Dao Lord: Starting from a Top-grade Golden Core

Though the Immoral Taoist was cursing up a storm internally, his expression remained impassive.

But the Jide Taoist knew him all too well. Seeing that he wasn't looking smug, he knew the outcome wasn't what the Immoral Taoist had hoped for. He quickly asked, "Who did you pick from Da Ji's side?"

The Immoral Taoist coughed lightly and handed over a talisman. "See for yourself, Senior Brother."

The Jide Taoist didn't stand on ceremony. He took the talisman and glanced at it, seeing two words written in large script—Zhong Shenxiu!

The Jide Taoist's eyebrows twitched. "Having Zhong the Kid go first isn't a bad idea," he remarked. "If he can secure a solid win in the first round, that would be quite good."

Hearing this, the Immoral Taoist's expression eased slightly. He turned to Zhong Shenxiu and said, "Then this match is all on you, kid."

The two masters hadn't bothered to hide their discussion, and Zhong Shenxiu naturally had no objection. He cupped his hands and said, "Rest assured, Zhenren. This junior will spare no effort."

Although everyone present was a renowned cultivation genius in their own right, Zhong Shenxiu was clearly the most dependable asset in the eyes of the two Zhenren. The Jide Taoist couldn't help but nod at this, but then he suddenly remembered something. "So, Junior Brother," he asked, "who from the other side did you actually choose?"

The Immoral Taoist gave an awkward smile and replied, "I chose... the young lady from the Profound Ice Pavilion."

"The Profound Ice Pavilion?" At the Immoral Taoist's words, the interest of Zhong Shenxiu, Xuzhuang, and Mi Yuan Dao was piqued. This was because the Profound Ice Pavilion was one of the Profound Yellow Taoist Sects, and though it was far away in North Ming, they had naturally heard of it before.

North Ming was a bitterly cold land! Despite its vastness, spanning tens of thousands of miles, the life and spiritual energy it nurtured couldn't compare to that of the Divine Continent. Only two Daoist Sects with long-standing traditions resided there.

One was the Beiming Sword Sect, situated on the upper reaches of the Heaven-Reaching River. Its disciples often traveled downstream to roam the Divine Continent, so it had gained some renown. The other, the Profound Ice Pavilion, which resided at the North Pole, seemed far more mysterious.

Legend had it that this sect maintained the ways of the Ancient Daoist Sects, completely unlike the major sects of the current age, which often boasted disciples in the tens or even hundreds of millions. The Profound Ice Pavilion, with at most a hundred or so members per generation, had somehow managed to pass down its teachings for ages.

To think that Da Ji Zhenren's side had actually found an ally from such a reclusive sect. However...

"What?" The Jide Taoist's eyelid twitched. "Isn't that like pitting our best horse against their worst? You're just throwing away a guaranteed win!"

Setting aside their skills and techniques, the cultivation levels of the twelve people present could not be hidden from the eyes of a Primordial Spirit True Man.

Among the six on the opposing team, Jin Yuanzai was the only Nascent Soul Great Successor Cultivator of the twelve, making his cultivation undoubtedly the highest. Besides him, Li Chengzhen and Zhuo Hansheng were slightly weaker, but both were more or less on the verge of breaking through to the third level.

On their own side, even their strongest, Zhong Shenxiu, was only at this same stage—and not long ago, he had almost suffered a setback in his cultivation. It had to be said that in terms of cultivation level alone, the other team had a slight edge.

As for the rest, there wasn't much difference in their cultivation levels, with one exception who was clearly much weaker.

And this person happened to be the one the Immoral Taoist had chosen. The Jide Taoist could tell with a single glance that the young woman practicing the arts of the Profound Ice Pavilion had only just recently formed her Nascent Soul. Even though she had advanced to the second level in one fell swoop, how could she possibly compare to the others!

'Could that white-haired female cultivator be Lan Su Nu, the current True Disciple of the Profound Ice Pavilion?' Zhong Shenxiu was also a bit surprised and glanced toward the opposing group. The woman had white hair and was extremely tall, a full head taller than the average man. Yet, her build wasn't coarse; shrouded in her Daoist Robe, she appeared slender and graceful.

Her cultivation level couldn't be concealed from a Primordial Spirit True Man, and it wasn't hard for the younger cultivators to perceive it either. Considering her background and cultivation, it wasn't difficult to guess who she was.

"Lan Su Nu?" Xuzhuang suddenly recalled the name. She had once sent him a formal letter, which was filled with words of respect and admiration. Xuzhuang received countless such letters every year, and if not for her unique status, he probably wouldn't have remembered her at all.

Although Xuzhuang hadn't been at his sect at the time and thus never had the chance to meet this True Disciple from the Profound Ice Pavilion, he had later heard a few things. She hadn't been cultivating for very long—only about two hundred years, it seemed—yet she had already formed a Nascent Soul. Her talent was truly extraordinary.

With another hundred years of cultivation, she might have become a formidable power. But among those present today, she was without a doubt the weakest link.

Hearing this, the Immoral Taoist's old face flushed, and he argued defensively, "What do you mean, 'throwing away a win'? Everyone here is a cultivation genius! How can you declare a winner before they've even fought?"

He then began to ramble on about how one shouldn't underestimate the Profound Ice Pavilion just because of its small size, that its strength was nothing to scoff at, that it was a major sect in the Profound Yellow Realm with a long and storied history, that its sect-guarding treasure, the Ice Soul True Man, was a top-tier killing weapon, and that the Profoundly Refined Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul was so rare you couldn't buy it even if you had the money...

'The Profoundly Refined Tribulation-Avoiding Ice Soul?' Xuzhuang's heart stirred. 'Isn't that the technique True Master Xu Chen of the Dharma Origin Sect relied on to evade the fire tribulation? It actually comes from the Profound Ice Pavilion?'

The Jide Taoist shook his head and said to Zhong Shenxiu, "Zhong the Kid, it's all up to you."

Zhong Shenxiu replied, "I will not fail."

The Jide Taoist then reached out and tapped a finger, placing a talisman on Zhong Shenxiu. "This is a Substitute Death Talisman I refined," he explained. "Once it's activated, you are considered defeated. Da Ji's side has the same, so there's no need to hold back."

"Ahem, but no need to go *all* out," the Immoral Taoist interjected. "Techniques at the Primordial Spirit... level and above, whether from talismans or treasures, are forbidden."

He finished, then added to the others as if it were an afterthought, "The same goes for the rest of you."

Zhong Shenxiu just gave a faint smile and acknowledged the command. With a leap, he flew from the peak, stopping only when he was hundreds of miles away. Hovering in mid-air, his voice rang out clearly, "Fellow Daoist Lan, if you please."