Chapter 550: Nascent Soul Duel

Hearing Jin Wu Ziyuan suddenly say this, although Song Song Qingming and Zhao Zhao Menglian felt slightly embarrassed, they didn't show much surprise.

After all, this cultivation world respects the strong. An important point in wanting to win others' respect is to look at the cultivator's own cultivation strength.

Although False Core cultivators are barely considered people who have successfully formed a core, because they cannot refine natal magic treasures, their own strength is far inferior to true Golden Core cultivators. It is not a strange thing in the cultivation world that Jin Wu Ziyuan would look down on False Core cultivators like Hu Hu Tianren.

Many Golden Core elders of the Xiaoyao Sect, including Song Song Qingming himself, are only willing to sit on equal footing with False Core cultivators like Hu Hu Tianren on weekdays because of the face of belonging to the same sect.

"Junior Brother Song, rest assured, I already directly rejected Junior Brother Hu yesterday. Even if Junior Sister Xu wanted to go, I wouldn't dare to agree. It wouldn't be of much use for someone with Junior Brother Hu's cultivation to go. If something happens to him inside, I'm afraid Sect Master Senior Brother will have complaints about us in the future."

Seeing Song Song Qingming ask about Hu Hu Tianren as soon as he entered, knowing that he might be worried that she would agree to the other party, Zhao Zhao Menglian also hurriedly explained to Song Song Qingming.

"Senior Sister Zhao is right. I also heard before that Junior Brother Hu seems to have some relationship with Sect Master Senior Brother, which is why I was somewhat worried about this matter. We are all going to the Heaven-Reaching Tower for the first time, and we are barely able to protect ourselves, so it is indeed somewhat difficult to look after him." Confirming that Zhao Zhao Menglian had already rejected the other party, Song Song Qingming felt a trace of worry in his heart slightly eased.

The reason Hu Hu Tianren was able to be selected by the Xiaoyao Sect to be supported in forming a False Core was partly because he was a direct descendant of a Dao companion of the Xiaoyao Sect's Sect Master, Yao Yao Ganshu.

Yao Yao Ganshu was very loving to this Dao companion of his back then. When he was able to successfully form his Golden Core back then, the other party had also contributed a lot to him. It was just a pity that not long after, his Dao companion unfortunately died outside while executing a sect mission and failed to form a Golden Core.

After the Dao companion who supported each other fell, Yao Yao Ganshu hadn't looked for a new Dao companion for so many years, and he had always taken good care of her main family, the Hu family. Later, he also supported Hu Hu Tianren in forming a False Core.

Although Song Song Qingming and the others somewhat looked down on Hu Hu Tianren, they were still very respectful to Sect Master Yao Yao Ganshu, who had managed the sect for many years. They certainly still had to worry a bit about his face. If they really brought this person in and something unexpected happened, it would indeed be somewhat difficult to explain to Yao Yao Ganshu when they returned.

Moreover, Song Song Qingming was still in the same sect as them. For Zhao Zhao Menglian and Jin Wu Ziyuan, Song Song Qingming could be considered half of their own people, so he was naturally much more trustworthy than those ordinary rogue cultivator friends they found outside.

"With the two of us plus Senior Sister Zhao, even if we face ordinary late-stage Golden Core cultivators, we have the strength to fight. As long as we don't take the initiative to enter the fourth floor, there shouldn't be any danger."

Although Zhao Zhao Menglian and Jin Wu Ziyuan had each found a rogue cultivator friend willing to accompany them outside these past few years, the "Heaven-Reaching Tower" was not like other places. Being able to find another companion with similar strength to go in naturally meant having a few more guarantees.

After the battle at Iron Immortal Castle last time, Song Song Qingming's performance among the many Golden Core cultivators, although not very eye-catching, was already recognized by Jin Wu Ziyuan and the others.

Because Lü Lu Boyang happened to have a flash of insight in his cultivation recently, he had basically been in seclusion for these few years and had no intention of going to the "Heaven-Reaching Tower."

Zhao Zhao Menglian and Jin Wu Ziyuan had invited Lü Lu Boyang several times but failed. Even if Song Song Qingming hadn't taken the initiative to come to their door, they actually already had the idea of going to Mount Mount Tuoyun to try Song Song Qingming.

Apart from Chu Chu Fengping and the others who were ordered by Li Li Mufeng to stay behind to guard the sect, among the remaining Golden Core elders of the Xiaoyao Sect, the only ones left with the strength to enter the Heaven-Reaching Tower were Lü Lu Boyang and Song Song Qingming.

Especially after seeing the "Golden Wind" summoned by Song Song Qingming, apart from Chen Chen Xuanfeng who had long known about it, Jin Wu Ziyuan and the others were also slightly surprised at the time, not expecting Song Song Qingming to hide such a formidable trump card.

After nearly a month, the seven-colored glow above the high sky was even more dazzling than before. If it were a cultivator above the Golden Core stage with extraordinary eyes, they could already see a faint shadow in it, as if something huge was about to come out of it.

"Sigh! Junior Brother Song is too humble. Your cultivation has now reached the third layer of Golden Core. Plus you have a Golden Core corpse puppet, your fighting strength is already no less than an ordinary mid-stage Golden Core cultivator."

Precisely because of this, when Song Song Qingming took the initiative to come to their door a year ago to go to the "Heaven-Reaching Tower" together, Zhao Zhao Menglian and Jin Wu Ziyuan were also very happy after knowing his intentions, and soon agreed to the matter.

Five days later, in a place illuminated by seven-colored glow in the north of the State of Liang.

Ever since the news of the "Heaven-Reaching Tower" spread, one could see shield lights flying from all directions every day. Not only had it attracted many high-tier cultivators, but even many low-tier cultivators at the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages within the State of Liang had gathered here.

However, these cultivators had a very obvious regional division here according to their cultivation level. Those who could stand on the few mountains not far below the glow were basically cultivators with Golden Core cultivation or above.

Those low-tier cultivators who only had Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivation could only stand in the outer circle, looking enviously at the high-tier cultivators in the middle from afar.

On this day, a green light flew quickly from the high sky in the east and landed directly on a mountain peak near the middle position.

A moment later, a small flying boat appeared in an open space on the summit, slowly revealing seven figures. It was exactly the group from the Xiaoyao Sect who had rushed over from tens of thousands of miles away from the State of Wei.

The open space that had occupied this area originally had several Golden Core rogue cultivators. After seeing Li Li Mufeng, a Nascent Soul cultivator, appear with the group from the Xiaoyao Sect, these people's expressions changed immediately. After cupping their hands to the group, they very sensibly moved away from here, leaving this open space to Li Li Mufeng and the others.

Song Song Qingming and the others who had just stepped off the flying boat were seeing the huge seven-colored glow constantly flickering in the sky for the first time, and they all revealed a look of shock. The huge movement of this secret realm appearing was indeed somewhat beyond their original imagination.

Only Li Li Mufeng, who had once entered the "Heaven-Reaching Tower," looked at it with a normal expression, then quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere, checking the other high-tier cultivators on the mountain peak.

"Fellow Daoist Li, it has been many years since we last met. This Daoist priest pays his respects."

Not long after the Xiaoyao Sect group arrived here, an old man wearing a Daoist robe with white hair and a long beard suddenly flashed and appeared before them, cupping his hands slightly toward Li Li Mufeng, who was standing in the front.

This old man looked like a kind-hearted old man, but the powerful aura he emitted was not a bit inferior to Li Li Mufeng, who was standing before the group. He was clearly also a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Behind this old man, there were three Golden Core cultivators with not-low cultivation following. One of them was Cheng Cheng Bufan, a Lingyin Sect cultivator whom Song Song Qingming had seen in the State of Wu back then.

It had been about twenty years since the Star Assembly, and Cheng Cheng Bufan's cultivation had already gone a step further than back then, having cultivated to the ninth layer of Golden Core, only one step away from the Nascent Soul realm that ten thousand people admired.

Seeing Cheng Cheng Bufan standing respectfully behind that old Daoist, Song Song Qingming also immediately guessed that this Nascent Soul cultivator with not-low cultivation before him should be the only Nascent Soul Supreme Elder of the Lingyin Sect, Situ Yan.

Sure enough, after Li Li Mufeng saw the white-haired old Daoist, he immediately walked to his side with a smile, cupped his hands and returned the salute: "Fellow Daoist Situ, your journey was even further than mine. I didn't expect that your Lingyin Sect would arrive here one step ahead of me. It seems that you are also very well prepared this time, old brother."

"Haha! Fellow Daoist Li is joking. Fellow Daoist Zheng and the others haven't come yet. It seems that the opening of this Heaven-Reaching Tower will still take some time. If Fellow Daoist Li has time, why not play a game of chess with me?"

"Since there is nothing to do, then I will be disrespectful!"

No sooner had Li Li Mufeng nodded and agreed than Cheng Cheng Bufan, who was standing behind Situ Yan, immediately took out a chessboard carved from a whole piece of jade from the storage magic treasure on his body, placed it in the middle of the two, and respectfully placed a set of chess boxes that looked very exquisite to the side.

Afterward, the other two Golden Core cultivators of the Lingyin Sect beside Situ Yan also took out the futons, sandalwood incense, and other things needed for playing chess one after another. Clearly, they had also been well prepared long ago.

"Fellow Daoist Li, please!" After Cheng Cheng Bufan and the others were all prepared, Situ Yan stepped forward, made a gesture of invitation, and sat directly by the chessboard, grabbing a handful of white chess pieces and placing them on the table.

The chess game between the two Nascent Soul experts naturally quickly attracted the many Golden Core cultivators following them. Even those Golden Core rogue cultivators who had originally stayed away from here couldn't help but lean over after seeing this scene.

Although these people didn't dare to get as close as Song Song Qingming and the others, facing this chess game between Nascent Soul cultivators that was rare to have a chance to see, these people were also really unwilling to miss it. Even if they stood slightly further away, their faces were also carrying a trace of excitement, hoping to realize and comprehend some things useful to themselves from these Nascent Soul cultivators.

Li Li Mufeng and Situ Yan, the two started the chess game quite normally, but after only a dozen steps, the speed of their moves quickly dropped, and it became slower and slower.

This chess game soon made Song Song Qingming, who was watching the chess, have some insights, noticing a trace of strangeness in it.

From this chess game, Song Song Qingming seemed to see his own path of cultivation. When he first entered the Dao, his cultivation was very rapid, but the further back he went, the more difficult it would gradually become, and his own cultivation speed would also slowly drop.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 551 =====