The Devil's Tribulation

Chapter 289: Three Sects’ Strength

In the guest room of Wanbao Pavilion in Fuguang Town, a servant came to report: "Dear guest, Sect Master Lian has arrived." Pan Chengfeng quickly stood up and said, "Please come in~" Lian Hongtao, a middle-aged man with a white face and no beard, of medium build, and unusually strong magical power. The eighth generation Sect Master of Qingxu Sect, he has good qualifications, but it is more difficult for him to enter the Refining Void Stage or even the Fusion Stage. However, Lian Hongtao was lucky. When he was out on business, he picked up a pair of brothers in distress. Seeing that the two had good qualifications, Lian Hongtao brought them back to the sect and accepted them as disciples. Unexpectedly, the brothers were particularly suitable for the sect's skills, and their cultivation soared all the way. In just over a thousand years, they both successfully advanced to the Refining Void Stage. This made Lian Hongtao very happy, and the sect finally had a chance to come out.

Seeing Lian Hongtao's cautious expression, Pan Chengfeng said with a smile: "Master Lian is my second brother's friend, and I am also half a host here. I am just doing my duty as a host. Why be so reserved?" Lian Hongtao did not dare to cross the line. After all, the person in front of him was the first direct disciple of the Yu Lei Sect. The news in the Yu Lei Sect had long been spread. In this year's direct disciple competition of the Yu Lei Sect, the first place was a Jindan cultivator, which shocked everyone. Lian Hongtao said: "Daoyou is outstanding in strength. Strength is respected in the world of immortal cultivation. I dare not cross the line."

Lian Hongtao, who had received the news, was still suspicious whether the people of the Yu Lei Sect cheated, otherwise how could a Jindan cultivator win the championship? However, after meeting Pan Chengfeng, he believed that Pan Chengfeng won the championship by strength. After all, when facing Pan Chengfeng, he felt an invisible pressure in his heart. Pan Chengfeng smiled and waved his hand and said, "It's just an empty name. If you do this, Master Lian doesn't consider me a friend." Seeing that Pan Chengfeng didn't want to pretend, Lian Hongtao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "I wonder why you came to me?"

Pan Chengfeng introduced, "This is my Taoist partner, Li Qian'er, and the current head of the Zhong family." Lian Hongtao stood up and bowed to Qian'er, saying, "The Zhong and Li families in Fancheng have been well-known over the years. The Qingxu Sect is in Fancheng, so how could I not know them? Meet Fairy Li~" Qian'er also quickly stood up and said in return, "Sect Master Lian is too polite. I am just a newly promoted Divine Transformation cultivator, and I cannot bear such a gift from you."

Pan Chengfeng held Lian Hongtao's hand and said, "Master Lian, there is no need to do this. In fact, I came here to ask you something." Lian Hongtao smiled and said, "Anyway, fellow Daoist, I will answer you without hesitation." Pan Chengfeng was not polite and asked directly, "Master Lian, how much do you know about the Qianyuan Sect behind the Great Zhou Kingdom? The main thing is that their ancestor seems to be dying." Lian Hongtao thought to himself, "You are asking this. Could it be that the Zhong family is interested in the Great Zhou Kingdom?"

Lian Hongtao said, "In fact, the situation of the Qianyuan Sect's ancestor has always been closely followed by our three sects. The last time we got news was thirty years ago. According to the news sent back by our three sects' spies, the Qianyuan Sect's ancestor summoned some of the sect's top leaders that day and announced that his life span was about to end, and asked the sect to prepare as soon as possible. After that, there was no news." Pan Chengfeng asked in confusion, "Then how did you determine the death date of the Qianyuan Sect's ancestor? If he quietly found a place to sit and die, wouldn't everyone know?"

Lian Hongtao was a little dumbfounded. Qian'er hurriedly explained, "Anyone who has reached the Spiritual Transformation stage or above will disperse all the mana in his body when he passes away, in this way reducing the pain of death." Lian Hongtao continued, "The gate of Qianyuan Sect has always been watched by people from the three sects. When a cultivator from the Void Refining stage is about to pass away, the aura of death cannot be concealed. If the ancestor of Qianyuan Sect quietly leaves Qianyuan Sect, we will know it at the first time."

Pan Chengfeng stroked his chin and asked, "What's the situation now? Does the ancestor seem to be preparing to die in the sect?" Lian Hongtao said, "It should be. According to our observation, it will only take two or three years. If he wanted to leave, he would have left long ago." Pan Chengfeng asked again, "What is the current strength of Qianyuan Sect?" Lian Hongtao said, "Qianyuan Sect has also been unlucky in recent years. It has not trained a successor for four or five thousand years. It was not easy to train a good disciple, but he was killed by the people of Hunyuan Sect when he was out for training. Hunyuan Sect is a large sect in Nanzhou, and Qianyuan Sect does not dare to take revenge. There are only three late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators in the sect now, and there are only about twenty other elders in the early and middle stages of Spirit Transformation. The decline is inevitable."

Qian'er also sighed and said, "There are no prosperous sects and families. The Qianyuan Sect has also prospered for thousands of years in the land of Da Zhou. Generally speaking, it is still good. At least it has given us small families a chance to survive." Lian Hongtao said this with a bit of grief. Pan Chengfeng said, "What about the Ziwei Sect and the Wuqing Sect?" Lian Hongtao was sure this time that the Zhong family was going to intervene in the dispute over the Da Zhou Kingdom. After hesitating for a while, he asked, "Daoyou, are you planning to fight for control of the Da Zhou Kingdom?"

Pan Chengfeng put away his smile and said coldly: "Why? Sect Master Lian thinks the Zhong family is not qualified?" Lian Hongtao was secretly shocked. This hint of murderous aura made him tremble with fear. He quickly said: "That's not what I meant. In fact, the fight among the three sects this time is mainly between Ziwei Sect and Wuqing Sect. We, Qingxu Sect, are just joining in the fun. My two disciples have just been promoted to Lianxu, so how can we be their opponents?"

Pan Chengfeng put on a smile again and said, "Master Lian, don't be nervous. Since Qingxu Sect is qualified to compete, there is no need to be polite." Lian Hongtao saw that Pan Chengfeng's face changed faster than anything else, so how could he believe him? He quickly said, "No, no, no, Qingxu Sect really doesn't want to compete, and I don't want my two disciples to take risks." Pan Chengfeng quickly poured Lian Hongtao a glass of wine and said, "Master Lian, try the new wine of the Zhong family. I'll ask Qian'er to pack a few bottles for you later. Master Lian, don't be polite to me~"

Lian Hongtao had no time to taste the wine. He took a sip and said, "Daoyou asked about Ziwei Sect and Wuqing Sect. To be honest, I don't know much. Wuqing Sect has developed very fast in recent years. Since their ancestor was promoted to the middle stage of Lianxu, they quickly annexed some small sects in the surrounding area. Their strength is the strongest among the three sects. Ziwei Sect is quite standard. Although their ancestor is also in the middle stage of Lianxu, I heard that he was in seclusion in the past few years. I wonder if he will appear in this competition."

Pan Chengfeng asked, "Except for your three sects, no one else is eyeing this piece of cake?" Lian Hongtao said, "In the Great Zhou Kingdom, there are only three sects with Void Refining cultivators. Other small sects are not qualified to get involved." Pan Chengfeng asked again, "What kind of skills and magic weapons do the Void Refining cultivators of their two sects use?" Lian Hongtao said, "The Wuqing Sect practices the Wuqing Jue. This skill is extremely powerful. Cultivators of the same level can suppress the opponent. However, the flaw is also obvious, that is, you cannot get emotional. Once you get emotional, the skill will break. Therefore, the Wuqing Sect is very strict in managing its disciples. If there is any sign of it, they will be punished according to the sect rules. As for the magic weapons of the two Void Refining cultivators, they are all low-grade magic weapons, a long knife and a long sword, so the nicknames of the two are Wuqing Knife and Wuqing Sword."

Pan Chengfeng thought to himself, "What's the point of living so long if you can't talk about love?" Lian Hongtao continued, "I don't know about the ancestor of Ziwei Sect. She hasn't taken action since she was promoted to the middle stage of Lianxu. She is also in seclusion now. Even the people in the sect rarely see her. Their sect leader Mingxue is the sister of Mingyu you met today. She is in the early stage of Lianxu and practices Ziwei Heart Sutra. The biggest feature of this technique is its strong explosive power, but its endurance is not satisfactory. Mingxue's magic weapon is also a low-grade magic weapon, Snow Silkworm Silk, a defensive magic weapon, but it can also tie people up."

Pan Chengfeng stroked his chin and said, "It seems that none of them are very good. Qian'er, it seems that we have a great chance. I wonder how the three sects plan to compete for the control of the Great Zhou?" Lian Hongtao said, "Of course it will be a battle of wits, but life and death will not be considered." Pan Chengfeng said, "Then it will be a duel. How many games?" Lian Hongtao said, "We three sects have not discussed it in detail before, but there will be at least one battle of wits at the level of refining virtuality."

After figuring it out, Pan Chengfeng stood up and said, "Thank you, Sect Master Lian, for clearing up my doubts. I am very grateful." Lian Hongtao said, "These are not secrets at all. It is not difficult to find out if you are willing to inquire." Pan Chengfeng had troubled someone to make a trip, so naturally he had to give him some benefits. Now Qinglingzui is the best gift. Qian'er packed ten bottles for Lian Hongtao and sent him out personally. When she came back, she saw Pan Chengfeng sitting with his legs crossed, thinking. So she walked behind Pan Chengfeng, pinched his shoulders and said, "What are you thinking about, Chengfeng? Do we really want to fight for the control of this country? Are we taking too big a step?"

Pan Chengfeng collected his thoughts and said, "If we don't fight this time, how long will we have to wait for the next one? A thousand years? Or five thousand years? I can't wait that long." Qian'er said, "Yes, if we don't fight this time, we will have to wait for thousands of years at least for such an opportunity." Pan Chengfeng smiled and patted Qian'er's hand and said, "Don't worry, no matter how many games they play, we will follow. You do the Spiritualization and I'll do the Void Refining. Those in the early stages of the Void Refining are really not my match."

Pan Chengfeng pondered for a while and said, "Do you believe what Lian Hongtao said?" Qian'er smiled and said, "Of course not. Their sect has waited for a long time for this opportunity. How can they give up so easily? Besides, he spent so many crystal beads to buy the Prison Spirit Tower. Wasn't it just to prepare for this battle?" Pan Chengfeng smiled and said, "He introduced all the opponents, but not his two disciples. It seems that there is something special about them~" Qian'er smiled and said, "No matter how special they are, they are not your opponents. You can even subdue the cultivators at the peak of the Void Refining Realm. It is no problem for you to conquer the cultivators at the early and middle stages of the Void Refining Realm."

Pan Chengfeng hugged Qian'er, pulled her in front of him, and said with a smile: "I like to hear that. As long as there are no fusion cultivators, we don't have to worry. We must take control of the Great Zhou Kingdom this time! By then, the annual offerings alone will be 1 billion high-quality crystal beads. In this way, we can temporarily recuperate and have fun practicing." As he spoke, Pan Chengfeng began to act dishonestly.