Daoist Competition

Daoist Peng snorted, slapped the table, and said, "When Brother Qi rescued him from the Demon Cave back then, I also met him once. At that time, he was just an Xuan Guang Disciple, barely worth noticing, but who would have thought that over two hundred years later, he would have such fortune."

The Old Daoist glanced at him, raised his wine glass, and said with a smile, "The Heavenly Mechanism is unpredictable, and it is destined by fate, why should Daoist Brother Peng worry? If you had gone to the swordfight with Master Qi back then, you might have taken this position long ago."

Daoist Peng’s heart twisted; this was one of his life’s greatest regrets.

He was a member of the Peng Clan and the Chen Clan’s son-in-law, of the same generation as Qi Yuntian, and was once one of the Top Ten Disciples. When the Mingcang Sect was embroiled in internal strife, he happened to be visiting friends outside, thus luckily escaping the disaster.

However, after hearing the news, fearing that evildoers would hunt him down, he hid outside, too afraid to return to the mountain, until Qi Yuntian came back from the Sword Fighting Conference. Only then did he sneak back into the sect. Although this was for self-preservation, the Chen Clan was greatly disappointed in him, removed him from his position, and supported Huo Xuan and Fang Zhenlu instead.

Though he has now entered the Nascent Soul Third Realm, he can only hold the position of an Elder on duty in the Day Sky Hall, watching Zhang Yan rise to prominence, inevitably feeling envious.

The Old Daoist finished his wine, poured himself another glass, and said, "Why be disheartened, Brother Daoist? Don’t you know that when the Demon Tribulation arises, your opportunity will come?"

Daoist Peng sneered, "He is now one of the Ten Great Heads, and though my elder title sounds impressive, in reality, I can command no one but my disciples, so what of it?"

The Old Daoist laughed heartily, "Brother Daoist, you are the nephew of True Master Peng and the Chen Clan’s son-in-law. In the current noble families, how many can rival you? With True Master Du stepping down from the head position, within a hundred years, your Mingcang Sect will surely be dominated by you and your disciples. I don’t believe those True Masters would truly accept it; it’s just that there’s currently no one who can contend with True Master Zhang."

He paused, lowered his voice with a hint of temptation, "If Brother Daoist stands out now to compete with True Master Zhang and makes a few great achievements, in the future, the position of Day Sky Hall Master will surely belong to you."

Daoist Peng laughed scornfully, "Don’t think I can’t guess your intentions. Your Yuan Yang Sect wants to take advantage of the Demon Tribulation to rise. If there were chaos within the Mingcang Sect, unable to manage elsewhere, wouldn’t that suit your plans?"

The Old Daoist candidly replied, "A frank person doesn’t lie. That’s exactly my intention. But if Brother Daoist isn’t interested, what can I say further?"

Daoist Peng fell into contemplation. Even though he has been in cultivation for nearly six hundred years, he has no notable achievements, and the Chen Clan is no longer backing him. Without any surprises, it seemed impossible for him to glimpse the Grotto Heaven in this life. But if he could achieve something during the Demon Tribulation, there might still be a chance.

He also realized that at this moment, among the noble family disciples, there was indeed no one who could contend with Zhang Yan. Seizing upon this, as long as he accomplished one or two major feats, regaining the favor of the Chen Clan was not impossible.

After all this pondering, he was somewhat tempted, but he couldn’t admit this outright. With a darkened face, feigning displeasure, he said, "In the future, fellow Daoist, don’t mention this matter to me again." With that, he got up, flicked his sleeve, and left grandly.

The Old Daoist watched the departing figure with amusement, poured himself another glass of wine, slowly drank it down, and murmured to himself, "There’s an interesting show to watch now."

Inside the Sea Eye at the bottom of the sea, a torrential waterfall suddenly surged and parted like a curtain, revealing a pillar of clear light connecting above and below. With a rumbling sound, it splashed onto the stone platform below, causing many stalactites from the cave’s ceiling to fall. Then, amidst the turning clear light, Zhang Yan strode out from within, stepping into the cave.

He glanced around, noting that it has been over two hundred years since he last came here. The area was even brighter and more open than before. The place he stood on was just the entrance and exit of the Sea Eye, but the density of spiritual energy was already comparable to the Zhao You Heavenly Pond.

Raising his eyebrows, he didn’t believe that such a beneficial place for the Demon Sect would be left underutilized. However, if the Sea Eye was to be opened, allowing disciples to come down to train, regardless of whether there were Demon Sect practitioners infiltrating, a thorough investigation was needed.

With a turn of the Mysterious Skill, a cloud of Green Cloud rose at his feet, his sleeves floating behind him, he unfurled the Gang Wind, heading deeper into the Demon Cave.

This move seemed to stir up a tempestuous wave in the area. Being a Nascent Soul Third Realm Cultivator, plus his mana being far more formidable than his peers, the spiritual mechanism he wielded covered dozens of miles. Along his path, many devils were crushed into broken essence qi before they had a chance to evade.

Upon reaching a depth of a thousand feet, he paused, slightly retracting his qi mechanism, stood afar, closed his eyes, cast spells for a moment, then casually reached out to grab something from thin air. That thing appeared like a mass of virtual fog, its form ever-changing, sometimes male, sometimes female, its whole body illusory and real, an Illusion Demon born from Netherworld Yin.

This was precisely the object he was looking for. The Demon Cave was vast; if there were indeed Demon Sect practitioners present, they would most likely use secret techniques to hide, making it difficult to search out.

But even if they could deceive him, they couldn’t fool this demon. This creature, as long as it sensed living energy, would change its form, but no matter how it changed, it would imitate living beings, and could not create from nothing. As this creature in the Demon Cave was endless, killing one would only see another arise, making defense challenging.

His Divine Thought turned, and a Jade Seal suddenly flew up, spinning in mid-air, releasing a brilliant light.

After watching for a while, he sneered coldly.

As the head of all the disciples, he had the authority to oversee and inspect his disciples. This head’s Jade Seal could check the name, teacher, and appearance of any disciple, except for the Ten Great Disciples and elders, including True Disciples with no exception.

However, under the light of this inspection, if there’s a shapeshifting visage that he couldn’t identify, then it wasn’t merely outsiders infiltrating these years but very likely Demon Sect practitioners hiding here!

...

...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)