Lu Guijiu sensed Gong Huaiyu's hostility. He panted and said in a weak voice, "What do you mean by this?"

Gong Huaiyu exchanged a glance with Gong Yujin, both revealing a hint of disdain as they looked at Lu Guijiu.

Gong Huaiyu said, "The people I despise the most are those who lack ability themselves, yet still want to occupy a place at the pinnacle, so they have no choice but to beg others everywhere to give way to them a little."

His words made it very obvious that his master had instructed him not to harm Lu Guijiu, while in his eyes, Lu Guijiu had become a cowardly mouse protected by his master.

Lu Guijiu didn't argue, only showing a wronged expression. His mouth moved a couple times as if wanting to say something, but gave up.

Seeing this, Gong Huaiyu became even more certain of his thoughts. He wanted to mock a few more sentences, but was stopped by Gong Yujin who said, "Enough."

Gong Huaiyu was a bit unhappy, but still didn't say anything further.

Gong Yujin said, "Let's go."

Gong Huaiyu glanced at Lu Guijiu and was about to turn and leave.

But at this moment, Lu Guijiu called out to stop them, saying, "Senior Brothers, please wait."

Gong Huaiyu said, "What else do you want?"

Lu Guijiu gave an embarrassed smile and said, "To be honest with Senior Brothers, I'm actually aware my strength is lacking, but Master has too high expectations for me, so I can only do my utmost, which is how I reached my current position..."

Hearing this, Gong Huaiyu actually felt it wasn't false. In fact, he was already very curious how Lu Guijiu managed to reach this position, because in the eyes of outsiders, Lu Guijiu at the 4th level of Qi Refining was just average.

Lu Guijiu continued, "Guijiu knows there's no hope of winning, and just wants to take a look at the scenery from the mountain peak. I wonder if Senior Brothers would be willing to take Guijiu along?" After speaking, he took out two medicinal pills from his sleeve and handed them to Gong Huaiyu and Gong Yujin. "These two pills can be the reward for Senior Brothers, how about it?"

Before Gong Huaiyu could speak, Gong Yujin had already taken the pills from Lu Guijiu's hand. He held them to his nose and took a careful sniff. After a moment, he voiced his approval.

Seeing that his older brother had agreed, although somewhat unwilling, Gong Huaiyu also consented. In any case, it wasn't much further to the mountain peak from here.

Thus, the three reached an agreement and began climbing the mountain together.

At this time, the rain in the mountains was getting heavier, a vast expanse of it, coupled with the lush thickets, making it hard to see clearly beyond ten meters.

The Gong brothers walked in front while Lu Guijiu followed behind. Although he always seemed on the verge of exhausting his strength, he still didn't fall behind.

Just as they were about to reach the summit, the three of them finally encountered other disciples who were also close to the top.

Two people came up another small path. One was at the 4th level of Qi Refining, while the other was the disciple of Elder Cen who had mocked Lu Guijiu at the foot of the mountain.

He didn't have it as easy as the Gong brothers. His clothes were somewhat tattered, but his complexion was still good, indicating that he hadn't expended too much spiritual energy.

As soon as Lu Guijiu encountered them, that person revealed a shocked expression, obviously not expecting how Lu Guijiu ended up together with Gong Huaiyu and Gong Yujin.

Fortunately, Gong Huaiyu also disliked that person. Upon seeing him, he immediately mocked, "Oh, who do I see? Turns out it's Xiang Mingzi. I'm surprised you could make it here. I thought you'd already been carried off by wolves at the foot of the mountain."

Faced with Gong Huaiyu's ridicule, Xiang Mingzi's expression was extremely unsightly, but with the contest for the bamboo slips about to begin, it was clearly unwise to waste spiritual power here. Therefore, he suppressed the anger in his heart and actually didn't retort.

Standing behind him was a beautiful female disciple. Having been drenched by the rain, she looked pitiful. She glanced at Xiang Mingzi, then at Gong Huaiyu and Gong Yujin opposite them, and said softly, "Thank you Senior Brother Xiang for bringing Yue'er to the mountain peak."

Xiang Mingzi said, "You're too polite, too polite. As disciples of Lingxu Sect, it's only right that we support each other..." Before he could finish, he saw the woman who called herself Yue'er walk over to Gong Huaiyu and Gong Yujin's side in a few steps and say coquettishly, "Senior Brothers, why didn't you come find me?"

Gong Huaiyu said, "We didn't come find you, isn't it all thanks to that sister of yours."

With that, the three began chatting.

Seeing this, Xiang Mingzi was livid. When he encountered this woman halfway up the mountain, she happened to be chased by a giant bear. Delighted by her beauty, he conveniently rescued her, but unexpectedly, she turned out to be from the same group as Gong Huaiyu and the others.

Xiang Mingzi was so angry his face turned green. He directed all his rage at Lu Guijiu, glaring at him fiercely before turning and leaving.

Lu Guijiu: "..." What does it have to do with me?

Gong Huaiyu and the other two were obviously deliberately angering Xiang Mingzi. Seeing him leave, they laughed loudly. Gong Huaiyu said, "That idiot, who knows how he cultivated to the 5th level of Qi Refining. No brains to speak of, no comprehension..."

But Gong Yujin said, "Let's go." He glanced at Lu Guijiu and, seeing that his expression also didn't look too good, retracted his gaze.

Thus, the three became four and together headed towards the mountain peak.

Approaching the summit, the rain grew even heavier. Lu Guijiu had to stop to catch his breath every couple steps, causing even Yue'er to wonder, "How on earth did this guy make it here?"

Gong Huaiyu said, "Don't mind him."

Yue'er curiously glanced at Lu Guijiu but obediently extinguished her curiosity.

Reaching the peak, without the shelter of the trees, huge raindrops fell from the sky, heavily pounding on people's bodies. Without using spiritual energy for protection, one would quickly be hit black and blue, aching all over.

But whether it was Lu Guijiu or the twins, none of them used spiritual energy to shield themselves. They knew the importance of conserving spiritual energy at this time, so they all gritted their teeth and endured.

On the other hand, Yue'er had no such concerns. A faint glow enveloped her body, separating her from the rainwater.

After stepping onto the summit, their field of vision finally opened up. With one glance, they could see the dense forests extending for miles, shrouded in mist and clouds, indescribably beautiful.

On the mountain peak, just as Zhang Jingmo said, several giant boulders were floating in the air. There were as many as six boulders, each higher than the last. Bamboo slips were placed on top of the boulders, and even in the pouring rain, their warm glow could be seen. Below the boulders was a bottomless canyon, and the bone-chilling cold emanating from it was so intimidating that just a glance would fill one's heart with fear.

At this time, Daoist Cen's disciple, Xiang Mingzi, had also arrived. Like Gong Huaiyu and Gong Yujin, he looked up at the giant boulders overhead and quickly showed a confident expression.

Gong Huaiyu and Gong Yujin exchanged a glance, and Gong Huaiyu said, "I'll go first."

Gong Yujin nodded.

Xiang Mingzi knew that he alone could not compete with the twins, so he deliberately said, "They say you two are the geniuses of Lingxu Sect. I wonder if you have a chance to win the long-unclaimed first place this time?"

Gong Huaiyu did not take the bait at all and retorted, "My brother and I are hardly worthy of being called geniuses. Xiang Mingzi, Brother Xiang, aren't you the one who has always claimed to be an unprecedented and unrivaled genius in the Dao of alchemy? I suppose if you can't win the first place, you won't be worthy of that title."

Xiang Mingzi sneered a few times but did not respond.

Hearing their conversation, Lu Guijiu asked, "Is the first place difficult to win?"

Yue'er had no intention of competing for the slips and was standing aside watching the excitement. Hearing Lu Guijiu's question, she seemed a little surprised and said, "Didn't your master tell you?"

Lu Guijiu shook his head.

Yue'er said, "The first place is the most difficult to obtain. It has the number ninety-nine, and once you get it, you secure the top position."

Lu Guijiu asked, "Then why not go directly for the first place?"

Yue'er laughed and said, "The first place is not that easy to get. In the past thousand years, only your master's senior brother Bai Lingxiao has won it. No one else has done so."

She pointed upward and said, "Look, that's the first place."

Lu Guijiu looked in the direction Yue'er was pointing and saw what seemed to be a faintly twinkling star in the gloomy sky. The star appeared and disappeared in the dark clouds, and with just one glance, one could see that the first place was extremely far away.

Lu Guijiu had already made up his mind.

At this time, Gong Huaiyu had already gathered his spiritual power, ready to ascend the giant boulder to seize the slips. His spiritual energy was a faint cyan color, which did not quite match his personality.

Poor Xiang Mingzi also wanted to go and seize the slips, but with Gong Yujin still standing aside watching like a tiger, he could only swallow his anger and watch as Gong Huaiyu flew into the sky.

This year's situation was extremely unusual. In previous years, more disciples would reach the summit, so there would be many contests when seizing the slips. It was common for several people to compete for the slips at the same time, resulting in the person who exhausted their spiritual power being kicked off the cliff by another.

A Qi Refining stage cultivator falling from the giant boulder into the endless abyss, lacking the spiritual power to protect their body and failing to crush their wooden tablet in time, would have a slim chance of survival.

There were even more vicious people who would seize others' bamboo slips at the beginning of the competition, cutting off their path to self-preservation.

Gong Huaiyu's figure grew smaller and smaller, and it could be vaguely seen that he was shuttling back and forth between the giant boulders, constantly jumping. He quickly reached the boulder closest to the ground, which had the smallest number and was the easiest to obtain.

In fact, when seizing the slips, most of the practiced techniques were not of much use. It was almost entirely a matter of relying on brute spiritual power. The more abundant one's spiritual power, the faster and longer one could fly, and the more likely one was to reach the boulders.

Gong Huaiyu easily obtained the first number. After he took the glowing bamboo slip floating above the boulder, the boulder shattered with a crack, directly disintegrating into fine powder and disappearing into the sky.

Seeing this, Gong Yujin slightly narrowed his eyes, while Xiang Mingzi showed an anxious expression.

Gong Huaiyu was still ascending. His cyan spiritual energy was so conspicuous against the backdrop of the gray sky, like an agile sparrow constantly flapping its wings and flying towards a higher place. However, the higher he went, the greater the resistance. Gong Huaiyu soon felt overwhelmed, but he was unwilling to admit defeat. Gritting his teeth, he stuffed the elixir he had prepared into his mouth. As soon as the elixir entered his mouth, the spiritual energy throughout his body flared brightly.

Gong Yujin slightly frowned and said loudly, "Huaiyu, don't overexert yourself."

But Gong Huaiyu did not listen and continued to grit his teeth and charge upward. He quickly reached the second giant boulder and also took the bamboo slip on it. However, even so, Gong Huaiyu was still not satisfied and launched an assault on the third giant boulder. But when he was still a considerable distance from the third boulder, he felt as if he had become a sparrow that had mistakenly flown into a spider's web. The surrounding air seemed to solidify, and it was extremely difficult to fly even an inch higher.

In midair, Gong Huaiyu found it immensely challenging to advance even a single step.

Blood overflowed from his mouth. Gong Huaiyu let out an angry roar, and his figure suddenly shot up. It seemed he was about to approach the third giant boulder, but when he was still several hundred meters away from it, it was as if he was directly bounced off by something.

Instantly, Gong Huaiyu fell straight down from the sky like a bird with broken wings. He seemed to have lost consciousness and did not even crush the wooden tablet in his arms.

Fortunately, this time Gong Huaiyu was not participating in the Xuanwu Conference alone. Gong Yujin, who had been observing from the side for a long time, finally took action and caught Gong Huaiyu, who had nearly fallen into the abyss.

Seeing that Gong Huaiyu and Gong Yujin were too busy to pay attention to him, Xiang Mingzi's heart stirred, and he said to Lu Guijiu, "Lu Guijiu, did you come to participate in this Xuanwu Conference just to watch others seize the slips?"

Lu Guijiu knew exactly what Xiang Mingzi was thinking. They were both young men, and neither could withstand such a provocation. He took the bait and angrily said, "Xiang Mingzi, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Xiang Mingzi said, "Haha, I see you went to great lengths to reach the summit, but you don't even dare to try. I really pity you."

Lu Guijiu's anger intensified, and he immediately said, "I don't dare? Xiang Mingzi, I challenge you to a duel to the death today. Do you dare? If you don't, you're just a cowardly rat who only dares to squeak but has no guts."

Xiang Mingzi was about the same age as Lu Guijiu, and he had always been praised as a genius. He was used to hearing flattering words, so when he heard that Lu Guijiu invited him to a duel to the death, he readily agreed: "A duel to the death is fine, but I want you to duel me on that giant rock."

Lu Guijiu sneered: "No problem."

Gong Yujin had just taken the injured Gong Huaiyu when he saw Lu Guijiu and Xiang Mingzi flying up into the sky. He asked Yue'er, who was watching the show beside him, "What's going on?"

Yue'er lazily said, "The two of them are going to find death together."

Gong Yujin looked at the unconscious Huaiyu, then crushed his wooden tablet and sent Gong Huaiyu out of the Xuanwu Conference.

The closer the giant rock was to the ground, the lower the number, and the easier it was to obtain. When Gong Yujin received Gong Huaiyu, he saw the bamboo slips in his hand, one with the number one and the other with the number five.

Gong Huaiyu had only obtained the two bamboo slips with the smallest numbers before his spiritual energy proved insufficient. He nearly fell into the abyss and died. This showed how difficult it was to seize the bamboo slips.

Gong Yujin flew towards Lu Guijiu and Xiang Mingzi, only to see the two of them standing in the air, throwing their wooden tablets into the cold abyss.

Gong Yujin sighed to himself, thinking that Lu Guijiu was likely doomed. At that moment, Xiang Mingzi was thinking the same thing. He had entered the Xuanwu Conference with instructions from his master: to take Lu Guijiu's life.

If it was only about cultivation, Xiang Mingzi's was even higher than Gong Yujin's. He was previously wary of the twins joining forces against him, but now Gong Huaiyu was seriously injured and unconscious, and had been sent out of the Xuanwu Conference by Gong Yujin, so he had no more scruples.

So Xiang Mingzi threw away the wooden tablet without hesitation, because in his eyes, Gong Yujin was not a concern, and Lu Guijiu, without his wooden tablet, was like an insect that could be crushed whenever he pleased.

Xiang Mingzi sneered, "Lu Guijiu, I want to see where you can fly with your fourth-level cultivation."

Lu Guijiu smiled, but did not answer. Instead, he followed Xiang Mingzi and flew towards the second giant rock.

Gong Yujin followed behind the two, looking at Lu Guijiu's figure, but suddenly felt that something was wrong. He thought carefully, and a look of horror appeared on his face.

Gong Yujin noticed something strange about Lu Guijiu, but Xiang Mingzi did not. He watched Lu Guijiu fly higher and higher, a twisted smile appearing on his face. The higher he flew, the more painful it would be when he fell.

Without the protection of spiritual power, a cultivator was just a mortal. He was already eager to see Lu Guijiu being smashed to pieces.

However, everything did not develop as Xiang Mingzi had imagined. They flew past the position of the first giant rock and flew towards the position of the second giant rock.

Gong Huaiyu, who had already left, also had fifth-level cultivation, but he only obtained the bamboo slips from the two giant rocks. It could be seen that even with fifth-level Qi Refining cultivation, it was somewhat difficult to obtain the bamboo slips from the third giant rock.

Gong Yujin followed the two from a distance. He could have accelerated and flown up first, but for some reason, his intuition made him not do so, and he just followed behind from a distance.

Flying to the position of the first giant rock was very easy for the three of them. Flying to the position of the second giant rock, their flying speed slowed down a bit. When they flew to the position of the third giant rock, they encountered the same situation as Gong Huaiyu. Their bodies were as if bound by many dense thin threads, and the action of flying upward became very difficult. However, Xiang Mingzi was indeed a genius that Daoist Cen had high hopes for. His speed only slowed down slightly, but he was still moving forward.

At this time, he also noticed something was wrong. If Lu Guijiu really only had fourth-level Qi Refining cultivation, he should have been exhausted at the second giant rock and would not have been able to follow him to the position of the third giant rock.

A guess emerged in Xiang Mingzi's mind, and a hint of cold sweat appeared on his face. He found the sight of Lu Guijiu following close behind him suddenly terrifying.

Seeing Xiang Mingzi suddenly speed up, Lu Guijiu knew that he had realized something. He smiled and said, "Brother Xiang, why are you running so fast? Aren't you afraid that I, this insect, won't be able to keep up?" As soon as he finished speaking, he also sped up and stuck closely behind Xiang Mingzi.

Seeing all this, Gong Yujin, whose guess was confirmed, could only sigh and think that it was good that they only mocked Lu Guijiu and did not try to take action against him. But poor Xiang Mingzi, who had thrown away his wooden tablet, would probably never be able to leave this Xuanwu Conference.