Chapter 487: Those Who Haven't Broken Through on the Spot are the Primary Objects of Observation

Those at the Qi Condensation stage who had fought their way into the finals were but a single thought away from the Foundation Establishment realm.

Among them, many had been capable of breaking through a month ago, yet had stubbornly held back until now, deliberately containing their power only to ascend right on the spot.

The competitors in the opening match were named Chen Chenxi and Su Youdao.

Upon crossing into Foundation Establishment, Chen Chenxi believed victory was within his grasp, entirely unaware that his opponent harbored the exact same thought.

"These two juniors have some clever ideas, though it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious."

The sect elders observed and murmured among themselves, unable to discern who would triumph in the end.

With identical cultivation levels and identical foundations, the tide of battle could turn at the very last moment for either of them.

"It will certainly be the disciple of my Lockheart Sect who wins." Chen Chenxi belonged to the Lockheart Sect, and its master stepped forward to voice his support.

"Is that so? Are you looking down upon my Void-Breaking Sect then?" The master of the Void-Breaking Sect narrowed his eyes, his tone thick with implication, for Su Youdao was one of his own.

The Lockheart Sect master smiled as warmly as a spring breeze. "I am merely speaking the truth, how could that be considered looking down on anyone?"

"Shall we place a wager then?"

"What are the stakes?"

"A wager on whose custody the Great Yu cultivators shall fall under."

"Very well, let us wager, for who is afraid of whom!" The two were of equal strength, and their sects possessed comparable power; they had long since looked upon one another with mutual disdain, and to back down now would mean being subjected to the other's relentless mockery in the future.

The battles in the Qi Condensation group proved far more fierce than anticipated; according to incomplete statistics, ninety-six percent of the peak Qi Condensation geniuses chose to break through during combat, significantly elevating the average combat strength of the group.

In the end, victory was claimed by a core disciple of the Qi-Controlling Sect.

"Note down all those in the Qi Condensation group who did not break through mid-battle; they are to be our primary subjects of observation," Jiang Qun commanded his subordinates, suspecting these individuals might be ancient cultivators who had dispersed their power to cultivate anew.

"Understood." Jiang Qun received the telepathic response, yet no figure could be seen, as it came from a Luoshui Guard concealed in the shadows.

The Luoshui Guards were professionally trained, masters of concealment arts and adept in agriculture, making their presence exceedingly difficult to detect.

Yet yesterday, when Jiang Qun brought the Luoshui Guards to the Ask-the-Dao Sect, they had been instantly caught by the River Spirit.

Jiang Qun nodded in satisfaction, not expecting to reap rewards so early.

"Speaking of which, I had intended to pay my respects to you seniors yesterday, but I could not find you anywhere. It was quite a pity. Might I ask where you seniors were yesterday?" Jiang Qun had arrived at the Ask-the-Dao Sect before the celebration even commenced.

After the sacrificial ceremony concluded, he wished to visit the masters of the immortal sects, but after searching around, he found only Luo Hongxia, who was conversing with the Sixth Elder; the two were communicating via divine sense, and Jiang Qun, assuming they were exchanging flirtatious glances, had not dared to disturb them.

The Immortal Fairy naturally placed herself within the category of "seniors" and remarked, "I received intelligence on short notice stating that Great Yu cultivators intended to sneak into my Ask-the-Dao Sect to disrupt the celebration."

Qiu Jin'an naturally followed the Immortal Fairy's lead, adding, "Upon receiving the news from Sect Master Lu, we devised a plan, hiding ourselves inside the treasure box to wait for the Great Yu cultivators to walk into the trap of their own accord."

Jiang Qun found this puzzling; why hadn't the Luoshui Guards received this intelligence, and moreover, why hide inside a treasure box?

Standing to the side, Yang Ding continued, "Nephew, there is something you do not know. This treasure box is a supreme relic of the Laurel Immortal Palace, possessing the power to bewitch human hearts; high-ranking cultivators are easily beguiled into entering it."

"Is it truly so miraculous?" Jiang Qun was astonished, having never heard of a supreme relic with such a function; the Five Great Immortal Sects were indeed unfathomable.

"Then why was I not beguiled?"

"Your cultivation level is too low."

Jiang Qun was left speechless.

"Then where are the Great Yu cultivators now?"

"Inside the treasure box." Luo Hongxia patted the treasure box, her face filled with resentment; as the value of the box escalated, her status had risen alongside it, and on her way here just now, everyone had urged her to protect the box at all costs, to avoid any bumps or scratches, and instructed her to cry out for help at the top of her lungs should any danger arise, promising they would rush over immediately.

A person riding on the coattails of a box.

"Are they all captured?"

Jiang Qun felt a wave of shame; moments ago, he had been smug about finding a few cultivators suspected of being ancient figures reconstructing their base, yet he had not expected the Ask-the-Dao Sect to have nearly wiped out the entire Great Yu nest.

The Immortal Fairy nodded with practiced composure. "More or less. Only the State Preceptor remains at large, who, according to accounts, is a half-immortal powerhouse. It is unknown where he is currently hiding, but Girl Yun said she would handle the matter."

Upon hearing that the Great Yu State Preceptor was a half-immortal, Jiang Qun had grown tense for a brief moment, but the instant he heard Yun Zhi was handling it, his anxious heart settled once more.

Wait a moment, what did Sect Master Lu just call Yun Zhi?

Jiang Qun's heart trembled slightly; no wonder his Imperial Father had instructed him to build a good relationship with Sect Master Lu—the bond between Sect Master Lu and Yun Zhi was far more intimate than he had imagined.

Master Jie Sha's hand, which was counting his Buddhist beads, paused as he looked toward the Immortal Fairy and the others, feeling fortunate that he was practicing the Zen of Silence.

Amitabha, a monk does not speak falsehoods.

The matches for the Early Foundation Establishment and Mid-Foundation Establishment groups also featured many geniuses who chose to break through during combat, though such occurrences were far fewer than in the Qi Condensation group.

Not every genius had cultivated to the peak of the Early or Mid-Foundation Establishment stages.

The two who emerged victorious belonged to sects unfamiliar to Lu Yang, while the Immortal Fairy had never even heard of their names.

One was a second-grade sect, and the other was a third-grade sect.

The Five Great Immortal Sects had sent no one to participate in the matches of the first three groups; currently, the lowest cultivation level among the immortal sect disciples was the Late Foundation Establishment stage, and if the immortal sects were absolutely forced to select someone for those first three groups, they could only send their cooking ingredients into the arena.

"Did you note down those individuals just now?" Jiang Qun transmitted his voice to the Luoshui Guard behind him, whose figure remained invisible.

"They have all been recorded."

"Investigate their backgrounds once we return."

Qiu Jin'an shifted his body aside and said kindly to the Luoshui Guard behind Jiang Qun, "Why doesn't this fellow Daoist simply show yourself? You claim to be hiding here, yet it is not as though everyone cannot see you."

"Furthermore, when you communicate via divine sense, everyone can hear it too; why don't the two of you just speak aloud?"

Qiu Jin'an and the others could see and hear the exchange between Jiang Qun and the Luoshui Guard with absolute clarity; what was the point of the two of them acting all mysterious and secretive?

Left with no choice, the Luoshui Guard revealed himself.

Screening for suspicious cultivators was primarily judged through combat experience; those with rich combat experience were highly likely to be ancient cultivators reconstructing their base, with a small probability of being great masters playing the fool, and the smallest probability being a matter of soul possession.

The rewards this time were simply too bountiful, making it entirely possible that great masters might play the fool to snatch the prize.

Both the first and third scenarios fell under the category of primary observation subjects.

The Great Xia did not harbor hostility toward ancient cultivators; dispersing one's power to cultivate anew violated no law, rendering them unlisted residents at worst, which could be resolved with a fine and proper registration.

The issue lay in the fact that the vast majority of ancient cultivators refused to comply with the regulations of Great Xia, attempting to transplant the ancient customs of slaughter and arson into the present era, which forced Great Xia to punish these lawless relics of the past.

If the ancient cultivators remained law-abiding upon awakening, Great Xia would leave them in peace.

In truth, Lu Yang was also highly suspicious; his combat experience was immensely rich, enabling him to soundly thrash an established Tribulation Transcedence master like Master Jie Sha, which defied all common sense.

Yet considering he was the junior brother of Yun Zhi, and that Yun Zhi herself had performed similar feats, no one suspected Lu Yang of possessing any abnormality.