Chapter 109

If you say you’re going to give someone a beating, then you absolutely must give them a beating!

74. The First Internal Sparring Match of Shushan

Perhaps it was because he had learned of his own tragic fate to come.

Even as Venti looked at the exquisite scenery of Shushan, he could no longer muster any spirit.

Yet, deep down, he was still faintly looking forward to witnessing the true foundation Zhongli possessed now that he had begun cultivating immortality.

And...

Glancing at Zhongli, Venti always felt that Zhongli was now brimming with youthful vitality, completely devoid of that weary, twilight feeling caused by erosion in the past.

There was no need to ask; one look was enough to see that his erosion had truly been completely healed.

Venti was quite happy for Zhongli.

As the longest-living Archon currently in Teyvat, Zhongli’s erosion had been the most profound.

Now that he could eliminate that erosion, Venti, as a friend, was very happy for him.

Zhongli did not take them to see much outside of Shushan.

He didn't even descend toward the Shushan village.

He simply flew them rapidly in a circle around the seven peaks of Shushan before leading them toward Dragon Head Peak.

Not long after, the group landed on the plaza halfway up Dragon Head Peak.

Not far away was the Nine Nether Secret Realm rooted on Dragon Head Peak.

The white cranes seemed to bid the group farewell, turning their heads to fly toward Bamboo Peak.

Lisa watched the white cranes leave and chuckled softly:

"What a group of adorable little creatures with such spirit; they are much better than those white cranes in Teyvat."

Zhongli nodded slightly.

"The white cranes here have gradually developed toward the direction of spirit beasts under the nourishment of spiritual energy, so naturally, they would be different."

"Spiritual energy?"

Lisa asked curiously, and Alice said with a grin:

"It's just the energy between heaven and earth. Elemental energy, to put it bluntly, is just an insignificant manifestation of spiritual energy."

"This is common knowledge for cultivating immortality, little Lisa. Later, I'll recommend a few novels about cultivating immortality for you to read carefully."

Zhongli looked at Alice helplessly, not knowing if her method of learning to cultivate immortality from all sorts of strange books was correct.

But all in all, it saved him from having to explain a few more things.

Although the way she learned it was a bit off, at least she knew quite a bit.

"The scenery of Shushan is truly beautiful, and the spiritual energy is so abundant; it really is a great place for cultivating immortality. No wonder you all love staying here to cultivate now."

Alice sighed with emotion.

The Rainbow Bridge, the bamboo waves, and so on just now had all opened her eyes.

The descriptions of cultivating immortality in novels probably couldn't even describe one ten-thousandth of it.

Suddenly, Alice pointed excitedly at the entrance to the secret realm not far away and asked curiously:

"Zhongli, what place is that?"

"That place..."

Zhongli pondered slightly and said slowly:

"That is the Shushan Nine Nether Secret Realm. It was created when my master, the Wine Sword Immortal Mo Yixi, was traveling the world and casually severed a world where demons were wreaking havoc."

"He condensed it into the current Nine Nether Secret Realm. There are many great demons inside, as well as many treasures."

"The Sect Leader once said that Shushan disciples can go to the Nine Nether Secret Realm to explore and gain experience."

Upon hearing this, Venti said with some surprise:

"Your master? The Wine Sword Immortal? Old man, when did you take on a master?"

"It was the Sect Leader acting on behalf of the master to accept a disciple."

Zhongli explained roughly.

"The Peak Master of Dragon Head Peak and the Law Enforcement Hall have always been passed down from master to disciple. Now that I have become the acting Peak Master, I am temporarily in charge of the Law Enforcement Hall."

"Naturally, I had to take on a master."

Venti clicked his tongue secretly and said softly:

"It seems that Shushan is not just a sect with one cultivator; there seem to be many stories from the past?"

Zhongli nodded slightly, but this matter was too troublesome to explain, so he simply didn't say much more.

He glanced at the huge plaza in front of him; looking around, this plaza alone was probably the size of Liyue Harbor.

According to Jiang Yan, this was the area for internal sparring when the seven peaks of Shushan selected disciples to fight during the early stages of the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament.

Although it was very small now, for the time being, activating the array to serve as the area for his duel with Venti was enough.

After thinking for a moment, Zhongli looked at Venti gloomily.

The latter's face stiffened, and he complained:

"Old man, you're not serious, are you? You want to beat me up right now?"

Zhongli said softly:

"The matter from back then has always been on my mind. If it is not resolved, I fear my thoughts will not be clear every time I see you."

"It is of no benefit to my cultivation."

"Therefore, it is better to resolve it as soon as possible."

Venti was somewhat broken.

On Heaven-Reaching Peak, ever since Venti and the others entered, Jiang Yan had not continued to cultivate, but was simply paying attention to their movements.

Seeing Zhongli looking so impatient, he found it somewhat amusing.

Wanting to resolve the contract matter was one thing; on the other hand, he guessed that Zhongli's hands were itching.

Thinking about it, it could also be considered the first time everyone witnessed such a battle after cultivating.

It also had a bit of commemorative significance.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan's divine sense spread out overwhelmingly to transmit his voice.

Liu Yun and the others who were cultivating on various peaks, Ningguang and the others who were choosing magic treasures in the Sword Forest.

Even Xiao, who was fighting bitterly against a low-level Archon in a very remote part of the Shushan Cave Heaven.

All temporarily stopped their actions.

"Shushan has opened its gates, and all disciples have joined Shushan to cultivate immortality, yet there has not been a single true battle."

"Now, there are guests visiting the Shushan Cave Heaven, and Peak Master Zhongli intends to fight one of the guests."

"If any disciples are free, you may go to Dragon Head Peak to observe the ceremony."

As the voice fell, responses rang out one after another across Shushan.

"We obey the Sect Leader's decree!"

The next moment, more than a dozen streams of light bloomed from various places, and all the current disciples of Shushan flew on their swords toward Dragon Head Peak.

Jiang Yan's gaze looked toward Dragon Head Peak, staring at Klee, who was still happily spreading her hands to the floating clouds in Alice's arms.

After a long while, Jiang Yan sighed with emotion.

"It can't be wrong..."

"It really is a Fire Spirit Body... Klee? She is worthy of being a famous genius in Teyvat; she is destined to join Shushan."

After saying this, Jiang Yan also planned to go and see for himself later.

In the far east of the Shushan Cave Heaven.

Xiao also looked back at the Archon who had stopped attacking, pursed his lips, and cupped his hands:

"Thank you for honing my skills with me. Xiao has gained quite a bit; I will come to visit again another day."

Today, Xiao could be considered to have been dealt a blow.

He was indeed cultivating immortality and had reached the stage of Refining Essence into Qi.

But the Archon in front of him was an Archon-level being regardless; even if he hadn't cultivated immortality, he at least had the strength of Refining Qi into Spirit.

The quality of Xiao's true essence was higher than the other's, but the gap in strength was still there.

And correspondingly, this Archon was ultimately not a demon beast that cultivated immortality; facing Xiao's offensive, he could only be said to be neither winning nor losing.

This kind of cross-level battle, which was ultimately impossible in the world of cultivating immortality, had barely been achieved in this unequal way.

Hearing that Xiao still wanted to come and fight, the Archon's mouth twitched.