72: Chapter 35: Making One or Two Friends 72: Chapter 35: Making One or Two Friends Who was transmitting their voice just now?
The tone seemed to belong to a formidable figure, and the Dao Charm imbued in the voice transmission was somewhat abstruse and profound, suggesting that it might be a Heavenly Immortal elder from within the sect, seeking to establish a connection with his father and finding an opening through him.
Li Ping’an bowed slightly to the air to indicate he had heard and would strive hard in the future.
Li Ping’an didn’t take the voice transmission to heart.
An eminent figure within the sect giving some reward was one thing; it was improbable they’d give him a Spiritual Treasure-level item.
Magic Artifacts significantly enhance a Qi Cultivator’s battle strength in magical combat, with a meticulous hierarchy ranging from common to sacred, broadly divided into six major ranks:
[Magic Artifact, Magical Treasure, Immortal Treasure, Acquired Spiritual Treasure, Innate Spiritual Treasure, Innate Supreme Treasure.]
For an ordinary True Immortal, possessing several top-grade Immortal Treasures would be more than enough to show off.
——Li Ping’an being in the Condensed Light Realm yet equipped with over a dozen Immortal Treasures was purely an exception and not to be taken as a reference.
Acquired Spiritual Treasures are actually Immortal Treasures that have developed sentience and possess considerable power, the pursuit of most Heavenly Immortals.
In the times of ancient heaven and earth, Acquired Spiritual Treasures were rarer than Innate Spiritual Treasures, but with the rise of living beings and the cultivation methods leading to the art of Artifact Refining, a great many Acquired Spiritual Treasures have been created in the world since antiquity.
Because the definition of Acquired Spiritual Treasures is too broad, and any Immortal Treasure that has developed sentience is included, the disparity between them is vast.
Most Innate Spiritual Treasures were born around the time of the heaven and earth’s creation, inherently very rare, and the vast majority are held by the ancient and primordial Great Powers, with each capable of earth-shattering effects.
As for Innate Supreme Treasures, those are even rarer.
Such treasures are said to only exist in a few pieces, all in the hands of six Sect Hierarchs, rarely seen in the world; their appearance signifies great calamity.
The Immortal Treasures Li Ping’an possesses are mostly handed down from Kongming, the old Daoist, by Li Dazhi, and some were gifts from the sect’s elders.
Their preciousness lies in the costly treasured materials, refined by True Immortals and Heavenly Immortals adept at Artifact Refining.
For these Immortal Treasures of his to develop their own sentience, it’s not entirely impossible, but the chances are incredibly slim.
Acquired Spiritual Treasures not only demand nearly exacting requirements for the magical artifact materials but also require prolonged meticulous nurturing…
Li Ping’an composed himself and stood up along with the nearby disciples to watch the martial arts platform.
The Master of Caiyun Peak retreated on a cloud, and four elder Outer Sect disciples from Caiyun Peak, took to the stage together, bowing in all four directions and began to announce the detailed rules of the Earth Ranking battles, explaining the concepts of point-based matches, group round-robin competitions, and knockout rounds.
Upon hearing that it wasn’t a ‘single match determines the winner’ situation, but rather ranking by points accumulated each match, the disciples grew more confident.
After announcing the rules, the four elderly women simultaneously cast spells, setting up four layers of barriers on the martial arts platform, and then sat quietly by the edge to maintain the operation of the immortal power barrier.
Li Ping’an secretly remarked on the extravagance.
Generally speaking, like Xuyun Peak, they would simply set up a Protective Array on the platform to prevent it from being shattered by the disciples’ combat;
But Caiyun Peak not only set up formations, but they also had four True Immortals maintaining them.
This also had its advantages — the disciples could be more unrestrained in combat, with immediate rescue available in dangerous situations.
The gong sounded twice, signaling the start of the Magical Combat.
The first to enter the stage was none other than Ningning Mu, who had previously shown remarkable flair; her opponent was a Caiyun Peak disciple in the mid-phase of the Void Refinement Realm.
It seemed like a deliberate arrangement by Caiyun Peak.
Ningning Mu, a disciple of Caiyun Peak who worked her way up from the Human Ranking battles and left quite an impression, was the ideal candidate to start the matches;
However, Priestess Sister Ningning had only been apprenticed for two years, with cultivation only in the Condensed Light Realm, significantly lower than the other Earth Ranking competitors, so Caiyun Peak chose a fellow Caiyun Peak disciple as her opponent.
This way, regardless of who won or lost on the stage, Caiyun Peak would be the first to claim victory.
‘It’s not exactly underhanded manipulation.’
The two female cultivators on the stage began their combat, and Li Ping’an observed closely.
Ningning Mu directly unleashed the Swallow Escape Stake, leveraging the advantage of her magic treasure, and grappled with the Caiyun Peak disciple;
The latter, having watched the Human Ranking battles, had come up with a way to counter the Swallow Escape Stake.
— Although she couldn’t break Ningning Mu’s stake, she successfully defended against Ningning’s consecutive attacks, meanwhile draining Ningning Mu’s Mana.
This Senior Sister also had several decent defensive magic artifacts in her hand, rendering Ningning Mu’s assaults completely ineffective.
As the years of apprenticeship increase, and the Inner Sect Disciples’ cultivation keeps improving, their masters and their lineages would invariably bestow several magical treasures or even Immortal Treasures for protection.
This is also the main reason why the Earth Ranking is several times tougher than the Human Ranking.
The situation on the stage reached a momentary stalemate.
Watching two beautiful female cultivators compete was a delightful sight, keeping the thousands of spectators far from bored.
Ningning Mu’s onslaught grew fiercer, and after a while, her inner Mana became unsustainable.
The Senior Sister seized the opportunity, suddenly unleashing a bell; accompanied by the clear ringing, Ningning Mu’s Mana got obstructed.
She stumbled out of the Swallow Escape Stake and fell onto the platform.
A longsword was quickly placed next to Ningning Mu’s neck but was rapidly pulled back as the Senior Sister rushed forward to help Ningning Mu to her feet.
Li Ping’an had assumed Ningning Mu would be dejected.
Instead, Ningning Mu cheerfully shouted, “Senior Sister is really amazing!
It’s just my cultivation that’s too shallow!”
“Junior Sister, you’ve just been apprenticed for too short a time.
I feel really embarrassed to have won.
Come here; let me check your injuries,” the Senior Sister said, helping her off the platform and moving aside to retrieve their jade tokens.
Watching from the side, Li Ping’an frowned.
Why hadn’t he encountered such a gentle senior brother or sister?