Chapter 42: The Eve Before the Sect Tournament

The days that followed eventually returned to tranquility. Ji Yao once more retreated to her small courtyard room, immersing herself in her chaotic yet busy plan for cultivation and study.

Perhaps it was because Li Fanghua’s death was connected to demonic cultivators, and so tragic, that Ji Yao, sharing the same courtyard, was innocently implicated. People felt it was unlucky, and so no one wished to live in that small courtyard anymore.

Ji Yao, however, was delighted to have the place to herself. She could freely access her space, consult with Situ Jing on any cultivation puzzles, and pursue her studies undisturbed.

Though the Disciplinary Hall did not grant Ji Yao any honors, they cleared her name, earning her a measure of sympathy from many outer sect disciples. This gave her further impetus to pursue her information-gathering endeavors; she indulged in gossip and rumors with great enthusiasm.

After receiving the golden storage bracelet sent by Gu Qiu, Ji Yao officially began her intermittent periods of seclusion. Yet this “bracelet” left her almost speechless; it was more of an armlet than a bracelet, three fingers wide with peony motifs and a gleaming gold hue—every detail radiated the extravagant air of a nouveau riche. If she hadn’t known it was a storage artifact, she might have thought it was a wealthy matron’s gold jewelry. It was impressive they managed to find such a storage treasure.

What comforted Ji Yao was that its internal space was more than three times larger than ordinary storage artifacts. Surely, bigger had its advantages.

To her pleasant surprise, the armlet contained ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. Ji Yao happily claimed ownership of the artifact, imprinting it with her soul mark, and fastened it to her left arm. As it turned out, the armlet rested unobtrusively at her elbow—it wasn’t conspicuous, nor did it get in the way. Though its golden color was on the gaudy side, since it wasn’t visible, Ji Yao didn’t mind much.

The days spent in secluded cultivation always passed swiftly. When Ji Yao awakened from her latest retreat, her cultivation had stabilized at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, and more than four years had passed since the previous incident.

Over those four years, Ji Yao had relied on the Spirit Gathering Array in her room for cultivation, entering her space only when breaking through minor realms. Thankfully, in the spare moments between cultivation, she had learned sound techniques, the Sword of Will, and array arts well enough to be competent during the Qi Refining stage.

Only the art of talisman arrays remained theoretical, limited by the lack of materials—she could not practice, only memorize the knowledge.

Unknowingly, her body had reached fifteen years of age. It had been five years since Ji Yao entered the Lingyun Sect. Ling Ru, meanwhile, had already achieved the peak of Qi Refining, and half a year ago descended the mountain for tempering, seeking the opportunity for natural Foundation Establishment.

Dongfang Shun, who entered the outer sect alongside Ji Yao, advanced at rocket speed; in just a few years, his cultivation surpassed Ji Yao’s, reaching the tenth layer of Qi Refining, all while simultaneously studying the four arts of alchemy, tools, talismans, and arrays.

By comparison, Ji Yao found herself at the end of the pack—so much for innate advantages. Yet she was not discouraged. She understood her own spiritual roots well; slow was fine! Compared to others, she was still progressing rapidly.

However, after this awakening, she would not be able to enter seclusion for quite some time.

The reason: the Lingyun Sect’s grand competition, held every five years, was about to begin.

According to the older outer sect disciples, this grand competition was separated by a full ten years from the last one. There should have been another in between, but seven years ago, when the Secret Realm of Ascension opened, the sect lost a large number of high-level Qi Refining disciples, so the event was changed to a smaller competition only for Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators.

That meant it had nothing to do with outer sect disciples, since those able to reach Foundation Establishment before the age of fifty typically wouldn’t remain in the outer sect—they would directly advance to the inner sect.

Only those who managed Foundation Establishment after fifty would stay as high-ranking stewards in the outer sect, enjoying the privileges of steward disciples. These were disciples who had lost their chance at promotion.

If, by luck, one of these stewards succeeded in forming a core, they could become an elder steward of the outer sect, enjoying the same treatment as regular elders. For ordinary outer sect disciples, this was the pinnacle.

Should they go further and reach Nascent Soul, they could become the master of any of the outer seven peaks—though such occurrences were exceedingly rare, hardly seen in millennia.

After all, once one became a steward, sect affairs would occupy much of their time—half spent on mundane duties, leaving little for cultivation.

These high-ranking stewards and elders of the outer sect were generally of mediocre talent and comprehension, having lingered in the outer sect long enough to earn a few Foundation Establishment Pills, barely managing to establish their foundation after half their lifespan had passed.

Most of them did not hold much hope and were rather pragmatic; they rarely had time to improve their cultivation, let alone compete in the smaller sect contests.

Why fight for spiritual artifacts and high-level pills that might not be won, and even if won, might not be useful? Better to peacefully enjoy the extra hundred, or even several hundred, years of life.

Therefore, this grand competition was especially important. Those Qi Refining peak disciples nearing the age threshold for inner sect advancement urgently needed Foundation Establishment Pills from this event.

For the younger Qi Refining peak disciples, they wanted to avoid risking their lives for the chance in the nine-yearly Secret Realm of Ascension.

Seven years ago, the secret realm’s sudden changes resulted in heavy casualties; who could say if the next one, two years from now, would be any safer?

Any outer sect disciple who felt they had a chance at advancement did not wish to gamble with their life. After all, the grand competition was protected by arrays and overseen by sect elders—at worst, one might be injured, but not lose their life.

In previous competitions, the top hundred could enter the inner sect, and the top two hundred received a Foundation Establishment Pill.

This time, due to the long interval, the sect decided to award three hundred Foundation Establishment Pills. The chances of obtaining one greatly increased, resulting in a dramatic surge in the number of applicants.

In the past, at most six hundred would sign up, sometimes only four or five hundred. This time, there were twelve hundred applicants, including more than ten disciples at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

When Ji Yao heard this, she secretly marveled. Were these people truly confident in their ability to fight opponents above their level, or just hoping their luck would carry them through?

Did they not realize that three hundred Foundation Establishment Pills among twelve hundred competitors made the odds no better than before?

To participate in the grand competition, one generally needed to be at the ninth or tenth layer of Qi Refining, and to enter the inner sect’s top hundred required outstanding combat strength.

Think about it: with pairwise matches to determine three hundred winners, each person only needed to win two rounds. It seemed not so difficult to get a Foundation Establishment Pill.

But Ji Yao was philosophical about it. Her cultivation wasn’t high enough yet; she could wait for the next competition. For now, she would observe and gain experience.

Yet, when an inner sect disciple delivered a registration token for the grand competition to her, Ji Yao was flabbergasted.

Who on earth had signed her up for this?