Mortal: Fairy Song Yu has issued you a task.

Chapter 64 Sacred Land of the Spirit Tree

The square was still bustling with noise and excitement. Old Man Jiang's face was gloomy, and he said in a deep voice, "I will go to see the Grand Elder immediately and report the final results of the conference." Without waiting for anyone's response, he transformed into a streak of light and hurriedly left.

Fu Tiancheng watched the streak of light disappear before approaching Elder Feng and Peak Master Meng with a beaming smile: "Congratulations to you two fellow Daoists! In this Sword Trial Tournament, Luoyun Sect has won first place. It is truly a cause for celebration."

Elder Feng was pleased, but his expression remained calm: "It was just that the younger disciple handled the situation well and won a narrow victory. There's no need for excessive praise."

There's one more thing left unsaid: I wonder how Elder Jin of the Ancient Sword Sect will react to this outcome.

Old Man Jiang rode his escape light and landed on a solitary peak with a rugged shape, like a sharp sword piercing the sky. He walked quickly along the steep mountain path for a while, and an ancient stone pavilion came into view.

The stone pavilion sits on the edge of a cliff, where two figures, an old man and a young man, can be vaguely seen playing chess.

"Hurry up! I'm getting impatient!" Fire Dragon Boy looked impatient. He was about to win a game, but his opponent was still not making a move.

The old man playing chess with him was none other than Jin Wuhuan, the Grand Elder of the Ancient Sword Sect.

Jin Wuhuan remained calm and unmoved: "The 'Crimson Fire Lotus' you bet on in the contest will not wither even if it sits on the table for two hundred years."

On the stone table where the two sat facing each other, besides the Fire Dragon Boy's flaming lotus, three rare spiritual materials with different radiances were neatly arranged on the side of the Golden Martial Ring.

Upon seeing the two, Old Man Jiang hurriedly walked to the outside of the pavilion and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Grand Elder; greetings, Senior Uncle Lan."

Fire Dragon Boy glanced sideways at Old Man Jiang: "The results of the Sword Trial Tournament are out? Hurry up and finish speaking and leave, don't disturb us."

Old Man Jiang dared not delay and said succinctly, "Reporting back to my two senior uncles, the champion of this year's Sword Trial Tournament was ultimately won by the Luoyun Sect."

"Hmm?" Fire Dragon Boy looked surprised upon hearing this, and immediately became interested, about to ask for more details.

Just then—

"Outrageous!" Jin Wuhuan abruptly stood up, his hair standing on end in fury. "For thousands of years, the champion of this Sword Trial Tournament has never fallen to another! This time, it has been snatched away by the Luoyun Sect!"

boom--

Jin Wuhuan slammed his large palm-leaf fan down on the stone table. The stone table remained intact, but the immense spiritual power shook the chessboard into chaos.

"I'm not in the mood, I'm not playing anymore, I'm going into seclusion!" Before the Fire Dragon Child could reply, Jin Wuhuan grabbed the spiritual materials he had won from the table, transformed into a beam of light, and disappeared without a trace in a flash.

The cliffside stone pavilion fell silent, with only the howling mountain wind remaining.

"Um... Uncle Lan, that 'Spirit-Stabilizing Pill'..." Old Man Jiang cautiously looked at the expressionless Fire Dragon Boy.

"Give it to them!" Fire Dragon Child snorted irritably. "Hmph! My Ancient Sword Sect isn't sore loser!"

Old Man Jiang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bowed and retreated. He had only been a few feet away from the stone pavilion when a voice came from behind him again: "Halt. Tell me in detail the details of this competition for the title of champion."

……

At dawn the next day, in the middle of the Yunmeng Mountains, in a secluded valley that is shrouded in thick, damp mist all year round.

A white light flashed from a pile of rocks somewhere in the valley, and thirteen figures of cultivators appeared one after another.

Lin Jingchu and his group arrived using the teleportation array. In this Sword Trial Tournament, the disciples of the Luoyun Sect achieved outstanding results: Lin Jingchu won first place, Song Yu ranked third, Meng Yao fifth, and Zhan San of Huoyun Peak took ninth.

Lin Jingchu looked around. The place was extremely desolate, with jagged rocks and spiritual energy so thin that it resembled a mortal land.

"Stop looking around, follow us immediately," Elder Feng whispered, leading the way alongside Old Man Jiang, who had a stern face. Fu Tiancheng followed behind the two with a smile.

During the flight, Fu Tiancheng suddenly spoke up: "Senior Brother Feng's disciples are quite skilled. Their clone technique is exquisite; even with my early-stage Core Formation spiritual sense, it's difficult to distinguish the real from the fake without careful examination. When did your sect acquire such a unique inheritance?"

Elder Feng remained unfazed and casually fabricated a story: "This secret technique is a closely guarded secret of our sect. It requires extremely high comprehension and multiple spiritual roots to cultivate, which is why it has been sealed away for thousands of years."

He then changed the subject: "Junior Brother Fu, this must be your first time entering the Sacred Tree Secret Realm."

"That's natural." Fu Tiancheng nodded. "I wasn't even born at the last conference two hundred years ago. This time, I specifically explained to my senior brother that I should come in and take a look. After all... as a newly promoted Core Formation cultivator, if I don't accumulate some merit, I won't even have the qualification to enter this holy land for cultivation."

"Now... you'll have a real eye-opener." Elder Feng smiled slightly. "Brother Jiang, Brother Fu, please."

At this moment, the group had arrived at the edge of a bottomless cliff. The three of them stepped forward and simultaneously summoned their sect's jade tokens.

Old Man Jiang called out to the empty cliff, "I wonder which senior or junior brother is on duty here? This year's Sword Trial Tournament has come to a successful conclusion, and we have brought the top ten disciples here to receive the spiritual water cleansing."

"This year's competition... so many people from the Falling Cloud Sect have made it? No wonder Brother Feng is personally leading the team." A deep voice came from all directions, but the source of the voice could not be identified.

With that sound, the scenery before Lin Jingchu's eyes distorted and changed violently. The desolate valley instantly transformed, and a towering tree, hundreds of feet tall, appeared out of thin air atop the bottomless cliff in front of him.

Against the backdrop of that towering tree, the figure of an old man in white robes, who appeared out of nowhere and hovered in front of the tree, appeared extremely small.

Old Man Jiang bowed slightly: "So it's Senior Brother Zhao on duty here. I wonder how the preparation of the Mingqing Spirit Water is going?"

The elderly man surnamed Zhao replied, "Everything is ready. Just take your disciple inside and wait."

Old Man Jiang stopped exchanging pleasantries and, along with Elder Feng and Fu Tiancheng, led the group straight towards the barrier light gate on the surface of the giant tree.

Passing through the barrier, pure and rich spiritual energy rushed towards me, permeating my meridians and causing all the pores on my body to naturally open up, instinctively inhaling and exhaling the spiritual energy.

"As expected of the Spirit Eye Ancient Tree." Fu Tiancheng walked on the trunk of the giant tree, which was as wide as a long bridge, and couldn't help but exclaim, "If you cultivate here, your cultivation speed can increase by 20% to 30%."

Elder Feng smiled and said, "If Junior Brother Fu has the opportunity in the future, he can come to the secret realm to guard and cultivate."

Fu Tiancheng shook his head and refused: "Let's forget it. Even if I qualify to cultivate here, I'll be trapped here for fifty or sixty years. I can't stand that loneliness."

Old Man Jiang urged in a cold voice, "Alright, enough nonsense. Quickly take them to the core of the spirit tree and wait there. After they've washed their eyes, take them out." With that, he led the way and sped forward.

Elder Feng ignored the narrow-minded old man Jiang and silently led the others to follow.

Soon, the group arrived at a peculiar secret chamber deep within the giant tree. The walls and ceiling were made of thick, gnarled, and freely moving tree roots.

The next moment, everyone stopped in their tracks, their faces showing surprise.

Inside the transparent barrier ahead, two figures were playing chess: a young boy and a gray-robed cultivator.

The three Core Formation elders bowed in unison: "Greetings, Senior Fire Dragon/Senior Uncle Lan."