Cultivation starts from simplifying the exercises

Chapter 1916 The Storm Begins (4K)

In the center of the training ground, the guardian puppet, which was a hundred feet tall and exuded the aura of the ultimate immortal realm, was pressed firmly into the deep pit by the giant palm of the Immortal King's phantom.

The dark blue core in the chest cavity of the gatekeeper puppet flickered and throbbed wildly, its massive metal body trembled violently, and its dark golden divine metal joints groaned under the strain.

It tried to resist, to break free from the terrifying giant hand that pressed down like an ancient divine mountain.

However, the more the gatekeeper puppet struggled, the faster and more thoroughly the indestructible dark gold divine armor at the point where its back touched the Immortal King's palm shattered.

Countless fine cracks spread and expanded wildly like a spider web, and dark golden metal fragments fell off like fish scales being peeled off. The defensive runes and core magic array inside were disintegrated and annihilated inch by inch under the absolute power and annihilation will contained in the Immortal King's giant palm.

"Roar!"

The gatekeeper puppet let out a deafening roar filled with boundless rage. The energy within its body burned and exploded recklessly, and its massive body arched upwards in an attempt to fight to the death.

"Crack! Crack! Boom!"

A series of terrifying, dense explosions, as if the Divine Gold Mountain Range had completely collapsed, erupted. The massive, mountain-like body of the gatekeeper puppet, under the absolute suppression of the Immortal King's giant palm and the impact of its own violent power, instantly disintegrated like ice thrown into a furnace.

Starting from the point of contact on his back, the cracks swept across his entire body like a flood bursting its banks. The dark golden divine metal shell, the sturdy metal skeleton—everything was crushed and shattered by this opposing force, turning into flying metal fragments and turbulent energy flows!
Until the last bit of eerie blue light completely vanished and turned into nothingness.

Inside the training ground, smoke and dust filled the air, and the turbulent energy flow gradually subsided. Chen Fei calmly watched the puppet remains scattered in the deep pit, gradually turning into regular light spots and dissipating, his expression serene.

If it were a normal living being, it might be afraid, beg for mercy, or use various life-saving techniques to escape when faced with such a desperate situation, but this gatekeeper puppet has no intelligence.

Its "struggle" and "roar" are merely stress responses to the rules.

As the guardian puppet completely dissipated, a beam of pure spiritual light, condensed from the power of rules and radiating a soft glow, descended silently like a gentle rain from the heavens, completely enveloping Chen Fei's figure.

A curtain of light appeared before Chen Fei's eyes; it contained information about the qualifications and rules for challenging the Earth Ranking.

At the same time, the sky above the Earth Ranking suddenly lit up. There were originally only thirty dazzling auras hanging high above the sky. Now, after the thirtieth place, a new aura, like a rising star, slowly condensed and emerged.

But soon, this newborn aura fluctuated slightly, slowly disappearing into the depths of the sky, becoming undetectable.

The subtle changes in the sky above the Earth Ranking instantly attracted the attention of many Immortal Realm experts who were currently within the Earth Ranking space.

"There's a new aura imprint; it's Chen Fei from the Illusion Sect!"

"It really was him! I sensed him appearing in front of the Earth Ranking Sky Screen just now. I didn't expect him to pass the test of the gatekeeper puppet so quickly!"

"The gatekeeper puppet possesses the ultimate combat strength of the Immortal Realm. The fact that it was able to pass through so quickly shows that its strength is indeed as unfathomable as the rumors suggest!"

Divine thoughts intertwined and collided in the void, filled with shock and anticipation.

Chen Fei's name, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirred up waves among the Immortal Realm experts in the Tianxuan Domain. Gaining the qualification to challenge meant that Chen Fei was only one step away from truly stepping onto the Earth Ranking Arena.

The news spread like wildfire, quickly reaching all the major cities and sects in the Tianxuan Domain.

"Elder Chen Fei of the Illusionary Sect has successfully obtained the qualification to challenge the Earth Ranking!" In an instant, Chen Fei's name once again became the focus of discussion in the streets, alleys, restaurants, and teahouses.

"Elder Chen really went! I knew it! With his strength, how could he not challenge the Earth Ranking!"

"The gatekeeper puppet is a tough nut to crack. Rumor has it that he passed it very quickly, and his strength is definitely above the bottom tier of the Earth Ranking!"

"I just don't know when he will officially launch his challenge, or which powerful opponent he will challenge?"

People were buzzing with excitement, marveling at Chen Fei's swift completion of the game and eagerly anticipating his next move.

Obtaining the qualification to challenge is just the beginning. The real highlight is stepping onto the arena and challenging the strongest on the Earth Ranking!
The following day, at 1-3 PM, in the main hall of the Illusionary Gate.

The hall was spacious and solemn, with only a chessboard in the center, carved from millennia-old warm jade, radiating a gentle luster. On either side of the chessboard, two figures sat facing each other.

On the left, Le Boyang, the patriarch of the Illusionary Sect, wore a plain white Taoist robe, his three long wisps of beard flowing freely. His expression was focused, a black chess piece hovering between his fingers. On the right, Xu Ningzhen, the patriarch of the Profound Heaven Palace, wore a black Taoist robe, his face gaunt, his gaze deep and thoughtful, intently watching the ever-changing chessboard.

Chen Fei appeared silently at the palace gate. His gaze swept across the hall and saw two powerful experts at the Sovereign Realm playing chess. He did not disturb them and stood quietly to the side, his aura concealed.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only sound was the crisp "plop" of the chess pieces falling onto the jade plate, like jade beads dropping onto a plate, clear and melodious. Le Boyang's black piece lingered, seemingly contemplating the myriad variations of the game. Xu Ningzhen didn't urge him, simply waiting patiently.

A quarter of an hour later.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound of a piece being placed, Le Boyang's black piece finally fell to the ground!
The placement of the pieces, seemingly ordinary, instantly shattered the delicate balance on the board, like divine soldiers descending from the heavens, striking straight at the heart of the enemy!

Xu Ningzhen looked at the black piece that had been placed, his brows furrowed slightly. After a moment of contemplation, he finally shook his head slowly, a helpless smile on his face: "Brother Le is a step ahead. I have lost this game."

"Hahaha!"

Le Boyang stroked his beard and laughed heartily, his laughter carrying a hint of the exhilaration of winning a game of chess. He turned his gaze to Chen Fei, who was standing quietly at the palace gate, and his smile deepened: "You've arrived!"

Chen Fei stepped forward, bowed, and said in a calm and respectful voice, "Disciple Chen Fei greets the Ancestor and Senior Xu!"

Xu Ningzhen also turned her head to look at Chen Fei, with a gentle smile on her face, and waved her hand: "No need for formalities."

Le Boyang nodded with a smile, then gently waved his right hand, and two streams of light instantly flew out from his sleeves and hovered in front of Chen Fei.

The first stream of light, flowing with a mysterious and unpredictable purple-gold hue, resembled a jade ruler. On the ruler, the sun, moon, and stars revolved, and mountains and rivers rose and fell. A vast and majestic, terrifying pressure, as if it could measure the heavens and determine the fate of the world, spread out.

It is the supreme divine weapon of Le Boyang, the Heavenly Ruler!
The second stream of light was a storage bag carved entirely from purple-gold divine jade. The bag's opening was slightly ajar, and a vast, pure, and supremely refined aura of immortal origin surged out like a bursting dam.

Le Boyang looked at Chen Fei with burning eyes and said in a deep voice, "This is my supreme divine weapon, the Heaven-Summoning Ruler, and 100,000 Immortal Mystic Crystals. Take them and bet on the Earth Ranking Battle!"

Le Boyang paused, a meaningful smile appearing on his face, and said, "I made a special trip to the Tianxuan Sect yesterday to find some additional support for you!"

Chen Fei shifted his gaze from the Heavenly Ruler to Le Boyang, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes: "Extra support?"

Xu Ningzhen chimed in with a smile, "Your ancestor has really gone all out this time. The Tianxuan Sect said that if you challenge the Earth Ranking with a death match, for every Earth Ranking expert you kill, the Tianxuan Sect will provide an additional 30,000 Immortal Profound Crystals to help you cultivate, with no upper limit!"

Upon hearing Xu Ningzhen's words, Chen Fei raised an eyebrow slightly. The Tianxuan Sect was truly generous, offering 30,000 Immortal Mystic Crystals for the slaying of a Heavenly Demon on the Earth Ranking, with no upper limit.
Currently, extraterrestrial demons occupy sixteen seats on the Earth Ranking. If all sixteen demons can be defeated on the arena, that would amount to a full 480,000 Immortal Mystic Crystals!
This is an incredibly terrifying number. Even a Dominator Realm expert would take notice. An ordinary peak Immortal Realm expert would be extremely wealthy if they had ten thousand or so Immortal Crystals, and they would not have been involved in any major battles recently, otherwise their Immortal Crystals would be even fewer.

The Heavenly Profound Sect's move was intended to allow Chen Fei to stir up a bloody storm against the Heavenly Demons on the Earth Ranking!
"Not only that!"

Le Boyang's smile widened, his eyes gleaming: "The Tianxuan Sect also promised that you don't need to conquer the entire Earth Ranking. As long as you can enter the top ten of the Earth Ranking, they are willing to give you the sect's most treasured Heavenly Agarwood!"

"Heavenly Agarwood?" A hint of doubt flashed in Chen Fei's eyes. He had never heard of this substance before.

Seeing Chen Fei's expression, Xu Ningzhen explained from the side:

"This is a rare item that Venerable Tianxuan obtained in a secret realm years ago. It contains some of the profound properties of a low-grade fifteenth-rank spiritual material. Tianxuan Sect spent a great deal of effort trying to completely transform it into a true low-grade fifteenth-rank spiritual material, but unfortunately, they never succeeded. Although this item is not a complete grade spiritual material, its value is still immense!"

Upon hearing Xu Ning's explanation, Chen Fei's gaze flickered slightly. The profound characteristics of some fifteenth-tier spiritual materials? This was truly a godsend!

Although the Heavenly Dao fragment in Chen Fei's hand had absorbed a large number of rank fragments and contained increasingly rich fifteenth-rank profound meaning, it was still far from transforming into a complete fifteenth-rank low-grade rank spiritual material.

If one could obtain this Heavenly Agarwood containing a portion of the essence of a rank, and integrate it into the fragments of the Heavenly Dao, the two would complement each other. Combined with the rank fragments of the Heavenly Demons on the Earth Ranking, it would be highly likely that a low-grade rank spiritual material of the fifteenth rank could be directly condensed.

Looking at the gleam in Chen Fei's eyes, Le Boyang said in a deep voice, "If you can obtain this Heavenly Agarwood, although it cannot directly help you break through to the Dominator Realm, the boundless vitality and primordial power it contains are enough to extend your life by a thousand years!"

Le Boyang's most important purpose in personally going to Tianxuan Sect this time was to obtain the Heavenly Agarwood. Chen Fei's lifespan is less than a hundred years, which is like a sword hanging over his head. Even if he has overwhelming combat power and can kill all the Heavenly Demons, if he cannot break through to the Dominator level within a hundred years, everything will be in vain.

That day, the agarwood was the glimmer of hope that Le Boyang had secured for Chen Fei!
Chen Fei took a deep breath, suppressing the surging excitement and gratitude in his heart, and bowed deeply to Le Boyang and Xu Ningzhen: "Disciple thanks the Ancestor! Thank you Senior Xu!"

Half an hour later, on the sky above the Earth Ranking Space.

The sky, which had been calmly flowing with the light of rules, suddenly rippled violently, and Chen Fei's aura slowly emerged from the depths of the sky, shining brightly.

Immediately afterwards, a scarlet halo, as if formed from congealed blood, suddenly appeared, like the cruelest shackles, firmly binding the two auras of "Chen Fei" and "Nightmare" within it.

Crimson Halo, the Pact for a Death Battle on the Earth Rankings!
Beneath the sky, all the Immortal Realm experts who were paying attention to the Earth Ranking were instantly stunned by this sudden change.

"A fight to the death?"

"It's Chen Fei! He challenged the Heavenly Demon Nightmare with a pledge to fight to the death!"

"If I remember correctly, a duel to the death requires 100,000 Immortal Mystic Crystals and a Sovereign Divine Weapon!"

"If you lose, you lose everything, even your life!"

"Tomorrow, it's tomorrow!"

After a brief silence, a boiling sensation erupted like a volcanic eruption. The news instantly swept across the entire Tianxuan Domain, and Chen Fei's name was branded into the hearts of every cultivator like the hottest branding iron.

The brutal rules and terrifying consequences of the battle for the Earth Ranking were quickly spread, causing a wider uproar and shock!

From powerful beings at the Sovereign Realm to ordinary cultivators, everyone is talking about this matter.

This is no longer just a simple ranking battle; because it's a fight to the death, it has become a showdown that concerns the current situation of the Xuan Yu Realm!

Time flew by amidst the eager anticipation of countless people and the heated debates.

The following day, in the Earth Ranking Space.

This strange space, constructed from pure power of rules, was now bustling with activity, more lively than ever before. Almost all the Immortal Realm experts who were able to spare the time had gathered here.

In the void, figures exuding powerful auras stood in rows, their eyes fixed intently on the vast and boundless void battlefield in the center of the space.

Not only within the Earth Ranking Space, but also above the top sects and important cities of the Xuan Yu Realm, massive Mirror Techniques, jointly cast by Immortal Realm experts, are clearly projecting the scenes within the Earth Ranking Space.

Countless cultivators gathered beneath the light screen, holding their breath and watching intently.

This battle has touched the hearts of hundreds of millions of people.

Inside the Earth Ranking Space, the atmosphere was as heavy as a mountain. The Immortal Realm experts gathered in small groups, discussing in hushed tones.

"Elder Chen's decision to fight to the death is truly audacious!"

"Impressive! Such boldness is rare in the Xuan Yu Realm. But the opponent is the Soul-Eating Demon Lord Yan Li, ranked twenty-eighth on the Earth Ranking. He has a fearsome reputation and unpredictable methods..."

"Yes, what if... the Illusionary Sect not only loses its prodigy, but also Elder Yue's supreme divine weapon..."

The Immortal Realm elders of the Illusionary Sect looked solemn, even showing a hint of undisguised tension and worry.

They knew better than anyone the danger and cost of this battle. If Chen Fei won, he would naturally become famous throughout the heavens, but if he lost, not only would Chen Fei die and his Dao disappear, but the master weapon of Ancestor Le Boyang, the Heaven-Calling Ruler, would also change hands.

This would be an unbearable blow to the Illusionary Sect.

Above the higher heavens, where space silently distorted, majestic figures, exuding an aura that transcended all living beings and ruled over eternity, descended silently like deities.

Among these Sovereign Realm experts are cultivators, Yuan Demons, and even Sovereign Realm powerhouses from extraterrestrial demons.

They were clearly separated from each other, their auras colliding to form an invisible domain of pressure that enveloped the surroundings, while their gazes were all focused on the void that was about to become a battlefield!
The time is approaching.

"Buzz!"

In the center of the Earth Ranking Space, the vast and boundless void battlefield suddenly trembled violently. A mighty force originating from the very source of heaven and earth descended with a roar, causing space to ripple and distort like water.

A colossal martial arts arena, unimaginably vast, constructed entirely of bluish-gray divine gold and exuding an ancient and chilling aura, appeared out of thin air like an ancient divine mountain emerging from the river of time, stretching across the center of the void.

The moment the training ground appeared, all the Immortal Realm experts in the Earth Ranking Space instantly transformed into streaks of light and surged wildly toward the location of the training ground.

Above the sky, the majestic figures of the Sovereign Realm instantly sharpened their gazes like lightning, and with a slight movement, they appeared in the void outside the martial arts arena.

On the training ground, Chen Fei's figure materialized, while at the same time, demonic energy surged on the opposite side, and the Heavenly Demon Nightmare also descended.

(End of this chapter)