Chapter 212 Winner Takes All

Chapter 212 Winner Takes All

Chapter 212 Winner Takes All
The precious carriage moved fast and steadily. After traveling for two quarters of an hour, the other carriages and horses that came out of Pingshan City together became like turtle carriages and were left far behind. As a result, the area around the carriage became a little quieter. Only occasionally someone would ride past the carriage quickly, and turn his head slightly to look inside curiously.

After talking about the car and the chassis, the relationship between Tang Qillang and Li Wuxiang seemed to become closer, and the topic began to become less polite and distant.

Tang Qilang blinked and said, "Master, is the area around Dajie Mountain completely different from what you thought?"

Li Wuxiang put one arm over the edge of the car, letting the branches and leaves on the roadside slide through his palm. "Yeah. When I came here, I thought it would be a little quieter. Several major sects chose the top of a high mountain, with steep peaks and drifting clouds. The masters would fight to decide the winner, and then the sand would be stained with blood, and they would die with their eyes open. Then, after things were settled, they would have decades or even generations of grudges, and then they would go down the mountain."

"Now I find it quite lively." Li Wuxiang retracted his hand and put his elbow on the side of the car. He actually felt like he had found some feelings from his past life. "Just now I heard some people on the road saying something like betting - so there will be quite a few people watching the alliance meeting this time?"

"Yes, a lot. Master, you were born into a noble family, right?"

This should mean "Master, you must have lived in a remote mountain valley before, so you don't know anything." Li Wuxiang nodded and said, "Yes, the place where I live is called Taohuayuan. My ancestors lived in seclusion there at the end of the Ye Dynasty. I couldn't stand the loneliness, so I came out on my own."

Tang Qilang was slightly stunned by these words, and there seemed to be a little more awe in his eyes: "No wonder. In fact, the area around Dajie Mountain has always been very lively. For example, in the Central Continent, the six Xuan Sects occupy the land near the sea, and most of the thirty-six sects are in the hinterland of the Central Continent. For example, your area, Tianxin, Ranshan, and Louguang, are farther away, and there is also the Xuan Sect nearby, so they are not very prosperous. But if they are closer to each other, there will be more troubles."

"There are more people here than near the Xuanjiao... Well, not really. It's definitely not as many as theirs, but at least there are more people near the various sects."

Li Wuxiang interjected: "The population density near the sect is high."

Tang Qilang thought about it and nodded, "Yes, that's the case. Since we are not near the sea, the weather here is actually not good. It is hotter in the summer, colder in the winter, and there is less rain. It's not so bad near Dajie Mountain, and there is not much difference from the area near Deyang. But if you go two or three thousand miles further north, the summers are hotter, the winters are colder, and it's drier. There is no rain in many places."

"So most of the sects here are near Tianshui. Aren't many big cities during the Ye Dynasty built near Tianshui for easy access to water? There are not as many people in the world now as during the Ye Dynasty, but people in the heart of the Central Continent are almost all gathered near Tianshui."

"With so many people, there are many cities. Near Deyang, it takes more than ten to twenty days to travel between two big cities. But here, especially on both sides of Tianshui River, the towns and cities are almost connected. Each sect needs offerings... For example, our Tiangong Sect claims to have tens of thousands of disciples. But when these tens of thousands of disciples practice the Dharma, one person tries to forge a small sword in a day, which consumes iron, charcoal, food, clothing, and medicine for injuries. We can't dig these things ourselves, right?"

"So it's still the same as during the Ye Dynasty. If the offerings in your own sect are not enough, then you can buy them. This is the most convenient way. So, sometimes the sects here envy yours. For example, the Tianxin sect has fewer people, but the offerings from all over are almost the same, and the practitioners don't need to be tainted by the smell of money. But here, what do the practitioners think about all the time? Money, haha!"

Tang Qilang laughed twice and was stunned for a moment: "Oh, I got off topic... So this is how it is here, we like to watch the fun."

He lowered his voice again and said, "Master, think about it, isn't this Great Tribulation Alliance meeting just about two things?"

"One thing, select thirty-six people to practice the thirty-six sects' true teachings. The elixirs and medicinal materials needed by these thirty-six people are said to be provided by the sects, and then merged into the public on the Great Tribulation Mountain. But to be honest - I'm only telling you, the sect master - for example, the former Ranshan Sect, when you were not here and Zhao Kui was still the sect master, they couldn't afford anything."

"What if they can't afford it? Once the bill is evenly distributed, the richer sects like our Tiangong Sect will naturally pay more. So in this kind of situation, the poorer sects will benefit the most, and the richer ones will suffer the most."

"Then what should we do? Let's think of a solution. For example, these thirty-six people are not limited to the thirty-six sects - the larger sects have some branches. Some of them learned one or two magic tricks when they were traveling around the world, and they have made their own way and succeeded. Some of them are disciples of the sect who left the sect for some reason, went down the mountain, and set up their own sects -"

"For these people, some hidden families told them that as long as they have good qualifications and can pass the test on the Great Tribulation Mountain, they can be selected into the Thirty-Six Sects and have the hope of practicing the proper teachings. When people heard this, they would naturally fight for this benefit -" Tang Qilang paused, "Of course, some families may not care about this kind of thing, right, like your Peach Blossom Spring -"

Li Wuxiang laughed: "Don't bother me, just talk about your own things."

"Oh...then continue - so you can't come here for nothing. What is the Great Tribulation Mountain? It was the Taoist temple of Donghuang Taiyi in the past. Our thirty-six sects have always set up a barrier here, so mortals cannot enter the mountain. If you want to enter the mountain this time, you must bring real money first. After entering the mountain, if you want to participate in the competition, you will naturally have to pay more offerings."

"It's not all about money - it's about the elixirs and magic materials that are the stepping stones. Sects without money can't attract good talents, and sects that attract good talents can't be without money, right?"

"So in this way, half of the things that will be used to support the thirty-six people in their cultivation in the future may be earned out. As for those who go up the mountain, those who are powerful want to see if they can raise their own children to be among the thirty-six people, and the ordinary ones want to find opportunities or get what they need. For the independent cultivators in the rivers and lakes, each of them has some means and things that they want but are difficult to get."

"Under normal circumstances, you have to worry about whether someone will do something dirty or take advantage of you. But you are in Dajie Mountain. Here, unless you are really not afraid of death, no one dares to cause trouble, so trading is convenient and safe." Tang Qilang sighed, "So when the time comes, there will be drama on the mountain and drama below the mountain. There will be all kinds of people, but they all get what they need. The teachers on the mountain also said that this can be regarded as a grand event and a meritorious deed."

Li Wuxiang nodded.

It was a bit unexpected - I thought it would be a sword fight on Mount Huashan or a decisive battle on the top of the Forbidden City, but it turned out to be a lively gathering.

However, compared to the desertedness near the parish, Li Wuxiang felt that this was not bad, because at least when he saw the various pedestrians on the road, he finally felt that the world had become a little more lively, lively, and human, and no longer looked like a huge and terrifying cold corpse. "So when the time comes, how will these thirty-six people compare? It won't be based on the level of realm, right?"

Tang Qilang shook his head: "No. The teachers and elders discussed it before, and it is like this - the cultivators cannot be too old, this is the minimum. They must be young and have good aptitude."

"Good aptitude, how do you calculate this? Well, let me give you an example - take my third junior brother, that bastard. He built his foundation in two years, and refined his Qi in ten years. Now he has been in the stage of forming a pill for two years. Why were you so arrogant when he met the sect master that day? Because the criteria for selecting candidates are based on him, and he is the one that our Tiangong sect has chosen -"

"It can't take more than three years to build a foundation, and it can't take more than eleven years to complete Qi Refining. No matter how old you are when you enter the Dao, you can't be over twenty. If you have such qualifications, you can be selected."

"There are very few people like this. There are only about thirty of them in each sect... Let me count -" Tang Qilang frowned and thought for a while, "We have heard that there are thirty-one. But what is the result? The five major sects of Tiangong, Juque, Qianji, Qingxiao, and Suhua account for twenty-seven of them. So now there are only nine people selected. In other words, these nine sects don't need to participate in the competition, and there are only twenty-seven places left."

Li Wuxiang said, "Oh," and said, "For example, there is a child, only seven or eight years old, who has not had time to practice yet, but after checking his pulse, it is also found that he has excellent talent?"

"It's hard to say. Sect Master, you know that cultivation depends not only on aptitude but also on character. For example, if we only talk about aptitude, among the nine people I just mentioned who have been selected, my bastard junior brother has the best aptitude. However, there is a female cultivator in Suhua Sect named Li Shewan, whose aptitude is not as good as his, but she built her foundation in a year and a half, and achieved great success in Qi Refining in eight years. Now she is fifteen years old this year, and has already formed a Dan for half a year - this is because she has a good character!"

"So the child is too young and has an unstable mind, so it's hard to say. But we don't have to stick to age - if the child has already achieved great success in Qi training at the age of eight or nine, then there is naturally no problem. His cultivation level speaks for itself."

Li Wuxiang thought for a moment and said, "If I am the leader of a sect, what if I find a 19-year-old boy with average talent and use elixirs to force him to reach the peak of Qi Refining?"

"People's Qi channels open at the age of five or six, and then they can start practicing. Think about it, Sect Master, if the person you choose is of very poor aptitude, but you only took him fifteen years to push him to the peak of Qi Refining, then how deep is the accumulation of your sect? Of course there is no problem, because I know that your sect will have a lot of investment in the future - in short, it is all for the purpose of cultivating a proper Nascent Soul to fight against the Xuan Sect. As long as he can become a Nascent Soul and he is willing, why not?"

"But..." Tang Qilang looked at Li Wuxiang, "If there is really a sect that is desperate to do this in order to provide the elixir materials for the infant in the future, then we have to talk about the second matter of this alliance meeting——"

"After selecting the Sect Master, the sects that can afford the money will naturally bring the selected serious practitioners back to their own sects for training."

"But what about some sects that can't afford to pay? For example, the Ranshan Sect when Zhao Kui was in charge. He couldn't afford to pay, but he happened to have a talented person, or like what you said, he scraped together money and barely pushed his disciples to the peak of Qi Refining. At this time, his disciples might not be able to return to Ranshan."

"For example, Zhao Kui is at the Nascent Soul stage, which is fine. The thirty-six sects are of the same blood, and everyone spends money to train a good disciple for you to support the sect. And with your Nascent Soul stage, you can also take on the responsibility of teaching."

"But if Sect Master Zhao Kui is only a Qi Refiner, this is not good. As the Sect Master, he is not even a Nascent Soul, how can he teach the true things? So for the sake of cultivation, the disciples selected by this sect must follow the Sect Master to cultivate in the Great Tribulation Mountain."

When Tang Qilang said this, his expression was meaningful. Li Wuxiang thought about it and said, "For example, if a sect can neither provide money nor people, then it is possible to select a disciple from a sect or aristocratic family to practice his family's true teachings?"

"Ah."

Li Wuxiang understood it now. For example, when Zhao Kui was in office, Ranshan would have been alone and unable to pay any money if he encountered this great robbery alliance.

At this time, a person who had no connection with Ranshan was chosen, and he was forced to hand over the Ranshan Sutra. After that, this person followed the seal master to practice the Ranshan Sutra. Once the Nascent Soul was fully developed, he would naturally take over the Ranshan Dharma, and the original withered sect would be empty.

Therefore, in this great catastrophe alliance, many weak sects like Ranshan will be annexed.

Li Wuxiang imagined the previous situation of the thirty-six sects - the five giants, Juque, Tiangong, Qianji, Qingxiao and Suhua, each of them recruited younger brothers who were on good terms with them, and the situation was almost evenly matched.

This time, he planned to use the resources of the declining sects like Ranshan to create the sixth force - the Seal Master.

Therefore, whoever of these five giants can win over or control the Sect Master will truly possess a transcendent status and become the true "Grand Master" of the Thirty-Six Sects!
The Xuan Sect and the Jian Sect are fighting... and there is also a fight among the thirty-six sects.

He could understand Kong Jingci now - if she was really a Nascent Soul, why, as a Nascent Soul boss, would she choose to win him over by using a method that was almost like "seducing people with beauty" - this was not about allocating resources for the thirty-six practitioners to become Nascent Souls, but a gamble where the winner takes all!
Tang Qilang looked at his face and whispered, "Sect Master, Junior Sister Zhao Yu should be over 20 years old. But who can tell about age? If you say she is only 19, no one can trace her down. As for her cultivation aptitude, even if you have the treasure of Tianxin, it will be difficult to push her to the peak of Qi Refining in these few days."

"But our Tiangong Sect has a method. This method is known to no more than two handfuls of people in the world. As long as the Sect Master nods, I can present it on behalf of my master!"

(End of this chapter)