Chapter 178: The Battle for the Top
As a dull bell rang, the pressure that enveloped the entire mountain suddenly disappeared.
This means that the time to ascend the ladder has come. For most people, their current position is their ranking on this year's Jiuyou List.
Those who rank in the top 20 will have another chance to challenge.
At this Demonic Ceremony, the strength of the geniuses from various sects was the best in history. In addition, the people from the Tiandao Sect and the Young Master of Kunlun also interfered with each other. The Young Master of the Xueyin Sect, who was ranked 20th, alone had the strength of a sixth-level golden elixir.
The strength of the top ten is even more terrifying. Ouyang Long, Qin Song and Liu Yang, who have formed a golden elixir in the five spiritual veins and one of their attributes has reached the ninth level of the golden elixir, can only be ranked at the end of the top ten.
Among the top ten of the Nine Netherworlds list of the evil path, six are from the righteous path.
Fortunately, there is Nangong Chan, the Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect, who is tied for first place with the Young Master of Kunlun Sect, temporarily saving some face for the Demonic Path.
But this does not represent the final result.
Anyone who is temporarily ranked in the top 20 of the Jiuyou List is eligible to challenge them in tomorrow's Dingding Battle. The two of them have a natural advantage in resisting pressure, but there is indeed a certain gap in their magic power compared to others.
When compiling the preliminary list of the Nine Netherworlds, the elders of the various sects of the Demonic Path discovered something surprising.
In this session of the Nine Nether List, the number of Xuanyin Sect disciples is extremely large.
There is nothing to be seen in the top 20 of the Jiuyou list.
But among the last eighty, there were forty-six from the Xuanyin Sect, which accounted for more than half. None of these Xuanyin Sect disciples cultivated a single spiritual vein. There were many who cultivated double or triple spiritual veins.
However, in previous Nine Netherworld Rankings, the number of Xuanyin Sect disciples was only equal to that of the Puppet Sect and the Soul Refining Sect.
The number of Jindan-stage disciples not only represents the backbone of a sect, but also plays a crucial role in the competition for resources in some secret cave realms.
The vast majority of secret cave realms are inaccessible to those above the Nascent Soul stage.
In order to cultivate so many disciples in the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Golden Core Stage, a large number of third- and fourth-level elixirs are needed. The Xuanyin Sect does not have such high-level alchemists, so everyone immediately thought of Li Yu, the Taoist partner of the Saint of the Xuanyin Sect.
It seems that the news they heard was true. Kunlun and Xuanyin Sect have already started in-depth cooperation.
This made the people from other sects such as the Soul Refining Sect and the Puppet Sect unable to sit still. The Demon Flame Sect had teamed up with the Tiandao Sect, and the Xuanyin Sect and Kunlun were about to form an alliance. The unprecedented changes in the world of immortal cultivation in thousands of years had already arrived. If they were still foolish enough to do nothing, they might soon be buried in the dust of the times.
Before the ceremony was over, the elders of each faction had already passed the news back to the sect.
Under the extreme pressure, they resisted for several hours, which was extremely exhausting. After they finished climbing the stairs, those who were temporarily ranked in the top 20 of the Nine Netherworld List returned to their peaks to recuperate.
The next morning, Li Yu and Nangong Chan came to the mountain where they climbed the steps yesterday.
Today, the pressure here is gone. Many figures have gathered on a huge platform on the top of the peak. Li Yu also felt a protective formation prepared for the upcoming challenge.
In the same realm, the strength of a cultivator is directly proportional to the depth of his magic power, but it is not absolute.
A sixth-level golden elixir that is raised to level by demon elixir in a short period of time may not be a match for a fifth-level golden elixir that is raised through hard practice step by step. The restraint of different attributes and the proficiency in the spells of the same system are also major factors that affect the outcome.
In addition, for those with a Heavenly Spiritual Vein like the Demon Girl, their spellcasting time is extremely fast, their spells are even more powerful, and it is common for them to fight against enemies of higher levels.
Today, any genius in the top 20 of the Jiuyou list who is dissatisfied with the person in front of him can challenge them. If he can win, he can replace the other person's position.
But this opportunity only comes once, so you must be extremely cautious when choosing the person to challenge.
Soon, Li Yu witnessed the first battle between the geniuses of the magic path.
The young master of the Xue Yin Sect, who was ranked 20th on the Jiuyou List, challenged the genius of the Yu Chong Sect, who was ranked 18th.
His opponent was chosen very well. To challenge , he could only rely on himself and could not rely on external forces. Not only could he not bring talismans or magic weapons onto the battlefield, he could not also bring ghosts, corpses, poisonous insects and the like with him.
This is very unfriendly to the people from the Soul Refining Sect, the Puppet Sect, and the Insect Control Sect. Even though their magical powers are deeper, more than 50% of their strength depends on external objects. They are not very good at spells, and are naturally at a disadvantage when fighting against people of the same level who are good at spells.
Within the protective formation, the genius of the Insect Control Sect was suppressed from the very beginning.
A blood mist gushed out from the body of the Xue Yin Sect's young master, and enveloped the Insect Control Sect's genius. Although the Insect Control Sect's genius knew that fire magic could restrain the blood mist, he majored in wood magic and was obviously not that proficient in fire magic, resulting in less than 50% of his 100% magic power being utilized.
Soon, the blood mist enveloped him completely, and he had no choice but to admit defeat.
The young master of Xueyin Sect replaced him and was temporarily ranked 18th on the Jiuyou List, while he dropped to 19th place.
Afterwards, the genius from Tiansha Palace challenged the genius from Moyan Sect who was ranked 17th, but ended up failing and finally ranked 20th on the Jiuyou List.
Li Yu stood outside the formation, watching silently. The Demonic Path was called the Demonic Path for a reason. It was either blood mist, evil spirit, or black demonic flame, sweeping over like an overwhelming force. The scene was truly horrifying.
These second-generation immortals who have reached the sixth level of the Golden Core Realm are all unwilling to submit to each other. No one is content with their original position and they challenge each other. After a few rounds, the ranking is very different from before.
From this we can see that the challenge section of the Nine Nether List is indeed necessary.
However, the two geniuses of the seventh level of the Golden Core from the Xuanyin Sect and the Puppet Sect, and the genius of the eighth level of the Golden Core from the Soul Refining Sect, seemed to be very aware of the insurmountable gap between themselves and the people in front of them, and they decisively gave up their qualifications to challenge.
In this Nine Netherworld List, only the top ten rankings are yet to be determined.
Among them, Li Yu and the Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect are temporarily ranked first. The third to seventh are the five people from Tiandao Sect. After that are the three top geniuses of the Demonic Path.
The first place on the Tianjiao list has always been a must-fight position. With five Nine-Transformation Demon Pills, no one in the Jindan stage can resist the temptation. The second place also has a Nine-Transformation Demon Pill, and the ranks decrease one by one after that.
An elder of the Xuanyin Sect looked at Ouyang Long and asked, "Do you want to challenge?"
Ouyang Long turned his head and looked at someone, laughing and said, "Xue Tingfeng, do you dare to fight me?"
One of the Tiandao Sect members walked out slowly and said with a smile, "I am just a defeated general in the past. Why should I be afraid?"
A moment later, lights of various colors flashed inside the protective formation.
These two were both practitioners of the Five Spiritual Veins. After forming their elixirs, they focused on the Fire Spiritual Vein. They were also proficient in thunder magic. The scarlet and black fire clouds, and the purple and black thunder, collided in the formation, causing huge energy fluctuations, and then each of them was annihilated.
In terms of magical power, Ouyang Long is obviously inferior to this person from Tiandao Sect.
Sure enough, he was soon at a disadvantage, and then his magic power was exhausted first and he was defeated.
The next person to announce his challenge to another person from the Tiandao Sect was Qin Song from the Puppet Sect. However, without a spirit corpse and as his magic power was inferior to that of the opponent, he ended up being defeated.
Both he and Ouyang Long failed in the challenge and remained in the same ranking.
If Liu Yang also fails in challenging the previous genius, the three of them will have to have three more competitions to determine the final ranking.
But when it was Liu Yang's turn, he chose to give up.
He knew that he was no match for those people from the Tiandao Sect, so he might as well conserve his strength. Ouyang Long and Qin Song had already experienced a fierce competition and were definitely not in their peak condition. It would not be difficult to defeat them if he retained his strength.
In this way, he could rank eighth on the Jiuyou List, ahead of Ouyang Long and Qin Song.
The elder of Xuanyin Sect glanced at Liu Yang. Although he didn't say anything, he was indeed a little disappointed with the genius of his own sect. Ouyang Long of the Soul Refining Sect and Qin Song of the Puppet Sect, even though they knew they could not win, they still dared to declare war on the strong men of the Tiandao Sect. Compared with Liu Yang who avoided fighting, they were at least more courageous.
The three were tied. Ouyang Long and Qin Song failed in the challenge, and Liu Yang gave up. However, there was no tie in the final Nine Nether List. The three still had to compete to determine the final ranking.
The two men, who had already experienced a fierce battle, found it difficult to recover to their peak strength even after taking energy-restoring pills, and unsurprisingly lost to Liu Yang.
Qin Song also lost the battle with Ouyang Long at the crucial moment. As a result, among the three proud demons in this Nine Netherworld list, Liu Yang ranked eighth, Ouyang Long ranked ninth, and Qin Song ranked tenth.
Although the genius of his own sect won.
But the Soul Refining Sect disciples who were watching did not feel very proud, and even felt a little embarrassed.
Although Ouyang Long and Qin Song lost, they also demonstrated the power of the Demonic Path. Liu Yang did not dare to challenge the disciples of the Tiandao Sect and only dared to deal with his own people. Even if he ranked first, he had lost face for the Xuanyin Sect.
After the rankings of the three geniuses of the Demonic Path were determined, the qualification to challenge fell to several disciples of the Tiandao Sect.
Ranked seventh was Xue Tingfeng, who had just fought with Ouyang Long.
He looked at Li Yu, clasped his fists and said, "Friend Li, please give me some advice."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the geniuses of the Demonic Path present, as well as the disciples and elders of the Demonic Path, immediately became interested.
Li Yu has always been known to everyone for his talent in alchemy and his talent in formation that he has only shown once. Almost no one has ever seen him take action.
At the last Tiandao Sect's Immortal Conference, he didn't even make it into the top 20 of the Tianjiao List.
But less than five years later, he was temporarily ranked first on the Demonic Nine Nether List, where the geniuses were even more powerful.
Everyone is curious about his strength.
Within the protective formation.
Xue Tingfeng looked at Li Yu. Compared to the Demon Saint, he was more interested in the future head of Kunlun.
As a fellow disciple of the righteous path, Li Yu could be considered a rising star to him. When Xue Tingfeng became famous in the world of immortal cultivation with his Jindan stage cultivation, Li Yu had not yet been born. But now he has reached a position higher than Xue Tingfeng.
He really wanted to fight with Li Yu in person.
A clear bell rang, indicating that the challenge officially began.
Before Xue Tingfeng could figure out what magic to use to test Li Yu, a pair of purple wings appeared behind Li Yu, and then the whole person disappeared.
"Thunder Wing!"
Xue Tingfeng was shocked. It had only been a short time since Li Yu formed his elixir, but he had actually cultivated his thunder magic to the point where he could condense thunder wings. At this point, the speed of his thunder cultivation would increase several times, and would not be inferior to those of his peers who mainly cultivated the wind system.
He had no time to cast spells, so he could only temporarily use all his magic power to form a shield to protect himself .
boom!
As soon as the shield was formed, a fist appeared in front of him.
There are no fancy spells, just a simple punch.
With one punch, the protective shield formed by his magic power of more than thirteen levels of the golden elixir underwent a drastic deformation. The shield and Xue Tingfeng himself were knocked back by the punch and hit the protective formation hard.
Although the collision did not injure him, his head was buzzing.
In Xue Tingfeng's life, the only time he was punched by others was when he was fighting with others, before he learned how to draw qi.
Later, when he embarked on the path of cultivation, whenever he fought with others, no matter whether the opponent was from the righteous path or the evil path, it was a battle of magic.
Even monsters can spit fireballs.
Before the primordial spirit is formed, the physical body of a cultivator must not be damaged. Every cultivator cherishes it very much. Who would be so close to the opponent?
One mistake could result in the destruction of both body and soul.
Before he could come to his senses, his body and the magic shield flew out again.
Outside the protective formation, the disciples of the Demonic Path were also stunned. They were still imagining what kind of magic battle would be between the two geniuses of the Righteous Path, but they did not expect to see such a scene.
The young master of Kunlun looks gentle and polite, so why does he attack in this style?
Could it be that the Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect likes this kind of Taoism?
Those elders of the demon sect couldn't help but speak.
"I heard that he has also cultivated the martial arts golden elixir. This means that he has cultivated both the magic and the body. In terms of the physical body alone, I am afraid that we in the Nascent Soul stage cannot compare to him..."
"I didn't expect that there are still people practicing martial arts now."
"I remember there were records of physical cultivators in ancient books. Although they did not cultivate mana, their bodies were extremely strong. A physical cultivator close to the immortals is a nightmare for immortal cultivators. Moreover, his cultivation is not weak either..."
…
Inside the protective formation, Xue Tingfeng was flying around with a magic shield around him.
After Li Yu got close to him, he had no chance to fight back.
Moreover, he was extremely fast. He must be practicing both wind and thunder. He had already caught up with me before I even landed.
After being kicked away again, Xue Tingfeng was sure that his magic shield could not withstand Li Yu's next attack, so he announced his surrender while still flying in the air.
Li Yu had no choice but to stop.
He knew very well that he would never be able to beat the demon girl and Senior Sister Qin in terms of magic, so he found another way and developed his own fighting style.
The way of the Tao is simple. With the speed of wind and thunder, all the magic power is used to strengthen the body. With the addition of martial arts golden elixir, a simple punch also has great power and can restrain all fancy tricks.
After building his foundation, he focused on wind and lightning spells. With the daily hands-on instruction from Senior Sisters Xu and Qin, his progress was rapid.
Xue Tingfeng failed in the challenge, and it was the turn of the next genius from the Tiandao Sect named Liu Shan.
His strength is similar to Xue Tingfeng's, so it is naturally impossible for him to challenge Li Yu.
Unless he also wants to be kicked like a ball in public.
After a brief thought, he chose the Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect.
This saint is indeed very strong, but the reason she was able to reach such a high position is only because of her physique. Her real strength should be inferior to mine.
Although he might not be able to obtain the Nine-transformation Demon Pill with his strength, being able to defeat the Saintess of the Xuanyin Sect was still an experience worth remembering. After all, this might be his only chance to defeat her...
He looked at the Saintess of Xuanyin Sect and said, "I..."
Suddenly, he felt a gaze falling on him.
Liu Shan turned his head and looked. The gaze belonged to Li Yu.
Li Yu glanced at him and pinched the knuckles of his fingers unconsciously.
Threat, this is a naked threat!
Liu Shan realized something instantly.
The Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect is Li Yu’s Taoist partner. Judging from the scene yesterday, the feelings between Li Yu and her are very deep.
If he defeats or injures the Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect, he will temporarily be ranked first.
And Li Yu still has another chance to challenge.
When the time comes, Li Yu will definitely not let him go.
What he was more worried about was that if he met him outside in the future, he would be retaliated against.
This kind of love brain is the most terrible.
They can do anything for the person they love.
What's more, the Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect is pregnant, and magic is blind. Once something happens to the fetus... He is worried that Li Yu and he will never stop fighting.
After a moment's hesitation, Liu Shan shook his head and said, "I give up..."
The other two people from the Tiandao Sect, after watching the battle between Li Yu and Xue Tingfeng, knew very well that they were no match for Li Yu, and they were also no match for another fellow disciple from the Tiandao Sect. It was impossible for them to get the Nine-Transformation Demon Pill, so they decisively chose to give up the challenge.
Although they also wanted to bully the Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect while she was still weak.
But her Taoist partner was watching right beside her.
Thinking of the man's brutality just now, they gave up the idea.
Li Yu stopped playing with the joints of his fingers. He was clear about the strength of the demon girl. She had two levels of golden elixir with five spiritual veins. With the help of double spiritual veins, she had a certain chance of winning against Ouyang Long and the others.
But these people from the Tiandao Sect are much stronger than Ouyang Long and his men.
If they all go to challenge the witch, she will probably fall out of the top five in the Nine Nether List.
This was a huge blow to her.
Of course Li Yu couldn't just watch this happen.
Fortunately, he was the first person to be challenged by the Tiandao Sect, so he decided to give them a little shock. These people have been practicing for decades and have some vision. They are indeed not stubborn fools.
Now, there is only one person left in the Tiandao Sect.
The young man bowed to Li Yu and said, "Tang Yuan from the Tiandao Sect, Fellow Daoist Li, please teach me."
His goal was to get the five Nine-Transformation Demon Pills. To do this, he needed to defeat Li Yu and the Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect. Between the two, he chose Li Yu first.
If Li Yu is defeated, it will not be too late to defeat the Holy Maiden of Xuanyin Sect.
If he loses to Li Yu, he will have no chance to continue challenging.
Since I have to face Li Yu sooner or later, I might as well face him sooner.
Another reason was that he heard that the Holy Maiden of the Xuanyin Sect was pregnant, and he didn't want to fight with her.
Li Yu bowed to Tang Yuan and said, "Thank you."
Tang Yuan said: "You're welcome."
Nangong Chan looked at Li Yu silently. She certainly knew what their conversation meant.
She had no confidence in winning against these people from the Tiandao Sect.
He blocked all her opponents in front of himself.
When she was bullied as a child, she also hoped that one day, someone would protect her and block all dangers for her. When she grew up, she thought that there would never be such a person in her life...
…
Within the protective formation.
Li Yu and Tang Yuan bowed again, and after the bell rang, purple light flashed on their bodies and their figures disappeared at the same time.
boom!
Somewhere in the formation, purple lights intersected, making a dull sound. One figure just swayed slightly, while the other figure flew backwards several feet before stabilizing.
In this attack, neither of them used any spells, but instead used the simplest physical combat.
After Tang Yuan stabilized his body, he took a long breath, looked at Li Yu, shook his head and said, "I am no match for you."
Li Yu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you."
Outside the formation, countless disciples of the Demonic Path were stunned.
"Is this the end?"
"What else can we do? This isn't a life-and-death fight. For geniuses of their level, a single test will determine the winner."
"No one is challenging the Saint?"
"With such a Taoist companion here, who would dare to do that? If they hurt the fetus in the Saint's belly, the Young Master would kill them..."
"The couple took the first and second places on the Nine Netherworld Rankings. This should be the first time in history, right?"
“I wonder if they will have a fight?”
…
Before today, no one would have thought that the first and second on the Nine Netherworld Ranking would be the same family. Even the genius of the Tiandao Sect could not stop the steps of this Taoist couple .
However, it is still unknown who among the two is number one on the Jiuyou List.
Outside the protective
"I give up."
Li Yu spoke decisively. He was not interested in being number one on the Jiuyou list.
This title is more important to the witch.
Senior Sister Qin is number one on the Tianjiao list, and she is number one on the Jiuyou list, so it would be more appropriate when others mention them.
As the top geniuses of both the righteous and evil worlds, one is ranked first on the Prodigy List, and the other is ranked second on the Nine Netherworld List... How ugly it sounds.
Nangong Chan glanced at Li Yu and said, "I give up too. This doesn't belong to me in the first place. I don't want it..."
She also has her pride.
Li Yu said helplessly: "Then we have no choice but to fight..."
Outside the protective formation, all the disciples of the Demonic Path were extremely excited.
"The fight has started, the fight has started!"
“I don’t know who will win!”
"The battle between Taoist couples must be very exciting..."
They were ready to watch an exciting battle, but soon everyone's expressions turned dull.
The battle for the first place on the Nine Netherworld Ranking has always been a life-and-death struggle. Various powerful spells are used, which can even shake the protective formation. The use of various spells always brings benefits to the onlookers.
How can they throw fireballs at each other from a distance of dozens of feet?
And they can't throw it to the other party.
Even those in the Qi Refining Stage can throw more accurately than them...
After a while, a demon disciple who had been alone for decades could no longer bear to watch this. He covered his face with his hands and muttered, "I am such a loser. I came all the way to Xuanyin Sect to see this..."
