Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

"I hereby declare the primary election open, the first round..."

With the referee's announcement, the preliminary rounds officially began.

The huge training ground is divided into three arenas.

The rogue cultivators in the preliminary selection only have one chance; if they lose a match, they will be eliminated.

It's straightforward and there's no best-of-three format.

If you happen to encounter an opponent who is strong or whose skills counter yours, then you can only accept your bad luck.

After all, if you really encounter an enemy in the cultivation world, the enemy won't care whether you are the weaker party or not.

As a result, Lu Zaian directly handed over fifteen bronze medals and one silver medal.

So he skipped the preliminary and final rounds.

Now he's watching from the sidelines.

Although he was supposed to be watching the game, there was really nothing that Lu Zaian should pay attention to.

They were all youngsters in the Qi Refining or Body Refining stages, and their moves were full of flaws in Lu Zaian's eyes.

What he really wants to know right now is the location of the Emerald Spring...

The entire Jade Peak is so vast that even Lu Zaian's divine sense cannot encompass it.

Moreover, there are other Foundation Establishment cultivators such as Chen Kui on Jade Peak.

Lu Zaian didn't want to rashly extend his divine sense, for fear of alerting the enemy.

Fortunately, both the jade-like spiritual water and the spring water that condenses into the even more precious emerald-green spiritual water are precious.

None of them can be stored away from the spiritual spring for a long time.

Therefore, Lu Zaian guessed that the spiritual water awarded to the winner must have been freshly obtained.

Then I will be able to find out the location of the spirit spring.

In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed...

The preliminary rounds have ended.

Nearly half of the hundreds of independent cultivators in the training ground were eliminated.

Now only a little over a hundred remain.

These remaining rogue cultivators all possessed fierce, cold, or fiery auras.

They look like they're not to be messed with.

After all, being able to stand out from the preliminary rounds is enough to prove their strength.

However, another round of the semi-finals awaits them.

In the end, only a few dozen people can compete to participate in the final ranking competition.

In the world of cultivation, joining a Foundation Establishment faction to obtain cultivation resources is just that cruel.

Even if it's just the Chen family, the weakest Foundation Establishment power...

"The patriarch has arrived! Welcome, patriarch!"

Suddenly, a loud shout echoed throughout the entire training ground.

The group of rogue cultivators were all startled and looked up.

A burly Foundation Establishment cultivator with a leopard-like head, bulging eyes, and a centipede-like scar at the corner of his eye took his seat on the high platform.

Overlooking the entire training ground.

His immense and majestic Foundation Establishment aura instantly radiated throughout the entire area, causing everyone to feel a chill.

Most of the rogue cultivators were seeing a Foundation Establishment cultivator for the first time in their lives.

A sudden uproar erupted.

"This really is a Foundation Establishment major overhaul!"

"This is the head of the Chen family—Lord Chen Kui?!"

"I've heard that Lord Chen Kui is a second-tier weapon refiner. If we can gain his favor, we might be rewarded with a precious magic weapon!"

"Oh my god, I can't wait to go on stage and compete."

The crowd was eager to try, wishing they could immediately go on stage to display their divine power and gain the favor of the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Lu Zaian looked over as well, his calm eyes devoid of any emotion.

Foundation Establishment cultivators are extremely sensitive to all kinds of gazes.

Therefore, Lu Zaian did not have any such idea.

I just sighed in my heart.

"It's been a long time..."

However, before the commotion caused by the appearance of the Chen family head had subsided, another loud shout was heard.

"The head of the Gongyang family has arrived! The head of the Zhao family has arrived!"

Two more people slowly walked onto the stage and took their seats.

One of them was a refined-looking middle-aged cultivator in a brocade robe, exuding a faint fragrance of medicinal herbs.

The other person was short, almost like a dwarf, with a pair of triangular eyes that coldly surveyed the entire room.

It was Gongyang Wen and Zhao Feng.

"Another Foundation Establishment cultivator has arrived?"

"I heard that the head of the Gongyang family and the head of the Zhao family are sworn brothers of the head of the Chen family, and their story is quite legendary."

"It is our honor that the head of the Gongyang family is also a second-level alchemist!"

"I heard that although the Zhao family head is only at the Qi Refining Perfection stage, his mastery of formations is not to be underestimated."

A murmur arose from the crowd, and people began to discuss the matter.

However, before they could calm down, another dark shadow flew straight in from the horizon.

The dark figure moved with lightning speed, arrogant and domineering, like a demonic spear piercing straight into the martial arts arena!

"Haha, I've come uninvited. I hope Patriarch Chen won't be offended."

An aged voice rang out, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an old man dressed in black.

The old man in black, though his face was clearly aged, stood straight, like a spear shaft piercing the sky, making everyone feel uneasy.

"Who...who is this old man?"

"Shh... watch your mouth! Are you out of your mind?! This sir is none other than Lord Xiao Qing, the Black Spear Deacon of the Demon Spear Cult!"

"Hiss, what? Even the deacons of the Demon Spear Cult are here? I didn't expect this competition to be this important?"

The grand entrance of the old man in black was like a thunderclap from a clear sky over the martial arts arena.

"That old dog is here too, this is troublesome..."

In the crowd, Lu Zaian subtly observed Xiao Qing.

Unexpectedly, a competition among the Chen family's independent cultivators brought together a whole host of his enemies.

Several years have passed since Lu Zaian, disguised as a scholar, was chased by Xiao Qing at the last auction...

Xiao Qing's aura is still at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Lu Zaian's original plan was to deal with Chen Kui and Gongyang Wen, both of whom were in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, which would be relatively easy.

But now that Xiao Qing has been added to the mix, the variables have increased significantly.

"I'm not strong enough to take on three people at once. Oh well, I'll just play it by ear. Anyway, even if I can't win, I can always run away..."

In the room, the Chen family also gave Xiao Qing a grand welcome.

After all, the Chen family was merely a vassal force of the Demon Spear Cult.

As a deacon of the Demon Spear Sect, Xiao Qing is also a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, and therefore deserves to be treated with caution by the Chen family.

"It's a rare honor to have you grace us with your presence, Steward Xiao... I'd like to ask you to give some pointers to my Chen family's worthless disciples."

Chen Kui actually gave up the main seat and invited Xiao Qing to go up.

Xiao Qing didn't stand on ceremony, taking his seat with an air of nonchalance and chuckling.

"Haha, no problem, no problem."

I heard that Patriarch Chen is organizing a selection process here, and I was thinking of bringing a few of my less capable disciples to test the waters.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Kui readily agreed.

"Of course it's possible. With Steward Xiao's support, this competition will be even more exciting than the talent selection."

The Chen family had organized this selection process with great fanfare, in an attempt to attract talent.

Now that a deacon from the Demon Spear Cult has come to personally show his support, Chen Kui is naturally overjoyed.

Then a group of cultivators dressed in black walked onto the training ground.

Each of them exuded a chilling aura, standing like a forest of gun barrels.

"Xiao Jinyuan, a disciple of the Demon Spear Sect, greets Patriarch Chen!"

The leading black-clad disciple was even more imposing, bowing and clasping his hands in greeting to Chen Kui.

“This is…” Chen Kui hesitated.

Xiao Qing, seated at the head of the table, slapped his thigh and laughed, explaining:

"Haha, this is my good-for-nothing grandson."

Currently stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refining, yet still craving battle, I'd like to come and meet you heroes.

"I see. No wonder he looked so distinguished." Chen Kui nodded.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Qing changed the subject and suddenly said:

"Patriarch Chen, I heard that the Chen family is offering a jade spirit water as the prize for winning the championship?"