Chapter 75: Chapter 74: Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, Who Can Reach the Top?

In the end, Yu Lin bought a copy of the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, and Song Ciwan bought one too.

As soon as she got it, she unfolded it. A quick glance confirmed her suspicion: there, in ninety-eighth place, was the name Chi Hua Fairy.

Fang Yingxia: Late-stage Qi Refining, Daoist Name Chi Hua, True Disciple of Qionghua Pavilion, direct descendant of the Beichen Sword Immortal.

Primary Magical Treasure: Celestial Sword, Spirit Sword Level.

Combat Record: Reached Late-stage Qi Refining, exterminated seventy-two demon ghosts from the Hundred Souls Cave, and battled a Core Formation Stage Mountain Spider Demon Ghost with her Late-stage Qi Refining cultivation. Her combat power is rated at the Profound Level, qualifying her for ninety-eighth place on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List.

...

Chi Hua Fairy had just been through the great battle at Bibo Lake yesterday. At that time, Song Ciwan had used the Side Door Taoist Skill "Measurement System" and gauged her cultivation to be at Mid-Stage Qi Cultivation.

To think that only a day had passed—perhaps not even a full day.

According to the inn’s waiter, there was a certain delay in the transmission of the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List.

In any case, the Chi Hua Fairy of this moment had not only experienced a huge surge in her cultivation, but her strength had also soared. She was no longer the same person she was before.

’I wonder what she experienced in such a short time?’ But Song Ciwan was still genuinely happy for her.

Then she looked at the names at the top of the list.

Ranked number one, to her surprise, was a Celestial Pride of the Demon Race, the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, Tushan Jing!

Tushan Jing: Saint Heir of the Fox Race, Body of Ten Thousand Transformations, Celestial Demon Bloodline, Early-Stage Demon King, Cultivation Six-Tails. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Primary Magical Treasures: Ten Thousand Types of Frosty Heaven, Four Symbols Reincarnation Disc.

Combat Record: Defeated a Human Race’s Returning Void expert, fought and defeated a Late-stage Demon King of his own race...

Ranked second was a Celestial Pride of the Human Race, Yun Liuguang!

Yun Liuguang: Late-stage Divinity Transformation, Daoist Name Fu Guang, Daoist of the Profound Heart Sect, Pure Yang Sword Body, Cultivating the Emotionless Dao, Heart-Slaying Swordsmanship.

Primary Magical Treasure: The Immortal Sword Du’e.

Combat Record: At Late-stage Divinity Transformation, he slayed a Celestial Pride of the Demon Race, a Demon King Level Golden-winged Roc...

Yun Liuguang’s combat record was incredibly long, and at a glance, Song Ciwan saw it was almost entirely filled with him slaying various Great Demons. And among them, the most eye-catching achievement was, naturally, the slaying of the Golden-winged Roc!

Further down, third place was still the Demon Race, fourth was the Human Race, fifth through eighth were also the Human Race, and ninth and tenth were the Demon Race.

Overall, on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, there were six members of the Human Race and four of the Demon Race in the top ten.

But first place belonged to the Demon Race!

Song Ciwan couldn’t deny that the moment she saw the list, her heart had truly skipped a beat.

For a moment, she felt a sense of weight and pressure.

Although it was called the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, the ones who actually made the list were mainly from the Human and Demon Races.

And yet, the Human Race had failed to claim the number one spot on this Celestial Pride List!

As a human, how could she not feel something about this?

’Is the Human Race weak?’

’Not necessarily.’

’Blame Yun Liuguang? That’s not right. He managed to reach second on the list; who could blame him?’

’Anyone who blames him might as well try to take first place themselves!’

Song Ciwan calmed her emotions and began to examine the list again from a more objective perspective.

The contents of the list were extremely rich; from another perspective, it was clearly an introduction to the Ten Thousand Races.

Song Ciwan saw many types of demons on it.

For instance, the Nine-tailed Fox, Golden-winged Roc, Dragon Race, Golden Crow, and so on—these were all familiar names from myths and legends. Although incredibly powerful, they lacked a certain sense of mystery.

The truly mysterious and bizarre ones were creatures like the Dream-eating Beast, Mirage Spirit, and Mountain Charm, or even things like the Night Traveling Lamp, Book God, Paper Ghost, and Faceless Insect...

Reading this was a real eye-opener for Song Ciwan. She felt that her own imagination was ultimately too poor; she had likely not even glimpsed the tip of the iceberg when it came to the richness and wonder of this world.

Furthermore, the paths of human cultivation were also incredibly diverse and numerous.

On the list, Song Ciwan saw numerous Dharma Bodies, like Yun Liuguang’s Pure Yang Sword Body. There were other Human Race Celestial Prides with bodies such as the Profound Nether Demon Body, the Innate Saint Body, the Great Sun Thunder Body, the Star Dao Body, and more. Those who possessed an outstanding Dharma Body often found it easier to stand out.

But there were also those who had no Dharma Body and did not pursue Cultivating Immortality. They simply trained in martial arts, and as a Martial Artist who had reached one hundred sixty-eight points of Enlightenment, they ranked among the Celestial Prides.

There was also a scholar on the list—the Human Race’s Advanced Scholar Su Baiyi, who had taken third place in the imperial examinations, ranked fourth on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List!

And a pure Female Martial Artist, the True Disciple of Ling Martial Sect, Du Xingheng. With strength that shattered all techniques, her bare hands could split mountains and part seas, slaying demons and exorcising evil. She was ranked fifth on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List!

There was also the Ling Kong Buddha Son, a Buddhist Arhat, who walked the Mortal World and made a name for himself.

And Mo Xingyi, a disciple of the Mo Family, who captured the world’s attention with his art of mechanisms.

...

Every name, every deed on this list was undoubtedly glorious.

Song Ciwan was so engrossed she couldn’t take it all in, and even Aunt Jin Hua and Yu Chan couldn’t help but lean in beside her to look as well.

Aunt Jin Hua was mostly illiterate, while Yu Chan could recognize a few hundred common characters.

Yu Chan read it aloud in a low voice for Aunt Jin Hua, asking Song Ciwan whenever she came across a character she didn’t recognize.

The two of them exclaimed in surprise one moment and sighed in admiration the next, their expressions so animated they could have been professional hype men on stage.

Yu Lin listened with one ear while keeping an eye on the inn boy who was leading their horse and unloading their cart.

Over there, the inn boy received his four cents and cheerfully settled the Yu Family’s horse and cart before leading the group into the main hall to assign their rooms.

In the main hall, a wave of heat and noise washed over them, and the clamor of the mortal world immediately pulled their grand thoughts and reveries inspired by the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List back down to earth.

Aunt Jin Hua snapped back to reality and exclaimed, "Aiyo!" slapping her thigh.

The inn was packed with common folk, and you had to fight just to get a spot in the large common room. The private, first-class rooms were available, but they were very expensive. It was half a tael of silver for one room, and only for a single night.

While Aunt Jin Hua was still hesitating, Song Ciwan quietly went over to the innkeeper, booked two rooms, and paid for three days.

When Aunt Jin Hua found out, she forgot all about those Celestial Prides and anxiously rushed over to Song Ciwan. "You child, we’re traveling, shouldn’t we be saving money wherever we can? You..."

Song Ciwan raised a finger to her lips and smiled gently. "Shh!"

She made a hushing gesture and took Aunt Jin Hua’s hand. "Auntie, we’re far from home. Our safety comes first."

That left Aunt Jin Hua speechless. Later, when she tried to stuff money into Song Ciwan’s hands, Song Ciwan said, "Auntie, I borrowed money from you before, and you wouldn’t let me pay you back. Now I’m staying in one of these rooms too, but you won’t let me pay. Are you trying to make my parents blame me from beyond the grave when I go to burn incense for them?"

Aunt Jin Hua said, "Pah! What’s all this talk of death? Don’t say such nonsense!"

Her focus was interesting, immediately latching onto the word "death" that Song Ciwan had casually let slip.

Song Ciwan burst out laughing, and Aunt Jin Hua sighed.

After nightfall, the group ate dinner together. They had dry rations again—flatbreads that Aunt Jin Hua had brought from home.

This time, Song Ciwan gracefully accepted the flatbread she was given and didn’t take out any eggs from her basket to share.

Aunt Jin Hua, on the other hand, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She quickly picked out two meat-filled flatbreads for Song Ciwan and urged her, "Go on and eat. I originally planned to travel all the way to Pinglan, so I prepared more than enough of these flatbreads!"

Song Ciwan said, "Auntie, I already said I would observe a full three years of mourning for my parents. Since I’ve said it, I must do it. Auntie, I’ll eat the vegetable-filled ones. Please give me three of those."

Aunt Jin Hua was left speechless again and could only take back the two meat flatbreads and exchange them for three vegetable ones for Song Ciwan.

After they finished their meal and cleaned up, lanterns were lit all over Huailing City. As the night grew both deep and lively, Aunt Jin Hua called Yu Lin over, gave him some ginseng and silver, and instructed him to take Song Ciwan to see Master Wei of the Situong Escort Agency.

Song Ciwan left her back basket and the Big White Goose at the inn, slinging a shoulder pouch over herself before heading out with Yu Lin.

Leaving the upstairs room and descending to the main hall, they were once again hit by a wave of clamor and the smell of liquor.

The travelers may have had their own hardships, but that didn’t stop them from holding forth on everything under the sun, fueled by alcohol.

Someone declared loudly, "The main disadvantage for our Human Race’s Celestial Prides is that their cultivation time is too short! Otherwise, just you wait three to five years, and our True Monarch Fu Guang will definitely reach the top spot!"

They were discussing the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List.

Others weren’t talking about that, however, instead whispering quietly to those around them about the story of Cold Hill Mountain.