A reincarnated girl, who begins by possessing a cultivator.

Afterwards, Luoyu Pavilion and Qianji Sect also sent gifts. After all, both were elders of the Ancient Sword Sect, so they had to exchange pleasantries.

Chapter 96 The Day of the Duel

Three months passed in quiet cultivation for Su Chun and the others, and the day of the duel between the two major alliances arrived.

Ancient Sword Sect, on Hidden Sword Peak.

Su Chun, Xie Zhi Qiu, Mei Ruo Shui, Lu Yi, Peng Zhan, Yu Nongying, Zhao Zai, Zhang Chuiyun, and Guo Cheng, the nine former disciples of Hidden Sword Peak, have gathered together.

Compared to three months ago, everyone's aura has changed noticeably.

The biggest change was in Mei Ruoshui; she had styled her hair up, making her appear more dignified and mature.

Although Lu Yi failed to form his core last time, his foundation remained intact. Instead, he benefited from the misfortune, his mental state became more resilient, and his cultivation level stabilized at the pseudo-core stage.

His eyes were filled with anticipation for the future and a fighting spirit.

His participation in this duel is also to accumulate more resources for his next Core Formation.

As for Peng Zhan and the others, after three months of arduous training and accumulating resources, their cultivation levels have all improved to varying degrees.

Zhao Zai and Zhang Chuiyun successfully broke through the bottleneck and reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

He's just one step away from forming his core.

Su Chun remained largely unchanged; three months hadn't significantly improved her cultivation, but she had mastered several Mulan techniques.

"Fellow disciples, the duel at Tianyao Ridge is a matter of the sect's honor and the ownership of the treasures in Master Mulan's cave. This journey is extremely dangerous, and the Nine Kingdoms Alliance will definitely send its elite disciples. We cannot be careless in the slightest."

Xie Zhi Qiu stood before everyone, his expression solemn as he gave them his instructions.

"Also, you are a team, look after each other, safety comes first, and fighting for the treasure comes second."

"Yes, Big Brother."

The crowd responded in unison.

"Alright, let's not delay, let's go."

Mei Ruoshui continued, already holding a blue flying sword in her hand, its spiritual light swirling around it—this was quite different from ordinary magical artifacts. It was her natal magical artifact.

Xie Zhi Qiu also summoned his natal flying sword, its green blade radiating vitality.

The two spent a month creating their own signature magical artifact.

Lu Yi and the others also unleashed their respective magical artifacts.

The group of nine, riding various magical treasures, took to the sky and flew towards the direction of Tianyao Ridge.

The Ancient Sword Sect does not force everyone to participate; they simply tell them that if they want to participate, they should go to the designated area in Tianyao Ridge to gather.

The agreed-upon location for the duel between the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Nine Kingdoms Alliance was a place called "Heavenly Beast Valley" deep within the Heavenly Demon Ridge.

The area is open and surrounded by mountains, making it an ideal location for large-scale duels between cultivators.

Along the way, Su Chun and his group encountered many cultivators from the Ancient Sword Sect, the Thousand Machines Sect, and the Rainfall Pavilion, who were also on their way to participate in duels.

Of course, there are also rogue cultivators, but these rogue cultivators are not qualified to participate in duels; they are just there to join in the fun.

At their speed, flying at full speed, they arrived at the Heavenly Beast Valley in less than half a day, where a large number of cultivators had already gathered.

The valley edge clearly divides the area into two distinct regions.

One side of the flag fluttered, featuring dragon and phoenix patterns, and belonged to the cultivators of the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

On the other side, the team represented by ferocious beast totems such as black tigers and black snakes was the Nine Kingdoms Alliance.

The two groups of cultivators stared at each other warily, a tense atmosphere filling the air.

Su Chun and the others landed in their escape light and quickly joined the Heavenly Dao Alliance's ranks.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Xie, Fellow Daoist Mei, you've come too. The Alliance Leader and the elders are already waiting inside."

A Core Formation cultivator from the Heavenly Dao Alliance saw Xie Zhi Qiu and Mei Ruo Shui and quickly came to greet them.

Xie Zhi Qiu nodded, and led Su Chun and the others, guided by the elder, flew towards a certain part of the valley.

A simple platform was erected directly in front of the Heavenly Beast Valley, where Long Tianxiao and his wife Feng Changming sat solemnly.

On either side of the high platform sat Nascent Soul cultivators and high-level representatives from the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Nine Kingdoms Alliance, respectively.

The Nascent Soul cultivators from the three sects of Yunmen were naturally present as well.

On the Nine Kingdoms Alliance side, Wei Tianya sat at the head of the table, his face calm, but his eyes were sharp as an eagle, scanning the cultivators on the Heavenly Dao Alliance side.

The Nascent Soul cultivators and high-ranking members of the Nine Kingdoms Alliance around him also had various expressions.

After waiting in the valley for a while, Long Tianxiao glanced at the sky and then looked at Wei Tianya on the opposite side.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, the time is almost right, we can begin."

Wei Tianya nodded indifferently.

Long Tianxiao immediately glanced at Xuan Jianzi and the others, naturally telling them to bring out their treasures.

Helpless, Xuan Jianzi raised his hand and waved it, and a large number of treasures flew out and fell into various parts of the valley.

The treasures on both sides were incredibly enviable, as they were all at least for the Core Formation stage, since the Foundation Establishment stage would be the first to receive them.

Immediately afterwards, a Core Formation cultivator from the Heavenly Dao Alliance stepped forward and loudly announced the rules of the duel.

"The cultivators of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Nine Kingdoms Alliance have agreed to a duel, divided into Foundation Establishment and Core Formation groups. Each group will engage in a free-for-all to seize treasures. The treasures have been placed in various locations in the Heavenly Beast Valley, and the cultivators from both sides will compete for them. The time limit is three hours. Once the time is up, as long as the treasure is still in the hands of the cultivator, it will be considered as belonging to them. The Foundation Establishment group will be the first to go."

The rules are simple and straightforward: it's a free-for-all where whoever grabs the most treasures wins.

As soon as he finished speaking, a cultivator from the Nine Kingdoms Alliance stepped forward and tossed a storage bag into the center of the Heavenly Beast Valley.

The storage bag exploded in mid-air, and countless treasures shimmering with spiritual light poured out, scattering across the ground like flowers falling from the sky.

Among them were magical artifacts, elixirs, talismans, refining materials, and rare and precious materials, a dazzling array that exuded an alluring aura.

Since it was a contest, the Nine Kingdoms Alliance couldn't be too stingy. They also contributed some items as a prize. Of course, these items weren't as valuable as those from the Three Sects of Yunmeng, but they were still decent cultivation supplies for some Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"The treasures are ready. Cultivators from both sides, prepare to enter."

The cultivators from the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Nine Kingdoms Alliance instantly erupted in excitement, their eyes burning with desire as they stared at the treasures.

Su Chun took a deep breath and gripped the Xuan Yan Sword tightly in her hand.

However, just as she was scanning the cultivators opposite her, she saw a familiar figure in the Heavenly Dao Alliance's camp.

It was Tantai Yuexi.

Upon seeing Su Chun, Tantai Yuexi immediately winked at her, roughly meaning, "You didn't expect this, did you? I'm here too. It's a pity your cultivation level is too low; we won't be able to meet."

"Fellow disciples, let's not separate, let's act together."

Lu Yi spoke up, offering a reminder.

"it is good."

Su Chun and the others nodded.

Soon, with a command, the Foundation Establishment cultivators surged into the Heavenly Beast Valley like a tidal wave.

"Charge!"

"The treasure is mine!"

The cultivators from the Nine Kingdoms Alliance were even more excited.

Su Chun and the other six exchanged glances and quickly rushed into the valley.

Upon entering the valley, Su Chun spread out her divine sense to carefully probe the aura of the treasures around her.

At the same time, she was always on guard against the movements around her to prevent being ambushed by other cultivators.

Heavenly Beast Valley is very large; it's more like a huge basin than a valley.

"There's the aura of treasure over there."

Lu Yi's eyes lit up, and he pointed in one direction.

The seven people quickly flew in the direction Lu Yi pointed out.

They hadn't flown far when they spotted a spiritual herb radiating rich spiritual energy—a thousand-year-old Yanglingzhi mushroom.

"Great."

Guo Cheng shouted excitedly and tried to rush over to pick them.

He specializes in fire-attribute cultivation techniques, and this Yanglingzhi is of great use to him.

"Be careful."

But Lu Yi seemed to have caught the groans of the other cultivators and quickly reminded them.

Before the words were finished, several dark figures suddenly darted out from the nearby woods and pounced on the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum.

"They are people from other sects within the Heavenly Dao Alliance."

Here, even their own allied sects are competitors.

"It's from the Ancient Sword Sect; we discovered it first."

One of the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators brandished his longsword, unleashing a sharp sword aura that slashed towards Lu Yi, the leader, in an attempt to stop them.

Lu Yi naturally dared not be careless and quickly summoned a shield to block in front of him.

"clang."

The sword energy struck the shield, producing a piercing metallic clang, and Lu Yi retreated slightly.

"Hmph! With such meager skills, you dare to compete with the Ancient Sword Sect for treasures?"

Zhang Chuiyun immediately unleashed a sword strike, a dazzling sword light descending upon one of the opposing cultivators.

Su Chun and the others immediately attacked the other members of the sect.

They quickly became entangled in combat.

Of course, the struggle wasn't just happening within the Heavenly Alliance; the situation wasn't much better on the Nine Kingdoms Alliance side.

Because if you give it to him, then this treasure will belong to their sect. Who would give it up?

Therefore, it's more accurate to say that the cultivators from the two alliances were competing for treasures based on their own abilities rather than calling it a duel between two alliances.