Starting from the two realms, cultivating immortality by taming beasts

Chapter 568 Taiyin Cave Heaven

"An invitation to the competition?"

Chen Dong was slightly taken aback, and couldn't help but think of the Cave Heaven Competition that had been generating a lot of buzz on the Immortal Alliance's official website recently.

He reached out and took the jade slip, probed it with his divine sense, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Huang Xiaoling, who was standing nearby, also reacted quickly and forcibly suppressed her joy.

But her tone still carried a hint of excitement: "What competition invitation? Let me see it too!"

Chen Dong took a deep breath, remained silent, and maintained a calm demeanor to avoid losing his composure in front of his colleagues. He then handed the jade slip to his wife.

Huang Xiaoling took it, scanned it with her divine sense, and her eyes revealed a look of pride.

Excellent, excellent! My son Beiwu truly has the potential to become a Nascent Soul cultivator!

Seeing the two people's reactions, the cultivators in the private room exchanged glances, becoming even more certain of their guesses.

There are many kinds of invitations to the competition, but no matter what, Chen Dong and his wife are the second-in-command of Pingchen County. They have seen a lot of the world and it is impossible for them to show their emotions so openly.

So the answer is simple: the jade slip in Madam Huang's hand is a precious token that allows her to enter the Taiyin Cave Heaven and watch the Immortal Alliance's First Pride Assembly!

"Princess Chen, is there any good news?"

The strongest cultivator present, a fake infant cultivator, couldn't help but speak up.

With Zhenwu Zhenjun's talent and abilities, he is fully capable of representing the Yuqing Immortal Sect in the Cave Heaven Grand Competition; there is no doubt about that.

However, being able to participate in the Cave Heaven Grand Competition and being able to freely issue invitations to the Cave Heaven Grand Competition are completely different concepts.

After all, it was a grand gathering of the five great grotto heavens and thirteen immortal sects, and even the Lord of the Fallen Dragon Palace rarely had a chance to attend.

"It's nothing serious. My son will be representing the Immortal Sect in the Cave Heaven Grand Competition. The Jade Purity Immortal Sect sent an invitation to attend, asking my wife and I to go." Chen Dong said casually.

Upon hearing this, the envy in the eyes of the cultivators present grew stronger, and they all praised him. Some even fawned over Chen Dong and his wife in public, completely disregarding their own dignity.

The reason is simple: in the eyes of these cultivators, the Five Great Grotto-Heavens are the heaven of the entire Immortal Alliance!

On the other side of Yuankong County, at the Xu residence.

Two cultivators, one male and one female, are playing chess.

The game ended quickly, with Master Xu winning by one move.

"How can one cultivate oneself if one's mind is not at peace?" Master Xu said, looking at his daughter with a knowing look in his eyes.

"If your mind is not at peace, you can refine it. Isn't that a form of spiritual practice?" Xu Lingling asked gently.

"For a woman to pursue a man is as easy as piercing a thin veil; your mother did just that back in the day—"

Master Xu's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he was interrupted by Xu Lingling halfway through his sentence: "Father, things are different now than before. The gap between him and me is too big!"

Looking at his daughter's self-conscious eyes, Master Xu fell silent.

He came from the Tianyan Immortal Sect, one of the thirteen immortal sects, so how could he not know how popular Chen Beiwu had become over the years!

But knowing this was one thing, he didn't think his daughter was unworthy of Chen Beiwu.

"Buzz!"

Just then, my phone vibrated, and a notification tone sounded indicating that I was being followed closely.

Xu Lingling's calm expression vanished, and she quickly took out her phone from her sleeve, her eyes gleaming with undisguised surprise.

Seeing this, Master Xu sighed, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "You, if you could concentrate on cultivation like your father, you wouldn't be stuck at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm now."

"So what if I'm in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm?" Xu Lingling's face lit up with a bright smile, her tone brimming with pride. "Father, you're now a peak Golden Core cultivator. Are you confident you can get an invitation to this year's Cave Heaven Grand Competition?"

"It's nothing serious." Master Xu suppressed his emotions and smiled calmly.

Xu Lingling glanced at her father but did not expose his boasting.

Moreover, more than the preciousness of the invitation to the Cave Heaven Grand Competition, she cared more about the sentiment behind Chen Beiwu's invitation to participate in this grand event.

"Father, do you think it's possible for Bei Wu to break the record this time and win the championship at the Cave Heaven Tournament on behalf of Yuqing Immortal Sect?" Xu Lingling asked with a beaming smile.

"There is an insurmountable gap between the geniuses of the Immortal Sect and the geniuses of the Cave Heaven."

Master Xu glanced at Xu Lingling and teased, "It's broad daylight now. If you want to dream, you should get some rest."

"Until the very end, who can know the final answer?"

Xu Lingling said firmly, "Even if we fail in this year's Cave Heaven Grand Competition, Beiwu will definitely reach the pinnacle of the Immortal Alliance in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Master Xu remained silent for a moment, unable to refute it.

The secluded path leads to the distant city.

As the entrance to the Taiyin Cave Heaven, Jiyuan City is nestled against the mountains and beside the water, possessing abundant spiritual energy and shrouded in a thin layer of spiritual mist all year round.

These spiritual mists are not ordinary gatherings of heaven and earth's spiritual energy, but rather the lunar essence of Taiyin, drawn by a powerful cultivator in the Taiyin Grotto-heaven using profound array techniques, capable of enlightening mortal cultivators.

Nourished by the spiritual mist, infants born in the city can naturally embark on the path of cultivation without deliberate practice, possessing the cultivation level of the first level of Qi Refining, giving them a head start over others from a young age, and slightly improving their spiritual root aptitude.

It is precisely because of this that Jiyuan City has always been the city with the most expensive housing prices in Youyingdao.

Many cultivators of the Youying Dao strive their entire lives to establish themselves in Jiyuan City, only to leave with regret and slink away from the place.

In the north of Jiyuan City, there is a tall tower called the Moon Ascension Platform. Every three hundred years, the elders of Taiyin Cave Heaven would appear here to preach, recruit disciples, or welcome distinguished guests.

At this very moment, under the watchful eyes of many cultivators, two figures who were usually elusive and could be called peerless true lords were standing on the Moon Landing Platform.

One of them is Zheng Tianming, the former chief of Taiyin Cave Heaven, whose cultivation has reached the half-step Nascent Soul realm.

The other one was of even higher status.

She wore a plain white dress, had a beautiful face, and a faint smile on her lips. She was like a cold fairy in the moon palace, unattainable and aloof. She was Gu Mingxi, the right-hand woman of the Taiyin Saintess and the current vice president of the Taiyin Society.

In the presence of these two peerless True Lords, Gu Yong, the current chief of Taiyin Cave Heaven, was merely a junior with shallow experience.

Wow, what kind of distinguished guest is worthy of these two important figures to come out and receive him? Could it be that a Nascent Soul cultivator has descended from a celestial realm?

Not necessarily. The chief disciples of the four great grotto-heavens—Zhouhua, Yuyu, Chunyang, and Xuanyuan—are also barely qualified.

That's right, judging by the time, the Cave Heaven Grand Competition will begin in the next two days.

A flying boat is coming. Strangely, this flying boat has no cave-heaven markings and looks completely unfamiliar.

Those are the Jade Purity Beginning Dao Patterns; it's someone from the Jade Purity Immortal Sect!

"Oh, so it's that Jade Purity Immortal Sect that dared to spread rumors, fabricate the Immortal Alliance's list of prodigies, and rank the Jade Purity Sect's top disciple above my Taiyin Cave Heaven's top disciple?"

No wonder these two important figures stepped forward; they probably wanted to give the Yuqing Immortal Sect cultivators a hard time!

While the cultivators of Jiyuan City were discussing this with their divine senses, Gu Mingxi and Zheng Tianming had already noticed the flying boat.

"Seeing is believing. I hope that True Martial Lord truly possesses the abilities rumored to be true." Zheng Tianming's eyes flickered slightly, his divine sense showing great interest.

"A cultivation prodigy who can be favored by the Holy Maiden is definitely a promising future powerhouse." Gu Mingxi said calmly.

After the Holy Maiden made an exception and sent an invitation to the Jade Purity Immortal Sect to further their studies in the cave, she used some of her power to thoroughly investigate Chen Beiwu's background, life, and career.

As the vice president of the Taiyin Society, Gu Mingxi had seen countless geniuses from the Cave Heaven, and after reviewing Chen Beiwu's resume, he had to admit Chen Beiwu's talent and ability.

The reason she personally came forward this time, besides the mission of the Holy Maiden, was that she wanted to see True Martial True Lord with her own eyes and judge what level his cultivation and combat power were at.

"call out!"

The airship hovered and slowly descended.

Chen Beiwu led a group of Yuqing prodigies, walking at the front, and immediately noticed Gu Mingxi and her companion.

"Such strong luck!" Chen Beiwu thought to himself.

Is this the essence of Taiyin Cave Heaven?

The handsome male cultivator standing on the left side of the lunar landing platform exuded a powerful aura, surrounded by a hazy purple mist that was neither gold nor rosy. He was clearly a True Monarch powerhouse with the potential to become a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The female cultivator on the right, with her aloof and cold demeanor, possessed an even more extraordinary aura. The misty purple energy contained traces of spirituality, which actively gathered together to form an illusory purple dragon that swam around.

The worst thing is comparison!

Compared to the aloof female cultivator, the male cultivator who had reached the limit of the Nascent Soul stage and was on the verge of becoming a Divine Transformation cultivator paled in comparison.

"As expected, there's always someone better!" Chen Beiwu thought to himself.

Before his fortune and status transformed into the Purple Canopy, in terms of sheer magnitude, his Heavenly Fortune Purple Dragon was only slightly stronger than this aloof female cultivator.

"I haven't asked yet."

Chen Beiwu took the initiative to extend his hand and greet Gu Mingxi.

Seeing this, Zheng Tianming remained calm, but a sense of anticipation rose in his heart, eager to see what would happen next.

Su'e Zhenjun is proud and dislikes physical contact. Even the most outstanding talents of Taiyin Cave are not taken seriously by her. Zhenwu Zhenjun is likely to encounter a cold shoulder.

Unexpectedly, the next second, under Zheng Tianming's surprised gaze, Gu Mingxi hesitated for a moment, then extended her soft hand and politely shook it: "Gu Mingxi from Taiyin Cave Heaven, this is True Lord Zheng Tianming of Destiny."

"I've heard so much about you."

Chen Beiwu nodded slightly and asked, "Will you two participate in this year's Cave Heaven Grand Competition?"

Zheng Tianming frowned slightly and chuckled, "Chief Chen, please rest assured, I am well past the age of participating in the Cave Heaven Grand Competition and will not interfere in the competition among the younger generation."

Gu Mingxi reacted differently, giving Chen Beiwu a deep look before succinctly saying, "No."

"What a pity," Chen Beiwu said with some regret.

Compared to Gu Yong, the chief of Taiyin, he was more interested in Zheng Tianming, the True Lord of Destiny, and Gu Mingxi, the True Lord of Su'e.

The age limit for the Cave Heaven Grand Competition is only to ensure fairness. Otherwise, he would like to see what kind of combat power the veteran Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the five major Cave Heavens have, and whether they can satisfy him.

Hearing this, Gu Mingxi remained aloof, while Zheng Tianming was slightly taken aback.

He had assumed that Chen Beiwu was afraid of a powerful figure like himself participating in the Cave Heaven Grand Competition, which was why he had asked the question.

It seems he misunderstood!

A junior who has cultivated for over a hundred years actually failed to see the difference in strength and wanted to compete with him. He was extremely arrogant and didn't know his own limitations.

If Zheng Tianming weren't afraid of being criticized for defeating Chen Beiwu now, with people secretly saying that Taiyin Cave Heaven was resorting to any means to win against Yuqing Immortal Sect, and that the older generation of experts were suppressing the younger generation, he would have really wanted to unleash his power and show this person what the difference in their abilities was.

Noticing Zheng Tianming's unusual mood, Gu Mingxi parted her red lips slightly, stepped forward, and took out a Moonbeam to lead the way: "This way, please."

In an instant, the lunar landing platform shone brightly, splitting open a silver spatial portal, through which white jade steps and a magnificent moon could be vaguely seen.

"Buzz!"

With a spatial shift, Chen Beiwu felt light and as if he had stepped into another world.

High in the sky, a bright moon hangs at the highest point, casting its pure moonlight.

The spiritual energy contained within the moonlight is extremely vast, almost like mist, and can silently permeate a cultivator's body, washing away hidden injuries and enhancing their cultivation.

It's no wonder that the Taiyin Grotto-heaven has produced a continuous stream of powerful figures, capable of overshadowing the geniuses of the Thirteen Immortal Sects!

Chen Beiwu was filled with emotion.

Cultivating in such a blessed land, even an average cultivator can achieve a level of advancement comparable to the ordinary geniuses of the Thirteen Immortal Sects.

"tread!"

"tread!"

"tread!"

As Chen Beiwu descended the white jade steps, a laurel grove came into view.

The laurel trees are in full bloom this season, with pale yellow petals drifting down in the wind, releasing a faint fragrance that soothes the mind.

Under the laurel tree, a group of silver-white rabbits hopped and skipped, munching on flower petals with their forepaws, while curiously watching Chen Beiwu and his group.

Its body is as white as silver, its eyes as golden as gold, its ears longer than its head, bathed in moonlight—is this the Su Ying Moon Rabbit, the exclusive celestial beast of the Taiyin Grotto-heaven?

The Taiyin Grotto-Heaven is so magnificent that even celestial beasts like these can be found everywhere!

Could it be that the rumors are true, and that the geniuses of Taiyin Cave don't need to expend many resources, but only need sufficient aptitude to contract with Heavenly Dipper Mystic Beasts?

Wei Huiwen and the others' eyes lit up slightly, and they were greatly surprised.

As members of the family, how could they not understand the value of the Heavenly Dipper Mystic Beast to cultivators!

It is no exaggeration to say that if a cultivator from the Immortal Alliance can successfully contract a Heavenly Gang Mystic Beast, it means that the door to becoming a Nascent Soul True Monarch is half opened.

At this moment, even the well-informed Yu Zhaohua's eyes gleamed with admiration, and he frequently glanced at the Su Ying Yue Tu.

"There has been a rule in the Taiyin Cave since ancient times: anyone who can gain the approval of the Suying Moon Rabbit can form a contract with it at will."

Gu Mingxi said calmly, "If you fellow Daoists are interested, you can arrange accommodations and then come to Moon Laurel Forest for another try."

Upon hearing this, Wei Huiwen and the other three looked surprised.

Such a precious Heavenly Dipper Mystic Beast is so casually contracted by cultivators of his sect. Doesn't Taiyin Cave Heaven fear the loss of its sect's foundation?

Yu Zhaohua reacted calmly to this, showing no surprise whatsoever.

She knew many secrets about the Taiyin Cave Heaven, such as how the Suying Moon Rabbit had extremely high standards and would not easily accept a master.

From ancient times to the present, no more than five geniuses from other sects have been able to take the Suying Moon Rabbit away from the Taiyin Cave Heaven. Without exception, they all grew into renowned cultivation giants in the Immortal Alliance.

"I have a good understanding of the temperament of the Su Ying Yue Tu. If Chief Chen is interested, we can discuss it together." Gu Mingxi looked at Chen Beiwu.

"Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist Gu, but I already have enough contracted beasts and don't have time to spare for more," Chen Beiwu politely declined.

Seeing this, Zheng Tianming felt increasingly uneasy.

Su'e Zhenjun is aloof and has extremely high standards. When did she become so easy to talk to, even taking the initiative to show goodwill to a junior?

Something's not right, something's very, very wrong!

Could it be that Chen Beiwu possesses some special quality that he hasn't discovered?

Or was it a decree issued by the Holy Maiden, with other arrangements, that caused the True Lady Su'e to change her usual personality?