Seeking Immortality

When Xu Qingfan dragged his exhausted body and worked up his energy to reach the sixth stone platform, Yue Qingru's duel on the field had already come to an end.

Yue Qingru's opponent this time was a middle-aged man who used gold-based Taoism. Logically speaking, the five elements are mutually reinforcing and restraining each other. Immortal cultivators who use wood-based Taoist methods will often be at a disadvantage when encountering immortal cultivators who use gold-based Taoist methods.

But this is only for fellow monks.

In the case where the masters in the Lingji period did not participate in this intra-sect competition, Yue Qingru's strength in the late Bigu period was already among the top forces in this intra-sect competition. But his opponent this time only had the strength in the early stage of Bigu. Just like a dull knife cannot cut through solid wood, there is nothing he can do against Yue Qingru.

Due to various reasons, Xu Qingfan has never seen Yue Qingru's strength. But this time Xu Qingfan looked in the audience and realized that Yue Qingru's strength was so strong, which was completely beyond his expectation.

Because Yue Qingru did not like fighting and liked poetry and books, Lu Huayan did not give Yue Qingru any offensive magic weapon during his lifetime. He only gave him a defensive magic weapon "Xuanmu Slip" as a self-defense object. At this time, Yue Qingru had already released the "mysterious wooden slip", and the wooden slip-shaped magic weapon was constantly surrounding Yue Qingru, easily blocking most of his opponent's attacks.

But this is not the reason why Xu Qingfan thinks Yue Qingru is powerful.

Yue Qingru's real power lies in his profound understanding of Taoism and the principles of the Five Elements. He knows the right way to use it at the right time. I saw Yue Qingru standing on the spot and performing wood-type Taoist magic one after another. The power of these Taoist methods he released may not be the strongest, but the effect produced is definitely the most suitable at this time.

Although the aura of the metal system was flourishing on the field at this time, and the golden light was flying everywhere. It seemed that those who used the metal system Taoism had the upper hand, but it did not pose any big threat to Yue Qingru. On the other hand, Yue Qingru sometimes used a low-level Taoist technique without making any noise, leaving his opponent in a hurry for a while. Every move brings a strong sense of elegance.

It turns out Taoism can be used in this way! ! Xu Qingfan secretly marveled.

Unlike Xu Qingfan who relies on his fast body movement and the ever-changing magical powers in "Kurong Jue" to fight against enemies, Yue Qingru's way of fighting enemies is at the other extreme. He relies on his sharp thinking and extensive knowledge to defeat the enemy. .

Watching Yue Qingru's battle, Xu Qingfan felt that another door in the Taoist world began to open to him, and another wider space opened in front of him. This was the direction he should go.

"I didn't expect Senior Brother Yue to be so strong." Jin Qinghan said when Xu Qingfan was watching Yue Qingru's competition intently. There was a hint of surprise in his voice.

Indeed, Yue Qingru usually gives the impression that he is an old scholar like a teacher, and does not look like a master at all.

"Senior brother, he has entered the fasting stage thirty years ago, much earlier than the two of us. Moreover, he likes to read all kinds of books, and his understanding and knowledge of Taoism are by no means comparable to that of us young people. Although he can only stay in this realm due to his limited qualifications, his strength cannot be underestimated." Although Xu Qingfan was also surprised by Yue Qingru's strength, he still explained to Jin Qinghan with a slight smile. .

At this moment, Yue Qingru used a low-level Taoist technique called "Wooden Strike" to knock his opponent out of the field, ending the battle.

"Congratulations, senior brother, for winning." Xu Qingfan said with a smile as he greeted Yue Qingru who came off the stage.

"Eh? Junior brother, why are you looking so pale? Are you injured?" Yue Qingru asked with concern.

Xu Qingfan smiled bitterly and said: "No injuries, just excessive consumption of spiritual energy in the body."

Then he described his experience to Yue Qingru.

"No wonder, although this Li Yuhan is not well-known in the sect because he is a disciple of the 'Yu' generation. But I heard Master say before that his future achievements will be among the disciples of the 'Yu' generation, except those of Shengyu Mountain. No one can compare.”

"Let's go back to the back mountain now. Senior Brother Xu needs to meditate early to rest and restore the spiritual energy in his body. We will continue the game tomorrow." Jin Qinghan stopped the conversation between the two and said lightly.

Hearing Jin Qinghan's caring words, although his voice was still cold, Xu Qingfan felt warm in his heart.

After Yue Qingru also persuaded him, Xu Qingfan slowly returned to his cave in the back mountain with the support of Yue Qingru and Jin Qinghan.

The next morning came unknowingly while Xu Qingfan was meditating attentively. When the first ray of sunlight shined into Xu Qingfan's wooden house in the morning, Xu Qingfan slowly opened his eyes and sighed with regret.

Xu Qingfan's consumption of spiritual energy during yesterday's competition with Li Yuhan was too serious, and the recovery time after just one night of meditation was too short, so now the dry energy in his body has only recovered to 60-70%. This made him a little worried about today's competition. If the opponent this time was almost as powerful as Li Yuhan, wouldn't he lose more and win less?

But after thinking about it, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but feel funny, thinking that he was too worried. Masters like Li Yuhan can easily be encountered.

Walking out of the door, the sun was just rising, the wind was light and the clouds were clear. There was a layer of light mist between the sky and the earth, reflecting the golden sunlight of the early sun, and combined with the lush forests around, it gave people a strange sense of beauty. The air was mixed with the smell of soil and flowers and plants, which made it more fresh. But Xu Qingfan couldn't calm down in the face of such a beautiful scenery. From the moment he walked out of the door, there was always a faint ominous premonition surrounding his heart.

"What's the matter? Is it because of today's competition?" Xu Qingfan whispered to himself.

"Junior brother, you got up so early today. How is the spiritual energy in your body recovering?" Yue Qingru's elegant voice suddenly came from behind, with a deep concern.

Turning around and looking at Yue Qingru's concerned eyes, Xu Qingfan finally knew where the uneasiness in his heart came from.

It's Yue Qingru! Today is the day when Yue Qingru is going to compete with Nangong Qingshan.

Xu Qingfan knows Yue Qingru's character best after all these years of contact. Well-read, he firmly believes in the principles of "human nature is good" and "be kind to others", and is a typical good guy.

Such a person is certainly respected as a teacher and elder, and respected as a neighbor, but such a character is really not suitable for fighting. Because although he is familiar with history, he does not understand the cunning of human hearts; he only knows to be kind to others, but rarely guards against others.

Although Xu Qingfan felt relieved after seeing Yue Qingru's competition yesterday because of Yue Qingru's high strength, and he had reminded Yue Qingru before, but thinking of Nangong Qingshan's vicious character and resentful eyes, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but say to Yue Qingru again: "Brother, you must be very careful when you compete with Nangong Qingshan today, and you must not hold back. Nangong Qingshan's character will definitely not care about the old relationship."

"I know this, brother, you don't have to worry." Yue Qingru said with a smile, but looking at Yue Qingru's kind smile, Xu Qingfan's uneasiness became stronger.

After coming to the front mountain with Yue Qingru, Xu Qingfan originally wanted to watch the competition between Yue Qingru and Nangong Qingshan in person, but unfortunately, Xu Qingfan and Yue Qingru's competition were both scheduled for the second game. Xu Qingfan had no choice but to go to his No. 5 stone platform first. Before leaving, he was worried and reminded Yue Qingru again.

In this uneasy mood, Xu Qingfan walked quickly towards his No. 5 stone platform.

Today, there were obviously many more people watching around the No. 5 stone platform than yesterday. Seeing Xu Qingfan coming, the people watching under the No. 4 platform consciously made way. Looking at the admiration and jealousy of the people around him, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but smile bitterly. He knew that after the battle yesterday, he was also a celebrity. Maybe there were many people in the crowd who came to see him.

After going on stage, Xu Qingfan bowed to the elder who was the referee as usual, and then began to look carefully at his opponent today.

This time, the opponent was a middle-aged man with a serious face. He looked at him with a very alert look. Obviously, the battle yesterday had intimidated him a lot. Unfortunately, this man was much weaker than Li Yuhan, and only reached the middle stage of the fasting.

After the elder who was the referee announced the start of the competition, Xu Qingfan cried out sorry in his heart and started to attack this man with all his strength. Xu Qingfan flicked his ten fingers, and countless fiery red flaming flowers and tender green blade grass kept shooting at the man, and from time to time he used dark green iron vines to whip him. When Xu Qingfan made a full-strength attack, in just a moment, the whole field was full of red and green colors of flowers and plants, and the gorgeousness contained suffocating danger.

Violent explosions and crisp metal clashes rang out on the field, but Xu Qingfan's opponent did not suffer any major damage. It turned out that this person practiced the gold system of Taoism. Before the competition, he wanted to say something to Xu Qingfan as usual, but he didn't expect Xu Qingfan to start without saying a word. Although he was surprised, he reacted very quickly. At the moment of Xu Qingfan's attack, the golden spirit in his body turned into a giant golden spirit shield in front of him as a defense. Although he retreated one after another under the huge impact and his face turned pale, he was still struggling to hold on.

Xu Qingfan was not the kind of person who enjoyed defeating and playing with his opponents. With his personality, even if he wins, he won't embarrass his opponent too much, because he thinks that will leave a shadow of failure in the hearts of others, and this person may lose confidence from then on, and his future will be ruined in his own hands. So Xu Qingfan has always left a ray of leeway every time he makes a move, even when he competed with Li Yuhan, he didn't use his full strength at the beginning.

For example, when Xu Qingfan competed in the first match of this internal competition, he faced an opponent who was only in the Qi Refining Stage. Unlike other people who resolved the battle within a few breaths, Xu Qingfan let him attack for a long time and then built up confidence before knocking him down. This is Xu Qingfan's style of doing things.

But the situation is different today. Since Xu Qingfan left Yue Qingru, the ominous premonition has become stronger and stronger, so strong that he has a faint sense of fear in his heart. So after he went on stage, he didn't even ask the name of his opponent and started to fight with all his strength, just wanting to resolve the battle in the shortest time, and then immediately went to the No. 6 stone platform to watch the competition between his senior brother Yue Qingru and Nangong Qingshan.

Unfortunately, although his opponent was slightly inferior in strength this time and his face turned pale under Xu Qingfan's attack, his defense was still very solid. Xu Qingfan attacked him with Explosive Flame Flower, Blade Grass, and Iron Vine for two incense sticks of time, but he was completely unable to resolve the battle. Instead, he had consumed a lot of spiritual energy in his body due to the continuous use of the magical power of "Withering and Flourishing Art". In addition, his power had not been fully restored, and his spiritual energy in his body gradually felt that it was running out of energy.

Just as Xu Qingfan gradually became impatient and was about to use the magic weapon "Withering and Flourishing Ruler" to attack the enemy, the opponent's defense finally couldn't hold up anymore. The golden spiritual shield gradually cracked under Xu Qingfan's continuous attacks, and then it suddenly shattered with a sharp "crackling" sound.

Without the giant shield blocking him, Xu Qingfan couldn't stop, and the Explosive Flame Flower and Blade Grass hit this person one after another. Fortunately, this person's body flashed with golden light at the last moment, blocking some of the attacks. But even so, he was blown away by the residual power of the Exploding Flame Flower. He spit out a large mouthful of red blood in mid-air, which made Xu Qingfan a little flustered. Then he fell heavily to the ground, with scars all over his body from being scratched by the blade grass.

Seeing him collapse on the ground with a listless look, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but feel a little guilty. This was the first time he had seriously injured someone, and it was a fellow disciple with whom he had no grudges.

When the elder who was the referee announced that Xu Qingfan had won, Xu Qingfan first transformed a few pieces of "White Spirit Grass" with healing energy and pasted them on the man's wound, and sincerely said to him: "Sorry, I have something urgent."

After saying that, he ignored the man's surprised look, walked off the field quickly, separated the crowd of onlookers, and walked quickly towards the No. 6 stone platform. Exclamations continued to come from behind.

"How amazing! He defeated an opponent in the Bigu period in such a short time."

"Not only amazing, but the Taoism he used was also beautiful."

"You haven't seen his competition yesterday. It was so wonderful."

"Nothing can happen. Nothing can happen." Xu Qingfan didn't care about the voices behind him now, and just kept repeating in his heart. He comforted himself that with the strength of his senior brother Yue Qingru, nothing should happen, but he couldn't help getting more and more panicked.

When Xu Qingfan approached the No. 6 stone platform, he heard bursts of exclamations around the No. 6 stone platform. Hearing the sound, Xu Qingfan became more anxious, and ignored the complaining eyes of others, and forced himself to squeeze to the front of the stage, but the crowd on the stage surprised him.

The ominous premonition that lasted for a whole morning finally came true.

Yue Qingru was at a disadvantage in the battle with Nangong Qingshan. Under the attack of Nangong Qingshan's three green spike-shaped magic weapons, Yue Qingru was in a state of disarray, and the green spikes often brought down large pieces of flesh and blood from his body. His originally clean and neat beard also became messy, and it was stained with a lot of his own blood. But for some reason, Yue Qingru did not use Taoism to fight back, and he did not even take out the magic weapon "Xuanmu Jian" to protect his body.

"Senior Brother!" Xu Qingfan looked at the scene on the field, and was horrified, and could not help but exclaimed loudly.

Xu Qingfan's exclamation also attracted the attention of the two people on the field. After seeing Xu Qingfan's horrified expression off the field, Yue Qingru showed him a trace of apology while avoiding the green spikes, but he looked so desperate and heartbroken. Nangong Qingshan's mouth showed a proud and cruel smile, and with a raised hand, four green spikes quickly stabbed at Yue Qingru. Yue Qingru had no chance to resist at all, and was pierced by the four spikes. The blood instantly covered the whole field, which looked strangely desolate.

"Nangong Qingshan wins."

In the moment after the elder who was the referee announced the result, Xu Qingfan developed his speed to the fastest. In a flash, he appeared beside Yue Qingru who was lying on the ground. He carefully helped him up from the ground and carefully observed Yue Qingru's injuries, but the more he looked, the colder he felt.

Yue Qingru was seriously injured in many places, his limbs were pierced, and his body was scratched in many places. The blood could not stop flowing out. But among so many wounds, the wound at the "Linghai Point" on Yue Qingru's chest was particularly obvious.

Linghai Point is the most important place in the body of a cultivator. Because the spiritual energy of heaven and earth absorbed by cultivators on a daily basis is accumulated here. If this place is pierced, it means that Yue Qingru's hard work in this life has been destroyed.

Seeing Yue Qingru's increasingly old and weak face, Xu Qingfan didn't care about anything else. He hurriedly pasted "Bai Lingcao" on Yue Qingru's wound, and the Mu Yi spiritual energy in his body was continuously transported into Yue Qingru's body.

After a long time, Yue Qingru's face finally had a trace of blood.

But Xu Qingfan's heart was getting colder at this time. Senior brother is now 145 years old. His "Linghai Point" was pierced and his Taoism was abolished. How can he continue to live?

"Very good! You are very good!!" Xu Qingfan slowly put Yue Qingru on the ground, turned around and stared at Nangong Qingshan who was still standing on the field, and said softly. But his voice trembled slightly, showing how angry he was now.

Xu Qingfan had never been so angry or even resentful to anyone. Although the blue-eyed cloud kicking beast destroyed his home, it was an emotionless monster after all; although the head of the sect Zhang Hualing robbed the master's relics after the master's death, he didn't do it after all.

And the ungrateful Nangong Qingshan in front of him is undoubtedly the first one.

"I've always been very good." Nangong Qingshan's eyes were full of the pleasure of revenge, and he also said softly in the same tone as Xu Qingfan. Only the slight smile at the corner of his mouth showed how proud he was now.

"Please, I beg you, you must enter the final 16th round, and don't be eliminated before I meet you, otherwise I won't be able to avenge my senior brother openly." Xu Qingfan stared at Nangong Qingshan's eyes and said word by word. When he spoke, the spiritual energy in his body was surging uncontrollably because of extreme anger. Two rays of light, one gray and one blue, flashed in his eyes, and the spiritual energy around him was surging strongly, like a demon descending to the world.

"Hmph~! Don't make it to the top 16 first, maybe you will be eliminated before me." Nangong Qingshan looked at Xu Qingfan's terrifying appearance and his eyes flickered and dodged for a while, but then he looked up and said disdainfully, and then he ignored Xu Qingfan and walked away.

Xu Qingfan looked at Nangong Qingshan's back steadily, then lifted up Yue Qingru and ran towards the mountainside through the crowd.

That was Xu Qingfan's only hope now, the cave of his uncle Xiao Huazhe.