Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

Upon hearing these words, the faces of Mo Zilin and the others darkened as they thought to themselves, evidently.

Tang Xiao's eyebrows raised slightly as he said, "Jing Tian Department, Gu Chen?"

"Indeed." Zi Qing nodded gently.

Realization dawned on Tang Xiao as he spoke, "I know now. When I was on my way here, I heard that a monstrous genius had emerged from the Jing Tian Department, a man who with a single sword strike had slain tens of thousands of demonic sect warriors. He is called by the people of Jianghu as the Soul Chasing Sword. Could it be him?"

Mo Zilin said with a smile, "Brother Tang is correct, it is indeed him."

Tang Xiao shook his head with a smile, "Slaying tens of thousands with one sword?"

Although he didn't say much, his expression made it obvious that he didn't believe it.

Even for him, slaying a thousand people would be extremely difficult. Hearing that Gu Chen was even younger than he was, Tang Xiao found it even less credible.

After all, hearsay is nothing but hearsay, and seeing is believing. Stories of making a tiger out of three men's tales are something Tang Xiao understood well.

Sometimes, the rumors of Jianghu are greatly exaggerated, leaving people to question what's real and what's not.

"Will people from the Jing Tian Department also come to this grand assembly at Yao Platform?" Tang Xiao looked towards Zi Qing.

Before Zi Qing had a chance to respond, Yang Mingyue, who was at Mo Zilin's side, let out a cold snort, "I think he wouldn't dare to show up!"

"Oh?" Tang Xiao responded with some surprise, "Miss Yang, what do you mean by that?"

Yang Mingyue lifted her head proudly and said, "Because that Gu Chen knows very well that if he dares to attend the grand assembly at Yao Platform, I will certainly make him suffer. If he comes, it would only be to his own humiliation."

Tang Xiao heard this and simply smiled softly without saying a word.

Mo Zilin's face darkened in regret, now wishing he hadn't listened to the leader of the Heavenly Saber Sect, Yang Ling, and brought such a fool as Yang Mingyue out with him, making them the laughingstock.

"Enough, junior sister," Mo Zilin chided softly, and although Yang Mingyue was somewhat reluctant, she didn't say much more.

At this moment, the middle-aged beautiful woman from the Yao Platform Sect saw that nearly everyone had arrived and stepped onto the previously prepared high stage to speak. "I greatly appreciate all the heroes of Jianghu honoring us with your presence at this grand assembly of Yao Platform. I must remind everyone that during the competition, do your best to avoid casualties.

If there are indeed grievances, please declare them in advance. However, I advise everyone to focus on friendly sparring. Those who rank in the top three will receive the Jade Spirit Ice Liquid of our Yao Platform Sect."

She paused for a moment then the elder of Yao Platform Sect continued, "There is something else I wish to inform everyone. This grand assembly at Yao Platform is different from the previous ones. Aside from the sparring to determine the ranking, our Yao Platform Sect has also prepared the Reflecting Jade Bi for all of you. If interested, you may all try it out in front of the Reflecting Jade Bi."

Upon hearing the words "Reflecting Jade Bi," many warriors present began to discuss animatedly. Even Mo Zilin, Xu Shu, and the others showed surprise in their eyes, not expecting that Yao Platform Sect would be so generous as to even bring out the Reflecting Jade Bi.

A smile emerged at the corner of Tang Xiao's mouth as he murmured to himself, "Reflecting Jade Bi?"

The Reflecting Jade Bi is in fact a stone wall, albeit one made from a rare stone from the heavens which over hundreds and thousands of years, through a miraculous concurrence of weathering, acquired the extraordinary ability to hold the true essence of martial arts.

The Yao Platform Sect had possessed the Reflecting Jade Bi for a full three hundred years, and it contained the true essence of countless martial artists. They seldom allowed others to use it; at least such a thing had never happened at the previous grand assemblies of Yao Platform.

Because not only can the Reflecting Jade Bi store martial artists' true essence, but it can also help martial artists refine their own true essence, taking it a step further. Read the latest on M-V-L

The stronger the true essence, the stronger the martial artist's spirit, which greatly benefits their subsequent cultivation.

Soon, a huge stone wall was brought up, towering over ten Zhang tall; it was stark white and smooth as a mirror. When the sunlight shone upon it, surprisingly, the wall absorbed all the light without reflecting any of it.

The middle-aged beauty pointed to the gigantic stone wall and said, "This is the Reflecting Jade Bi of our Yao Platform Sect. It can nurture the spirit and help martial artists to congeal their true essence. If any of you wish to try, you are welcome to come forward. But let me warn you first, if you find it too challenging, do not force yourself, as overexertion could harm your mind and spirit."

Seeing this pure and smooth stone wall, Mo Zilin and the others also brightened up; even among the top powers like the Seven Sects and Eight Orders, there were few methods available for nurturing the spirit and enhancing mental fortitude for martial artists below the Innate Realm.

For matters involving the "Spirit" are quite mystical, usually beyond the physical realm and difficult to influence. There are not many known methods to improve it, generally speaking, there are only three.

The first is to practice certain martial arts related to the spiritual aspect, such as the Bewildering God Skills of Da Guangming Sect, which can effectively temper a martial artist's spirit.

Another way is to consume some natural treasures and elixirs, which serve a similar purpose. However, these are exceedingly rare and expensive; even the top powers do not have ample supply and cannot use them thoughtlessly.

The last method involves the true essence of martial arts. As is well known, once a martial artist masters a high-quality martial art to perfection, they can comprehend the corresponding true essence. The stronger and more numerous the true essences comprehended, the better the enhancement of their spiritual strength.

However, all three of these methods are extremely rare, making it difficult for martial artists to temper their spiritual strength. It's not just a challenge for warriors at the Vajra Stage like Mo Zilin – even some renowned Innate Realm Great Masters across Jiuzhou have no good solutions.

Beyond these conventional methods, there are some special means such as the Reflecting Jade Bi of the Yao Platform Sect. Similar artifacts are scarcely found throughout the entire Jiuzhou, making them exceedingly rare.

"I'll go first!"

At that moment, an eager young warrior from a first-rate sect stepped forward. He had not yet comprehended his own true essence; after all, mastering a high-quality martial art to perfection is no easy feat. There are many martial artists in the world with true essences, but one must consider their age.

Apart from the prodigies from the major top powers, few young warriors could have mastered a high-quality martial art to perfection, thereby comprehending their true essence, by their twenties.

The Reflecting Jade Bi could refine a person's spirit. It harbored countless true essences, and even if a warrior had not yet comprehended their own, as long as their spirit was resilient enough, they could still approach it to temper their spirit.

Indeed, the Reflecting Jade Bi was an excellent means for refining heart and mind, coveted by many sects throughout Jianghu.

However, given the strength of the Yao Platform Sect, there are few forces in the world capable of snatching the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc from their hands.

After all, the Yao Platform Sect has a master of martial arts at the Innate Realm, an existence that can destroy heaven and earth with a mere wave of a hand.

Soon, the warrior walked up to the huge, smooth stone wall that was as reflective as a mirror, and sat down cross-legged. He gathered his energy, focused his spirit, and prepared to connect with the stone wall that was within arm's reach.

Only when one's spirit is concentrated to a certain extent and can sense certain things around without the use of eyes, is one eligible to trigger the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc and thereby temper one's mind and spirit.

But the warrior in front of us was clearly not among them; after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed, he still hadn't shown any response. Reminded by a middle-aged beauty from the Yao Platform Sect, he had to leave with his eyes opened unwillingly.

Next, warriors went on stage one after another. Mo Zilin and his group sat there without hurry, after all, they hadn't come into contact with the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc before and planned to observe for a while first.

The mental realm is not the same as others; once injured, ordinary medicines and stones are difficult to heal, and it could greatly delay their progress on the martial path.

In severe cases, there is even the possibility of losing memory or becoming a fool or idiot—it's not impossible.

This is also why, below the Innate Realm, martial arts practitioners don't focus on training the mind; because if there's no talent in this aspect, it's very easy to hurt oneself.

As expected, a warrior who ignored advice sat before the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc and, despite giving his all, refused to give up. In a short while, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his face as pale as paper, and fainted on the spot.

The middle-aged beauty frowned, and someone from the Yao Platform Sect immediately came forward to check. Fortunately, the person had only overexerted his spirit and hadn't sustained any substantial injuries.

Subsequently, warriors continued to go on stage and sit before the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc to perceive and understand, some succeeding while others failing.

It can't be denied that during this period, three geniuses actually emerged who managed to perfect their superior martial arts and comprehend a true meaning of martial arts.

And in front of the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc, the true meanings they comprehended also improved to a certain degree, and they all returned to the crowd of their sects beaming with joy.

"Aren't you interested, Brother Mo?" At this moment, Tang Xiao turned his gaze towards Mo Zilin and Xu Shu and others.

"Young Master Mo and the others may also give it a try. With your talents, you are bound to gain a lot," said Zi Qing, the tall and slender woman at his side.

Mo Zilin, Xu Shu, and Liu Feng Dian Chu exchanged glances and asked, "Who among us will go first?"

There was no need to rush for such things, after all, the Yao Platform Sect had not set any time limit.

"I'll go first!" The burly Dian Chu from the Giant Spirit Gate announced in a booming voice and stepped forward first.

Seeing Dian Chu's move, the rest of the martial artists from various rivers and lakes instantly got excited; after waiting for so long, they finally saw the prodigies from top forces make their move.

Dian Chu, with his tall and large stature, measuring more than ten feet, came before the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes integrating the true meaning of martial arts he had conceived into it.

Hum!

Two phantoms automatically emerged behind Dian Chu, representing the true meanings of martial arts he had comprehended.

As Dian Chu's intentions blended with the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc, the two shadows on his back also began to solidify from their ethereal forms, proving that Dian Chu's mental strength was continuously rising.

Of course, fully materializing the true meaning of martial arts into reality at the Vajra Stage was impossible, as the mental strength of a Vajra Stage martial artist simply cannot reach that step.

After his martial arts shadows solidified by two-fifths, Dian Chu opened his eyes, feeling he had reached his limit. If he insisted on continuing, the only thing he would hurt was himself, and his true meaning wouldn't be enhanced in the slightest.

Then, Mo Zilin, Xu Shu, and Liu Feng took their turns and went up, coming before the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc to refine their true meanings of martial arts.

Among them, Mo Zilin comprehended the most true meanings; he had actually brought three superior martial arts to perfection.

Xu Shu and Liu Feng, like Dian Chu before them, had comprehended two martial arts true meanings each.

Mo Zilin's third true meaning of martial arts, which he had just comprehended shortly before participating in the Yao Platform Gathering, gave him a momentary lead, and a hint of a smile, laced with pride, appeared on his face.

Of course, a martial artist's combat power cannot be determined solely by one factor. Cultivation realm, martial skills, and corresponding battle experience were all important—if one's cultivation realm isn't high enough, even with a strong true meaning of martial arts, there's still a risk of defeat.

Therefore, when Xu Shu and others saw that Mo Zilin had comprehended one more martial arts true meaning than them, they didn't feel too much about it.

The elder from the Yao Platform Sect, the middle-aged beauty, saw this with an approving nod.

There was a profound reason why the Yao Platform Sect brought out the Shadow Reflection Jade Disc for everyone to enhance their strength.

Within the Heavenly Saber Sect, Yang Mingyue was extremely excited to see that Mo Zilin had comprehended the most martial arts true meanings and disdainfully glanced over at Xu Shu and the others.

Seeing Yang Mingyue's reaction, Xu Shu, Dian Chu, and Liu Feng felt a little displeased inwardly, but Mo Zilin, observant of their expressions, quickly apologized to the three of them.

"Brother Tang, aren't you going to give it a try?" Mo Zilin and others then turned to Tang Xiao, the only one who hadn't yet made an attempt.

Upon hearing this, Tang Xiao smiled faintly, just as he was about to speak, a clear voice came from not far away.

"Gu Chen from Tiandu's Jing Tian Department, has come to pay respects."