Chapter 109: The Direct Disciples of the Saint Sect

Heaven-Connecting Cloud Sea, beneath Sacred Fire Cliff.

A young man wearing a black robe, with a gloomy and shadowy face, was sitting upright on a small flat boat, breathing and regulating his qi. After a long time, he looked at the vast sea of clouds before him.

Rumble!

In an instant, the sea of clouds became turbulent. Wave after wave surged into the sky, sweeping and pressing towards the black-robed youth in rhythm with his breathing and qi circulation.

Almost simultaneously, the black-robed youth opened his eyes. His spiritual power climbed almost to its limit, then was released outward. A stream of painstakingly refined Heavenly Works True Qi crashed down with a bang, seizing the river and grasping the sea, capturing the clouds and suppressing the mist, actually forcibly flattening a wave that was sweeping towards him.

However, before he could catch his breath, a second wave followed close behind.

“Good timing!”

The black-robed youth let out a long howl. The Heavenly Works True Qi moved in response, successively manifesting sabers, spears, swords, and halberds, as well as carriages and horses, whistling as they met the second wave.

Bang!

Another loud noise. The black-robed youth’s face flushed slightly, and he immediately took a step back, but the incoming wave was also shattered by him and subsequently flattened.

But the waves on the sea of clouds wouldn’t stop at all. In fact, due to the black-robed youth circulating his spiritual powerand breathing in the heaven and earth, the originally relatively calm sea of clouds seemed provoked, becoming even more explosive. The third time, it directly whipped up three waves to attack him from both sides.

“Hmph!”

This time, the black-robed youth no longer had his previous ease. His face flushed completely red, and his True Qi was consumed rapidly as he wore down the waves in a stalemate.

Neither could suppress the other.

Seeing this scene, the black-robed youth could only grit his teeth secretly, changing the spiritual seal in his hands and step by step slowly retracting his originally majestic spiritual power, which had been like a river or sea.

And strangely enough, as he retracted his spiritual power, the originally surging waves of the cloud sea also subsided step by step. Finally, together with the black-robed youth’s completely withdrawn spiritual power, they returned to their initial state.

“Phew…”

Only then did the black-robed youth breathe a sigh of relief. As a result, his body swayed; his qi was empty and his strength exhausted. He couldn’t even stand steadily, so he had to quickly urge the flat boat to put some distance between himself and that patch of cloud sea. Then he took out a pill and swallowed it, sitting down to regulate his breath. It took a long time before he recovered his strength.

Just then, a streak of escaping light descended from the sky.

The light parted on both sides, and a handsome youth wearing a feather fan and a silk scarf walked out from within. He also floated down onto the flat boat, smiling at the black-robed youth:

“Tianhe, your skill has increased.”

“This ‘Equilibrium Sea’ surrounds the entire Sacred Fire Cliff. The principle is that the water rises with the boat; the more spiritual power you display, the larger the waves of the cloud sea will be.”

“Ordinary disciples at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining can’t even withstand a single wave.”

“Even for us Direct Disciples who have refined Rank 3 True Qi, generally we can only withstand two waves. Only those with exquisite spiritual power can wrestle with three waves.”

“But Tianhe, you can withstand four waves with your strength. Even among the Direct Disciples, you can be considered outstanding.”

Facing the handsome youth’s praise, although the black-robed youth Qin Tianhe enjoyed it quite a bit, he still shook his head modestly. “I’ve just lived a few more years foolishly.”

“I’ve been a Direct Disciple for many years, so I can barely suppress four waves.”

“It is said that back then, Yin Shan, with the same Rank 3 True Qi, could suppress a full nine waves. It is said that was almost the standard of a Foundation Establishment Perfected One.”

As soon as these words came out, the handsome youth also revealed a look of admiration. “I heard from the sect elders that only a Foundation Establishment Perfected One can cross the ‘Equilibrium Sea’ without waves arising. To reach that realm, stature and True Qi are indispensable; one must at least have the ability to instantly suppress ten waves.”

“Yin Shan being able to suppress nine waves in the past indeed meant he was already close to the various Perfected Ones.”

The two sighed with emotion for a while longer before Qin Tianhe looked curiously at the handsome youth. “Xu Xin, you usually cultivate in your Cave Abode. How do you have time to come here?”

“You haven’t received the news?”

Xu Xin was somewhat surprised. “The four Dao lineages are going to start another Dao Seizing War with my Saint Sect. Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue has already come out of seclusion and is preparing to personally preside over this war.”

“Summoning orders have already been sent to all four directions.”

“Besides a few of us Direct Disciples who are relatively idle, many Qi Refining disciples have also been transferred back to the Cloud Sea. The weakest among them are in the Late Stage of Qi Refining.”

“Oh right, there’s also a newcomer. Quite unlucky, promoting to Direct Disciple right at this time.”

“Oh?” Upon hearing this, Qin Tianhe immediately raised his eyebrows and said with interest, “Which newcomer? Which Perfected One’s favor did he gain?”

“It is said he was recommended by Yin Shan.”

Speaking of this, Xu Xin’s expression suddenly became a bit strange. “However, as far as I know, that newcomer seems to have never been to the Righteous and Demonic battlefield.”

“…Never been there?”

Qin Tianhe frowned instantly upon hearing this, then seemed to think of something, a look of disgust appearing on his face. “Another person like Chen Xin’an?”

Within the Saint Sect, Direct Disciples were also divided into factions.

Some Direct Disciples carved out their spots on the Righteous and Demonic battlefield, while others relied on their family elders, spending huge prices and using connections to buy their spots.

The former were like Qin Tianhe and Xu Xin. What they hated most were the latter, believing these people were unworthy of their positions. And the latter, like Chen Xin’an, who came from famous Immortal Clans, were equally dismissive of Qin Tianhe and the others, thinking they were just a bunch of mud-legs who survived by luck.

“Not too sure.”

Xu Xin shook his head and laughed. “But in any case, for this Dao Seizing War, whether that newcomer is a mule or a horse, he’ll have to be pulled out for a walk.”

“If he really is trash like Chen Xin’an, I don’t mind teaching him a lesson to prevent him from messing around in the Dao Seizing War and dragging us down.”

“Makes sense!”

Qin Tianhe nodded and stopped dwelling on it, turning instead to think about the upcoming Dao Seizing War. His heart burned hot, and he silently clenched his fist.

As a Direct Disciple of the battlefield faction, he had fought his way out on the Righteous and Demonic battlefield. He didn’t know how many life-and-death hardships he had gone through to achieve what he had today. He had even survived two full Dao Seizing Wars. If he won another one, he would be able to charge at Foundation Establishment with a fifty percent chance of success.

Therefore, he was determined to win this Dao Seizing War!

Just then, a loud explosion suddenly came from the distant sea of clouds, as if thunder was rolling through the sky, speeding all the way from the far horizon.

“Someone is coming?”

With such a commotion, Qin Tianhe and Xu Xin, who had just been chatting happily, immediately shut their mouths. With a bit of awe, they looked into the distance in the direction of the sound.

As the sound grew more intense, the expressions of both men became serious.

Just the flying speed of the escaping light could explode the qi and generate thunder, creating such momentum. Then what kind of spiritual power must the cultivator who truly unleashed this streak of light possess?

In the next second, the light arrived.

Boom!

The massive spiritual power instantly triggered the turbulence of the surrounding “Equilibrium Sea,” which was actually several times larger than the four waves Qin Tianhe had just triggered.

In an instant, a full ten waves surged into the sky.

However, before Xu Xin and Qin Tianhe could react, an even more massive spiritual power fell from the sky, slapping down onto the waves of the cloud sea in one breath!

Bang!

Several hundred li of the cloud sea instantly returned to calm. All the waves seemed to have been smoothed out by an invisible giant hand. The clouds opened and the mist dispersed, revealing a clear figure.

“Is this the place?”

Lu Yang looked around and finally saw a flat boat standing in the cloud sea below, with two Saint Sect disciples on it. He immediately lowered his escaping light to go over.

“You two…”

Before Lu Yang’s voice could fade, Qin Tianhe and Xu Xin, who had just witnessed with their own eyes the power of Lu Yang suppressing the cloud sea with one breath, didn’t say another word and bowed directly:

“Disciple Qin Tianhe…”

“Disciple Xu Xin…”

“Greetings, Perfected One!”

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