After Zhang Jingmo sent Lu Guijiu to the venue of the Xuanwu Conference, Lu Guijiu entered the restricted tournament grounds alone.

At the entrance of the venue, many new disciples were already standing. The youngest were about the same age as Lu Guijiu, around fifteen or sixteen years old, while the oldest were close to thirty.

The Xuanwu Conference is held once every twenty years. When it takes place, all disciples of the Lingxu Sect over the age of fifteen must participate, and each disciple can only participate once in their lifetime.

When Zhang Jingmo joined the sect, he also participated in the Xuanwu Conference. However, his talent was never displayed in cultivation. At that time, he was already able to refine elixirs independently, but he did not achieve any dazzling results in the Xuanwu Conference and barely persisted until the end.

After Lu Guijiu arrived, he handed the wooden tablet to the cultivator who was waiting quietly on the side. The cultivator looked at the wooden tablet, then at Lu Guijiu, and a hint of inconspicuous pity flashed in his eyes. He said, "You are Zhang Jingmo's disciple?"

Lu Guijiu nodded.

The person said, "You should be careful and remember not to force yourself."

Lu Guijiu did not expect this person to say such a thing. He only knew that Zhang Jingmo had concealed his cultivation for him, but he did not know that various strange rumors had already spread within the Lingxu Sect.

Because after Zhang Jingmo refined the Molten Fire Pill, he completely disappeared with Lu Guijiu. When he returned to the sect several years later, he closed his door to everyone, which naturally seemed very strange to outsiders. Therefore, news about Zhang Jingmo's madness kept spreading in the Lingxu Sect. Most people had heard that Zhang Jingmo was stimulated by Daoist Cen, so he stubbornly wanted to send his own disciple to die...

Moreover, because of Zhang Jingmo's special identity and good relationships with most people in the sect, the person who collected Lu Guijiu's wooden tablet couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for Lu Guijiu.

Lu Guijiu didn't know the reason, but he still thanked the person gently before turning to leave.

The person who collected the spirit tablets saw Lu Guijiu turn around and thought to himself that such a graceful young man was going to die in this mountain because of his master's vanity. He also sighed lightly.

Lu Guijiu walked in the crowd, following the guide up the mountain path.

The venue of the Xuanwu Conference is at the top of the mountain, but the guide will only lead the disciples to the foot of the mountain and let them climb up by themselves. When the disciples reach the top of the mountain, they will see several huge rocks floating in the sky. On each huge rock, a bamboo slip is floating. The number on the bamboo slip is what the disciples need to compete for.

Fortunately, the Lingxu Sect does not go so far as to let the disciples kill each other. Therefore, it is stipulated that once the bamboo slip is touched, it can no longer be taken by others. If someone intentionally injures others, they will also be punished accordingly, and this punishment will definitely not be fatal.

At this time, there were two to three hundred Lingxu disciples in the Xuanwu Conference. Among these two to three hundred people, every single one was an elite talent who was favored by the elders of the Lingxu Sect and accepted as disciples.

Standing among the crowd at the foot of the mountain, two men were very eye-catching. They wore the same clothes and had the same hairstyle. Upon closer inspection, one would find that these two people looked exactly the same.

Lu Guijiu found it interesting. The disciples beside him were also whispering. After listening, Lu Guijiu learned that these two seventeen or eighteen-year-old disciples were actually the opponents Zhang Jingmo had repeatedly warned him about.

One of them was named Gong Huaiyu and he was a disciple of the sect master. The other was named Gong Yujin and he was a disciple of a Nascent Soul elder of the Lingxu Sect. Although the two of them had different masters, their talent was equally heaven-defying. They almost entered the fifth level of Qi Refining at the same time.

Gong Huaiyu was the younger brother and had a more lively personality. He walked and joked with his older brother. The two of them walking in the crowd were particularly eye-catching.

Compared to them, Lu Guijiu was much more low-key. He looked at the mountain peak that seemed to have no end in sight, and then heard the guide say loudly, "From here on, you will have to walk the path by yourselves."

The disciples responded in unison.

The guide said again, "No matter what you encounter, as long as you don't want to continue, crush the wooden tablet in your hand, and someone will appear to take you away."

Lu Guijiu looked at the ordinary wooden tablet in his hand and put it in his pocket.

The guide said again, "Remember, your life is the most important. If you lose your life for the sake of being first, it would be a losing deal."

The disciples all laughed, as if they thought the guide was joking.

Seeing this, the guide didn't say much more. He just waved his hand, indicating that the disciples could enter the mountain.

Then, the disciples were seen in groups of two or three, stepping onto the small path paved with bluestone.

Just as Lu Guijiu was about to step forward, someone suddenly bumped into him heavily from behind. He turned his head and saw a young man in his twenties, sneering at him coldly, his smile full of malice.

It seemed that this person was the disciple of Daoist Cen.

Lu Guijiu looked at him indifferently, as if looking at an insignificant insect.

The person was pierced by Lu Guijiu's gaze and immediately became angry. He said in a low voice, "You'd better crush the wooden tablet now, otherwise, I will gouge out your eyes before you die and send them to your master..."

Lu Guijiu lazily interrupted the person, "A good dog doesn't bark."

The person glared at him, but due to the guide still standing on the side, he left with a swish of his sleeves.

Lu Guijiu didn't care about him and chose a small path by himself to go into the mountain.

The fog in the mountain was not ordinary. Lu Guijiu wrapped his eyes with spiritual energy, but he still couldn't see through the hazy fog. Lu Shu, who had been silent, said, "What a grand setup.

Lu Guijiu said, "Huh?"

Lu Shu said, "Your Lingxu Sect is really rich and imposing. Such a large formation is actually used to select disciples?"

Lu Guijiu asked, "This is a large formation?"

Lu Shu said, "Of course. You are only at the fifth level of Qi Refining now, so you will definitely be confused by the formation. If you wait until you have the power of a Nascent Soul, come here and take a look again. You will find that this place is just a pile of rocks.

Hearing this, Lu Guijiu walked to the side of the road and knocked on the trees beside the road, saying, "These trees are not real?"

Lu Shu said, "Not just the trees. There is nothing real here."

Lu Guijiu laughed, "It's indeed not real."

Lu Shu asked, "Hmm?"

Lu Guijiu said, "I was just wondering if any fierce beasts would appear in this dense forest, and one immediately showed up."

After he spoke, a fierce tiger with upturned eyes and a white forehead emerged from the forest, surrounded by a thick fog. Its bloody mouth was slightly open, with fresh blood still hanging at the corner, clearly having just finished a hunt.

Lu Guijiu asked curiously, "If it bit me, would I die?"

Lu Shu said helplessly, "You can try and see."

Although curious, Lu Guijiu would not risk his life to test it out. He took out a flying sword from his sleeve, nodded slightly at the tiger, and said, "Please."

As soon as the word left his mouth, the tiger pounced fiercely at Lu Guijiu. He dodged by bending over, then turned and slashed at the tiger's body with his sword. The tiger was also very agile. Having missed its pounce, it immediately twisted its body, causing Lu Guijiu's blade to barely graze its side.

At this point, the distance between Lu Guijiu and the tiger was very close. The tiger let out a low roar and swiped a paw at Lu Guijiu's head. If this strike landed, Lu Guijiu's head would likely end up like a ripe watermelon, smashed to a pulp.

Lu Guijiu tapped his feet and flew straight up to dodge this attack. What Lu Guijiu did not expect was that seeing him fly up, the tiger actually rose on a cloud of mist to chase after him.

If this was Lu Guijiu's first time facing an enemy, he would probably have been in a sorry state. However, the training Zhang Jingmo had given him earlier now showed its effects. Seeing the tiger in hot pursuit, Lu Guijiu pretended to want to flee into the mountains. The tiger, seeing Lu Guijiu trying to escape, naturally sped up as well. After a few rounds of fleeing, it finally caught up to Lu Guijiu and heavily bit down on his leg.

However, as soon as it bit down, the tiger immediately realized it had been tricked, because what it held in its mouth was not flesh at all, but a hard piece of wood.

The Lu Guijiu who should have been flying ahead of it had appeared directly above, his flying sword piercing down sharply, running the tiger through.

The tiger roared in pain, but no blood flowed from its body. Instead, a puff of smoke rose up. When the smoke dissipated, a red crystal appeared on the ground.

Lu Guijiu picked up the crystal and looked at it, not recognizing what it was.

Lu Shu was knowledgeable and naturally recognized this object. He said, "This is a Fire Spirit Crystal. Although it's only a small piece, it's still equivalent to a high-grade spirit stone." Having said that, he clicked his tongue in amazement. "You Lingxu Sect folks are really rich."

Lu Guijiu ignored Lu Shu, put away the Fire Spirit Crystal, and set off again.

The time for the Xuanwu Conference was set at one month. After one month, whoever obtained the most bamboo tallies would be the champion. Moreover, because the bamboo tallies could not be taken by force, almost all the disciples who wanted to vie for a ranking had to reach the mountain peak as quickly as possible.

Lu Guijiu traveled in the mountains for a few days. With Lu Shu's help, he quickly figured out the rules of this mountain. As it turned out, rather than testing cultivation, this mountain was more a test of one's state of mind.

After entering the mountain, the more one feared something, the more it would appear. If a female disciple who was afraid of snakes, insects, and rats entered the mountain, it would indeed be very difficult for her.