Please, Young Master, Slay the Demon!
Chapter 253 - 45: Opening! [Ask for Monthly Tickets!] _1

Chapter 253: Chapter 45: Opening! [Ask for Monthly Tickets!] _1

The sky is high and the clouds light, with a refreshing breeze.

In this pleasant autumn, Shu Mountain is once again hosting its decade-long Peak Conference.

Look over there, striding forward with vigor and energy, is the team from Silver Sword Peak. They consist of three humanoid creatures and a Golden Fur Beast, striding with robust steps...

"Why are there so many people?" exclaimed Liu Xiaoyu nervously as she tugged on Chu Liang’s sleeve.

The young girl had not seen such a grand occasion since she came to the mountain, so she was inevitably somewhat timid.

Actually, Chu Liang hadn’t seen such a sight either. But he managed to remain calm and whispered, "Simply stand quietly. There are few people from our Silver Sword Peak. If you don’t attend, how would it look if I were the only one left when our mentor takes the stage?"

In the grand square of Tontian Peak, disciples from all the peaks of Shu Mountain lined up in dozens of teams, each under the leadership of their peak master. Some teams had more than a hundred members, an overwhelming spectacle in terms of momentum.

Other teams had only a handful of people...and had to rely on demon beasts to make up the numbers.

A high platform had been set up in the square, where the upper echelons of Shu Mountain led by the four Zhenshan Elders were seated. Besides them, there are guests from Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, and government officials from Yu Capital City were also present to observe the ritual.

After all, this was a significant gathering passed down over thousands of years in Shu Mountain, and it was an old tradition for dignitaries from Nine Heavens and Ten Lands to come and observe. This showed respect for Shu Mountain and also provided an opportunity to assess the talent of the new generation in Shu Mountain. Representatives from each Immortal Sect who were here to observe had a certain status. If the young generation was interested, they were all welcome to accompany them.

Chu Liang looked into the distance and saw several familiar figures.

The burly, muscular man standing with the Heavenly Gang Sect was naturally Yun Chaoxian, who had previously told him that he would attend. Next to him was a woman who Chu Liang was unfamiliar with.

Yun Chaoxian was waving his arms enthusiastically at Chu Liang, his muscular arms bulging, resembling an enthusiastic gorilla.

Chu Liang couldn’t help but gloat—in his mind, the woman next to Yun Chaoxian must not be someone he was interested in.

There was a white-haired girl from Sanjue Valley, who was naturally Luo Yao.

And from the Yunque Temple was a bald man, whose teeth were reflecting the sun’s rays. Unquestionably, it was Pu Shan.

Chu Liang hadn’t seen these two old friends since the Black Dragon Secret Realm incident. This was a good opportunity for a reunion.

On the Lunar Sect’s side was a lone Luo Xiaoyong. Having met before, he was acting as the representative of his generation, naturally appearing at such events.

These were the few acquaintances Chu Liang spotted in the crowd. But he quickly retracted his gaze, for everyone on the high platform ahead rose to their feet.

A figure lightly landed.

This was a man in his forties dressed in blue, with jade-like cheeks and long sideburns, his eyes deep, exuding an air of elegance.

He stood there, seemingly ordinary, but from the moment he appeared, he immediately became the center of attention—all those around him involuntarily turned to look at him.

Although the majority of Shu Mountain disciples didn’t recognize this man, given the reverent attitudes of the four Zhenshan Elders toward him, his identity was not hard to guess.

The present Sect Leader of Shu Mountain, Master Wen Yuan!

There were few occasions within the sect that warranted the Sect Leader’s personal appearance, and the Shu Mountain Peak Conference was indeed one of them.

As the crowd buzzed with his arrival, Master Wen Yuan gently pressed his hands, and as if an invisible breeze swept across, the giant square instantly fell silent.

As he began to speak, his clear voice resonated across the Thirty-Six Peaks of Shu Mountain. His voice was not loud, yet it was incredibly clear.

"The heavens are filled with qi, and our path is prospering!"

...

The rest of Master Wen Yuan’s speech was brief, merely a handful of generic official talk about the ever-growing prosperity of Shu Mountain and his belief that the new generation of disciples will lead Shu Mountain to even greater heights.

The rest of the conference was presided over by the Law-enforcement Elder.

As the organizer of the Mountain God ceremony, the Law-enforcement Elder announced the prizes for the event first.

The first prize was a set of Five Elements Gourd Array Diagram.

As soon as this prize was announced, there was a small commotion. Because, in previous years, the Mountain God Ceremony was considered more of a game, and while the awarded magic artifact might be valuable, it was rarely of this high of a scale.

In the immortal cultivation world, there’s a key criterion to measure the value of magic artifacts or Divine Skills—the ability to challenge across realms.

Because challenging across realms is extremely difficult, those capable of achieving it are considered powerful. For example, the Demon Suppression Tower became the number one Divine Artifact because it suppressed the Demon God across realms.

The Five Elements Gourd Array Diagram has the ability to challenge across realms below the Seventh Realm. Five Golden Core Realm cultivators working together have the power to suppress those in the Five Elements Realm, which is why it is so precious.

Chu Liang was thrilled when he heard about this reward, but thinking that this reward was to be divided among the five of them and that he would have to work with this elite team in the future...he felt a bit mediocre.

But even if the Mountain God Ceremony didn’t have rewards, he would still have gained a lot. The gain of so many sword coins was small in comparison. Most importantly, he had earned the approval of the Pill Furnace Elder while practicing alchemy. He had agreed with the Pill Furnace Elder that once the Shu Mountain Peak Conference was over, he would devote more time and energy to learning the art of alchemy systematically in Pill Furnace Hall.

Actually, Chu Liang didn’t really aim to become a full-time alchemist, but the Pill Furnace Elder so earnestly desired it that he couldn’t refuse. Having an extra skill might provide an alternative path in the future, so with this in mind, he agreed to become a Deacon Disciple of Pill Furnace Hall.

The second prize was a White Jade Sword Formation, also operated by five people.

Jiang Yuebai’s teammates were all her fellow sisters from Biluo Peak, serving her naturally and seamlessly.

The third prize was actually five twin spirit pets, five spirit beasts born in the same litter, their hearts connected, and their combined fighting power exceptional.

Zhao Zhizhu, who had won the information on Chu Liang in the auction, was a chubby boy. He was now laughing so hard that his face was crinkled like a big dumpling. Even if he sold these five spirit pets for money, the sword coins he invested would multiply several times. This made all the Shu Mountain brothers and sisters who hesitated in the later stages and did not continue to bid regretful.

Then, the Law-enforcement Elder announced the first stage of the Shu Mountain Peak Conference.

"At this time tomorrow, we will open the Sky Ladder Path for all disciples to conduct a Taoist Heart test. The top sixty-four disciples on the Sky Ladder Path can enter the next stage of the competition, the arena competition. All disciples, please prepare well."

Chu Liang understood this preliminary stage. There were hundreds or even thousands of disciples attending the conference at each session. It was too many to eliminate them all on the arena, so a round of preliminary selection was normal.

But what is the Sky Ladder Path?

...

"The Sky Ladder Path, it’s simply a path. You just keep rushing up," Empress Feng said casually.

"Eh?" Chu Liang blinked.

After the opening ceremony, he wanted to ask his master who had once ranked high in the Shu Mountain Peak Conference for some valuable experience. However, Empress Feng’s answer was quite brief.

"The elders lay out entirely different illusion fields each year. It makes no sense for me to tell you what I saw. But remember, the ranking is determined by who goes the farthest. That’s their rank," Empress Feng said carelessly, waving her hand. "After all, it’s a test of Taoist Heart. My Taoist Heart is to fight whoever I see. Whether you are real or not, just hit first and talk later, and you will pass after fighting."

Chu Liang frowned suspiciously.

Would the Taoist Heart test carefully arranged by the Elders truly be as simple as his master had described?

Could this be the so-called... idiot’s way to superiority?

As he left his master’s loft, he saw two people waiting for him on the hillside.

It was Yun Chaoxian and a girl.

The girl looked young with her hair bundled in two buns, standing next to Yun Chaoxian, she appeared petite. She wore a neat blue and white satin dress, her eyes were large and sparkled brightly.

She was also carrying a long wrapped weapon behind her back, which should be a divine artifact passed down through generations.

"Brother Chu," Yun Chaoxian warmly greeted, "I’ve come to cheer for you."

"Thank you, Brother Yun," Chu Liang thanked him and looked at the girl, "And who is this?"

Yun Chaoxian answered with a hearty laugh, "This is my junior sister Tang Shi, one of the core disciples from our Heavenly Gang Sect."

With four core disciples in the Heavenly Gang Sect, their weapons known as knife, spear, sword and halberd.

So this girl in front of him was the one who wielded the spear?

Chu Liang looked at her with slight surprise, finding it hard to associate her petite figure with the long spear.

Yun Chaoxian then turned to Tang Shi, "This is Chu Liang who I told you about, the Shu Mountain disciple who is slightly smarter than me."

Chu Liang laughed awkwardly. There really was no need to always add that last part...

"Wow, that’s amazing!" Tang Shi looked at Chu Liang, blinking her large eyes, her voice soft and sweet.

Alright then.

This maiden didn’t seem particularly bright either.

Just as Chu Liang was about to entertain them, a flash of silver light flew over from afar. Little Yi was playing frisbee with the Golden Fur Beast and Baize again.

Whoosh.

A gust of wind blasted as the Golden Fur Beast rushed over.

Yun Chaoxian and Tang Shi felt a gust of wind behind their heads. Just as Chu Liang was about to tell them not to panic, the two martial arts masters responded even quicker than him and had already prepared themselves.

They both turned around and pulled out their weapons. Yun Chaoxian held his Large Halberd firmly, his eyes full of determination.

As for Tang Shi, she instantly pulled out a Overlord Spear that was two heads taller than her, then her body suddenly rose, her muscles bulging and making a rustling sound as they filled her sleeves. Her whole body emitted a golden light, like a golden diamond, she took a firm step and twisted her waist, shouting, "Who are you, demon!"

The rough voice startled Chu Liang, making his pupils shrink. He quickly shouted, "It’s the spirit pet from my Silver Sword Peak, you don’t have to panic!"

Not only him, even the Golden Fur Beast was startled by this roar, causing all the golden fur on its body to stand up. It grabbed the frisbee with its big head, moving left and right, then step by step... it quietly retreated and left.

"Oh, so it’s just playing." Yun Chaoxian, who had seen the Golden Fur Beast earlier, immediately put his Large Halberd away, waving his hand with a chuckle.

Tang Shi also immediately retracted her enlarged body figure, reverting back into the sweet, soft-spoken girl, as she giggled, "You scared me there..."