What I teach you is real stuff.

Zi Yanchen trembled as she listened to Alliance Leader Lu's words, but naturally she dared not say anything.

She dared not offend either the patriarchs of the Zi family or the Alliance Leader Lu in front of her.

Now it's a situation where both sides' bigwigs are poaching each other, so what right does she, the one being poached, have to express her opinion?
However, one thing is certain: it will be a good thing for Zi Yanchen no matter which side she goes to.

In the Zi family, she was being groomed to be the next head of the family. Although the elders in the family were a bit old-fashioned, they were genuinely thinking of things for her own good and would never harm Zi Yanchen.

This Alliance Leader Lu was also there to mentor her, but his ideas were closer to her own and more open-minded. He even directly praised her imaginative ideas and concepts.

Zi Yanchen herself was also very complicated. From an emotional point of view, she would naturally prefer to stay in the Zi family. Although the ancestors of the Zi family were old-fashioned and Zi Yanchen would often curse them behind their backs, the Zi family was the place where she grew up, and she preferred to stay in her own home.

But from her heart, Alliance Leader Lu is more suitable for her, and only by staying within the Northern Continent Alliance and learning from Teacher Yao Xuan and Alliance Leader Lu can she unleash her true abilities and potential in the future, something that can never be achieved in the Zi family.

Zi Yanchen simply decided not to choose and left the decision to the elders.

However, she also knew in her heart that although the ancestors of the Zi family were powerful, they were definitely no match for this Alliance Leader Lu. Just as Lu Yuan himself said, even the ancestors of the Zi family might not dare to talk to Alliance Leader Lu face to face, let alone snatch people away.

In fact, Zi Yanchen had already made her own decision.

Zi Yanchen thanked Lu Yuan and Yao Xuan, and then she started talking about Elder Chen.

"By the way, Alliance Leader, there is one more thing. One of the elders in my Zi family acted impulsively and offended the formation. He was sucked into the inner space by the formation. I hope that the Alliance Leader can be lenient and let him go."

Zi Yanchen almost forgot about Elder Chen from before, but fortunately she remembered and pleaded for Elder Chen's life.

Lu Yuan was naturally aware of this matter. He said, "The array outside the array shop was set up by me personally. It will automatically activate when I close the shop. The elder you mentioned is indeed a bit reckless, but considering that those who are unaware of the situation will not be blamed, let's let this matter go."

The array that Lu Yuan set up outside was actually just something he did casually. With his current cultivation level, he could already move around freely in the Azure Heaven World Plane and didn't need any defense at all.

After saying that, Lu Yuan activated the formation and threw Elder Chen, who was trapped inside, out.

Elder Chen had been trapped in the array space for several days. The sudden movement inside the array startled him. He thought the killing formation of the array had been activated and was just preparing to make a final stand when he was suddenly thrown out by an unknown force.

Along with him, his lost magic treasure, the Green Mountain Seal, was also thrown out.

Elder Chen was still dazed when he broke free from the formation, but he was overjoyed to have the Green Mountain Seal back. After putting the magic weapon away, Elder Chen looked around and found himself inside the strange little shop.

There were people all around, including the young lady from the Zi family.

Elder Chen was unaware of what had happened outside in the past few days. At this moment, he became very vigilant and quickly came to Zi Yanchen's side, saying, "Miss, be careful. This shop is no ordinary shop. Its formation is extremely powerful, and it is definitely not a benevolent place."

Elder Chen was quite loyal. He had personally witnessed the power of the formation and was almost in despair after being trapped inside for several days. Even after he came out, he remained loyal to his master.

Elder Chen's gaze swept across the entire room, and Lu Yuan said, "What's your name? You seem quite loyal."

Lu Yuan appreciates loyal people. People like Elder Chen, who are weak but loyal in crucial moments, often earn Lu Yuan's praise.

Elder Chen looked at Lu Yuan, who was sitting in the main seat. This man did not show any cultivation level, but his aura made it clear at a glance that he was no ordinary person.

Elder Chen felt a sense of pressure and said, "My name is Chen Chong, and I am an elder from the Zi family of Beizhou. You are the owner of this shop? Your formation is indeed quite skilled, but don't even think about harming a hair on my young lady's head."

Elder Chen may be a bit impulsive, but he is certainly not a coward.

Despite knowing that Lu Yuan was no ordinary person and that he might not be able to beat him, he still dared to make such a bold statement.

Hearing Elder Chen's words, King Jinjiao and the others laughed.

This Elder Chen is quite interesting. Although he is an elder from outside the Zi family, his loyalty is indeed rare.

Elder Chen Chong didn't understand why these people were laughing, and he was somewhat annoyed.

He wanted to be a Void Refinement expert, with his cultivation reaching the peak of the Void Refinement realm. Although he had not broken through to the Integration realm, relying on his many resources and trump cards, the strength he could unleash would not be weaker than any ordinary Integration realm cultivator.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a powerful cultivator at the Integration Stage; otherwise, the Zi family wouldn't have trusted him to lead the team and bring Zi Yanchen out.

But what is my status? Yet I am trapped in a small place like Chen Kingdom in Qingzhou, and after I came out, I was ridiculed by a group of people?

Chen Chong retorted angrily, "How dare you! Who exactly are you people? I am a powerful cultivator at the Void Refinement Realm. If you want to fight, then fight. Do you think you can laugh at me like that?"

What is your own status?

The Zi family is a top-tier family in the entire Northern Continent Alliance. As an elder of the Zi family, he is someone that anyone can ridicule.
Scholars can be killed but not humiliated!
Just as Chen Chong was about to explode in anger, having uttered two harsh words, Zi Yanchen behind him was already frightened. Zi Yanchen quickly advised, "Elder Chen, don't speak recklessly. These seniors are not people we can afford to offend. These are all..."

This time, before Zi Yanchen could finish speaking, the Golden Horn King had already released a trace of his aura.

Golden Horn King: What kind of powerful being are you? Oh, a Void Refinement Realm expert...

Wu Song, Zhang Feifei, and others standing nearby also slightly revealed their auras.

This mere trace of aura was enough to instantly calm Chen Chong, who had just uttered those harsh words.

Chen Chong: Wait a minute, this... this isn't right, is it?
Mahayana period?
So many Mahayana periods?

real or fake?

Chen Chong's first reaction was disbelief, but the aura emanating from these people was indeed that of the Mahayana stage.

It should be noted that although the overall strength of the entire Da Luo Continent has increased significantly, the number of cultivators at the Mahayana stage, which is the pinnacle of the cultivation pyramid, has not increased much over the past few thousand years.

After all, now that there are plenty of pills, it has become easier to cultivate at the lower levels, but the difficulty of cultivating to the peak has not decreased at all. Looking across the seven continents, there are still only so many Mahayana cultivators, and only one or two more have been added every few thousand years.

Where did all these Mahayana practitioners come from?

Actually, there was no need to ask this question. Chen Chong already had an answer in his heart when these Mahayana cultivators released their auras.

The Northern Continent Alliance! In the current Azure Sky World, only the Northern Continent Alliance can gather so many Mahayana stage cultivators to sit down and have tea.

What Chen Chong couldn't understand was why so many important figures had gathered in such a remote little place at this time.
Actually, Chen Chong also had a guess about this problem, but he didn't dare to think in that direction because it was too frightening.

As for the identity of the owner of this small shop, Chen Chong already had a general idea in his mind.

Who in the entire North Continent Alliance leadership could gather so many core Mahayana cultivators here?
Chen Chong was almost in tears, not from anger, but from fear.

The thought that he had actually tried to force his way into this array-enhanced shop and even intended to use his broken, rusty magic weapon, the Green Mountain Seal, to smash the array filled him with lingering fear.

If I had known there was such a god in this place, I wouldn't have dared to do it even if I had a thousand times more courage.

No wonder this formation is so terrifying; if it was set up by that being, then it makes sense.

Chen Chong initially suspected that the formation trapping him was an eighth-order formation. When he was trapped inside the formation, he was wary, thinking that he had kicked a steel plate of an eighth-order formation master.

But now it seems that I underestimated the eighth-order formation. If that person really exists, then the formation that has trapped me these past few days must be at least ninth-order.

This isn't just kicking a steel plate; it's kicking your own ancestors!

And he had just shamelessly said that the existence's array formation skills were quite good?
This is more than just good...

Chen Chong's face turned pale instantly, and when he looked at the figure sitting in the main seat again, he felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body.

Although Chen Chong was not weak, there were too many legends surrounding that person. If it really was that person, what was his cultivation level worth?

Chen Chong's voice changed as he asked, "Esteemed seniors, I was arrogant just now and didn't recognize you. May I ask if you are the core elders of the Northern Continent Alliance?"

Then Chen Chong looked at the figure in the main seat: "Senior, are you Alliance Leader Lu?"

Lu Yuan didn't keep him in suspense and nodded directly: "It's me."

This sentence was the final straw that broke the camel's back, scaring Chen Chong into paralysis.

Large beads of sweat dripped down Chen Chong's forehead.

Just asking, is it really Alliance Leader Lu?
Seeing Chen Chong's nervous appearance, Lu Yuan said, "I already said, ignorance is no excuse. Why are you so nervous? Do you think I'm some kind of ruthless demon?"

Lu Yuan looked at the rather interesting Elder Chen and comforted him.

Although Elder Chen did show off in front of them, in Lu Yuan and King Jinjiao's eyes, Chen Chong was just a junior.

Moreover, his cultivation level was a bit lacking, only at the Refining Void Realm. In their eyes, Chen Chong was no different from a child. A child can say a few harsh words to scare the adults, but the adults can't really get angry with a child.

Not to mention that Chen Chong is one of their own. He is an elder of the Zi family, and the Zi family are members of the Northern Continent Alliance, so naturally Chen Chong is one of their own.

Are you going to physically punish your own child for showing off?
Moreover, rather than saying Chen Chong was showing off, it would be more accurate to say that he performed a skit for Lu Yuan and the others.

After all, it was quite funny for someone in the Mahayana stage to claim to be a Void Refinement expert; they treated it as a comedy sketch.

Lu Yuan told him not to be nervous, assuring him that he wouldn't do anything to him.

Seeing that the high-ranking officials and Alliance Leader Lu were not truly angry, Chen Chong breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alliance Leader, esteemed seniors, I was blind to your true nature. I never imagined that you would be living in seclusion here. I have offended you greatly!"

Lu Yuan said, "I understand your eagerness to protect your master, but you need to correct this reckless habit in the future, otherwise you'll easily suffer losses when you go out."

Although Chen Chong's cultivation level was not yet at the Integration stage, he could still unleash the strength of the Integration stage. However, there were still many top experts in this world, especially after Lu Yuan integrated the power of the world. When he looked at the Azure Sky World again, he discovered many hidden masters in the shadows.

There are far more top experts in this world than he imagined. Fortunately, Chen Chong encountered his own elders this time. If he had encountered outsiders, he might have lost his life.

Chen Chong nodded repeatedly to show that he understood as he listened to Lu Yuan's words.

"Thank you for your guidance, I will certainly correct my mistakes."

Lu Yuan said, "It's good that you can change. I see that you are a very loyal and righteous person. From today onwards, you don't need to go back to the Zi family. From now on, you can go to the headquarters of the Northern Continent Alliance with Zi Yanchen to cultivate. The resources you can get there are better than in the Zi family."

Lu Yuan had already poached Zi Yanchen, and now he didn't mind poaching Chen Chong, who was at the peak of the Void Refinement stage, as well.

Chen Chong was taken aback by what Alliance Leader Lu said.

What does the alliance leader mean by that? Does he mean he's poaching us?
And judging from what he just said, it seems that his young lady has also been poached.
Chen Chong broke out in a sweat because he knew very well how important Zi Yanchen was to the Zi family. This young lady was entrusted with an important task by the Zi family and was being groomed to be the next head of the family.

He never expected that he would be poached by the alliance leader after just one outing. How is he going to explain this when he goes back?

However, it seems he doesn't need to go back and explain, because he himself has been poached.

Chen Chong said, "Alliance Leader, this...this isn't good, is it? I can't explain this to my ancestor."

Lu Yuan: "What explanation do you want? The Northern Continent Alliance and the Zi Family are one family. We don't speak like family. Sending you to the Northern Continent Alliance headquarters to cultivate is not to cut off your contact with the Zi Family, nor is it to prevent you from returning. What explanation do you want?"

After Lu Yuan said that, Chen Chong had nothing to say.

After all, Lu Yuan's words were not wrong. The Northern Continent Alliance and the Zi family were indeed one family, and there was nothing wrong with that.

Chen Chong naturally knew that he could obtain more resources by cultivating at the headquarters of the Northern Continent Alliance. If he stayed in the Zi family, it might take him at least five or six thousand years to cultivate to the Integration Stage and Tribulation Stage, and it would be even more distant to cultivate to the Great Ascension Stage. Whether he could break through to the Great Ascension Stage was still unknown.

However, if he enters the Alliance headquarters, with the resources there, the time it takes him to break through to the Integration Stage and transcend the Tribulation Stage will be reduced by at least half. Moreover, there are too many top experts breaking through to the Mahayana Stage within the headquarters, and there is a lot of experience shared among these top experts.

If he can gain this experience, wouldn't his chances of breaking through to Mahayana in the future increase?
Chen Chong's life is like a dream.

How should I choose? It's so hard to choose... (End of Chapter)