The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

Seeing this, Chen Qiaotian did not insist. After bowing slightly, he walked into the crowd and waited for the Foundation Establishment managers to arrive.

Yang Qingyuan then looked around at the Qi Refining stage cultivators who were participating in the trial.

The disciples of Huangfeng Valley who participated in this trip to the forbidden area were quite strong, with as many as six disciples at the peak of the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

Of the remaining disciples, the majority were from the twelfth level.

Finally, there were three cultivators at the eleventh level of Qi Refining: Han Li, an elderly man with white hair, and a boy of sixteen or seventeen.

Han Li and the young man were one thing, but this old man was quite special.

Yang Qingyuan glanced at the old man and then quickly looked away, afraid that the other man would notice him.

But the old man sensed something, turned to look at Yang Qingyuan, a hint of surprise flashing in his cloudy eyes, and thought to himself, "Goodness! Such a rich aura of righteousness!"

"Still a lightning spirit root."

"If those bookworms from the Great Jin Academy were to see this young man, they would probably beg and plead to take him as their true disciple."

"It's a pity, though. In a small place like Yue Kingdom, there are no Confucian cultivation traditions left. This child was born at the wrong time. Reaching the Core Formation stage is his limit."

This old man was Xiang Zhili, a Nascent Soul stage expert from the human realm. He was lurking in the Yellow Maple Valley, solely to investigate whether there was a passage to ascend to the Spirit Realm within the Crimson Forbidden Land.

Xiang Zhili had cultivated for thousands of years and had seen countless talented disciples. Therefore, when he saw Yang Qingyuan possessing such a strong aura of righteousness, he was only slightly surprised and then turned his head away.

He wasn't a Confucian scholar and wasn't interested in these things.

Just then, Sect Leader Zhong arrived late, followed by two disciples carrying wooden trays.

One tray held a storage bag with gold trim, while the other tray held a small pile of colorful mid-grade spirit stones.

"I've kept you all waiting!" Headmaster Zhong greeted everyone from the main hall. "With you all participating this time, Huangfeng Valley is sure to win first place and reap great rewards."

"My senior uncle wishes you all the best of luck!"

Upon seeing this, all the Qi Refining stage disciples bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Sect Leader!"

Sect Leader Zhong smiled and pointed to the two trays beside him, saying, "As you all have probably heard, after this Crimson Trial, the secret realm will be closed for sixty years to recuperate, so this trial will definitely be exceptionally brutal."

"The sect has prepared a mid-grade spirit stone and a high-grade magic artifact for everyone. Please come forward and receive them one by one."

Upon hearing this, the disciples in the Qi Refining stage were all invigorated and rushed forward to receive the treasures.

Yang Qingyuan, now adorned with top-grade magical artifacts, naturally had no interest in the superior-grade magical artifacts prepared by the sect, so he stood at the very back of the line.

But when it was his turn, Sect Leader Zhong took out a blue shield and a mid-grade spirit stone flashing with lightning from his storage bag and handed them to Yang Qingyuan, saying, "Junior Nephew Yang, the sect has specially prepared a mid-grade lightning-attribute spirit stone and a high-grade lightning-attribute shield magic weapon called 'Lightning Shield' for you. Keep them for protection."

Upon seeing the lightning-attribute magic weapon, the Qi Refining disciples around them suddenly realized and guessed Yang Qingyuan's identity.

"It's him! Yang Qingyuan, the cultivator with a unique spiritual root who was once on par with Lu Yunfeng."

"I can't believe he actually showed up!"

"No wonder the Chen family took a liking to this person."

Yang Qingyuan took the lightning shield and the mid-grade spirit stone, put them into his storage bag, and stood aside.

Afterwards, Sect Leader Zhong distributed maps of the Crimson Forbidden Land to everyone.

The map marks various resource points that Huangfeng Valley disciples have previously explored.

Yang Qingyuan took the jade slip and quickly browsed through it, discovering that the contents of this jade slip were far less detailed than those recorded on Wu Sangchong's jade slip.

Wu Sangchong's jade slip recorded over a thousand resource points, some of which were yet to be discovered by the seven major sects, greatly improving Yang Qingyuan's efficiency in collecting spiritual herbs.

Just then, more than ten cultivators walked in from outside the hall, including the Foundation Establishment cultivator Uncle Wang whom they had met before.

More than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounded a square-faced old man, all of them looking extremely respectful.

The old man appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, with some gray hair. He was energetic, had a ruddy complexion, and possessed a pair of fierce eyes that exuded authority without anger. One could tell at a glance that he was a person of strong character.

"Senior Uncle Li, you've arrived!" Upon seeing the square-faced cultivator, Sect Leader Zhong greeted him with a fawning smile, appearing extremely obsequious.

The Qi Refining stage cultivators present were all taken aback when they saw Sect Leader Zhong in such a state, and they all guessed that the square-faced old man was none other than Li Huayuan, a Core Formation cultivator from Huangfeng Valley.

Li Huayuan glanced around at the twenty-five Qi Refining stage cultivators present, his gaze finally settling on Yang Qingyuan. A glint flashed in his eyes as he slowly said, "Lightning Spirit Root, Qi Refining 13th level."

"So you're Senior Brother Lei's nominal disciple?"

"I have received a message from Senior Brother Lei, guaranteeing your participation in the Crimson Trial."

"With your current strength, you could bring back quite a few spiritual herbs if you enter the Crimson Trial."

"It's a pity you've already become a disciple of Senior Brother Lei..."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Huayuan, without waiting for Yang Qingyuan's reply, immediately instructed everyone, "Alright, let's get going without delay."

After saying this, he took the lead and walked out of the main hall.

Everyone present quickly followed.

At this moment, outside the main hall, a huge python, over twenty feet long and entirely silver, was hanging in mid-air.

The giant serpent had a single horn on its forehead, and its massive body exuded a sense of oppression, making the Qi Refining disciples tremble with fear and feel almost suffocated.

Yang Qingyuan was also panting heavily, and he could feel the panic emanating from the double-headed duck in the spirit pet pouch at his waist.

Han Li rubbed his eyes, deeply shocked, and said to Yang Qingyuan, "So this is the strength of a Core Formation True Person."

"Even such a powerful demonic beast can only be reduced to a mount in front of a Core Formation cultivator."

"I wonder what level this monster is?"

This silver-armored horned python is a level three demonic beast. Because it possesses a trace of dragon bloodline, it is already quite rare in the Yue Kingdom.

"If only we could tame that black dragon in the Crimson Forbidden Land." Seeing how powerful the Silver-Armored Horned Python had become, Yang Qingyuan subconsciously touched his storage bag, which contained the Beast Taming Talisman given to him by Lei Wanhe.

However, the conditions for using this talisman are extremely strict; it can only be planted when the monster is severely injured and loses its ability to resist.

At that moment, Li Huayuan had already leaped onto the top of the giant snake's head, coldly staring at the crowd below, and said, "Come up and stand properly."

"You Qi Refining stage disciples are too slow in flight. I will use my Silver Armored Horned Python to carry you for a while."

Seeing this, everyone used their lightness skills to leap onto the silver-armored horned python.

Immediately afterwards, the giant serpent carried everyone into the sky and headed straight for a certain place in Jianzhou.

The silver-armored horned python's flight speed was indeed astonishing, far exceeding that of the double-headed duck and ordinary flying magical artifacts. It took only two days to reach the agreed location of the seven major sects.

However, since the other six major sects had not yet arrived, the Qi Refining stage disciples of Huangfeng Valley temporarily rested on a desolate mountain.

Until the early morning of the next day, a rainbow appeared on the horizon, rushing towards the barren mountain.

Upon witnessing this extraordinary phenomenon, Yang Qingyuan, Han Li, and other Qi Refining stage disciples also rose to their feet, causing quite a stir.

"Silence! Don't act like you've never seen anything like this before." Li Huayuan snorted and said to the crowd, "It's just the Snow Rainbow Silk, a flying magic artifact of the Qingxu Sect."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Rainbow Bridge flew over everyone's heads.

Only then did everyone see clearly that there were more than twenty cultivators dressed in gray Taoist robes standing on the Rainbow Bridge. They were disciples of the Qingxu Sect, one of the seven major sects of the Yue Kingdom.

The middle-aged Taoist priest at the head of the group waved his hand gently, and then a flash of white light appeared, and the rainbow bridge formed by the snow rainbow ribbon disappeared.

More than twenty Taoist priests landed on the other side of the desolate mountain, keeping their distance from the cultivators of Huangfeng Valley.

The middle-aged Taoist priest at the head of the group quickly approached Li Huayuan, bowed respectfully, and said, "I didn't expect it would be Benefactor Li leading the team again this time. This humble Taoist priest, Fuyunzi, greets you!"

Upon seeing Fu Yunzi, Li Huayuan's face instantly darkened. He put his hands behind his back and said coldly, "You Taoist priest, you dare to come here?"

"You tricked me last time, don't even think about succeeding this time."

Fu Yunzi smiled nonchalantly and replied, "What are you saying, Benefactor Li? It's only natural to accept the consequences of a bet."

"If Benefactor Li is not satisfied, we can have another bet and see whose disciple brings out more spiritual herbs?"

"I've recently acquired quite a few treasures."

Upon hearing this, Li Huayuan glared angrily, about to refuse, when he suddenly noticed Yang Qingyuan wiping his flying sword in the crowd, and was momentarily stunned.

With a cultivator possessing the Lightning Root, his chances of winning are definitely higher than last time.

"I heard from Senior Brother Lei that he gave Yang Qingyuan a Thunderfire Pearl and a Thunder-attribute flying sword." Li Huayuan's eyes darted around, and he remembered how many treasures Fuyunzi had won from him last time, and his heart began to stir with desire.

"Tell me, how do you want to gamble?" Li Huayuan pondered for a moment, but in the end he couldn't control his greed and decided to gamble big with Fuyunzi to win back the treasures he lost last time, with interest.