Immortal Reincarnation Tribulation

Chapter 290 Four Golden Core Cultivators

"Has the Island Lord made any requests regarding the results of this competition?" Zi Yan asked, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Given the island lord's personality, how could he force us to do such a thing? However, the island lord's expectation is... naturally, the higher the ranking, the better."

"Last time, our island ranked twenty-ninth in the competition. If we can make it into the top twenty this time, I'm sure the island lord will be very happy." Chen Da shook his head and uttered another piece of nonsense.

At this moment, Zi Yan could no longer hold back and glared fiercely at Chen Da, but Chen Da just smiled slightly and didn't care at all.

"Protector Chen, besides these, didn't the island lord tell you anything else? I heard that after the Hainan Rendezvous, Senior Chi Yan of Blazing Flame Island was preparing to have one of his direct descendants hold a dual cultivation ceremony with a woman."

It is said that this direct descendant not only has exceptional talent in cultivation, but is also the most favored junior of Senior Chi Yan. His status on Blazing Flame Island is quite high. Perhaps in a few hundred years, he will become the next island lord of Blazing Flame Island.

"We, the protectors, naturally have to represent Crescent Island and prepare some congratulatory gifts to offer our congratulations. Didn't the island lord mention this to you?" The white-haired old woman rolled her cloudy old eyes, glanced at Chen Da, and said in a somewhat hoarse voice.

"Why would the island lord tell me such a secret matter? Hehe, Protector Jin, I think you've asked the wrong person." Chen Da chuckled, his eyes intentionally or unintentionally sweeping towards the man in brocade robes in the distance.

"snort!"

Upon hearing this, Protector Jin was furious. She and Zi Yan had been subtly trying to get information from him for some time, but Protector Chen was extremely tight-lipped. No matter how they asked, Chen Da would just smile and beat around the bush without getting to the point.

After letting out a cold snort, the white-haired old woman immediately closed her eyes and stopped saying anything.

"Haha, fellow Daoists, please don't make things difficult for Brother Chen. His knowledge is indeed limited." Just then, a hearty laugh suddenly echoed in the cabin, causing Zi Yan and the other two to change their expressions.

"Brother Liu, you're finally done. If you had waited even a moment longer, I'm afraid these two protectors would have thrown me into the sea to feed the fish in their anger." Chen Da slowly stood up and said with a smile.

"Protector Chen, are you making fun of me? Sister Jin and I are both at the early stage of the Golden Core realm. How could we possibly be a match for you, who is only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm?" Zi Yan snorted and glared at Chen Da in annoyance.

The woman then moved swiftly and appeared in the center of the hall next to a wooden chair, where she sat down.

At this moment, on the wooden chair opposite Zi Yan, the middle-aged man in a brown brocade robe had already taken his seat. Soon after, Protector Jin and Chen Da also sat down.

"Alright, everyone is a protector of Crescent Island. I will explain the matters the island lord has entrusted to me in detail. However, there's no rush. Let's talk about that little fellow first." The man in the brown robe glanced at the other three and said with a laugh.

"Brother Liu, based on your observation just now, is there anything wrong with this boy?" Zi Yan smiled and stopped dwelling on the previous topic. Instead, she spoke first with a flash of insight.

"Of course there's something wrong with this kid. Otherwise, with his cultivation aptitude, how could he have advanced from the fifth level of Qi Refining to the seventh level in just two years? Moreover, there's a bottleneck when advancing from the sixth to the seventh level of Qi Refining. This bottleneck is so difficult that it's not something an ordinary rogue cultivator can easily break through."

However, after observing this young man for a long time, I don't know if it's because he's cautious by nature or if he really has nothing to rely on. In any case, so far, apart from the bottle of ginseng qi pills given to him by Fairy Ziyan, he hasn't taken out anything else special.

"Brother Chen, are you sure that when Du Fan first arrived at Crescent Island, he only had the fifth level of Qi Refining?" The man surnamed Liu frowned slightly, looked at Chen Da, and asked with some doubt.

"This matter is absolutely true. Although this child has mastered a fragment of the Concealing Spirit Technique, he absolutely cannot hide it from us. Besides, Fairy Ziyan was also present at the time, so there is no doubt about it." Chen Da answered with great certainty after only a slight pause.

"If that's the case, then this kid is even more problematic." The man surnamed Liu smiled and said meaningfully.

"Brother Liu, are you referring to those two Qiankun Rings in this boy's storage bag?" Chen Da's eyes lit up, and he blurted out.

Upon hearing this, Zi Yan and the old woman surnamed Jin also changed their expressions and their gazes fell on the man in the brown robe.

"That's right. According to that little girl Ding Lan, they came from the Nine Provinces Continent. The Nine Provinces Continent is a rich land in the cultivation world, especially the Central Province, which is known as the holy land of cultivation. There are countless natural treasures."

"I think this little guy named Du Fan, even if he's not from Zhongzhou, is most likely a disciple of some cultivation sect. It's not too surprising that he has some good stuff on him." The man surnamed Liu took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"Why should we, as dignified Golden Core cultivators, bother with dealing with this junior? We should just take him down directly."

As for Ding Lan, she won't know as long as we don't tell her. A sharp glint suddenly shot from the white-haired old woman's cloudy eyes, and her wrinkled, dark face was also filled with greedy intent.

"No, these are all just our guesses. After all, Brother Liu has been observing this boy for a long time and has not seen him take out anything particularly rare. The only resource he uses for cultivation is the bottle of ginseng qi pills given to him by Fairy Ziyan."

"Perhaps it's true, as Fairy Ziyan said, that this person possesses some kind of special physique. In my opinion, we should wait until after the competition and bring him to the Island Lord so that he can take a look at him personally. We mustn't let such a promising talent go to waste." Chen Da shook his head and said this.

"Brother Chen is right, let's decide on this matter."

"However, that Qiankun Ring on this kid's body is truly something to be envious of. It's quite ironic, really. Even the storage magic items we use are inferior to his. Hehe." The middle-aged man chuckled, uttering words that made the other three's eyes light up with envy.

"Brother Liu, among us, you have the most profound cultivation. Do you have a way to examine this boy's Qiankun Ring without harming his life?" the old woman asked, still somewhat unwilling.

"That yellow Qiankun Ring is naturally fine; anyone can open it. However, even if this kid has some exceptionally precious items, he would never put them in this Qiankun Ring."

"That blue Qiankun Ring is not something outsiders like us can open. Qiankun Rings of this grade have the function of recognizing their owner with blood. Even I cannot use my divine sense to explore it, let alone take out what's inside." The man surnamed Liu seemed to sigh, saying with some helplessness.

"We can also search their souls without them noticing, and we might even find something unexpected," the white-haired old woman said, her eyes flashing.

"Sister Jin, this matter is probably not appropriate. Even with our cultivation level, the success rate of soul searching is only about 30%. If something goes wrong, even if we don't kill him on the spot, he will most likely be half-mad. Wouldn't that mean losing both money and people?"

"It would be better to leave him here and observe him slowly. In time, he might gain something." Upon hearing this, Zi Yan couldn't help but frown.

She wouldn't want to hurt Du Fan unless absolutely necessary. Putting aside the benefits of the competition, from a personal perspective, because of Ding Lan, Du Fan naturally held a higher position in her heart than other Qi Refining cultivators.

"Let's not touch Du Fan for now. Forcibly breaking the Qiankun Ring and searching the soul are not things that are within the capabilities of a few of us. If we make a mistake, it will really be a complete disaster, just as Fairy Ziyan said."

Moreover, I have high hopes for this little guy's abilities. Perhaps he can really shine in the Allied Island Competition and thus bring more benefits to our Crescent Island.

Fairy Ziyan knows more about this boy than the rest of us, so we'll have to ask her to pay more attention to him from now on.

"Alright, let's get down to business now, the important matter the island lord entrusted to us." The man surnamed Liu's expression darkened slightly, and he made the final decision.

Upon hearing this, the other three exchanged glances, and none of them continued to argue about the topic.

"No problem, leave this to me." Zi Yan naturally had no objections and immediately agreed after a charming smile.

The middle-aged man nodded, his gaze sweeping over the three people present. His expression grew more serious as he slowly spoke, "Regarding Senior Chi Yan's matter, the Island Lord had actually considered it long ago..."

……

Du Fan, who was meditating with his eyes closed, was naturally unaware that he had already taken a trip to the brink of death. However, he still dared not be careless in the slightest. Under the cover of the ginseng qi pill, he silently practiced the third level of basic physical techniques such as the body strengthening technique.

Of course, his cultivation level did increase somewhat under the influence of the elixir, but the rate of increase was as slow as a snail's pace.

For Du Fan, this cultivation speed was practically negligible. He probably didn't even realize how high his standards were now, to the point that he even looked down on Ginseng Qi Pills.

On the island, cultivators of his rank would often fight each other over a single Qi-gathering pill.

Some impoverished cultivators at the sixth or seventh level of the Qi Refining stage are still taking Qi Refining Pills, while many others rely solely on meditation and breathing exercises to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to improve their cultivation.