Chapter 404: Superior Sword Technique, Long Sword in Hand, Why Fear Public Opinion

In a duel, although it was said that Huan Xuan won, he, the winner, felt tasteless and sad in his heart.

The two people who represented the immortal sect noble families and the commandery noble families to compete for face were exposed by a non-noble family person, and the noble family members present all had complex feelings. At this moment, the competition could no longer continue. Otherwise, if they continued to fight with magic power and compare cultivation, and let Qian Chen continue to point out flaws, the noble families would lose all their face!

A pure discussion ended in a hurry.

Xie Lingyun didn't care about this bit of face, bowed and came over, laughing: "Fellow Daoist truly has good insight!"

Qian Chen nodded slightly and said: "It's just speaking the truth!"

Xie Lingyun saw that Wang Longxiang beside him was silent and didn't say a word about it. He had always known the personality of this Wang family direct descendant who was as famous as himself, and he didn't feel surprised. After all, although Wang and Xie were mentioned together in noble families, the Wang family, which possessed a Nascent Soul True Immortal, actually had strength above the Xie family. That he could be as famous as Wang Longxiang was not unrelated to the fact that this person had a cold personality and disdained interacting with noble families. In contrast, Xie Lingyun, who had flexible means, was graceful, and could lower himself to interact with others, had a higher reputation among the scholars.

Intending to defend the two noble family disciples, Xie Lingyun laughed: "In my opinion, although Brother Chu's core formation external manifestation is fourth rank, the atmosphere is long-lasting, and it is only a line away from the supreme rank; Brother Huan is undoubtedly a supreme-rank Jin Dan. Although there was a mistake in condensing malevolent qi and refining gang, there may not be no opportunity to make up for it when crossing the Yin Fire calamity in the future!"

To this, Qian Chen also agreed on the surface: "Indeed, if one takes the opportunity of the Yin Fire calamity to burn out the Wood essence in the pill malevolent qi, it may not be impossible to make up for this hidden danger!"

In fact, Qian Chen had a way. Although the core formation stage is known as 'no regrets after pill formation', the successors of the Supreme Jin Dan Dao have always been unhesitant to trample on this principle.

Whether it is to make up for it with the external pill Dao, or to refine a top-notch tribulation-crossing magic treasure, or even to change the pill method, one can slowly reconcile this flaw.

Of course, what he said was all aimed at Huan Xuan. As for Chu Wengong, who had lost the Jin Dan Great Medicine when the core formation tribulation was not fully crossed, unless Qian Chen personally took action to refine a True Illusory Two-Phase Pill for him, allowing him to cross the tribulation again in the illusion induced by the external pill, achieving the reversal of true and illusory, and 'tricking' back the Jin Dan Great Medicine that had escaped in the past, completing a theft of heaven and change of day.

Otherwise, this person is destined to have his future ruined, and in his lifetime, it is almost impossible to break through to the Yang Spirit.

Xie Lingyun nodded secretly. This Li Taibai not only had amazing sword technique, but his character and conduct were also outstanding, which was very different from Wang Longxiang.

But if he knew his thoughts, the old servant following behind Wang Longxiang might not agree. After all, Qian Chen's joke that 'a sharp weapon in hand will only destroy my ability to tolerate idiots' was still vivid in his mind. Even if Wang Longxiang was silent, he had never said anything about killing those vermin with one sword.

So the old servant knew clearly like a mirror that this Li Taibai was a gentle gentleman on the surface, but the arrogance in his heart was probably greater than his own young master. In this Copper Sparrow Tower, including Xie Lingyun, except for Wang Longxiang, probably no one could get his recognition. The gentleness shown at this time was just another way of not putting these people in his eyes!

"In this world, being able to form a supreme-rank pill is already rare, and the Great Dao of longevity is in sight. It is hard to produce one who can form a first-rank Jin Dan in hundreds of years. In the Central Land, it is hard to do so without Wang or Xie!"

Huan Xuan saw Wang and Xie listed together and also walked up, praising them without a trace.

Who would have thought that Wang Longxiang not only didn't show self-satisfaction upon hearing this, but frowned, his expression sinking. He said: "Although a first-rank Jin Dan is rare, there are countless talents in the Central Land, not just the two of us!"

He said this, then raised his head slightly, his expression carrying a hint of inexplicability, and said: "Just from what I have seen, there are two people who are vaguely superior to me!"

Huan Xuan was embarrassed this time. Xie Lingyun raised his head, revealing a sharp and proud look: "Oh? I am actually a bit curious, who are the two people?"

"Li Er of yesteryear..." Wang Longxiang did not mince words, saying calmly: "He was one such person. His pill-qi still belonged to the thunder, released from behind his head, rushing up to the heavens to shroud dozens of acres. The thunder-qi was violent and peerless, yet it was tempered by his Jin Dan until it was like green jade. The subtlety of his grasp on such power, and the purity of his pill-qi, were unmatched by anyone I have ever seen!"

Huan Xuan let out a long breath at this time and said: "I have also heard of Li Er. He is indeed a genius rarely seen in a thousand years. It is rumored that the ancestor of the Longxi Li family was a blood descendant of one of the hundreds of reincarnations of the Supreme Dao Ancestor, which can be considered a noble background, a famous family of Northern Wei!"

Xie Lingyun sighed slightly: "Even if it is a famous family in the North, hasn't it mixed with Hu blood?"

These words brought up the most embarrassing topic for the Southern Jin noble families, and also the one most difficult for them to accept regarding Northern Wei: In the past, Sima Yi usurped Cao Wei and slaughtered the royal Cao family. Because the Cao family had also usurped Han in the past, Sima Yi was already vaguely the first Nascent Soul of the Central Land, so the noble families chose to acquiesce to this matter. Who would have thought that when slaughtering the remnants of the previous dynasty, the three-year-old young son of Grand General Cao Shuang was saved, and the one who saved him was the Great Bodhisattva of the Buddhist sect at that time—Bodhidharma.

Cao Shuang's son, Cao Lin, dressed as a novice monk, followed Bodhidharma to walk in all directions, practicing asceticism.

Because he bore a blood feud and had outstanding aptitude, he soon had cultivation, and because the Buddhist sect was still excluded by the Central Land Daoist sect at that time, he could only walk in the wilderness to preach, often going deep into Northern Di to preach, and had close dealings with the northern barbarians. After Cao Lin achieved the Buddhist Golden Body, it happened to be the time when the Daoist sect excluded Buddhism most intensely. Buddhist masters came from Western Hezhou to the East one after another, but were intercepted outside Hangu Pass by the Daoist masters Xu Xun and Kou Zhen at that time. They fought three times and could not defeat the Daoist sect.

It happened that the Jin Sima family acted perversely, and Sima Zhao lost the hearts of the people, so the Buddhist sect began to formally support Cao Lin in restoring the country.

Cao Lin swore an alliance with the barbarian Xianbei clans, and agreed with the eight major surnames of Dugu, Yuwen, Changsun, Tuoba, Murong, Qiumu, Buxu, and Yuchi to take the Central Land together. The Cao family was the royal family, the eight surnames were the queen families, and the Central Land and Xianbei intermarried as relatives. Borrowing 800,000 Xianbei troops, they knocked on the pass and went south, triggering the greatest calamity in the Central Land in a thousand years. During this period, not only did the Xianbei population lose nearly half, but the Central Land noble families also suffered great damage. The calamity in the North was fierce, and even attracted the intervention of the demonic path. Countless masters of the Buddhist and Daoist sects fell because of this.

This calamity ended with Cao Lin breaking through to the Nascent Soul, killing Sima Zhao, and avenging his family's blood feud.

After the demonic path revealed its ambition, the Buddhist and Daoist sects finally stopped fighting, divided the river as the boundary, and divided the North and South.

In the past, the noble families of the North moved south. Besides the fact that these noble families were supporters of the Daoist sect during the Buddhist-Daoist struggle, there was also the reason that the foundation of Northern Wei's founding was intermarriage with the Xianbei, and the direct descendants of the noble families mostly had to marry women of the eight Xianbei surnames.

Of course, after hundreds of years of inheritance, the situation in Northern Wei has changed again.

In order to balance the Xianbei forces and the Buddhist sect, the Cao family began to lean toward the Daoist sect again. But Cao Shuang ascended early, and several generations of Cao family disciples did not have much achievement in cultivation because of the Buddhist-Daoist struggle. Instead, it was the Xianbei Hu people who leaned toward the Buddhist sect who were supported by the Buddhist sect. Therefore, Northern Wei now has a young emperor on the throne, but the one in power in the country is the Tuoba Empress Dowager of the Xianbei clan.

This Empress Dowager has gone through four dynasties and is also a Great Venerable who achieved the Buddhist Golden Body, only one step away from the Nascent Soul. Her governing means are old and spicy, and her authority in Northern Wei is even greater than that of the Jin family.

Xie Lingyun did not want to mention Northern Wei much. After this sigh, he asked Wang Longxiang again: "Even if Li Er is a genius of the North, who is the other person who is not inferior to you?"

Wang Longxiang was silent again. Qian Chen had been listening for a long time on the side and couldn't help but be horrified: "Don't tell me it's me again! You Central Land noble families comment on pill ranks, why do you take me out twice?" But at this time, Wang Longxiang had already turned his head slightly, his expression self-evident.

Qian Chen could only laugh loudly to cover up his embarrassment, saying: "If it were earlier, I could still rank with you young people, but now I am no longer forming a core!"

"That's right, I'm still in the Penetrating Law realm, why am I considered core formation? Now those two are small Golden Cores, they are the 'pill heads' for the body's future core formation. Can 'pill head' things be considered proper Golden Cores? Who would have two proper Golden Cores! Outrageous..."

Wang Longxiang said seriously: "The spirit in Taibai's sword technique is high, it is definitely not the work of an old man. I am afraid his age is not much older than ours. Being able to cultivate into a Yin Spirit is due to Taibai's diligent Dao practice and superior cultivation ability, not the accumulation of age!"

"If I say I am only twenty-one years old, still a child, do you believe it?"

Qian Chen held back a mouthful of old complaints and silently endured the evaluation that he shouldn't have at his age.

"It really is Li Taibai!" Xie Lingyun's eyes were full of fighting spirit: "Today I heard my uncle Anshi praise you highly, but many noble family elders are unconvinced. Moreover, this banquet was originally a meeting for noble families to divide the quotas for the Jin Ling Blessed Land, but because of you, true disciples of various immortal sects were invited, and even scattered cultivators and commoners who have risen to fame. It has indeed made many people angry at you, wanting to suppress you slightly, so that the Jin Ling Blessed Land does not fall into the hands of the commoners!"

Qian Chen's face was indifferent, which surprised Xie Lingyun slightly: "Are you not surprised?"

Qian Mou smiled slightly, for the first time raising his eyebrows in front of Xie Lingyun, revealing the arrogance that despised everything in the Copper Sparrow Tower, including Xie Lingyun, and said calmly: "They can try..."

"An owl gets a rotten mouse, and a phoenix passes by!"

Qian Chen turned and left, laughing it off: "Asking for humiliation..."

At this time, the sound of jade chimes on the Copper Sparrow Tower was crisp and pleasant, refreshing the heart. It instantly spread through the nine-story pavilion, covering up all the noise in the tower. It was the announcement at the start of the banquet. For a time, everyone flocked to the palace at the top of the Copper Sparrow Tower. Almost all the noble family disciples of Jiankang, Jin, who intended to attend, came. The Xie family did not refuse anyone, but there were only dozens of people with invitations like Wang Longxiang and Qian Chen, all of whom were famous young cultivators.

At this time, there were thousands of people attending the banquet in the Copper Sparrow Tower, and the lower-generation disciples looking from the Vermilion Bird Bridge outside the tower and the citizens on both sides of the Qin Huai River were as many as hundreds of thousands.

At this time, surrounding the Copper Sparrow Tower, countless magic treasures floated and drifted, scattering in the air like stars, falling toward the palace at the top of the tower. Nearly a hundred escape lights were even more eye-catching, wandering in the air, with various colors of light dazzling, and rainbow sword lights forming brilliant clouds.

In the ninth-story palace, there were countless hanging pavilions, connected by golden bridges, and many servants, warriors, and maids walked among them.

The two copper sparrows no longer had the task of monitoring and guarding the ancient copper sparrows, but they were reduced to idle birds in the Copper Sparrow Tower. At this moment, they could only stand side by side on the eaves, watching the bustling scene below, feeling sour. One copper sparrow suddenly wiped its eyes with its wings and said in surprise: "Why do I seem to see that 'big villain'?"

The other copper sparrow was so panicked that even its copper feathers fell off: "Really? Run..."

"No, I saw it wrong!" The copper sparrow looked at Qian Chen carefully for a few times and said: "The temperament is somewhat similar, but that guy is walking side by side with Wang kid! How could it be that big villain!"

"Wang kid is really miserable..." the copper sparrow sighed: "The only one who can be more miserable than us is him. I just heard a lot of words laughing at him..."

Wen Qiao walked on the golden bridge and laughed loudly: "Let's escape a little further while he's not paying attention, and avoid another gambling debt!"

Yu Liang said in a deep voice: "You didn't seem to gamble with him before!"

Wen Qiao was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Is that so? I thought I did..."

"Brother Wen, do you really not know who this person is?" Yu Liang couldn't help but look back. Wen Qiao didn't care at all: "Who is he! What does it have to do with me? No children, no grandchildren, all are things of others, have flowers and wine, just to pass the joy of the year..."

He walked down with his hands behind his back like an idler. Yu Liang was stunned, then shook his head slightly. He could be open-minded, but the young generation of the Yu family had hundreds of people just in the direct line. If he didn't stand up to cover the wind and rain, support the family name, and fight for opportunities for his descendants, would the Central Land still be the world of noble families!

When the jade chimes sounded for the second time, the palace was already full of noble family disciples.

Someone laughed loudly: "Li Taibai beheaded the Dragon God, I wonder what rank he is?"

"I saw this person's sword energy at Chaotian Palace that day!" a noble family disciple said: "Sharp but lacking in Dao atmosphere, winning entirely by sword energy, without spirit!"

Once these words were spoken, someone echoed: "I heard this person beheaded a god with five swords, but in my opinion, the sword technique is not very brilliant, only knowing how to condense sword energy, losing the subtlety of sword intent. If it weren't for the elegance of the green lotus, it would be hard to enter the supreme rank... In my opinion, it is just a third-rank sword technique."

"The Xie family's Nine Shao Ding Yin Sword, the rhyme starts from 'Great Shao', the sword momentum combines the dance of Nine Shao, moving like Kui drums, graceful like sparrow flight, the sword intent of the Great Void gets the subtlety of 'existence' and 'non-existence', so it should be a first-rank sword technique. Not having the reason of the sword Dao, it is just that the moves are a bit clever! It cannot be called a superior sword technique..."

Sima Rui listened to the sarcasm beside him, not only not nervous, but also wanted to laugh.

I hope you have truly seen Li Taibai's sword technique, and don't be scared to pee your pants!

A noble family disciple took Five Stones Powder with wine, opening his clothes to dissipate the heat. He was excited at this time, his true energy was restless, spitting out the essence of the five stones, laughing and saying: "This Li Taibai is probably just another Li Er! Having gained some false reputation, he dare not show his face again! What's the big deal about beheading a Dragon God? I heard that the Dragon God was beheaded by Wang Longxiang for his beloved son, and they fought fiercely, and after both were injured, this person took advantage of it..."

He laughed endlessly after speaking. At this time, someone quietly pulled his clothes, and the banquet was silent for a while. He felt something was wrong, so he turned his head in a hurry, only to see Wang Longxiang standing in front of the hall, looking at him calmly, while Qian Chen stood beside Wang Longxiang, indifferent and arrogant.

Wang Longxiang scanned the four directions and said word by word: "The one who beheaded the True Dragon with a sword is Li Taibai! Not my ability!"

Qian Chen comforted him: "With a long sword in hand, why fear public opinion?" After speaking, he pulled his sleeve and dragged him into the hall... ===== CHAPTER 405 =====