Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1609 - 867: Entering Purple Yun Mountain, Mixed Element Qi Great Capture

Time gradually flowed by, and spiritual energy vortexes increasingly dotted the sky over the Spirit Stone Plaza.

Dense clusters of these vortexes filled the air, the grandest ones extending tens of thousands of feet wide, while even the tiniest reached at least a dozen feet across.

Beneath every vortex, a Daoist was seated, all fiercely battling for the ambient spiritual energy and the Tao spirit mechanism.

Consequently, every instant saw countless vortexes smashing and crashing wildly together, spawning and dissolving endless spiritual energy storms, as the void's spiritual energy torrents raged fiercer and more violently. Growing numbers of Daoists weakened steadily, getting teleported from the square nonstop.

One hour,

two hours,

Three hours passed, leaving fewer than ten thousand people on the square, a Tao flower blooming over each one's head.

The leader in accumulation had not just perfected three full Tao flowers but also sprouted the bud of a fourth.

Though Zhao Sheng’s flesh was too “exceptionally outstanding,” he focused his divine thought and will, successfully forming two Tao flowers along with a budding third.

Among the remaining figures on the square, he held a top ten spot, rendering him utterly “conspicuous.”

Rumble!

Nearby spiritual energy vortexes collided savagely, unleashing thunderous booms.

Seated cross-legged upon the ground, Zhao Sheng inwardly sensed something off.

He had aimed to slip into the Taiqing Sect without notice.

Yet the heavens dashed his hopes! Never had he foreseen the Taiqing Sect choosing disciples through such an extraordinary method.

Right then, a profound and ill foreboding surged in Zhao Sheng’s heart, as though “seeing” unseen gazes descending on him.

No anomalies registered to his senses, yet deep down, Zhao Sheng knew the Taiqing Sect’s upper echelons were secretly watching all present.

As the fourth hour neared, the subterranean spiritual energy torrent abruptly intensified several-fold.

Suddenly, thick liquid spiritual energy submerged the plaza, slamming everyone with crushing pressure from its mad rush.

Soon enough, some failed to refine the rampaging natural spiritual energy, their forms bloating near to bursting, on the verge of turning into Fallen Demons.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The plaza’s crowd shrank rapidly, down to just over two thousand seven hundred in mere moments.

On the flip side, Tao flower gathering accelerated wildly, as one cultivator swiftly completed a fourth, then came fifths, sixths...

In this phase, the “Tao spirit mechanism” swelled rather than waned, every strand far thicker than before.

Suddenly, a shout erupted from the plaza’s western edge: “Oh no, I’m about to break through!”

Before the cry faded, that figure vanished, teleported away.

A breath afterward, wild laughter rang out: “Fellow Daoists, I, Li Fei, will take my leave first!”

Swish!

The laughing cultivator too was whisked out.

With such declarations starting, others chimed in.

For a while, voices echoed across the plaza:

“I, Zhang Ji, will await you fellow Taoists outside the mountain gate in advance!”

“My name is Chen Dongsheng, in the future, I shall drink and converse with you fellow Daoists! Haha, I am leaving now!”

“...I, Yin Zhen, say farewell to you venerable Daoists...”

“Haha, I’ve cultivated arduously for hundreds of years, yet it does not compare to the work of a single day today. Is it sadness? Happiness? Alas!”

Nightfall brought a radiant moon soaring into the firmament.

At that instant, Zhao Sheng sharply noted the plaza’s numbers dipping below three hundred.

He resolved at once to hold out no further.

A breath hence, the Tao flower over Zhao Sheng’s head quivered, teetering toward collapse.

Meanwhile, far overhead, the Taiqing Sect Leader beheld the sight, a smile tugging his lips as he lightly stirred his mind.

The next instant, Zhao Sheng’s form flickered and vanished.

…

After a spell of dizziness, Zhao Sheng arrived in a new location.

This vast, brilliantly lit grand hall bore furnishings akin to those in Lingbi Temple’s Ancestor Hall.

A statue of the Taiching Ancestor loomed within, the offering table laden with incense burners and tributes, ancient paintings gracing the walls.

What set it apart: Dao resonance saturated the hall with deep antiquity, while faint, arcane immortal spirit qi infused the void.

Before the offering table stood a purple-robed middle-aged Daoist, his face grave and imposing.

An azure halo shone behind his head, proclaiming him a Unification Realm Great Ability.

Struck with awe, Zhao Sheng bowed his head swiftly, hurrying to stand mute behind the rest.

Nearly a hundred had already gathered before him.

Shortly after Zhao Sheng settled, another delicate-featured young Daoist teleported in.

Glancing about, the newcomer adroitly stepped back, positioning himself respectfully and silently behind Zhao Sheng.

Time wore on, bringing more Daoists into the hall—mostly youthful ones, with Outer Disciples in Heavenly Blue Taoist Robes comprising under two-tenths.

Strikingly, every arrival here displayed prodigious talent and peerless comprehension.

Barring one exception, many bore innate cultivation Spiritual Bodies, the others boasting Heavenly Spirit Root aptitudes.

At this sight, Zhao Sheng inwardly marveled, “The Taiqing Sect’s qi fortune continues prosperously like this, truly worthy of utmost respect!!”

Nearly an hour’s wait passed with no further arrivals.

Then the Unification Realm Great Ability commenced.

He drew forth three incense sticks, kindled them, faced the ancestor’s statue to bow thrice, and placed the Ten Thousand Years Incense in the burner.

Rite complete, he pivoted to the group, proclaiming loudly, “From this day forth, you are the new generation of inner sect disciples of the Taiqing Sect.”