Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 317 Chen Yu, Long Time No See
Ye Tinglan was already prepared.

The opponent intends to "defeat the Heavenly Yao Saint Lord" within the known range of people participating in the grand competition at sea, so naturally they won't be too far away; they will launch their attack near the island.

But she had expected an attack...

Unexpectedly, they even came to the Sea of ​​Sound. It seems they want to earn a good reputation so they can establish themselves legitimately under the guise of righteousness in the future.

This is truly intended to completely replace the Tianyao Holy Land.

Although Gu Zhanting was nowhere to be seen, his target was so clear that Ye Tinglan would not believe it was unrelated to him.

As for the opponent's strength...

Ye Tinglan stopped the imperial carriage and said calmly, "If that's what you're saying, haven't we already fought? The outcome was clear, so why bother fighting again?"

As the words were spoken, a bald old monk appeared beside the imperial carriage.

It was Zhao En.

Seeing Ye Tinglan standing with his hands behind his back at the bow of the ship, Zhao En's eyes flashed with surprise. He then shook his head and sighed, "After recovering from my injuries, I felt that I had turned misfortune into blessing and made further progress. I didn't expect that the Holy Lord would be so affectionate with me and actually loosen the Qian Yuan Pass. It seems that we are on the same level again this time."

Lu Xingzhou squinted. Previously, Zhao En and Ye Tinglan were opponents of the same level. Zhao En was slightly inferior to Ye Tinglan. He used the combined power of the Heavenly Frost Qi Meridian to gain a slight advantage. However, he persuaded Si Han to disrupt the Qi Meridian competition, and was then defeated and fled by Ye Tinglan.

Although he lost, it proves that he is not much weaker than Ye Tinglan. Now that both of them have improved, it's really hard to say who will win.

Ye Tinglan sized up Zhao En, her expression calm: "Although you are not a Qian Yuan, you have already glimpsed the vastness of Qian Yuan. You must be a person of great vision and ambition. Why are you hiding your true intentions and plotting in secret?"

It was understandable that Lu Xingzhou already knew, but the people in the sea were shocked to hear it.

Not at the Qian Yuan level, but having glimpsed its potential... that means he's similar to Ye Tinglan, at the peak of the Huiyang realm, and has even slightly glimpsed signs of a breakthrough, which can be called a half-step Qian Yuan level!

This has already surpassed the concept of the nine-rank system in this world.

According to ancient methods, those from the third rank to the first rank are all called the Cloud Soaring Realm, and those who surpass this realm are called the Super Rank, with no further subdivisions. The entire Radiant Sun Realm is the Super Rank.

Ye Tinglan is currently at the peak of the Huiyang realm, while Yuan Muyu is at the early or even mid-stage of the Huiyang realm, yet both are called Super Grade.

The difference between super-grade and super-grade is huge, even greater than the difference between grade three and grade one.

Therefore, Gu Zhanting's attempt to directly challenge Ye Tinglan was tantamount to hitting a wall of sighs, as the two were not actually on the same level at all.

Even Long Qinghuang is a level below Ye Tinglan; being the number one in the world is no joke.

The person in question is clearly a top-tier among top-tier individuals, just like Ye Tinglan. If he were to surpass that level, the title of "top-tier" wouldn't be enough. What would he be called then?
It's called ascension.

It was anciently known as the attainment of the Dao and the beginning of Heaven.

Once one reaches the Great Qian Yuan, it signifies enlightenment, ascension, and the pinnacle pursued by all human cultivators. Beyond that lies the formless realm where the Yang Shen is omnipresent, which is no longer something for humans to strive for.

And now this person is at the peak of Huiyang, half a step into Qianyuan.

One foot is on the verge of ascension.

Uh... it seems impressive but not that impressive, because Ye Tinglan is at the same level...

This actually puzzled Lu Xingzhou a little. All the visitors from the ancient world had to go through this hurdle. Didn't any real Qian Yuan cultivators manage to escape? What were those so-called immortal and indestructible beings above the Wu Xiang level doing? Or was it just a legend, and didn't exist at all?

He had been consuming half-step Qian Yuan every day, so he naturally lacked reverence. At this moment, everyone else was so shocked that they were speechless.

There are actually such practices in the world, and they are unknown to most people!

His challenge to the Holy Lord of Tianyao—is the world's rules about to change?
Amidst their differing thoughts, Zhao En slowly spoke: "We had our reasons for hiding. However, what the Holy Lord said is true. We learned a lesson from hiding last time, and have since improved ourselves. Isn't this a public challenge to the Holy Lord in full view of everyone...? Could it be that the Holy Lord is afraid?"

Ye Tinglan also didn't understand why he dared to appear in public... Could it be that a half-step Qian Yuan is not restricted?
Look at Fang Qihao and his group, at least they had to use possession and skin-binding techniques. Why does Zhao En dare to be so direct?

Ye Tinglan intended to fight him again to find out why he was able to not hide this time. If this wasn't understood, how could people from the ancient realm just casually run into the human world?
He then said, "Anyone can challenge me so easily? Considering your cultivation level, a challenge is allowed, but there must be a prize."

Zhao En laughed and said, "What the Holy Lord says is true. So what prize does the Holy Lord want?"

Ye Tinglan said calmly, "If you lose, Golden Wind Island will belong to Tianyao Sect from now on."

Zhao En narrowed his eyes: "What if the Holy Lord loses?"

Ye Tinglan smiled: "If I lose, then you've already gotten what you wanted. What more do you want? If I don't accept the challenge, you'll get nothing, so you'll have to give something in return. Do I need to teach you such a simple principle?"

Zhao En sighed, "As expected of the Holy Lord of Tianyao, you are very clear-headed. Then, as the Holy Lord said, if I am defeated, Jinfeng Island will henceforth obey the orders of the Holy Land of Tianyao."

In truth, both sides knew perfectly well that for a force that had merely possessed another's body and was now using a different skin, any talk of joining their ranks was meaningless. Ye Tinglan's proposal was merely to dissipate the reputation he had built up in the Golden Wind Island affair, not to gain anything in return.

But no matter what your plans are, you have to win first.

Having been renowned throughout the world for so many years, Ye Tinglan naturally possessed such confidence and absolutely could not allow herself to doubt. In any case, with Xingzhou in charge of other matters, she felt at ease. Moreover, Xingzhou hadn't objected to her agreeing to fight… Ye Tinglan turned to look at Lu Xingzhou, who smiled slightly: “In my opinion, you cannot fight, but you are responsible for your position and cannot shirk your duty. Go, leave the rest to me.”

Ye Tinglan smiled slightly, stepped out of the carriage, and faced Zhao En directly: "Then let's continue our unfinished battle and see how much you've improved."

Zhao En raised one palm and bowed.

Ye Tinglan returned the gesture with a single palm salute.

As the two exchanged greetings, an unseen aura suddenly surged between them, rippling and dissipating. This aura was blocked by the protective shield of the imperial carriage and then spilled over to the sea below.

Suddenly, a raging storm arose in the sea, with towering waves reaching the sky.

Ye Tinglan said calmly, "You should take my royal carriage and bring the disciples back to the sect first to avoid any accidental injury."

Dugu Qingli was able to pilot her magical artifact, and upon hearing this, she didn't say anything more, directly driving the phoenix carriage away in an instant.

Zhao En sighed, "Your Majesty is so confident in the abilities of your disciples. Aren't you afraid they'll encounter some natural or man-made disasters along the way?"

"At our level, trying to sway people's minds with such words is already quite simplistic," Ye Tinglan said calmly. "If you have any new tricks up your sleeve, Master, feel free to use them directly."

"My tricks have always been the same, actually quite simple." Zhao En spread his hands and laughed, "Would you please take another strike from my Palm Buddha Kingdom, Holy Lord?"

The Buddha's light descended upon me.

Ye Tinglan's consciousness never left the chariot. Just as the Buddha's light descended upon her, she saw the wind and clouds suddenly rise around the chariot.

Fang Qihao and his group, who had just competed, also arrived from the side in an airship led by the old man in charge. The huge light cannon was already blasting towards the Luanlan.

At the same time, it was as if a false sky was torn open, the seabed suddenly surged, and several pillars of light shot into the sky, forming a peculiar array, the effect of which was unknown.

Several dragons coiled out of the sea and rushed straight to the bottom of the celestial chariot.

Sure enough, there's also the matter of the sea monsters.

"That is our Buddhist treasure, the Colorless Realm, which is quite effective for concealing one's whereabouts and setting up ambushes." Zhao En smiled very kindly: "Look, aren't your disciples currently trapped in our Blissful Buddhist Kingdom?"

Ye Tinglan, who had expected his disciple to panic at the attack, didn't even flinch. Instead, his tone was filled with sarcasm and disdain: "I wondered what progress you would have made in the past few months... but it turns out you're still just a petty scoundrel, not up to par. Someone like you, daring to even dream of Qian Yuan, is simply a joke."

The Buddha's light enveloped her, and it was unclear what illusion Ye Tinglan had fallen into, but it didn't seem to hinder her actions.

With a clang, a divine sword was drawn, its terrifying dazzling light slashing towards Zhao En.

The astonished person became Zhao En: "You have so many disciples on the ship, yet you don't care at all!"

"You suffered at my man's hands last time, haven't you learned your lesson? There are no disciples left; they went back half an hour ago..."

Zhao En: "?"

With a loud clang, Zhao En raised a bronze gong and deflected Ye Tinglan's divine sword: "So the Holy Lord has no worries at all... No wonder he is so calm and composed."

"so what?"

"But has Your Majesty forgotten that your little man is also just an ordinary disciple with little strength?"

In Ye Tinglan's consciousness, several dragons had already bound the chariot like nooses. The surrounding pillars of light seemed to have a strong restraining effect on the chariot, so much so that it could not exert much of its offensive power and was teetering on the brink of collapse.

Fang Qihao and his men shot off like meteors, heading straight for the bow of the ship.

Several elders attacked the elders of Tianyao Holy Land, while Fang Qihao, Duan Ning, and others targeted Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli.

"That's it?" Ye Tinglan remained unmoved and slashed again with her sword.

The next moment, Zhao En's expression changed drastically.

A vast array of superior auras rapidly approached from afar, and there were more than one such aura!
The depth of Tianyao's resources far surpasses what other sects in the sea can imagine.

"You really were prepared all along..." Zhao En was completely puzzled. It was just an ordinary competition, a routine event that had been treated like a story for thousands of years. Why were you prepared all along?

High in the sky, a person dressed in a shimmering golden robe sat cross-legged in the void, like a dragon coiling in the clouds.

Below, on the imperial carriage, Lu Xingzhou and his companion were clearly in the view.

"I initially thought the Ancient Realm's actions were strange. Tianyao Holy Land is no pushover either, and Gu Zhanting has disappeared without a trace... It's hard to say whether we should take action." Long Qinghuang sat cross-legged, resting her chin on her hand. "Unexpectedly, observing has yielded unexpected gains."

"Chen Yu, long time no see. Go ahead and try to run again, huh?"

(End of this chapter)