sinovels Chapter 642 Competition Rules! Begin!
Chapter 642 Competition Rules! Begin!
"There is one more thing." Han Cen put down his teacup, his expression becoming even more solemn. "Does Elder Chen know that these three rounds of competition are not conducted simultaneously, but rather one round ends before the next begins?"
Chen Fan raised his eyes.
"This means," Han Cen said slowly, "that the winner of the Gu Insect Battle can bring their Gu Insects to the Gu Formation Battle. The winner of the Gu Formation Battle can also bring their Gu Insects and Gu Formations to the final cultivation arena. In other words, if someone wins all three rounds of competition, their Gu Insects and formations can accumulate advantages along the way, becoming stronger with each battle."
He paused, his gaze falling on Chen Fan: "For Elder Chen, this is both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity lies in the fact that if you can achieve high rankings in both the Gu Insect Battle and the Gu Array Battle, you will have a significant advantage in the final cultivation arena. The challenge lies in the fact that the Gu cultivators on the grasslands will also do the same, especially the top experts from the Blood Gu Clan and the Snake Gu Clan. It is said that their natal Gu insects have been cultivated to the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, and when combined with Gu arrays, their combat power can increase by several times."
Ouyang Ye added in a hoarse voice, "These past few days, I've been inquiring throughout Wan Gu City and have gathered some information from several familiar array masters. The expert sent by the Blood Gu Clan this time is named Blood Cicada, with an early Nascent Soul cultivation level. His natal Gu worm is a Blood Cicada at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage. It's said that this worm can burrow into a cultivator's body and devour their essence and blood, turning a Nascent Soul cultivator into a dried corpse in just a few breaths. The expert from the Snake Gu Clan is named Snake Spirit Child, also at the early Nascent Soul stage. His natal Gu worm is a Jade Phosphorous Snake Gu at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage. This snake's venom is so potent that it can even corrode the protective spiritual light of a Nascent Soul cultivator. These two are the favorites to win the Hundred Sects Tournament this time, and if there are no surprises, they will both participate in all three rounds of competition."
Chen Fan memorized all this information, his expression remaining calm and composed.
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly asked, "Do the two elders have any plans for tomorrow?"
Han Cen and Ouyang Ye exchanged a glance and shook their heads simultaneously. Han Cen said with a wry smile, "I'm an old man with shaky bones. Although my cultivation has reached the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, I've spent most of my life in the alchemy room. If I were to go to the arena and fight those Nascent Soul Gu cultivators head-on, I'm afraid I'd be finished in just a few moves. Elder Ouyang is the same. Although his mastery of formations is high, this Gu formation is very different from ordinary formations. There's no time to cram at the last minute."
"That's settled then." Chen Fan put down his teacup, his voice calm and composed. "Since I'm here, I don't intend to just watch from the sidelines. I'll participate in the battles of Gu worms, Gu formations, and cultivation arenas."
Han Cen and Ouyang Ye were both taken aback.
"Participate as well?" Han Cen's eyes widened. "Elder Chen, have you thought this through? You might be able to handle the Gu worm battles and Gu array battles, but the opponents on the cultivation arena are all Nascent Soul level Gu cultivators and demonic cultivators. Not to mention Song Tianren, neither Xue Chanzi nor She Lingzi are easy targets, and there are also those demonic cultivators from the Boundless Sea, Nascent Soul experts from the Great Yan, Great Chu, and Great Qi... Although you, with your Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivation, have killed Li Jiuyuan in the Boundless Sea, Li Jiuyuan is a demonic cultivator, and his methods are completely different from those of Gu cultivators. Gu poison and parasitic Gu can easily catch you if you're not careful."
Ouyang Ye frowned, a rare occurrence for him: "Elder Chen, I know your strength is extraordinary, but the Hundred Sects Tournament is not the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, nor the Boundless Sea. The rules here are set by the Gu King of the Grasslands. The Gu cultivators on the grasslands have unpredictable and bizarre methods. In the past few days in the city, I have been dazzled by just seeing the different kinds of Gu worms. If you participate in three rounds of competition at the same time, each additional round will consume more energy. When you reach the final cultivation arena, your condition will probably be greatly reduced."
Chen Fan didn't offer much explanation, simply saying, "Thank you for your concern, elders. I understand the situation."
Seeing his firm attitude, Han Cen and Ouyang Ye decided not to try to persuade him any further.
The two sat for a while longer, exchanged a few more words of advice about tomorrow's competition, and then got up to say goodbye.
Chen Fan saw the two off from the inn and returned to his side room, where he sat cross-legged on the prayer mat again.
It was nearly dusk outside the window, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window and onto the bluestone floor, turning the entire side room into a dark golden color.
A few long, drawn-out horn calls could be faintly heard from the distant grasslands; it was the routine signal for the Gu worms to return to their nests at dusk in Wan Gu City.
Chen Fan summoned the golden cicada from his sleeve and examined it closely in his palm.
After breaking through to the Great Perfection of Core Formation, Jin Chan's body shrank, but his aura became even more fierce.
Its dark red compound eyes gleamed eerily in the setting sun, and the black tentacles beside its mouthparts trembled slightly, ready to devour any prey Chen Fan pointed out to it at any moment.
"The Hundred Sects Assembly is tomorrow," Chen Fan sent a thought to Jin Chan with his divine sense.
The cicada took flight, circling his palm once, emitting a clear buzzing sound. That buzzing sound carried an undisguised fighting spirit and desire.
Chen Fan put the Golden Cicada back into his sleeve, then took the Black Soul Banner from his waist and placed it across his lap, using his divine sense to examine the millions of souls within the banner.
Nourished by the souls of hundreds of demonic cultivators from the boundless sea, the blood-red light on the banner became even deeper and richer, and the millions of souls, under the pull of the soul array, faintly formed a vortex of soul power.
If it devours a few more Nascent Soul level souls, the Black Soul Banner will be able to truly step into the threshold of a Nascent Soul level magic weapon.
After doing all this, Chen Fan closed his eyes, focused his mind on his dantian, and continued to refine the immortal and demonic energies.
Within his dantian, the spiritual nascent soul and the demonic core circulated in parallel, maintaining a delicate balance between the two distinct forces under the harmonizing effect of the Fixed Word Technique.
Although his cultivation level is still at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, his true combat power as a cultivator of both immortals and demons is enough to directly confront the early stage of the Divine Transformation stage. If he were to use all his trump cards, he might not be unable to fight even the mid-stage of the Divine Transformation stage.
……
The Hundred Sects Tournament commenced as scheduled at noon the following day.
The Gu Battle Square in the center of Wan Gu City was already bustling with activity in the morning light.
The square is no less than a thousand feet in circumference, and the ground is paved with black grassland stones. The stone surfaces are covered with densely packed Gu patterns and arrays, which gleam with a faint dark green light under the sunlight.
Twelve enormous stone pillars stand around the plaza, each topped with a stone Gu beast statue at the Nascent Soul level, its mouth wide open, spewing out pale green smoke that envelops the entire plaza in a faint, intangible barrier of light.
A high platform was set up on the north side of the square, with several sandalwood chairs on it. The one in the center was carved entirely from black jade, with a huge Gu worm about to take flight carved on the back. It was the exclusive seat of the Gu King.
On the left and right sides were dozens of secondary seats for Nascent Soul cultivators and distinguished guests from various factions to observe the ceremony.
The stands around the square were already full of people.
Nearly half of the thirty-seven tribes on the grassland were Gu cultivators, each dressed in a different colored leather robe, with insect cages hanging from their waists, their faces cold as they surveyed everything in the arena.
The cultivators from the five kingdoms of Zhao, Yu, Yan, Chu, and Qi sat on the east side of the viewing platform, while the demonic cultivators from the Boundless Sea occupied a corner on the west side, clearly distinguishing themselves from each other.