Chapter 354: The Rivalry Among the Proud

Xu Qing saw the Red Woman and recognized her.

The Red Woman also saw Xu Qing, her eyes beneath the mask perfectly calm, without the slightest ripple. She didn't recognize Xu Qing and paid no attention to his appearance. Having witnessed countless human evils since childhood, she understood that outward appearance was merely a superficial facade. No matter how beautiful someone might be, if they provoked her, their decaying corpse after being killed would look identical to that of someone outwardly ugly. There was no difference.

The next moment, as a divine thought emanated from her evil ghost scythe, a chilling glint instantly appeared in her calm eyes. "'Ghost Hand and Mad Dog are both here. Ghost Hand is on the pillar ahead, and Mad Dog is among the crowd watching below,'" the Red Woman thought, revealing a silent sneer. She cast a deep glance at Xu Qing on the pillar before withdrawing her gaze.

The rules of this place forbade killing, so she planned to find an opportunity in secret to ambush and kill him. Xu Qing's gaze was equally cold. At that moment, he released his grip, and his body descended from the thousand-zhang mark on the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar.

The instant his body left the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar, a series of extraordinary lights erupted from it. The sheer number of lights startled everyone present, their expressions filled with shock, and many even gasped aloud.

"Those lights!"

"My heavens! This is outrageous! As expected of Chen Erniu's junior brother, incredible! How about we call him Xu San Niu from now on!"

It was worth noting that even when Xu Qing reached a thousand zhang earlier, becoming the first among the participants, the onlookers below had only discussed it among themselves, without gasping in awe. But now, they couldn't help but be astonished. This was because the lights emanating from the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar were simply too numerous, to an absurd degree.

When others climbed the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar, they would at most obtain two or three lights; if their luck was bad, they wouldn't get any. After all, the rewards from the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar were somewhat probabilistic. While climbing higher and dispelling more vengeful spirits increased the likelihood of rewards, the number of lights released at that moment was a full sixteen. Sixteen light clusters, each emitting a dazzling glow, captivated all eyes and shook their minds. Xu Qing, however, was not surprised.

He had previously discovered that whenever a vengeful spirit in his sea of consciousness was shattered, the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar would transmit divine thought fluctuations indicating a reward. The number of vengeful spirits he had shattered also happened to be exactly sixteen. Therefore, he was prepared for this and had already considered how to deal with it. After all, this phenomenon could no longer be purely explained by luck; the people here weren't fools, and some would certainly grow suspicious. Instead of letting them speculate, Xu Qing thought it better to provide an explanation himself.

So, he raised his right hand, and immediately over seventy Battle Spirit Seals appeared in his grasp, circling around him, forming a heaven-shaking battle intent that roared through the world. The appearance of these Battle Spirit Seals once again caused an uproar. Among the crowd, an unremarkable middle-aged man with a pockmarked face widened his eyes upon seeing this. He quietly sensed the more than forty seals formed within himself, a little dazed.

Amidst the onlookers' exclamations and the swirling Battle Spirit Seals, the sixteen lights emanating from the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar shot straight towards Xu Qing. After circling him, they transformed into various colored mists and flowed into his hand. Within these mists, Xu Qing sensed three streams of Shangzhang Gengjin Qi, while the others were different types of qi, such as Zhanmeng Qi and Zhongguang, among others. Unfortunately, there were no cultivation technique inheritances among them. This was understandable, as cultivation technique inheritances were the rarest rewards from the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar. After all, since this fierce weapon appeared, countless generations of human cultivators had climbed it over the ages, yet inheritances had only appeared just over three hundred times. Moreover, those who obtained such inheritances typically did so at heights above a thousand zhang.

Nevertheless, for Xu Qing, these sixteen streams of qi were excellent acquisitions, especially the Shangzhang Gengjin among them. As for the other types of qi, he could trade them with others. Thus, amidst everyone's shock and envy, Xu Qing leaped down and left the area. He knew his Spirit Seals could evade the notice of ordinary cultivators, but they couldn't deceive the Sword-Wielding Court. However, he wasn't afraid even if the matter was thoroughly investigated. His Ghost Emperor Mountain manifestation was authentic. Additionally, he had sensed during his climb that many of the runes and totems on the pillar were already in a withered state. This state was consistent with the runes and totems after he had shattered the vengeful spirits. Clearly, similar occurrences had happened before. Feeling at ease, Xu Qing headed straight back to his quarters, revered by the disciples of various sects along the way.

Upon his return, he immediately called for Little Mute, instructing him to go out and find cultivators who wished to exchange for these rare types of qi, specifically requesting an exchange of goods for Shangzhang Gengjin Qi. Although Little Mute couldn't speak, he naturally had his own methods of communication. After nodding, he immediately went out to search. Seven hundred years ago, a similar event occurred here. At that time, that person was also a Heavenly Palace Golden Core cultivator who climbed even higher, directly reaching over 1,500 zhang, and obtained more than twenty rewards. That person had also released over sixty Battle Spirit Seals at the time. This person subsequently succeeded in becoming a Sword-Wielder during the assessment. Afterwards, as their cultivation continuously improved, they climbed higher multiple times. Although rewards were still obtained, they weren't as exaggerated, just slightly more than others. As for their specific identity, it was not recorded in the texts. This led some people to become increasingly convinced that comprehending Battle Spirit Seals could increase the chances of obtaining rewards, which in turn sparked a wave of spiritual comprehension enthusiasm.

Then, on the tenth day after Xu Qing finished his climb, a woman in red robes arrived and began her ascent of the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar. Her appearance drew considerable attention due to her extraordinary identity. Her speed was even more astonishing. She continued her ascent, eventually reaching a height of a thousand zhang, surpassing Xu Qing and causing an uproar. Yet, she didn't stop, continuing to climb. She finally reached a height of 1,500 zhang, becoming the new first-place participant before letting go and descending, obtaining two beams of light as a reward.

Xu Qing and Qingqiu's successive first-place achievements seemed to stimulate disciples from various sects who had not previously participated in the climb. Thus, in the following days, some disciples who had concealed their true combat prowess emerged one after another, like bamboo shoots after rain. Many surpassed six hundred zhang, some even eight hundred zhang, and surprisingly, seven or eight people even exceeded the thousand-zhang mark.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing sat cross-legged, refining the Ghost Emperor Mountain within his sea of consciousness, gradually restoring it from its previously depleted state. At the same time, he also began refining the black iron stick once more.

And so, time flowed, and ten days quickly passed. Throughout these ten days, discussions about Xu Qing continuously spread around the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar, especially concerning the more than seventy Battle Spirit Seals he had unleashed. This led many cultivators to believe that these seals might be the reason for the increased rewards. Of course, there were other speculations, but most were vague, so the rumor that Battle Spirit Seals could increase rewards slowly spread. And coincidentally, someone consulted the ancient texts and found that among these seven or eight individuals, three were from minor sects, while the others were from major sects, such as the Litu Sect, the Eight Sect Alliance, and the Grand Preceptor Immortal Gate. The one from the Litu Sect was a young man. The one from the Eight Sect Alliance surprised Xu Qing, as it was Sima Ru from the Monster Hunting Gate. This woman had seemingly been in seclusion at her quarters and hadn't appeared until now, immediately reaching a thousand zhang upon her emergence. As for the cultivators from minor sects, there was a youth who appeared sixteen or seventeen years old. His climbing height surprisingly reached 1,400 zhang, second only to the Red Woman Qingqiu.

However, the Red Woman Qingqiu was no longer in first place. The top spot was now occupied by an unremarkable middle-aged cultivator from a minor sect. He usually enjoyed discussing matters in the crowd with others, especially the friendly relationship between Xu Qing and his senior brother Chen Erniu. Therefore, his initial attempt at climbing drew quite a few laughs. But soon, the laughter gradually faded. Once he reached a thousand zhang, the laughter turned into awe. By the time he reached 1,500 zhang, the awe had transformed into utter astonishment. And ultimately, his height reached an astonishing 1,900 zhang. This height left all observers aghast, with some even beginning to question the man's age and cultivation, as he appeared to be middle-aged. However, the rules here stipulated that participants in the future Sword-Wielder trials could not exceed twenty-five years old; there was no age limit for climbers themselves.

Having been surpassed in rank, the Red Woman Qingqiu chose to climb again. Although she didn't reclaim first place this time, she still reached over 1,800 zhang. Other cultivators also continued to climb multiple times. For a time, prodigies emerged in droves, and the entire Primordial Spirit Severing City buzzed with excitement.

It was precisely at this time that Xu Qing fully refined the Ghost Emperor Mountain within his sea of consciousness. The cracks on it disappeared, and its entire form became more substantial, bearing a seventy percent resemblance to Xu Qing himself. Especially the Dao charm emanating from it, which spread and permeated Xu Qing's sea of consciousness, nourishing his soul, making it stronger and his gaze more radiant. The refinement of the black iron stick also proceeded smoothly. Although Little Mute hadn't completed all the exchanges, he had still managed to acquire seven streams of Shangzhang Gengjin Qi for Xu Qing. This caused the cracks on the black iron stick to completely vanish, and it was now in a state of nurturing, evolving towards becoming a magic artifact.

Seeing this, a sharp glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. He prepared to climb the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar once more. "This time, I'll strive to obtain enough Shangzhang Gengjin Qi!"

With this thought, Xu Qing made his move. His departure quickly drew attention. After all, everyone had been waiting for Xu Qing to climb again, eager to see if he could reclaim the top spot. This wasn't just the sentiment of ordinary disciples; even the prodigies who had gained renown on the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar during this period all fixated on Xu Qing. So, as Xu Qing arrived at the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar and leaped up to begin his climb, these prodigies also made their move.

The Red Woman was the first to rush out, heading straight for the Primordial Spirit Severing Pillar to compete with Xu Qing in a different manner. The other prodigies followed suit; all who had surpassed a thousand zhang came to participate. This included the unremarkable middle-aged cultivator. After blinking, he also leaped up and began to climb.

This scene immediately drew the attention of all cultivators in Primordial City, as well as the gazes of the various sect patriarchs. Even the Sword-Wielding Court in the sky was watching.

This was a clash of prodigies!