One month later, early in the morning, the bells of Mengyuan Mountain and Xiongjin Mountain rang out simultaneously.
The selection battle for Lu Dong had begun. The selection battle was divided into two parts. Lu Dong held its selection first, followed by Lu Xi.
On the mountain path, gray-robed, blue-robed, and orange-robed Disciples converged into a stream of people, flowing towards the valley between the two mountains.
That valley, named Red Cloud Valley, ran east to west and was several tens of miles long. This time, it was used as the battlefield for the selection battle. It had been sealed off for two months prior, and now no one knew what it had become.
The rules for this selection battle were unknown to the Disciples of both mountains. Everyone only knew it was related to Artifact Refining, but how it was related remained a mystery.
Qian Duoduo and Huang Guiren were mixed in the crowd, with discussions buzzing in their ears. The Disciples were guessing who would stand out in this selection battle.
“I’m rooting for Senior Sister Cao Yueying. She’s an Artifact Refining Genius, has won six pillar-head positions, and her Cultivation is profound. Not to mention making it into the top ten, she might even take first place,” a Blue-Robed Disciple said. He was a true Fire Phoenix fan.
“Not necessarily. Have you forgotten we also have a Cultivation fanatic on Mengyuan Mountain, Dugu Yunshan? He refined to Qi Condensation Great Perfection, felt he hadn’t reached the extreme, so he abolished his Cultivation and started Cultivating again from Ningqi Level 1. He suppressed his Cultivation, staying at Condensing Qi Stage Level Eight for two or three years, all for this Xiong Jun battle, to teach the Lu Xi Three Peaks a lesson on behalf of our Lu Dong Two Mountains. I think he’s the fiercest person and has the most strength to take first place,” another Disciple loudly countered.
“I heard that Xiongjin Mountain also has an eccentric, named Deng Feihong, also a female, whose strength is extraordinary. She combines Artifact Refining with Formation arranging; every Magic Treasure she makes has a Formation on it. Sometimes it strengthens the Magic Power, but sometimes it’s a trap,” a Disciple interjected.
“You’ve all forgotten. This time, it’s mainly about Artifact Refining. I heard that Purple-Gold Disciple Jin Buhuan is an Artifact Refiner, and his Artifact Refining is quite remarkable. In the last Helou Family battle, he was able to survive relying on his Artifact Refining skills,” someone with well-informed news surprisingly knew a bit about his background.
Hearing this, Huang Guiren could no longer hold back. He opened his mouth wide, almost shouting, and said to the Disciple who had just mentioned Qian Duoduo: “I like this Senior Brother! Jin Buhuan Senior Brother will definitely win this selection battle! No doubt, absolutely no doubt!”
His shouting made Qian Duoduo a bit embarrassed. All the Disciples on the mountain path looked his way, and after recognizing him as Qian Duoduo, they all nodded and wished him good luck.
Not long after, they arrived at Red Cloud Valley. The ten-mile area below Red Cloud Valley was filled with rolling white mist, making it impossible to see what was inside.
The high grounds on both sides had been developed into layers of viewing platforms. The lowest layer of the platforms was the assembly area for the participating Disciples, with a path leading to the easternmost end of the valley. That was the entrance to the selection battle.
Directly above the eastern end of the valley, a Flying Bridge had been erected at some unknown time. The Flying Bridge was strung together by copper coins. On the Flying Bridge, there were more than ten seats. The Sect Leader Niu Jinshui sat in the central seat, Palace Lord Tang Honggong was on his left, Ping Yundan on his right, and more than ten Elders from both mountains also sat in a row.
Tang Honggong and Ping Yundan pointed to the Orange Robe Disciples in the participating area, saying something to Niu Jinshui.
Qian Duoduo walked into the participating area, looked up and saw Palace Lord Tang Honggong, whose gaze met his. He nodded slightly, and intentionally or unintentionally placed his hand on the Seven-Colored Golden Bull beside him, patting it twice.
“Sigh, this Dajiu, still not at ease. I will definitely do what I promised,” Qian Duoduo understood that Tang Honggong was patting the Ox to “shock” him. If he didn’t meet Dajiu’s requirements, those calves would be taken away.
At this moment, a long red rainbow roared from Xiongjin Mountain to the south, stopping at the participating area. Cao Yueying, with long red hair, descended from a long red Flying Sword, bowed to the group on the Flying Bridge, and then stood steadily.
Her arrival caused a stir on the viewing platforms. Especially those Cao fans, who were almost running over to offer flowers.
On the Flying Bridge, Ping Yundan pointed at Cao Yueying, saying something to Niu Jinshui. Then, Niu Jinshui nodded repeatedly.
This is a formidable opponent! Qian Duoduo thought to himself. Although he had surpassed her in the first five volumes of the Encyclopedia of Weapon Refining, the sixth volume hadn’t been tested yet, and the last three volumes he hadn’t even studied.
Just as Cao Yueying stood firm, a whirlwind suddenly arose to her right. After the whirlwind, a yellowish-brown figure appeared.
Teleportation Formation? There was a gasp of surprise from the viewing platforms. A Teleportation Formation needed to be set up in advance, but this place had been sealed off before. To teleport to an unknown location, this required extremely high Formation mastery.
The yellowish-brown figure was a female, with short hair, bronze skin, and a prominent nose bridge, appearing extremely arrogant.
“Deng Feihong!” On the viewing platforms, someone shouted the female’s name.
Her precise teleportation made Niu Jinshui lean forward from his seat, squinting for a long time, and only after seeing the boots on Deng Feihong’s feet did he sit back down.
The whirlwind under Deng Feihong’s feet gradually diminished, then suddenly swirled to the left. Cao Yueying stomped her right foot, and the whirlwind disappeared.
Qian Duoduo, standing directly opposite the two of them, saw this exquisite scene and was about to smile knowingly when he suddenly heard a long roar echoing through the valley from the white clouds halfway up Mengyuan Mountain.
On the Flying Bridge, the Sect Leader, Palace Lord, and Elders all looked towards the source of the long roar.
A silver figure was seen rushing out from the clouds, tumbling, and leaping down the mountain. In a few bounds, he reached the participating area and stood beside Qian Duoduo.
The most surprising thing was that despite being incredibly swift, faster than a Flying Sword, each landing of this silver figure had no vibration whatsoever, nor did it stir up a single speck of dust.
The control of spiritual power was incredibly subtle!
Qian Duoduo didn’t need to turn his head to know that he was definitely Dugu Yunshan, the Cultivation fanatic mentioned by the Disciples.
Exclamations of admiration came from the viewing platforms.
“See that? Dugu Yunshan, in order to increase his combat power, refined his body into an artifact, turning every joint on his body into a Magic Treasure. Just thinking about it makes me ache all over.”
“The key thing is, these Magic Treasures were all refined by him personally.”
“It is said that he is currently silver, but if he turns golden, his combat power will increase tenfold!”
...
The moment Dugu Yunshan stood beside Qian Duoduo, his first feeling was that a Tyrannosaurus Rex had arrived. Dugu Yunshan’s combat power was much stronger than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
After his arrival, Cao Yueying and Deng Feihong, who were opposite him, both frowned, their shoulders slightly shrugging.
With a “ding,” Dugu Yunshan’s left and right hands actually made the sound of metal colliding. He cupped his hands towards the Flying Bridge, “Greetings, Sect Leader, two Palace Lords, and all Elders!”
Sect Leader Niu Jinshui, with a slight smile, waved his right hand, and the valley on both sides immediately fell silent.
“Very good. Seeing you all, I see the future of Refining Spirit Sect. The more outstanding you are, the brighter our future will be. For this Xiong Jun battle, the Sect has prepared grand rewards, unprecedented grand rewards. Do you have the confidence to claim these grand rewards?”
“Yes!” A mighty roar echoed through Red Cloud Valley.
“Louder—let the Lu Xi Three Peaks hear it too!” The Sect Leader’s voice carried a sharp barb, piercing into everyone’s hearts. It was bloody.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” On the Flying Bridge, Tang Honggong, Ping Yundan, and the Elders led the Disciples of both mountains in shouting.