Main Mountain Gate of the Myriad Images Sect.
One hall of the Martial Arts Hall.
Liu Fu’s face was ashen as he stood in front of his opponent, transmitting thoughts: "Chen Er, why bother? What did Ning Zhuo offer you that makes you willing to offend Master Yu Heye, and yet you stubbornly accept my challenge?"
Ning Zhuo had hired a group of people to rent the sect’s Cave Mansions on a large scale, forcing Liu Fu to confess and plead guilty to Yu Heye.
Yu Heye ordered his subordinates to trouble the cultivators renting the Cave Mansions.
This was the main mountain gate of the Myriad Images Sect, where internal disputes among cultivators were usually resolved through the Martial Arts Hall.
The Internal Affairs Hall was mainly for dealing with major conflicts among members of the Myriad Images Sect.
For less significant disputes, the sect encouraged private duels to resolve them.
This system was very suitable to the situation of the Myriad Images Sect.
There were simply too many people in the Myriad Images Sect! The friction among them created numerous conflicts. If the usual governance methods of a Super Sect were applied, it would require a large staff dedicated to dealing with these conflicts.
Such governance would inevitably lead to extensive corruption and even unjust cases.
After all, the Myriad Images Sect is not a Cultivation Kingdom, which can rely on officials to judge and resolve cases, with the help of divine insight and official power which often restores the truth.
And before the early stage of the Feiyun Conference, various groups flocked to the main mountain gate, increasing the population!
A large number of non-Myriad Images Sect cultivators would temporarily reside here.
Therefore, this would generate a massive amount of disputes and conflicts.
The Myriad Images Sect would generally not intervene in these matters, allowing them to be privately resolved among those involved.
This approach saved considerable governance costs, and also fostered an environment of survival of the fittest within the sect, where those who stood out were often quite powerful!
With strong combat power and a large number of personnel, irreconcilable conflicts even within would prevent the Myriad Images Sect from confining itself to traditional boundaries.
To avoid severe internal strife, the sect’s leadership naturally shifted internal conflicts to the outside world.
This approach allowed more space for internal members to maneuver.
Over time, the influence of the Myriad Images Sect continuously expanded. Those temporarily unsuccessful in internal competition would often choose to establish outposts outside the sect, hoping to reverse their fortunes. This led to the ever-expanding reach of the Myriad Images Sect’s influence.
So, when Yu Heye discovered interference in the mountain he had chosen, his natural choice was dueling to resolve the issue.
Most cultivators assembled by Ning Zhuo chose to avoid fighting, not daring to ask for those ten Mid Grade Spirit Stones, and voluntarily canceled their Cave Mansion rentals.
But a few, firm-headed, accepted the challenge.
Standing in front of Liu Fu was one such person, "Chen Er."
From Liu Fu’s perspective, this was naturally hard to understand.
He had already discovered that the slogan Ning Zhuo used to gather these low-level cultivators was the promise of ten Mid Grade Spirit Stones. Now, was Chen Er willing to risk his life for ten Spirit Stones that were never coming?
Examples of duels to the death were not few.
Yet, he didn’t know that Chen Er was just a temporary alias, and his true identity was Ning Zhuo’s chef, known as Kitchen Elder.
Kitchen Elder said nothing, just beckoned to Liu Fu with his finger.
Liu Fu was furious: "Stubborn fool!"
He flicked his hand, sending out ten talismans. The talismans ignited mid-air, transforming into Water Arrows, launching an offensive towards Kitchen Elder.
With a thought, Kitchen Elder took out a "shield," placing it in front.
Simultaneously, Kitchen Elder kicked the ground, using his movement technique to swiftly shift position.
Bang bang bang.
The "shield" was very agile, moving as he willed, surrounding Kitchen Elder, intercepting all the threatening Water Arrows.
Kitchen Elder reached into his chest and then flung a handful of glutinous rice into the air.
The glutinous rice grew wildly in mid-air, transforming into giant rice-white worms, surrounding Liu Fu.
Liu Fu’s heart raced: "Gu Cultivator?"
Liu Fu retrieved his trusty Magic Artifact, a Sword Box he had procured from the market.
Infusing it with mana, he opened the Sword Box, from which burst forth waves of Micro-Gold Sword Qi.
The Sword Qi was sharp, piercing through the worms with unabated momentum, circling back to penetrate them again. After several cycles, one giant worm perished.
Kitchen Elder smiled inwardly.
Using Sword Qi on the giant worms was an absolute mistake on Liu Fu’s part.
Kitchen Elder intended for them to be expendable; Liu Fu expended vast mana to conjure Sword Qi that only killed worms, thus relinquishing his advantage in the fight.
If the Sword Qi were directed at Kitchen Elder, he would definitely have to defend with all his might, leading to a stalemate.
But now, with no external pressure, Kitchen Elder could easily focus on dealing with Liu Fu.
He brought out a gourd, spraying a deluge of golden oil droplets.
Hundreds and thousands of oil droplets formed a violent rain, enveloping Liu Fu.
Having lost the initiative, Liu Fu could only activate a talisman, forming a Light Shield akin to a Golden Bell over himself to stabilize the situation temporarily.
The Light Shield was indeed sturdy, withstanding oil droplets that shattered upon impact, the residual oil scattering all around. For the time being, it was unbreakable.
"This is a talisman treasure," Shen Xi observed as he watched.
Normally, such a duel wouldn’t interest him at all. But since it related to Ning Zhuo and his own standing in the alliance, he was somewhat intrigued.
"What do you think, cousin?" Shen Xi asked, taking the chance to train Su Lingkou.
Without hesitation, Su Lingkou replied, "Liu Fu is not adept in battle; he made two erroneous choices. The first was willingly losing his advantage, and the second makes him seem as stable as a mountain but in reality turns him into a sitting duck."