"Go!"
A horse and a toad transformed into two streaks of long rainbow, instantly vanishing into the Nine Cang Sacred Cave.
After a while, seeing that no one else had entered the Nine Cang Sacred Cave, a quasi-saint expert from the Divine Machine Tower, who remained outside, waved his hand. A stream of light shot out and hovered directly above the Nine Cang Sacred Cave. It was a scroll painting.
At this moment, the scroll painting slowly unfurled, ripples spreading. It actually revealed the scene within the Nine Cang Sacred Cave.
Around the sacred cave, countless experts had gathered. Among them were no less than a thousand Golden Core realm Martial Lord experts, and countless Condensing Core realm Martial Venerables. Although they were not qualified to compete for this sacred path, they did not want to miss this grand martial arts event.
If they could gain enlightenment or learn even a fraction from the exchanges between these quasi-saint experts, it would be enough for them to benefit.
All eyes were drawn to the scene on the scroll painting, their eyes not daring to blink, for fear of missing any exciting moment.
One could see powerful figures traversing the interior of the Nine Cang Sacred Cave. The demonic beasts and plants within the Nine Cang Sacred Cave, sensing so many incomparably powerful presences, had all deeply hidden themselves, not daring to act rashly.
Soon, the image showed that all the quasi-saint level experts had reached the deepest part of the Nine Cang Sacred Cave. The stone walls disappeared, and the scene opened up, revealing a vast black void.
And in front of the black void, a thick and immense sacred path emitted surging flames, like a brilliant river of stars, lying horizontally before everyone.
Upon seeing this sacred path, the breathing of all the quasi-saint experts became rapid!
This was indeed an ownerless, complete sacred path, and it was… so powerful, so magnificent!
It was more than ten times more powerful than an ordinary sacred path.
A quasi-saint expert from the Ten Domains, who had once been infinitely close to the Manifestation realm, had said that the martial arts of the Ten Domains were incomplete. Therefore, no matter what martial path one cultivated, one could never step into the Manifestation realm. Even with heaven-defying talent, even with astonishing heroes and prodigies, they could only stop at the quasi-saint level and could not truly become a Manifestation realm existence.
The complete sacred path before them was likely the closest they would ever get to becoming a saint in their lives.
No one wanted to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
A powerful quasi-saint from the Crimson Sea King Sect of the Eternal Sea Domain stepped forward, unable to contain himself any longer. He stood out to challenge the crowd, cupped his hands towards his surroundings, and said, "I am the Sect Master of the Crimson Sea King Sect. I request guidance from all fellow Daoists!"
The quasi-saints exchanged glances.
Soon, another quasi-saint stepped forward.
A battle of quasi-saint level was imminent.
In the end, the Sect Master of the Crimson Sea King Sect proved superior. His cultivation had reached sixty percent of the Dao Integration realm, while the other quasi-saint was only at forty percent. The quasi-saint path he cultivated was also restrained by the former, making him far from a match. He was quickly defeated and regretfully withdrew from the competition for this ownerless sacred path.
After winning one match, the Sect Master of the Crimson Sea King Sect's momentum surged, and he continued to challenge.
...
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
As one quasi-saint expert after another took action, the scroll painting erupted with endless colorful light. Powerful and boundless sacred paths clashed fiercely. Just the scene transmitted through the scroll painting was breathtakingly shocking, let alone the true intensity of the battle within the Nine Cang Sacred Cave.
The Golden Core and Condensing Core experts of the Ten Domains around watched with rapt attention, their hearts filled with longing and their blood boiling, wishing they could immediately step into the quasi-saint level and contend with these top giants of the Ten Domains.
Ling Fan remained extremely calm, his deep eyes observing every quasi-saint expert of the Ten Domains participating in the competition through the scroll.
However, by this point, no less than fifty quasi-saint experts had already made their moves, and twenty to thirty of them had been eliminated. He still hadn't seen any trace of that Shi Jiu Sacred Son.
Could that guy not have come?
Impossible.
That guy was likely the mastermind behind the scheme; how could he not be present?
Ling Fan remained composed, continuing his observation.
As for the battles between these quasi-saints, in his eyes, they were nothing special, lacking any noteworthy aspects.
During this process, even the toad couldn't resist. In a moment of impulse, it entered the fray to challenge. The outcome was as expected; it lasted less than three moves before being swept out by a powerful quasi-saint whose Dao Integration realm had surpassed sixty percent.
The toad was not annoyed; instead, it was quite pleased.
Ling Fan knew what schemes this gluttonous creature was up to. It probably thought that since it was injured, it would also receive medicinal pills, just like the demonic horse.
After the toad's defeat, the demonic horse stepped forward and avenged the toad. It actually defeated that powerful quasi-saint whose Dao Integration realm had surpassed sixty percent. Its strength had made significant progress compared to a few days prior, greatly astonishing everyone.
However, the demonic horse only managed to win two consecutive matches before being defeated by a quasi-saint from the Nine Stars Spirit Emperor Sect, whose Dao Integration realm had surpassed eighty percent.
After continuous battles, as one quasi-saint after another was eliminated, only those top existences whose Dao Integration realm had surpassed ninety percent were qualified to continue competing for this ownerless sacred path.
"This person isn't him either."
...
"This person… isn't him either."
The Heavenly Demon Eye imprints suddenly appeared in Ling Fan's eyes, as if he could see through the scroll painting and penetrate every expert.
Several hours later.
Only two people remained.
One was the Sect Master Supreme of the Heaven Mending Sect.
The other was the Palace Master of the Demon Cloud Palace, a top force from another Nine Cang Domain.
The final battle for supremacy would be staged between these two.
Whoever won would obtain that ownerless sacred path.
Ling Fan gazed intently.
Ling Fan was no stranger to the Sect Master of the Heaven Mending Sect.
On the Zi River that day, the two had almost clashed, and in the end, the clone projected by the Sect Master of the Heaven Mending Sect had voluntarily retreated.
The Sect Master of the Heaven Mending Sect was a middle-aged man with a square face, a dignified demeanor, and sharp, watchful eyes.
But his actual age had long exceeded two hundred years.
Quasi-saint experts generally had lifespans exceeding five hundred years. In that case, two hundred years was indeed just middle age.
The mysterious Palace Master of the Demon Cloud Palace, opposite him, was a person who appeared to be a youth. However, his eyes were as deep as the starry sky, like a vortex, and staring at them for too long would cause one's soul to sink into them.
The strength of these two individuals, even among quasi-saints at ninety percent of Dao Integration, was top-tier. They were likely only a small distance away from achieving sainthood.
If not for the incompleteness of the martial arts in the Ten Domains, they would have already stepped into the Manifestation realm.
Ling Fan looked at the Sect Master of the Heaven Mending Sect, then at the youth-like Palace Master of the Demon Cloud Palace. Even with his Heavenly Demon Eyes activated, the information he could glean from this scroll painting was very limited. At least, these two were clearly pure humans, not disguised as that Shi Jiu Sacred Son.
"Could it be that this is not a scheme at all, and that Shi Jiu Sacred Son merely stumbled upon this sacred path by chance?"
Ling Fan frowned slightly.
While he was contemplating, the battle between the Sect Master of the Heaven Mending Sect and the Palace Master of the Demon Cloud Palace within the Nine Cang Sacred Cave had already begun.