Chapter 736: The Great Dao Realm (Grand Finale)

  Coming out of the Misty Mountains, Fang Li returned to the small town where he had stayed before. The town was as it was last time, with many monks coming and going.

  It's also unknown how many of these cultivators who went to the Misty Mountains for training will be able to return. Fang Li shook his head and sighed bitterly. After wandering in the Misty Mountains for over a month, Fang Li encountered no less than five major crises. If not for his strong divine sense, which allowed him to avoid many ferocious beasts, it would have been uncertain whether he could return himself. Judging others by himself, Fang Li couldn't help but feel worried about these cultivators.

  However, cultivators and heavenly reapers go against the heavens and live in the cracks, originally struggling to survive. Either they successfully cultivate immortality and do not die or perish, or they fail at cultivating immortality and their bodies and souls disappear. Everything is their own choice.

  Fang Li walked into the inn and ordered a few more small dishes and a plate of steamed buns, but as he was eating, he suddenly felt unwell and asked the waiter to bring over a jug of wine.

  Everyone says wine is good, but Fang Li has only had a few drinks. This time, coming out of the Misty Mountains, he suddenly felt like having a drink.

  Nor did he care what the other guests thought, Fang Li directly snatched the wine jug from the waiter's hand and poured it down his throat in one gulp, burning his stomach with a fiery pain.

  "Ah!" Fang Li placed the empty wine jug on the table, his eyes already starting to glaze over, and in his mind, scenes of his training in the Misty Mountains began to emerge: killing the green python, being injured by the white-browed tiger, evading the eight-stage demonic beast... all the way until he killed the Dark Ghost Wanderer.

  The outside world is gradually unfolding before Fang Li's eyes, but what comes with it is endless killing intent.

  "I heard that the corpse of a yin ghost dispersing person was found in the Misty Mountains, did you know about this?"

  "Yes, I've heard of it. It's said that he was encountered by a tenth-tier demonic beast and his corpse was eaten, leaving only a skull behind."

  "Yin Gui has been hiding in the Misty Mountains for a year, how could he be so careless as to run into a tenth-level demon beast? This matter is suspicious. Most importantly, the Five Ghosts' Copper Ring was not found either, it's impossible that the demon beast ate it, right?"

  "I'm telling you, stop being suspicious and doubting everything. Even if there really is something fishy going on, the ghostly assassin died in the Misty Mountains, so how are you going to find the killer? And even if you did find them, it's not like you'd be able to handle it."

  "Me too."

  ……

  Hearing the conversation of the monk next to him, Fang Li's slightly drunken face revealed a smile, and that bookish-looking monk did not disappoint himself.

  He immediately got up, left a few taels of silver, and walked out of the inn.

  Thousands of miles away, in Yan City, a man in his twenties was riding a white horse and stopped at the entrance of the Fang family's estate.

  The man wore a white robe, with a sturdy physique and no weapons on his body, but those iron fists were quite intimidating, and at first glance, it was clear that he had been practicing for many years.

  "Feng'er, you're back." Several members of the Fang family walked out, and surprisingly, the leader was the Great Elder of the Fang family, whose status was only below that of the Supreme Elder and the Clan Master.

  "I have seen the great elder," said the robust man respectfully.

  "What's with the 'great elder' nonsense, and there are no outsiders here. Just call me Grandfather, will you? Have you forgotten your grandfather after only two years of traveling outside?" The great elder said with feigned anger, but the delight in his eyes couldn't be hidden.

  A robust young man, the eldest grandson of the Great Elder, named Fang Feng, had already reached the sixth level of Qi Refining two years ago. At that time, he was also the only one among the younger generation of the Fang family to break through to the sixth level of Qi Refining. However, now there is another person who can be counted as having achieved this, namely Fang Li.

  "How dare I, unfilial son Fang Feng has seen grandfather." Fang Feng spoke again, having not returned home for two years, he was also very excited to see his relatives now, but he was a stubborn person and not good at expressing himself.

  "Alright, it's been two years since I've heard you call me Grandpa. Now that I hear it again, it actually makes this old grandpa feel a bit unaccustomed to it." The Great Elder laughed heartily, clearly delighted. He then took a look at Fang's cultivation and suddenly exclaimed with joy: "Fang, you've actually reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining! Did you have some kind of extraordinary encounter? Tell me about it."

  No wonder he's so happy, after all, advancing from the sixth to the seventh layer of Qi Refining is a cultivator's first hurdle, and many people can't get past it in their lifetime. To break through, aside from one's innate talent and comprehension, they also need a bit of luck.

  In the Great Qi State, there was a saying that only those who broke through to the Seventh Layer of Refining Qi before the age of 25 had the possibility of forming a Golden Elixir in their lifetime, breaking free from the shackles of mortality and increasing their lifespan by a hundred years. This matter seemed simple, but in reality, not many people could achieve it. At least in Yan City, currently only "Red Powder Sword" Wei Yurou met the requirements. Even looking back at the history of Yan City over the past hundred years, there was only one person who had achieved this.

  This phenomenon is still due to the difficulty of breaking through the seven layers of Qi refining. Even if you break through within ten years, you can be considered a genius. If you're unlucky and get stuck for thirty or forty years, it's also common. There are even many people who get stuck for their entire lives.

  Fang Feng had just broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining when he left home, and his cultivation speed was only average. Unexpectedly, in just two years, he has already reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining. This means that he now has a possibility of breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Refining at any time, although this possibility is very small.

  This year, Fang Feng is only twenty-two years old. In any case, he still has a chance to enter the Seventh Realm of Qi Refining before the age of twenty-five, which is why the Great Elder is so delighted. Although the probability is small, it's better than nothing.

  Seeing the surprise on Da Zhang Lao's face, Fang Feng said with a hint of pride: "In these two years, I have been to many big cities and had sword fights with numerous geniuses. Although there were wins and losses, in the past two years, I have at least fought over 200 battles. Breaking through in actual combat is naturally faster than closed-door cultivation."

  In these two years, Fang Feng has suffered hardships and humiliation, but now he has finally achieved some success, and naturally takes pride in it.

  "Good, it seems that this year's Four Clans Grand Competition will be our family's chance to redeem ourselves and shock everyone." The Great Elder was extremely delighted today.

  "Fang Feng was also full of confidence, saying: 'That's natural, in the city of Yanjing, except for that heavenly proud daughter of the Wei family, there will be no one who can be my opponent. Perhaps other families may have people who have reached the peak of refining their Qi to the sixth level, but when it comes to actual combat ability, they are far inferior.'"

  "With such ambition, you indeed live up to being the number one talent of our Fang family." The Great Elder laughed loudly and continued, "If you can enter the top three in this Four Clans' Grand Competition, I will go speak with the Supreme Elder and also grant you an Honorary Elder position."

  "Elder of Honour?" Fang Feng was somewhat perplexed.

  "Yes, Honorable Elder. Some time ago, the Supreme Elder took a liking to a young man from a branch family and actually awarded him an Honorary Elder token. Feng Er, you are the first among our younger generation, and you should also receive this honor." By the end of his words, the Great Elder was visibly dissatisfied, still holding biases against them, especially after hearing that the Supreme Elder had even obtained Dragon Bone Purple Gold Elixir for that young man, making him feel even more uncomfortable. It's worth noting that his own grandson, as the first among the younger generation of the Fang family, had never received such treatment.

  "Oh, a branch family member, what's his name?" Fang Feng asked, but a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes. At this point, there were only a few people in the entire Yan City who could attract his attention, let alone a branch family member.

  "Fang Li, if the news I received is correct, he should have broken through to Refining Qi Sixth Layer a month ago, at just fifteen years old." The Great Elder said solemnly. Although the Supreme Elders of the four major families had not spread the matter of competing for the Dragon Bone Purple Gold Pill, he still obtained accurate information through his own channels.

  "Sixth-level Qi Refining at the age of fifteen!" Fang Feng's pupils constricted, his mouth agape. He had never heard that someone in his family was this formidable before.

  "At first, I was also shocked to hear that. However, it's said that three months ago, he was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and it's impossible for him to make such progress. If my guess is correct, it should be that the Supreme Elder got him a Boundary-Pushing Pill." The Great Elder said with certainty, but when mentioning the Boundary-Pushing Pill, his face revealed a hint of jealousy.

  "Alchemical pills? Haha, that's just a shortcut, it doesn't count as real skill. If one's innate talent is insufficient, they'll likely never break through the Seventh Realm of Qi Refining in their lifetime." Fang Feng naturally wouldn't take seriously those who relied on swallowing alchemical pills to increase their cultivation level.

  However, the two of them had misunderstood. Fang Li's cultivation had indeed improved greatly because he had taken a lot of Lingdan, but Lingdan was just an ordinary auxiliary medicine that almost all cultivators would take. Although it could increase the spiritual energy in the body, it did not directly improve one's realm. Fang Li's cultivation was actually very solid.

  "Never mind him, he's not worth worrying about. You should get some rest first, the Four Clans' Grand Competition is in two days, don't be careless."

  "Grandfather, rest assured. In the previous competitions, our family didn't even have anyone enter the top ten and became a laughing stock for others. This time, Fang will definitely make up for the family's past shame and restore the honor of the Fang family!"

  As they spoke, the old man and his grandson walked together towards their home.

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