Immortality starts from the liver proficiency

Chapter 292 Setting up a Challenge
Xu Yunfan's gaze swept over a bronze mace covered in cracks in the corner, and he suddenly felt the Crimson Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace in his marrow sea tremble slightly. The weapon here actually retained the original owner's fighting spirit!

"I heard that Junior Brother received Master's oral instructions in the hall?"

Chu Cangming casually picked up a heavy black iron sword, its blade slicing through the air with a hissing sound. "I wonder if there's anything interesting to tell you?"

Xu Yunfan pretended not to notice the probing in his words and casually picked up a pair of meteorite iron hammers: "The sect leader has set up a thirty-six-linked arena. The battle will begin in three days, and I will be the arena master."

When the hammers collided, the sparks that flew out in the air were almost like spraying water.

Xu Yunfan couldn't help but exclaim, "What a fine weapon!"

These double hammers are top-grade and rare even among magical artifacts.

Before he finished speaking, Chu Cangming's fingers suddenly tightened, and the Xuan Tie sword pierced the ground three inches with a clang.

"I see."

He suddenly chuckled, a hint of darkness flashing in his eyes, "Swords and blades have no eyes in the arena, junior brother, you must be careful."

Xu Yunfan slowly rubbed the star pattern on the hammer handle with his knuckles, then suddenly turned his head to look directly at Chu Cangming, his eyes seeming to blaze with crimson fire: "Senior brother seems to be looking forward to my appearance on the stage?"

Chu Cangming chuckled upon hearing this, the curve of his lips as sharp as a sword drawn from its sheath, carrying a piercing edge.

He raised his hand and flicked his finger at the crack of a broken sword beside him. The sword immediately emitted a shrill hum. Listening to the faded sword sound with his eyes closed, Chu Cangming shook his head slightly and looked at the broken sword with regret.

"Taoism talks about 'quiet and inaction' on the surface, but in reality, the law of the jungle is the ironclad rule."

"Sixty years ago, during the Qingwei Hall incident, Master fought alone against the heads of the thirty-six peaks. Nineteen of them perished, and eleven were devastated. Those who survived are now guarding their respective peaks, and Master became the sect leader of the Dao Sect."

Xu Yunfan raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing this. It seemed that something extraordinary had happened in the Dao Sect back then, with Bi Yuan alone managing to silence a group of proud and arrogant Dao Sect disciples.

Chu Cangming flicked his sleeve and walked into the depths of the cave, his voice as faint as smoke, "I'm just curious... whether my junior brother's hammer can shatter the delusions of some people. They've been holding back their breath for a full sixty years."

"Senior brother..."

Xu Yunfan suddenly spoke.

Chu Cangming turned around upon hearing the sound and saw Xu Yunfan raise his hand and shake the Crimson Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace on his back, grinning to reveal his neat, white teeth.

"Now I'm using a mace."

Hammer techniques are no longer sufficient for him. At least, he has never seen a hammer technique in the Dao Sect. It is already quite difficult to obtain a mace technique. If all else fails, he will have no choice but to switch to practicing swordsmanship and spear techniques.

Chu Cangming's eyes twitched as he looked back. The solemn atmosphere he had painstakingly created and put on a persona had been shattered by this brat's blatant boasting!

In the end, Xu Yunfan chose the Xuan Tie sword.

It is a heavy sword of the treasure level, with a blade three and a half fingers wide, star patterns hidden on the edge, and a hilt that can be easily gripped with both hands. The blade is very long and can almost be called a horse-slaying sword.

Upon seeing this, Chu Cangming introduced, "This sword is named 'Sinking Mountain,' and even among treasured artifacts, it belongs to the top tier..."

As he introduced himself, he casually twirled his sword, then disdainfully noticed that his swordplay was 30% less fluid than his mace technique.

After all, he hadn't even mastered the Mountain-Slaying Sword Technique yet. During this period, he had devoted most of his time to the Yi Jing Marrow Cleansing Technique, waiting to enter the Refining Organs stage so that he could return to his original state and reshape himself, retraining the nine realms of martial arts once again. He could then use the Nine Luminaries Devouring Qi Technique to reshape his blood and qi in the Flesh Refining stage, forging an extremely perfect and powerful blood and qi.

As they stepped out of Bingjian Peak, dusk clouds gathered in the distance. Chu Cangming suddenly said, "At dawn three days from now, I will be waiting for my junior brother at the Xuanxiao Peak martial arts arena."

After saying that, he raised his hand and gently patted Xu Yunfan's shoulder. The energy from the "Golden Gate Jade Lock Technique" that he was secretly releasing from his palm was neutralized by the crimson light that the dragon scale armor automatically activated.

Xu Yunfan, seemingly oblivious, cupped his hands and said, "I will not keep my senior brother waiting any longer." As he turned around, he deliberately swept his heavy sword across the bluestone steps, and the stone dust that was scraped off happened to drift towards Chu Cangming's robe.

Their eyes met amidst the dust, and a smile appeared on Chu Cangming's face.

"We're just waiting for good news from our junior brother."

Xu Yunfan waved his hand and walked away, humming a blacksmith's tune from Tiangong Cave.

Chu Cangming slightly raised his hand, looking at the bloodline in his palm, and then narrowed his eyes to carefully examine the dark gold that occasionally peeked out from under Xu Yunfan's robe.

"Divine weapons and armor..."

Chu Cangming's fingers clenched until they turned white. Up until now, all he had was a divine weapon, a precious sword.

As soon as the bamboo gate to the courtyard was pushed open, two figures darted out from under the wisteria trellis.

Fang Mushan slammed his fan-like hand, making the stone table tremble: "Good lad! Now the Dao Sect is spreading the word that you ate up three medicine peaks in twenty days!"

"We were quite shocked when we heard that you had become the sect leader's second-in-command disciple. Seeing you today, we were surprised to find that your skills have become even more profound..."

As Li Haomiao spoke, he stared at the heavy sword that Xu Yunfan had recently put on at his waist. He suddenly drew his own Qingfeng sword to compare them, but in the end, he was somewhat discouraged.

"Damn it, a sword is better than myself."

"The sword is a good sword."

Xu Yunfan flicked his finger, deflecting the sword's edge. "It's just that the person wielding the sword is incompetent."

Li Haomiao was furious, but he was constrained by the fact that Xu Yunfan had already entered the Marrow Cleansing Realm while he was still struggling to enter the Flesh Refining Realm. All he could do was shout, "The world is still uncertain, and neither of us is yet to be determined."

Seeing that Xu Yunfan was alright, Li Haomiao and Fang Mushan were relieved.

Li Haomiao suppressed his smile and said seriously, "Don't let yourself be caught off guard on the arena three days from now. Those guys from the Dao Sect are eager to see you make a fool of yourself. Even Zhao Wujiu from Xuanxiao Peak has said he wants to 'test the quality of the Heavenly Craft Cave'."

He clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, then slumped down. With his newly acquired cultivation at the Body Refining Realm, he wasn't even qualified to be a stepping stone. He had wanted to send Xu Yunfan some pills and resources, but the value of the other man's food and supplies was enough for him to squander for a month.

Fang Mushan patted Xu Yunfan on the shoulder, but the touch felt like hitting black iron, making his palm go numb.

He was secretly alarmed, but said aloud, "Don't let your Crimson Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace smash through the arena."

After saying that, she pulled Li Haomiao outside, saying, "Let's go, let's go. If we delay any longer, some people might not be able to master the mace technique and might use us as a test subject."

Just as the bamboo door was about to close, Li Haomiao suddenly turned around: "Hey! I heard Chu Cangming will also be on stage."

Xu Yunfan's eyes flickered slightly, somewhat surprised, as this was the first time he had heard this news.

"I understand, I will be careful then."

The words abruptly stopped as Xu Yunfan stood on the bluestone in the courtyard, his heavy sword held horizontally like a mace. Wherever the mace's tip pointed, an old plum tree three zhang away broke off without any wind.

Xu Yunfan looked up; the chill seemed to have arrived earlier this year than last year.
-
Three days later, at Xuanxiao Peak, the first snow of the year fell.

A biting mountain wind swept across the training ground, carrying snowflakes, and the area below the arena was already packed with people.

Aside from those on duty, most of the disciples from the Thirty-Six Peaks gathered here. Their black Taoist robes spread across the stone steps like a tide, and their whispers suddenly froze when they saw Xu Yunfan walking through the snow.

(End of this chapter)