Chapter 267: Chapter 266: Celestial Phenomenon (Congratulations to the Silver Alliance)_1
"Sir Zhong..."
Taishu Hong saw Zhong Hongyu descend from the high platform and smiled slightly. "The cultivation technique practiced by Tusla is unique. During combat, his Evil Qi is imposing, and cultivators of lesser cultivation, even slightly faltering in their mental fortitude, will be affected and perform poorly... What a pity... Hong Ding could have definitely performed better."
"It’s just that he’s no match for the other, there’s no need for such talk."
Zhong Hongyu snorted coldly.
"Indeed... After all, the one your Zhong family is mainly promoting is Zhong Lingxiu."
Taishu Hong chuckled, looking at the Qi Refining combat on the high platform, seemingly making an offhand comment.
"After all, Lingxiu’s cultivation time is too short, how can she compare to the outstanding new talents from the Top Three Families? Xiahou Lie’s ’Blazing Sun Spell’ is also top-notch in power..."
Zhong Hongyu let out a scornful laugh. "And to spread rumors, treating the Island Master’s treasure as if it belongs to your family. Are you hoping to engage in some private underhanded dealings?"
"We certainly aren’t the ones who spread those rumors!"
Taishu Hong shook his head hastily.
He couldn’t bear the blame for such a grave accusation.
After his Foundation Establishment, he had been working on reorganizing his family, and he would never be so foolish.
He even suspected that it was the Zhong family who spread the rumors in the dark! But as the investigation progressed, he felt it wasn’t likely, seeming more like the work of a third party trying to sow discord.
After all, on Dragon Fish Island nowadays, it was truly a mix of dragons and snakes, with numerous small Qi Refining families having moved in, in addition to a large number of Individual Cultivators!
"You wouldn’t dare!"
Zhong Hongyu snorted coldly.
She was almost certain it wasn’t done by Taishu Hong. She only stated it so bluntly to gain a verbal advantage.
Moreover, Taishu Hong truly was worthy of being a cultivator who had successfully attempted Foundation Establishment on his own and possessed a top-grade Spiritual Root. His cultivation speed was very fast, and even though she had achieved Foundation Establishment earlier, there was a trend of him gradually catching up to and even surpassing her in cultivation.
After all, she only had a mid-grade Spiritual Root, and her cultivation technique wasn’t very compatible with her Spiritual Root.
’Mr. Hong is from the same era as the Island Master, and Lord Ruan and Island Master Liu are more or less the same age...’
’When this batch of Foundation Establishment cultivators reaches their limit, will the Top Three Families still wield the greatest influence in Thousand Island Lake in the days to come?’
’However, as long as the Island Master is successful, it would all be irrelevant.’
Zhong Hongyu had an inexplicable confidence in Fang Xi, perhaps due to the admiration that had developed since childhood.
"The victor... Zhao San!"
At this moment, another victory was decided among the battling Immortal Cultivators on the platform.
Taishu Hong bid farewell and took the initiative to ascend the high platform, presiding over the next bout of combat...
...
Three days later.
The Treasure-snatching Conference gradually approached its end.
And the final battle was taking place upon the high platform.
However, the participants were, on one hand, as expected, and on the other, surprisingly unexpected.
"I never imagined... it would be him!"
Long Feng’s face was pale as he clutched his injured shoulder, staring blankly at the platform.
Engaged in combat on the platform... were none other than Xiahou Lie of the Xiahou Family and... Hai Danaiu!
At the moment, Xiahou Lie, with his sun-attribute cultivation technique, appeared almost as if he was burning, maneuvering several brilliant magical artifacts, continuously besieging Hai Danaiu.
Yet, Hai Danaiu remained composed and unhurried, holding a huge Rock Shield and covered in a layer of rock armor, tight in defense and impervious.
Even Long Qin had not anticipated that it would be Hai Danaiu who fought all the way to the end!
During these three days, she had indeed witnessed numerous exciting bouts of combat.
There were even various talismans and secret skills... and a few late-stage Qi Refining masters had accidentally perished on the platform.
The performances of Mo Guanfeng, Zhong Lingxiu, Tusla, Na Yunzi, and others were also quite remarkable.
Even though her cousin Long Feng had been winning consecutive battles, after entering the top ten, he finally met a true expert and was defeated by Zhong Lingxiu...
Zhong Lingxiu, however, was subsequently defeated and eliminated by Hai Danaiu...
And now, it came down to Hai Danaiu and Xiahou Lie competing for the Base-building Spiritual Objects!
"Big Brother Danaiu, you can do it!"
Of course, Long Qin supported her acquaintance, waving her small fists in the air, cheering and encouraging Hai Danaiu.
"It’s really unexpected..."
Zhong Hongyu looked at Hai Danaiu on the platform with a contemplative expression. "This person must have an Earth Attribute Spiritual Root and is cultivating the ’Stone Steadfast Spell’, right? This cultivation technique emphasizes a steady and unhurried approach... Being able to cultivate steadily to Qi Refining Great Perfection, his magic power foundation is exceedingly solid, and as long as he stands upon the earth, his magic power recovery rate will also speed up... Plus, he’s actually a third-level body cultivator!"
A third-level body cultivator’s prowess was already comparable to a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
Furthermore, this person wielded a superior defensive magical artifact and had incredibly enduring physical strength. Many of his previous opponents were worn down in just this way.
"If they can’t break through this man’s defenses, the Xiahou Family’s young man will be in trouble..."
Yuan Feihong stated this without any bias.
But breaking through Hai Danaiu’s defense would only take a few moments for them as Foundation Establishment cultivators; for Qi Refining cultivators, it was much more troublesome.
"Alas... It’s just that my boy Lie is out of luck," sighed Taishu Hong, his eyes flashing with insight, knowing that although Xiahou Lie currently looked formidable, he was actually stuck in a quagmire.
If he couldn’t breach Hai Danaiu’s defense in a short span of time, he would gradually fall into a disadvantage and face a tragic defeat!
Unfortunately, even though he had realized this early on, he was unable to do anything about it.
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators were constraining each other, limiting his ability to intervene.
Moreover, even if he could find a way to intervene, he dared not.
After all, this Hai Danaiu was not without a powerful backer—he was a tenant of the Island Master’s through generations, and he had influence!
Since his arrival at Dragon Fish Island with that junior from the Mo Family, he had even been summoned by the Island Master. After receiving a few words of encouragement, he was allowed to stay and work on the island!
Who knew if he had caught the eye of the Island Master?
Therefore, even though he knew this man was difficult to deal with, he could only stand by helplessly and watch.
The rhythm of the magical duel was quite dull.
Hai Danaiu’s strategy was simple and clear—to rely on defense, deplete his opponent’s magic power, and then counterattack!
In the end...
Xiahou Lie even resorted to using a secret skill that damaged his primordial energy, to enhance the power of his magical artifacts, but he could only struggle to break through the rock defense, which Hai Danaiu endured with his sturdy physique.
If the martial arts competition had allowed the use of second-order talismans, perhaps he could have broken through Hai Danaiu’s defenses.
But a Qi Refining Cultivator using secret techniques ultimately could not compare to the power of Foundation Establishment.
The result of the duel was clear.
Bang!
With a fist clad in rocky armor knocking Xiahou Lie unconscious, the Treasure-snatching Conference finally came to a close.
"The victor of this Treasure-snatching Conference—Hai Danaiu!"
Yuan Feihong exchanged glances with the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, then turned into three beams of Escape Light, arriving above the platform together and announced loudly, "The reward is one bottle of ’Black Wind Evil Essence’!"
With a smile, he handed the bottle of Evil Qi to Hai Danaiu.
"Thank you, my lord, and thank you all great Cultivators!"
Hai Danaiu smiled broadly, his grin seemingly splitting his face all the way to his ears.
"The second-placer of the Treasure-snatching Conference will be rewarded with a superior magical artifact..."
Taishu Hong continued announcing the prizes, with the top ten contestants all receiving some level of rewards in the form of pills or Spirit Stones, a fair distribution of wealth.
"Big Niu..."
Yuan Feihong patted Hai Danaiu on the shoulder, finding the honest-featured youth quite pleasing to the eye, "Now that you’ve got the Evil Essence, you’ll be a target... Quickly rent a second-order Dongfu and seclude yourself to use the Evil Qi for Foundation Establishment..."
"Eh, I’ll listen to the lord!"
Hai Danaiu nodded briskly, agreeing.
He looked down, wanting to say more.
Suddenly!
Dragon Fish Island violently shook, like a dragon turning over, causing Hai Danaiu to stagger and nearly fall, but fortunately, he gripped the white jade bottle firmly in his hand.
"What’s happened?"
"A dragon turning over?"
"Impossible! Dragon Fish Island is protected by a Great Array, how could it be affected by such an event?"
As the Qi Refining Cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment, suddenly Long Qin sensed something, looked up towards the center of the island, and a look of disbelief spread across her face.
"Look..."
"What is that?"
Several pointed towards the center of the island.
Only to see that the perpetual mist had mysteriously dissipated quite a bit, revealing a colossal Ancient Tree that obscured the sky and sun!
This tree’s trunk was pitch-black, striped with blood-red veins, its massive canopy drooping with countless vines and Qi Roots, although no Puppets hung from its ends.
Humming!
The naked eye could see the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi converging towards the tree’s canopy, even forming a tide!
The spiritual energy within dozens of miles was almost completely drained in an instant, causing nearby Cultivators to feel almost ’suffocated’!
Visible Spirit Fog spiraled around the top of the Monster Tree’s canopy, forming a massive funnel-shaped vortex, slowly but firmly beginning to spin.
At the same time, the cloud of spiritual energy underwent intense compression, turning into threads and drops of liquid Spirit Rain, continuously falling along the canopy, flowing down the branches and gathering on the main trunk, as if being swallowed by some mysterious entity in one gulp!
Boom!
A terrifying Spiritual Pressure emerged from the roots of the Monster Tree shrouded in fog, spreading outwards!
"This kind of Spiritual Pressure!"
Yuan Feihong, looking at the Monster Tree, revealed a longing, envious...and even slightly jealous expression, "No mistake...it’s the pressure from a Core Formation elder...the Island Master is breaking through to Core Formation!"
"Core Formation Celestial Phenomenon! So that’s how it is!"
As she witnessed the distant skies changing, Zhong Hongyu couldn’t help but show a trace of joy on her face, "The Island Master has been in seclusion for many years, is he finally going to achieve Golden Core?"
"Golden Core ah..."
Taishu Hong watched the spectacle, his eyes similarly filled with longing, "I wonder if I will be able to cultivate to Foundation Establishment Great Perfection in my lifetime and attempt this step!"
"The Island Master...is making the Golden Core breakthrough?!"
Barely managing to stand after the near fall, Hai Danaiu muttered, "The Island Master will surely succeed!"
"Lad...you’re really lucky!"
Yuan Feihong looked at Hai Danaiu but his expression bore a trace of intrigue, "If the Island Master’s breakthrough had been slightly delayed...and you were in seclusion for Foundation Establishment, affected by this Spirit Qi Vortex and the Core Formation celestial phenomenon, you would have had no chance of a successful Foundation Establishment."
’Could it be...this man truly possesses fateful opportunities, otherwise why does he always manage to have such perfect timing, turning misfortune into fortune?!’
Taishu Hong, observing Hai Danaiu, also felt a stir of surprise and confusion.
Immortal Cultivators may not believe in destiny, but they do believe in chance!
Otherwise, how could one defy fate, seize creation, and thus acquire longevity and long sight?