Chapter 127

This was a middle-aged man in his forties with sword-like eyebrows and tiger-like eyes, carrying a giant pitch-black wheel on his back, wearing a purple robe with a red sun embroidered on his chest.

The moment Wang Yu saw the red sun, the three words "Sunset Sect" appeared in his mind.

The Sunset Sect was different from the Four Symbols Gate and the Thousand Bamboo Sect. It was located in Taizhou, the northernmost part of the Great Ming Prefecture. The sect's disciples were famous throughout the Wu Nation for cultivating fire attribute cultivation arts.

The spiritual energy fluctuations on this purple-robed man were extremely strong, clearly a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, and very likely a powerhouse who had already reached the tenth level of Qi Refinement.

The purple-robed man also looked at Wang Yu, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes.

"Family Head Yin, the person representing the Yin family in this competition is Fellow Daoist Wang, right? I didn't expect that after parting that day, Fellow Daoist Wang would directly become an inner sect disciple of the Four Symbols Gate and even an artifact refining apprentice. Truly a carp leaping over the dragon gate, with a boundless future." At this moment, the Yu family head also looked at Wang Yu, a look of envy on his face, but then persuaded Yin Linglong:

"Having said that, with Fellow Daoist Wang, an artifact refining apprentice, in the Yin family, why be in such a hurry to come out and fight for a spirit vein now? After becoming an official artifact refiner in the future, even if the Yin family doesn't fight, the sect will give the Yin family a spot."

"Family Head Yu has misunderstood Linglong. This time, it was Wang who proposed wanting to participate in the competition. After all, I have been burying my head in hard cultivation for these past few years, and it is rare to have a chance to see the skills of other fellow Daoists, so how could I easily let it pass?" Wang Yu didn't wait for Yin Linglong to answer and preemptively said with a smile.

"So Fellow Daoist Wang just wants to open his eyes. That's no wonder. This time, in order to fight for these two spirit vein spots, other families have likely invited quite a few Qi Refinement powerhouses. There should be a dragon-and-tiger struggle by then, which will indeed be an eye-opener." The Yu family head seemed to be truly enlightened and clicked his tongue in wonder.

"Family Head Yu, don't you intend to introduce this fellow Daoist from the Sunset Sect?" Yin Linglong suddenly asked, her gaze looking at the purple-robed man.

"Hehe, this is my good friend Gu Lian, whom I met when I was traveling in Taizhou years ago. He comes from the Sunset Sect and is now a retainer invited by our Yu family. He will be the one representing us in this competition." The Yu family head seemed to have just remembered that there was still one person behind him who hadn't been introduced. He immediately stepped aside, revealing the purple-robed man behind him, and introduced him in a few simple sentences.

"So it really is a fellow Daoist from the Sunset Sect. Truly disrespectful. The Sunset Sect's Red Sun Great Art is famous throughout the Wu Nation, and we have all heard of it long ago." Yin Linglong bowed slightly, and Wang Yu also cupped his hands.

"Hehe, when mentioning our sect, everyone first thinks of the Red Sun Great Art. But in fact, our sect has several other fire attribute cultivation arts whose power is not below the Red Sun Great Art. But unfortunately, I am only a Qi Refinement disciple and am not qualified to come into contact with such cultivation arts to let everyone see them." Gu Lian expressed himself very kindly and returned the bow as well.

Wang Yu then curiously asked this Gu Lian a few questions about the Sunset Sect and Taizhou. But just then, the Yu family head looked at the increasing number of people on other stone pillars and sighed.

"Speaking of which, among us small families, the ones most worthy of attention are actually the Mi family and the Bi family. The former, like our Yu family, fell from a medium-sized family. I heard that for this competition, they actually brought out the family's foundation: an eleven-pattern Bi Bo Blade artifact.

Such an artifact might not count for much in the eyes of a great Foundation Establishment cultivator, but placed among us in the Qi Refinement stage, it is a great killing weapon. I'm afraid most of the people who appear won't be able to withstand a single strike from this artifact."

"An eleven-pattern artifact, and an attack-type artifact at that. This is indeed very difficult to withstand head-on. What is special about the Bi family? I remember the Bi family has never ranked high among the small families." Yin Linglong's gaze flickered as she looked at Wang Yu upon hearing this, and she immediately asked again.

"Doesn't Family Head Yin know? The Bi family took out one-third of the family's income to invite the famous Master Qingge as a retainer.

Although this Master Qingge is only at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, his killing ability is known as the number one among loose cultivators in the Guangyuan Market. He once killed two late-stage Qi Refinement monsters simultaneously with his own strength. If it weren't for his poor spirit root aptitude, he would likely have been admitted to the inner sect of the Four Symbols Gate long ago.

With him taking action, it is almost a certainty that the Bi family will win a spot." The Yu family head said slowly, seemingly very helpless.

"So that's how it is. I have also long heard of this Master Qingge. I heard the Four Symbols Gate once wanted to recruit him as an outer sect disciple, but he demanded to become an inner sect disciple directly, which is why he has lingered in the Guangyuan Market and never entered the Four Symbols Gate." Yin Linglong was enlightened upon hearing this, and at the same time, her heart skipped a beat.

Although she knew Wang Yu's strength was not weak, facing so many strong opponents, the Yin family really didn't seem to have many chances.

Master Qingge!

Wang Yu's mind flashed back to the scene where he saw Master Qingge in the Guangyuan Market, and he showed an interested expression.

On the other side, Yu Xiaoming, who had been silent, couldn't help but ask Wang Yu:

"Wang Shixiong, are you at the sixth level of Qi Refinement now?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Yu family head frowned, while Yin Linglong showed a smile that wasn't a smile.

"Yes, I have indeed cultivated to the sixth level of Qi Refinement. I see that Yu Shidi's aura is stable now, so I think it's possible you might advance to the seventh level of Qi Refinement before long." Wang Yu replied with a smile.

"You have really entered the sixth level of Qi Refinement? Is the cultivation speed between the inner sect and the outer sect really so disparate?" Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaoming showed a lost expression for the first time, seemingly unable to believe the fact that his cultivation had really been caught up by Wang Yu.

"Nephew, the reason Fellow Daoist Wang can cultivate so fast is not just because of his inner sect disciple status, but because he is an artifact refining apprentice. You probably don't know how fast a well-known artifact refining apprentice earns spirit stones.

As long as there are spirit stones, there is no need to worry about pills to increase cultivation. What's so strange about Fellow Daoist Wang's cultivation speed being faster?" Gu Lian listened and looked indifferent.

"But..."

Yu Xiaoming wanted to argue that Wang Yu only had four spirit roots, while he had three, and that Wang Yu was only at the early stage of Qi Refinement back then, while he was already at the mid-stage. But his mouth moved, and he still didn't say anything.

Just as the few were talking, several more flying boats landed on nearby stone platforms, and more and more followed behind.

An hour later, just at noon, after no more flying boats appeared, one person flew lightly from a stone platform to above the martial arts arena and stopped in mid-air.

This person appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in a Confucian robe, wearing a Confucian hat, and holding a green short ruler in his hand. As soon as he stopped, an astonishing aura suddenly erupted from his body, sweeping across all the stone platforms like a gale.

"Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Wherever the aura passed, those with low cultivation swayed, and the mid-to-late stage Qi Refinement cultivators with deep cultivation also changed expressions, looking toward the high-altitude Foundation Establishment great cultivator with awe.