93: Chapter 92 The Luo Tian Grand Ceremony concludes, rewards distributed.

As Zhou Wei conceded and walked off the stage, the semifinals came to a complete end.

The three billion audience members across the stadium and all the Sect Disciples and Elders present only belatedly realized just how terrifying that previous strike had been.

Previously, everyone had thought that Duyuan's Buddhist Golden Body was truly invincible defense among peers, which Zhou Wei fundamentally could not break through.

But Ye Qingxuan's words just now had directly pierced through all the truth.

Zhou Wei's trump card, Yin-Yang Annihilation, truly could shatter Duyuan's Golden Body.

Once the Move fully erupted, Duyuan would definitely be heavily injured or even directly defeated.

But the price was that Zhou Wei himself would suffer a backlash from the terrifying power and die on the spot.

It wasn't that Duyuan's defense was too high; it was that Zhou Wei's Move injured the enemy by one thousand while damaging himself by twelve hundred, making him simply not dare to unleash it completely.

If it weren't for Ye Qingxuan stepping in to freeze time and space and forcibly blocking the impact just now, the semifinals would have ended in one death and one injury.

Thinking of this, discussions instantly exploded across the entire arena.

Ordinary viewers clicked their tongues one after another.

"My god, was Zhou Wei actually this fierce? He almost fought Duyuan to the death?"

"I previously thought he was just scraping, but it turns out he was holding back his life and didn't dare to fight with full strength!"

"Too terrifying, a Nascent Soul duel could actually reach the point of mutual destruction!"

At the same time, countries around the world watched these battles from beginning to end through CCTV's live broadcast room, and they sorrowfully discovered that there were no means to restrain them.

The first two days were all petty skirmishes, but the final day was a "surprise".

The seventy-two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators were each walking giant mushrooms. The eight strongest ones each had the ability to destroy a country single-handedly.

At the same time, in the offices of national leaders outside of China, smoke billowed, and sighs echoed from time to time.

As for those countries that had long maintained friendly relations, they were overjoyed, and China's new North Korea tribe all praised the president's foresight.

The big shots of various Sects in the spectator seats also sighed with emotion one after another.

They all felt it was a pity for Zhou Wei. Zhou Wei's strength was not bad, and his Divine Ability was even more powerful. Among his three opponents, only Duyuan's Buddhist Golden Body restrained him—small tricks couldn't break it, and his trump card cost too much of his life.

"Actually, whether it was Yun Huan and Lin Yao, or Duyuan and Zhou Wei, the strength gap among the four people was not large. It's just that Yun Huan and Lin Yao had bad luck and happened to run into opponents who restrained them.

Zhou Wei is the same; his Physical Body cannot compare to Duyuan's, otherwise the outcome of the two would have been mutual destruction."

Master Yuanxin praised Zhou Wei endlessly.

Wudang Master Wang shook his head: "Tai Chi force, one Yin and one Yang, evolving myriad forms, is a technique that can evolve tens of millions of forces. This Divine Ability of Zhou Wei was comprehended when he broke through the Nascent Soul Stage."

"Little Friend Zhou Wei's Comprehension Ability is not bad!"

Heavenly Demon Palace Master Li Qiye also praised:

"That monk Duyuan is also quite awesome. He uses Senior Daoji's Divine Ability quite well. If Yun Huan faces him, she will undoubtedly lose. Among these people, she can't beat a single one."

Yun Huan: "I thank you so much; you really are my dear Master!"

Abbot Kongming put his hands together and sighed lightly: "It was a fluke, truly a fluke. If Immortal Master Qingxuan hadn't presided over the event, there would surely have been deaths and injuries today. Zhou Wei's life-risking power has already far exceeded the Nascent Soul level."

"The final Top Eight each possess the strength of the Soul Transformation Stage!"

Celestial Master Zhang's expression was solemn: "If Yuzhuo faces Zhou Wei, he will definitely lose."

Down the stage, Lin Yao got right up in Yun Huan's face and cast a face-to-face ultimate: "Sister Yun, did you hear that? You can't beat a single one of them!"

After finishing she ran off. Stay here and wait to be beaten up?

Yun Huan's face turned black: "Stinky girl, I can't beat them, but can't I beat you?! Stop right there!!"

"Sister Qingling, save me! The Demon Sect Saintess is going to kill someone!!"

Lin Yao hid behind Qingling, continuously making funny faces at Yun Huan, which angered Yun Huan so much her rabbit was about to explode. Mocking her was one thing, but how dare she hide behind this old lady's mortal enemy?!

However, she couldn't do anything about it, because current Qingling was stronger than her.

"Didn't you lose too? What face do you have to lecture me!" Yun Huan retorted with a stiff neck.

"Humph, I came here just to show some support for Brother Qingxuan, by the way verify myself, and more importantly—I miss Little Jiu!!"

As soon as Lin Yao finished speaking, she picked up Little Jiu, took a fierce sniff, wearing a simpering fanboy face.

"Meow meow, bipedal beast, quickly let this meow go!! Sister Qingling, save me!" The kitten struggled continuously, to no avail—the strength gap was simply too huge.

"You fucking ****" Yun Huan suffered a complete mental defense breakdown, opening her mouth to spew colorful language.

"Alright, stop messing around you two, watch the match. Those two are probably going to suffer mutual destruction." Qingling got a headache from the noise and waved her hand to directly suppress them.

Among the female Cultivators of the same generation, only the three of them had similar strength. As long as it didn't involve Ye Qingxuan, the three of them were good sisters who talked about everything; the moment Ye Qingxuan was mentioned, they instantly transformed into mortal enemies.

Qingming, Qingyun, Qingmo and a few others in the corner kept their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts, completely pretending they couldn't hear or see anything.

The barrage in the live broadcast room across the entire network completely flooded the screen, uniformly and crazily playing memes and reviewing the match.

[Help!! Daoist Zhou's Move is so handsome!!]

[Zhou Wei: "Handsome? Traded with my life!"]

[Duyuan narrowly escaped with his life! It was all thanks to Daoist Ye saving him, otherwise he would have been taken away directly by Zhou Wei in the semifinals. But this Buddhist Golden Body is truly hard!]

[Yun Huan and Lin Yao lost too cleanly before; only Zhou Wei is the one who can truly threaten Duyuan.]

[Didn't you hear what the big shots said? The strength gap among the four people isn't large; they were just restrained.]

[Now the finals look interesting! Zhang Yuzhuo VS Duyuan]

[Daoist Zhou is a pure tool person! Specifically helping the finals opponent test out Duyuan's defense bottom line! Too tragic haha]

[Aside from Daoist Ye, these four can be considered the Nascent Soul ceiling, each with their own characteristics. Daoist Zhou is the most aggrieved; he can't win and can't afford to die.]

[Upstairs, you seem to have forgotten Daoist Ye's Senior Brothers.]

[I never regarded Daoist Ye's Senior Brothers as being in the Nascent Soul Stage; that's why they didn't participate.]

[That's indeed true!]

[Alright, stop teasing. Daoist Zhou is not weak either, he just had bad luck.]

On the arena, the semifinal venue was completely reset.

Ye Qingxuan waved his hand to adjust the barrier, independently carving out the final battleground, and with a casual cast of the Butian Technique, both restored themselves to their Peak condition.

The audience's gazes were locked tightly onto the arena.

The finalists were finally finalized: Zhang Yuzhuo of Longhu Mountain versus Duyuan of Lingyin Temple.

The ultimate showdown of the Nascent Soul group in this Grand Ritual of Luotian officially began.

Ye Qingxuan's voice fell: "The finals begin."

Without any unnecessary nonsense, the two directly entered combat state.

Duyuan fully opened his Buddhist Golden Body at the first moment. The Buddhist light behind his head rotated endlessly, and golden Buddha Power covered his entire body. He adjusted his Golden Body to its most stable state without a trace of a flaw.

He was very clear in his heart that Zhang Yuzhuo's continuous thunder magic output was even more troublesome than Zhou Wei's self-detonation ultimate Move.

Zhang Yuzhuo's figure suspended in mid-air, purple thunder light crackling and exploding all around his body.

The Celestial Master's Five Thunders Orthodoxy naturally restrained evil and malevolence, restrained protective Daoist techniques, and likewise restrained the Buddhist Golden Body.

He didn't need to risk his life and suffer a backlash like Zhou Wei; every Move was a pure annihilation attack—stable, overbearing, and continuous.

The battle broke out instantly!

Zhang Yuzhuo raised his hand, and divine thunder all over the sky poured down.

Countless purple lightning bolts densely shrouded the entire arena, bombarding it in all directions without dead angles.

If it were any of the Top Eight Cultivators from just now, they would be directly evaporated by the thunder power in less than three seconds.

Duyuan stood in place, his Buddhist light barrier desperately holding against all the thunder light impacts.

Boom, boom, boom, explosions continued to ring out, and the light of the exploding thunder power illuminated the entire suspended arena.

The Buddhist light barrier trembled incessantly, ripples layering over one another, yet it never shattered.

The live broadcast room instantly boiled over.

[Here it comes! Continuous output VS absolute defense!]

[Look quickly, Daoist Zhou! This is the normal way to fight; you can suppress them without risking your life!]

[Master Duyuan must be panicking inside right now; enduring thunder magic is too strenuous.]

[Daoist Yuzhu's thunder magic restrains defense, getting more painful the more they fight, unlike Daoist Zhou who only has a one-off burst.]

The combat situation on stage continued to escalate. Zhang Yuzhuo didn't play fancy Moves and launched a ferocious onslaught all the way through.

For a moment he condensed giant thunder pillars to smash head-on, then he scattered thunder nets to wear down layer by layer, and then his thunder Incarnation approached to suppress.

He was very clear on the bottom line of Duyuan's Golden Body; Zhou Wei's ultimate Move just now had already helped him probe it out clearly.

This Golden Body could not withstand high-intensity continuous consumption.

Duyuan also became completely serious, no longer purely defending to the death.

He knew that passive beating would sooner or later have his Golden Body worn down and broken. Seeing a gap in the thunder light—Zhang Yuzhuo's offensive was too fierce, leaving no time to charge up—he raised his hand and released the Arhat Heaven-Overturning Seal.

The giant golden palm broke through the thunder sea all over the sky, carrying the heavy suppression power of Buddhism, and struck straight toward the front of Zhang Yuzhuo!

Zhang Yuzhuo did not dodge. As long as he dared to dodge, Duyuan would dare to charge up. His Physical Body couldn't compare to Duyuan's; if he let the charge complete, he would end up with the same fate as Zhou Wei.

The Golden Light Mantra transformed form using Qi, striking a giant golden light palm toward the Buddha seal with a wave of his hand!

It collided fiercely with the Buddha palm, and the terrifying impact made the barrier tremble wildly.

Starlight Dao patterns flickered crazily, desperately locking down the leaking power, otherwise the aftershocks would have been enough to tear apart a hundred miles of mountains and rivers.

The two went back and forth, engaging in a bloody battle for hundreds of rounds.

Zhang Yuzhuo's offensive never stopped; each wave of thunder magic was fiercer than the last, continuously wearing down Duyuan's magical power.

Duyuan defended flawlessly, occasionally counterattacking to pin down, stubbornly withstanding wave after wave of thunder bombings.

The audience at the scene watched without even daring to take a deep breath.

"Too steady! This is the kind of battle a Nascent Soul Peak should have!"

"Master Duyuan is truly hard; if it were me taking a hit of thunder magic, I'd be gone directly."

"Daoist Zhang is also too fierce; he has fought for so long and his magical power shows no sign of decline at all!"

But as they fought on, everyone slowly noticed a change.

The luster of Duyuan's golden body dimmed visibly to the naked eye.

The originally golden protective spiritual light slowly grew murky and thin.

Tiny cracks began to appear on the surface of his body, which were traces of the continuous erosion by the lightning technique.

Earlier, Zhou Wei had broken through the defense in an instant, whereas Zhang Yuzhuo was slowly grinding it down, shattering it layer by layer, and wearing him out alive.

At the same time, Zhang Yuzhuo's condition was also declining.

The endless lightning technique consumed a massive amount of mana; running it at full output uninterrupted throughout was terrifying in terms of mana consumption.

His face gradually turned pale, his breathing grew hurried, and the speed at which he raised his hand to summon lightning noticeably slowed down.

In a Peak duel, no one could steadily suppress the other.

Duyuan kept his golden body defense activated the entire time, while Zhang Yuzhuo continuously bombarded him with lightning techniques for another hundred rounds.

The Buddha light halo on Duyuan's body completely extinguished, cracks covered his entire golden body, and he could no longer withstand the high-intensity lightning bombardment. His defense was on the verge of shattering.

The mana in his body was about to bottom out, making it impossible for him to even maintain the golden body form.

On the other side, Zhang Yuzhuo was likewise nearing exhaustion.

The massive amount of stored mana in his body bottomed out, and he could no longer summon heavenly lightning in mid-air.

The two of them stopped their actions simultaneously, facing each other from afar across a distance of more than ten meters.

The entire venue fell completely silent.

Everyone understood that both of their mana had run out. If they continued fighting, they could only engage in hand-to-hand physical combat, and it would be impossible to determine a winner.

Zhang Yuzhuo let out a long breath, cupped his fists toward Duyuan, and said, "Fellow Daoist Duyuan's golden body is peerless, and my mana is about to be exhausted. Let's decide the victory with a single Move."

Duyuan bowed slightly, holding a proper Buddhist salute, his voice tinged with fatigue, "Amitabha, Fellow Daoist Yuzhuo's lightning technique is matchless, and this poor monk is also reaching his limit. Come on!"

The two began to gather their last bit of mana. Lightning radiance surged immensely on Zhang Yuzhuo, and Buddha light also shone brightly all over Duyuan.

Just at this moment, Ye Qingxuan appeared between the two and raised a hand to smooth out their fluctuating mana.

"Alright, two Fellow Daoists, continuing to fight will only result in mutual destruction. How about calling it a draw?"

"Agreed!!"

The two of them also breathed a sigh of relief. Big brother, you're finally here. In fact, neither of them was confident. With their mana about to be exhausted, fighting another Move would result in severe injuries at best.

At this moment, the livestream chat completely exploded into a frenzy, with the full screen of bullet comments wildly playing memes.

[Perfect ending! Pure fifty-fifty! Neither lost!]

[Finally understand the gap! Zhou Wei determines life and death in one Move, while these two fight for hundreds of rounds and wrap up peacefully.]

[Zhou Wei: So I'm the only one who has to risk my life to play a match? That's so unfair!]

[Master Duyuan is truly epic! He withstood the continuous lightning bombardment; anyone else would be done for long ago.]

[Daoist Yuzhu is also awesome! He forcefully ground away all of the opponent's defensive foundation.]

[This is what the Nascent Soul ceiling should look like! No suppression, only extreme parity.]

The various Sect Heads in the spectator seats nodded and praised in succession.

"This battle has no winner or loser; both of them are at the Peak of the contemporary Nascent Soul Stage."

"Being able to fight to exhaustion and a tie is enough to prove that their cultivation levels are entirely on the same tier."

"The Dao foundation reshaped by the butian pill is indeed far superior to ordinary Cultivators."

Ye Qingxuan stood on the high platform, his voice spreading across the entire venue:

"In this Grand Ritual of Luotian, the Nascent Soul Stage finals, both of them share the title of champion."

As his voice fell, earth-shaking applause and cheers instantly erupted throughout the venue.

At this point, in this Grand Ritual of Luotian, Lin Lei dominated the Peak of the Golden Core Stage alone, while Zhang Yuzhuo and Duyuan tied for first place in the Nascent Soul Stage. The entire grand event came to a completely successful conclusion.

"Now starting to distribute the rewards, the champions of each group step forward!" Ye Qingxuan said a sentence and stepped down. Master Yuanxin was the Sect Head, so he would withdraw now that his tool-man job was done and leave it to his Master.

The audience at the scene was in an uproar, and the livestream bullet comments rolled——

[It's finally coming!!!]

[Such an overbearing reward, just taking a look is satisfying.]

[Sigh, time to Cultivate hard. I must participate in the next Grand Ritual of Luotian or the Water and Land Dharma Assembly!]

[Me too!!]

——

"Hehe, coming here to participate is precisely for this moment. You must have been waiting for a long time." Master Yuanxin stepped forward, speaking with a chuckle, and waved his hand to release dozens of streaks of light.

"Let those in the Qi Refinement Stage come first. Choose; these are all Low Grade Spiritual Artifacts—offensive types, defensive types, supportive types, pick whatever you like."

Everyone in the spectator seats looked at this overbearing scene and whispered to each other.

"Darn, dozens of Spiritual Artifacts to pick from at will?"

"Which one should I choose? Holy crap, I'm not even the one picking, why the heck am I thinking about this?"

"Brother, I was about to remind you, but you woke up on your own."

"I thank you very much."

——

Lin Wei looked at the Spiritual Artifacts suspended in mid-air, his eyes dizzy for a moment.

"This, Daoist, I don't understand these things. How about giving me a storage Magical Artifact?"

After much thought, Lin Wei felt that a storage Magical Artifact was still of the greatest use. As a martial arts Cultivator, a Cultivator's offensive and defensive Magical Artifacts were of little use to him because they were unsuitable.

"Smart. This Storage Ring can be considered the best among this batch of Spiritual Artifacts. Take it!" Master Yuanxin pointed into the void, and a ring flew toward Lin Wei.

"Many thanks, Daoist!" Lin Wei cupped his fists in salute and retreated.

Master Yuanxin put away this batch of Spiritual Artifacts and waved his hand again to release a large pile of Medium Grade Spiritual Artifacts.

In the livestream chat——

[No way, Medium Grade Spiritual Artifacts are also this overbearing?]

[Making a fuss over nothing. With a mighty figure like Daoist Ye around, refining a few Spiritual Artifacts isn't troublesome at all.]

[Medium Grade Spiritual Artifacts can only unleash their full power at the Nascent Soul Stage.]

[Haha, look at the expressions of those Sect Head big shots.]

[Sichuan face-changing!]

——

This left the various Sect Heads sitting nearby completely speechless. The Shangqing Sect was just too damn overbearing; Spiritual Artifacts were treated like Chinese cabbages, to be picked at will. But thinking about having an all-rounder like Ye Qingxuan, it was normal.

They constantly comforted themselves in their hearts, otherwise their Dao Heart would become unstable.

"Those in the Foundation Establishment Stage, step forward." Master Yuanxin stroked his beard and smiled.

Shen Qingyan stepped forward, looking blankly at the dozens of Medium Grade Spiritual Artifacts flying in the air, and then cast a look of help toward her Master.

"Sigh, choose that jade hairpin; it will be of no small use to you." Master Wang looked at his Disciple's clear gaze and dropped a hint.

"Well, you old Daoist Wang, your vision is not bad. This jade hairpin was personally refined by Qingxuan—the Yuyin Hairpin, which is already close to a High Grade Spiritual Artifact. It has the effects of gathering spiritual energy and calming the mind, and can even be used as a Flying Sword. The lass Shen Cultivates the Qimen Arts quite well. If she can comprehend the Formations carved on it, she might gain some insights."

Master Yuanxin did not spell everything out, simply handing the jade hairpin into Shen Qingyan's hands.

"Many thanks, Senior!" Shen Qingyan excitedly took the jade hairpin, playing with it admiringly while constantly scanning it with her Spiritual Sense, wanting to see something out of it.

"Alright, lass, look at it when you get back. The Formations carved by Fellow Daoist Qingxuan are not something you can figure out right now." Master Wang shook his head continuously looking at his Disciple's cheap-looking excitement.

"Oh, I know, Master." Hearing her Master's words, Shen Qingyan blushed deeply.

"Little friend Lin Lei, this is the butian pill. Take it." Next, Master Yuanxin didn't act overbearing anymore; he directly took out a jade bottle and sent it flying toward Lin Lei.

Taking the jade bottle, Lin Lei cupped his fists in salute, and when he turned back, he saw his old man's burning gaze. His heart skipped a beat as he calmly put it away. Lin Wei felt a wave of disappointment, knowing that Lin Lei would definitely hand it over to the Second Elder, leaving him with no hope.

At this moment, Ye Qingxuan, who had been acting like a block of wood, suddenly blurted out, "Lin Lei, anyone can use the butian pill, except you."

"Huh? Understood, many thanks for Daoist Ye's reminder." Lin Lei bowed deeply.

Everyone was baffled. Didn't the butian pill have no side effects? Why couldn't Lin Lei eat it?

Aside from the various Sect Heads present, quite a few smart people guessed what it was, but they all acted like riddle-makers and simply refused to say it.

Lin Wei's gaze grew heated once more, giving Lin Lei a chill, while Linhai beside him wore an expression of I don't know him.

In the livestream chat——

[The butian pill! One pill drops you straight into the Golden Core Stage.]

[Why did Daoist Ye say Lin Lei can't eat it?]

[Are there any big shots who can explain?]

[Anyone asking this question is illiterate.]

[Go read a book!]

[No way!!!]

"Next are the rewards for the Nascent Soul Stage. A tie for first place—fortunately, I prepared enough. Take them."

Master Yuanxin took out two jade boxes and tossed them directly at Celestial Master Zhang and Abbot Kongming with some annoyance.

"Next are the participation awards. Qingxuan, I'll leave it to you." Master Yuanxin handed it directly to Ye Qingxuan.

"Yes, Master." Ye Qingxuan didn't say much, merely taking out the cyan jade gourd and tossing it into the air.

The gourd grew larger against the wind, then spewed out countless streaks of spiritual light that flew precisely toward all participants.

All participants in the spectator seats held their Medicinal Pills and discussed animatedly——

[Life-Creation Pill, this is literally a life right there!]

[Who is saying otherwise? The Shangqing Sect is truly wealthy and powerful. I really hope the Daoist Sect can continue holding the Grand Ritual of Luotian from now on.]

[Oh, cut it out. If it weren't for Daoist Ye looting a world, where would all these Medicinal Pills come from?]

...

——

"All rewards have been distributed. The Grand Ritual of Luotian has come to a successful conclusion. The Qi of the heavens is vast and mighty, may our Dao flourish day by day!" Master Yuanxin performed a Daoist greeting bow.

"Many thanks, Daoist!!" Tens of thousands of people thanked him in unison.

"The grand event has concluded. We kindly ask everyone to exit in an orderly manner!" The Disciples of the Shangqing Sect stepped forward to guide them.