Chapter 330: Nascent Soul Perfection (Ten-Thousand Character Chapter)

As Du En's time-acceleration liver-grinding practice began, the development and results of this Thousand-Day Grand Competition had already become known to the middle management, True Immortals, and Great Cultivators of the Falling Feather Immortal Sect.

Because Du En's overall experience was vastly different from previous Grand Competitions and appeared quite dramatic, it naturally, and without surprise, became the biggest focus this time.

"Born from the lowly working class, climbing rapidly all the way up—this child is truly not to be underestimated!"

"Consultant Meng Changqing has really found a treasure this time!"

"A new faction within the sect, with a potential vanguard general; we should give early thought to future charges and battles..."

"Haha, it doesn't really have much to do with us, why worry so much? The ones who should be most concerned about this young man right now are those in the East and South territories!"

Just as a certain True Immortal said, the substantial scope of influence regarding Du En's attention-grabbing nature currently lies mainly with those two sides.

We shall not mention the East Territory for now, as the situation is simple and follows only the will of True Monarch Huiqing.

As for the South Territory, the situation is much more complex.

Southern Pivot City.

The Lord of Pivot City, True Immortal Zhenhong, frowned slightly upon learning the relevant situation and pondered, but he did not take it to heart; after all, Du En was only at the Nascent Soul stage, and even if he could stand out among his peers, he had no extra attention to spare for him.

What he is more concerned about now is actually the hidden truth behind the Thousand-Day Grand Competition, as well as the ongoing, seemingly deadlocked bickering and disputes with Meng Changqing's side.

Although even True Immortals cannot intervene or get involved in the former matter, they can only watch cautiously and carefully, seeking to avoid getting burned.

While True Immortal Zhenhong did not take Du En's matter to heart, the various Administrators and Great Cultivators of Pivot City gathered together for a rare moment to discuss this affair.

"Du Yingcai stands out, and his momentum remains undiminished; it truly makes us feel ashamed!"

"Consultant Meng is like a tiger that has grown wings, and the prestige of his faction grows with each passing day; we should consider our stance at the right time!"

"Exactly, we must not stand on the wrong side and invite a fatal disaster!"

Right from the start, three Great Cultivators intentionally took the opportunity to set the tone, acting as if they were already part of the faction, with Meng Changqing above using this to tell them: be smart, stand in line obediently, or else!

Xu Fengjiao, the Administrator of the Construction Division who is truly a member of Meng Changqing's faction, could not help but be speechless.

I didn't even know you were already one of us!

However, it is not without reason that these three would take the opportunity to reveal their inclinations.

Firstly, the actions Du En took after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage were misunderstood by them; because they acted decisively, they gained benefits by mistake, and thus began to lean toward him.

Secondly, the exposure of Jia Yao, the secret agent from the East Territory, made some Great Cultivators here feel a sense of crisis, feeling that their subordinates might already be filled with spies, and that many of their own decisions might not have been their own!

This second point is what the Great Cultivators who had not yet joined other True Monarchs and had been wavering before found difficult to accept.

And then, there is actually a third point.

In the Grand Competition, Meng Changqing was a bit too good to his own people!

Especially when compared to other True Monarchs, this situation is highlighted even more.

"Du Yingcai has yet to fully realize his talent and is only at the Nascent Soul realm; if we are willing to be his pawns now, it couldn't be more appropriate. We could secure a position as a trusted backbone and will surely be relied upon in the future!"

Jumping the gun to occupy a position and gain benefits... once these words were spoken, other wavering Great Cultivators could not help but feel restless!

"Hmph! You want to offer yourself as a pawn, but he might not accept!"

Another Great Cultivator could not help but speak up.

"And if you join now, crowding and snatching positions, wouldn't that sow the seeds of disaster? If you have a dispute with that Du Yingcai in the future, how will you conduct yourself? How will the Consultant lean when the time comes?"

There were also Great Cultivators who only cared about this, and didn't really care much about what the previous person mentioned.

Because they are at the Spirit Severing stage, they are Great Cultivators; no matter which faction they are in, they will not be nobodies. Looking at the tolerant attitude Meng Changqing is showing now, as long as they are willing to strictly abide by the rules set by the other party, how could he not accept them?

Unless they have truly committed heinous crimes and are considered unforgivable!

But to be honest, starting as top-tier elites and climbing to where they are now, even if they wanted to truly commit heinous, unforgivable crimes, it would actually be quite difficult.

Because their starting point was very disconnected from the bottom, and even if there was targeting in the past, it was mostly directed at the lower levels—those at the Nascent Soul or Golden Core stages.

After all, what profit is there to be gained from the bottom-level Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stages?

Since the vast majority of the evil they committed was directed at people who were already evil, in the eyes of Meng Changqing, who believes those people deserve to die, it would naturally not be considered unforgivable.

Even if there were ripple effects, such as causing those targeted to target others further down, or ignoring the bottom and lower levels in various decisions made in their existing positions.

But the former has unpredictability, and the subject of the evil has already shifted.

As for the latter, just as the upper-level True Monarchs are concerned, the interior of the Falling Feather Immortal Sect is like a pool of stagnant water that has not had obvious ripples for many years. With the environment like this, they are still just middle-management executors, at most drifting with the tide.

Therefore, none of it is unforgivable.

At least, that is what they all believe.

"Indeed, rushing to grab positions now will inevitably breed disputes and contradictions when it comes to seniority in the future. It is truly not beautiful or good, and being too eager and opportunistic will also leave a bad impression on the Consultant."

Xu Fengjiao, mixed among them, spoke up and took the opportunity to offer her own suggestion: "It would be better to first show a tendency and inclination, make all kinds of preparations, and wait for Du Yingcai to break through to Spirit Severing, then follow along and act accordingly. By then, it will be a matter of course..."

"Heh!"

A cold laugh interrupted her attempt to pass off fish eyes as pearls, making her naturally slightly displeased as she turned her head to look.

She saw that Hua Ting, the Administrator of the Prison and Punishment Division, was currently holding his hands, looking calm and composed, and seemed particularly indifferent to this discussion.

The Great Cultivators could not help but fall slightly silent.

Because after the last time—which was also many years ago—when he revealed an attitude targeting Du En, they had all investigated, and now they basically all know that this person should be from the East Territory.

Therefore, even Xu Fengjiao, who had been interrupted and lost some face, did not directly retort, but instead showed patience, wanting to see what high opinion this guy had.

"You all are worrying and thinking too much."

Hua Ting's face was serious and stern, and his words were cold and hard, "The current momentum and prestige are nothing but rotten wood on the outside, without roots or water."

Hearing this, before Xu Fengjiao could say anything, the Administrator of the Alchemy and Artifact Division, who had benefited the most previously, spoke up: "Listening to Administrator Hua, could it be that you believe Du Yingcai will meet his end on this trip to the Dragon Palace?"

He was actually quite expectant, and the other Great Cultivators also fell silent, listening quietly.

If Hua Ting really revealed something pointing to a certainty, and they could generally determine what True Monarch Huiqing was going to do, then they could run to tip off Meng Changqing to win his forgiveness and trust.

At the same time, they were naturally not considering or worrying for Du En; rather, the ideal situation for them was to have it both ways!

To win favor while also hoping Du En meets his end!

One radish, one hole; the hole Du En occupies is too important, and he is at the very front, with other holes reserved for him. This makes them, these Great Cultivators, need to deliberate and consider if they want to occupy the hole. Therefore, considering it from the perspective of their own interests, what they hope for most is naturally that this hole can be left for them to occupy!

"As for the matter of exploring the Dragon Palace, although it is fraught with unpredictable dangers, I imagine that with Du Yingcai's attainments in artifact refinement, he will be able to join forces with other powerful geniuses to preserve his life and return safely."

Hua Ting naturally would not let others use him to claim credit, so he answered in a watertight manner.

Because according to the current situation, under normal logic, Du En should not run into trouble.

Or rather, either nothing goes wrong, or everything goes wrong!

Otherwise, it would only cause Meng Changqing to point the spearhead toward True Monarch Huiqing's side.

After all, this True Monarch's targeting can be described as completely overt.

"She certainly wouldn't be afraid of this, but considering that there is something she seeks within this Dragon Palace, the weight of this operation shouldn't be this..."

Xu Fengjiao made a conjecture that also appeared normal.

At the same time, she spoke up: "And what exactly did that Director Hua mean by his words just now?"

"Heh."

Hua Ting laughed again, still appearing cold, "Admittedly, Du Ying is now a powerful genius; logically speaking, he should be easier to break through to the Spirit Transformation stage than any of us present, but the problem is that he is a powerful genius in the field of artifact refinement!"

The other great cultivators remained silent, with a few people's gazes flickering slightly.

Talent in the hundred arts, while capable of guaranteeing combat power, often struggles to guarantee a match in cultivation level; it requires more diligence, more struggle, and more racking of one's brains than those with ordinary talent to utilize all aspects to assist in patching up the shortcomings in their cultivation.

In other words, it appears more difficult to break through!

"But observing Du Yingcai's cultivation, it can be described as cutting through bamboo..."

"There is no need to deceive oneself like this! You must know that up until the Nascent Soul perfection, one can still use external forces like medicinal pills to pile it up, but Spirit Transformation is a watershed; even for cultivation geniuses like us, it requires long-term accumulation before we can leap across it!"

Hua Ting said this, and as if to corroborate his own words, added: "Not to mention anything else, Du Yingcai's spiritual root is merely of the low grade; among the eight subdivided grades of spiritual roots, it belongs to the lowest. You all don't really think his previous 'cutting through bamboo' was all due to his own efforts, do you?"

"Even if his comprehension is superb, it is absolutely impossible for it to be like this!"

These words were very reasonable, making people nod secretly.

Even Xu Fengjiao had no objections.

Because Du En's side is a bottomless pit; the batch of goods she had taken the opportunity to accumulate previously had, through various turns, basically all been moved over to serve as the cornerstone for his cultivation.

Therefore, if she had any opinion, she would only say that being able to accurately and rapidly convert resources into cultivation is actually a remarkable talent, proving that the restrictions on his side are perhaps only that innate spiritual root shackle!

After all, if you brought someone with similar natural endowments over, not to mention wasting and stuffing so much, just by giving him a handful of pills of the same grade, he would still struggle and take months or even years to refine and digest them.

However, she certainly couldn't say that here, so her eyes rolled, and she appeared joyful: "In that case, leaning in and occupying a position early doesn't seem impossible, right?"

The directors of the Pill and Artifact Department, who had originally appeared somewhat dispirited and silent, felt their hearts stir upon hearing this.

That's right, since Du Yingcai's breakthrough might be hindered, it means Consultant Meng will have no one to use for a period of time; they only need to choose the right moment to jump over, and that would be exactly the right time to enter the pit and occupy a position!

It's just that, in such matters, the first one to go, the one in a hurry, might not necessarily be able to eat the fully cooked crab.

Moreover, perhaps Du En is actually capable of breaking through, so there is no need to rush now; wait until ten years later, if he is still stuck at Nascent Soul perfection, then they can tidy themselves up and defect over in a clean and timely manner.

Of course, the best result is still to hope that True Monarch Huiqing can be effective and pull this radish occupying the position out by the roots as soon as possible!

Several people immediately thought of the same thing in unison, though on the surface they still appeared silent, merely lifting the slightly dispirited atmosphere back up, holding onto the scale to decorate their exteriors.

Therefore, Hua Ting naturally noticed the subtle changes in this invisible atmosphere; he glanced at Xu Fengjiao, his eyes slightly closed, faintly revealing a hint of displeasure.

Clearly, he had already pulled the atmosphere off course, only for it to be dragged back like this; he was naturally dissatisfied!

You actually still dare to be dissatisfied!

Clearly, you were the one who made me lose face first!

Xu Fengjiao was secretly annoyed in her heart; based on the overall situation, she had wanted to ignore it and pretend not to notice, but suddenly thinking of something, she spoke again: "Having said that, I actually think Du Yingcai's low-grade spiritual root might not necessarily become an obstacle to his breakthrough."

Hua Ting: "..."

"At the end of the day, the direct influence of a low-grade spiritual root is merely providing a prerequisite for cultivation; it is not particularly profound. Before the great hurdle of Spirit Transformation, it can be supplemented by many external forces. In fact, it basically does not hinder the breakthrough to Spirit Transformation and subsequent cultivation; on the contrary, because it is not profound enough, it can even have some slight conveniences!"

Xu Fengjiao only said this much and did not elaborate further.

How to put it, she still had to control the scale and leave Hua Ting a little face.

After all, she still had to pretend she wasn't a member of the Meng faction, and previously, the two of them and their two departments had actually been relatively close, which could be seen from the various collaborations in their subordinate affairs.

Because it involved the issue of everyone's retreat later on, they still needed to continue that cooperation, so it was not appropriate to go too far right now.

It was just that there was a situation that needed to be hinted at in this way.

Sure enough, she saw Hua Ting speak: "Indeed, whether it is a top-grade spiritual root or a low-grade spiritual root, in essence, they only provide a prerequisite for cultivation and determine a basic lower limit, but since there is a specific distinction between high and low, it naturally has its own necessity."

He intentionally emphasized this point, looking like he was just engaging in a meaningless war of words.

But some great cultivators pondered it and tasted something in it.

The low-grade spiritual root is actually not the key; with Meng Changqing there, making up for this deficiency is very easy, but the key is that since extra work is required, it means there must be a process in between.

In this way, as long as one is calculating, one will surely find some opportunity... Is True Monarch Huiqing's subsequent targeting of Du Yingcai in this process?!

The key to the Dragon Palace trip lies in the secrets hidden within; it is unlikely she will be distracted, as that is not a place she can easily manage and control.

But obstructing and killing Du En is a necessary thing to do!

In this way...

Hua Ting's eyelids couldn't help but twitch, realizing he had spoken too much.

Tsk!

We have cooperated too much before...

He glanced at Xu Fengjiao, who was now composed and faintly triumphant, as if she had just been thinking about winning back face, and a hint of murderous intent flashed obscurely in his heart.

The two departments had cooperated too much in the past, and he had also deliberately tried to win her over and associate with her, leading to his own temperament being understood quite deeply. Now that she was showing tendencies similar to those in the Pill and Artifact Department, she needed to be dealt with to avoid leaving future troubles!

Although he thought this way, the opportunity was truly hard to find!

Here in Hub City, True Monarch Zhenhong overhead would not care about their small maneuvers in choosing sides, but he would certainly mind if they made any big moves that destroyed the stable environment—which, although currently involving bickering and disputes with Meng Changqing, was still good and acceptable!

Thinking of this situation, Hua Ting couldn't help but sigh secretly and could only choose to restrain himself for the time being.

This discussion also drew to a close amidst the different hearts and flowing thoughts of the people.

Du En naturally did not know about this situation.

He is currently racing against time, steadily grinding forward.

Amidst time acceleration.

After one hundred days, Ice Soul Art broke through to Mastery.

After four hundred days, Ice Soul Art broke through to Grand Completion.

After nine hundred days, Ice Soul Art broke through to Ultimate Perfection.

Even for the proficiency bar of a high-grade spell, it still requires spending quite a lot of time now to be able to grind it to full.

Turning his attention back, he focused all his energy on Meteor Rock Art, but until this cultivation session ended, there was still no breakthrough here.

The proficiency bar of a supreme-grade spell, at this moment as always, makes one feel that time is simply not enough.

It is worth mentioning that during this cultivation session, at the seven hundred and twenty-fifth day, Du En's culinary skill officially broke through to Ultimate Perfection.

The first hundred-arts skill to reach perfection, now even sixth-tier spirit food can be cooked... although that is said, there is one point worth noting, which is that spirit food, because it can be achieved through shortcuts, its effect at the same tier is often not enough to compare to pills and the like.

Therefore, the efficacy of sixth-tier low-to-mid-grade spirit food is basically equivalent to fifth-tier top-grade pills, and in terms of ingredients, one can rely on piling up fifth-tier spirit items to reach it through shortcuts.

Thus, at the moment of his breakthrough, Du En specifically took the time to ask Meng Changqing a question: could he supply him with sixth-tier spirit items in sufficient quantity and quality in the future?

Relying on the sufficient quantity and quality of sixth-tier items, he would be able to try to pile up seventh-tier spirit food...

"Get lost!"

This was the answer from this quasi-True Monarch.

It is very obvious that it is not possible.

Let alone sixth-tier ones, fifth-tier ones are actually very difficult.

In other words, although it is still considered far away from now, it is also necessary to consider changing lanes; he cannot remain fixated on the situation of spirit food.

But as a result, a new problem has appeared!

The most obvious similar path known, which is the side of pills, is obviously not something where he can have as much raw material as he wants; he will still face the resource dilemma of spirit food, and it might even be greater.

Because alchemy cannot be shortcut; fifth-tier spirit herbs can only refine fifth-tier pills, so those sixth-tier precious pills absolutely require sixth-tier spirit herbs!

Regarding this, he did not dwell on it too much; he temporarily suppressed these thoughts and refocused on the present.

Time reached one thousand and twenty days of time acceleration.

This day.

Du En's cultivation base broke through, and his Nascent Soul reached perfection!

Boom~

One responding, one ascending.

Du En's upward-rising lower dantian Qi sea, and the middle dantian Crimson Palace which had long since merged into one with it, at this moment went straight into the clouds, merging and combining with that towering divine palace above the clouds.

The three palaces merged, the meridians were restructured, and then, the divine heart-sound.

The final step of Nascent Soul stage cultivation, the merging of the divine soul into the Nascent Soul, reached perfection here; in the invisible and silent, Du En had already understood and grasped the path ahead.

It was precisely the heart-sound guidance brought by the merging of the three palaces.

Looking inward at the Heavenly Spirit Purple Mansion, he only saw a palace standing above the green waves, the surrounding magic flame flowers blooming more and more, emitting a more dreamlike halo, shrouding and surrounding this palace, making it seem to exist yet not exist, appearing and disappearing, even more profound and distant.

Du En's Nascent Soul can already be said to be himself.

Because at this moment intention and soul are merged, soul and Nascent Soul are merged, and there is even a heart residing within; naturally, his entire physical cultivation base, combined with his virtual intention and heart, are all fused together, with only one 'self' remaining.

He opened his eyes, his hands felt scorching hot, the Phoenix Blood Spear was as always, wanting to block his forward progress, but it was still as always, without the slightest actual impact.

Instead, it could even help him illuminate the palace!

Although humans are born with spiritual intelligence, the divine palace is still covered in chaos, blocking and hiding the soul; cultivators move forward step by step, normally at the Deity Transformation stage, they should clear away this kind of innate soul-confusing chaos, thereby allowing themselves to be completely introspective and clear.

At this moment Du En opened his eyes, red eyes and golden pupils, wherever his gaze reached, green waves covered everything, flame flowers bloomed, clearing away all the innate soul-confusing chaos, allowing the interior of the divine palace to complete clarity ahead of time.

It is ancient, it is towering, it is indestructible, as if it has existed since the beginning of time.

When the barrier completely dissipated and the inside and outside were connected, this innate divine palace was finally completely controlled by Du En, meaning he had reached his current limit in terms of his divine soul, obtaining the most solid divine soul barrier of his own.

His divine sense surged and skyrocketed, directly reaching the level of covering five hundred miles.

However, relatively speaking, it was basically useless for promoting the cultivation of techniques.

There was no obvious promotion like when the three palaces started merging last time.

The reason is actually very simple: right now, it is still one step away from having a substantial and fundamental change, or rather, it is only after truly finishing this long stretch of road that one arrives before the result.

There will be changes at the start, symbolizing the beginning, and one will naturally have changes when stopping to obtain results, and even greater ones, but the middle stage is a difficult journey of searching and moving forward.

Even if it is only one step away, it is still completely different!

But speaking back to the present, Du En has already taken a big step forward in advance; in terms of divine soul and Nascent Soul, he has reached the great level of a genius, the theoretical extreme of the Nascent Soul stage, the best of the best.

Only one step away from transforming into a deity, however.

"It requires fifteen hundred years of water-grinding effort..."

Relying on his own innate foundation, this is just such a situation.

It would take so many years to slowly obtain the momentum to take that step.

This is even because he has the panel, and can achieve accumulation by grinding, which is why he could do it.

If he didn't have it, under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to complete such an accumulation!

"Accumulating over time, bit by bit, turning decay into magic, so now, maintaining all these bonuses, it only takes about three years."

From the early stage to the middle stage is about three years, from the middle stage to the late stage is also about the same, and now from the late stage to perfection, and perfection to Deity Transformation, they are all about the same.

Twelve years to Deity Transformation!

It has already caught up to the speed of Meng Changqing's peerless talent back then!

"Of course, in reality, there is still a difference."

Du En clearly knows this point, because he had taken the time to ask the other party.

The other party's answer was that after being brought back by the old immortal and taken as a disciple, they had already been gradually changing their cultivation scriptures, and by the Nascent Soul stage, it was already a situation of complete conversion.

The best, most profound, and most difficult-to-practice immortal scriptures of this world naturally have a very, very large gap compared to the high-grade cultivation methods Du En has here.

Therefore, the situations cannot be spoken of in the same breath or generalized!

He calmly examined this situation, without secret joy, without dejection.

Only after clearly understanding the situation would he continue to step forward steadily.

As for now, the accelerating torrent of time was clearly beginning to weaken, rapidly syncing with the normal speed of the outside world; subtle changes emerged in his body, as nearly three years of time had slipped away.

However, his breakthrough this time had increased his lifespan by another fifty years, so naturally, there was no need to worry about this situation.

He took one last look at the panel.

【Age: 49/1333】

【Spirit Root: Low-grade】

【Cultivation: Nascent Soul Perfection (0/100)】

【Cultivation Method: Green-Yellow Canon (Great Accomplishment 32079/50000)】

【Spells: Meteor Rock Technique (Mastery 199480/300000), Sandstorm Technique (Initial Glimpse 12500/20000), Ice Soul Technique (Perfected to the Extreme), Profound Armor Colossus (Initial Glimpse 12500/20000), Myriad Defense Technique (Initial Glimpse 1000/20000), Phoenix Red True Flame (Mastery 134/300), Grass and Trees Become a Forest (Initial Glimpse 1500/20000), Devour Law Graft Spirit (Initial Glimpse 1500/20000)】

【Divine Ability: Bury Death Flourish Life (Mastery 0/300)】

【Hundred Arts: Gathering Appraisal (Great Accomplishment 0/500), Culinary Cooking (Perfected to the Extreme), Spirit Seeking (Mastery 0/300), Artifact Refining (Mastery 0/300)】

Because it was Meng Changqing's first time accelerating, there were slight deficiencies, and he could only maintain the original efficiency; thus, the grinding of the canon here did not see a very obvious increase, and the time for the cultivation breakthrough was also affected to some extent.

However, even so, calculating it, the cultivation method would still be fully practiced before the Spirit Severing stage.

Hmm, strive to settle the Dragon Palace matter before then, obtain a top-grade cultivation method, and then, when breaking through to the Spirit Severing stage, find a way to smoothly switch cultivation; in this way, one could obtain a better new starting point.

Although he was not particular about this and could actually just grind step-by-step, Du En had always been one to strive for perfection whenever possible.

Then, he stopped paying attention to the various numbers that, in truth, had not changed much.

Before the time-acceleration torrent stopped, he hurriedly unleashed a barrage of bombardment to verify and confirm all the various changes after his breakthrough.

Especially at the end, a five-hundred-foot large-scale Meteor Rock, infused with as much mana as possible and heavily piled on in quantity, was truly like a star falling from the heavens, far stronger than those who had normally cultivated to perfection.

Boom!!!

It smashed directly, leaving Meng Changqing, who had just opened the grass hut door, feeling very helpless, and causing the four people waiting outside to welcome and congratulate him to be blown off their feet by the wind stirred up by the aftermath, stumbling about.

"You really don't treat this place as my home!"

The dust and smoke surged, only to be wiped away by a wave of a hand; the impact brushed his face, leaving the quasi-True Monarch with a stomachache.

Du En straightened his clothes and turned to look, his expression unchanged in the slightest, and he spoke in turn: "I can treat this place as my residence and cave dwelling."

Since it is a residence and cave dwelling for cultivation practice, one's own home, then no matter how much one wreaks havoc, it is fine!

Hearing this, Meng Changqing's mouth twitched, and he really wanted to tell him to get lost, but considering his situation, it was hard to say if this place might truly become his lair for a period of time, so he could only be speechless and choked with silence, wanting nothing more than to quickly merge his Dao body.

As long as he became a True Monarch, he wouldn't have to stay at home all the time and could take actual, effective action.

Naturally, no matter how noisy Du En was here, it wouldn't disturb him.

"Alright, it's time to set off."

Du En said to himself, prompting the four elites who had just stood steady to immediately recite the words they had prepared.

All sorts of phrases like "smooth sailing," "initial victory," and "prosperous martial fortune"... a string of unique remarks made Meng Changqing's skin twitch slightly.

As expected, the previous ones were just perfunctory!

In the end, this person was the boss!

Thinking this, he suddenly had the urge to borrow the strength of his true self to give Du En, who was walking past him, a hard pat on the shoulder.

The goal was to make him truly understand that here, he was the master, he was the boss, and not the illusion that you were the one in charge because of how you acted and spoke.

"However, relying only on a clone now, I can no longer achieve this!"

Watching Du En turn from his side to his back, Meng Changqing, who ultimately did not take action, just stood with his hands behind his back, feeling quite emotional inside.

"Indeed, back then, he couldn't even take the second move of my heavily damaged clone, and now, he is already able to attempt to crush that clone of mine head-on."

The voice of True Monarch Zhuding sounded in his ear.

Meng Changqing lifted his eyelids slightly, not caring about this sharp-eyed person, and only transmitted his voice back: "This time I chose you to lead the team, not minding that you have always wanted to poach my people; you must reward me well."

"Don't always treat him like a child; he doesn't need us to over-supervise him."

"I know, I am talking about outside the Dragon Palace."

"Rest assured, outside the Dragon Palace, without you saying it, I will not let him, let them, encounter accidents or danger."

True Monarch Zhuding said it as a matter of course, as if heaven had ordained it so.

Meng Changqing, however, was not so optimistic, only nodding slightly while hiding his worries.

After all, this matter involves the Supreme!

The guarantee of a powerful True Monarch also appears quite powerless at this moment.

Therefore, the intention of choosing him to lead the team actually lies in only one point.

When it truly comes time to make a trade-off, Du En can be placed in the first or second position.

Only True Monarch Zhuding can ensure this.

Truly, True Monarch Chengru and True Monarch Huiqing both show hostility toward Du En, especially the latter, who is completely unreliable and the type who would only take the opportunity to sabotage people.

As for True Monarch Buyi, he actually doesn't need to worry; he will inevitably take care of a heaven-gifted seedling like Du En and won't let him be broken by excessive storms.

But the key is, this True Monarch at the early stage of Body Integration is not strong enough!

Even True Monarch Huiqing, the reason she was simply voted out this time, was because Meng Changqing spoke bluntly, saying her strength was not up to par and she could not become a ballast stone to gain the unanimous approval of the others.

In the upper echelons of Luoyu, the only ones with the ability to guarantee a trade-off are the first two, who have too strong and sufficient a first-mover advantage.

True Monarch Chengru is undoubtedly stronger and can be called unfathomable, but because of this, he is instead unsuitable; after all, that guy's intention to pull chestnuts from the fire is quite obvious, so when only two choices remained, the last three briefly formed an alliance again and voted this one out together.

True Monarch Zhuding was thus the choice of the people.

"A bunch of guys who don't let one worry; clearly the old immortals are still pressing down on top and haven't died yet, sigh~!"

Meng Changqing muttered to himself in silent criticism.

True Monarch Zhuding looked at the unmasked other party and likewise felt some silent emotion.

Little Junior Brother, oh Little Junior Brother, you are also one of those who make people worry!

As the thought flowed by, he raised his gaze and issued instructions to the various peaks of his sect.

"Everyone, assemble at the Zhongdu teleportation plaza."

It was time to set off.

The selected candidates, who had long since finished recovering and were well-rested, began to take action one after another.

As the leader this time, Jiang Ying had fully recovered and had even chosen a Daoist technique; if she had already mastered it, her strength went without saying, having increased wildly and tremendously to an unfathomable degree.

As the runner-up, Nangong Sheng's physical Nascent Soul had been reshaped once more, all his wounds and disabilities were gone, his aura was even more restrained, and the fleeting glimpse of his fighting spirit was shocking; he had clearly reached a higher level.

The unquestionable third place, Lou Shuyue, swayed with a graceful gait, her eyes bright and teeth white, looking pitiful and charming; well, she looked the same as always, with nothing worth paying attention to.

Du En silently withdrew his gaze without any extra lingering, which made her grit her teeth in secret.

He was the dark horse that went without saying, a sudden emergence; at this moment, his Nascent Soul was already at Great Perfection, flawless and perfect, making up for his lack of raw strength and appearing unfathomable, causing the other ten people to yield and stop, not daring to presume to take his place.

The four people stood in four places, occupying the four corners; two of them stood out from the crowd, Du En and Jiang Ying, because the factions they represented had only themselves present.

Conversely, Nangong Sheng brought six people behind him, while Lou Shuyue brought four.

The gender ratio was unexpectedly balanced, with fourteen people consisting of seven men and seven women, and among the top four, two men and two women.

True Monarch Zhuding appeared quietly in the midst of the group; at this moment, his prestige was restrained, appearing as natural as the Dao, as if he had always been standing there, without any sense of abruptness or suddenness.

Only Du En felt it was a bit sudden.

Because his three palaces were merged, his divine palace was clear, and he guarded his selfhood fiercely, his resistance to interference and intervention was raised significantly to the theoretical limit of his Nascent Soul stage, which could be considered having some of the bearing of a great cultivator, so he alone could perceive a tiny difference compared to the others at this moment.

Of course, he was expressionless, as always, and others could not see this anomaly at all.

True Monarch Zhuding glanced at him secretly; clearly, he had deliberately controlled the scale of his concealment just now.

However, he did not speak or transmit his voice additionally at this moment, only urging the operation of the teleportation plaza, causing a pillar of white iron to descend from the sky.

Boom!

It shook Tong Wenrong, this City Lord of Lin'an City, so much that his calves trembled, his potbelly rippled, and he almost couldn't stand; fortunately, there were two others beside him who were also unsteady, and the three of them leaned on and supported each other, only then managing to stand firm.

On the left was Zuo Kui, and on the right was Zuo Rou, one man and one woman; the man was burly, the woman was soft and beautiful, and they were the two great Golden Core stage managers of the inner and outer cities, exactly Tong Wenrong's right-hand men, appearing exceptionally symmetrical.

Back then, the incident in Lin'an City was that the former outer city manager, Zhou Ze, practiced demonic arts, devouring children to nourish himself; among them, there were many women and female cultivators who sold their children for glory, seeking a life of luxury and comfort.

After the incident, they were all wiped out by the Rotten Forest Immortal Sect.

Subsequently, Zuo Kui held the post of outer city manager for a period of time, and only later was Zuo Rou, this female cultivator, specifically transferred over to avoid a repeat of the Zhou Ze incident.

The three of them working together could be considered normal.

It was just that, as always, after knowing the bottom line, Zuo Rou couldn't help but mutter about Tong Wenrong.

Because he was truly too cowardly, even when embezzling spirit stones, he would be terrified just taking ten high-grade spirit stones a year.

There was another point: through checking old accounts, she discovered the matter of selling third-tier spirit beasts back then.

Although it was in the inner city's beast arena, it had now been replenished and restored, and by relying on various other finished magical items in the interim, no accidents had occurred.

But the impact of this spirit beast breeding matter would spread from the inside to the outside, just happening to coincide with the time she took office.

She had originally been entrusted with this task in a crisis and was trembling with fear; upon checking the accounts, good heavens, why was the gap in second-tier spirit beasts in the outer city so large, and why did they all have to be transferred into the inner city?!

Her vision almost went black at the time, and she hurriedly ran to question him, but it ended without result.

"Sect travels, the sect..."

At this moment, Zuo Rou thought in her heart and looked up at the white iron pillar reaching the sky; it was impossible for it to appear here in normal times, but now it had landed in the City Lord's Mansion, causing the whole city to shake, and everyone put down their work and turned to look.

It was taller than a mountain, connecting heaven and earth, standing upright to the sky, like a pillar from ancient times, making people unable to help but feel terrified from the bottom of their hearts, and all at once they knelt down to welcome it like falling wheat, not daring to look up directly again.

Those who were still well-informed could not help but feel their hair stand on end after the shock.

With such a commotion, could it be that they were going to war with the Rotten Forest Immortal Sect?!

However, they, who were nervous, did not discover any signs of a war breaking out on the other side of the river outside the city—at this moment, it was quiet over there, without the slightest reaction.

Even so, they did not dare to relax and remained extremely nervous.

The three Golden Core stage upper-level officials at the City Lord's Mansion were likewise incomparably nervous.

Just within their peripheral vision, the white iron pillar reaching the sky began to rise, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the horizon, as if its existence just now was merely an illusion.

Remaining in place was only the rising hot smoke; the teleportation courtyard was somewhat overwhelmed, and the wisps of white smoke rising from the dissipation of the spiritual energy environment filled and shrouded the fifteen people inside.

Although the momentum did not spread, it was incomparably clear.

Nascent Soul stage, and all of them were at Nascent Soul Great Perfection!

Terrifying to this extent!

Let alone Tong Wenrong's cowardly nature, even the other two, one rigid and one soft, likewise only felt their legs go weak, wanting to bow and scrape, prostrating themselves on the ground!

No matter which one of them it was, to them, they were all high above, far superior.

However, at this very moment.

"City Lord Tong, Manager Zuo, long time no see."

Du En appeared to go his own way, casting his voice over without caring about anything.

(End of chapter)