Raise a sword!

Speaking of the sect competition, it must be mentioned that although Biwu Peak has a small population, everyone there is a talented individual.

Mei Jinhe and Su Zhi both made it into the final sixteen.

Although there are many rumors circulating, saying that the two of them used magic weapons and talismans to smash people, and that their victory was not honorable.

But no matter what, they still brought some honor to Biwu Peak.

"I remember you two both lost a few days ago, didn't you?" Jiang Peng asked.

"Junior brother's skills are lacking, and he has brought shame to Biwu Peak." Su Zhi still had that honest, even somewhat dull, demeanor.

Mei Jinhe, however, was arrogant and haughty.

"Hmph, it was only because I was being merciful and didn't want to take away my fellow disciples' opportunities that I deliberately lost... We are already disciples of Biwu Peak, so there's no need for us to compete with them anymore."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Peng looked at Su Zhi.

Su Zhi understood and honestly said, "She ran into a disciple of Fu Feng. When the disciple saw that her opponent was her, he activated a high-grade Rift Blade Talisman without saying a word. In the end, it was a Foundation Establishment elder who saved her."

Seeing Mei Jinhe's indignant expression, Jiang Peng chuckled and said, "You've been bullying the new disciples all day because they're poor. Now you've met your match, haven't you?"

"That guy surnamed Ma's victory was unfair! It's just a sect competition, yet he treated me like a disciple of an enemy sect... How can he come up without testing the waters first, then immediately reveal his trump card? A top-grade Crack Blade Talisman, even my senior brother would find it troublesome, right?"

That's true.

The Blade Splitter Talisman is considered one of the top-tier attack talismans of the first rank; it's a unique skill of the talisman master Zhang in the market.

However, Zhang Fushi and Fu Feng have a close relationship, so it's not surprising that Fu Feng's disciples obtained such talismans.

Before they knew it, Jiang Peng had changed his clothes and put on the sect disciple's standard outer robe, which he hadn't worn in a long time. He then left Biwu Peak with Mei Jinhe and Su Zhi and headed towards Yanwu Peak.

When they arrived at Yanwu Peak, the final stage of the competition had already begun.

Many of the original arenas on Martial Arts Peak have disappeared, replaced by a huge open space in the middle of the peak, surrounded by array formations.

As for outside the formation.

Apart from a high platform to the due north, where Sect Master Chu Chun'an and several Foundation Establishment elders are located, the rest of the area remains largely unchanged.

The disciples watching the battle displayed their unique skills, some climbing trees, some hanging ropes, and others sitting on the ground in the front row, completely filling the open space in the middle of the Martial Arts Peak.

Jiang Peng was also seeing such a scene for the first time. She wasn't interested before she came, but after arriving, she became quite interested and decided to relax and have some fun today.

So Jiang Peng looked around and finally chose a large tree where no one was. With a light leap, he landed in the canopy and found a good vantage point to watch the competition.

Mei Jinhe and Su Zhiben wanted to keep up, but the crowd was too dense. They didn't have Jiang Peng's ability to slip through the crowd and disappear into the crowd. In the end, they could only blend into the crowd.

At this moment, the preliminary Qi Refining competition had already begun in the open space in the middle.

Listening to the discussions among the disciples around him, Jiang Peng recognized the two people who were competing.

One of them was named Ma Ling'er, the very same Fu Feng disciple who defeated Mei Jinhe.

I heard that this person has good talent. Although he has a mid-grade spiritual root, his spiritual root is actually close to a high-grade one, and his cultivation speed is extremely fast.

She could have reached a higher realm, but she deliberately suppressed it for the sake of this sect competition.

Like Mei Jinhe and the other two, this person was also selected by Fu Feng as a new disciple. Although he still had the waist token of an outer disciple, he was actually treated as an inner disciple.

The other person surprised Jiang Peng somewhat.

This man was Liu Hong, whom Jiang Peng had seen on the way up the mountain several years ago when the mountain gates were opened to the public.

He is also the orphaned son of Liu Daoyou from the demon-hunting team.

After several years, the boy who was once a teenager has now grown into a fit and muscular man with a thick beard and wearing shorts.

To be honest, Jiang Peng had promised to take care of him briefly, but he hadn't contacted her at all in the past few years.

Listening to the surrounding disciples' discussions, I learned that Liu Hong is still an outer disciple, has not yet joined any peak, and no Foundation Establishment cultivator has taken a liking to him in advance.

Liu Hong was a dark horse in this competition.

"Who do you think has the best chance?"

Suddenly, a voice rang in my ears.

Although Jiang Peng was completely unaware of the sound, her heart remained calm.

"Why isn't my senior master watching from the stage?"

The newcomer was none other than the Peak Master of Rainbow Robes.

Jiang Peng turned her head and saw that today, the Peak Master of Rainbow Robes' long hair was not draped over her shoulders as usual, but was tied into a bun and secured with a dead branch.

After taking a closer look, Jiang Peng realized that it was exactly how she usually styled her hair.

The Peak Master of Rainbow Peak noticed Jiang Peng's gaze, and a cold smile appeared on her deceptively youthful face.

"I'm just copying you, is there a problem?"

Jiang Peng shook her head decisively.

Besides the different hairstyle, Jiang Peng also noticed that the leader of the Rainbow Peak looked somewhat sloppy.

His robes were haphazardly draped over his shoulders, and the inner lining was crooked and disheveled, suggesting he had been through some kind of ordeal.

Even the cuffs and hem of the trousers showed some obvious stains.

This is definitely not something that would happen to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Let alone a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even a minor cultivator in the early Qi Refining stage can remove the dust from their body with a single thought.

Having dealt with the Peak Master of Ni Chang in the past, Jiang Peng knew that although this person was not the type to be enthusiastic about dressing up, he would not appear so slovenly.

Even in her own room on Rainbow Peak, no matter how unrestrained she was, she was always clean.

"I'm passing the test," Peak Master Ni Chang suddenly said.

Jiang Peng was taken aback.

"What?"

"Do you think I can't see that you're wondering why I look like this?" Peak Master Ni Chang snorted lightly, her gaze fixed on the fight in the open space, but she said, "There are still two hurdles to overcome before advancing to the Golden Core Realm."

"The first is to leave the body, the second is to guard the mind."

"The so-called 'out-of-body experience' means that the soul leaves the body but does not disperse. It can withstand the sun and rain, ascend to the heavens and experience the fierce winds, and descend to the Yellow Springs to separate yin and yang."

"The so-called guarding of the heart means that the cultivator sees his own true spiritual nature and remains unhindered through all the ups and downs of life."

The Peak Master of Ni Chang leaned unsteadily against a tree branch, as if chatting idly at a street corner, yet she revealed profound matters that Jiang Peng had never heard of before.

"Only after passing these two tests can one hope to achieve the Golden Elixir." She yawned, her dangling legs swinging back and forth.

"It sounds incredibly mysterious and difficult." Jiang Peng didn't quite understand. Ultimately, his level of understanding was too low. He could grasp the literal meaning of the words, but he had no clue how to do it in practice.

"It is naturally extremely difficult. Every step of cultivation is a hurdle, and the gaps between major realms are even more insurmountable."

The tone of the Peak Master of Rainbow Peak became increasingly leisurely and profound, a stark contrast to her previous quirky and mischievous manner.

"The Golden Elixir... It is hard and indestructible, which is called gold; it is smooth and perfect, which is called elixir. Such a divine realm of combining the two is not so easy to achieve."