Chapter 58

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Chapter 58

This Hundred Schools Competition is divided into three stages: Foundation Establishment Stage, Golden Core Stage, and Nascent Soul Cultivator. Each stage has its own competition based on cultivation levels, with age limits. For the Foundation Establishment Stage, cultivators cannot be older than two hundred years; for Golden Core cultivators, they cannot be older than four hundred years; and for Nascent Soul Stage, they cannot exceed eight hundred years.

Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators have a lifespan of five hundred years. Some near the age of two hundred, close to Golden Core, can still be considered exceptional among their peers.

As for Ye Xuanye and Song Mingzhu, who can form their cores by the age of fifty and even hope to reach Nascent Soul, they are the top talents among the best, recognized as elite figures in the cultivation world, being the leaders of the younger generation, far surpassing ordinary talents.

Regarding Yun Chuyou, a young Nascent Soul cultivator, there are only a handful in the entire spiritual world. Moreover, among cultivators in the spiritual world, only a few can access such abundant resources.

Not to mention, Yun Chuyou not only has great talent and a strong background (with a beloved Phoenix master as her teacher), but she also has extraordinary luck; if her cultivation pace slows down, it would not be fair to the resources she has acquired.

In this competition, Qi Refining cultivators do not have a slot to compete, but if the sect is willing, they can bring young Qi Refining disciples to watch the event.

The Qingxu Sect now has several hundred disciples, but among the disciples taken in later, none have successfully established their foundation yet.

For normal disciples with Four Spirit Roots or Five Spiritual Roots, it typically takes ten years, several decades, or even over a hundred years to progress from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment. Some cultivators may have such poor talent that they spend their whole lives without being able to establish a foundation, and when they reach the end of their life in Qi Refining, they just fade away.

For ordinary disciples with Four Spirit Roots, ten years for Foundation Establishment is considered fast, especially when they can receive benefits and resources from the Qingxu Sect; if they are solo cultivators, their progress would be much slower.

With so many more people, Yun Chuyou cannot be as generous with resources as she was with her younger martial sister Zhong Wei. These disciples are actually quite diligent; it’s just that they have had bad luck and haven’t had the right opportunities in this Grand Competition of Hundreds of Sects.

After all, only seven or eight years have passed since the Sword Tomb Secret Realm and this Grand Competition of Hundreds of Sects. Besides Yun Chuyou and a few others, the later disciples have spent less than ten years in the sect.

To ensure these individuals are loyal to the sect, Yun Chuyou only accepted young disciples who were at or below the third level of Qi Refining when she collected her disciples, which means there are none among them who have reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Even if there were some who barely reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, they wouldn’t perform well in the Grand Competition of Hundreds of Sects. Considering it was difficult to choose anyone, Yun Chuyou decided not to take any Qi Refining Stage disciples with her, instead encouraging them to train hard for the next Grand Competition.

Although the sect currently has a lot of spirit stones, money cannot be wasted. The journey to Tianheng Sect is too far, and each additional person would significantly increase travel costs. Given the young disciples’ contributions, spending spirit stones on travel wouldn’t be as practical as directly giving them for cultivation.

However, with the main fighting forces of the sect away, Yun Chuyou didn’t neglect the remaining disciples. Before departing, she prepared several puppets with Nascent Soul cultivation, plus invited some guest cultivators, and with the sect’s large formation in place, there shouldn’t be any problems in the short term.

After two days of wandering, Hu Xiao Bai, who had been trapped in the demon beast space, was finally released by Yun Chuyou.

The white fox transformed into a human. Considering the many cultivators around, he neatly tucked away his fox ears and tail, wearing clothes similar to Yun Chuyou’s, clearly showing he was from the same sect.

The fox spirit looked around curiously, a bit unable to believe they had arrived at their destination so quickly. He thought it would take a long time, as it would usually take several months to walk from Qingxu Sect to Tianheng Sect.

He had thought they would delay on the journey, but they only passed a few teleportation circles and didn’t spend more than two or three days.

Hu Xiao Bai looked around and still found it hard to believe, "Master, have we arrived?"

Yun Chuyou nodded, "Yes, this is near Tianheng Sect."

"The teleportation circles are fast and safe." There is no direct teleportation circle from Qingxu Sect to Tianheng Sect due to the long distance; they need to change at least twice.

The main time spent on the journey was flying from the sect to the teleportation circle and then waiting in line nearby. Otherwise, they could arrive in just one day.

For the Hundred Sects Conference, the usage fee for teleportation circles has doubled compared to usual, but sects with invitations can enjoy a fifty percent discount, which is the original price. Last year’s top ten sects in the Hundred Sects Competition could also get an additional discount.

Unfortunately, the last group from the Qingxu Sect was very weak, so using the teleportation array three times costs each person a total of five hundred middle-grade spirit stones, which is ten times the price of going to the Mortal World once.

This is also why Yun Chuyou had to leave Hu Xiao Bai in the independent space of the contract spirit beast; if she let him turn into a human and follow along, she would have to spend an extra five hundred middle-grade spirit stones.

After calculating the travel expenses, Yun Chuyou felt a pang in her heart and said in advance, "After the competition ends, we don’t need to rush back; let’s not use the teleportation array, taking the Cloud Boat is better."

She used the teleportation array to avoid any accidents along the way that might make her miss the great competition of the hundred sects. With five people steering the spirit boat, the spirit stones used would be at most one thousand middle-grade spirit stones, and the key is that they could also hunt on the way; with good luck, they could even earn some back. Using the teleportation array is just giving away spirit stones to the other sects.

There is still a little over half a month until the great competition officially starts, but she didn’t expect to arrive so early, and the surrounding area was already quite lively.

"Make way, make way!" shouted the disciple in charge of the teleportation array, urging the blocking cultivators to move aside.

"Friends who are dizzy from the array can come here to get a free bowl of calming porridge!"

"Delicious Clear Spirit Wine! Not for ninety-nine, not for sixty-nine, just nine lower-grade spirit stones for a cup of Clear Spirit Wine!"

"Blood-replenishing pills and energy pills are on sale for a low price! Don’t miss out while passing by!"

"Customize all kinds of magical tools, including ordinary tools, spirit tools, for attack and defense…"

Near the teleportation array, there were long stalls set up in front, back, left, and right, with disciples from various sects bustling about, creating a lively scene.

Hu Xiao Bai opened his eyes wide, "It’s so lively here!"

Such a lively scene is hard to find at the foot of Qingxu Sect mountain.

Xie Fuzhi, who was in charge of leading the group, felt a bit excited by the smell of food in the air; to him, this was the main benefit of the Great Competition of the Hundred Sects.

He wasn’t very interested in watching the disciples from other sects compete; in Phoenix’s eyes, these cultivators were not much different, just the difference between ordinary uselessness and special uselessness.

Xie Fuzhi glanced around and said, "Chuyou, do you want to try any special food or drinks? Over there is the Five Palates Sect’s stall; their roasted lamb chops are really good."

Five Palates Sect is a sect of Food Cultivators, and the chef hired by our Qingxu Sect comes from Five Palates Sect, but every chef has different cooking styles. If an outer disciple cooks this well, then the inner disciples must be delicious.

Yun Chuyou shook her head, "Let’s find a place to stay first."

Normally, when training in the wild, everyone can easily find a place to rest without much thought, but now, with so many disciples from various sects watching, it wouldn’t be proper for them to just find any open space.

Actually, before this, Yun Chuyou had thought about reserving a spot in advance, but the distance was too far, and it was inconvenient for the client to send messages to set a location.

In the sky above, many flying spirit boats from different sects could be seen, and the area claimed by Tianheng Sect wasn’t very large. At least, they couldn’t provide the same accommodations for all the sects on the ground.

These large flying boats floating in the air had become temporary shops and homes. The sects provided spirit stones to keep them running, and cultivators from various realms could go there to buy the pills and weapons they needed.

Their Qingxu Sect also had their own spirit boat, but looking at the distribution of places in the sky, they wouldn’t be able to secure a spot, even with spirit stones.

Tianheng Sect had a lot of experience organizing such events, and Yun Chuyou spent some spirit stones to easily find the shop responsible for accommodations.

The innkeeper at the front desk glanced at them; she looked good and wore impressive clothes, but her disciple robe had a strange style. "Which sect are you from?"

Yun Chuyou replied, "We are from Qingxu Sect."

"Qingxu Sect?" The innkeeper’s gaze lowered again, and her tone became less polite. The smile she had was completely gone. "We’re fully booked; there’s no room left."

Yun Chuyou said, "Don’t you have the most expensive room?"

This is how things are close to big events; after experiencing many tests in my past life, it’s really hard to find hotels nearby. I guess this place is not much different.

The innkeeper sighed and waved his hand to refuse, "The most expensive rooms have long been booked. If I say there are none, then there are none. It doesn’t matter how many spirit stones you offer."

At that moment, other cultivators came in, "We need four main rooms."

The innkeeper, who had been indifferent to them before, immediately became very warm and welcoming, his old face breaking into a big smile, "Alright, esteemed Immortal Masters, please come in."

"You clearly have so many rooms. Why did you just say there weren’t any?"

Meng He clenched his fist: the difference in attitude was huge, clearly showing they looked down on them!

Yun Chuyou stopped Meng He, preventing him from acting impulsively.

The innkeeper politely explained, "Those rooms were booked long ago by another sect. They always reserve them like this. It wouldn’t be right for me to ruin their booking just over some spirit stones."

After all, it is the guest who insists on having the best room, even if he is from a small and unknown place, he didn’t want to offend anyone.

"Since there is no place, let’s go outside."

After leaving the inn, even Zhong Wei said, "Elder Martial Sister, I think that innkeeper is lying."

Yun Chuyou shook her head, "It doesn’t make sense for a business to force someone to buy. If they aren’t making money from spirit stones and don’t want to sell to you but gave a reason, we can’t just cause trouble in the Qingxu Sect."

A place that can take the best spot must be related to Tianheng Sect, and their connections should be quite strong.

Even though Xie Fuzhi is strong, the Qingxu Sect is not famous, so they cannot rely on force to take what they want. They are here to compete, not to cause trouble.

Ultimately, because Qingxu Sect is a small and unknown group, they are looked down upon.

In the sect system, Qingxu Sect has always had a very low reputation, and currently, its reputation is only recognized in the area around Congyun Mountains. It doesn’t rank highly in the entire spiritual world.

A group of people stepped out of the inn, and Xie Fuzhi communicated with Yun Chuyou mentally, "Then I will burn this shabby inn." Since they cannot stay, no one should stay.

He still knows there are many people and secretly communicates with Yun Chuyou.

Yun Chuyou quickly stopped him, "Xie Fuzhi, don’t lead the trouble!"

Her master is truly a perfect example of reckless behavior. The shopkeeper, hearing about the Qingxu Sect, indeed changed his attitude, which was not very friendly, but it wasn’t too bad.

Just a little argument, and they want to set the shop on fire; that’s typical villain thinking.

"Before, there wasn’t a single disciple from the Qingxu Sect, and my master didn’t make a reservation in advance. We can’t just take others’ reserved rooms because we have more spirit stones; that would be like stealing." She is not a domineering person; she is willing to reason.

"This horrible place really isn’t good. I don’t like it." Meng He kicked a small stone by the road, clearly feeling upset.

Yun Chuyou said, "In the end, it’s because the Qingxu Sect lacks fame, so others naturally won’t see you as impressive. It’s normal to feel uncomfortable. Remember this discomfort today. Life is about pride. If you all perform better in the competition later, you can come back and show them; there will be plenty of regrets then."

"Elder Martial Sister, I will definitely take first place."

Meng He has no resistance to this kind of provocation and immediately pounded his chest, vowing.

Zhong Wei tightened her fists and said, "Elder Martial Sister, I will work hard too. I will not let this happen again."

Yu Jiu said nothing, but he never made Yun Chuyou worry.

The room was indeed hard to find; almost every inn was full or already booked, and there wasn’t enough space.

After all, there were many of them, and they didn’t want to squeeze into one room to rest.

The environment was too poor for Yun Chuyou’s liking, but luckily there were still spots available in the sky. She spent a lot of money to rent a large space, even though it was not in a great location.

She thought a similar spirit boat would be enough, but this time the sect released their most luxurious spirit boat. She felt they were treating her Qingxu Sect like a small sect, and she couldn’t stand it; she wanted to make a statement.

Because the spirit boat was huge and very splendid, even though it was in a remote spot, it caught the attention of countless cultivators as soon as it appeared.

"Which sect does this spirit boat belong to? It’s so big, even bigger than the Beast Control Sect’s! I think it’s twice the size of theirs."

Although the Beast Control Sect ranked fourth among the sects, their disciples always brought demon beasts, so their spirit boats were the largest.

But this Qingxu Sect, which few have heard of, is surprisingly arrogant.

As soon as the Qingxu Sect appeared, they sparked a lot of discussions. However, they were not concerned; a small sect may have spirit stones and seem wealthy, but being rich alone is not enough. Without enough strength, great wealth will quickly attract danger.

A group of self-proclaimed experienced cultivators shook their heads and said, "They are just too young and too full of themselves."

In the world of cultivation, only the path of survival is truly invincible.

Some sects eager to seize resources immediately sent people to investigate, "Let’s see where this Qingxu Sect gets its wealth; did they get lucky and find a Premium Spirit Stone mine?"

Only a few sects’ leading elders heard the name Qingxu Sect and organized their proud disciples, "When the time comes, visit Qingxu Sect and be polite."

The Qingxu Sect had not participated in the Grand Competition of Hundreds of Sects for many years, to the point where people had almost forgotten the name.

If it really is that Qingxu Sect, then the world is about to change.

At this moment, the cultivators in the busy marketplace did not know that this was only the first day of Qingxu Sect’s rise; from then on, Qingxu Sect would become more and more prominent and make a name for itself in the Grand Competition of Hundreds of Sects, becoming a force no one would dare to underestimate.