Chapter 561: 560. Chapter 555: Unable to Cultivate in Peace

560. Chapter 555: Unable to Cultivate in Peace

"Greetings, Dean Gu." Long Xiyue hurriedly bowed.

"Dean Gu…" Ji Xing also hurried over.

He did not go back; he only briefly purchased some healing pills before returning.

Seeing that Ji Xing was likewise at the peak of Mystic Immortal, immortal essence surging around him, Gu Min's excited voice trembled: "Good, good, truly a formidable Dao Master."

He had been optimistic about Ding Huan before; now seeing Ding Huan's two disciples both at the peak of Mystic Immortal with surging immortal essence—and this in just a few short months—

one could see just how formidable Ding Huan as a Dao Master truly was.

Gu Min specifically inquired about what Long Xiyue and Ji Xing were studying, as well as what the other students were studying.

As Zhuo Qi, Fan Qingsi, Lin Zhenruo and others returned, Gu Min became even more certain he had found a treasure.

On the Grand Dao Corridor, the most precious thing is not cultivation resources, but a Dao Master.

Because with a Dao Master, any cultivation resources can be obtained. Having cultivation resources without a Dao Master will not last.

A Dao Master like Ding Huan, once discovered by another Dao Law Academy, would absolutely be fought over madly.

"I already know about the competitions you've signed up for. You weren't favored before, and now you must definitely restrain your aura. Only by letting your opponents look down on you can you catch them off guard and strike where they are unprepared.

With that in mind, I'll impart to you a set of aura-concealing methods, especially for those of you who will be fighting…"

Gu Min had originally come looking for Ding Huan, but never expected to receive such a huge pleasant surprise.

With a pleasant surprise like this, Ding Huan's absence didn't matter much.

If he were here, he would surely escort these few students through the competition.

The eight disciples of the Contention Dao Class were overjoyed.

Vice Dean Gu Min was a six-star Dao Master; even the true Mystic Dao Class might not necessarily receive personal instruction from Vice Dean Gu Min.

Even Long Xiyue felt somewhat better, setting aside the matter of the Long Clan Immortal Race.

……

The Grand Dao Corridor Plaza, though called a plaza, was actually more bustling than the largest Xiancheng.

The sole original purpose of this place when first established was to provide a grand competition venue for the Grand Dao Corridor Dao Law Academies.

It was only because the Dao Law Academies' grand competitions were relatively frequent, and each one drew a great many people, that many people began opening rest houses and various merchant towers around the plaza's outskirts.

Then market towns appeared outside the plaza, and after the market towns, Xianchengs sprang up…

By now, the Grand Dao Corridor Plaza's outskirts had extended further and further, with all manner of market towns and Xianchengs built around it.

Even when it wasn't time for a Dao Law Academy grand competition, the place was packed.

Regardless of whether the Grand Dao Corridor had many or few people, every academy on the Grand Dao Corridor had its own dedicated outpost.

The Dao Law Academies on the Grand Dao Corridor were countless, but only about a thousand or so were qualified to participate in the Grand Dao Corridor Dao Law Academy Grand Competition.

For instance, the Eternal Wasteland Divine Powers Academy, though only a mid-tier Dao Law Academy, possessed the qualification to directly participate in the Grand Dao Corridor Dao Law Academy Grand Competition.

Many academies that wished to participate in this grand competition still had to go through layer upon layer of screening and competition, with only the final victors qualifying to come here and compete.

No sooner had the Eternal Wasteland Divine Powers Academy's participating team checked in than busybodies came over to fish for information.

After all, the entire Contention Dao Class coming to compete—this was big gossip.

It's just that the eight participating cultivator-students of the Contention Dao Class and their own academy's people had nothing to say, let alone put themselves on display for others to gawk at.

This was also Minyuan's intention.

Even without Minyuan's reminder, Ji Xing and the others wouldn't have shown off.

They had come together with the Eternal Wasteland Divine Powers Academy's other participating cultivator-students. Though no one mocked or ridiculed them to their face, that look in their eyes, and the attitude of keeping their distance—anyone would find it unbearable.

The eight people at the academy outpost spent their days either practicing sword formations together, cultivating Dao laws, or refining artifacts and talismans.

Even Class Steward Li Jiuqing couldn't help sighing: good students they were, but unfortunately they'd met a Dao Master whose ambitions soared higher than the heavens.

If you said this Dao Master wasn't responsible, well, he had every student sign up for two competition events.

Of course, the immortal crystals for participating weren't paid by the academy, nor by the Dao Master, but by the participating cultivator-students themselves.

If you said this Dao Master was responsible, then the academy grand competition was about to start, and no one knew where this Dao Master had gone off to.

The hosts of this Grand Dao Corridor Dao Law Academy Grand Competition were the Alliance Leaders of the Immortal Cultivation Alliance, Dong Jue and Zhu Qi, the Immortal Lord of the Donghe Immortal Horn.

Because Ding Huan, the sole Dao Master of the Contention Dao Class, was absent, Class Steward Li Jiuqing could only lead the Contention Dao Class's cultivator-students to attend the grand competition's opening ceremony.

Although the number of cultivator-students participating in this grand competition numbered in the hundreds of thousands, on the Grand Dao Corridor Plaza they didn't seem crowded at all.

Each academy's participating cultivator-students stood neatly outside their own academy outpost around the plaza, waiting for the two Alliance Leaders hosting this grand competition, Dong Jue and Zhu Qi, to speak.

Over a thousand academies, standing along the plaza's edge, showed not the slightest disorder.

The two academies that harvested the most divine sense on the plaza were the Western Ruins Dao Law Academy and the Eternal Wasteland Divine Powers Academy.

The Western Ruins Dao Law Academy had always ranked first; basically every Dao Law Academy competition, they obtained the most Immortal Emperor advancement slots.

Precisely because of this, the attention they received was also the greatest.

As for the Eternal Wasteland Divine Powers Academy, that was because they had pioneered something unprecedented—perhaps something with no successors either.

Every single member of the academy's Contention Dao Class had signed up for the Dao Law Academy Grand Competition.

So much divine sense focused on the Eternal Wasteland Divine Powers Academy was because people wanted to see those eight embarrassments from the Contention Dao Class.

Although no one spoke of the eight from the Contention Dao Class, the Eternal Wasteland Divine Powers Academy's other participating cultivator-students were already quite displeased in their hearts.

Losing the academy's reputation had nothing to do with them; in any case, after the Mystic Dao Class, few cultivators continued to stay at the Dao Law Academy.

The competition hadn't even started yet, and they were already drawing attention—clearly the upcoming competition would definitely be very unfavorable for the Eternal Wasteland Divine Powers Academy.

If some genius cultivator-students took this opportunity to teach them a lesson, that would be like a mute person swallowing bitter herbs—unable to complain.

Fortunately, at this moment a man in black robes landed in the middle of the Grand Dao Corridor Plaza.

Everyone recognized this man in black robes—Alliance Leader Dong Jue of the Immortal Cultivation Alliance, one of the hosts of this academy grand competition.

Dong Jue's gaze swept across the plaza, and he declared in a clear voice:

"Fellow Daoists, every time after the Grand Competition of the Grand Dao Corridor Dao Law Academy, the strength of our Grand Dao Corridor rises another step…"

This was obvious.

Because after every Grand Competition, many Immortal Emperors, Immortal Venerables, and Immortal Kings would appear; it was impossible for the Grand Dao Corridor's strength not to rise.

"The rules of the Grand Competition, I believe everyone is clear on. Next, I and Immortal Lord Zhu Qi will open the Dao Law Arena. May all of you obtain good rankings."

After Dong Jie finished speaking, he stood in a corner of the Grand Dao Square in the void; in another corner, a man in a blue robe also appeared.

This was likewise someone everyone recognized—Immortal Lord Zhu Qi of the Eastern Hel Immortal Horn.

The two grabbed out formation flags and tossed them down.

Very quickly, the enormous square emitted bursts of rumbling sounds.

Spatial Dao rhyme rippled, and immediately various competition venues appeared on the square.

The outermost one had only one entrance.

Looking at the sign outside, one could tell this was the entrance to the combat-law elimination round.

This first round of combat-law elimination was entered through this entrance, and then scored according to the order of coming out.

After that came the formation-combat venue, then the artifact-combat…

Every competition venue was spacious and orderly.

In front of the square were rows of ranking formation screens erected upright.

After every round of competition, the formation screens would display the scores, rankings, and academies.

Once the venue arrangement was complete, Dong Jie spoke again:

"Now I ask all participating cultivator-students to bring their competition identity plates and enter the first elimination round. Any violators will be killed without mercy."

Although no one dared to cheat, the words "killed without mercy" still made many participating cultivator-students shiver.

In this place there was no second form of punishment—only killing.

And precisely because the Grand Dao Corridor had such harsh legal punishments, this immortal cultivation realm possessed an order that did not match that of an immortal domain.

Li Jiuqing said somewhat nervously to Seeing Ji Xing and the others: "You all go participate in the competition. Remember one thing—we are the Striving-for-Dao Class. It's normal if we don't produce results. Absolutely do not violate the rules."

……

The place where Ding Huan was cultivating was bombarded by two magic treasures, and Ding Huan was very angry inside.

This was the second time.

No matter how many divine formations he set up, his method of cultivation would still cause Dao rhyme ripples in the surrounding space.

And in the Grand Dao Corridor, extremely few people cultivated in the wilderness.

So some cultivators who detected the ripples would send out magic treasures to attack such ripples.

Yet the Grand Dao Corridor also had a law stipulating that a cave dwelling being cultivated in the wilderness being attacked did not count as infringing on a cultivator's rights.

Ding Huan decisively transformed into the appearance of Zuo Shanyi, then opened his protective formation and stared coldly at the two people standing before him.

One man and one woman, both at the Luotian Upper Immortal realm.

"Apologies, we did not know this was a fellow Daoist's cultivation cave dwelling. We'll take our leave." Although the man was saying apologies, there was not the slightest hint of apology in his eyes.

Clearly he knew Ding Huan would not dare to make a move against them.

Ding Huan also knew he could not make a move; he even knew why these two had attacked his cave dwelling.

To say these two did not know someone was cultivating here was absolutely impossible.

But the Grand Dao Corridor wanted to stamp out cultivators practicing in the wilderness.

So their actions had the tacit approval of the authorities. After all, cultivating in the wild was uncontrollable by the authorities.

Moreover, if the Dao rhyme ripples from his cultivation were some treasure emerging or an immortal-demon cave dwelling, then they would profit enormously.

No punishment, a chance to obtain treasures, and even official recognition—of course they would attack Ding Huan's cave dwelling.

Ding Huan did not reply with a single word, only calmly watched these two leave.

The first time he had not made a move; this time, without the slightest hesitation, he used the Bone-Burrowing Dao-Devouring Poison to corrode these two fellows.

After these two left, Ding Huan simply withdrew the immortal spiritual vein he had set up and collected the formation flags.

He decided to go cultivate at the Ice Forbidden Ground where he had initially entered; such a forbidden ground was naturally beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.

Otherwise, with people disturbing his cultivation every now and then, his progress was too slow.

He absolutely could not wait until he had obtained the promotion quota and still had not reached Immortal King Completion.

As for transforming into Zuo Shanyi's appearance to administer the poison, it was to give Zuo Shanyi something to deal with, so that this fellow could not wholeheartedly charge toward Immortal Venerable.