Chapter 999: First

The morning sun broke through the morning mist and shone into Taixu Mountain. The pavilions and towers in the mountains seemed to be covered with a layer of clouds, and the dark green mountains and forests were all tinged with gold.

The disciple was in the middle, and Mo Hua, who had been practicing formations on the Taoist stele for a whole night, opened his eyes.

His eyes were like the dawn, with a flash of golden light, brighter than the morning glow in the sky.

"Finally, today is the sword fighting competition..."

Mo Hua murmured softly.

He took a deep breath, faced the morning sun, and practiced as usual for half an hour. He waited for the spiritual energy to circulate around his body, flow through his meridians, and settle in his qi sea. Then he put on the Taoist robe of Taixu Sect and walked out of the disciple residence.

The disciples were outside, and most of them had already woken up.

At this time, people gathered in twos and threes, bathing in the morning glow. Their faces looked noisy and energetic.

Today is the day for them to have a sword fight.

This was the only sword fighting competition in their lives.

All the disciples were both excited and nervous.

When the time came, after breakfast, Elder Xun Zixian came over, gathered the disciples together, counted the people, and reminded them of some matters concerning the sword discussion. Then he looked around and said slowly:

"Let's go to Lundao Mountain."

The disciples' expressions became more solemn and their heartbeats quickened.

Afterwards, Xun Zixian, leading a group of disciples, left Taixu Gate and headed straight for Lundao Mountain in the center of Qianxuezhou.

The road was crowded with monks. Disciples from various sects in Qianxuezhou were wearing various Taoist robes, like colorful streams, converging towards Lundao Mountain.

The mountain path is long and winding, and disciples are bustling about.

About an hour later, everyone finally arrived at Lundao Mountain.

At this time, there were more people in Lun Dao Mountain, not only from Qianxuezhou and its surrounding areas, but also from various families, sects, forces, and cultivators of different identities.

It also includes all kinds of monks from all over Kyushu who came to watch the ceremony.

Looking around, the whole mountain is full of people.

The noise was deafening, like the roar of a mountain and the sea.

For the first time, Mo Hua experienced firsthand what "seas of people" meant, and he was shocked.

Not only Mo Hua, all the disciples of Taixu Sect, including those from other sects, were stunned at this moment.

The scale of this year's sword-fighting contest was even grander than in previous years.

The momentum was also amazing.

Before, they were all "audiences" watching others fight with swords, but now, they are the "protagonists" and have to fight with swords for others to see.

The disciples had different personal experiences and different emotions.

Some disciples looked pale and very nervous.

One of the disciples felt his legs go weak and his breathing became slightly choked.

At the same time, there were also disciples whose eyes lit up with inexplicable excitement, eager to show their skills and become famous in the sword-fighting arena.

After entering the mountain gate, walking along the long mountain path, and crossing several barrier peaks, all the disciples arrived at the large arena of Lun Dao Mountain.

The "Sword Sacrifice" is being held on the avenue.

This is a necessary ritual for every sword fight.

Only the leaders of the four major sects of Qianxue are qualified to preside over this "sword sacrifice" ceremony.

This is also the highest honor in Qianxuezhou.

On the Lundao Mountain, a white jade platform floats in the air, surrounded by nine sky-high stone pillars, on which are carved mighty mythical beasts and filled with auspicious clouds and patterns.

In the middle of the white jade platform, there is a white jade sword that is more than ten feet long and looks like a small mountain.

The sword is transparent and crystal clear, exuding an ancient and majestic aura.

It is said that this sword is the relic of the ancestor of Lun Daoshan ten thousand years ago.

At every sword contest, all students of Qianxue must sincerely worship the sword to comfort the spirit of the ancestor of Lundao Mountain.

At the same time, it is also to express gratitude to the ancestor for his contributions and hard work for Qianxuezhou and the inheritance of the cultivation world.

At the hour of Chen, Qianxue's sword sacrifice began.

The leaders of the four major sects, Qiandao Sect, Tianjian Sect, Longding Sect and Wanxiao Sect, turned their spiritual power into wings and came flying in the air.

Then the altar was opened, tributes were offered, blood oaths were sworn, and sword sacrifices were made.

The ceremony of opening the seal with an oath of blood was held, and the sky was filled with bright light.

The ancient sword of Lun Daoshan made a low humming sound, and sword energy soared into the sky, like an ancient beast awakening and singing to the sky.

Everyone was shocked.

Mo Hua's pupils also shrank.

He looked at the huge ancient sword and felt his soul tremble slightly, as if there was a resonance in the dark.

The sound of a dragon's roar was heard in his sea of ​​consciousness, and the ancient Taixu sword intent continued to echo.

In a trance, the ink painting gave rise to an illusion.

He seemed to see himself transformed into a Dharma image, like a towering giant, holding the ancient sword of Lundao Mountain in his hand, splitting mountains and clearing land, and being invincible.

But the next moment, everything disappeared again.

Nothing happened.

The heads of the four major sects looked solemn and shouted in unison:

"All Qianxue disciples, bow three times and sacrifice the sword!"

The sound of the ascension, like the sound of a clear bell, echoed in Lundao Mountain.

Mo Hua also calmed his mind and, together with a group of disciples, bowed three times respectfully towards the ancient white jade sword in Lundao Mountain.

The monks watching the ceremony from outside the mountain also followed the custom and bowed to the ancient white jade sword.

After the sword sacrifice, the sword fighting ceremony continued.

The four sect leaders read out the imperial edict in turn.

This edict was quite lengthy, and contained remembrances for the ancestors of Qianxuezhou, gratitude to the monks who came to watch the ceremony, earnest expectations for the disciples, some precautions in the sword discussion, and rules that must not be violated...

Each of the four leaders wrote an article, no less than ten thousand words, which successfully made Mo Hua, who was originally a little excited, drowsy.

Finally, the long reading ended.

After the sword sacrifice and the reading of the imperial edict, the formal drawing of lots took place.

Each of the four major sects, the eight major gates, and even the twelve schools, had a representative elder step forward, holding a sect order in hand, and unlocking the seal on a huge treasure of heaven in the middle of the amphitheater.

The name of this supreme treasure is - The Heavenly Instrument for Discussing the Dao.

This is also the "legacy" of the ancestor of Lun Daoshan.

This "celestial instrument" is usually sealed and can only be opened when all the four sects, eight schools and twelve streams of sects gather together and hold the jade order of their sect.

After opening it, write the names and teams of the disciples from each sect who will be debating swordsmanship on bamboo sticks and put them into the celestial instrument.

The Heavenly Instrument of Sword Debate will automatically operate and arrange the order of battles in the sword debate according to the established rules of the sword debate.

In this way, we can prevent some people from tampering and ensure fairness and justice.

At the same time, it can also isolate all deductions, interference, tampering, and predictions of the cause and effect of heaven.

The Taoist Celestial Instrument operates according to the laws. The built-in compass track rotates alternately and continuously, which is complex and mysterious.

There is a profound beauty of the "law of cause and effect".

Mo Hua's spirits perked up, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes and stare at this "Heavenly Ceremony of Discussing the Dao".

Unfortunately, his level of insight was still too low, and he didn't see any clues.

Of course, considering the things of Patriarch Daoshan, it was impossible for him to really see any clues.

Half an hour later, the Heavenly Instrument of Discussion stopped moving.

The deduction is over.

The initial stage of the sword-fighting competition, that is, the "Huang" game in "Tian Di Xuan Huang", was thus determined.

The elders of each sect entered the list of players into the jade slips and then withdrew.

The morning's sword sacrifice and lot-drawing ceremony ended here.

The formal sword-fighting competition will begin in the afternoon.

During the one or two hours, the elders of Lun Dao Mountain will arrange the order and venue of the sword fight according to the draw list deduced by Lun Dao Tianyi.

Elder Xun Zixian also withdrew and returned to the disciples of Taixu Sect, saying to everyone:

"On Dao Tianyi, the list has already been deduced."

"I have sent the list to Taixu Order. You can check it yourself and confirm the schedule. Don't make any mistakes."

Xun Zixian paused for a moment and continued:

"In a few hours, we will officially start the sword fight. Do your best. Regardless of victory or defeat, it is all for the Taixu Sect. The sect will be proud of you..."

Xun Zixian is a formation master. He is always rigorous and calm, and he doesn't say anything too sentimental.

It's pretty good that he can say this.

The disciples were all touched.

Of course, although we were touched, morale was still a little low.

Xun Zixian sighed slightly and turned to look at the ink painting.

With just one glance, Mo Hua understood what Elder Zixian meant. He nodded immediately, stepped out of the crowd, and said to all the disciples,

"Don't think too much when we discuss swords later. Just go up and do it. If you win, you'll make a lot of money, and if you lose, you won't lose anything!"

All the disciples were stunned, and fighting spirit was indeed burning in their eyes.

Junior brother has already explained the tactics clearly. All we have to do is go up and fight. We don't have to worry about anything else.

If they didn't believe in themselves, how could they not believe in the little brother?

As long as they won a game, they would make a lot of money, and there was nothing to be ashamed of if they lost.

"Yes! Junior Brother!"

All the disciples responded in unison, with great momentum and high morale.

Mo Hua nodded with satisfaction.

Xun Zixian looked at the ink painting, a little stunned, then smiled and shook his head.

After that, there will be one or two hours of preparation time.

The disciples were either meditating, checking lists, or discussing tactics. When they were tired, they would rest for a while, and when they were hungry, they would take a fasting pill to satisfy their hunger.

With the sword fight approaching, they had no appetite for delicious food.

When Mo Hua had some free time, he would sit aside, chewing on some dried meat while flipping through the list of people to be debated on swords deduced by "Lun Dao Tian Yi".

As he watched, he noticed some problems.

This list is not a truly "fair" list.

When it comes to the Dao of Heaven, it is not purely "random". It is through the deduction of cause and effect that the truly "strong" ones are screened out.

It is also trying its best to ensure that these strong men can make it to the end of the sword fight.

Therefore, it will not let the geniuses from the four major sects and eight major schools fight to the death in the "yellow" preliminary stage.

In the Huangzi stage, most of the opponents encountered by the four major sects, the eight major schools, and even the twelve streams of disciples were disciples of the "Qianxue Baimen".

The probability of "seed-level" geniuses meeting each other is extremely small.

Even if the geniuses meet, it will not affect anything.

The "yellow" games have a high tolerance rate, and losing one or two games will not affect your promotion.

In this way, Taixu Sect is actually not that difficult to defeat.

But it is very difficult for ordinary disciples of Qianxue Baimen to kill their way up.

This is unfair.

But in a sense, we should try to select the strongest monks to avoid teams that are lucky enough to make it to the end by "picking up leaks". This is also another kind of fairness based on "strength".

"However, using the Tianji algorithm to determine strength and weakness and control probability... the ancestors of Lundao Mountain really have some ideas..."

Mo Hua muttered to himself.

Mo Hua looked at his own match position again and found that his position was very far behind and his first match would not be until the day after tomorrow.

I don't know if it was because of the "Lun Dao Tian Yi" that he guessed his own karma and knew that he was a "hidden" strong man, so he tactfully placed himself at the back of the order of battle…

Mo Hua speculated in his mind and nodded.

The masters always appear last.

That makes sense.

In addition, most of his opponents were disciples of the "Qianxue Baimen" and did not seem to pose much of a threat.

There is even less need to be nervous.

"Watching a play today, and competing the day after tomorrow..."

Mo Hua simply took out all the dried meat he had brought and ate it.

After eating and drinking, he sat down to meditate and rest, waiting to see how his junior fellow apprentices would perform.

He also wanted to see the results of the "Taixu Daobing" that he had spent a lot of effort on over the past few days and used his knowledge of formations to initially create.

The road starts from duckweed.

Great achievements in spiritual practice often come from seemingly unintentional attempts and efforts.

…

Lun Dao Shan is still under preparation.

The audience seats in Waishan were packed with people.

More than an hour later, amidst the slightly boring, tense, and anxious anticipation, a loud bell rang out, echoing throughout the mountaintops.

Everyone was cheered up.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

This means that the sword fight is finally about to begin.

The elders called out the names of the participating disciples one by one and led them away.

After a while, a huge "buzzing" sound was heard.

A surging torrent of spiritual energy surged up, spread toward the sky, and poured into the fifth-grade Lundao Mountain formation.

Above the formation, the light suddenly became bright, and the light curtain was like the Milky Way, shocking everyone.

This is a fifth-grade formation, the effect of being fully activated.

The power of the void spreads and communicates with the Dao Jade on the disciple.

The Dao Jade contains the power of space, which protects the safety of the disciples. At the same time, once the Dao Jade is broken, the disciples will be defeated and forced to leave.

After a while, the sound of killing was heard and the sword fight began.

At the same time, the huge white screen above Lundao Mountain suddenly glowed with light.

Fang Tian's painting shadow unfolds.

Colorful images emerged, twisted, and torn apart, and then turned into small square "screens".

Each square shadow shows a piece of terrain, corresponding to a sword-fighting match.

On the huge Fang Tian painting shadow that covered the sky, nearly a hundred sword-fighting competitions were presented at the same time.

The images are clear and the characters are vivid and visible.

The scene was spectacular for a moment.

All the monks who were watching the ceremony could not help but whisper to each other, with shocked expressions.

Even Mo Hua was amazed at the magnificent, intense and wonderful "big screen" in front of him.

Even though this thing is very detrimental to him.

But I have to say, the effect is indeed very good.

With just a glance, you can see hundreds of sword fights between geniuses.

Swords are flying, spells are wielding, fists and feet are fighting, it is a feast for the eyes and makes the blood boil.

Mo Hua himself was enjoying the look, and he didn't feel embarrassed to say that this thing was extravagant and a waste of spirit stones.

As time went by, Fang Tian Huaying's surprise gradually faded, and everyone's attention was focused on the sword fight itself.

The Huangzi Bureau event is just a preliminary round, it is not difficult and not very crucial.

Therefore, at the same time, there were many sword-fighting scenes presented on Fang Tian Huaying.

All viewers can choose what they like to watch.

Generally speaking, elders and disciples of the same sect only watch the sword fights of their own sect and occasionally pay attention to the battles of their opponents.

The head of the family and the elders also give priority to the performance of the children of their own family.

There are also parents who basically only look at their own children, regardless of whether their children are showing off their prowess or passively receiving a beating.

It was fine at the beginning, with the geniuses fighting each other and everyone enjoying the fun.

But as they watched, some experienced and discerning monks noticed that something was wrong.

"Is that... a disciple of Taixu Sect?"

"The style of the painting seems to be wrong?"

In Fang Tian's painting, most of the Taixu Sect disciples wore standard armor, used the same spiritual weapons, and were blessed by formations. They emitted a uniform light, and they advanced and retreated with reason, enforced orders, and killed decisively.

Moreover, the spiritual armor they wore, the spiritual weapons they used, and the built-in formations seemed to have a certain restraining effect on their opponents.

The five of them worked together, relying on the strength of their armor, the sharpness of their spiritual weapons, and the power of their formations. When they clashed, they were invincible.

Everyone was stunned. They were shocked and couldn't help discussing:

"Am I dazzled?"

"Is this a sect sword fight, or a battle between Taoist soldiers? Why is there such a scene?"

"Isn't it a selection of geniuses?"

"If you become a Taoist soldier, what else do you have to choose?"

"What do you know? The original purpose of Qianxue Sword Discussion was to train generals and lead the Taoist soldiers to fight..."

"This happened so many years ago. The rules have been changed so many times..."

"Besides, the cultivation world is stable and there has been no war for many years. What do we need so many Taoist soldiers for?"

"Isn't the sword fight now just a 'selection' after all?"

"Select disciples for the sect, select talents for the noble families, and select geniuses for the Dao Court."

"With so many powerful family heads and elders watching, as long as you perform well and are noticed by others, you will be blessed with great wealth and a promising future. You may even reach the pinnacle of success overnight..."

"To be honest, if you want to win a sword fight nowadays, you have to treat your opponent and teammates as 'stepping stones'."

"Only by defeating your opponent can you show that you are strong."

"Use your teammates as a cushion, and you will become stronger."

"Let's fight like Taoist soldiers. Who is better, you or your team?"

Some people disagreed: "Your idea is too narrow-minded."

"Why is it so narrow-minded? This is the truth. If not, why didn't the noble families and the sects do this before, but why did the Taixu Sect do this kind of Taoist soldiers?"

"What do you think 'sect soldiers' are? Can they be made so easily?"

"What's so difficult about it? Isn't it just a spiritual weapon and a formation? If I were to be the head of the sect, I would definitely be able to come up with a set..."

"Besides, this kind of 'Taoist soldier system' may not necessarily be a good thing..."

"I think the effect is good..."

…

There was a sudden noise of voices in the outer mountains.

Among the audience at the sword debate, there were cultivators of all kinds, and they had all kinds of opinions.

Some people were amazed and thought that Taixu Sect had some great ideas.

There were also those who felt calm and thought that the sect's Taoist soldiers were nothing special.

There were also those who despised them in their hearts, thinking that the Taixu Sect was "taking advantage" and winning unfairly by taking advantage of spiritual weapons and formations.

Likewise, using a uniform formation to discipline disciples destroyed the "nature" and "personality" of the cultivators, preventing them from fighting freely and fully displaying their strength.

The disciple won in this way, not relying on his own strength, and does not deserve to be called a "genius".

Most of the senior leaders of the various families and sects remained silent.

It's not like they haven't tried this before, but the results were not very good, and there are more practical problems than they imagined.

The Taixu Sect has been able to achieve such a level, which shows that it has put a lot of thought into it, and it is definitely not as simple as it seems.

But now that the sword debate has just begun, it is difficult to say whether this form is good or bad.

On the high platform, there were several Jindan and even immortal monks, with strange eyes.

Most of these people come from Taoist military families. They have resolute faces, have been through many battles, and have the dignity of being decisive and murderous.

One of them is Yuhua Zhenren of the Yang family.

As soon as the Taixu Sect's formation was displayed, his eyes lit up. He watched several actual sword fights carefully and nodded secretly.

There are many things that others cannot see, but as someone who comes from a Taoist military family, he naturally knows them clearly.

"Are there any members of my Yang family in the Taixu Sect?" Yang Jiayuhua asked.

An elder nearby responded in a low voice:

"Yes, in the Cheng'en lineage, there is a boy called Qianjun, who is in the Taixu Sect. There are also a few people in other branches."

"Um."

Yuhua of the Yang family nodded and remembered the name in his heart. After a little contemplation, he said, "Go back and tell the head of the family to have more exchanges with the Taixu Sect in the future. These disciples are all good seedlings..."

"Yes..." the elder said in a low voice, and then said with some regret, "It's just that... it's still a little immature."

"They are all children who have not yet left the sect, so it's natural for them to be immature," Yang Jiayuhua looked expectantly, "It will be fine if they have some experience. The most important thing is to fight with the Taoist soldiers and have the awareness of 'fighting with you'. With time and tempering on the battlefield, they will surely have great potential."

"What the Immortal said is very true..." The elder thought for a moment, frowned and said: "But these children are all direct descendants of aristocratic families, sons of rich families. If they don't sit in the hall, they may not be able to go to the battlefield in the future."

"No problem…"

Yang Jiayuhua said calmly, looking at the huge Dao Mountain with a deep gaze.

If one day, war spreads everywhere and all people in the world are involved, it doesn't matter whether they are willing or not...

…

In Fang Tian Huaying's painting, the sword fight is still going on.

The disciples of other sects all have their own strengths, but in the final analysis, they still follow the path of "sect swordplay".

Four disciples, protect one "prodigy".

Or it could be just five geniuses, coming together and cooperating with each other.

These are, in essence, an "elite" tactic.

Under the leadership of Mo Hua, the Taixu Sect's disciples have unconsciously regarded the sword fight as a "war" and adopted a "group" tactic.

In terms of cultivation or Taoism, they may not have an advantage.

But the tactics were executed more thoroughly, with unified advances and retreats and strict enforcement of orders.

In order to win, they even gave up their "personality".

There is no need to inherit spiritual weapons. Instead, targeted customized spiritual weapons are uniformly selected. Tactical needs are strictly followed and specific Taoist methods are used. No one is aggressive or fierce, and no one shows off. Everything serves the "tactics" and everything is for winning.

In this way, the winner is clear.

The disciples of Taixu Sect have an unusually high winning rate in the "yellow" competition stage.

This continued until the sun set and dusk fell.

The first day of the sword-fighting competition slowly came to an end amidst the noise and excitement.

After the competition, Lun Daoshan counted the wins.

The Taixu Sect, which had originally been worried about the sect's precarious status, won on the first day and surged straight to the top, temporarily ranking first in the Qianxue Sword Contest!

When this result came out, Sect Leader Taixu was stunned.

When they were discussing swordplay during the day, he looked at the outcome and situation and guessed that Taixu Sect's starting ranking should not be low.

But when he really won first place, he still felt a sense of unreality, like a dream.

Not only the Sect Leader, but everyone in the Three Mountains, from the Sect Leader to the elders and even all the disciples, were all stunned.

Number one in swordplay?

Even though it was only the first day, and it was temporary, their Taixu Sect… was able to surpass the four major sects and the eight major sects and rank first in the sword contest?

This was the first in the sword contest.

Even if it is only the first day, even if it is only temporary, even if it is just a "flash in the pan", it is something that has never happened before.

Everyone in the sect was delighted.

And all this is thanks to Mo Hua's planning.

The prestige of ink painting among disciples has unknowingly risen to a higher level.

Even the ancestors and masters of Tai'a and Chongxu Mountains, and even some high-level elders, looked at ink paintings differently.

In fact, the more I look at it, the more pleasing the ink painting seems to me, and the more handsome it seems.

In fact, they also understood in their hearts that Taixu Sect's title of "number one in swordplay" was unlikely to last long.

But despite this, it is enough to make them feel proud.

The "temporary" first place in the sword-fighting contest of Taixu Sect was spread to the Four Sects, Eight Sects and Twelve Schools, causing quite a stir.

(End of this chapter)