Daoist Competition

Once that piece of broken bone was refined, achieving the Fourth Realm of the God Contract, he would possess some life-preserving methods. However, he also knew that his methods for attacking enemies were slightly lacking.

Due to the lack of a method for nourishing and refining the Star Sword Ball, its power was unimpressive. The "Yunxiao Thousand Sword Scripture" was incompatible with his cultivation style, making it unsuitable for practice. In his heart, he couldn’t help but secretly ponder: "Must I make a trip to the Shaoqing Sect?"

After thinking for a moment, he suppressed this thought.

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This matter need not be rushed. Even if he truly intended to visit the Shaoqing Sect, it would need thorough planning. It wouldn’t hurt to wait until he had cultivated the Fourth Realm of the God Contract before going.

For now, it might be better to first visit Jingluo Academy, master those two Divine Skills, and consider other matters later.

Once Zhang Yan thought of this, he activated the Array Gate and, with one step, exited his Cave Mansion. Soon after, he took to the skies, flying toward Jingluo Academy.

Having been here once before, he was already familiar with the route. Upon spotting the floating continent in the sea of clouds, he aimed directly at a high platform, descended into it, and landed before a nine-story pavilion, immediately alerting the steward within. A Daoist swiftly came out to greet him.

When this individual saw Zhang Yan’s face, a cheerful expression quickly emerged, and he saluted with a bow. He said, "I didn’t expect Master Zhang to have time to visit our academy today."

Zhang Yan glanced over and saw that this Daoist was the very same person who had hosted him previously. He couldn’t help but smile lightly, casually handing over a bottle of Spiritual Pearls. "I’ve come today solely to select two Divine Passage Skills. I must ask my junior to facilitate matters for me."

The Daoist looked around, accepted the bottle of Spiritual Pearls, tucked it into his Sleeve Bag, and then patted his chest, saying, "The divine techniques are beyond my authority. I’ll need to request the presence of a senior master. However, rest assured, Master Zhang; the senior master I’ll call upon is quite agreeable. Please wait for a moment."

Zhang Yan merely smiled without speaking.

After bowing once more, the Daoist rushed away.

Before Zhang Yan had waited long, a wisp of auspicious cloud approached, carrying a white-haired Daoist with kind eyes and a gentle visage. Upon seeing Zhang Yan, the old Daoist descended from the cloud, smiling warmly as he bowed and swept his horsetail whisk. "Master Zhang, I already know your purpose here. Please follow me."

Having said that, he took the lead.

Zhang Yan said no more and followed in stride. The two walked along a cobblestone path, passed several flower gardens and courtyards, and arrived at a cliffside. Ahead, there were two Stone Gates adorned with copper rings shaped like dragon heads, which at first glance appeared rather unremarkable.

The old Daoist swept his horsetail whisk and then stepped forward to push one of the gates open, revealing a crack. Turning back to Zhang Yan, he said, "Master Zhang, you may enter on your own. If you find a cultivation technique to your liking, you may learn it here. As this is the sect’s critical ground, I will not enter further."

Zhang Yan nodded, thanked him, and with a wave of his wide sleeves, stepped inside.

This cavern was immensely vast, spanning nearly a thousand feet, with countless Bright Pearls embedded in the ceiling, resembling the brilliant stars.

As Zhang Yan raised his gaze, he immediately spotted twelve Steles standing in the center. Engraved upon them were the cultivation and application methods for Mingcang Sect’s Twelve Divine Abilities. However, the surface of the steles was veiled in golden talisman inscriptions, making only a few lines of text faintly visible.

He stood in silent contemplation before moving forward, stopping right before the ninth stele. Above it hung a wooden plaque bearing the words "Godslaying Soul Implant."

His heart stirred, and he instinctively took another step closer.

This was a method of anchoring one’s Divine Soul, capable of severing a strand of the practitioner’s soul and binding it to a Dharma Treasure. Even if the cultivator were to perish and reincarnate, they could use this divine ability to trace back to their original existence, abandon the treasure, and reclaim their cultivation.

This Divine Skill was exceedingly mystical. If a cultivator managed to master it, it was essentially equivalent to gaining an additional life. Zhang Yan had long wanted to investigate it. However, after glancing at it further, he couldn’t help but internally sigh in disappointment.

Unfortunately, this Divine Skill could only be practiced in the Phenomenon Realm, a cultivation stage far beyond his current abilities.

Shaking his head, he stepped forward a few more paces, arriving at the eighth stele. Inscribed upon it were the words "Illusionary Cloud Jade Smoke," a Divine Skill practiced by both Fang Zhenlu and Han Suyi.

However, cultivating this skill required first mastering the "Xuanze Zhen Miao Shangdong," which optimized its effectiveness. With this in mind, Zhang Yan merely glanced at it before moving on.

Continuing onward, he passed by four other steles. Each depicted Divine Skills with names such as "Nine Mountains Clear Sound," "Bright Three Yang Qi," "Great Luo Heavenly Sleeve," and "Void Primordial Life Qi." These were abilities he was already familiar with but required foundational techniques from the sect’s Five Scriptures. Thus, none aligned with his intentions.

Stopping before the third stele, Zhang Yan halted. Hanging upon it was a wooden plaque inscribed with the words "Five Elements Escape Technique."

This cultivation art ranked among the top three most difficult Divine Skills within the Twelve Abilities. Not only could it entangle foes and obstruct their movements, but it also allowed the practitioner to use objects associated with the Five Elements to escape or conceal themselves. Particularly when mastered to higher levels, its transformations based on mutual generation and restraint opened up even more possibilities.

Since the founding of Mingcang Sect, aside from the Taiming Ancestor, no one had been able to truly attain mastery of this technique.

Firstly, cultivating it consumed a vast amount of time, and reaching advanced levels was exceptionally challenging. Secondly, it wasn’t an offensive or decisive technique, so few disciples opted for it.

After observing the stele for a while, Zhang Yan proceeded onward, arriving at the second stele.

His gaze lingered briefly before his eyes lit up, and he finally came to a halt, his attention fixed firmly on its surface.

The reason for his visit today was this particular spell!

The wooden plaque hanging above bore the words "Purple Cloud Divine Thunder."

This was one of the most challenging Divine Skills among the Twelve.

Years ago, during a grand competition between the Sixteen Sects, Han Guzi of Taihao Sect challenged Qi Yuntian. The latter defeated Han Guzi’s Nascent Soul with a single strike of "Purple Cloud Divine Thunder." While Han Guzi’s misguided attempts to manipulate the Heavenly Mechanism and subsequent Mana regression also played a role, the fact that Han Guzi was defeated the moment he stepped into the arena, without even putting up a fight, showcased the sheer might of this Divine Skill.

For Zhang Yan, in particular, this technique stood out as requiring no foundational knowledge of the Five Scriptures, making it the perfect Divine Skill for his cultivation.

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...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendations or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)