Chapter 275: Slaying the Ancient Demon Again! Flame-Cold Nine Heavens

The third day.

The number of people in the Secret Realm had dropped below a hundred.

The allowable combat zone had shrunk to a radius of forty kilometers.

Battles on the third day became increasingly difficult. Many had formed alliances, leading to stalemates where neither side could claim victory, forcing them to disengage and retreat.

Xu Mingxian's group was the sole exception.

As long as someone was enveloped by their formation, there was no escape. They were either slain or forced to teleport away.

Ye Fan's defense was simply terrifying. He had once forcefully withstood the full-powered attacks of three people whose strength rivaled the likes of Liu Yue and Yan Kuangtu.

Xu Deyue also pinned down two opponents, giving Xu Mingxian the freedom to calmly set up his formations.

If they had only relied on the Six Harmonies Absolute Sealing Formation, taking down the group from Cangshan Prefecture wouldn't have been easy. But Xu Mingxian also possessed the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array.

The people they feared most suddenly appeared, and their deepest nightmares played out once more. Even if they realized it was the influence of an illusion, it was difficult to overcome in a short time.

Coupled with Xu Mingxian personally controlling the array—combining the illusory and the real, playing with people's hearts, and making it ever-changing and unpredictable.

He even managed to make them mistake their own teammates for illusions, leading to mutual slaughter.

In the end, all five disciples of the Cangshan Sect were slain, unable to even crush their jade tablets to escape.

Even True Lord Qingxuan felt this was crossing the line of normal capabilities.

'Where did they get so many peak-tier array tools?!'

However, he could also see that Xu Mingxian's attainments in formations were extremely high—he was at least a peak Tier-2 Array Master.

From the five Cangshan Sect disciples, Xu Mingxian's group harvested eight tokens, making a small fortune. For now, the tokens were distributed evenly, but at a crucial moment, they could be concentrated on a single person.

The fourth day.

Xu Mingxian and the others finally encountered one of the Greedy Wolf Sect's special demonic cultivators—Zhongli.

"Heavenly Azure Prefecture's Xu Deyue, Ye Fan, and Xu Mingxian."

Xu Mingxian's trio followed the voice.

The man stood in the shadows of the distant trees, dressed in a black robe embroidered with the Greedy Wolf Sect's crest at the hem, surrounded by thick demonic qi.

The black-robed demonic cultivator had a thin figure. Although his voice sounded young, his eyes revealed a weathered age that completely contradicted his appearance, as if he had lived for thousands of years. When his gaze swept over the three, it carried a chilling indifference to life.

Through some unknown secret art, he had managed to evade the perception of their Golden Core divine sense.

Ye Fan and the others suspected that this Zhongli, along with the other named Wen Jiu, had both suffered possession by ancient demons' divine sense.

Seeing him now only made them more certain of their guess.

Without a word, scarlet-gold light erupted from Ye Fan's body. Covered in golden armor, he shot toward the black-robed demonic cultivator like an arrow released from the bowstring.

His iron fists, wrapped in the tyrannical power of the Brahma Sacred Body, reached the demonic cultivator in the blink of an eye.

"Tyrannical Heaven Fist!" he roared, smashing his fist forward.

"Hmph."

Zhongli sneered coldly, his voice still hoarse. Without trying to dodge or evade, he raised his right hand. Demonic qi condensed into a claw as the Demonic Abyss Claw, carrying seventy percent of the Power of Divine Ability, met Ye Fan's fist head-on.

"Boom!"

Fist and claw clashed, sending shockwaves scattering in all directions. Ye Fan felt a sinister, freezing power crawl up his arm. To his shock, the impact forced him three steps back.

At that exact moment, the Cold Heaven Three Seals attacked from the other side.

Meanwhile, Xu Mingxian slapped his storage pouch, sending six formation flags flying out. They stood at the six cardinal points, covering an area of about half a kilometer.

"A formation?"

Zhongli's eyes chilled. Raising a hand, he condensed two demonic flame lotuses. One instantly incinerated the Cold Heaven Seal, while the other shot toward Xu Mingxian at breakneck speed.

Ye Fan suddenly lunged out, throwing several rapid punches to shatter the demonic flame lotus.

Zhongli studied Ye Fan at an unhurried pace.

The next moment.

The Six Harmonies Absolute Sealing Formation closed.

But Xu Mingxian had no intention of stopping there; he swiftly deployed the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array on top of it.

"Your physical body is quite special. It rings a bell. I'll have to capture and interrogate you properly later before killing you.

"As for now..."

Zhongli's figure blurred, closing in on Xu Mingxian like a phantom.

Several cold gleams from the Heavenly Water Sword blocked his path.

He raised his claw again, tearing through the water curtain, but Xu Mingxian had already retreated far away to the edge of the grand array.

Ye Fan closed in once more, but was easily knocked back time and time again, suffering quite a few injuries in the process.

"Do you really think your sturdy flesh makes you invincible, brat? Since you're begging for death, I'll cripple you first!"

Zhongli's claw ripped Ye Fan's head clean off.

But a split second later, he realized something was wrong.

"An illusion?"

Zhongli chuckled coldly. An inexplicable power abruptly erupted from within him, directly shattering the illusion.

He then saw Ye Fan bearing down on him, while Xu Deyue's sword light descended from the sky.

"Paltry tricks!"

Black demonic flames surged around him. A screen of demonic fire effortlessly blocked the full weight of Ye Fan's force and even attempted to burn his dharma tool in retaliation.

Xu Deyue's sword light was likewise completely unable to shake it.

The next moment.

Just as Zhongli prepared to counterattack, thick clouds and mist rose all around, obscuring his vision and causing his movements to stall.

But it only took him a brief moment to pinpoint their locations and launch a decisive strike.

Just then.

From within the mist, countless flying swords abruptly took shape and initiated a deadly assault.

Zhongli frowned, raising his screen of demonic flames to ward off the cloud-formed flying swords.

At that exact moment.

While controlling the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array, Xu Mingxian was simultaneously setting up a third grand array—the Seven Stars Demon-Sealing Formation!

"Formation, complete!"

"Seven Stars, Seal the Demon!"

Yet another light screen rose.

Zhongli instantly felt an invisible pressure from the entire space bearing down on his body and divine soul.

His strength was immediately affected. Had he been an ordinary Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator, he would likely have less than half of his strength left.

Yet, Zhongli could still exert seventy to eighty percent of his full power.

"A demon-sealing formation!"

"I didn't expect you to be so thoroughly prepared!"

Zhongli's cold laughter echoed.

Soon after, the clouds and mist dispersed, coalescing at the edges of the formation.

Because Ye Fan and Xu Deyue would also be hindered by the fog, Xu Mingxian changed his method, solidifying the clouds into physical attacks to serve purely as support.

He split his divine sense into two streams to simultaneously command the Seven Stars Demon-Sealing Formation and the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array.

The Seven Stars Demon-Suppressing Chains materialized from the void, shooting out to entangle Zhongli.

At the same time.

Ye Fan closed the distance once again.

Xu Deyue unleashed cold-attribute magical arts, the Cold Heaven Seal, and the Heavenly Water Sword Art from afar. Whenever her mana ran slightly low, she popped pills to replenish it.

As for the Supreme Yin flying sword, it was a trump card meant for a one-hit kill.

A standard strike wouldn't necessarily be enough to end him; only by fully detonating the power of Supreme Yin could they secure the kill.

However, Xu Deyue could only use this move once.

It required consuming nearly eighty percent of her mana. Her divine sense, having evolved to the Golden Core level, handled the burden with ease, but the mana cost was absolute.

Just moments ago, Xu Mingxian had sent her a voice transmission, telling her to wait until he laid down the final killing formation before finding the perfect opening for the lethal blow.

True Lord Qingxuan was deeply curious about this battle, but the Xu family had obscured it with clouds and mist, preventing him from observing.

Unless he forcefully pierced through with his divine sense.

But the formations were the key to Xu Mingxian and his team's ability to contend with Zhongli. If his interference caused any disruption, it would mean he had meddled in the Secret Realm Contention Battle.

Therefore, he could only quietly wait for the outcome.

Within the array's space.

The moment Zhongli saw the Seven Stars Demon-Suppressing Chains, a nameless fury flared in his heart, just like the Xue Clan Ancestor and Yeluomo back then.

After all, under the suppression of the formation, getting bound would cripple his strength even further.

Relying on his robust physical body, Ye Fan managed to avoid taking critical damage from a single hit. The minor injuries he sustained could easily be cured with a wound-healing pill after the battle.

At this point, Zhongli finally felt that things were getting troublesome.

Especially since Xu Mingxian appeared to be setting up yet another formation.

"A trapping formation, an illusion array, a demon-sealing formation... The last one should be a killing formation, right?"

A peak Tier-2 killing formation was extremely dangerous even for him right now. While it couldn't kill him in just a few moves, the true annoyance of a formation lay in its endless borrowing of heaven and earth's power.

If this dragged on and he failed to break the array, he would eventually be ground down and annihilated within it.

Zhongli finally resorted to using a dharma tool!

He hadn't needed it before, but now, every bit of added strength counted!

Unfortunately for him, it was too late.

Unless he could heavily wound Ye Fan in a single strike, Zhongli had no way of breaking the deadlock with that meat shield in the way.

And neither Xu Deyue nor Xu Mingxian would give him that chance!

"Four Symbols Absolute Slaughter Formation!"

The final killing formation finally materialized.

As the spirits of the Four Symbols took shape, Zhongli's expression finally changed!

'It really is a peak Tier-2 killing formation!'

Already at a disadvantage, the addition of the Four Symbols spirits made Zhongli feel the looming threat of inescapable death once again.

The last time he felt this way was when he arrived in this world as a mere foot soldier of the True Demon Realm, facing the attack of a Soul Formation stage cultivator.

Back then, he was certain he was dead.

But in the end, he had survived.

Whereas his captain and the even stronger commanders had all perished in that grand war.

"Is death truly unavoidable in the end?"

"Then you're all coming down with me!"

Looking absolutely deranged, Zhongli was willing to self-destruct if it meant taking Xu Mingxian and the others with him.

But Xu Deyue, positioned behind Zhongli, unleashed her fatal strike!

A beam of moon-white brilliance instantly severed the demonic flames, piercing straight through Zhongli's dantian. A faint white light began to spread upward and downward from his core.

The next moment, his entire body was split neatly in two.

"How is this possible..."

Zhongli's aura dissipated, but immense amounts of demonic qi boiled up from his ruined corpse.

The Supreme Yin flying sword automatically flew above it, radiating an extremely cold lunar glow.

"No! Spare me!"

A miserable shriek rang out as a wisp of divine sense was chopped to pieces and subsequently absorbed by Supreme Yin.

Xu Deyue swallowed a high-grade Truth Condensing Pill to restore her mana.

Only after she and Ye Fan had recovered seventy to eighty percent of their strength did Xu Mingxian retract the arrays.

They found a staggering twelve tokens on Zhongli, a clear testament to his formidable strength.

There were a total of one hundred and eighty-two tokens in the Secret Realm. With only seventy-two people remaining at the end, the average was less than three tokens per person.

Of course, the disparity between the very top tier and those at the bottom was immense.

Most people probably only managed to hang onto their own token.

For someone like Zhongli, hoarding over a dozen was entirely normal.

After dividing the loot, Xu Mingxian's trio had exactly eight tokens each.

Such a sum easily guaranteed them a spot in the top five.

Perhaps even the top three.

Adding in the storage pouches of the victims Zhongli had slain, Xu Mingxian's group made a massive profit, rivaling all their previous gains combined.

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away.

Zhang Xuanzhi was facing off against the other possessed individual, Wen Jiu.

In terms of pure divine abilities and magical arts, Zhang Xuanzhi was at a disadvantage. However, he also possessed a demon-sealing formation called the Lesser Five Elements Demon-Sealing Formation, which exerted an even stronger restraining power than the Seven Stars Demon-Sealing Formation.

Once the Five Elements Demon-Sealing Formation was established.

Wen Jiu's power rapidly plummeted by thirty to forty percent, and he found himself thoroughly suppressed by Zhang Xuanzhi.

Unable to escape the Lesser Five Elements Demon-Sealing Formation, he was ultimately annihilated.

However, Zhang Xuanzhi had no idea that a Nascent Soul Ancient Demon's divine sense lurked within Wen Jiu's body. After Zhang Xuanzhi collected the spoils, the divine sense fled, seemingly heading toward the other side of the forest.

As fate would have it, it bumped into Xu Mingxian's trio. Before a fight could even start, the Supreme Yin flying sword flew out on its own, shredding the divine sense and providing Murong Yun with another delicious meal.

"Not bad," Murong Yun commented. "Seven or eight more of these, and Supreme Yin might just trigger its spirit restriction recovery, returning to the rank of a low-grade Spirit Treasure."

"Don't even think about it, Honored Master," Xu Deyue replied. "If we have to fight another one of those, our lives will be forfeit. In a one-on-one fight, we are absolutely no match for him."

"I was just tossing the idea around. Although, from this Ancient Demon's divine sense fragments, it seems he was slain single-handedly by someone named Zhang Xuanzhi."

"Isn't that the number one prodigy of the Profound Moon Sect?!" Xu Deyue exclaimed in wonder. "To think his strength is so terrifying!"

"It seems this demon's strength was also suppressed by a demon-sealing formation, which led to his defeat. Otherwise, Zhang Xuanzhi wouldn't have been a match for either of them," Murong Yun explained.

Xu Deyue gave a subtle nod and passed this information to Ye Fan and Xu Mingxian via voice transmission.

Both men were equally astounded by Zhang Xuanzhi's capabilities.

While both of them had the qualifications to exchange blows with Zhang Xuanzhi, neither could defeat him.

Ye Fan would only be able to rely on sheer endurance against him.

Xu Mingxian's Battle Array was mighty, but unless he could compress its deployment time to within a single breath, he would be heavily targeted during the Prodigy Roll ranking battles.

Among the remaining ninety-odd participants, aside from a tiny handful, the power gap wasn't significant.

Moreover, most had already formed alliances, making it incredibly difficult to eliminate an entire group even when encountering them.

Only a lone wolf like Zhang Xuanzhi, Xu Mingxian's trio, and the recently deceased Zhongli and Wen Jiu were capable of pulling it off.

Thus, by the end of the fourth day, between those killed and those who teleported out, only six or seven people had been eliminated.

Eighty-eight participants remained.

The fifth day.

Heavenly Azure Prefecture's Yan Fengwu and Wenren Jie, severely injured, opted to withdraw voluntarily. Yan Kuangtu chose to persevere.

On the sixth day, Xi Tianqing, Cang Daoling, and Liu Yue ran into four people from the Profound Moon Sect. Two of them were in the sect's top five and commanded the Power of Divine Ability.

Xi Tianqing's group was outmatched and forced to flee.

Liu Yue was critically injured and forced to leave the realm. However, shortly after, Xi Tianqing and Cang Daoling bumped into Yan Kuangtu, and the three teamed up.

Heavenly Azure Prefecture was down to its last six representatives.

On this same day.

Xu Mingxian's trio encountered four disciples from the Greedy Wolf Sect and slaughtered them all.

The Greedy Wolf Sect was left with only two members: Jidu, who ranked first, and Ji Yan, who ranked fifth. The two were moving together.

Although Jidu was officially the sect's top disciple, his true strength fell short of Zhongli and Wen Jiu. The sect had only ranked those two lower because of their special circumstances.

Nevertheless, Jidu was undeniably powerful, having grasped sixty percent of the Power of Divine Ability.

In terms of personal strength within the Secret Realm—excluding Zhongli and Wen Jiu—he easily ranked in the top five, on par with the Profound Moon Sect's number two and the Cangshan Sect's Chief.

The seventh day.

The mist shrank once more, restricting the safe zone to a mere twenty kilometers, causing clashes between factions to intensify.

Several participants from Profound Moon Prefecture and Cangshan Prefecture were heavily injured and eliminated in major battles, finally leaving only the last seventy-two people.

"The final seventy-two have been decided. Everyone, cease fighting!"

The voice echoed across the area, accompanied by a heavy Golden Core pressure that jolted everyone, causing them to involuntarily stop their hands.

"It's over?"

"It's finally over!"

"Ah!"

Many people let out roars of relief on the spot.

Yan Kuangtu guffawed wildly, shouting, "I finally get to go to the real Prodigy Grand Assembly!"

Xi Tianqing and Cang Daoling glanced at Yan Kuangtu, sighing with mixed emotions. They hadn't expected Liu Yue and the others to fall short, while a disciple of an ordinary Golden Core Aristocratic Family managed to seize a prodigy slot.

"I wonder how the others fared. Don't tell me it's just the three of us left? If so, Heavenly Azure Prefecture's luck is truly terrible," Cang Daoling lamented.

Somewhere in the forest.

Zhang Xuanzhi crossed paths with Xu Mingxian's group.

But before they could trade blows, True Lord Qingxuan's announcement rang out.

"Daoist Friend Zhang," Xu Mingxian said, cupping his fists.

Zhang Xuanzhi nodded slightly, a strange light flickering in his eyes.

Mainly, this combination of people was too bizarre.

One of them had the lowest cultivation level in the entire prodigy qualifier, while another was an ordinary Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator who had barely scraped through the arena battles relying solely on dharma tools.

Only Xu Deyue was somewhat respectable, but her strength was merely above average compared to everyone else.

What was even weirder was that they were a family of three: father-in-law, daughter, and son-in-law.

This was likely the first time such a group had ever appeared in the history of the Prodigy Grand Assembly.

And yet, this eccentric trio had successfully secured prodigy slots, becoming part of the seventy-two prodigies of Heavenly South's Northwest Region.

"Everyone, crush your jade tablets at the same time in fifteen minutes to be teleported out."

Those who had exhausted themselves immediately sat down to meditate and restore their peak condition.

Xu Mingxian looked at Zhang Xuanzhi and asked, "I'm curious, how many tokens did Daoist Friend Zhang acquire?"

Zhang Xuanzhi smiled faintly. "Not many, just twenty-one."

"As expected of Daoist Friend Zhang!" Xu Mingxian cupped his hands, then promptly gestured for Xu Deyue and Ye Fan to leave with him.

'That's it?'

Zhang Xuanzhi stood there, stunned.

After the three walked away, they decided to hand twenty-two of their tokens to Xu Mingxian, leaving the remaining six split evenly, three for Xu Deyue and three for Ye Fan.

Since they had gathered so many tokens, they naturally wanted to aim for first place.

Not for the prestige, but for a chance to request a dual water and fire cultivation method.

As for Xu Deyue and Ye Fan, even with only three tokens each, they still held a slim chance of breaking into the top ten. If they didn't, it wouldn't matter much anyway.

It was highly likely that the forces of the other prefectures would also funnel their tokens onto a single representative.

At the arena plaza.

The crowd was engaged in widespread discussion that showed no signs of stopping.

The main reason was the sheer number of wildcards in this event.

The top prodigies of Green Leaf Prefecture, Hundred Flowers Prefecture, Hengyang Prefecture, and Sixth Moon Prefecture had all been eliminated, every single one of them defeated by a disciple of the Greedy Wolf Sect.

True Lord Canglang was secretly smug. 'Our Greedy Wolf Sect schemed for a long time to bring those specific individuals out of the Secret Realm, and they surely haven't disappointed us.

'Seeing how few people teleported out, our bet with Heavenly Azure Prefecture is an absolute victory.'

He glanced at True Lord Green Wood and sneered, "True Lord Green Wood, don't forget our bet."

True Lord Green Wood's expression looked somewhat grim.

Shangguan Hong had died, his corpse teleported out.

Others like Lei Zhaojian, Liu Yue, and Yan Fengwu had also been eliminated.

There was only news that Xi Tianqing and Cang Daoling had been moving together. As for Yan Kuangtu and the Xu family trio, their fates remained entirely unknown.

After all, not everyone who was eliminated managed to teleport out alive in these competitions.

Suddenly.

One teleportation light after another flashed in the plaza—a dense cluster of exactly seventy-two beams.

The crowd instantly understood.

It was over.

"Seven days? That seems much faster than before. I heard the previous two editions lasted until the tenth day."

Many onlookers engaged in widespread discussion.

However, the vast majority of attention remained fixed on the geniuses who had just teleported out.

A brief moment later.

An astonishing surge of aura erupted from the Greedy Wolf Prefecture's camp. "How is this possible?! How could our Greedy Wolf Sect only have two survivors?!"

True Lord Green Wood burst into roaring laughter, exclaiming "Good!" three times in a row.

"As expected of Heavenly Azure Prefecture's prodigies!"

"Xu Chuan, your Xu family in particular—all three managed to survive! You've truly given this True Lord a pleasant surprise.

"In addition to the Tier-3 spirit vein we won, my Heavenly Azure Sect will bestow an additional Tier-2 spirit vein upon your Xu family."

Xu Chuan cupped his hands. "True Lord, isn't that a bit too generous?"

"Not at all, it is what your Xu family deserves. Could it be that you wish to refuse the Heavenly Azure Sect's reward?"

"This junior wouldn't dare. I thank you, True Lord."

True Lord Green Wood then turned and continued, "Daoist Friend Canglang, do not forget to honor our bet. This Elder expects to see the corpses of our sect members, as well as two Tier-3 spirit veins, before the main Prodigy Grand Assembly officially begins."

"Hmph!" True Lord Canglang felt boundless rage burning in his heart, but he grit his teeth and suppressed it. "They are merely two Tier-3 spirit veins. They will naturally be delivered to your hands in a month's time."

"Then you have my thanks, Daoist Friend Canglang! Hahaha!"

True Lord Canglang racked his brains but simply couldn't fathom it. With Zhongli and Wen Jiu there, how could they have lost?

What exactly went wrong?

He looked at True Lord Qingxuan and asked, "If I may ask, Daoist Friend Qingxuan, my sect's..."

"Daoist Friend Canglang, any further questions will be overstepping," True Lord Qingxuan interrupted. "Life and death in the Secret Realm are entirely up to fate. Since they entered, they should have been prepared to die inside.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of seeking post-event revenge?"

"I spoke out of turn," True Lord Canglang replied, cold sweat dripping down his back.

Shortly after.

True Lord Qingxuan announced, "This concludes the Northwest Region Prodigy Qualifiers. Standing before you are the seventy-two prodigies of the Northwest.

"As for those who did not emerge, their bones are now buried within the Secret Realm.

"The path to contesting the title of Prodigy has always been paved with blood and bone. If one lacks the courage to fight to the bitter end, it's best not to step forward at all.

"We will now begin tallying the tokens in the hands of each prodigy.

"Only tokens other than your own will be counted toward the total."

The tallying was personally conducted by True Lord Qingxuan, hidden from the prying eyes of outsiders.

Half an incense stick of time later.

"This True Lord will now announce the final rankings of the Eight Prefectures. First is Heavenly Azure Prefecture, second is Profound Moon Prefecture, followed by Cangshan Prefecture, Greedy Wolf Prefecture, Green Leaf Prefecture, Hundred Flowers Prefecture, Hengyang Prefecture, and Flowing Moon Prefecture."

Upon hearing these rankings, everyone wore expressions of sheer disbelief.

Heavenly Azure Prefecture, which had historically languished at the very bottom, actually seized first place!

"Quiet!" True Lord Qingxuan barked. "This True Lord personally guarantees that these rankings are entirely accurate."

"Next are the individual point rankings. In first place is Heavenly Azure Prefecture's Xu Mingxian, with twenty-two points. In second place is Profound Moon Prefecture's Zhang Xuanzhi, with twenty-one points..."

Hearing that Xu Mingxian beat him by exactly one point, Zhang Xuanzhi stared at him in utter disbelief.

'Could it be that he asked me earlier just to...'

"In fifth place is Greedy Wolf Prefecture's Jidu, with ten points. In sixth place is Heavenly Azure Prefecture's Xi Tianqing, with six points... Tied for tenth place are Heavenly Azure Prefecture's Xu Deyue and Ye Fan, with three points.

"..."

The crowd went into an uproar over these results.

"Xu Mingxian, as the first-place point earner of this prodigy qualifier, you may request the opportunity you desire. As long as it is within reasonable limits, our Profound Moon Sect will fulfill it.

"If you do not wish for others to know, you may convey it to me via voice transmission."

Without a moment's hesitation, Xu Mingxian sent a voice transmission, "Senior, I would like to request a Golden Core cultivation method for dual water and fire cultivation."

True Lord Qingxuan frowned slightly and transmitted back, "Are you certain you want a cultivation method? Such arts are extremely rare. Even this True Lord hasn't..."

Suddenly, an elderly voice echoed in his ear. "Agree to it. I have such a cultivation method in my possession."

"Yes, Martial Ancestor."

True Lord Qingxuan paused for a moment before continuing, "This True Lord just remembered. Our Profound Moon Sect does indeed have such a cultivation method. However, due to its peculiar nature, no one has ever practiced it.

"I will have someone fetch it and deliver it to you shortly."

"Many thanks, True Lord," Xu Mingxian replied, feeling a surge of excitement in his heart.

As the Xu family's first possessor of a peak Earth Spiritual Root aptitude, it would be far too great a pity if Xu Chongfei was trapped by conflicting water and fire spiritual power and rendered unable to cultivate.

Moreover, he was his own grandson.

Next was Zhang Xuanzhi.

Zhang Xuanzhi also chose not to make his request public. Instead, he sent a voice transmission, asking, "Martial Uncle Qingxuan, on what grounds did Xu Mingxian score higher than me? What strength does he actually possess?"

"I cannot say much. You will naturally learn of his strength when you encounter him in the future."

"Slaughter within the Secret Realm relies on comprehensive power. If they earned high points, there is naturally a reason for it. As for you, when others asked about your harvest, you foolishly told them the honest truth."

"Well... I thought they were just purely curious, so I slightly satisfied their curiosity. I didn't expect them to be so despicable as to scam me!"

"Enough, enough. The sect has already prepared what you need. There are still three months before the main tournament. If you can take another step forward, you will have a fairly high chance of breaking into the top ten.

"Those are Martial Ancestor's exact words."

"I've comprehended a divine ability and mastered seventy percent of the Power of Divine Ability, yet it's still difficult for me to enter the top ten?" Zhang Xuanzhi asked suspiciously. "The Ancestor isn't just saying that to provoke me, is he?"

"Do not underestimate the prodigies of the other four peak sects, nor those from Nascent Soul powers that have thrived for over three or four thousand years.

"Our Profound Moon Sect is primarily held up by Martial Ancestor. If we cannot produce successive Great Nascent Soul Cultivators, I'm afraid we will inevitably walk the same ruined path as the former peak sects.

"In short, Martial Ancestor's judgment is unlikely to be wrong."

"Understood." Zhang Xuanzhi cupped his hands and departed.

In the blink of an eye, the top thirty-six participants had all put forth their requested opportunities.

"Those who have obtained the title of Northwest Prodigy and received their desired opportunities may leave Profound Moon City and return to assemble in three months, or they may choose to remain in the city."

With that, the Northwest Region Prodigy Qualifiers officially concluded.

The crowd dispersed, some choosing to stay while others left.

Some had gambled and lost absolutely everything, while others struck gold, winning back several times their initial spirit stones.

Xu Chuan, his identity concealed by a mask, aggressively raked in thirty-four thousand five hundred spirit stones, drawing the envy of many.

As for those who tried to track him...

He merely turned a corner.

The young man vanished, replaced by an old man with an entirely different cultivation aura, making him impossible to tail.

Three days later.

Xu Mingxian, Xu Deyue, and Ye Fan received their requested opportunities.

Since they had already obtained the dual water and fire cultivation method, Xu Deyue and Ye Fan each requested an opportunity for themselves.

Xu Deyue asked for a bottle of Tier-3 mid-grade Extreme Cold Spirit Liquid to assist her in cultivating the Nine Seals Combination.

Ye Fan requested a spirit liquid to boost his cultivation. The Profound Moon Sect provided him with Thousand-Year Void Green Spirit Liquid, highly effective for any immortal cultivator below the Golden Core stage.

For Ye Fan's current strength at the early phase of the Eighth-Layer Foundation Establishment stage, fully refining it could elevate him by an entire minor realm.

This was a veritable cultivation treasure, and even the Profound Moon Sect possessed very little of it.

They truly hadn't expected an Eighth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator to actually claim a spot among the seventy-two Northwest prodigies.

However, the trio's primary focus remained on that cultivation method.

The technique was called "Flame-Cold Nine Heavens." It was an ancient method created specifically for the Flame-Cold Spirit Body. Cultivating it to the ninth level perfection would allow one to become a Golden Core Perfection cultivator.

It enabled the practitioner to achieve a state where water and fire perfectly complemented each other, sharing a single origin.

In the future, even if they broke through to the Nascent Soul stage and switched to a different cultivation method, they would no longer suffer from conflicting water and fire spiritual power.

Furthermore, the manual stated that if a Flame-Cold Spirit Body cultivated this method to the sixth level perfection, their chances of breaking through to the Golden Core stage would increase by thirty percent.

Reaching the ninth level perfection would even increase their chances of breaking through to Nascent Soul by ten percent.

As for reaching Foundation Establishment, a peak Earth Spiritual Root practicing an ancient, rare method specifically tailored for their spirit body could naturally crush the bottleneck and succeed directly, without needing any external assistance.

Of course, if someone without the Flame-Cold Spirit Body practiced this method to a profound depth, they could also master the power of water and fire, but they would not receive any of the bottleneck-breaking benefits.

"Once the Prodigy Grand Assembly ends and we return, we can have Fei'er begin cultivating this," Xu Chuan said with a faint smile. "He will surely become another top-tier figure of our Xu family in the future."

Xu Mingxian and the others shared a knowing smile.

Several days later.

True Lord Green Wood called for Xu Chuan and asked about their future plans.

Xu Chuan cupped his fists and said, "I plan to remain in Profound Moon City until the Prodigy Grand Assembly officially concludes, and then return to Heavenly Azure Prefecture."

"That works. This True Lord will make a trip back in about a month. When I return, I will bring the spirit vein bestowed upon your Xu family."

"Many thanks, True Lord," Xu Chuan said, cupping his fists once more.

"Originally, since your Xu family claimed first place among the prodigies and elevated our Heavenly Azure Prefecture to the top of the Eight Prefectures, our Heavenly Azure Sect should have rewarded you with far more. However, without sufficient strength, attracting too much attention will only bring disaster."

Xu Chuan nodded slightly in agreement.

"Your Xu family has potential, but if you wish to survive long-term, you must grow up as quickly as possible. I'm sure you've also sensed the storm brewing in Heavenly Azure Prefecture.

"When we truly clash with the Greedy Wolf Sect, our Heavenly Azure Sect won't be able to spare any effort to look after you."

"Understood."

"Alright, this True Lord has said what needed to be said. You may leave."

Xu Chuan cupped his hands and took his leave.

'There is no family that lasts forever, nor is there an eternal sect. Our Heavenly Azure Sect has watched countless families and aristocratic families rise and fall within Heavenly Azure Prefecture, and now, it is finally our turn.

'If I can break through to the Nascent Soul stage, perhaps I can extend the sect's lifespan for a while longer.

'Or, we could rely on external forces.

'But what faction would be willing to intervene directly? Unless the fire reaches their own doorstep, most simply prefer to watch the show.

'The Xu family has the potential to become a top-tier Golden Core Aristocratic Family, but they need at least another two or three hundred years to mature.

'We are out of time...'

Xu Chuan also felt a strong sense of crisis and went into secluded cultivation to create new techniques.

Xu Mingxian and the others similarly isolated themselves, striving to improve their strength within the three-month window.

Within those three months.

All seventy-two prodigies devoted themselves to pushing their limits.

Time quietly slipped by.

Two months later, True Lord Green Wood arrived in Profound Moon City again, bringing Xi Tianqing, Cang Daoling, and Yan Kuangtu.

He brought the promised spirit vein and handed it over to Xu Chuan.

Xu Chuan stored the sealed spirit vein safely away in his storage ring and immediately resumed his secluded cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, the day of departure arrived.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators from the various prefectures who had secured a prodigy slot gathered at the teleportation plaza alongside their accompanying Golden Core elders.

This time, the Prodigy Grand Assembly was being held in the southern Azure Cloud City, hosted by the peak southern faction, the Azure Cloud Sect.

Leading their entire delegation was one of the Profound Moon Sect's Grand Elders—a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, Perfected Tianya—alongside True Lord Qingxuan, who was in charge of managing the miscellaneous affairs.

Perfected Tianya and True Lord Qingxuan descended from the direction of the Profound Moon Sect, landing smoothly on the teleportation array platform.

True Lord Qingxuan spoke calmly, "Everyone, step onto the teleportation array platform. We depart for Azure Cloud City immediately."

The crowd swiftly moved into position.

A large-scale teleportation array could transport up to a hundred people at once.

As the cultivators in charge activated the array, brilliant light flared.

In a mere instant, they vanished without a trace.

Following them, many other cultivators who wished to spectate the true Prodigy Grand Assembly in Azure Cloud City paid their spirit stones and teleported over as well.

For the vast majority of cultivators, this was an event they might only witness once in a lifetime.

Meanwhile.

In the southern part of Heavenly South, at Heavenly Foundry City near the Heavenly Foundry Sect.

This was also a massive cultivation city equipped with teleportation arrays.

At that moment, quite a few Heavenly Foundry Sect disciples were gathered in front of the teleportation plaza.

Some were heading to participate in the Prodigy Grand Assembly, others were tagging along to cheer them on, and they were led by Golden Core elders as well as their Nascent Soul Grand Elder, Yan Longzi.

"Little Martial Aunt, you seem especially happy today," a female Foundation Establishment disciple remarked.

The one addressed as Little Martial Aunt was none other than Xu Deling, who looked sharp and vibrant in a fiery red dress.

Xu Deling's bright eyes sparkled as she turned her head, offering a gentle smile. "Because it has been a very long time since I last saw my family."