Mu Qingqing vaguely felt something was amiss. Although the outcome of the Holy Land Martial Arts Competition this time had not deviated from the original plot, she had a slight sense of being manipulated and uncomfortable.
However, she couldn't think of a reason, so she didn't ponder it further.
This Holy Land Martial Arts Competition also produced the five individuals who ultimately qualified to enter the Immortal Spirit Pool.
Mu Ci of Killing Heart Holy Court
Changyang Gushuo of Shenxiao Palace
Li Jianxing of Buried Sword Pavilion
Dugu Yunmeng of Northern Cold Holy Land
Lin Yexing of Buried Sword Pavilion
Although Lin Yexing lost to Xin Ci, he only lost this one match.
Due to the absence of top-tier geniuses like Changyang Gushuo competing, and other Holy Land disciples not being Lin Yexing's match, the last spot to enter the Immortal Spirit Pool naturally fell to Lin Yexing.
Judging by this outcome, the Buried Sword Pavilion could be considered the biggest winner.
Ji Juekong was quite satisfied with this result. Although the Holy Land Martial Arts Competition was not won by the Buried Sword Pavilion, they secured two spots among those entering the Immortal Spirit Pool.
However, compared to the joy of other Holy Lands, the disciples of Xuan Kong Mountain appeared particularly somber.
This was because among these five spots, only their Xuan Kong Mountain failed to secure any.
Xuan Yihan, the top genius of Xuan Kong Mountain, felt a hint of unwillingness and then looked up with a puzzled gaze towards Xuan Qingming on the main platform.
He had expected Xuan Qingming, as the Holy Lord of Xuan Kong Mountain, to also feel disappointed by such a result.
Yet, their Holy Lord was completely unconcerned, watching the spectacle like an onlooker the entire time.
This caused Xuan Yihan's expression to stiffen, and he inwardly grumbled, "Why is our Holy Lord like this? It feels as if we disciples are redundant. I wonder if having a Holy Lord like Xuan Qingming is a good thing for us."
Xuan Kong Mountain, Immortal Spirit Pool.
This was the place with the most concentrated spiritual energy in Xuan Kong Mountain and also its forbidden area. Due to the preciousness of the Immortal Spirit Liquid, Xuan Qingming had issued a decree prohibiting anyone from entering.
After all, Xuan Qingming had also set up an Emperor-level formation and restriction in the Immortal Spirit Pool to prevent intruders from stealing the Immortal Spirit Liquid.
If not for Xuan Qingming offering the Immortal Spirit Liquid as a reward to the top five in the Holy Land Martial Arts Competition, Xin Ci, Li Jianxing, Changyang Gushuo, and the other four would not have come here.
When the five individuals saw the full view of the Immortal Spirit Pool, even though they were geniuses from various Holy Lands, seeing such a pool brimming with Immortal Spirit Liquid, Xin Ci and the others were indeed greatly shocked.
One must know the rarity of Immortal Spirit Liquid; in the outside world, a single drop could be auctioned for three hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones.
The size of this pool before them was almost comparable to the area occupied by the Asura Hall.
Lin Yexing stared intently at the pool filled with Immortal Spirit Liquid, exclaiming, "Senior Xuan is too generous! To offer such a vast amount of Immortal Spirit Liquid as a reward for the Holy Land Martial Arts Competition without changing his expression."
The other four nodded in agreement.
This pool of Immortal Spirit Liquid was indeed astonishing. Even Changyang Gushuo, from the Changyang family, believed that his family could not afford such a grand gesture.
However, as the five marveled, Elder Xuan Mo, who had guided them here, coughed lightly twice.
"Cough, cough..."
Xin Ci and the others then turned their gaze towards Elder Xuan Mo.
Elder Xuan Mo then reminded them, "As you can see, this Immortal Spirit Pool represents the foundation of Xuan Kong Mountain accumulated over tens of thousands of years."
"Since you have the Holy Lord Xuan's consent to enter the pool, I must still offer a piece of advice to you youngsters: know your limits and stop when you should!"
Xin Ci and the others understood Elder Xuan Mo's intentions, as this Immortal Spirit Pool was the most precious spiritual treasure of Xuan Kong Mountain.
Furthermore, among those who came to the Immortal Spirit Pool, only their Xuan Kong Mountain disciples did not enter.
Therefore, Elder Xuan Mo harbored some prejudice against these outsiders, thinking to himself, "I wonder why Holy Lord Xuan is doing this, allowing these five young brats to enter the Immortal Spirit Liquid."
Xin Ci stepped forward, bowed politely to Elder Xuan Mo, and inquired, "Elder Xuan Mo, I naturally understand 'stop when you should,' but what does 'know your limits' mean? I would trouble Elder Xuan Mo to enlighten me."
Elder Xuan Mo saw that this young lady from the Killing Heart Holy Court was quite polite, and his expression softened slightly as he explained, "Spiritual treasures like Immortal Spirit Liquid, even a single drop contains immensely pure energy. Especially within this Immortal Spirit Pool, the closer you are to the center of the pool, the more terrifyingly vast the contained energy becomes."
"With your current cultivation, absorbing and cultivating in the outer regions of the Immortal Spirit Pool is sufficient. If you become overly arrogant and enter the center of the pool to absorb the energy of the Immortal Spirit Liquid, and your body explodes from being overloaded, then do not blame me for not warning you."
Upon hearing this, a sense of dread instantly filled everyone.
If Elder Xuan Mo had not warned them, they might have surely headed towards the center of the Immortal Spirit Pool to absorb energy once inside.
"I have said what needs to be said. I will guard the outside of the Immortal Spirit Pool. You can stay inside for a maximum of ten days."
"After ten days, if you do not leave, do not blame me for throwing you out."
With that, Elder Xuan Mo departed from the Immortal Spirit Pool.
Changyang Gushuo, Dugu Yunmeng, and the others also entered the Immortal Spirit Pool respectively, preparing to absorb the energy of the Immortal Spirit Liquid to break through their cultivation realms.
"Let's go, Junior Brother Xin."
"Oh..."
Suddenly, someone spoke to Xin Ci's side, and Xin Ci instinctively responded.
Then, he suddenly realized and looked back at Li Jianxing behind him.
Mu Qingqing, in her spiritual consciousness space, transmitted a message to Xin Ci, "He just called you Junior Brother Xin. It seems Senior Brother Li has seen through your disguise."
Xin Ci's eyes widened slightly. He had intended to find an opportunity to reveal his true identity to Senior Brother Li, but he hadn't expected Senior Brother Li to have already discovered him.
Seeing the surprise flash in Xin Ci's eyes, Li Jianxing smiled warmly.
It seemed his guess was correct; the person before him was Junior Brother Xin in disguise.
"Junior Brother Xin, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Senior Brother Li. I didn't expect you to come to Zhongzhou as well and become a disciple of the Buried Sword Pavilion." Xin Ci replied with a smile.
His former senior brothers and friends from the Four Star Academy had all come to Zhongzhou to forge their paths, just like him. To meet again, Xin Ci was filled with emotion.
Li Jianxing smiled reassuringly, "I also didn't expect to see Junior Brother Xin at the Holy Land Martial Arts Competition. However, we can talk about catching up later. Cultivating in the Immortal Spirit Pool is more important now."
Xin Ci nodded, agreeing with Li Jianxing's words.
"Oh, right."
Just as Li Jianxing was about to step into the Immortal Spirit Pool, he suddenly turned back to look at Xin Ci and said with a teasing tone, "Junior Brother Xin, although you look very good in women's clothes, I still prefer you the way you were before."
The moment he finished speaking, Xin Ci's expression froze.