Cultivating immortality begins with discerning the secrets of heaven.

Chapter 81 Sect Competition (Part 1)

Taiyuan Sect, Martial Arts Square.

There were about a hundred disciples from the Seven Peaks who had signed up to participate in this sect competition, and they all gathered in front of the three martial arts arenas.

Elders from each peak came to observe, and the middle-aged man with a long beard sitting at the head of the table was Qingyang Daoist, the sect leader of Taiyuan Sect. He had the cultivation of the late Foundation Establishment stage, and the next step would be the peak Foundation Establishment stage, which is also the Pseudo-Core stage.

The Qingyang Sect Leader stroked his long beard with a smile, looking at the disciples fighting on the three martial arts stages with a satisfied expression.

"The disciples of all the peaks are becoming more and more outstanding, which is a good thing."

The other elders echoed, "Yes, they will be the pillars of the sect from now on."

"Their aptitudes are all excellent, their spells are superb, and their cultivation is stable, far surpassing those of us who were junior disciples in our sects at the time."

"What a pity there's only one Foundation Establishment Pill. If we had a few more, allowing more outstanding disciples to achieve Foundation Establishment, wouldn't the sect be even stronger in the future?"

Upon hearing this, several elders were slightly taken aback, and then looked at Elder Duanmu, who had just spoken.

There's a hidden meaning in her words!

boom!

An elderly man in a white robe, whose eyebrows were completely white, sneered, "Old ghost Duanmu, what do you mean by that? Are you complaining that my Dan Ding Peak's alchemy skills are poor and that we produce too few Foundation Establishment Pills?"

Elder Duanmu showed no mercy. Others might fawn over this Grand Elder of Dan Ding Peak, but he wouldn't even give him a kind look.

"I didn't say that, but the last batch of Foundation Establishment Pills distributed by the sect was 20% less than usual."

"Elder White Eyebrows, has the alchemy skill of your Pill Cauldron Peak declined so much?"

The white-browed elder of Dan Ding Peak's face immediately darkened, and he said angrily, "Duanmu Ming, just say what you want to say. What are you doing, talking in such sarcastic and ambiguous ways?"

"Since we're at the Martial Arts Square today, why don't we have a discussion on the martial arts stage?"

boom!

As he spoke, Elder Bai Mei released a burst of spiritual pressure, which was also at the late Foundation Establishment stage!

Elder Duanmu, not to be outdone, also mobilized his spiritual pressure to counter.

At the same time, several magical artifacts emitting various colored lights swirled around him, their powerful auras impacting the surrounding area.

The disciples below the stage were still unaware of what was happening, looking at the elders above with bewildered expressions. Wasn't today their turn to fight? Why were the elders starting to attack each other?

Just then, the Qingyang Sect Leader shouted, "Enough! Stop!"

"Fighting in front of so many disciples, you've completely lost face!"

At this moment, the Foundation Establishment elders from the other four peaks also spoke up to persuade them, "Elders, please don't act impulsively. There are still so many disciples watching."

"Today is the Seven Peaks Minor Competition, don't scare these little guys."

"Yes, Elder Duanmu, please put away the magical artifacts on your body."

Upon hearing this, Elder Duanmu snorted coldly and sat back down.

It's no wonder he harbored resentment. Last time the sect distributed Foundation Establishment Pills, he, from Hundred Refinement Peak, received the fewest, only five.

Seeing this, Elder Bai Mei also restrained his aura and turned his head away, still angry.

Upon seeing this scene, the Qingyang Sect Leader couldn't help but sigh softly.

"It can't be blamed on Elder Bai Mei; the sect's treasury of Spirit Fusion Fruits is running low."

"The main ingredient delivered to Dan Ding Peak last time was indeed less than usual. Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice, so it's normal that the number of Foundation Establishment Pills produced was less."

Soon, Elder Su Shui of Xuan'e Peak frowned slightly and said, "There are still more than 30 years until the next opening of Guangling Realm. What should we do if the supply of Fusion Fruit is insufficient?"

The Qingyang Sect Leader's expression also became more solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "It's not just the sect's treasury; in fact, even the production of Fusion Fruits in Guangling Realm has decreased significantly."

"I checked the records of the number of Spirit Fusion Fruits brought out from Guangling Realm in previous dynasties, and the number of Spirit Fusion Fruits brought out in the last two times was 30% less than in the past."

Upon hearing this, the other elders all showed expressions of worry.

In the Cangxuan Southern Region under the rule of the Taiyuan Sect, only the ancient secret realm of Guangling Realm produces the Fusion Fruit.

If even the number of Spirit Fusion Fruits produced in Guangling Realm is decreasing, then Foundation Establishment Pills will become even more precious in the future.

The Qingyang Sect Leader sighed softly and said, "The reason I came out of seclusion this time is also for this matter."

"Guangling Realm will open again in about thirty years. I want to send a few people to investigate why this has happened."

"Furthermore, I have heard that in the cultivation world of other great regions, there seem to be formulas for Foundation Establishment Pills that are not made using the Spirit Fusion Fruit."

"Ancestor Xuanzhen has already gone on a journey for this matter, but we also need to make two preparations. It would be best to start developing our own pill formulas and see if we can find a substitute for the main ingredient of the Fusion Spirit Fruit."

My own original prescription!

This matter is extremely costly; even if it's just about innovating on existing formulas, it's still an extremely heavy burden.

Especially when changing the main ingredient, you have to try each ingredient one by one, and you also have to consider the success rate of refining.

Sometimes, you might use the right elixir, but because the refining process fails, you might mistake it for a bad attempt.

"This matter... is likely to be extremely difficult," Elder White Eyebrows said in a heavy tone.

The Qingyang Sect Leader sighed and said, "This matter is of great importance, and we need to make preparations as soon as possible. I will discuss this matter with the other peaks later, and I hope we can finalize a plan as soon as possible."

After discussing this matter, the elders turned their attention back to the martial arts stage, where the competition among the Qi Refining disciples had reached a fever pitch.

"Huh, that disciple is a weapon-refining disciple from Hundred Refinement Peak, and he also practices body-refining techniques. That's quite rare." The Qingyang Sect Leader looked at one of the martial arts stages and showed a surprised expression.

Few cultivators in the Qi Refining stage cultivate their physical body simultaneously; even within the Taiyuan Sect, this is quite rare.

Duanmu Ming nodded in response, "This person is called Lin Yun. He has only been in the sect for a little over a year, but he has a good talent for weapon crafting."

"Hehe, to receive such a good evaluation from Elder Duanmu, it seems this young man is indeed a promising talent." Sect Leader Qingyang exclaimed in admiration.

At this moment, on the martial arts stage, Lin Yun was unaware that he had already come into the sight of several Foundation Establishment elders of the sect.

In front of him, a disciple at the seventh level of Qi Refining sat on the ground with a dejected look on his face, indicating that he had already been defeated.

"Senior brother, you flatter me!" Lin Yun calmed his blood and qi slightly and clasped his hands in greeting to the other party.

The man shook his head and said, "I didn't let you win; it's just that I'm not as skilled as others."

After saying that, he left the training ground dejectedly.

Lin Yun looked around and then walked to the waiting area for the advancing disciples. This sect competition was divided into three stages.

The first stage involves drawing lots to pair up for a competition.

After a round of drawing lots, more than 60 of the 120 disciples advanced to the next stage.

He has now passed the first stage and successfully advanced to the next round.

The next phase was a chaotic free-for-all.

More than sixty people were randomly drawn to enter three martial arts arenas for a free-for-all. The last five people standing on each arena would advance to the third round.

"They're all tough guys." Lin Yun glanced at the disciples around him who had advanced. They were mostly at the late stage of Qi Refining and were quite famous within the sect.

Disciples with a cultivation level of six in Qi Refining like him can be counted on one hand.

"Junior Brother Lin, if we're assigned to the same training ground later, let's team up against our opponents," Song Cheng, who had advanced early, said in a low voice as he approached.

In fact, he wasn't the only one with this idea.

Those disciples who successfully advanced have begun to form alliances based on the relationships between the various peaks, in order to advance to the next round.

The largest group was Zhao Jingshan from Qingyuan Peak, who had the most disciples. A dozen or so Qingyuan Peak disciples surrounded him.

In comparison, Hundred Refinement Peak has the smallest number of members.

Currently, including him and Song Cheng, only Bai Shaoqiu has successfully advanced.

Of the ten weapon-refining disciples from Hundred Refinement Peak, three have advanced so far, while the rest, except for Zhong Mo, have all been eliminated.