Asura Mad Emperor

Three days of preliminary contests have passed, and the sect competition has ended, with Groups A, B, C, and D each determining twenty-five victors.

The preliminaries concluded, and the sect should have been in a celebratory mood, but due to the spreading rumors of the old ancestor's passing, the atmosphere turned somewhat oppressive.

The one hundred disciples who emerged victorious were also filled with worries, showing no signs of joy at their success.

Early the next morning.@@novelbin@@

Qinchuan was woken up by the clanging sound of gongs.

Today marked the first day of the final competition of the sect, and he got up early and left his quarters.

According to the usual rules, the finals are split into Dao Heart trials and Mysterious Technique contests.

The first event of the finals is the Dao Heart trial, which is held in the Refining Spirit Valley.

This Refining Spirit Valley is a relic of a Divine Demon Battlefield from ancient times. After the fall of the divine demons, unwilling to enter the Underworld's cycle of reincarnation, they wandered in the valley. After billions of years of purification, their True Spirits shattered and became fragments of Divine Souls.

These Divine Soul Fragments are extremely beneficial for cultivators in cultivating their Dao Heart.

The content of the first trial of the finals is for all disciples to enter the Refining Spirit Valley and collect as many Divine Soul Fragments as possible. Before sunset, all disciples must leave the valley.

Then, the collected Divine Demon Fragments will be exchanged for competition points, which will be used to rank the participants in the first round.

After having breakfast, Qinchuan proceeded straight towards the Refining Spirit Valley.

Originally, Qinchuan did not want to enter the Refining Spirit Valley, but last night he suddenly thought that there may be a treasure in the central area of the valley that would be extremely beneficial to Xiao Yu's Myriad Laws Treasured Body.

Therefore, he decided on the spur of the moment to take this opportunity to enter the valley. If he could find that item, it would be ideal, but there would be no loss even if he did not find it.

When Qinchuan arrived at the Refining Spirit Valley, in addition to many disciples who were already waiting there, numerous elders were also present early, waiting for the Sect Leader to open the valley.

Because this year, the competition included elder contests, which follow the same rules as the disciple contests.

The only difference is that the disciples will enter the outer area of the Refining Spirit Valley, while the elders will enter the core inner area of the valley.

Upon Qinchuan's arrival at the Refining Spirit Valley, the Red Luan, which had been comfortably sleeping in his embrace, stuck out its head. It seemed to sense something different about the Refining Spirit Valley, its eyes shone brightly, calling out excitedly towards the valley.

Qinchuan's arrival, of course, drew the attention of some: "That kid, he really dares to participate in this competition?"

"Hey, the sixth elder made his intentions clear; he wanted to make it tough for him. I thought he would choose to protect himself wisely and not join this contest, yet here he is, daring to show up!"

"The reward for first place in the elder competition is a Supreme Dao Artifact, who wouldn't be envious?"

"Precious treasures tempt people, but one must also have the life to claim them. He, a mere Meridian Opening Realm cultivator, how can he snatch the lead from the hands of the elders?" a disciple sighed and shook his head, "Truly overestimating his own abilities."

Yet, a very few disciples were doubtful, wondering, "If he was able to effortlessly cripple the Dantians of two protectors, maybe he really has some solid backing?"

"Hmph, this kid must have used some Secret Technique to conceal his true strength, which let Gong Hai and Gong Miao, the protectors, fall for his trick, but being an elder means being at least in the Holy's Realm, how could this kid cope with that?"

While people were talking, Chi Shan inserted a Divine Talisman in each hand into the Refining Spirit Valley, one on the left and one on the right.

The Divine Talismans, like streaks of light, entered the Refining Spirit Valley instantly. Subsequently, on the valley's outer Prohibitions, a blue and a red transfer gate appeared.

The blue portal leads to the outer areas of Refining Spirit Valley, and the red portal leads to the inner regions.

After Chi Shan announced the start of the trial, the disciples entered the blue portal one by one.

Once all the disciples had entered Refining Spirit Valley, Qinchuan was the first to step into the red portal on the other side.

Among the elders behind him, an elder with a swollen face watched Qinchuan's disappearing figure with resentment and quickly followed, stepping into the portal.

This person was none other than Changsun Gu, who was slapped into a pig's head by Qinchuan a few days ago.

After Changsun Gu entered, Lin Qingtian followed closely behind and stepped into the portal as well.

Seeing the three of them hurry in such a rush, the remaining elders, not wanting to be left behind, followed suit and entered one after another.

...

With a flash of brilliance, Qinchuan's figure had already appeared in a dense forest.

To call it a dense forest was somewhat misleading; it was more like a forest of withered trees. The towering trees, stretching into the clouds, had long since withered away, devoid of any vitality. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, emanating a foul stench.

Not only that, the forest was eerily silent, apart from one's own heartbeat and breathing, not a single sound could be heard, terrifying in its stillness.

This place was the central area of the Divine Demon Great War from ancient times. The Divine Skills used by the ancient gods and demons absorbed the life essence from tens of thousands of miles around, turning this place into a genuine land of death.

In the distance within the forest, a faint blue light flickered in and out of sight. Qinchuan knew that these were Divine Soul Fragments.

However, Qinchuan's purpose for entering Refining Spirit Valley this time was not for the Divine Soul Fragments, but for the Divine Demon Fate Fragments.

These fragments, derived from the Divine Demon Fate, were generally found on Divine Demon Battlefields and were extremely beneficial for Xiaoyu's cultivation of the Myriad Laws Treasure Body.

Of course, if one could find the intact Divine Demon Fate, Xiaoyu's cultivation of the Myriad Laws Treasure Body would progress at a rapid pace.

Unfortunately, complete Divine Demon Fragments were impossible to find in the Divine Wilderness Continent unless one went to the Upper Realm, to that place—the final Divine Demon Battlefield—where there was a slight chance of finding one.

Seeing Qinchuan's lack of interest in the Divine Soul Fragments, the Red Luan spread her wings and opened her beak, and the Soul Fragments fell into her mouth.

Qinchuan chuckled to himself, not expecting that the Red Luan, aside from treasures of Fire Spiritual Energy, would have such a keen interest in these Divine Soul Fragments.

Seeming to perceive Qinchuan's thoughts, the Red Luan flew back to his shoulder, preened her feathers, and spoke human words, "These Divine Soul Fragments, formed from the condensed soul and spirit of ancient divine demons after their True Spirits dissipated, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, are highly nourishing for my kind."

Qinchuan then understood that the Fusang Red Luan carried the ancient Phoenix Bloodline within her. The phoenix, in ancient times, was one of the ten great fierce beasts, which preyed upon both divine and demonic beings.

The Red Luan's fondness for Divine Soul Fragments was simply a matter of her innate bloodline.

Qinchuan's Innate Pupils rotated, locking onto the central position of Refining Spirit Valley, he set his direction and marched towards the center alone.

The core area had many more Divine Soul Fragments compared to the outer region, yet Qinchuan didn't collect a single one, letting them all fall into the Red Luan's beak.

After traveling another ten miles or so, just then, a strange roar erupted ahead, shattering the deadly silence of this world.

"Roar…"

Immediately, a fierce wind stormed from all around, and a figure wielding a battle saber emerged from the forest of withered trees ahead. He was enveloped in rolling Demonic Qi, his eyes void of pupils, dark and bottomless like the Abyss. Within that abyssal depth, a faint eerie blue light flickered in and out of view.