixirs of the Huaiyou Alliance turned green. This was a battle that was impossible to win. Moreover, the counterattack match was too difficult for them.

If Lu Qian were in their position, he would not think so much. He would be lucky enough to enter the quarterfinals. He would just fight with all his strength on the court. Even if he lost to the Xuanwei School, it would not damage his image at all. On the contrary, it would increase his own popularity.

Then, it was the Spirit Beast Sect, fighting against—

Chongming Alliance!

Cough, Lu Qian laughed bitterly, this is really a changing situation, he was just making fun of the Huaiyou Alliance, our difficulty is about the same as theirs.

The Spirit Beast Sect, a team, six golden elixirs, six kinds of magical powers, and a powerful secret treasure with astonishing power.

There is also something that Lu Qian still doesn’t understand, which is Taoist Xichan’s extraordinary fighting power.

The golden light of chaotic treasures, the long rainbow of breaking magic, and while using supernatural powers, one can also control four magic weapons!
And this is only a small part of the strength he has shown. Winning all five group matches did not force him to use greater strength.

In Lu Qian's mind, the Lingshou Sect is capable of competing with the Xuanwei Sect for the first and second places.

Even though he had witnessed the strange spell of the Forbidden Sect's "Three No's", Lu Qian did not think that the Forbidden Sect could defeat the six Jindan warriors led by Taoist Xichan.

So now that I have drawn this lot, I can only say that I am extremely lucky.

"It's no big deal." Gu Nishang said straightforwardly, her high ponytail swung gently, splashing sparks of fire, "Anyway, we've already defeated the Qinglian True Sect. Now let's not think about winning or losing, just fight to our heart's content!"

Master Cang Feng also smiled: "It's good to be shortlisted for the top eight. Now we are fighting against the Spirit Beast Sect. Let's put aside all burdens and go all out to show our power. Even if we lose, don't we still have a chance to make a comeback?"

The two teammates were calm and eager to fight, so Lu Qian naturally felt at ease. He was about to respond when Taoist Xichan jumped over and said with a wink, "I didn't expect to meet so soon. Let me tell you, our Spirit Beast Sect is aiming for first place, and I am determined to get the innate spiritual energy, so I can't let you down this time."

Lu Qian smiled awkwardly. The Xuanwei Sect was listening nearby. As expected, they all looked unhappy after hearing Taoist Xichan's heroic words. Taoist Xichan's teammates coughed hard, but he just pretended not to hear anything and patted Lu Qian's shoulders loudly.

"Boy, you have to show your true abilities this time. At least you can't hide your illusions anymore."

Then the third pair drawn were two ordinary teams.

Their reputation in this battle is not as good as that of the Four Sects, Chongming Alliance and the Forbidden Sect. Now they are lucky enough to fight each other and the winner will advance to the semi-finals. But they will definitely not be able to escape the fate of being selected in the counterattack match, and it will be difficult to keep the semi-finals.

There are still two teams left, so the fourth match must be between the Sikong family and the Forbidden Cult!

The monks from the Sikong family had no expression on their faces, and had no reaction to the "three no's" forbidden by the religion.

This is bound to be a fierce battle!
Taoist Xichan clapped his hands and said, "Great! The reckless men of the Sikong family are going to hit a wall this time. They will definitely break bones and tendons, haha!"

When Miaomiao Xuanjun saw that everyone had made their choices, he announced that the eight teams would rest for a few more days to adjust their condition, and the elimination round would officially begin on the tenth day of January.

This is a bit too much of a drag. Lu Qian muttered in his heart. In order to extend the audience's stay in Cangzhou as long as possible, Miaomiao Xuanjun also took the risk and dragged the schedule openly. This competition will definitely achieve shockingly huge commercial profits.

After the draw, the eight teams took their respective positions. Lu Qian wanted to go up and say hello to the "Three Nos", but they left in a hurry without even stopping.

Looking at their backs, Lu Qian felt increasingly depressed.

Are they really here just to participate in the competition? Or do they have other purposes?

On the first day of the new moon, there is no moon in the night sky, only stars.

In Meihuafang, there is another small courtyard covered by a pitch-black spell, which cannot be seen, heard or detected by the outside world.

The "Three No's" of religious prohibition sat in the room in the shape of a Chinese character "品", devoutly worshipping the unspeakable name.

After a while, the week was over, and the three chatted about today's draw. Master Bu Ting suddenly became impatient: "How long will this farce last? I really don't want to play house with them anymore." Master Bu Shi shook his head: "There are 360 ​​Happy God Bottles, and now there are still 40 that have not been filled. At this rate, we may need to make it to the finals."

Immortal Bu Ting was angry: "It's all because of that Saint Envoy's reckless command! If he hadn't insisted that we admit defeat, we would have wasted a battle--"

"Be careful with your words! I know you have an opinion, but the Holy Envoy represents the will of the Ming King, so you must not act rashly!" Master Bu Shi shouted angrily. His junior brother was good in every way, except that he was too irritable and did not obey discipline.

“Don’t be anxious.” Master Buyu suddenly vibrated his voice. “After we enter the quarterfinals, the audience will be even more excited, and the bottle of happiness will fill up faster and faster. There’s a high probability that we won’t have to make it to the finals, maybe even earlier.”

The real person snorted, "That's best."

Master Bu Shi reminded him, "The Holy Envoy has arrived in Cangzhou and is very close to us. You must not complain anymore."

"If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me." Master Bu Ting stood up. "Since he has come to Cangzhou, why doesn't he come to see us directly?"

"The Holy Envoy naturally has his own arrangements." wrote Master Buyu.

The Immortal frowned and asked after a while: "You said that the Ming King only asked us to cooperate with the Holy Envoy in everything, so what did the Holy Envoy want to do with the Happy God Bottle?"

The Immortal of No Vision and the Immortal of No Talk were both silent and said nothing. The Immortal of No Hearing already knew their answers.

Follow the secret order of King Ming and there is no need to ask too many questions or guess too much.

Then the sound of chanting mantras echoed again in the quiet room.

In a corner of Lingsha City, there is a mansion that is inconspicuous in appearance but covers a large area. There are two teams of Yunshan disciples on duty to guard it all day long. The silent and fog magic arrays are turned on all year round, making this place shrouded in a veil of mystery.

The mansion was filled with courtyards, houses, winding corridors, and slanting stone paths. It was a pity that this once magnificent and noble place was now fading in color, with mottled vermilion paint and a dilapidated scene.

In such a big house, there were no servants moving around, and the sounds of servants made the house seem even more desolate.

In a weed-covered courtyard, an old woman was leaning against the porch, slowly pushing a dull-colored cradle in her hands and humming a lullaby tune.

She was already very thin, with wrinkles on her face, and most of her hair was gray, half of it was loose and fluttering, and the other half was haphazardly pinned with a few pearl hairpins.

His body was tangled with several silk garments; although they were made of expensive materials, they were covered in stains and it was impossible to tell what they originally looked like.

Who would have thought that this half-crazy, half-insane old woman, whom everyone kept at a distance, was actually the senior sister of Yunshan Sect Leader Lu Qian, the widow of the hero Tan Hong, and the former Yunshan elder, Zhang Lemei!
She has been under house arrest here for fifteen years.

The Yunshan Sect originally provided her with very good material conditions and sent a large number of servants to serve her. She was even allowed to go out to relax as long as there were enough disciples to accompany her and look after her.

He just stopped her from going north to Qingzhou to look for her missing son, Tan Yunxing.

But Zhang Lemei couldn't accept it after all. She remembered Lu Qian's order. As long as she didn't make any noise, Tan Yunxing's identity as Yunshan's disciple would be retained instead of being labeled a traitor, expelled from the sect, arrested and killed.

She remembered this clearly, so she did not dare to make a fuss to the higher-ups of the Yunshan Sect, but she eventually took all her pain and anger out on her servants.

The servants could not bear the humiliation and fled one after another. Eventually, the mansion became a silent ghostland that made people shudder.

Only the Yunshan disciples who take turns on duty here deliver daily necessities on a regular basis.

And since some time ago, Zhang Lemei stopped going out to relax and refused visits from the top leaders of the Yunshan Sect. Even when Jiang Qingfeng came a few times, he was turned away.

She hated everyone, but for Tan Yunxing, she dared not resist.

Now, she stared at the cradle with dull eyes and suddenly giggled.

"Yunxing, you peed again. Mommy will change your diaper..."

So she bent down and untied the messy clothes in the cradle, revealing a porcelain doll with a pale body and red lacquered facial features.

She carefully replaced the dirty silk cloth on the porcelain doll and clapped her hands with joy.

"Hey! You smiled after changing your diaper, didn't you? Yunxing is so good, so good..."

Suddenly she froze and threw the porcelain doll heavily into the cradle.

"No, no, this is not Yun Xing, this is not my Yun Xing!"

"My Yunxing...where is my Yunxing..."

She muttered a few words, then suddenly tilted her ear, as if she heard something, and she straightened up abruptly, becoming furious.

"Who is it! Who is gossiping?"

"Yun Xing is my own child. If anyone dares to say that, I will rip your skin off!"

Immediately, she bent down nervously and covered the ears of the porcelain doll: "Don't listen, don't listen, they are all lying to you, you are my own flesh and blood, my sweetheart, I can give you everything..."

Suddenly, there was a sound of chaotic footsteps outside the courtyard.

Zhang Lemei looked alert and immediately protected the cradle behind her.

Then, a group of Yunshan disciples slowly walked into the corridor of the courtyard.

They had no expression on their faces, a layer of black air lingering on their heads and faces, their steps were stiff and strange, their movements were twisted and messy, just like puppets.

No more, no less, exactly twenty people. They were the two elite teams guarding this courtyard.

"You, what are you going to do——"

While Zhang Lemei was in panic, the twenty disciples suddenly split into two rows and knelt down on the ground in unison.

As they knelt down to greet him, a tall young man with fair and shiny skin slowly walked in.

His face was full of excitement and pride, his breathing was rapid and his body was shaking.

"I'm back, mother." (End of this chapter)