Chapter 350: Root Foundation List Number One

Ding Chunzhi had initially thought that no matter how formidable Chen Mobai was, he was merely at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and a quick glance with his right eye would suffice.

To his surprise, when he looked with his right eye, he encountered the same situation as when he looked at Xiahou Weihuan. However, he merely assumed Chen Mobai possessed a magic tool capable of blocking divination.

Left with no choice, he opened both eyes to observe fate.

But after seeing through one layer of hazy green mist, he found there was yet another.

Ding Chunzhi thought this was due to excessive use of his Stargazing Art in previous days, leading to a lack of energy. So, he forced his spiritual sense and spiritual power to their limits, activating the Stargazing Art to its maximum potential.

As the premier fate-observing art of the Immortal Sect, it was certainly not renowned without reason.

He finally saw through the second layer of green mist enveloping Chen Mobai.

Then, there was the third layer!

Ding Chunzhi frowned slightly, thinking this magic tool was quite formidable.

At any other time, he probably would have stopped. But having been entrusted with the task, and in front of the girl with sunglasses, as the liaison with the Divination Bureau for years, he felt he couldn't lose face.

Thinking that a mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator wouldn't have much backlash, Ding Chunzhi simply withdrew half of the spiritual sense and spiritual power he reserved to guard against Stargazing Art's backlash, directing it instead towards observing fate.

With this, the four layers of green mist from the sword aura could no longer obstruct him; he saw through all of them, and an ancient bronze mirror appeared in his vision.

A Tier 3 magic tool! Hesitating for a moment, Ding Chunzhi dared not look directly at the Six-Yang Divine Fire Mirror, fearing a backlash. He shifted his gaze upwards to Chen Mobai's Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness, where he saw the ethereal image of a flourishing, jade-green phoenix tree.

"His spiritual sense cultivation is good. A mere third-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet his spiritual sense strength is even higher than his spiritual power realm... Hmm... no, wait..."

Just when Ding Chunzhi thought he had seen through Chen Mobai's true nature, he noticed a wisp of shadowy gray entwined around the jade phoenix tree. At first glance, he couldn't discern the hidden meaning within this trace of gray.

Ding Chunzhi's interest was piqued. A diviner who has just achieved mastery cannot tolerate any mist they cannot thoroughly see through.

He focused both eyes, narrowing his vision onto that wisp of gray. The Stargazing Art intensified, beginning microscopic observation.

Gradually, he saw the origin of this gray trace. Then, his gaze met a pair of scarlet pupils.

And at that moment, an invisible, formless thought-blade, following the subtle connection, sliced into his gaze. Ding Chunzhi felt his Stargazing Art had been severed by the Mind Severing Slash, and had even cut into his own Sea of Consciousness.

He immediately shattered the large screen in front of him that displayed Chen Mobai, cutting off their visual connection. Then, he crushed a talisman in his sleeve, removing the backlash from his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness and transferring it to his physical body.

With a "hiss"! On his right eye, which had previously observed the sword marks left by Pei Qingshuang, a diagonal wound suddenly appeared, and threads of bright red blood slowly seeped out.

The two wounds on his eyelid intersected to form an 'X', but what Ding Chunzhi found unbearable was the intense pain in his right eye, as if it had been struck by a sword. Yet, with someone watching nearby, he could only grit his teeth and suppress it.

After a long while, Ding Chunzhi finally suppressed all the backlash and let out a long breath.

"What did you see?" The girl with sunglasses sat on the windowsill as before, but this time she faced Ding Chunzhi directly, her back to the harbor. As she spoke, she unclasped the five fingers of her right hand, which had been forming a hand seal behind her back.

"His spiritual power cultivation is at the third layer of Foundation Establishment, his spiritual sense strength is at the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment. He possesses a Tier 3 magic tool that seems to contain hidden power, but I focused all my strength on his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness to observe his spiritual sense manifestation..."

After delivering a self-serving report, Ding Chunzhi lowered the hand covering his right eye. The sight of blood staining half his eye socket rendered the girl with sunglasses silent.

"This time, I was careless, but I won't observe that guy again next time."

Ding Chunzhi thought to himself that given Chen Mobai's talent, his spiritual sense strength would surely be even greater the next time they met. Just one look now had resulted in such a backlash from his sword intent; if his cultivation were a little higher, this eye might even be blinded.

"Do you need to treat the wound first?" The girl with sunglasses pointed to the cross-shaped sword marks on Ding Chunzhi's right eye. Although it had stopped bleeding, its bloody appearance was still quite frightening.

"I'll make a call. After all, we're helping the Gou Mang Daoist Academy, so they should assist us."

Soon after, a student with an ordinary face, yellowish complexion, and dressed in blue cloth arrived with a medical kit. "To think that you, the Chief Disciple, came personally, I'm quite flattered."

Ding Chunzhi's expression showed slight surprise upon seeing Zongzi. The latter, however, smiled faintly, helped him treat the wound, and finally took out a fresh green Toon leaf, applying it to his right eye like a peculiar eye patch.

"Thank you for your hard work, Senior Ding. The Great Toon Flower I promised you is already being harvested."

Feeling the subtle coolness emanating from the Toon leaf and hearing Zongzi's words, Ding Chunzhi felt that his efforts over the past few days had not been in vain after all.

"Aren't you surprised why my right eye is injured?"

"The Immortal Sect is vast, hiding countless extraordinary individuals. It must be that among the participants this time, there are some masters beyond our imagination." Zongzi nodded slightly, actually guessing the truth.

"Guess who caused the backlash that resulted in these two wounds?" Ding Chunzhi sat on the wooden chair, twirling a pen in his hand, and posed a question to Zongzi.

"When I was treating it earlier, I saw they were both sword wounds. One must be from Senior Sister Pei Qingshuang of Shanhai Academy, but I can't guess the other." As the current Chief Disciple of Gou Mang Daoist Academy, Zongzi was well aware of the capabilities of this Stargazing Academy genius. He knew that only a handful of individuals could inflict such backlash upon him. Lan Haitain wasn't here, so only Pei Qingshuang and Yan Qiongzhi remained, but Yan Qiongzhi wasn't skilled in the way of the sword.

"It's the current Chief Disciple of Wuqi Daoist Academy." Ding Chunzhi named someone who shocked Zongzi. He naturally knew Chen Mobai, but it was precisely because he knew him that he was even more surprised.

"Has he already reached the perfected Foundation Establishment stage!?"

"No, but his spiritual sense contains a mysterious power capable of severing the Stargazing Art. I was careless and was injured by him."

As Ding Chunzhi spoke, he raised the pen in his hand. After a long deliberation, he slowly wrote Chen Mobai's name on it.

"Take it. This is what I promised you." He handed the white paper filled with rankings to Zongzi, who showed a surprised expression, shook his head, and did not take it.

"Aren't there still some people who haven't come ashore yet? Senior Ding, should you wait until you've observed them before finalizing the rankings?"

"Only Tao Mingqing and the three from Wuqi Daoist Academy are left. Although they are all at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment, their combat power won't exceed my expectations; I can determine their rankings without observing them. Moreover, the most important thing is that I can't use the Stargazing Art now."

As Ding Chunzhi spoke, he pointed to his bandaged right eye. With such an injury, if he were to observe fate again, it would likely deplete his vital essence. Although the Great Toon Flower was valuable, it wasn't worth going to that extreme.

"In that case, Senior Ding, please rest well." Hearing this, Zongzi no longer hesitated and took the white paper filled with names from Ding Chunzhi's hand.

He glanced at it after taking it, and instantly froze in place.

"Senior Ding, should this ranking be reconsidered?" Zongzi put down the white paper in his hand and said with a frown.

"I understand what you mean, but I choose to trust the ancient traditions of our profession."

"I used the Stargazing Art to observe everyone who came ashore. Only the backlash from Pei Qingshuang and Chen Mobai could not be dispelled."

"Pei Qingshuang made me feel pain; Chen Mobai made me bleed."

"Therefore, I believe there's no problem placing them both at the very top."

After stating his reasons, Ding Chunzhi sat on the wooden chair, a smile on his face, and gently placed the pen on the table.

"I understand. Thank you for your hard work." Zongzi met Ding Chunzhi's left eye. After a moment of thought, he nodded gently, bowed politely again, rolled up the white paper in his hand, put it into his sleeve, and left with the medical kit.

"Let's go too." After watching Zongzi leave, Ding Chunzhi crushed the remote control in his hand, then stood up and said to the girl with sunglasses. The girl with sunglasses watched his back, remained silent for a moment, then jumped off the windowsill and followed him out of the wooden house.

"Strange." Chen Mobai, emerging from the alchemy room, rubbed his temples, feeling puzzled.

Just now, his spiritual sense had suddenly and spontaneously formed a Mind Severing Slash, striking a certain spot in his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness. However, it was only for a split second before he regained control of all his spiritual sense, so brief it felt like an illusion. Unfortunately, it wasn't convenient to meditate here, so Chen Mobai suppressed his doubts and planned to thoroughly examine his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness once he returned to his lodging in Xiaoye Island.

Chirp, chirp! Just as Chen Mobai was leaving, a flurry of crisp, noisy bird calls sounded in his ears. He looked up to see a grayish-blue bird perched on a branch of a green tree by the roadside, lazily stretching its wings.

Another beautiful day! Glancing at the sun that had just risen from the distant green lake, Chen Mobai stretched, embracing the warm morning sun, and walked towards the harbor.

What he didn't see was a small black snake coiling in the shadow of the green tree.

After the grayish-blue bird with clear eyes watched Chen Mobai leave, it chirped at the small black snake in the shadow. The small black snake, which had been restlessly flicking its tongue, reluctantly quieted down.

Upon returning to Xiaoye Island, Chen Mobai encountered Bian Jingchun and others who were about to head to Mu Shen Island.

"President, was Mu Shen Island fun?" Everyone assumed that having spent three days there, Chen Mobai must have explored all the core areas of Gou Mang Daoist Academy.

"How could I have time? I was busy with Qing Nü for three days and didn't even get a chance to go out." Chen Mobai yawned, waved his hand, and walked into his room.

Seeing him like this, the team leader Song Yuexin was utterly shocked.

After leaving the island with the Wuqi group, she secretly told Zhuang Jialan beside her about Qing Nü, who had come to pick up Chen Mobai at the shore that day.

"I've heard a rumor that our president was dating your academy's Celestial Spirit Root while in high school. But apparently, because he was still entangled with the class beauty in his own class, they eventually had to separate and calmly reflect on their true feelings. Now, it seems your academy's Celestial Spirit Root is more charming."

On the waterway to Mu Shen Island, Zhuang Jialan and Song Yuexin, at the front, seemed to have endless things to say. Bian Jingchun, hearing the beginning, couldn't help but join the discussion. As they spoke, they all began to condemn Chen Mobai's actions. Behind them, Sun Daoji and the others had strange expressions, while several ungraduated Daoist Academy students couldn't hide their envy and admiration in their eyes.

After disembarking, the three girls walked hand-in-hand to browse Gou Mang Daoist Academy's alchemy street. But after visiting just two shops, they suddenly discovered a ranking list being circulated everywhere.

The most authoritative ranking for offline sparring among Daoist Academies and Immortal Sect Academies! An official expectation list compiled by Gou Mang Daoist Academy, inviting a divination genius from the Immortal Sect. This list was named the "Foundation List," signifying the ranking of those in the Foundation Establishment realm with the deepest foundation, strongest combat power, and highest potential to form a Golden Core.

Just seeing these three major titles drew everyone's attention. Bian Jingchun immediately bought a copy from a student wearing a Gou Mang Immortal Robe. Then, she immediately saw her own ranking. Exactly at tenth place. The last among all ninth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivators. For a moment, Bian Jingchun felt a little annoyed.

She felt she could at least advance two more places, and if the power of the True Dragon Cauldron was factored in, entering the top six wasn't impossible.

This was because Chi Shicheng and Sun Daoji were ranked above her. However, they were both at the perfected ninth layer of Foundation Establishment, so it was understandable for Ding Chunzhi to arrange them this way based on previous information, even without observing their fate.

"Pei Qingshuang of Shanhai Academy can only be ranked second!"

"Xiahou Weihuan third, Qi Huanzhi fourth, Tao Mingqing fifth, Lou Fengcheng sixth."

"He's first!?"

"The top six include three Daoist Academies and three Immortal Sect Academies. Nowadays, there's practically no major difference between Daoist Academies and Immortal Sect Academies. However, regarding the first place on this list, I personally feel it's debatable." "Debatable my foot, this is clearly a fix..."

This Foundation List, printed since morning, had spread throughout Gou Mang Daoist Academy within half a day; almost everyone participating in this offline exchange had a copy. Everyone raised strong objections regarding the first place. Bian Jingchun moved her gaze upwards, wanting to see who could possibly be ranked first, even above Pei Qingshuang. But at that moment, she felt her right hand tighten. Turning her head, she saw Zhuang Jialan, looking agitated, gripping her right hand tightly, her other finger trembling as she pointed at the first name on the list. Not just her, even Song Yuexin was utterly shocked, frozen in place.

"Could it be Yan Qiongzhi, the top female cultivator in Foundation Establishment?" With this thought, Bian Jingchun finally saw the first name.

Wuqi Daoist Academy, Chen Mobai!