Daoist Competition-Chapter 1071 - 275: East Splendor Sects (Part 2)

Indeed, not long after she spoke, strange bird calls came from the southern sky, a soft yet unfamiliar sound.

Soon, they saw swirling gang winds in the sky, dense like black smoke, descending towards Chengyuan Gorge. The wind and smoke dispersed to reveal five Nascent Soul True Masters.

At the forefront stood two men with almost identical features, both dressed in white, with delicate features and a bright, clear aura that made them unforgettable.

The man on the left rode a Red Quail about a meter in size, with a golden crown like a mushroom, yellow feathers with green down, a tail five meters long, like a star fire blazing through the night sky;

The man on the right rode a Double-headed Bird, with fierce eyes and sharp beak, its back feathers red and black, a white belly with a long tail, wings bearing ferocious bat claws, spanning six meters, stirring the wind as it flew.

Cao Minrou looked at the two exotic birds and thought secretly, "These two must be the brothers Nie Zhang and Nie Gui from the Nanhua Sect. The spirit birds they ride appear to have fire control capabilities. Could they be here to deal with True Master Huo from the Mingcang Sect?"

She unknowingly spoke this last sentence aloud, and Yang Bi, upon hearing "Mingcang Sect," couldn’t help but take notice.

Zhu Xin covered her mouth with a smile and said, "Miss Cao, you might be mistaken. I’m familiar with True Master Huo’s reputation. He’s known to cultivate Water Attribute Techniques. The Nie brothers using fire-controlling spirit birds seems counterproductive."

Cao Minrou shook her head and said, "You’re not aware, True Master Huo indeed practiced Water Attribute Techniques early on, but after marrying into the Chen Family, he switched to cultivating Fire Attribute Techniques. If I weren’t close friends with his wife, I wouldn’t have known this."

Yang Bi thought for a moment and laughed, "In this swordfight, it seems True Master Huo is the only one among the Ten Sects of Xuanmen practicing Fire Attribute Mysterious Skills. It’s probably due to his wife’s loose lips that True Master Cao knows about this. But how did the Nie brothers find out? They are quite handsome, I must say."

At the end of his sentence, there was a hint of amusement in his tone. Zhu Xin couldn’t miss his implication and shot him a displeased glance.

Cao Minrou coughed and willingly changed the topic, "Besides True Master Huo, from the Mingcang Sect, you should be cautious of True Master Zhong Muqing."

Yang Bi said, "I’ve heard True Master Zhong ranks second among the Top Ten Disciples of the Mingcang Sect, he can’t be better than True Master Huo."

Compared to Huo Xuan, Zhong Muqing’s reputation was much lesser known. He, too, had traveled for training, but that was more than three hundred years ago; not many disciples knew of him.

Cao Minrou sternly said, "Don’t think that way, you don’t understand. True Master Zhong once practiced under Master Qi Yuntian with True Master Qi, before coming under True Master Qin Yu’s tutelage. Their ages are similar."

Hearing the name "Qi Yuntian," the two couldn’t help but pay their respects and even held Zhong Muqing in higher regard. Yang Bi secretly reminded himself, "Be cautious if you encounter him."

At this point, Cao Minrou suddenly relaxed, "Fortunately, the Mingcang Sect didn’t send True Master Zhang this time."

Yang Bi, surprised, asked, "True Master Zhang, which one is he?"

Cao Minrou replied, "Brother-in-law, are you aware a fellow Daoist from the Mingcang Sect achieved First-class Elixir Formation?"

Yang Bi nodded, "First-class Elixir Formation is rare throughout history, how could I not know?" Immediately, he trembled, realizing, and asked in awe, "Could it be this True Master Zhang you mentioned is the same person?"

Cao Minrou lightly nodded, "Indeed. True Master Zhang entered the path less than a century ago yet has already reached the Nascent Soul stage."

Yang Bi and Zhu Xin exchanged a look of shock. After a long while, Zhu Xin forced herself to say, "With such progress in cultivation, it’s likely his Divine Skills are somewhat lacking."

Cao Minrou shook her head repeatedly and shared all she knew about Zhang Yan with the two, who were speechless after hearing it all.

Zhang Yan’s martial exploits were mostly outside East Splendor. While Demon Sect disciples knew of his prowess, his name wasn’t well-known among the Xuanmen. Furthermore, none of the three disciples from the Mingcang Sect in the swordfight bore his name, so it wasn’t known unless sought after deliberately.

Cao Minrou coincidentally heard of Zhang Yan’s name because Liu Yan Yi, on a journey to seek medicine years ago, met and befriended her. She initially hoped to take her as a disciple but learned she already had a teacher and gave up the thought.

After Liu Yan Yi returned to the mountain, she secretly ordered disciples to escort her safely back to the Zhao You Heavenly Pond.

Because of this, she paid particular attention to Zhang Yan’s affairs, and upon inquiring, was taken aback by his accomplishments, realizing what an extraordinary individual he was.

Yang Bi sighed, "If one only considers talent, this True Master Zhang surpasses all his peers worldwide."

At the same time, he thought to himself, "It’s a pity that in this swordfight, he couldn’t attend, and I won’t get a chance to compete with him!"

Zhu Xin, slightly trembling, patted her chest, "The depth of foundation among the three major sects is truly beyond our imagination."

While the three spoke, the party from the Mingcang Sect was already a hundred miles outside Chengyuan Gorge, yet they stopped.

Huo Xuan observed from afar, seeing starlit, radiant beams like a myriad of stars tens of miles away, continuously flashing, and a phantom cloud mist in mid-air like a Heavenly Vault. He said, "From that setup, it seems to be someone from the Yuxiao Sect."

Zhong Muqing and Luo Qingyu each drove their flying carriages to stand beside him. Zhong Muqing raised his hand to shield his eyes from the cloud light, looked a few times, and said, "The Yuxiao Sect sent someone to the last two swordfights from the Wu Clan; this time, it should be a disciple from the Zhou Family."

The Yuxiao Sect, although one of the great sects of East Splendor, had many disciples active in the South Cliff Continent and South Sea, and had not informed all sects which disciples were sent this time.

However, within the sect, the Wu and Zhou families were most influential. Last time, the attending disciple was from the Wu family; by this, one could deduce it would be a Zhou family member this time.

Huo Xuan pondered, "Since the Yuxiao Sect fellow Daoists are ahead of us, rushing forward might cause conflict. As your brother, I’d suggest we slow down a bit and let them move ahead first." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Zhong Muqing and Luo Qingyu both nodded in agreement. It did not matter who entered the mountain first or last to the three major sects."

...

...(To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with your recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)