Daoist Competition

Since Luo Canghai has been captured, there is nothing to worry about here anymore. After bidding farewell to Huo Xuan and the others, Zhang Yan rode the wind and flew back to the peak, entered into meditation, regulated his Qi Mechanism, and waited for the opportunity to go to the Upper Extreme Heaven.

The night passed in an instant, and around dawn of the next day, suddenly the gong on Qingdan Peak rang loudly, and all peaks heard it. It was a call to convene all Xuanmen Sect Disciples to discuss matters.

In a short while, dozens of tunneling lights shot towards the peak, and within an hour, the disciples and elders of the Ten Sects of Xuanmen had gathered in the hall of Qingdan Peak.

This time, Ying Ya Daoist was sitting in a lower seat, while the main seat was occupied by Elder Liu, who had been meditating in the back mountain since the swordfight. This old Daoist’s hair and beard were all white, his eyes were sharp, and he looked energetic, holding a horsetail whisk, exhibiting an appearance of having celestial wind and Daoist bones.

When people met, a little courtesy exchange was unavoidable. After mutual greetings, they all sat on their cushions.

After the crowd sat down, Elder Liu tapped the Jade Chime by his side. When everyone in the hall looked at him, he raised his voice and said, "Although our Xuanmen gained the upper hand in the swordfight these two days, only the Five Sect Disciples obtained token talismans to go to the Upper Extreme Heaven, which has diminished our Xuanmen’s momentum considerably. This is certainly inappropriate. Take the Yuan Yang Sect; due to unforeseen circumstances, they did not get a token talisman this time. Master Yang and his wife have high Daoist Cultivation and divine skills. If they could go with the talisman, our odds against the Demon Sect disciples would increase. Fellow Daoists, what do you think?"

As soon as he finished speaking, laughter came from the seats. Tong Yingyuan from the Nanhua Sect stood up and bowed, saying, "Elder Liu, forgive me for not mentioning earlier that our Taihao Sect obtained two token talismans this time. Considering the camaraderie within our Xuanmen, the other has already been given to Daoist Yang. He and his wife can also go to the Upper Extreme Heaven."

Elder Liu was a bit surprised and looked toward Yang Bi, a hint of inquiry in his expression.

Normally, the Taihao Sect is very close with the Nanhua Sect but seldom interacts with the Yuan Yang Sect. Not only Elder Liu but also the brothers from the Nanhua Sect cast astonished looks, clearly not understanding why.

Yang Bi stood up with a smile, clasped his hands, and said, "Elder Liu, fellow Daoists, what Daoist Tong said is true."

Elder Liu chuckled, stroked his beard, and said, "This is very good; it seems I was overly concerned."

At this moment, Shaoqing Disciple Xun Huaiying suddenly spoke up, "I only need one token talisman; more is useless. Elder Liu, feel free to give it to anyone you wish."

Without any apparent action, a token talisman flew out, which Elder Liu hurriedly caught. Holding it in his hand, he immediately became invigorated and solemnly gave a Daoist bow, saying, "Thank you, Master Xun."

Xun Huaiying showed neither joy nor sorrow on his face and responded calmly.

Elder Liu bowed his head, pondered for a moment, and said slowly, "One token talisman can protect two people within, so in my humble opinion, this talisman should be given to the Lishan Sect fellow Daoist."

Bu Tian Pavilion, Hai Zhen Temple, Lishan Sect, and Pingdu Sect all failed to obtain a token talisman. Hai Zhen Temple lost two disciples; Pingdu Sect and Bu Tian Pavilion each had only one disciple remaining. Only the Lishan Sect had two left. In the Extreme Sky Sword Fighting, having one more person means one more chance of winning. Giving the talisman to the Lishan Sect seems undisputed, mostly met with nods of approval.

Cao Minrou stood up and gave a Wan Fu bow, saying, "I’m ashamed to accept it."

Elder Liu nodded and smiled.

With the issue of token talismans resolved, there were no further matters. After staying on the peak for an hour, everyone dispersed.

After personally seeing the others off, Elder Liu stood with Ying Ya Daoist on the peak, looking up at the sky.

It was early in the morning, the sun had not yet risen, the sky was still dim and obscure, and it was dark with no stars or moon visible. Elder Liu watched intently for a long time and suddenly asked, "Junior brother, do you think our Xuanmen Sect can manage to get through this swordfight?"

Ying Ya Daoist was surprised and asked, "Why do you say that, Senior Brother?"

After thinking for a bit, he said, "Senior Brother, not to mention Masters Xun, Huo, and Zhou, even True Master Zhang’s mana and Daoist Skill are on par. Furthermore, Master Yang and his wife, True Master Tong, the Nie Brothers; none of them are inferior to any Demon Sect disciple. In my humble opinion, it should be a sure win."

Elder Liu looked at the still gloomy sky and sighed, "I hope so."

At the same time, on the opposite river bank, the Demon Cloud which hovered for two days suddenly descended, enshrouding the mountain peak.

From the outside, shadowy figures could be seen with green fire swirling around, shrouded in black fog, leaving a scene that was dim and gray. Yet, inside, it was entirely different, all brilliance, brightly lit up as if it were daytime.

The cultivators of the Six Demon Sects who came to this swordfight were all gathered in the palace, discussing how to deal with the Xuanmen.