Chapter 456: 455. Chapter 450: The Immortal Sect Ranking Tournament

455. Chapter 450: The Immortal Sect Ranking Tournament

With the final wave of Lei Jie passing, Ding Huan's cultivation stabilized at Xuan Immortal Level Two.

This sparked a sudden idea in Ding Huan: every time he underwent Tribulation Crossing, his cultivation advanced rapidly.

If his body could withstand it, training continuously in a state of Tribulation Crossing—wouldn't his progress shoot up like a rocket?

There are two reasons why cultivation advances quickly during Tribulation Crossing. First, the source of the tribulation lightning contains the laws of heaven and earth with exceptional clarity, and this lightning is exceptionally pure and ideal for absorption and cultivation.

Second, during Tribulation Crossing, the laws of all things are also at their clearest.

This effect on him should be slightly weaker, since he cultivates the Great Cosmos Art without undergoing Tribulation Crossing, yet still perceives the laws of all things with great clarity.

"Greetings, fellow cultivator. Just now, my companion and I passed by and witnessed your Tribulation Crossing; we felt deep admiration, so we paused to observe. Please forgive our intrusion."

A voice interrupted Ding Huan's thoughts.

Ding Huan's gaze fell upon the two approaching figures.

One was at the Da Luo Immortal realm, the other on the verge of completing Xuan Immortal.

To be honest, watching someone undergo Tribulation Crossing without permission was taboo.

But Ding Huan didn't care; he nodded: "Forget it. It didn't affect me."

Saying this, Ding Huan turned to leave.

But the Da Luo Immortal cultivator spoke again: "Fellow cultivator, would you be willing to participate in the Great Immortal Domain's Immortal Sect Ranking Tournament?"

"The Great Immortal Domain Ranking Tournament?" Ding Huan had heard of it, but knew few details.

Originally, Hua Hua Xiaoqian of the Chiyunu Sect had taken Wen Zhixi as a disciple largely because Wen Zhixi knew Void Array Inscriptions.

Hua Hua Xiaoqian wanted Wen Zhixi to represent the Chiyunu Sect in the Array Division of the Immortal Sect Ranking Tournament.

"Yes, it's hosted by the Immortal Court, once every hundred years. The main competitions are in Dao Art, Pills, Artifacts, Arrays, and Talismans—and this time, an Immortal Court Dao Jun will personally preside over the tournament.

After the matches conclude, the Dao Jun will lecture on Dao for three months." The Da Luo Immortal, sensing Ding Huan's interest, became even more enthusiastic in his explanation.

Ding Huan was deeply suspicious: why was this guy explaining so clearly? Was he trying to get me to help?

Right now, he was thinking of Wen Zhixi.

How had Wen Zhixi been doing after all this time?

He was now certain: when Hua Hua Xiaoqian of the Chiyunu Sect saw Wen Zhixi's array art, she immediately recruited her into the sect—this was absolutely because of the Immortal Sect Ranking Tournament.

Should he go see Wen Zhixi?

While Ding Huan hesitated, the Da Luo Immortal bowed to him:

"Fellow cultivator, I am from the Dafanxian Sect, Elder Elder Ming Mu. This is our sect's core senior disciple, Yan Sha.

We intruded upon your Tribulation Crossing out of boldness—mainly because I wish to invite you to join the Dafanxian Sect and represent us in the Combat Division of the Immortal Sect Tournament."

Ding Huan said coolly: "I won't join your sect."

Elder Ming Mu hurriedly said: "You misunderstand. If you wish to join the Dafanxian Sect, you will become our number one core disciple.

If you have no intention of joining, I wish to invite you to temporarily join our sect and represent Dafanxian in the competition. Of course, as compensation, all prizes you win during the tournament will be yours alone.

Additionally, if you place in the top three, the Dafanxian Sect will gift you a mid-grade Immortal Spirit Vein…"

Ding Huan's eyes lit up: a mid-grade Immortal Spirit Vein? That was worth having.

"What's the prize for first place in Dao Art?" Ding Huan already had the intention to participate.

"A top-grade Immortal Spirit Vein, plus a permit to enter and exit the Immortal Court at will, and one Da Zhi Immortal Pill, plus a top-grade flying Immortal Artifact…" Elder Ming Mu said.

Ding Huan immediately agreed: "Fine. But I have one condition: because I've made enemies, I'll need to disguise myself during the combat matches."

The Da Zhi Immortal Pill and the Immortal Court access permit were useless to Ding Huan. The top-grade flying Immortal Artifact was optional.

But that top-grade Immortal Spirit Vein? That was something he truly wanted.

Elder Ming Mu paused, then frowned.

Ding Huan said: "Don't worry. My disguise technique is strong—even an Immortal King might not see through it. As for an Immortal Emperor, unless he stands face-to-face with me, he won't recognize me either."

"Hahaha, no problem!" Elder Ming Mu laughed heartily and agreed to Ding Huan's condition.

He guessed Ding Huan possessed a disguise treasure surpassing top-grade Immortal Artifact—otherwise he wouldn't dare make such a claim.

Ding Huan said: "I'm Lao Liu. Tell me a location. I have some matters to attend to, then I'll go straight there to compete for Dafanxian Sect."

Ding Huan had originally wanted to name himself Zhang San.

Naming himself Zhang San had several advantages: first, it would lure Du Yue Xingjun to the Gu Gu Xian Domain.

Du Yue Xingjun should still be detained; once he found this place, Ding Huan could return to the Immortal Court and find another spot to continue his cultivation.

Then Ding Huan realized: if he called himself Zhang San, he might endanger the Dafanxian Sect—so he casually chose Lao Liu.

"Very well. Here is your Dafanxian Sect outer disciple identity jade token. The Immortal Sect Ranking Tournament begins in one month, and this year's location is Ban Ting Xiancheng."

Elder Ming Mu happily handed Ding Huan the Dafanxian Sect outer disciple identity jade token.

If Ding Huan could help Dafanxian Sect secure a top-three ranking, the sect would gladly pay even more.

It wasn't that he refused to give Ding Huan an inner disciple token—he lacked the authority. Besides, inner disciples of the sect must imprint their spiritual essence into the sect's core.

Ding Huan had not imprinted his spiritual essence into Dafanxian Sect; if he achieved outstanding results, he'd be accused of cheating.

"Ban Ting Xiancheng?" Ding Huan asked, puzzled.

He had a map jade of the Great Immortal Domain—he'd never seen a Ban Ting Immortal Domain.

Elder Ming Mu smiled: "If you've been in seclusion, you wouldn't know about Ban Ting Immortal Domain. It was established less than two years ago.

The reason is that the Gray Crystal deposits between Ban Ting Sea and the Gray Sea have surged, drawing more cultivators into Ban Ting Sea. The small market by the shore became insufficient, and with the Immortal Sect Ranking Tournament approaching—

The Immortal Court simply built an Immortal City on the edge of Ban Ting Sea. That city is Ban Ting Xiancheng.

Ban Ting Xiancheng's scale won't be smaller than Genggu Immortal Dao City, and since it's a new city, the Immortal Sect Ranking Tournament is being held here."

So that's how it was.

Ding Huan tucked away the Dafanxian Sect outer disciple identity jade token: "In that case, I will reach Ban Ting Xiancheng within one month to compete for Dafanxian Sect."

"Good. Not far from here is Bai Zhu Xiancheng; the Hundred Tribes Xiancheng has a teleportation array directly to Ban Ting Xiancheng. Brother Liu has nearly a month to prepare." Ming Mu spoke with decisive clarity.

After Ding Huan left, Yan Sha cautiously asked, "Elder Ming, isn't this a bit too risky?"

Ming Mu smiled: "Risky? It's merely giving away one combat slot—what risk is there? If our sect truly scores high, the gains will be more than ten thousandfold."

Did you see his Lei Jie? Even a Da Yi Xian's Lei Jie couldn't be more terrifying than his."

An Xuan Immortal born from such a Lei Jie—do you think he's ordinary? Besides, do you think only our sect recruits temporary disciples for the competition?"

Other sects do the same—some even recruit more than we do."

"Elder Ming, in the Great Immortal Realm, aren't nearly all cultivators below powerful Da Yi Xian sect disciples? If Brother Liu is truly as strong as you say, there can't be many like him in the Great Immortal Realm."

"What do you know? They hire people from the Immortal Court, just like us—once rewards are granted, all benefits go to the competing disciples."

…

Ding Huan had already returned to San Shi San Dao. The moment he came back, he saw Rong Rong Xiyu had also broken through into the Golden Immortal realm.

Ding Huan did not disturb Rong Rong Xiyu. He pulled out a pile of Immortal Crystals and resumed his cultivation.

Rong Rong Xiyu remained immersed in her cultivation. She had just broken through to Golden Immortal First Layer and was stabilizing her foundation when suddenly she felt the surrounding heavenly laws grow clear once more.

She immediately understood—it was Ding Huan's return. How could she let such an opportunity slip? She frantically surged the Immortal Qi to restore her cultivation.

In truth, Rong Rong Xiyu didn't need to draw in Immortal Qi herself. Once Ding Huan's Great Universe Art activated, the Immortal Qi from the Immortal Veins and Immortal Crystals was all swept toward her.

Combined with the Gathering Spirit Immortal Array, the Immortal Qi within the bamboo hut had long since thickened to the point of being visible to the naked eye.

In just five days, Ding Huan broke through to Xuan Immortal Third Layer.

Twenty more days passed, and Ding Huan shattered the early stage of Xuan Immortal, reaching Xuan Immortal Fourth Layer.

Only then did Ding Huan cease his cultivation.

He was going to Ban Ting Xiancheng to participate in the Sect Ranking Competition—he absolutely could not miss those two Immortal Veins.

Cultivating atop this high-grade Immortal Vein made progress as easy as drinking water. How could Ding Huan possibly miss such a top-tier cultivation resource?

For him, to rapidly increase his cultivation, he needed only top-tier cultivation resources. Immortal Veins were precisely that for him.

In both the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Immortal Court, nearly ninety-nine percent of Immortal Veins had already been seized. To obtain an Immortal Vein, the Sect Ranking Competition was one of the best ways.

Rong Rong Xiyu was ecstatic—her cultivation had reached Golden Immortal Sixth Layer.

As her cultivation advanced, her understanding of the Dao deepened further. As long as Immortal Source remained sufficient, her recovery would only accelerate.

While Ding Huan cultivated, the surrounding heavenly Immortal Qi had nearly formed Immortal Mist—she merely needed to absorb it, and her cultivation could not slow down even if she tried.

"Sister Rong," Ding Huan gently tapped the seal on Rong Rong Xiyu's cultivation chamber.

Rong Rong Xiyu immediately opened the seal: "Brother Ding, are you leaving?"

From Ding Huan's demeanor, Rong Rong Xiyu knew he was about to depart.

Since Ding Huan was much younger than her and showed no intention of suppressing her, she decided to simply address him as Brother Ding.

"Yes. I may not return here again."