Zhu Gaotai and Fei Ling were truly top-tier experts of the Qi Condensation realm from their respective peaks. After the other nineteen battle stages had concluded their first round, the two of them were still unleashing a flurry of immortal arts, fighting relentlessly. However, as the battle wore on, Fei Ling's magical power was clearly running low. More than half of the attacks were coming from the Blood-Palm Saber Mantis. It was evident that the wind-element escape technique he had used earlier was an overload for him, consuming too much spiritual energy. Zhu Gaotai, being an experienced and shrewd individual, gave him no time to recover, his attacks as fierce as a tempest. The pair of drumstick Spirit Treasures constantly transformed as they struck. When attacking directly, they would be wreathed in lightning. When transforming, they would create various vines that attempted to entangle and ambush Fei Ling, keeping him constantly under assault and leaving him no time to recover his spiritual power. But due to the sharp attacks of the Blood-Palm Saber Mantis, Zhu Gaotai was effectively facing the combined assault of two tenth-layer Qi Condensation masters. Although his offensive was fierce, he was still at a disadvantage. However, his mastery of basic immortal arts was truly remarkable. Every technique he cast was smooth, profound, and incredibly powerful—"Binding Art," "Fireball Art," "Water Curtain Art," "Golden Spike Art," and so on, all of them at nothing less than Greater Mastery. That drumstick Spirit Treasure was an even greater headache for Fei Ling. Several times when he was about to succeed, he was thwarted by a desperate counterattack from the Spirit Treasure.
The crowd cheered endlessly. During the stalemate, Zhu Gaotai secretly slapped his waist with his left hand. With a soft sound in the air, two "Urn-Thunder Gus" attacked with the speed of lightning, one heading for Fei Ling and the other for the Blood-Palm Saber Mantis. The Blood-Palm Saber Mantis immediately reared up, letting out a series of sharp "screeches," its pair of large sabers instantly weaving a defense so tight not even a drop of water could get through. The "Urn-Thunder Gu" was unable to get close for a time. As time went on, it began to be suppressed by the Blood-Palm Saber Mantis within a certain range, unable to attack. At the same time, Fei Ling, under the combined attack of Zhu Gaotai and the other "Urn-Thunder Gu," dodged left and right. After barely holding on for a dozen or so breaths, the "Urn-Thunder Gu" latched onto his neck. His face turned ashen, and he had no choice but to admit defeat. His magical power was already depleted; how could he fight against one man and one insect?
Li Yan watched all of this, silently calculating in his heart. He analyzed that Zhu Gaotai probably only had two "Urn-Thunder Gus," and they seemed to be in their larval stage, with their spiritual energy only around the eighth layer of Qi Condensation. This was likely why Zhu Gaotai had delayed in releasing his Gu-insects. But fortunately, the "Urn-Thunder Gu" ranked several places higher than the "Blood-Palm Saber Mantis" on the index, giving it some bloodline suppression, which allowed it to barely hold on for a while. But if the battle had gone on longer, it might have been killed by the "Blood-Palm Saber Mantis."
After the first round came the second and third, and Li Yan was surprisingly not drawn in any of them. He, of course, hoped to be drawn later, so he could see more people fight. He calculated that with four hundred and twenty people in the first battle, it would take five rounds for everyone to have a turn. But his wish was not fulfilled. At the very beginning of the fourth round, he was the first to be drawn. On the crystal screen, two lines of characters condensed from the blue light: "Thirty-three" versus "Two hundred twenty-one." A voice echoed in Li Yan's ear, "Lots drawn. Fourth battle stage. Thirty-three versus two hundred twenty-one."
Li Yan's expression was blank. What is fated to come will eventually come.
Seeing it was Li Yan's number, Lin Daqiao smiled. "Little Junior Brother, it's your turn." At this time, apart from Li Wuyi who had already gone to supervise a battle stage, Wei Chituo, Yun Chunqu, Gong Chenying, and Lin Daqiao were all still here. Wei Chituo wanted to raise his hand to pat Li Yan's shoulder and say a few words, but Li Yan had already taken a step forward, which made Wei Chituo pause and then grin at him.
Li Yan turned and smiled at the two of them. Yun Chunqu and Gong Chenying were currently looking at two other battle stage crystal screens, seemingly interested in the cultivators there, and did not look back at Li Yan. Li Yan, of course, didn't mind his and Gong Chenying's attitude toward him; the two had always been like this. He released his flying spirit artifact and was about to soar into the air when a cold voice came. "Your opponent should be from Lord Lao Peak, ranked at least in the top fifty of the peak. Watch out for his medicines." The voice came from Gong Chenying. This made Li Yan pause and turn to look. He saw Gong Chenying withdrawing her gaze from the crystal screen and turning to look at him, her beauty cold and unparalleled. Li Yan didn't know how she knew the opponent was a disciple of Lord Lao Peak; the large screen only had numbers, and the ones appearing now should all be people who hadn't fought a single match yet. But he didn't dwell on it at this moment. He gave Gong Chenying a slight nod. "Thank you, Sixth Senior Sister," he said, then stepped onto his flying spirit artifact and shot out.
Li Yan quickly passed through the blue protective light shield. It was clear that the shield's defense had not yet been activated, so he passed through with ease. After flying forward for a distance, he landed in the center of the stage. He calmly retrieved his flying spirit artifact and then looked up at his opponent. The young man opposite him had clearly arrived a step earlier. The emblem on this young cultivator's sleeve was indeed that of a Lord Lao Peak cultivator. He was of medium height, with a ruddy complexion, slanted eyebrows, and bright eyes. Apart from his sect's long robe, he was also dressed as a Daoist with his hair in a topknot. At this moment, he was about three hundred meters away from Li Yan, sizing him up with a puzzled look.
When Li Yan landed, he had released his Divine Sense and was inwardly stunned. The person who had come was a cultivator at the mid-stage of the sixth layer of Qi Condensation. If he remembered correctly, this competition should have required at least the ninth layer of Qi Condensation. How had this person signed up? But the next moment, he became vigilant. This competition was for the Wheel of Life and Death. Although the Wheel of Life and Death hadn't been opened for tens of thousands of years, its cruelty was now legendary in the sect. It was clearly not some elder arranging for their own relative to enter. First, he hadn't heard of anyone pulling strings, so there was no need to hold back in the competition. Second, if one got in through connections, the other three sects and the secret realm's demonic beasts wouldn't care who he was and would strike ruthlessly, only to send him to his death in vain. If neither of these was the case, then it meant this kid definitely had something extraordinary about him. Thinking of this, he slowly dismissed his contempt.
At the same time, in the floating pavilion above, Yan Longzi opened his eyes, which had been slightly closed. Among the other dozen or so people, a few also turned their gazes to the crystal screen of the battle stage where Li Yan was.
"Looking at this cultivation, this person seems to be the one with the 'Fragmented Poison Body.' Hmm? He's actually at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. Didn't Li Wuyi say he was at the mid-stage of the sixth layer?" At this moment, an elder from Never-Parting Peak spoke faintly. It was the plain-looking woman with a wooden expression who had always wanted to study Li Yan. However, the Peak Master of Never-Parting Peak, that beautiful woman, was not here this time.
This female elder from Never-Parting Peak was truly formidable. Just through the crystal screen, she saw through Li Yan's realm at a glance. If Li Yan were here, he would be greatly shocked. He thought his powerful aura-concealing technique from the True Scripture of the Nether Water was impressive, but it was seen through from dozens of li away, just through an image. This could only be explained by the vast difference in their realms.
"Hehe, Elder Hua, you see that this child's restrained aura has some tricks to it. I imagine he has cultivated some technique to hide his aura. I estimate that Li Wuyi didn't see through it either," a scholarly man opposite her said with a smile. It was the Peak Master of Spirit Insect Peak.
"I suppose it's possible that the Fragmented Poison Body has altered some of his body's fundamental nature. He cultivates the Myriad Essence Art, that I do know. Since he has such a realm, it makes me look forward to it even more," Yan Longzi said, stroking his beard. With the Peak Master of Never-Parting Peak not here this time, he also felt more at ease, and his conversation with everyone was much more harmonious.
After hearing their words, the Elder Hua from Never-Parting Peak said no more, just staring at the crystal screen with a frown, as if deep in thought.
"Oh, so this child is the one with the 'Fragmented Poison Body.' This is the first time I've seen him. I didn't expect the legendary heaven-defying constitution to truly have its heaven-defying effects. He can already hide his aura at the Qi Condensation realm. It's just that his aptitude is truly a pity." Hearing the three's conversation, several other elders nearby either opened their eyes or shifted their gazes from other battle stages, all wanting to see what was different about this legendary heaven-defying constitution in the sect.
They were all people who had studied various poisonous herbs and insects for hundreds of years, so they were naturally very interested in their own mutations. Although the other two of the Malevolent Spirit Sect's three great poison bodies also existed in the sect, they were two Nascent Soul Old Monsters. They wouldn't dare to probe them carefully even if they were given ten thousand times the courage. This time, among the dozen or so elders who had come, many were elders who were extremely obsessed with poison, just to get a glimpse of one of the Malevolent Spirit Sect's three great poison bodies, the Fragmented Poison Body. If not for their apprehension of Wei Zhongran, these few would have probably already captured Li Yan for research.
In the diamond-shaped area enclosed by the dozens of battle stages, Zhao Min's large, clear black-and-white eyes were staring unblinkingly at the crystal screen.
"Junior Sister Min, that Junior Brother Li has finally appeared. I heard he also came to the last Foundation Establishment competition, but was blocked by the thousands of people from the central Lord Lao Peak, so you didn't get to send him any flirtatious glances." A captivating voice came from the side. Li Changting's beautiful eyes stared slyly at Zhao Min's fair face.
Zhao Min's thick eyebrows furrowed. Without turning her head, she just said faintly, "Senior Sister Li is overthinking it. I'm just curious about the 'Fragmented Poison Body.' Although I've spoken with him a few times, I've never seen him fight."
"Junior Sister Min, I'll believe you three-tenths of the way on that. But not many people know about the 'Fragmented Poison Body.' This person entered the peak and has never left Little Bamboo Peak. It seems the higher-ups are intentionally or unintentionally suppressing this information. It looks like Junior Brother Lu from Lord Lao Peak doesn't know, otherwise he wouldn't have that expression. But by participating this time, I estimate this secret will slowly spread," Li Changting said, her gaze circling Zhao Min's sculpted, jade-like face. She didn't say she believed her completely, only three-tenths. Then she also turned her gaze to the little Daoist from Lord Lao Peak on the crystal screen.
Zhao Min clearly understood the meaning in her words but didn't offer any explanation. Her curiosity about Li Yan was indeed greater than anything else. She had grown up in the Malevolent Spirit Sect and had a much deeper understanding of the three great poison bodies than some people. She had always wanted to see what the three great poison bodies were really like. Unfortunately, the Nascent Soul Old Monsters with the other two poison bodies had never fought. And she didn't want any of the sect's five Nascent Soul Old Monsters to fight, as that would mean the sect was at a point of life and death. Ever since she learned that a disciple with the Fragmented Poison Body had entered the sect, she had wanted to see it for herself. But she couldn't just rashly challenge Li Yan to a duel. He was only a Qi Condensation disciple. Doing so would only lead to gossip.
Her initial contact with Li Yan was indeed a coincidence. After coming into contact, the thought of getting to know him better lingered in her mind, including a good deal of curiosity about the Fragmented Poison Body. But after several contacts, she slowly developed another strange feeling for Li Yan. She liked being with him, liked his silence that was still filled with delicate thoughts. When she wanted to hear about the warmth and coldness of human relationships in the mortal world, and the various states of the world, Li Yan would always narrate them eloquently, and always added detailed supplements in some places at the right time, so that some slang and common sayings she didn't understand before could be understood in an instant with a tacit understanding, without having to ask further. She liked this feeling, but she knew it was far from what could be called romantic affection between a man and a woman.
Li Changting suddenly smiled brightly and asked in a low voice, "Junior Sister Min, how many rounds do you think this kid can fight? His realm is not high. If he's defeated in one round, it would be a bit disappointing." Then she giggled, not specifying who would be disappointed.
Zhao Min's eyebrows raised, and she said faintly, "So what if he's defeated? After all, there's a difference of three or four realms. I just want to see if it has some of the legendary special effects."
Lu Qiutong did not make a move. He just squinted his eyes and sized Li Yan up and down again. Li Yan just stood there three hundred meters away, not in any particular stance. At this distance, a Qi Condensation cultivator could detect a move. He was also paying attention to the young cultivator opposite him who was dressed like a Daoist. From this person, Li Yan felt a sense of danger. It wasn't the sharp danger like from his Second or Sixth Senior Sister, but a warning signal like a venomous snake waiting for an opportunity, similar to what he felt from his Eldest, Third, and Fifth Senior Brothers.
"This junior brother looks very unfamiliar. I am Lu Qiutong of Lord Lao Peak. My respects," Lu Qiutong suddenly smiled.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Lu. Li Yan of Little Bamboo Peak," Li Yan returned the bow and said with a smile.
"Li... Yan. Li... Yan. I remember now. The disciple who joined Little Bamboo Peak a few years ago. So you're a martial uncle." Lu Qiutong tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said no more. He had heard of this person, but hadn't expected him to be in the Qi Condensation realm, and at a lower realm than himself. Since he was a martial uncle, it meant this person was even more extraordinary.
Li Yan also remained silent. He knew that this person's opening words were not just pleasantries, but an attempt to search his memory for information about him, so he could use it to gain an advantage in battle.
The next moment, Lu Qiutong moved.