Cultivating Immortality Through a Hundred Lifetimes: I Possess the Heavenly Book of Merit

Time flies, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye. There is only one month left until the Hundred Arts Competition.

Yu Yan buried himself in his cultivation, but unexpectedly, the Taoist Qinglu came to his door again today.

"The Po Jun Mansion added a condition at the last minute: the Hundred Arts Competition will determine the winner, and the loser will not only have to give up the secret realm, but also leave the sect and hand over the sect's territory to the other party."

In other words, this competition is even related to the fate of everyone in the sect.

Is it really worth risking the entire sect for just a secret realm?

"Did the sect leader agree?"

Yu Yan inquired.

The Taoist priest sighed, not answering his question, but instead pouring cold water on him.

"This competition is very different from previous ones because Hongye Valley has withdrawn from the competition for the secret realm. So only we and Pojun Mansion are left to compete. The number of wins will determine the ownership of the secret realm resources. Xingjian Pavilion and Tianqian Valley will no longer set up rewards."

If rewards are no longer offered, does that mean there will be no more Purification Pills?

However, Daoist Qinglu immediately changed the subject and continued:

"The good news is that someone found a pill furnace in the secret realm, containing three Purification Pills, which should have been handed over to the sect leader by now."

"Senior Sister Qingyao has verified the efficacy of the pills. Although those pills are from a long time ago, their effects are still present."

"My fellow disciples and I discussed it together and decided to award it as a prize to the top three in the Hundred Arts Competition."

"No matter what skill you possess, as long as you rank among the top three disciples of the Falling Clouds Sect, you will receive this elixir."

The situation has indeed changed.

Previously, they competed with people outside the Luoxia Sect, but now they compete with their fellow disciples and strive to be among the top three.

Moreover, if the Luoxia Sect loses to the Pojun Mansion, everyone will be kicked out of their homes.

Qinglu Daoist frowned, a hint of hesitation on his face.

"Yu Yan, what level have you reached in your mastery of talismans?"

"Reporting to Master, I have almost mastered all the first-tier mid-grade talismans."

"How many spirit talismans can you draw in the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn? That is, assuming you still have the spiritual energy and strength to fight after you finish drawing them."

Yu Yan pondered for a moment, but before he could answer, he was interrupted by Daoist Qinglu.

"The people of Po Jun Mansion are ruthless and unscrupulous. If you are not confident, you will be ambushed and lose your life if you are not careful."

"Moreover, the cultivator who was defeated by me back then has now become the leader of the Po Jun Mansion team in this competition."

"Shang Ji had also had several matches and clashes with his disciples before."

"Although his disciple's spiritual root is not as good as your Senior Brother Kong's, his comprehension is on par with Shang Ji's. It was this very person who led the killing of Shang Ji in the secret realm..."

The Taoist priest's tone was enigmatic.

"Your identity as my personally trained disciple can't be kept secret. If he encounters you in the competition..."

He didn't say anything more, but Yu Yan already understood.

Past grievances and murderous feuds had long turned the two sides into irreconcilable enemies.

Yu Yan became a disciple of Qinglu Daoren, and naturally inherited these past grievances and conflicts.

If you encounter them in a competition, it won't just be about competing for the secret realm.

It might cost them their lives.

"Therefore, I suggest you give up this competition. There is no need to take such a risk for the Purification Pill. There will be more Purification Pills in the future, but you only have one life."

Master Qinglu said earnestly:

"You're still young, you'll have other opportunities in the future."

Should we give up?

Yu Yan pondered for a moment,

"Master, what was the cultivation level of the person who killed Senior Brother Kong?"

"Sixth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from the late stage of Qi Refining."

"Sixth level of Qi Refining?"

That doesn't mean there's absolutely no way to deal with it.

There might be a difference in cultivation level, but the sword array talisman in Yu Yan's hand was no pushover either.

Moreover, with the help of the inner core and the Yin-Yang convergence talisman, his spiritual power is not just as scarce as that of the third level of Qi Refining.

"Master, I want to try."

Yu Yan made a decision.

"Yu Yan, you need to think this through. This isn't a competition between sect disciples; it's not that simple..."

Daoist Qinglu wanted to offer a few more words of advice, but was interrupted by Yu Yan for the first time.

"Master, I've made up my mind."

His voice was calm, indicating that the decision was not made on a whim.

"The Purification Pill is rare; once this opportunity is missed, it may be gone forever."

"You say I have plenty of time, but I only care about the present."

"No matter what, we have to give it a try."

"If it's truly impossible, then it's not too late for me to back out then."

Yu Yan looked at Qinglu Daoist with a firm gaze, and there was no fear in his heart.

"You, sigh... you're all so stubborn."

The Taoist Qinglu sighed deeply and said nothing more. He simply took out a letter from his robes and handed it to Yu Yan.

"This is a letter from your good friend Tian Erwa. I got it from your senior sister Wei."

Tian Erwa.

He went to the secret realm with Qingkui Daoist and was lucky enough to return safely. Yu Yan originally intended to contact Erwa, but he was so engrossed in the talismans that he almost forgot about it for a moment.

"Speaking of your good friend Tian Erwa, he's quite lucky. Even just outside the secret realm, he had a fortuitous encounter and gained a lot. His weapon-refining skills are approaching the first-grade high-quality level."

"In my opinion, he is also a strong contender for the top three spots."

After Qinglu Daoist finished speaking, he did not disturb him any further. With his brows furrowed, he turned and left.

Not only Yu Yan, but Wei Jing also insisted on participating despite being advised against it, even saying that she wanted to avenge her senior brother Kong.

As his daughter, Wei Jing was bound to be targeted by the Po Jun Mansion, so he had to try to find some life-saving methods to pass on to the two of them.

……

Yu Yan's gaze shifted from the hurriedly departing Qinglu Daoist to the envelope in his hand.

It felt heavy in my hand; it must have contained more than one letter.

He opened it and found that besides the letter, there was also a jade ring.

"Storage ring".

This is similar to a storage bag, except that a storage ring is more convenient to carry.

In the letter, Tian Erwa briefly mentioned his trip and then brought up the contents of his storage ring.

"Brother Yu, didn't I say I'd forge a magical artifact for you? But Master's been strict lately, and I haven't had the time. So I was thinking of having it made right here at the Hundred Crafts Competition, tailor-made for you!"

Yu Yan could sense Erwa's excitement from between the lines.

In Erwa's opinion, being able to tailor-make a magical artifact for his friend seemed to be much more important than the Hundred Arts Competition.

"The contents of this storage ring were lent to me by my master. He said they could determine a person's left or right hand preference, the type and size of suitable magical artifacts, and so on."

"Master said that these are all tailor-made standards, and we cannot be careless about them."

"Brother Yu, please finish recording and send it over as soon as possible so I can refine a magic weapon for you."

At the very end, he added one more sentence.

"By the way, Brother Yu, this thing is very fragile, so please be very careful when using it, otherwise I won't be able to explain it to my master."

Yu Yan smiled and shook his head, taking out something resembling a soft ruler from his storage ring.

It seemed to have a life of its own, winding around the arms and slowly enveloping the entire body.

Does this thing really work?

He was skeptical of this.

The touch on my face was like silk, light and thin as if it were nothing.

whoosh-

The ruler instantly retracted and automatically entered the storage ring.

Oh well, it was all Erwa's good intentions after all.

Yu Yan put the ring into the envelope, paid with spirit stones, and asked Wei Jing to help deliver it to Tian Erwa.

For some time afterward, Yu Yan had no further communication and cultivated alone in his cave, where he made considerable progress.

During this period, Li Lingying came to see him several times, but he politely declined each time.

Until three days before the competition.

The weather was clear and cloudless. Yu Yan and all the other inner disciples received the message and headed to the top of Yuanfu Peak.