"Mm," Divine Lord Feng Chi responded, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Li Xue curled her lip. "What do you want in exchange?"
"Any auxiliary herb over ten thousand years old," Divine Lord Feng Chi said. "There are two stalks of Primordial Spirit Grass here, both over three thousand years old. That is more than enough to refine a Primordial Spirit Pill."
"Fine, it's a deal!" Li Xue was overjoyed. She had plenty of ten-thousand-year auxiliary herbs within the Dream Realm; what she lacked were these specific materials for breakthrough pills. She surmised that Divine Lord Feng Chi already knew they had put ten-thousand-year spirit herbs up for auction, so she might as well trade with him openly.
In truth, trading Primordial Spirit Grass for ten-thousand-year auxiliary herbs was quite fair. Although the Primordial Spirit Grass was only three thousand years old, its value lay in its extreme rarity. Conversely, while auxiliary herbs like Purple Sun Ginseng and Nine-Bent Spirit Reishi were easier to obtain, their value was significantly bolstered by their great age. Thus, the exchange was to their mutual satisfaction.
Li Xue and Li Lin were also very fortunate to win Blood Pith Grass at the auction. With that, they had all the materials for the Primordial Spirit Pill. Once their cultivation reached the necessary level, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage would no longer be a difficult task.
Finally, the long-awaited Magic Arts Convention began.
Yuanshi City boasted a total of thirty magic duel arenas. Twenty of these were temporary formations presided over by ten Deity Transformation cultivators from the Yuanshi Sect and twenty others invited from various prominent sects. Both Bugui Sanren and Divine Lord Feng Chi were among the invited guests. This meant that during the convention, Yuanshi Star had gathered a formidable assembly of over thirty Deity Transformation cultivators.
The rewards for the Magic Arts Convention were equally lavish: ten transcendent-grade treasures, three top-tier cultivation methods, three Deity Transformation Pills, two large-scale array maps, five species of high-grade spirit beasts, numerous ten-thousand-year spirit herbs, rare smithing materials, high-grade spirit pills, and various high-grade treasures.
Such a wealth of prizes ignited the passions of the Nascent Soul cultivators, and all thirty arenas were packed with people. The rules stated that winning any three matches would allow a participant to qualify; thus, the first round of preliminaries was relatively easy.
Bugui Sanren was in charge of Arena Eleven, where Li Yuhong and Bai Ruihua were both preparing to issue challenges.
In reality, many Nascent Soul cultivators were not there solely for the prizes; they sought the opportunity to exchange insights through combat. Consequently, many continued to fight even after winning three matches, challenging anyone who piqued their interest.
Li Yuhong was the first to leap onto the stage. His natal flying swords were known as the Heaven-Bearing Sword and the Ice-Chime Jade Slips. Upon ascending, he summoned his Chutian Heart Armor. The azure-blue armor shimmered with flowing light, a truly magnificent sight. Li Xue, Li Lin, and Yu Ming watched with wide eyes, their shock quickly turning into excitement. They had never seen Daoist Yuhong in such a majestic state; clad in his heart armor, he possessed the imposing presence of a celestial general.
The first to challenge him was a young mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator named Fu Qingyi.
Hovering before Li Yuhong were the Ice-Chime Jade Slips. Shimmering with white radiance, the jade slips prepared to strike. Fu Qingyi’s flying sword was a wood-attribute weapon shaped like a green plantain leaf. Under his command, it expanded into the shape of a massive plantain fan, quite beautiful to behold.
A streak of white light shot toward Fu Qingyi’s flying sword. He reacted instantly, his sword erupting with green light as it spun to meet the attack. However, with a dull *thud*, the green light dimmed. The flying sword flew back into Fu Qingyi’s body, and he collapsed onto the ground. The gap in their strength was simply too vast to bridge. Li Yuhong withdrew his power and recalled his jade slips, offering Fu Qingyi a slight smile. This match was Li Yuhong's victory.
The spectating cultivators felt a twinge of disappointment; the fight had ended too quickly to be satisfying.
Just then, a female cultivator in red robes flew onto the stage. She was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator known as Fairy Hong Wei. As she summoned her red heart armor, the sky seemed to fill with crimson clouds, bathing the surroundings in a brilliant red glow. Li Xue realized a powerful opponent had arrived. Seeing that it was a female cultivator, she stared at the stage intently, unwilling to miss a single moment. The surrounding cultivators also began to grow excited.
Hong Wei and Li Yuhong stood facing each other in the center of the arena. Hong Wei released her flying sword—a fire-attribute weapon shaped like a golden hairpin, named the Fire Phoenix Hairpin. As she channeled her spiritual energy, the sword erupted in brilliant red light, and the hairpin transformed within the glow, spreading wings like a bird of fire.
Li Yuhong was thrilled to see this. He recognized it as a famous manifestation technique within the cultivation world. He sent his jade slips aloft and flipped his hands. Amidst a white light, the jade slips transformed into a flood dragon, its body twisting and coiling as it tumbled through the air.
This sight stunned everyone present. What kind of manifestation technique was this? Hong Wei’s flying sword was fire-attributed and had been forged with Phoenix Stone, giving it the natural characteristic of transforming into a bird. The jade slips were clearly metal-attributed, yet in Li Yuhong’s hands, they had taken on the properties of water and manifested as a flood dragon. Such a superb display of manifestation magic was truly an eye-opener.
Hong Wei was also excited. She manipulated the fire bird, which let out a cry and dove toward the golden flood dragon. In the center of the arena, the illusory fire bird clashed with the golden dragon. The bird flapped its wings violently, unleashing waves of fire that threatened to swallow the dragon. However, the golden dragon dove in and out of the fiery clouds, swimming through the red mist as if it were enjoying itself.
Seeing this, Hong Wei changed her hand seals. The fire bird’s sharp beak pecked rapidly at the dragon’s eyes. The dragon twisted its body, using its tail to swiftly swat away the beak, neutralizing the threat.
Struck by the dragon’s tail, the fire bird let out a screech and momentarily lost its form, only re-solidifying some distance away. Only then did Hong Wei realize how formidable the flood dragon truly was.
Li Xue and her companions watched without blinking. Such a brilliant and magnificent display of magic was a rare treat. The cries of the fire bird drew even more cultivators to the arena, and the crowd grew larger by the second. Li Xue, Li Lin, and Yu Ming felt their blood boiling with excitement; seeing their elder perform so exceptionally filled them with pride.
Hong Wei’s expression grew solemn. She knew she had to take this seriously. Realizing that half-hearted efforts would not suffice, she performed another set of hand seals and cried out, "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, go!" The fire bird in the sky screeched again, and suddenly, countless smaller fire birds swarmed toward the dragon, blotting out the sky.
Li Yuhong flipped his hands once more. Mimicking Hong Wei’s flair, he muttered, "Swimming Dragon Teasing the Phoenix, go!" The flood dragon expanded several times in size, weaving joyfully through the swarm of small birds.
Hong Wei’s spiritual energy was nearly depleted. Although she was also at the late stage of Nascent Soul, she was no match for Li Yuhong, who had remained at the peak of that stage for nearly a thousand years and possessed immense spiritual reserves.
Soon, Hong Wei could no longer hold on. The fire bird let out a mournful cry and dissipated in the air, the flying sword returning to her body. Hong Wei immediately sat cross-legged and consumed a spirit pill to recover.
Li Yuhong had no choice but to recall his jade slips. The flood dragon vanished reluctantly. One look at Hong Wei told Li Yuhong that he had won another match.
Such a spectacular display of magic left Li Xue and the other Core Formation cultivators buzzing with excitement, their thirst for more unquenched.
Hong Wei quickly recovered some of her energy. She stood up and bowed to Li Yuhong. "Fellow Daoist Yuhong, your magic is exquisite. You have my admiration."
"Fairy Hong Wei is too kind," Li Yuhong replied humbly. "I only won because I have spent a few more years in this world. In time, your magic will surely surpass mine."
After exchanging mutual bows, the two descended from the stage.
