Dao Lord: Starting from a Top-grade Golden Core

Chapter 168: Chapter 101: Fighting a Nascent Soul

Thieves and robbers have existed since ancient times. Their bottomless greed is an eternal scourge. Petty thieves harm individuals, while great bandits can topple provinces. They enrich themselves at the expense of others, a practice the world cannot tolerate.

Today, Taishi Zhe and Quan Youfeng of the Moyun Sect, in collusion with a motley crew of troublemakers, trespassed into the territory of our True Form Temple. They sought to commit acts of banditry, attacking our Rain-Bringing Jiao Dragon, and were subsequently captured by our sect.

Under the clear heavens and the bright sun, how can such wicked deeds be permitted! Our sect ought to have subjected these villains to public execution as a warning to all.

However, for the sake of peace between our two sects, we were prepared to be lenient and overlook their transgressions. We merely requested a certain amount of compensation and ransom from the Moyun Sect, but not only were we refused, we were met with vile insults!

The Moyun Sect’s wolfish ambition is plain to see! They are arrogant and audacious, their crimes are numerous, yet they feel no shame—instead, they take pride in them! If this continues, we fear that righteous customs will be corrupted and demonic arrogance will run rampant!

Therefore, the True Form Temple speaks with one voice, our members are stirred with righteous indignation, and we seek to uphold the righteous path. Our very own Daoist Master Miaomiao hereby invites Venerable Qiu Song of the Moyun Sect to a duel at the border of our two provinces to determine who is superior. Let this proclamation be known to all!

Once the True Form Temple’s proclamation was issued, it spread like wildfire across several provinces and countless prefectures. Word even reached the Dragon Image Domain, stirring up a storm.

At the border of Yunlan Province and Canglan Province, where Lianyun Mountain once stood, the area grew exceptionally boisterous as the day of the duel between the True Form Temple and the Moyun Sect approached. Flying Boats, cloud rafts, and golden palanquins were parked everywhere in the sky. Streaks of escape light zipped past from time to time—a flashing, glittering rainbow of colors. An unknown number of people had traveled here specifically to witness the event.

A two-story Flying Painting Boat, over a hundred zhang long, was moored upon the flowing clouds. Atop its pavilion sat six or seven cultivators, toasting one another as they drank and conversed freely.

Gazing at the sky filled with parked Magical Artifacts and the streaks of light from cultivators flitting about to visit friends, a cultivator with a withered face let out a wry chuckle. "It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a scene this lively," he said.

Someone propped their chin on their hand and teased, "Just now, I did a quick scan and saw at least ten unfamiliar faces. Who knows which distant provinces or prefectures they’re from. They traveled thousands of miles just for this. I wonder if it’ll be worth their while."

"After all, unless it’s time for a Dharma Assembly, all the sects maintain a facade of peace," a Daoist said faintly, taking a sip of wine. "A public, face-tearing dispute over destiny like this is quite rare."

Everyone present naturally understood this. After all, the rules stipulated that unless the rankings were decided at the Celestial Waterfall Dharma Assembly, one could not attack another sect’s headquarters. Even if one won a temporary victory, they couldn’t completely annex the loser. There was no guarantee that the other party wouldn’t suddenly produce a peerless genius by the time of the next Celestial Waterfall Dharma Assembly, one who could turn the tide and reverse their fortunes... Such things were not without precedent.

At this moment, one of the men, who had been sitting imposingly in the host’s seat and drinking in silence, suddenly spoke up. "That may be so, but one side is merely at the Golden Core realm, while the other is a Nascent Soul cultivator of many years. With such a vast disparity in strength, is it really worthy of so much attention?"

He had the appearance of a young man, with sharp eyes, a straight nose, and a square jaw—handsome, by all accounts. He wore a star-bejeweled coronet, and his wide robes were embroidered with mountains and rivers. A Jade Pendant carved with a dragon pattern hung from his waist.

Although the atmosphere had been lively, the others had been subtly restrained, discreetly watching the star-crowned young man’s expression. It was clear they deferred to him.

Now that he had spoken, one of them immediately laughed and replied, "Brother Chao, this duel was initiated by that Golden Core Mage from the True Form Temple! Isn’t that eye-catching enough?"

Chao Wanzhan smiled. "I am aware of that, of course. What I don’t understand is, where does this Golden Core Mage get the confidence to challenge a Nascent Soul Venerable? From what I can tell, you all seem to think the outcome is up in the air."

Hearing this, the withered-faced cultivator gave another wry chuckle. "There’s something you may not know, fellow Daoist. This Golden Core Mage is not so simple."

"Oh?" Chao Wanzhan raised an eyebrow and cupped his hands. "Then please, enlighten me, fellow Daoist."

Chao Wanzhan’s courteous manner seemed to overwhelm the withered-faced cultivator with flattery. He quickly returned the gesture. "You’re too kind, fellow Daoist." He then pointed to the ground and said, "Do you see the devastation down there? There used to be a mountain range here called Lianyun. It was over a thousand zhang high and could just barely be called majestic."

Chao Wanzhan followed his gesture and saw only a shattered wasteland. His gaze flickered.

"Some time ago, perhaps because it was located on the border, the True Form Temple and the Moyun Sect began arguing over the ownership of this Lianyun Mountain. At one point, it nearly came to blows," the withered-faced cultivator explained slowly. "And it was precisely this incident that drew out this Golden Core Mage from the True Form Temple. And what do you think happened? The man took action directly, forcibly uprooted the entire mountain, and moved it into Yunlan Province, right to the foot of his sect’s gates."

"What?" Among those present, besides Chao Wanzhan, there was another who was not a local cultivator. He heard this and cried out in shock, "Is that true? How can a Golden Core Cultivator possibly move a majestic mountain a thousand zhang tall?"

"It’s absolutely true. Rumor has it in the local Cultivation Realm that this person has refined a Top-grade Golden Core, something rarely seen in a thousand years. That, combined with a powerful treasure in his possession, is how he was able to perform such an astonishing feat," the withered-faced cultivator said with a chuckle. "In any case, since he possesses such Divine Techniques and has the confidence to issue a written challenge to the Moyun Sect, I believe he must think he has a chance of winning."

At this point, someone else interjected, "His origins are also a complete mystery. For the past two or three hundred years, the True Form Temple has been barely held up by Elder Zhang and Zeng Quanfeng. They finally produced a Meng Fusheng, and now who knows where he’s gone. The point is, no one has ever heard any past deeds of this new man. He couldn’t have just popped out of a rock, could he?"

The withered-faced cultivator then adopted a profound and inscrutable expression. "This Mage from the True Form Temple," he said slowly, "has the Daoist name Miaomiao. Doesn’t that remind you all of something?"

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