Episode 53

  Insufficient to hear this, he followed the crowd's gaze and looked up at the sky, only to see a five-colored cloud approaching from afar. The cloud was like a phoenix, with a woman in flowing robes standing on it. Her five-colored cloud dress matched perfectly with the colorful clouds beneath her feet, making her look like a celestial being descending from heaven. It was as if she was floating on a cloud, and he couldn't tell whether she was ascending or descending. The beauty of the scene was almost palpable, as if one could savor it. Her elegant demeanor was difficult to describe, and although she was close by, he dared not look directly at her due to her noble bearing. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his waist and turned around, only to see Dian'er covering her mouth and laughing.

  "Insufficient elder brother, too lustful! How can you have such an expression in front of me?"

  "Oh, Chang'er, you don't know this, but this is the first female cultivator I've seen since I started practicing my craft. It's not that she's particularly beautiful, it's just that someone from a certain household is curious about her!"

  "Hmm!"

  That Chang'er, also didn't know whether she believed or not, hummed and turned her head to look around in all directions. She saw that more than a dozen male and female cultivators in the area were staring up at her with their eyes fixed on her. However, that extraordinary person standing proudly on the five-colored cloud phoenix above didn't even glance at her sideways. He just lowered his head, stopping several meters above the ground. Chang'er raised her eyes to take a look and knew that this person's cultivation was vastly different from those of the various sects in this land. Moreover, he had already condensed his yuan, and his gong fa wasn't weak either. However, he used an extraordinary mysterious law instrument to conceal his cultivation, only revealing his peak state through his law body. Then, she hummed softly again.

  "Chang'er, don't be like this. You and I have come here to join the sect and gain an advantage, but we can't afford to quarrel with others and ruin our plan."

  "Alright, alright, brother. It's just that I saw you staring at this demon girl without blinking..."

  "Heh heh, Chang'er, I observe that this woman's demeanor is extraordinary, vastly different from ordinary cultivators. Even among her fellow disciples in the same sect, there are none with such an aura. I only fear that the Daoist methods she practices may be different from theirs."

  "Huh? Not enough, brother, you......"

  Chang'e was greatly surprised, thinking that her beauty had captivated his heart, but she did not expect him to have such a view!

  "Chang Er, don't pick her yet, let's first ask Yi Xiu Men Ye Wen Tian if it is!"

  "Yes! Sorry, brother."

  Chang'er's voice was filled with joy as she turned her head to look at the Phoenix Fairy again, seeing her standing on a cloud-colored phoenix, her eyes slowly scanning downwards, whereupon the man's gaze met hers with fervent enthusiasm.

  "Sister Shifu's grand arrival at the Apricot Forest Grand Competition, we brothers and sisters of various schools are truly honored and delighted. And also heard that Sister Shifu will perform, which makes us even more nervous and apprehensive! Only......"

  Gao surname Shixiong bowed and said in a loud voice, but was unexpectedly blocked by that female cultivator waving her hand.

  "This grand competition, all ten major sects' lower-level cultivators participated, although the methods are diverse and people have different opinions, it is still a good opportunity for mutual learning, exploring the Tao, and improving the relationships between the various sects. This is why our ancestors maintained this grand competition in the apricot forest for thousands of years. However, it's not about being brave and fierce, competing for fame and profit! But you all gathered here, only asking about treasures and wealth, ignoring the relationships between the sects, only caring about winning or losing, without investigating the verification of the Tao! I don't know if this is our foolishness or the misfortune of our sects! Now the upper echelons of the sects not only fail to guide us in a favorable direction but instead become more extreme and push the situation to the limit. If things continue like this, I fear that the relationships between the sects will become increasingly distant, and the Tao will decline!"

  As soon as the words were spoken, the clouds dispersed and gently descended onto the platform. On the platform, there were over a dozen people from various sects, all of whom were high-ranking officials. Although they had profound Taoist skills, they seemed to have not heard this woman's extremely disrespectful remarks, but instead, they all stood up and greeted her with courtesy, revealing the great prestige she enjoyed!

  "Senior Gao, I've heard that you're a senior fellow of the Yi Xiu Men sect. Would it be possible for me to introduce my younger sister and our family's junior brother to become your disciples?"

  Chang'er saw that Gao Xing was staring at her and couldn't help but glance back at him, so she curtsied slightly and said.

  "You're like a younger sister to me, no need for formalities! Come on over!"

  He was overjoyed and followed Qiaonu into the depths of the peach forest.

  "Big Brother Gao, I and my sworn sister came here seeking an opportunity, a certain family..."

  Insufficient respect, High Master waved his hand and interrupted the insufficient words:

  "Oh. So you're also thinking of joining our Easy Repair School, just like those other country bumpkins?"

  "Yes! It's just......"

  Elder Gao waved his hand once more and said:

  "This is a difficult matter! It's not that I, your foolish brother, won't help out. But the previous recruitment of talents was only five years ago. The last one was just two years ago, and the next one won't be for another three years!"

  "Oh, ..."

  "Senior Gao, what if someone recommends a newcomer?"

  Chang'er heard this and smiled. That High Master lowered his eyebrows and smiled, saying:

  "It all depends on the qualifications and reputation of the recommender."

  "Ah! This beautiful maiden is indeed a rare sight, even the Phoenix Fairy can't compare to her! Senior Brother Gao, who is this wonderful person?"

  Suddenly, a slender and elegant figure appeared beside him, with a smile that seemed to say "I'm a man, but I look like a woman".

  "Oh, Lin Shidi, this is Lin Jiang, Lin Shidi."

  Elder Brother Gao spoke in a warm voice.

  "Hello, Master Lin! I am Fu Junru, younger sister of Feng Cheng."

  "Hello, Brother Lin!"

  Not enough to bow one's head slightly.

  "Brother Feng!"

  Mr. Lin gave a slight bow and then his gaze fell on Chang'er again.

  "Lin Shidi, weren't you supposed to go on a mission to the Southern Great Sea? What are you doing here?"

  Gao asked his elder brother.

  "My master, Qing Niao, has ordered me to return and participate in this grand competition. I don't understand, just a mere..."

  "Cough! Cough!......"

  "Ah yeah! Big Brother Master has arrived, isn't it about to begin?"

  Lin Jiang was startled and stopped speaking, then bowed his head and said.

  "Hmm! Lin Shi Di has returned, that's good. Master instructed me to have you carefully observe this time's Grand Competition and see how the Feng Ming and Ben Lei Gong Fa are."

  "Yes, Master."

  "Junior Brother Gao, how did you bring an outsider to my residence?"

  "Master brother, who is this......?"

  "This senior brother, we two are seeking the whereabouts of Ye Qianyu Xianzhang."

  He bowed deeply and paid his respects.

  "Oh! Looking for my master? What's the matter?"

  The man was astonished and said:

  "My brother and sister are two people who were recommended by the immortal Chen Zi'an to come here and find Ye Xianchang."

  Insufficiently respectful answer.

  "Who is this Chen Zi'an? What kind of people are you two that can invite him to speak?"

  "Mr. Chen is an old friend of our family's ancestors, and when our ancestor asked him, Mr. Chen agreed."

  "Well, you two come with us to participate in the contest first, and then go to my home to pay respects to our master!"

  "Yes, thank you elder brother."

  Insufficient body again one ritual said, watching big master brother far go, heart in thought said:

  "I wonder how many people here know that dead guy Chen Zian? How well do they understand him? Do they even know if he's dead or not? Alas, things have come to this, let nature take its course."

  He couldn't help but sigh and look at Chang'e who was already chatting with the female cultivators of Yi Xiu Gate.

  "It's strange, this female cultivator became familiar with us as soon as we met, while it takes us male cultivators a long time to become familiar. Brother Feng, you tell me, is that true?"

  Lin Jiang suddenly spoke up with less than a word, but his eyes stared at Chang'er without blinking. Gao Shixiong took over and said:

  "Feng Shidi, Dashi didn't ask you about your origins and subtleties, which is rare. I suppose that Chen Zi'an, the infinite god, is also an extraordinary person. It seems that you have a promising future ahead of you, congratulations!"

  Insufficiently informed, his heart suddenly became apprehensive and uneasy.

  "If that scoundrel's reputation is great, then this visit may be either a blessing or a curse!"

  But then again

  "Chen Ze's death is known to very few. I suppose the Da Fangzhou family won't let this news leak out either, since they still want to capture and kill me!"

  With this thought in mind, he felt slightly relieved and followed Gao and Lin to the other side where the crowd was gathering.

  Less than two people followed him to the side of Yishan. After waiting for an hour, the sky was already dark, and even though the stars were full of heaven, they couldn't stop the deep darkness from growing thicker. Suddenly, a golden bell rang out, and one of them said:

  "The tenth sect's apricot forest grand comparison begins, all sects return to their positions. Requesting the top ten executives to ascend the stage and preside."

  After the voice fell, all the cultivators from far and near gathered from the depths of the peach forest. In a short while, there were over a thousand cultivators under the apricot platform, most of whom stood scattered and disorganized, except for the ten major sects' cultivators who lined up in ten directions, surrounding the platform, with only three to five hundred people. Not enough to compare with the crowd following behind Yishoumen's cultivators, Xing'er raised her head and looked around, seeing that each of the ten sects' cultivators had a large banner leading their team, with different patterns on the flags. Seeing that there were not even two people looking up at the banners of the various sects, Lin Feng quietly moved to Xing'er's side and said:

  "You're like a junior sister, look, the blue star chart is the banner of Qingyuan Gate, the black river-shaped one is Heishui Valley's, the one with the golden sword painted on it is Shengjian Mountain Villa's... Our Yixiu Gate's banner is the best, it's just three pieces of immortal stone forming a gate shape, simple and straightforward. I..."

  "Cough, cough......"

  In front of him, the senior brother turned his head and made a gesture, squeezing his eyes. Several people saw the senior brother turn his head to look around and stopped talking. However, he was thinking about what the senior brother had just said about Chen Zi'an's astonished expression, when suddenly he felt a strong golden light on the platform, although he hadn't looked at it yet, but the feeling of being dazzled made him uncomfortable. He raised his eyes to look over, and suddenly a golden light ball appeared on the platform, shaped like a half-inverted bowl, with its circular surface merged with the platform's surface. The hemispherical body shone brightly, covering an area of nearly a hundred feet, even wrapping around that giant apricot tree. A cultivator stood in front of this light ball, looking at everyone and saying:

  "Fellow practitioners, the ten major sects are demonstrating their skills here. We also welcome you to watch, but our new techniques are still unrefined and may be difficult to control during practice. It's possible that we might accidentally damage this protective barrier or affect the surrounding spectators. Therefore, please retreat back a hundred paces."

  Those mountain hermits who heard this all retreated in succession. Thus the Great Comparison officially began.