I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 238 Attack
"Senior Brother Qinglan went to the camp to ask for supplies and rewards for us. He will be back in a while."

After Wu Ming and the others had gotten to know each other, Yu Yangyan chuckled and talked about the situation of Qing Lan, the senior brother of Qingming Peak.

During the Great Battle of the Abyss, each peak had to send someone to guard a section of the city gate. As the only Grandmaster of the Eight Refinements on Qingming Peak and the senior brother of everyone, Qinglan was naturally the backbone of the group.

“Junior Brother Wu, it’s only been six years, and we’re already fighting side by side. Time really flies.”

Yu Yangyan stood next to Wu Ming and said with a slight sigh, "You've only broken through for less than half a year, and you've already come to the Abyss. Is it because you've encountered a bottleneck in the construction of the formation and came here to hone and explore, or is it at our master's behest?"

"All."

Wu Ming nodded slightly.

At this moment, he was gazing into the distance of the city gate. He could see a vast expanse of black clouds at the end of his vision. The black clouds did not spread towards the city gate, but their terror could still be felt from a great distance.

That oppressive demonic tide was far greater than what he had experienced when he guarded the desolate stone veins before; this was a truly large-scale demonic tide.

"Haha, I was right."

Yu Yangyan smiled and turned his gaze to the distance, saying, "We Dao cultivators can only be considered to have truly entered the inner sanctum when we reach the Seven Refinements stage. At this stage, we must hone our skills and solidify our foundation. The Primordial Spirit Array is the proof of one's life's path. Whether we can do this step well is also related to how far we can go in the future."

"Whether you are stuck at the Chaotic or Normal level, Junior Brother Wu, there is no need to worry too much. With your age and talent, it is only a matter of time before you can build a Dexterity-level formation. However, if you want to go higher in the future, you should try your best to pursue a Perfect-level formation."

Speaking of which,

Yu Yangyan couldn't help but sigh and said, "It's just that skill is easy to come by, but perfection is hard to achieve. In all these years, no one on our Qingming Peak has been able to comprehend perfection. Senior Brother Qingming was only one step away from it, but unfortunately, his physical lifespan was coming to an end, so he had to try to break through to the eighth level."

"Skill is easy to acquire, but perfection is hard to achieve... Senior Brother Yu is right." Wu Ming repeated Yu Yangyan's words, feeling a deep connection to them. After all, he started with skill in constructing arrays, but after reaching the peak of skill, he struggled to make any further progress.

After entering the seventh stage of cultivation, Dao cultivators can seize bodies and reincarnate, but the number of times they can do so is limited. Each time they seize a body and reincarnate, they will lose some of their original self. Generally, after reincarnating two or three times and living for about three hundred years, they will reach the limit of their lifespan.

However, this is only the limit of lifespan. For Daoist cultivators, the first hundred years are especially important. Whether they can break through the eighth level of refinement within a hundred years basically determines whether they will stop at the Grandmaster level in this life.

Once lifespan reaches its limit, one is forced to possess another body and reincarnate, damaging one's true self. At that point, there is virtually no possibility of reaching the Eighth Refinement stage.

As for the Seven Refinement Grandmaster not seizing a body, his primordial spirit can still survive for a long time by relying on other entities, but that is all he can do. Without a physical body to rely on, he cannot break through to a higher realm.

That is,

Seventh-level Grandmasters need to dedicate themselves to building a Primordial Spirit Array and forging their own path for decades after breaking through to the Grandmaster level, and then try to break through to the Eighth-level Grandmaster level before the age of one hundred.

It may seem like there are at least fifty or sixty years, but it is actually quite urgent, because the progress of cultivation is much slower when you reach the seventh level of the Grandmaster level than when you are at the fifth or sixth level.

Basically, within the next thirty years, the level to which the formation can be constructed will largely determine the future level. Sufficient time must be allocated to break through the bottleneck of the eighth level of refinement.

After all, the bottleneck of the Eighth Refinement stage is not easy to break through; otherwise, Qingming Peak would not only have Qinglan as the Eighth Refinement cultivator.

In fact, over the years, Qingming Peak has produced more than just these eleven Grandmasters. However, some of them encountered bottlenecks in their cultivation, made no progress for many years, and lost the opportunity to reach higher levels. So they left the Holy Land. Others ventured into dangerous places in search of a glimmer of opportunity, only to perish in the end.

of course,

All of this is still somewhat distant for Wu Ming, and for him, the eighth level of refinement is not a bottleneck at all.

After all, in just a few months, the array he constructed had already reached the peak of the Dexterity level. It can be said that as long as his primordial spirit and soul power reach the limit of the seventh refinement, he is already qualified to challenge the eighth refinement.

Just as Wu Ming and Yu Yangyan were talking.

suddenly,

A presence came from afar.

A beam of azure light shot out from the direction of the camp like a rainbow, arriving at the city gate in an instant.

A Taoist priest in a green robe was revealed from the light.

As soon as the green-robed Taoist landed, he turned his gaze to Wu Ming. After looking Wu Ming up and down, he smiled and said, "This must be Junior Brother Wu Ming."

Without Yu Yangyan's introduction, Wu Ming knew who the Taoist in the green robe was, and immediately bowed and said:
"Senior Brother Qinglan."

The Taoist in green robes was none other than the senior disciple of Qingming Peak, and currently the only Taoist master who had reached the eighth level of the Primordial Spirit Refinement.

Qinglan smiled at Wu Ming in a friendly manner, then took out a gray leather bag, reached into the bag, rummaged around for a few moments, and then took out pieces of refined demon meat and wine jars, which she tossed to Zhao Guang and the others.

"Hahaha, finally there's wine!"

Zhao Guang snatched the wine jar, grinned, and immediately couldn't resist gulping down a large mouthful.

After distributing the supplies to everyone, Qinglan looked at Wu Ming and asked with a smile, "Junior Brother Wu, would you like spirit tea or spirit wine?"

"Spirit tea will do."

Wu Ming responded, while looking at the gray leather pouch in Qing Lan's hand with a slightly strange expression, and said, "Is this the legendary Qiankun Bag?"

The leather pouch was actually quite small, only slightly larger than a palm, and could easily be tied around the waist. However, Qinglan took out wine jars, demon meat, and other supplies from it, which were clearly beyond the size of the pouch itself.

This is a storage-type magical treasure!

The spiritual treasures used by Daoist masters at the seventh level and above often come in various types, such as offensive, defensive, and escape weapons. Among them, the most valuable ones are storage treasures.

Even a master at the seventh level of cultivation would find it difficult to gather enough resources, even if they went bankrupt, to acquire a storage-type spiritual treasure.

Even for a Grandmaster of the Eighth Refinement Realm like Qinglan, a storage treasure like the Qiankun Bag is not something everyone possesses.

"Indeed, it is the Qiankun Bag. It contains the world outside and the universe inside... It cost me nearly half of my fortune to acquire this storage treasure."

Qinglan said with a smile.

As one's cultivation level gradually increases, it becomes inconvenient to do anything without a storage-type spiritual treasure. However, storage-type spiritual treasures are too precious and rare, and ordinary grandmasters can only sigh in envy.

"Senior Brother Qinglan, you'd better put it away quickly, lest we become envious."

Yu Yangyan poured himself a cup of spiritual tea, took a sip, and then smiled at Qinglan.

Having a storage magic treasure in hand makes everything much more convenient, which is something they all envy.

After distributing the supplies, Qinglan smiled and put away her Qiankun bag. With a gentle flick of her right hand, she picked up a wine jar, took a small sip, and then chatted casually with Zhao Guang and the others. Wu Ming watched thoughtfully from the side.

He wasn't too envious of Qinglan's storage treasure, the Qiankun Bag, after all, he possessed the Demon-Subduing Diagram, which was far superior to the Qiankun Bag by many levels. The Demon-Subduing Realm in the diagram was so vast that it was almost boundless.

However, the Demon Subduing Realm and the Demon Subduing Diagram should not be exposed. If he could have a Qiankun Bag as a cover, he wouldn't have to worry too much about taking things from the Demon Subduing Realm in many situations.

Qinglan and the others had just experienced a great battle, and their drinking and chatting was a way to relax after the battle. However, the ordinary disciples below did not receive such treatment. Most of them closed their eyes to recuperate or swallowed a few pills to restore their blood and energy.

Wu Ming sipped his tea, listening attentively to Qing Lan and the others' conversation without interrupting.

After a long time,
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they all went about their business.

“Junior Brother Wu, you are new here and have only recently advanced to the seventh level of cultivation. This time, you should stay in the central area to guard the pass and adapt to the situation.”

Qinglan said to Wu Ming.

The section of the city gate guarded by Qingming Peak was not very long, only a few hundred feet. The disciples at the sixth level of cultivation were scattered along the city gate, not far apart from each other.

As for the grandmasters like Yu Yangyan, they were each responsible for guarding a section.

As a Seventh Refinement Grandmaster, Wu Ming would normally be responsible for a section, but considering that he is a newly promoted Grandmaster who has only recently entered the Seventh Refinement stage, his strength is at most at the normal level among Grandmasters. It would probably be too much pressure for him to be responsible for guarding a section of the city gate. It would be better for him to stay in the center and be responsible for supporting various places. This way, the pressure would be less and he could still play a role.

"Alright, I'll follow your instructions, senior brother."

Wu Ming naturally had no objection to Qinglan's arrangements.

He came to the Abyss to hone his skills, mainly to verify his own path and experience the mysteries of formations in actual combat, not to compete with others.

Yu Yangyan and Zhao Guang, along with many other peak masters and disciples, had no objections to this. After all, Wu Ming had only been a seventh-level cultivator for less than half a year and was considered a junior brother, so he should receive some care.

Based on the town gate,

Wu Ming turned his gaze to the dark cloud in the distance.

According to information obtained from Yu Yangyan and others, the current attacks by the Abyss Demons are roughly in three-day waves. The last wave has just ended, and there is still a period of rest for them.

"I don't know what level my current strength is at."

A glint of light flashed in Wu Ming's eyes.

When a cultivator reaches the Seven Refinements Realm, they must not only condense their primordial spirit, but also construct formations, further cultivate various Daoist techniques, and even comprehend the laws of heaven and earth. It can be said that there are extremely many paths to cultivation.

Therefore, the strength gap between cultivators at the seventh level of cultivation is much larger than that between cultivators at the fifth and sixth levels.

From the threshold of the seventh level to the normal level, and then to the strong, the extremely strong, and the top level, the differences between each level are quite significant.

The current disciples of the Qingming Peak masters are generally between strong and extremely strong, with none reaching the top level yet.

Compared to those at the fifth and sixth levels of refinement, the strength of seventh-level refinement masters is not only at the top level, but also at the 'peerless' level.

Generally speaking, reaching a high level is not too difficult. As long as you temper your primordial spirit normally, spend twenty or thirty years cultivating it to the seventh level of refinement, perfecting various Taoist techniques and supernatural abilities, and mastering a few spiritual treasures, you'll be pretty much there.

As for the extremely high level, in addition to the primordial spirit needing to be tempered to be slightly stronger than that of an ordinary grandmaster, one must also master the agile-level formation.

To reach the top level... a perfect formation is indispensable!

As for surpassing the top and becoming a 'peerless grandmaster', one must not only master perfect-level formations, but also, at the seventh level of refinement, gain a preliminary understanding of a law of heaven and earth!
The gap between the threshold of a Grandmaster and the peerless Grandmaster is enormous.

If we consider the combat power threshold for a Grandmaster to be ten, then a combat power of twenty is considered the level of a normal Grandmaster, and thirty is considered a relatively strong level.

Going further up, a combat power of fifty is considered extremely strong among grandmasters, while to reach the top, it must be at least eighty!
A top-tier grandmaster can easily defeat someone at the threshold of the grandmaster level, and can also crush a normal grandmaster in a single move!
As for peerless grandmasters...

Based on combat strength, it's at least two hundred or more!
The term "peerless" refers to a near-invincible existence among grandmasters, whose combat strength is even close to the threshold of the eighth level of mastery.

Wu Ming wasn't entirely clear about his own combat strength, since he hadn't yet cultivated his various Dao techniques to the corresponding level, but his soul power was far stronger than that of ordinary people, and his primordial spirit formation was at the peak of the agility level.

"We'll know after we have a fight in three days."

Wu Ming took a deep breath, collected his thoughts, and stopped thinking about it.

Time flies, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye. The dark, cloud-like tide of demons in the distance, as if following a pattern, finally began to move and head towards the city gate.

On the city gate,
Yu Yangyan and the others, who had gathered in twos and threes, some sitting and some standing, suddenly stood up at this moment.

"coming!"

"Get ready, everyone!"

Qinglan stood at the edge of the city gate, gazing at the approaching dark clouds in the distance. His expression was solemn as he spoke in a deep voice.

Although in the past few days, Yu Yangyan, Zhao Guang, and the others, including himself, often chatted and laughed, seemingly without any pressure in the face of the Abyss Demon Army, when the real battle came, everyone was solemn and prepared.

The demons of the abyss are not to be trifled with, especially in such a large-scale demon tide, which is mixed with countless powerful demons. Seventh-order demon emperors comparable to grandmasters are emerging one after another, and even eighth-order demon lords are not uncommon.

When dealing with the Abyss Demons, we should be contemptuous strategically, but take them seriously tactically. After all, this is a real battle, and even a Grandmaster could perish if he is not careful!

Swish!Swish!
Faced with the attack of the demon army, Yu Yangyan and the others quickly got up and returned to their respective positions, landing in different sections of the city gate.

As for the disciples of Qingming Peak who were at the sixth level of cultivation, they all had solemn expressions and were well prepared.

Until the dark, oppressive clouds gradually approached the city gate, getting within thirty feet of it.

"Do it!"

Suddenly, someone shouted.

In an instant, on the city gate, hundreds of sixth-level cultivators from Qingming Peak made a fierce move, unleashing all sorts of Daoist techniques and supernatural powers, with thunder and fire intertwining and the winds and waters turning!

The multicolored light of Taoist magic crashed into the oncoming dark cloud of demonic tide, causing the demonic vanguard within the tide to howl in pain and briefly halting the advance of the demonic cloud.

But it only paused for a moment, and the next instant the vast and mighty demonic cloud roared in and engulfed the city gate.

(End of this chapter)